All national and regional UK Sports News. http://www.allthepress.com/ Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:17:25 -0700 http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/08/zambia-ghana-africa-cup-nations-mbm All The Press UK NEWS: • Press refresh or turn on the auto-update for the latest• Email paul.doyle@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts• Or get in touch via Twitter, if that's your thing• Follow all tonight's games here58 min: Dede dispossessed Kabala and the darts into the box, before being crowded out.55 min: Mayuka raids down the right and sends a low cross tantalisingly close to Kabala, but Boye does well to intervene and prod behind for a corner.52 min: Yet more errant finishing by Ghana, as Jordan Ayew fails to connect with a fine cross from his brother, and then Boye, improvising quickly, heads over the bar.49 min: Jordan cuts in from the left and lets fly but can't beat Mweene. Meanwhile, Zambia manager Hervé Renard roars and gesticulates excitedxlty on the sideline, prompting Clive Tyldsley on ITV to suggest: "He looks a bit like Teddy Sheringham and acts a bit like Basil Fawlty." Was wondering how he'd manage to crowbar in a reference to Sheringham. Mention of that night in Barcelona can't be far behind ...46 min: Zambia have made a change, with Mayuka replacing Chamanga. Zambia's counter-attacking potential is thius boosted, as Mayukla is a nimble schemer sort.Half-time: Ghana dominated, playing with imaginations and a high tempo, but lacking incision. Zambia look threatning on their rare counter-attacks. The game, then, is finely poised.43 min: Gyan nods wide from 10 yards. Gyan, incidentally, has the number 3 shaved in the side of his head, presumably because that is his jersey number. I wonder if this wheeze of decorating your head with your clothes' number will catch on? Should I tattoo 10 on my forehead in reference to my shoe size? Perhaps I should consider shaving '100% polyster' into my eyebrows to denote my underwear material?41 min: Inkoom blasts high and wide after being put free down the right. Given Zambia's counter-attacking prowess, Ghana could be made to pay for their profligacy here.38 min: Asamoah's shot from 20 yards is deflected wide by Nkausu.36 min: Mweene comes hurtling out of goal to intercept a corner ... but misses entirely. Happily for him, so did Mensah.32 min: As they did against Senegal in the first match, Zambia counter-attack brilliantly, with Kalaba tisting cleverly before threading an artful ball through to Katongo ... who, following a well-timed run, is free in front of goal ... but tonkls wide!30 min: Dede clips a freekick to the back post, where Jordan arrives unmarked but completely misses the ball!26 min: Zambia have managed to get a bit of possession over the last few minutes, and though they just went from side to side it will have benefitted them to have had a break from chasing Ghanaians.23 min: Dede Andre effortlessly get in behind the Zmabian defence down the right and then pulls the ball back for Gyan, whose attempted shot is diverted by Sinkala.21 min: A glimmer of an opening for Chansa, but Boye closes it off, showing his speed to get to Katongo's through-ball first.19 min: Ghana have taken control of this and Zambia are struggling to get out of their half.16 min: Boys may not cry, but Boye might: if Ghana get to the final, he won't play, as he's just got booked for a ludicrous high tackle on Chansa.14 min: After working a nice opening for Inkoom down the right, the full-back over-hits his cross. Dede Ayew retrieves it and is fouled at the edge of the area. The angle is too acute for a shot so Asamoah scoops it into the centre and Zambia clear.12 min: Zambia look good going forward but rather panickey at the back. This game promises goals.9 min: The Ayew brothers have plenty of space out wide in view of Zambia's qutie narrow formation. But they can go through the middle too, via Gyan, who has just picked his way past two defenders and then fired a low shot from 25 yards that Mweene could only parry.PENALTY to Ghana! Asamoah goes down easily ... and then gets up to take the spotkick himself ... and sees his low sidefooter palmed away by Mweene!6 min: Kalaba pulls a corner out to the edge of the box, where Chamanga arrives at speed and let fly, but his shot is charged down.3 min: The duel between Inkoom and Kalaba will be one of the most interesting features of this match and the Zambian has struck the first blow, dispossessing Inkoom before skipping pat two players and sending in a reasonable shot that gets deflected wide. There follows an admirably inventive corner routine which creates a shooting opportunity for Chamanga, who blasts over.1 min: On a moist pitch the game gets going.3.53pm: Apparently organisers claimed a crowd of 35,000 was expected at the Estadio de Bata. Instead it looks small than 8,400 that were with me at St Mary's last night to seee Millwall beat Southampton. Less chance of catching frozen extremities down Equatoral Guinea way, though ...3.51pm: Promising start by Matt Smith on ITV: Hervé Renanrd had a spell in Angola as assistant manager so he'll know their players pretty well," suggests Smith, failing to explain why knowledge of Angolan players will help him plot victory over Ghana.3.28pm: Hello and welcome to the latest installement of what has been a tremendous tournament so far, full of enterprise and drama. Most folks expect the final to be a repeat of the 1992 showdown, in which Ivory Coast prevailed over Ghana in an epic penalty shoot-out, but Ghana have been somewhat laboured in the tournament so far and it is certainly possible for a slick and clever Zambia side to beat them today (and. of course, Mali could eliminate the Elephants later). Here are the line-ups:Zambia: Mweene; Kasonde, Sunzu, Himoonde, Musonda; Nkausu, Sinkala; Chansa, Kalaba; Katongo, Chamanga Ghana: Kwarasey; Inkoom, Boye, Mensah, Lee Addy; Boateng, Annan; Dede, Asamoah, Jordan; GyanPaul will be here from 3.30pm GMT with live, minute-by-minute coverage of the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final between Zambia and Ghana. If you get here first, here's Jonathan Wilson on the Mali team's plea for peace.There were a lot of tears in Libreville on Sunday. There were the tears of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, overwhelmed by having missed the decisive penalty in Gabon's shootout defeat to Mali and there were the tears of Seydou Keita as he used his side's progress to the semi-final for the first time in 10 years to highlight the crisis overwhelming his country.Keita began the tournament fronting an Oxfam campaign to raise awareness of the food crisis sweeping the Sahel after a year of poor rains. His words on Sunday were even more emotive, and came with a ringing immediacy. His face as he stepped up to take the final penalty looked drained, but his nerve remained sure and he converted with a precise, low shot.The tears then were from Aubameyang, distraught in the centre-circle. He has been one of the players of the tournament, a powerful and mobile forward who had come to embody his country's emergence as possible winners. Sylvia Bongo, the first lady, took to wearing an Aubameyang 9 shirt, as did a lot of the crowd. As he stepped up to take his penalty, his anxiety was obvious; it wasn't an awful shot, but neither was it particularly near the corner and Soumbeila Diakité saved relatively comfortably low to his left.For the full story, click here.Africa Cup of Nations 2012ZambiaGhanaAfrica Cup of NationsPaul Doyleguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds ]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 10:15 am MST http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/08/notts-county-lee-hughes All The Press UK NEWS: • Hughes pleads not guilty and elects to be tried at crown court• Case adjourned until further hearing on 21 MarchThe Notts County footballer Lee Hughes denied a sexual assault charge on Wednesday.The striker was arrested after police were called to his team's hotel in Croydon, south London, on 3 December.Hughes, 35, was taken into custody following the alleged incident the night before his team's FA Cup tie against Sutton United. He was released on bail before being charged at the end of last month.He pleaded not guilty at the five-minute hearing at Croydon magistrates' court on Wednesday and elected to be tried at a crown court.Hughes, who wore a dark grey suit, white shirt and dark tie, showed no emotion as he sat in the dock.The chairman of the bench, Bill Whitmarsh, granted Hughes unconditional bail. The case was adjourned until a further hearing at the same court on 21 March.Notts Countyguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds ]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 10:08 am MST http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/feb/08/harry-redknapp-england-manager-tottenham All The Press UK NEWS: The challenge for the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, is to keep Redknapp at White Hart Lane where logic says his manager has never had it so goodIt feels like the perfect storm. Just as Fabio Capello talks himself into trouble with his views on one court case, Harry Redknapp emerges from another with his reputation intact. Redknapp to be offered the England manager's job? It is a racing certainty and the way that things are shaping up, some people would like to see it happen sooner rather than later.Talk to Redknapp about the biggest post in English football and the patriot inside him shouts loudly. He has repeatedly said that Capello's successor ought to be English, that the Football Association ought not to go down the road it first took when it appointed Sven-Göran Eriksson in 2001. Moreover, Redknapp says, it is a job that "you cannot turn down," particularly if you are English.The relief at Tottenham Hotspur after the jury at Southwark crown court returned its not guilty verdict on the club's manager was palpable. The first thoughts were for Redknapp and his family, who have lived a desperately stressful ordeal for over four years. Despite Redknapp's chirpy and stoic front, there is no doubt that the investigation into his financial propriety has affected his health; he underwent a heart operation last November.Tottenham have pushed the line throughout Redknapp's two-and-a-half-week trial that it has been business as usual and now that the matter had been "resolved," they said, in a short statement that overflowed with understated football-speak, "we all look forward to the rest of the season". It is what happens after that, though, that has started to preoccupy them and the challenge for the chairman, Daniel Levy, is to show that England is an offer that can be refused.In his favour is that, at the very least, when the FA comes calling, Redknapp would be torn. He not only values the position he has at Tottenham, which was granted to him after 25 years in the managerial game, but he enjoys what he has built. He never tires of reminding his audiences that the club were bottom of the Premier League with two points from eight games when he took over in October 2008, but he also talks regularly about how he loves the football that his team has come to play.In terms of results, things could not have gone much better for Redknapp at Tottenham – finishing fifth rather than fourth last season would have done the trick – but it is the purist in the 64-year-old that thrills at watching his players ping the ball at pace and pour forward from all angles. With Gareth Bale and Luka Modric the headline acts, Tottenham are up there with the country's most attractive teams.Ever the people person, Redknapp is driven by the day-to-day involvement with a group of players and, in broader terms, the daily contact with members of staff, from the assistant managers to the tea lady. He has overseen the creation of a vibrant spirit at Tottenham, where the sense is of a club that can finally take the big step forward, and he can cherish a quality that many seek and few find: job satisfaction.You do not walk away from this lightly and particularly not when the journey is incomplete. Redknapp has spoken of Tottenham having "a league championship in them", and this season, when they have been impressively consistent since September, has given the notion a tantalising feel. Then, there is the Champions League, which Tottenham revelled in last season and appear certain to re-enter next. Redknapp loved those European nights.The manager enjoys an "odd couple" relationship with Levy. "I suppose anyone who's working with Daniel would make an odd couple," Redknapp said in December. But there is the sense that each one recognises that he is good for the other. The respect between the pair has built to the degree that Levy was rumoured to be prepared to stand by Redknapp even if the worst came to the worst in the crown court. The support that Levy has given to Redknapp throughout the affair has been appreciated.Levy's to-do list for Redknapp features some exacting tasks, and that is before the latter's contractual situation is factored in; Redknapp's deal expires in the summer of 2013 and he believes that he has earned improved terms. If Tottenham are to kick on and move beyond the mere brink of something special, Levy must retain Modric (again), most likely with the aid of a raised wage ceiling, which would cheer the squad's other key performers; he must replace the on-loan striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who will surely prove too difficult to sign permanently and he must continue to compete for the market's best talent.Redknapp is known to worry about the potential for serious personal abuse in the England role, and a mythology has attached itself to the Impossible Job. Drink from the poisoned chalice and you will, invariably, be lampooned as a root vegetable or wally and gradually lose your ability/marbles.There is a logic that says Redknapp has never had it so good; that he should sit tight and prosper at White Hart Lane. Logic, though, does not always apply in 21st-century football.Harry RedknappTottenham HotspurDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds ]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 10:07 am MST http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/feb/08/sheffield-green-un-saturdays All The Press UK NEWS: Back in the days of pinks and greens there was a peculiar feeling of community brought about by attending a match on a Saturday afternoon and reading about it straight afterwardsIn Sheffield the other night for Wednesday's FA Cup replay against Blackpool, a fish supper from the quite splendid Four Lanes chippy outside Hillsborough seemed to be called for, and chatting to the counter staff while awaiting my piece of haddock to be battered and cooked I was surprised to be asked, on revealing the nature of my visit to the city, whether I was covering the game for the Green 'Un."Don't be silly," the fish frier butted in. "It's a Tuesday night isn't it? Everybody knows the Green 'Un only comes out on a Saturday."That put the girl with the chip shovel in her place, though what surprised me was that the Green 'Un still came out at all. Saturday football specials belong to the past, like wooden football rattles, centre partings, and stray pet animals invading the pitch to hold up big games without being hunted down at home by Sky Sports News television crews a day later. The Liverpool Echo's Football Pink, one of the most famous and best loved, with its masthead logos of Kopite and Everton toffee lady letting you know the fortunes of the two big clubs before even reading the print, is sadly no more. The Manchester Evening News no longer does a Saturday football edition either. You probably need a decent-sized city to do a football special, and it undoubtedly helps if you have two rival teams within it. Sheffield fits that bill perfectly, and not only is the Star's Green 'Un still going, more than a century after it first hit the streets, it had a relaunch as recently as last month.Why, the chip shop proprietor wanted to know, had so many of the other famous football specials fallen by the wayside? The short answer to that question is that no one needs them any more. They were always something of a vanity or prestige publication, plumping out circulation figures but making little money due to carrying hardly any advertising, and even by the 60s and 70s most people had radios and television to tell them the football results.Some people liked to see the results in print as soon as possible, mainly for the purposes of checking their pools coupon, while others – usually small boys – liked to read heavily biased match reports and scrutinise minutely small losses and gains within a newly published league table. There were no adverts in these papers because everyone reckoned that only men read them, yet my mother spent a fortune on Spot the Ball competitions every single week, often resorting to multiple entries and special trips to the sorting office to catch the last post, without ever winning a bean.All part of Saturdays past, including the inevitable mistakes and formulaic writing that went with impossibly early deadlines, and there is no doubt that many football specials long outlived their actual usefulness by virtue of their status as an inexpensive yet treasurable element of the match-day ritual. Even people who attended matches used to buy Pinks and Greens. In Liverpool it was a source of pride to have the Echo's football edition available outside and around the grounds just half an hour after the end of the game, because in addition to the routine of checking whether the match reporter had "seen the same game" as you, you would always be interested in how the other team had fared away from home.That is what is most different about Saturdays now and Saturdays back in the day. The real reason Football Specials began to struggle has nothing to do with radios, videprinters, the internet, mobile phones or Twitter, and everything to do with the changing nature of Saturday football. The essence of an old-fashioned Saturday was that every team in the land, including the local two or three, kicked off at 3pm. Every Saturday. Now it is not like that. Manchester United have been known to go for a month without a 3pm Saturday kick-off, and now City are just as newsworthy they are becoming the same. A 5.30pm kick-off is no use to a football Pink or Green, and a Sunday or a Monday night game might as well not exist. In the Premier League at least, there have been occasions in Manchester and Liverpool when neither local side has played on a Saturday, and with playing the pools also a social habit in sharp decline, that spells unsustainability.No Saturday football equals no Saturday football specials. I would hazard a guess (that means I haven't done any research on the subject) that playing in the lower leagues has protected the Sheffield clubs and the paper that covers them from the televising of too many of their games and has allowed the Saturday routine of old to continue for longer. Were one or both in the Premier League they would soon find their activities spread irritatingly across television's three-day weekend.Sometimes a two-day weekend is bad enough, since the obvious downside to the concept of a Super Sunday is that it can often leave Saturday looking wan and unappetising. There was a peculiar feeling of community brought about by attending a match on a Saturday afternoon in the old days – you had the idea that every other right-minded person in the country was doing the same thing. Now it is all too easy to harbour the suspicion that you are paying over the odds to watch dull fare on a Saturday, while the rest of the country gets the beer and peanuts in ready to settle down on the couch and watch the real action a day later.That's progress, I suppose, though one can get too nostalgic about these things. There probably wouldn't have been too many Saturdays of old to compare with the prospect offered by a quite brilliant set of fixtures this weekend. Beginning with the big game at Old Trafford, which has more grudges and subplots than a whole Charles Dickens anniversary, there are relegation derbies at Bolton and Blackburn, another wealthy club for David Moyes to attempt to ambush at Goodison, a tantalising meeting of the two best promoted sides at Swansea and an irresistible encounter between the resurgent Martin O'Neill and the now fallible Arsène Wenger on Wearside. To cap it all off there is a top-five battle at 5.30pm at White Hart Lane that promises to be at least as exciting as the earlier televised game, and for good measure there is the Black Country derby on Sunday lunchtime.So let's not say everything was better in the old days. What we have at the moment is pretty good, I'm sure you will agree. I don't think in-play betting is a particularly good swap for Saturday night Spot the Ball entries, but I reckon if my mother tried her hand she might enjoy the occasional success. She couldn't possibly do any worse, and she could finally throw away the rubber stamp that marks a hundred crosses in one go. Where did she buy the stamp? It was advertised on the competition page in the Football Pink, of course. You had to admire the acumen as well as the cheek. It wasn't only the love of football that kept those old titles going for so long.Sheffield WednesdaySheffield UnitedNewspapersPaul Wilsonguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds ]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 10:05 am MST http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/ticker/tickerhub.html?item=3145179 All The Press UK NEWS: Michael Schumacher set the pace on the second day's testing at Jerez as Mark Webber led the way for Red Bull in F1's 2012-spec cars.]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 10:04 am MST http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/gallery/2012/feb/08/harry-redknapp-career-in-pictures All The Press UK NEWS: As Harry Redknapp is cleared of charges of tax evasion, we look back at the Tottenham manager's career in football ]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:56 am MST http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568303/s/1c7faa42/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Csport0Crugbyleague0C90A69640A0CWigan0Esuffer0Einjury0Eblow0Eas0ESamoan0Ecentre0EGeorge0ECarmont0Eis0Eruled0Eout0Efor0Ea0Emonth0Ewith0Ea0Ebroken0Ethumb0Bhtml/story01.htm All The Press UK NEWS: Wigan's veteran Samoan centre George Carmont has been ruled out for at least a month with a broken thumb.]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:55 am MST http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/08/chelsea-accounts-villas-boas-ancelotti All The Press UK NEWS: • Chelsea spent £64m in four years on changing managers• Exceptional items £41.9m out of £67.7m 2010-11 lossDespite the looming impact of Uefa's financial fair play (FFP) regulations, Chelsea's full accounts show that Roman Abramovich finds it hard to break one expensive habit – it cost the club a total of £28m to sack Carlo Ancelotti in the summer and hire his replacement, André Villas-Boas.The £28m it cost to pay off Ancelotti and his back-room staff and compensate Porto for the acquisition of Villas-Boas takes to around £64m the total Chelsea have paid out in hiring and firing managers in the last four years alone.The club's full results to the end of June 2011, filed at Companies House on Wednesday, show that the club incurred £41.9m of exceptional, one-off losses that had a "significant impact" on the overall size of the losses.Chelsea revealed last week that it had marginally reduced overall losses to £67.7m from £70.9m the previous year and increased revenues to £222.3m from £205.8m, thanks to a rise in Champions League and television income.Beside the pay-offs related to Ancelotti's departure, other exceptional items included in the accounts include £7.4m to write down the value of player registrations and £6.4m to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. The payment to HMRC is one of a number of sizeable payments made by Premier League clubs to settle the continuing issue over the taxation of image rights payments.The club will point to the fact that without the impact of one-off costs that are unlikely to be repeated, with Chelsea insisting that Villas-Boas will remain in charge regardless of where they finish this season, they would be making significant progress towards the goal of breaking even. With those exceptional payments taken out of the equation, Chelsea are also able to claim that wages are down by £4.4m on last year and operating expenses down by £7m.Those cost-cutting measures are partially offset by the fact that player amortisation – the cost of transfers spread over the course of their contract – increased by £2.1m, partly as a result of the splurge on Fernando Torres and David Luiz in January 2011. The accounts also note that since the end of the financial year covered by the 2010-11 figures, Chelsea have spent a total of £64.65m on players including Juan Mata, Raul Meireles and Romelu Lukaku and recouped £25.6m through player sales.The current season, 2011-12, is the first that will be considered by Uefa accountants under its new FFP rules. Under these, clubs will be permitted to lose only up to €45m over two seasons as long as those losses are covered by their owners. The scale of permitted losses will then be reduced gradually for each three-year qualifying period.Uefa will begin examining accounts in 2013-14, with 2014-15 the first season when potential sanctions could come into force. Uefa has proposed an escalating scale of possible sanctions, from a fine to possible suspension from European competition.Chelsea insiders continue to insist the club is making progress towards break even and their chairman, Bruce Buck, said last week: "The club is focused on complying with the requirements of Uefa's financial fair play regulations while maintaining its ability to challenge for major trophies. We would expect this to be reflected in our results for the current financial year."ChelseaCarlo AncelottiAndré Villas-BoasBusinessOwen Gibsonguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds ]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:54 am MST http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/266/f/3784/s/1c7f9287/l/0L0Sindependent0O0Csport0Crugby0Crugby0Eunion0Cinternational0Cstephen0Eferris0Ecleared0Efor0Eireland0Eduty0E66616250Bhtml/story01.htm All The Press UK NEWS: Stephen Ferris will be available for Ireland's RBS 6 Nations clash with France on Saturday after being cleared of tip-tackling Wales lock Ian Evans. ]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:54 am MST http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEiHjSG0LIazeLs5U-NvgebvI28RA&url=http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11669/7497204/PL-won-t-scrap-handshakes All The Press UK NEWS: SkySportsPL won't scrap handshakesSkySportsThe Premier League has no plans to cancel the pre-match handshakes ahead of Manchester United's clash with Liverpool on Saturday, when Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez are likely to come face to face again. It is understood the handshakes will take place ...League keep Old Trafford handshakesLiverpool EchoPre-match handshakes will not be cancelled in Manchester United clash with ...The IndependentSuarez row deepens bitter divideYahoo! Eurosport UK (blog)all 323 news articles »]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:52 am MST http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/feb/08/olympic-legacy-baroness-ford-2012 All The Press UK NEWS: • Chair of Olympic Park Legacy Company to stand down• 'We have set down strong foundations for the future'Baroness Ford, in charge of securing the economic future of London's Olympic Park, has announced she will step down after the 2012 Games.The chair of the Olympic Park Legacy Company said: "The next phase of the legacy work, including major transformation plans to the park, are critical and will require a great deal of attention. I have decided therefore that I cannot continue to give the substantial time required for the role, so after the Games would seem a natural point to make the change."In the run‑up to London 2012 she will become the interim chair of the new-look OPLC regeneration body called the London Legacy Development Corporation which comes in to force on 1 April.This new body will have greater powers over the future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford and the wider area including planning and development control, and will be directly accountable to Londoners through the mayor.She said: "It has been an absolute privilege to work with such a supportive mayor and ministers, and extremely talented board and staff members. Together we have set down strong foundations for the future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and a major driver of the significant regeneration of this part of east London."But for now it is business as usual and I look forward to continuing to work over the next six months on the further challenges that lie ahead."Boris Johnson said: "I am grateful for Margaret's huge contribution over the last three years planning and delivering a solid 2012 legacy and delighted she will oversee this important work until after the Games as well as setting the new legacy corporation on a firm footing."We have an extraordinarily exciting period ahead. Building on the momentum already created by the legacy company we are on track to grasp this unique opportunity and harness the Olympic legacy of new jobs, new homes and new communities which Londoners will benefit from for years to come."Olympic Games 2012Olympic Stadiumguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds ]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:41 am MST http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/08/arsene-wenger-arsenal All The Press UK NEWS: • Manager hails London club's 'good spirit and desire'• Johan Djourou set to agree contract extension until 2015Arsène Wenger remains confident Arsenal have the strength of character required to force themselves back into the Premier League's top four.Arsenal head to Sunderland on Saturday on the back of a 7-1 thrashing of Blackburn Rovers at the Emirates Stadium, a first league win of 2012 and a result that reduced the gap to fourth-placed Chelsea to three points following their 3-3 draw with Manchester United."We still have real hope that we can finish the season the strongest," Wenger said. "We have a good spirit and desire within the group – and we have quality. We know that with the position we are in we need an exceptional consistency, so that is the challenge we have in front of us at Sunderland."Arsenal's defensive worries have eased somewhat in recent games with the return to fitness of Bacary Sagna, while fellow full-back Kieran Gibbs is also close to being in contention again after his groin problems.Johan Djourou did not feature in the squad for the win against Blackburn but the 25-year-old appears very much part of Wenger's plans, with the Switzerland Football Association posting an article announcing Djourou – who came up through the Arsenal youth ranks – had agreed a contract extension until 2015.Djourou said: "I like this club and I want to stay here as long as possible. I currently work in the background, waiting for another chance to show my potential. I have confidence in the future."One player who does not appear to view his long-term future at Arsenal, however, is Carlos Vela. The 22-year-old forward is currently on loan at Real Sociedad and said: "I would stay at Real. I am happy and the people support me."I owe Arsenal affection and gratitude for the opportunity that they gave me, but I was not happy there and this affected my work. It was hard day to day and, when it came to training, I was thinking about going home. Here, however, I am happy and have made good friends."It is too early to talk about these issues, but I do not close the door to Real. However, if you cannot reach an agreement with Arsenal, you cannot do anything. As I said, I'm happy here and would like to help the team stay up, then we will see what happens in the summer. Right now, we cannot do anything even if we wanted to."Arsenalguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds ]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:41 am MST http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEMuLw5A8MQLckjpuiyX8XKmq9t6A&url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur/9069520/Harry-Redknapp-tells-of-relief-at-end-of-nightmare-of-tax-evasion-trial-that-should-never-have-come-to-court.html All The Press UK NEWS: ESPNHarry Redknapp tells of relief at end of 'nightmare' of tax evasion trial that ...Telegraph.co.ukHarry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, spoke of the end of a "nightmare" after he and co-defendant Milan Mandaric, the Sheffield Wednesday chairman, were acquitted of all charges at the end of their trial for tax evasion, with both men maintaining that ...Redknapp and Mandaric cleared of tax evasion chargesITV.comHarry Redknapp cleared on tax chargeESPNHarry Redknapp: tax evasion case should never have come to courtThe GuardianThe Independent -BBC Sport (blog) -Goal.comall 887 news articles »]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:38 am MST http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568303/s/1c7f64f4/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Csport0Cfootball0Cteams0Ctottenham0Ehotspur0C90A69520A0CHarry0ERedknapp0Etells0Eof0Erelief0Eat0Eend0Eof0Enightmare0Eof0Etax0Eevasion0Etrial0Ethat0Eshould0Enever0Ehave0Ecome0Eto0Ecourt0Bhtml/story01.htm All The Press UK NEWS: Harry Redknapp relieved at end of "nightmare" after he and Milan Mandaric acquitted of all charges of tax evasion.]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:35 am MST http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/08/the-fiver-harry-redknapp-cleared All The Press UK NEWS: Click here to have the Fiver sent to your inbox every weekday at 5pm, or if your usual copy has stopped arrivingYOU KNOW WHAT'S COMING NEXT'Arry Redknapp's trial on tax evasion charges concluded today after three weeks that intensified the perception of 'Arry as the Lieutenant Columbo of English football. His disclosure during the trial that he can't spell or write properly and has lost huge sums of money through misguided investments or simply forgetting to collect his wages reinforced the sense that here is a man who appears to be a shambling, absent-minded bungler but who, nonetheless, consistently succeeds. The only difference between Redknapp and Columbo, then, is that Redknapp's case didn't conclude with a conviction, as the jury decided unanimously that Redknapp and Milan Mandaric were not guilty of any of the charges brought against them.Ever since the investigation began five years ago into deposits made by Mandaric into a Monaco bank account owned by Redknapp, the two men have been like a pair of strikers awaiting a cross from Aaron Lennon, wondering where it would go and would anyone get hurt. "It has been a nightmare," sighed Redknapp after today's verdict, before insisting that the case "should never have come to court".'Arry, then, was exonerated on the very same day that Fabio Capello was hauled before FA authorities to explain himself for daring to publicly express the opinion that England's Brave John Terry should not be stripped of the national captaincy unless the charges that are being brought against him are found to be valid. Some media warblers appear to believe that Capello should be court martialled for insubordination, a charge that comes on top of those of which they have already found him guilty: presiding over a miserable 2010 World Cup campaign; and being objectionably foreign.The fact that Redknapp has been cleared today may leave his reputation unstained and his employability intact, but heightens the risk of the FA yet again succumbing to the demands of media pitchfork-wielders, and leaving the whole country looking shabby.QUOTE OF THE DAY"This was a live broadcast and we immediately corrected the error on-air. We apologise for any confusion" - the BBC apologises after splashing the erroneous words "['Arry] Redknapp found guilty of tax evasion" across their news channel ticker of doom.FIVER LETTERS"The circle is complete. From Pearl Harbor (Fiver letters passim) though to the General Belgrano football league in Argentina (yesterday's Fiver). The cruiser, USS Phoenix, actually survived the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, was de-commissioned and subsequently sold to Argentina in 1951. She was re-named after Manuel Jose Joaquin del Corazon de Jesus Belgrano and was famously sunk on the orders of Meryl Streep just outside the Las Malvinas' exclusion zone on 2 May 1982" - Declan Houton."When asked about comments made by Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville that Luis Suarez should have seen red on Monday night, Kenny Dalglish of Scotland said: 'I don't think you can speak for either Gary or Wayne so unless they want to ask me the question, I will just plead the fifth amendment.' Now I'm no legal expert but I don't think the American Constitution applies to a British citizen on British soil. Perhaps one of the Fiver's legal pedants can shed some light on this topic" - Brett Lassus."Re: Nick Mancini pointing out what the Giants would have done if not for the safety (kicked the extra point instead of going for two, yesterday's letters). I'm fairly sure that with the score at 17-13 instead of 17-15, the New England defence would not have simply stood and watched while the Giants scored a touchdown, in order to give them more time to score themselves. Knowing that the inevitable field goal from that distance would have still left them one point ahead, New England's defence may have actually tried to stop them scoring the touchdown. Also, can I be the first of 1,056 pedants to point out that the Fiver came close to predicting the correct margin, not the correct score, as Nick claims" - Brad Downing (and 1,056 others)."One aspect of the Super Bowl scoring that Nick Mancini's email failed to point out was that the troublesome safety was scored by the officials calling a penalty based on a very strict and literal interpretation, so much so that many of us that have watched loads of [American] football have never seen it happen. This would move the scarcity beyond a Torres goal into more rarified air, like Lord Ferg keeping an opinion to himself or being magnanimous in defeat" - Christopher Smith.Send your letters to the.boss@guardian.co.uk. And if you've nothing better to do you can also tweet the Fiver.BITS AND BOBSBrazilian club Corinthians are keeping their striker Adriano "detained" inside the team's hotel in an effort to force him to lose weight. "In the hotel we have more control over him … He knows we're trying to do the best for him," said the club's fitness trainer Fabio Mahseredjian. "All of us are dedicated, but it depends on him. Weight loss comes only through diet: you cannot lose weight through physical activity alone."Ravel Morrison has repaid the faith shown in him by West Ham by waiting at least a week since arriving to unleash his first act of idiocy, posting a homophobic threat on Twitter.Paul Merson has been handed a 14-month driving ban after steering his Mercedes into the back of a lorry on the M40 having had "a few drinks".Disgruntled Aston Villa fans have elected not to visit the customary pub they were going to anyway nor march to the game they were already attending, but will instead simply register their upset at Alex McLeish's reign by loitering near Villa Park's McGregor Statue before Sunday's Manchester City game. "If you support this, please join us 3pm on Sunday … If you don't then please ignore this," read an uncertain fan statement.Darlington supporters are shaking metaphorical buckets and searching down the back of figurative sofas as they try to raise £250,000 in order to take their club out of administration and gain majority ownership.Burnley chairman Barry Kilby has revealed a battle with cancer is behind his decision to stand down from his position at the Championship club.STILL WANT MORE?Join Paul Doyle now for live MBM coverage of the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final between Zambia and Ghana.Ludicrous on-pitch protests, and footballers failing to win awards for anything but football all feature in this week's nerd's nirvana, The Knowledge.And who will be the next person Fabio Capello twangs the captain's armband towards? $tevie Mbe or Scott Parker will do, reckons Andy Hunter.SIGN UP TO THE FIVERWant your very own copy of our free tea-timely(ish) email sent direct to your inbox? Has your regular copy stopped arriving? Click here to sign up.SPARING A THOUGHT FOR POMPEYPaul Doyleguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds ]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:33 am MST http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFKC51jG6G8Hlo7yrwr1JTe33AOIQ&url=http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12433/7497113/Schumi-shines-but-RB8-bullish All The Press UK NEWS: New York TimesJerez Day 2: Schumi shines but RB8 impressesSkySportsMichael Schumacher rolled back the years to set the pace on Day Two at Jerez but it was Red Bull's RB8 which took the honours as the fastest of this year's chargers. Both the day's fastest and second-longest-running driver, Schumacher, who recorded a ...Red Bull's Mark Webber fastest in second testing sessionBBC SportSchumacher quickest on day two at Jerezautosport.comSchumacher fastest in F1 testingSydney Morning HeraldESPN F1 -AboutMyAreaall 39 news articles »]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:31 am MST http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEN4J29Zr01ldbuUNjUCj91IDDCWw&url=http://www.espn.co.uk/boxing/sport/story/135334.html All The Press UK NEWS: ESPN.co.ukTyson Fury vacates titlesESPN.co.ukTyson Fury has vacated his British and Commonwealth heavyweight belts, ending the prospect of an imminent fight with David Price. Price was the mandatory challenger to face Fury and the two camps had held talks, but Fury has vacated his titles and ...Tyson Fury has vacated his British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles after a ...BBC SportFury relinquishes British and Commonwealth belts in pursuit of world title fightDaily MailFury sets sights on world title shotThe SunEastsideBoxing.com -Liverpool Echo -Click Liverpoolall 37 news articles »]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:30 am MST http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/266/f/3784/s/1c7f7f3d/l/0L0Sindependent0O0Csport0Cfootball0Cnews0Eand0Ecomment0Charry0Eredknapp0Ea0Ecareer0Ein0Epictures0E66617750Bhtml/story01.htm All The Press UK NEWS: Harry Redknapp was today found not guilty over tax evasion charges brought against him.]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:29 am MST http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF96LJMNfl4zqAcJsBeA0vxd15CLw&url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/sixnations/9069518/Six-Nations-disciplinary-committees-clearance-of-Stephen-Ferris-a-welcome-relief-following-week-of-uncertainty.html All The Press UK NEWS: Telegraph.co.ukSix Nations disciplinary committee's clearance of Stephen Ferris a welcome ...Telegraph.co.ukAt last a welcome blast of sanity after a confusing couple of days. They took their time and it was beginning to look ominous but the Six Nations disciplinary committee have eventually decided that when it comes to alleged tip-tackles Stephen Ferris ...Six Nations 2012: Bradley Davies banned for remainder of tournamentThe GuardianFerris escapes punishmentSkySportsFerris cleared by hearingBelfast TelegraphReuters UK -Daily Mail -News Walesall 571 news articles »]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:29 am MST http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568303/s/1c7f5152/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Csport0Crugbyunion0Cinternational0Csixnations0C90A695180CSix0ENations0Edisciplinary0Ecommittees0Eclearance0Eof0EStephen0EFerris0Ea0Ewelcome0Erelief0Efollowing0Eweek0Eof0Euncertainty0Bhtml/story01.htm All The Press UK NEWS: At last there has been a welcome blast of sanity after a confusing couple of days as Stephen Ferris was cleared to play for Ireland against France in Paris.]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:28 am MST http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/feb/08/adrian-sutil-appeal-munich-trial All The Press UK NEWS: • F1 driver's manager confirms appeal after assault case verdict• Prosecution known to want an even stiffer sentenceAdrian Sutil and the prosecuting attorney at the trial of his recent assault case have both appealed against the initial verdict. Sutil was given an 18-month suspended sentence and fined €200,000 (£167,000) after being found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm by the Munich district court judge Christiane Thiemann on 31 January.That followed an incident in a nightclub in Shanghai after the Chinese Grand Prix in April last year in which Sutil injured Eric Lux, chief executive of the Lotus team owner Genii Capital. The former Force India driver struck Lux with a champagne glass, causing a wound in his neck that required 24 stitches.Confirming the appeal, Sutil's manager, Manfred Zimmermann, said: "We have decided on this step because we are convinced this judge must not oppose, especially the video tapes which from our point of view are quite obvious and have not been properly considered."Speaking to the German newspaper Bild, Zimmermann added: "Not asking one of the witnesses to court and other important circumstances have not been considered as well."However, the district court has confirmed the prosecuting attorney Nicole Selzam has also appealed. Selzam is known to be pushing for a stiffer sentence that was demanded at the initial trial, namely 21 months suspended and a €300,000 fine.Should there now be a retrial, it remains to be seen if Lewis Hamilton, who was with Sutil on the night in question following his grand prix victory in Shanghai that day, will attend.Following representations made by his solicitor, Hamilton did not appear last month on the grounds of his commitments to McLaren, and instead his statement was read out in court.The 27-year-old's failure to attend outraged Sutil who accused him of being "a coward", "not a man", insisting they were no longer friends.As with the first case, it is understood that Hamilton will attend any retrial, but again providing it does not clash with his commitments.Formula OneForce IndiaMotor sportguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds ]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:23 am MST http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/ticker/tickerhub.html?item=3145118 All The Press UK NEWS: The Premier League have no plans to cancel the pre-match handshakes ahead of Manchester United's clash with Liverpool.]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:18 am MST http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/02/08/uk-rugby-nations-wales-davies-idUKTRE81716F20120208?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews All The Press UK NEWS: (Reuters) - Wales lock Bradley Davies will miss the remainder of the Six Nations championship after he was suspended for seven weeks on Wednesday for his spear tackle on Ireland's Donnacha Ryan in Sunday's clash in Dublin.]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:16 am MST http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/266/f/3784/s/1c7f17e4/l/0L0Sindependent0O0Csport0Cfootball0Cpremier0Eleague0Cprematch0Ehandshakes0Ewill0Enot0Ebe0Ecancelled0Ein0Emanchester0Eunited0Eclash0Ewith0Eliverpool0E66617530Bhtml/story01.htm All The Press UK NEWS: The Premier League have no plans to cancel the pre-match handshakes ahead of Manchester United's clash with Liverpool on Saturday, when Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez are likely to come face to face again.]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:11 am MST http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/ticker/tickerhub.html?item=3145105 All The Press UK NEWS: West Ham youngster Cristian Montano has rejoined Notts County on loan until the end of the season.]]> 8 Feb 2012 | 9:10 am MST