Hearts held champions Rangers to a 1-1 draw on the opening day of the Scottish Premier League season.Ally McCoist’s men needed a second-half equaliser from Steven Naismith to pick up a point in front of their home fans at Ibrox on Saturday.
Uganda international David Obua had given the visitors the lead on 16 minutes when he headed in a corner from full-back Danny Grainger as Hearts looked set for an upset.
But forward Naismith levelled 13 minutes into the second half, placing home a cross from Sasa Papac to earn Rangers a point.
Elsewhere, Motherwell recorded an impressive 3-0 win over Inverness CT.
First-half goals from Steven Hammell and Jamie Murphy set the hosts on their way at Fir Park before midfielder Keith Lasley sealed the win with less than 15 minutes to play.
Hammell’s deflected shot found the net on 25 minutes for a rare goal before a pass from Nicky Law put Murphy through to make it 2-0 moments later.
Lasley put in a third in the 77th minute in a comprehensive win for Stuart McCall’s team.
In the day’s other game, Aberdeen and St Johnstone played out a 0-0 draw.
Aberdeen midfielder Ryan Jack was sent off for a late tackle on Murray Davidson after 65 minutes but the visitors could not make the most of their numerical advantage.
A mixed bag of results ensured that the Premier League remains at its unpredictable best and meant the bookies undoubtedly had a good day at the office. Alan Pardew got off to the dream start at St James; the Ian Holloway show goes on at the Britannia, while West Ham once again slump to defeat to stay firmly rooted to the bottom of the league.
In the papers today we have more fall-out from the Carlos Tevez transfer request; Samir Nasri believes that Manchester United have lost their aura, while Hiddink backs England’s call for reform.
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Liverpool have made initial offer for striker Luis Suarez – IM Scouting
Homesick Tevez hands in transfer request at Man City – Guardian
FA ask Tottenham director Sir Keith to rescue English football – Daily Mail
Nasri: Man Utd have lost their aura – Daily Telegraph
Pardew thrilled with success – Sky Sports
The Guus backs England in bid to reform FIFA – Mirror
Tottenham line up Athletic Bilbao defender Andoni Iraola- IM Scouting
Ancelotti: I trust Chelsea not to sack me – Guardian
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Schweinsteiger snubs United and Chelsea to extend Bayern Munich stay – Daily Mail
Inter Milan boss Rafa Benitez plans a return to England – People
When Scunthorpe snapped up young Accrington Stanley forward Robert Grant in June 2010 there was much talk about him being the next off the remarkable production line at Glanford Park.
The likes of Sharp, Paterson, and Hooper had or were set to move onto bigger and better things so fittingly hopes were high that the youngster from Stanley could live up to his striking predecessors in Northern Lincolnshire.
Indeed at the time Grant, who had hit 18 in 51 appearances for Stanley, stated that he was hoping to follow in the footsteps of Iron legend Kevin Keegan 40 years previous by earning a move to the top tier from Scunthorpe.
Nigel Adkins certainly believed Grant could become a special player. The 20-year-old was already a first team regular at the Lancashire club and was someone who looked to have a bright future ahead of him. Although he was out-of-contract, as he was under 24, compensation was due to Accrington. A fee of up to £260,000 was agreed based on performance and appearances at Scunthorpe.
However things have not worked out and instead of following in the footsteps of his hero Keegan he now appears to be taking the route back to the lower league football. With his contract expiring there is a controversial decision to make regarding his future but where did it go so wrong?
With Scunthorpe in the Championship, youngster Grant was always signed as one for the future and his start at the club established that with only minor roles coming off the bench. However one of his earliest appearances, as a substitute against Manchester United in the cup, confirmed that he could potentially have a distinguished career for the Iron. He put in a self-assured display for a 20-year-old coming up against one of the best sides in the world.
Despite this it was quite a shock to see him named in the starting line-up by Ian Baraclough for our game at Leicester City in October. Thrown in the deep end by the inexperienced boss, Grant looked something of a fish out of water and was substituted after only 56 minutes.
After being continuously used in a bit-part role, Grant decided to gain some much-needed playing time at League One side Rochdale. He made the ideal start for the Dale, netting on his debut and went onto make six appearances for the club, scoring once more before being recalled by Scunthorpe. However as Scunny struggled at the bottom of the Championship, Grant remained a squad player regularly featuring off the bench. He only made six more starts as the side were ultimately relegated back to League One.
This summer Grant was understandably keen to ‘draw a line’ under his disappointing first season with the club, failing to live up to the potential that Adkins first saw in him.
Big things were expected of him in League One as although he looked out of his depth in the Championship he had already demonstrated he could perform at this level during his short loan-spell at Rochdale. It started well enough and by November Grant had registered nine goals in League One. His fine performances at Charlton and at home against Tranmere demonstrated the obvious ability that he possesses. But frequently during the season he has failed to illustrate this ability; repeatedly frustrating to watch, polarising opinion on the terraces and at times proving to be a liability for the side.
Consequently Grant’s status at Scunthorpe remains one of untapped potential.
The irregularity in his play is probably the most infuriating part of his game. For every stunning long-range wonder goal (Tranmere) comes an instant that costs the side crucial points (Colchester). His past substitute appearances had resulted in self-seeking long range efforts that made life difficult not for opposition keepers but for our ball boys.
Grant was probably signed by Adkins with a view to playing him as an out and out striker but I personally think he has the ability to succeed as a winger. Too often earlier in the season, while played up-front, he was dropping deep after being left isolated by our uncreative midfield. He lacks the height and all-round ability to cause major problems in a league dominated by burly centre-backs in the centre of attack. However his nine goals for the Iron this season demonstrate that he is very capable of scoring goals. Perhaps a wider role would let this talent shine through? Indeed, the versatile front-man performed well on the left-wing during his loan-spell at Accrington, claiming three goals in his seven games back at his former club.
In part, Grant was quite unfortunate to get injured during January when Knill strengthened the attack, switching to a 4-3-3 formation with Parkin leading the line with Duffy and Barcham providing support on the flanks. However he came back from his loan spell with a better attitude and looked decent enough leading the line during our last three games of the season. Perhaps this has made Knill re-think his opinion about young Grant.
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With an option to extend his current contract available it is possible that he does have a future at club after all if they decide that his obvious potential outweighs his dubious attitude. This and his recent improvement in performance and attitude may just be enough for him to get another year at the club.
However with the option to get rid approaching many fans believe it is time to cut our losses with the egotistical 21-year-old whose potential remains yet unfulfilled at Scunthorpe United. I just wonder if Alan Knill agrees.
Let me know your thoughts about Bobby’s future with the club on Twitter: @aidanmccartney
English Premier League club Chelsea have lodged a complaint to the Malaysian FA over racist abuse targeting Yossi Benayoun.The Israeli midfielder was jeered and booed during the club’s 1-0 friendly victory over the Malaysia national team in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
Chelsea, who toured also toured Thailand and Hong Kong as part of their pre-season programme, feel the baiting was of an anti-Semitic nature, with Malaysia being a largely Muslim country.
“Notwithstanding most fans behaving appropriately on the night, we believe Yossi was subjected to anti-Semitic abuse by a number of supporters at the game,” a statement posted on the club’s website on Wednesday read.
“Such behaviour is offensive, totally unacceptable and has no place in football.”
Chelsea also explained why an initial complaint was not made, with the incident not rearing its head until six days after the match had been completed.
“The club did not make representations at the time as it was initially unclear as to the nature of the abuse Yossi received, as several players from both teams experienced similar treatment, sometimes louder and longer.”
“However, having taken time to consider the issue fully, it has become apparent that a formal complaint was necessary.”
“Our stay in Malaysia was, on the whole, a very positive experience for all the team travelling on the pre-season tour. It is a shame, therefore, that the behaviour of a minority of supporters is also a memory we take away.”
The Football Association of Malaysia will investigate the matter, with its findings to be published in the coming days.
With round 14 of the Premier League beckoning some of you will already have your 11Kicks Fantasy Football teams ready for this weekend. The Premiership and thus the Fantasy Football season is now really in full swing and plenty of points have been won in the campaign so far. You will undoubtedly have some Premier League players who have performed miracles for you points-wise, whereas some of your players will be injured, suspended or just in a bad run of form and therefore you’ll be looking to replace them.
For those who haven’t confirmed your team yet, or for those who are unsure in a few key positions, here is a rundown of some key performers for the coming fixtures, which sees Tottenham travel to the Emirates to face Arsenal in the North London Derby, which is the highlight of this weekend’s Premier League action. I have gone for a 3-5-2 formation, so have covered all positions and have picked that all-important front two who will bang in the goals this weekend and earn you big points!
Click on the image below to see my Fantasy Football Team
Danny Welbeck’s injury that he picked up in the Manchester derby is not as serious as first thought, and the England forward will be fit in time to compete in Euro 2012, Mirror Football reveals.
The Manchester United attacker went down under a challenge from Nigel De Jong in Monday night’s clash at the Etihad Stadium, and it was initially feared that he could have broken a bone in his foot and therefore be a doubt for the tournament in Ukraine and Poland.
Despite having to wear a protective casing after the altercation, it is believed that Welbeck has only suffered heavy bruising and will be fit with two weeks.
Welbeck will miss United’s penultimate game of the Premier League season against Swansea this weekend, but may be fit to face former club Sunderland on the last day of the campaign at the Stadium of Light.
With Wayne Rooney suspended for the first two games of Euro 2012 and Darren Bent facing a race against time to be fit, Welbeck may well have an important role to play for Roy Hodgson’s men.
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Thierry Henry’s red card and five second-half goals could not split the Portland Timbers and the New York Red Bulls in the MLS on Sunday.Dwayne de Rosario’s 94th-minute penalty – awarded after Rodney Wallace handled the Red Bull attacking midfielder’s cross inside the area – ensured the game would finish 3-3.
It was the final twist in a fascinating second-half tale at the Timbers’ Jeld-Wen Field, after the first half ended 1-0 courtesy of Austin da Luz’s fifth-minute goal for the visitors.
Designated player Henry had set De Rosario away on the left, and his pull back was dummied by the French forward to allow 23-year-old midfielder Da Luz to score past Portland goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
The scoreline lasted just two minutes of the second half, when Nowegian midfielder Jan Gunnar Solli’s clearing header only fell as far as Jack Jewsbury.
The Timbers midfielder placed his low to the left of New York goalkeeper Greg Sutton to level the score at 1-1.
Just one minute later, Portland had the lead when former New York defender Kevin Goldthwaite backheeled Eric Brunner’s knock-down past Sutton.
But while Goldthwaite’s match against his former side was to prove memorable, Stephen Keel ensured his return to Portland would be rather more forgettable when his own-goal handed the Timbers a 3-1 lead on 67 minutes.
The New York defender slid Jorge Perlaza’s cross past Sutton after the Colombian striker had beaten the off-side trap.
Henry made it 3-2 after neat interplay with Estonia international Joel Lindpere soon after, and Portland wasted a chance to sew the game up when Jewsbury hit a 77th-minute penalty against Sutton’s left-hand post.
Henry’s match soured when he was handed a straight red card for a tangle with Adam Moffat in the 92nd minute, but New York ensured they did not go home empty handed when De Rosario made no mistake from the spot with virtually the last kick of the game.
Sunderland striker Darren Bent could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines with the hamstring injury that forced him to miss Saturday's 2-0 win against Stoke City.
The former Tottenham forward seems certain to miss Tuesday's game against his former team with the problem he sustained in training.
To add to boss Steve Bruce's woes, John Mensah is also set for a lay-off after injuring a shoulder against the Potters.
Bruce said in the build-up to the Spurs game:"It's been a tough week mentally and we've got Chelsea away on Sunday – I might freshen things up tomorrow night.
"We've got Titus (Bramble) to come back in too (after serving a suspension) and he'll obviously come into the reckoning.
"John Mensah's hurt his shoulder and that's more bad luck for him.
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"It's a shame because he's trained fully for the last three or four weeks and was desperate to get back into the team.
"We're sending him for a scan and hopefully the damage won't be too bad."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
A draw against Peterborough and a loss against Bristol City is probably every Coventry’s fan worst nightmare come true. The loss at Bristol has put us four points adrift of safety with 12 points still to play for, meaning this fight is by no means over but it has just become a hell of a lot harder. Realistically now we will probably have to get 8 or 9 points from our remaining four games which is definitely possible. If we perform like we can in our home games against Millwall and Doncaster then six points is a real possibility which will give us a hell of a chance.
However, we do know that we are going to have to rely on Bristol City’s results and looking at the fixtures for both teams, Coventry do have the easier run in especially in the next 2 games where we have Burnley and Millwall and they have Birmingham and West Ham; so there is every reason for Coventry fans to not be too downhearted just yet. After the result and disappointing performance against The Robins we can hope for some sort of response from the players in the next game and let’s just hope that the response is a positive one and shows that we are still up for the fight.
At the pivotal point in the season we are also facing a bit of a defensive crisis. With Wood, Cameron, and McPake all unavailable for differing reasons we only have two fit centre halves in Keogh and Cranie. Possibly even more worrying is that Hussey left the Bristol City game having had to come off due to injury which then leaves us with the two previously mentioned centre halves and then Clarke and Christie. After that we are down to inexperienced youngsters which could be a real problem. Hopefully though the injury to Hussey isn’t too bad and he will be ok to play on Saturday and then we just have to hope that we don’t get unlucky with anymore injuries in the remaining four games.
For me there is one player that needs to step back up to the plate and that is Alex Nimley. He has been very quiet for the last few games and his goal scoring record of 1 goal in 16 appearances for us is to say the least disappointing. He has dazzled us with his fancy footwork and ability to beat players but the question has to be asked as to why this has basically just stopped in the last few games. He clearly has the ability because it was there for us all to see when he first arrived, maybe he has become a bit complacent in that he has, apart form Keogh been the first name on the team sheet in every fans eyes. This wasn’t the case against Bristol and he had to wait until 10 minutes from the end of the game to come onto the pitch. I am hoping that this will bring out a response in him and get that motivation back to prove he is a good player and put in a real full hearted performance against Burnley on Saturday where I would imagine he would be restored to the starting line up.
Looking back at the relegation fight the majority of people would say that Nottingham Forest are now pretty much safe as they are seven points ahead of us but personally I think they are still very much in the battle to stay up. They have got Blackpool, Reading and Hull as their next three games and they are three really tough games; there is every potential that they could lose all three. They have been incredibly inconsistent all season as have all the teams down at the bottom but they have had good form recently and I feel like it is time for that form to drop again. We as Coventry fans just have to try to stay positive and keep backing the boys till the very end. It is still possible and we just have to keep believing.
PUSB!!
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Kolo Toure became ‘obsessed with his weight’, according to the English FA’s hearing into the Manchester City defender’s doping ban.Toure was handed a six-month suspension on May 26 after failing a doping test, with the 30-year-old admitting to taking his wife’s diet tablets.
Claims that Toure had received permission from Manchester City club doctor Jamie Butler were denied by a commission into the hearing, with the details released on Friday: “(Butler) never told him it was safe to use water tablets. He would have unequivocally have said such were prohibited and should not be used,” a report read.
The report said ‘the FA does not positively assert that (Toure) had an intention to enhance sporting performance or to mask the use of a performance-enhancing substance’.
But it also stated ‘there was no dispute that (Toure) was at fault’, and the committee rejected the request from Toure’s counsel Adam Lewis that the suspension should not be longer than three months.
The six-month suspension was upheld as the ‘appropriate penalty’, as was the date (March 2) it was handed down.
Toure can return to playing for City from September 2, but will be subjected to a two-year period of target testing that began in May.