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document.writeln ('Guardian');
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document.writeln ('Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:39:00 -0700');
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document.writeln ('<a id="headlinedepotheadline" target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/28/mark-hughes-fulham-manager" style="color:#808080;">');
document.writeln("Hughes accepts Fayed\'s offer t...");
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document.writeln("? Failure to capture Martin Jol forced the club to look elsewhere? New manager expected to be backed in the transfer marketMark Hughes has accepted an offer from Fulham to become the club's new manager. The Welshman will succeed Roy Hodgson, who left in the summer to join Liverpool, and his appointment has disappointed Sven-Goran Eriksson, who had been under consideration.Mohamed Al Fayed, the Fulham chairman, had turned to Hughes after the failure to prise Martin Jol from his contract at Ajax last week. But Hughes's capture represents a coup for the west London club, who have made startling progress in the past two seasons.Hughes came to the fore after the impasse with Jol and it quickly became apparent that Fayed could satisfy his financial wishes, on both his contract and the budget for signings. Fayed is determined to make an impact on the summer transfer market and he also has a history of backing his managers with&nbsp;funds.Hughes faced a dilemma over whether to uproot from north-west England, where his family are settled, but his fierce ambition, which he believes can be sated at Craven Cottage, held sway. He is expected to bring with him his long-time assistant coaches Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki, and the goalkeeping coach Kevin Hitchcock.By recruiting Hughes, Fulham put an end to the sense of uncertainty around the club, which Fayed was conscious might have become damaging had it endured until the eve of the season, and they can begin pressing ahead with their transfer plans. They have an agreement in place with Aston Villa over the purchase of the midfielder Steve Sidwell, to which Hughes must give his consent, while they also have an interest in the England goalkeeper David James, who has left Portsmouth.If, as expected, Arsenal make an improved offer for Fulham's No1 Mark Schwarzer ? Arsène Wenger has had a £2m bid rejected ? and Fayed's club sanction the sale, they would then move for James, with Hughes's blessing, believing that Craven Cottage has been James's preferred destination all along.Hughes's appointment will come as a relief to the Fulham squad, some of whom had started to assess their options following Hodgson's departure. They have just returned from a short tour of Sweden, under the caretaker charge of Ray Lewington, and the situation was becoming unsettling. There is a little over two weeks before they begin their Premier League season, away to Bolton Wanderers.Hughes's managerial career began with a five-year stint in charge of Wales, whom he almost took to the Euro 2004 finals; only a play-off defeat by Russia, by a single goal over the two legs, denied him. He then spent four impressive seasons at Blackburn Rovers, leading them to three domestic cup semi-finals and establishing them in the top half of the Premier League. His best finish was sixth in 2005?06, a result that enabled Rovers to qualify for the Uefa Cup.He left Ewood Park for Manchester City in the summer of 2008 and weeks into his reign the club were taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group and catapulted into a different financial league, which brought its own pressures. Hughes's side finished 10th that season and also made the Uefa Cup quarter-finals, but he was sacked in December of last year. Many believe he was harshly treated.Hughes succeeded Eriksson at City and the Swede has again been usurped by him. The Swede's candidacy had been pushed by the club's chief executive, Alistair Mackintosh, with whom he had worked well at City, but Fayed makes the final decisions for Fulham. Mackintosh had a more difficult relationship with Hughes at Eastlands.Eriksson has the offer of another contract with Ivory Coast on the table while Fulham also had the Switzerland manager, Ottmar Hitzfeld, on their shortlist.FulhamMark HughesDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds");
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document.writeln ('Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:00:44 -0700');
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document.writeln ('<a id="headlinedepotheadline" target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/28/scott-parker-tottenham-west-ham" style="color:#808080;">');
document.writeln("Parker wants to hear Tottenham...");
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document.writeln("? Hammers reject £7m offer from local rivals? David Sullivan vows to keep star midfielderScott Parker would like to consider Tottenham Hotspur's proposal to take him across London to White Hart Lane and has been left frustrated at West Ham United's refusal to countenance the deal.Spurs have had a £7m offer rejected out of hand by the West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan, who has said the midfielder is not for sale and that Parker is to be offered a lucrative new five-year contract. The midfielder has three years to run on his current deal.But Parker is tempted by what would be a hugely contentious switch ? there is&nbsp;no&nbsp;love lost at Upton Park for Tottenham ? and he is surprised at the stance that Sullivan has adopted. At the very least, Parker would welcome the chance to listen&nbsp;to what is on offer at White Hart&nbsp;Lane.Spurs may provide Parker, who is 29, with his last shot at the Champions League ? Harry Redknapp's team will enter the competition in the final qualifying round after their fourth-placed finish last season ? and their offer is the same as West Ham paid Newcastle United for him in June 2007.Parker heard Sullivan say last season that the entire West Ham squad was up for sale apart from him and his patience has been tested further by Sullivan's hard line with Spurs. There is the fear at Upton Park, though, that Tottenham will not be dissuaded in their pursuit.West Ham confirmed on their website that Spurs had made the bid and they added that they had \"informed Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy prior to him making the offer that we would not welcome any approach to unsettle the player\".Sullivan said: \"I made a promise that I would not sell Scott and I will not, for any amount of money, break that promise to the West Ham supporters. Scott is not for sale at any price, to anyone. West Ham supporters, for far too long, have had owners that sell their best players and promise one thing and do another. This is a new era. We are building a bigger, better&nbsp;West&nbsp;Ham and when we make a promise, we honour it.\"He is furious with Tottenham, whose manager, Harry Redknapp, beat West Ham to the signing of Eidur Gudjohnsen in January after the forward appeared set to move to Upton Park. \"I am very angry with Harry, Daniel and Spurs,\" Sullivan told the Mirror. \"They stole Gudjohnsen from us last season and Parker is not for sale.\"Sullivan's statements, coupled with the promise of a new contract, appeared designed to back Parker into a corner but the player has experience of driving an acrimonious transfer. In 2004 he made it clear that he wanted to leave Charlton Athletic for Chelsea and he endured being banished from first-team training by the then manager, Alan Curbishley, before he got his wish.There is no suggestion at present that he is prepared to do something similar. Parker turned down an offer from Tottenham that season, preferring the £10m move to Stamford Bridge.Parker has been West Ham's player of the year for the past two seasons, he is the first name on the teamsheet and is revered by the club's supporters. It can be argued that West Ham have given him the platform to fight back to the fringes of the England squad after injuries marred his time at Newcastle.West Ham's manager, Avram Grant, has appointed the former Yugoslavia international Zeljko Petrovic as his assistant. Petrovic, who played at the 1998 World Cup, completes Grant's backroom staff and will work alongside the senior coach, Paul Groves, the first-team coach, Kevin Keen, the goalkeeping coach, David Coles, and the fitness expert Eamon Swift.West Ham UnitedTottenham HotspurTransfer windowDavid SullivanDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds");
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document.writeln ('Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:29:30 -0700');
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document.writeln ('<a id="headlinedepotheadline" target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/jul/29/today-in-sport-29-july-2010" style="color:#808080;">');
document.writeln("Today in Sport ? live!");
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document.writeln("? Discuss the day's big issues and send us your favourite links? Hughes accepts offer from Fulham to be next manager? Hodgson 'far from confident' ahead of Liverpool debut? GB's Lewis-Francis elated after 100m silver? Follow Guardian Sport's latest updates on Twitter11.37am: There may be a Test match on but there are also some rather tasty county matches taking place at the moment, and you can follow said matches live with Andy Wilson and Paul Weaver. PB11.24am: Javier Hernández got himself on the scoresheet for Manchester United in the early hours of this morning after coming on as a substitute during the 5-2 win over the MLS All Stars. Here's a clip of the goal, in which he looks yards offside, if you're interested. Tidy finish over the keeper, though. Apparently, Federico Macheda was impressive up front for United too. He's been off the radar since his dazzling introduction against Aston Villa in 2008-09 ? and is still only 18 years old. Hernández and Macheda could be handy impact players this season. GR10.55am: The South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reports that North Korea's footballers were publicly reprimanded for a whopping six hours after returning from World Cup. The dressing down was led by sports minister Pak Myong-chol, but according to the report athletes from other sports and - bizarrely - students also got involved. From the piece: Around 400 officials including the vice minister of the Workers' Party, Sports Minister Pak Myong-chol, other athletes and sport students were apparently part of the audience. Ri Dong-kyu, a sports commentator for the North's state-run Korean Central TV, pointed out the mistakes of each player.\"Coach Kim Jong-hun and the team's athletes were made to stand on a stage and other North Korean athletes and students took turns criticizing the players. At the end of the session the team members were made to criticize their coach,\" RFA [Radio Free Asia] quoted a source as saying.PBMeanwhile at Trent Bridge: Salman Butt has made his first poor decision of the day. The Pakistan captain called \"heads\", Strauss tossed the coin and it landed tails side up; England have elected to bat. Play is scheduled to begin in 15 minutes or so and you can follow the action with Andy Bull's over-by-over report.  [BG]From today's morning meeting? Liverpool play Macedonian Sonic The Hedgehog baddies FC Rabotniki in the Europa League qualifiers tonight at 7.45pm. We'll have minute-by-minute coverage from Paul Doyle. Big Paper will also be sending reporters to pre-season friendlies Wycombe Wanderers v Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur v Villarreal. Click on the links if you're interested in buying tickets for either match. ? We're not sure yet if Mark Hughes will be officially unveiled as Fulham manager today, but if he is we'll bring you all the news from Craven Cottage as it unfolds. ? We'll bring you updates on any developments in the situations of Manchester City striker Robinho and Aston Villa midfielder target James Milner as they become apparent. Will either player be lining up for Roberto Mancini's side next season?  ? We'll report on the fall-out of Celtic's Champiopns League qualifier humiliation at the hands of Braga in Portugal last night. Neil Lennon's official tenure in charge of the Old Firm side couldn't have got off to a much worse start. ? Away from football, there's a Mark Lewis-Francis press conference this morning. The UK sprinter bound to be in a chipper mood after his surprise silver medal run in the European Championship 100m last night. Stand-out events in Barcelona tonight? The men's triple-jump, high jump and decathlon, the women's 100m final and javelin. The full itinerary is here. ? Golf. Stay tuned for updates from the Irish Open in Killarney Golf and Fishing Club. Local lads Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley have started well and top the leaderboard on four under after 11 holes. Rory McIlroy is two under after 11.? In other golf news, the Women's British Open starts today at Royal Birkdale.[BG]9.59am: Dirk Kuyt to Inter? Stilyan Petrov to Liverpool? John Carew to Besiktas? Yes, the Rumour Mill has landed ... GR9.35am: Steven Taylor's return from injury turned out to be rather short-lived. Having been out since January with a knee injury, Taylor dislocated his shoulder in his first game back - a friendly against Carlisle - and is now expected to be out for the next three months.PB9.09am: Good morning and welcome to our daily sports news blog. Throughout the day we'll update this page with stories, links and what's expected to happen in the hours ahead.Time permitting, we'll try to post below the line, answering your questions and comments.Will Mark Hughes be a good appointment for Fulham? Providing they give him time I think he'll do a decent job. I imagine Fulham fans breathed a collective sigh of relief that it was Hughes who received an offer and not Sven. And what was more surprising: Mark Lewis-Francis's silver medal in the 100m at the European Championships or Dwain Chambers' fifth place finish? GRGregg RoughleyPaolo BandiniBarry Glendenningguardian.co.uk &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds");
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document.writeln ('Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:06:45 -0700');
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document.writeln ('<a id="headlinedepotheadline" target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/29/liverpool-europa-league-roy-hodgson" style="color:#808080;">');
document.writeln("Hodgson frets over Liverpool d...");
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document.writeln("? Manager without Gerrard and Torres for Europa League game? 'I couldn't have envisaged a more difficult situation'The handful of Liverpool fans congregating at Skopje's Alexander the Great airport yesterday wore increasingly puzzled expressions as a series of red-tracksuited figures ambled through arrivals and out into the afternoon sunshine.With Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Glen Johnson and Joe Cole left behind in England at a time when Fernando Torres, José Reina and Dirk Kuyt have still to return to pre-season training, there are few familiar faces on Europa League qualifying duty here in Macedonia.Roy Hodgson seems hardly to have put a foot wrong during his first month at Anfield but Liverpool's new manager appeared slightly terse last night, his refusal to answer questions about anything other than the game against FW Rabotnicki perhaps betraying a certain tension. Deep down he must wonder whether a scratch XI comprising reserves and academy players can avoid dissipating the considerable feelgood factor engendered by Cole's signing and the decisions of Gerrard and Torres to remain on Merseyside.Defeating a battle-hardened Macedonian team sprinkled with gifted Brazilians in this gateway to the Europa League proper is unlikely to be straightforward. \"We are obliged to put our fate in the hands of many inexperienced players,\" Hodgson said.\"We can only hope they come through against a side well versed in European football. I couldn't have envisaged a more difficult situation at the start of my Liverpool career than the one I find myself in: playing a European qualifier against a good opponent without 10 senior players. I'm hoping we'll be able to win but I'm far from confident that will be the case.\"It's especially hard to play qualifiers on 29 July in World Cup years. Everyone, most of all Uefa, knows you can't bring people off the beach, give them three days' training and throw them into a top-class match. I'm relatively confident tomorrow's team won't let Liverpool down but we'll have to be very good to survive.\"If there was an ominous sense of a honeymoon about to come to an abrupt end, at least Hodgson had not entirely lost his sense of humour.Reminded that three years ago Rabotnicki drew 1-1 here in a Uefa Cup tie against a Bolton Wanderers team then managed by Liverpool's current assistant manager, Sammy Lee, he said: \"Sammy hasn't been able to tell me much; I think he's erased Bolton from his mind but he does remember they got through with some difficulty.\"Liverpool's manager had earlier said he would discuss with his board the Europa League's position in the club's pecking order of priorities but, asked whether that chat had happened, he merely replied: \"All we ever seem to do is have discussions so I'm pretty sure they'll have taken place. But this is a very important game.\"Whatever this season's European policy, this game at a ground in the process of being rebuilt ? both ends of the Phillip II Stadium are largely rubble and, of the two functioning stands, one was surrounded by cranes yesterday as final building blocks were lowered into place ? could be the opportunity Alberto Aquilani needs finally to begin demonstrating why Rafael Benítez paid £17m for him.Just as Skopje is a mishmash of communist-period architectural atrocities and Ottoman era gems, Hodgson's teamsheet promises to be a mix of delicate talent ? Aquilani, Daniel Agger and Milan Jovanovic, a newly arrived Serbia winger once coveted by Real Madrid ? and raw youth such as David Amoo. \"Most people will not have heard of the players here, they won't recognise them,\" acknowledged Hodgson who is privately well aware that Anfield's youth production line declined on Benítez's watch. \"But if you're going to be a top player at Liverpool you need to be able to handle a game like this. We'll find out if they can. It's an opportunity to swim.\"He did not contemplate throwing seniors in at the deep end here. \"Gerrard and the others never came close to playing, they've only been training four days. It would have been complete folly to play them in difficult conditions,\" said Hodgson it was also too late to parachute any new buys into a club boasting only five of the eight homegrown players aged over 21 now mandatory in all Premier League squads. Asked whether he was poised to sign Luke Young from Aston Villa, Hodgson typically straight-batted: \"Well he's not playing tomorrow.\"He must trust Liverpool's ersatz defence proves similarly unforthcoming this evening. FW Rabotnicki (4-3-3, prossible): Bogatinov; Dimovski, Fernando, Belica, Sevlovski; Tunevski, Grigorov, Todorovski; Ze&nbsp;Carlos, Vandair, FabioLiverpool (4-5-1, possible): Cavalieri; Kelly, Skrtel, Krygiakos, Agger; Amoo, Spearing, Lucas, Aquilani, Jovanovic; NgogLiverpoolEuropa LeagueRoy HodgsonLouise Taylorguardian.co.uk &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds");
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document.writeln ('Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:06:43 -0700');
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document.writeln ('<a id="headlinedepotheadline" target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/jul/29/classic-youtube-sports-clips" style="color:#808080;">');
document.writeln("All this for Albert Riera? Rea...");
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document.writeln("This week's round-up also features a baseball in the swingers, an angry boxer and a fishing-based goal celebration1) Alex Higgins passed away last weekend, here's an excellent documentary on the man's extraordinary life and career. He could also trot out a nice line in country-inspired snooker ditties. And here he is 59-0 and 15-14 down in the 1982 world snooker semi-final. His opponent, Jimmy White, is on the verge of victory. The Hurricane will need something special from here ...2) Is this the greatest penalty ever taken? It's certainly one of the most inventive (it's worth watching a few times to see exactly how the crafty blighter scores). As England subsequently found out - it wasn't the only crafty set-piece Spain had up their sleeve. And set-pieces aren't the only thing they do well, either.3) Is this the greatest goal celebration ever? It's certainly one of the most inventive. Turns out they have previous too. 4) If you're going to get a baseball to the swingers, pray it isn't a pitcher than delivers the throw.5) Albert Riera is quite a good footballer and all, but surely he isn't worthy of this greeting at Athens airport by fans of his new club, Olympiakos. Or maybe he is. The man's got feelings after all.6) One perfectly formed hat-trick. With thanks to the keeper's laughable efforts at the corner.Our favourites from last week's blog1) Danny Green takes on Paul Briggs for the IBO cruiserweight title and Briggs goes down a tad easily. It's worth hanging around until five minutes or so into this clip, to see Green's post-fight interview, it's safe to say he isn't happy.2) Did you know soccer is taking America down the path to socialism? We suspect this man may be a comedian but he makes some excellent points.3) How to rile your opponents with pointless showboating, part one and part two.4) While Miguel Angel Jiménez pulls off some showboating of his own at this year's Open.5) New Zealanders doing what they do best: pointless extreme sports.6) And let's finish the week's round-up with this fascinating documentary on Martin Hansson, the man who didn't spot that handball.Spotters' badges: bocajunior, HumpInTokyo, clearhop, pastafari, radar, rowingrob, stilton, spottyguardian.co.uk &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds");
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document.writeln ('Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:29:35 -0700');
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document.writeln ('<a id="headlinedepotheadline" target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/29/newcastle-united-steven-taylor-injury" style="color:#808080;">');
document.writeln("Newcastle lose Taylor for thre...");
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document.writeln("? Centre-back ruled out for three months with shoulder injury? Goalkeeper Tim Krul signs new four-year contractThe Newcastle defender Steven Taylor is expected to be sidelined for the first three months of the new season after dislocating his left shoulder in a pre-season friendly against Carlisle.The 24-year-old has undergone surgery after sustaining the injury in Newcastle's 3-0 win at Brunton Park on 17 July.  The club confirmed on their website: \"After further assessment on the injury over the past week, the medical bulletin is that it will be a three-month period of rehabilitation.\"The latest setback happened on the former England Under-21 captain's first appearance since suffering a knee injury in January. His absence for the start of the season will make yesterday's signing of Sol Campbell all the more timely. The veteran former England international signed a one-year deal after leaving Arsenal as a free agent.Campbell will now compete with Fabricio Coloccini, Danny Simpson, Tamas Kadar and Mike Williamson for a place at the heart of Newcastle's defence in the early stages of the season.In more positive news for the Magpies, the young goalkeeper Tim Krul has signed a new four-year contract with the club. The Dutchman, 22, has impressed on his rare first-team appearances as understudy to Steve Harper and, before him, Shay Given, and has also had successful loan spells at Falkirk and Carlisle.He told the club website: \"I am delighted to commit my future to Newcastle United. Hopefully I can fulfil my dream by becoming the future No1 goalkeeper as well as getting into the Dutch national team squad. I have been at the club for five years and it feels like home. I would like to thank Harps and Paul Barron [the goalkeeping coach] for the guidance that they have shown me to date.\"The Newcastle manager, Chris Hughton, added: \"We are delighted to have secured a four-year contract with Tim. He showed last season what an outstanding young goalkeeper he is and he can only get better.\"Newcastle Unitedguardian.co.uk &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds");
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document.writeln ('Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:05:11 -0700');
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document.writeln ('<a id="headlinedepotheadline" target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/29/diego-maradona-argentina-bilardo" style="color:#808080;">');
document.writeln("Maradona accuses former mentor...");
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document.writeln("? National team director 'worked in shadows to throw me out'? Argentinian FA declined to renew Maradona's contractDiego Maradona, looking close to tears, accused the national team director Carlos Bilardo of betrayal following his departure as the coach of Argentina.Speaking the day after the Argentina Football Association declined to renew his contract, Maradona said Bilardo worked in the shadows to get rid of him. Bilardo was the national coach and Maradona the star player when Argentina won the World Cup in 1986.Maradona said the AFA president, Julio Grondona, asked him in Monday's meeting to continue, but without seven of his assistants. Maradona said he could not meet those conditions.\"They called me to put out a fire, and we put it out,\" Maradona said. \"Grondona lied to me. Bilardo betrayed me. While we were still in mourning [the loss to Germany], Bilardo worked in the shadows to throw me out.\"Maradona read from a prepared script for about 10 minutes in a restaurant in the Buenos Aires suburb of Ezeiza. In a room packed with reporters and family members, including his two daughters, he took no questions.The 49-year-old suggested that the 21 months he spent as coach were not enough and said this was the fifth successive Argentina team that had failed to get past the World Cup quarter-finals. Argentina were beaten 4-0 by Germany in the last eight in South Africa.\"My technical team and I were prepared to keep going,\" Maradona said. \"Grondona, in the changing room in South Africa, said in front of witnesses that he was very happy with my work and wanted me to continue. But back in Argentina things started to change.\"Maradona was hired by Grondona despite having little coaching experience and some thought he was out-coached in the quarter-finals by the Germany coach, Joachim Löw.\"I've given everything, everything,\" Maradona said, ending his speech. \"I am convinced that Argentinian football needs to be in a better position. I have tried to transmit the pride that I feel, being Argentinian.\"Diego MaradonaArgentinaWorld Cup 2010guardian.co.uk &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds");
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document.writeln ('Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:30:44 -0700');
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document.writeln ('<a id="headlinedepotheadline" target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/28/robin-van-persie-cesc-fabregas" style="color:#808080;">');
document.writeln("Fábregas and Van Persie to mis...");
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document.writeln("?  World Cup finalists not due back until August 5? Arsenal eye Werder Bremen's Per MertesackerArsène Wenger has suggested that Cesc Fábregas and Robin van Persie will struggle to be fit for Arsenal's opening game of the Premier League season, against Liverpool at Anfield two weeks on Sunday. The manager has also effectively confirmed that he is in negotiations with Werder Bremen over the transfer of the Germany centre-half Per Mertesacker.Fábregas and Van Persie played in the World Cup final on 11 July, for Spain and Holland respectively, and Wenger has granted them extended summer leave in light of their exertions. They are not due to report back to the training ground until next Thursday, meaning they will miss this weekend's Emirates Cup, when Arsenal play Milan and Celtic, and, almost certainly, the club's final pre-season fixture, at Legia Warsaw on Saturday week.\"Fábregas and Van Persie are due to come back on 5 August and from then on we will see how much build-up work is needed physically and as well how they have recovered mentally from the World Cup,\" Wenger said. \"They might be short for the first game [of the season] but I don't know. That will depend on the fitness work that they have done during the holiday.\"Arsenal, who have seen Sol Campbell turn down  a new contract to sign for Newcastle and with William Gallas and Mikaël Silvestre having been released, are also short of options in central defence, despite the addition of Laurent Koscielny.Wenger was asked whether he wanted to sign Mertesacker, 25 and who played for Germany at the World Cup finals and has two years to run on his contract at Bremen. \"There are people we consider and are analysing and we look at the financial possibilities,\" he replied. \"We are still on the search for centre-halves. We have three and we need at least four.\"One of them is Johan Djourou, who missed all but the final match of last season because of a knee-ligament injury and the 23-year-old gave Arsenal a scare when he was forced out of Tuesday's win over SC Neusiedl with a hamstring problem. However, it was not serious and Wenger expects the defender to be fit for the weekend. \"It is not bad,\" he said. \"He should be available.\"It is the club's official photo-call next Thursday and Arsenal will take great delight in picturing Fábregas in this season's colours, in the wake of Barcelona's concerted bid to lure him back to Catalonia.On the subject of Barcelona and Fábregas, Wenger added: \"It is only noise. In our job, we have to deal with what we can master. What we cannot influence is not to worry about. We have learned about that and I believe that in a big club you have to live with those kind of noises without being disturbed.\"I am very happy with Cesc and we are all very happy at the club with Cesc. He is a very important player for us, he is our captain and we have worked very hard [for him] to be the future of our team and that is why we are always adamant about [not] letting him go.\"ArsenalArsène WengerCesc FábregasTransfer windowWerder BremenDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds");
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document.writeln ('Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:30:00 -0700');
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document.writeln ('<a id="headlinedepotheadline" target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/28/stewart-regan-scottish-football-association" style="color:#808080;">');
document.writeln("Regan appointed new chief exec...");
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document.writeln("? Ruling bodies must come to agreement? Olympic connection to be exploredStewart Regan has vowed to stamp out infighting after becoming the Scottish Football Association's chief executive.Regan, who leaves the same role at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, was earlier a director of the Football League. The Englishman is convinced that much of Scottish football's troubles stem from bickering.\"What I suspect has happened here and the feeling I get is that there has been too much conflict between the ruling bodies in Scotland,\" Regan said.\"As an outsider looking in I have seen lots of fallouts, lots of disagreements, challenges and criticisms of how things are done. There hasn't been enough focus on the common agenda.\"Regan is credited with implementing major change at Yorkshire, including the redevelopment of their Headingley home. Yet he also presided over the disastrous decision to host the second Test between Australia and Pakistan last week; dreadful attendances mean Yorkshire may suffer a shortfall of as much as £750,000 through that episode.\"When I started at Yorkshire County Cricket Club it had a fantastic tradition of success, it had won seven championships in the 50s and 60s,\" Regan said. \"But they'd won just one championship in 30 years when I took over.\"Everyone talked about them as a great old club and said 'it wouldn't be like this in the good old days.' I couldn't dismiss the history but I had to look forward.\"The SFA has been steadfast in its refusal to be part of any British team at the 2012 Olympics. Regan, though, sees potential spin-offs for his new home from the Games.\"I am not up to speed on the Olympic discussion and one of the first things I'll need to do is discuss that and get an understanding of it,\" he said.\"Tourism is hugely important to the Scottish market and Scotland as a nation will benefit from the London Olympics.\"In terms of the policies of how we respond to the London Olympics, and share players and so on and so forth, I think that for me is part of the bigger debate and one that I'll need to have with my colleagues when I start.\"George Peat, the SFA's president, aimed a mild parting shot at Regan's predecessor, Gordon Smith. Peat said: \"Gordon had worked with media, he had been a professional footballer and everything else. But it didn't really work from the business point of view.\"Ewan Murrayguardian.co.uk &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds");
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document.writeln ('Wed, 28 Jul 2010 05:13:39 -0700');
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document.writeln ('<a id="headlinedepotheadline" target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/28/nikola-zigic-birmingham-city" style="color:#808080;">');
document.writeln("Zigic ready for Birmingham\'s c...");
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document.writeln("? 6ft 8in Serbia striker signed from Valencia for £6m? 'I will do my best to adapt to the Premier League'Birmingham City's summer signing Nikola Zigic is confident he will be able to adjust from La Liga to the physical demands of the Premier League.The Serbia international has had little time off this summer after the World Cup, having been part of the City squad during their two-week tour of Hong Kong and China which ends today.But the 6ft 8in striker, signed from Valencia for £6million, believes he will cope with the power and pace of the top flight in this country.Zigic told Birmingham's website: \"La Liga is quite physical too. It may not be as fast as the Premier League but I will certainly do my best to adapt. I'm pretty sure I will be able to do that. I do have to adapt a bit physically but I am working very hard on that in training to step up the pace.\"I have also noticed in training that Birmingham are a good passing team and that is a good style to have to adapt to.\"Zigic was also the subject of speculation linking him with a move to Birmingham's local rivals Aston Villa before he signed his four-year deal.He said: \"I am not sure about the Aston Villa interest. Maybe there could have been but I'm certainly not aware of it. It may even have come after I had already decided to join Birmingham. Birmingham came in for me and it was something I wanted to do. I wanted to move on to the next level.\"Zigic has also been impressed with the Birmingham manager Alex McLeish and is confident he will enjoy a good working relationship with the former Scotland manager. \"It's obvious that Alex is a perfect gentleman,'' Zigic added. ''He has got an incredible amount of experience but is still prepared to learn and I am extremely confident in being able to play for him.\"It is always very difficult to predict what is going to happen but certainly I have always tried to better what has gone before. There is no point in turning up if you are not going to do that.\"Birmingham CityTransfer windowguardian.co.uk &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds");
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