Zola targets ten more points to avoid relegation
West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola believes his team need ten more points to beat the drop - and is challenging his players to upset the form book and pick three of them up at former club Chelsea on Saturday.
O'Hara eyes top flight stay if Pompey are relegated
Portsmouth loanee Jamie O'Hara hopes his form for the south coast strugglers will put him firmly in the shop window, should he prove surplus to requirements at Tottenham when he returns to White Hart Lane.
Mourinho hoping luck is on his side against Chelsea
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho insists Champions League glory comes down to luck as he prepares to return to Stamford Bridge next week. Inter take a 2-1 lead to Chelsea in the second leg of the first knockout round in Mourinho's first return as a manager to his former club.
McLeish sets his strikers Europa League target
Alex McLeish has admitted for the first time that Birmingham could qualify for the Europa League - if his current strikers can deliver sufficient goal-power during the remainder of the season.
Beckham to snub Red Knights campaign offer ESPNsoccernet understands David Beckham will politely decline any invitation from fans' groups and the Red Knights to put his name to the campaign attempting to oust the Glazer family from their position as owners of Manchester United.
Wenger reiterates Real snub
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has said he would not be interested in becoming the next Real Madrid manager, claiming he will see out his current contract to 2011.
Injured Nesta could miss the rest of the season
AC Milan defender Alessandro Nesta has been told that he may have to undergo surgery on his injured knee, meaning he could be out of action for the rest of the season.
Happy Robinho keen to stay in Brazil with Santos
Manchester City striker Robinho has reiterated his desire to extend his loan stay at Santos and hopes talks have already been initiated with the Premier League club.
Palermo striker Hernandez won't leave, says agent
The agent of Palermo striker Abel Hernandez has played down speculation that his client will leave the Italian club this summer and move to Premier League side Arsenal.
Europa: Liverpool rocked, Fulham lose in Turin
Liverpool's stuttering season took another turn for the worse tonight as they lost 1-0 away to Lille in the first leg of their Europa League.
Derby chief executive Glick: Club not for sale
Derby County are ''not for sale'' according to chief executive Tom Glick, after the club were the subject of a takeover bid from former chairman Peter Gadsby.
Giggs ready for United comeback against Liverpool
Sir Alex Ferguson believes Ryan Giggs' month-long absence with a broken arm has provided him with the rest required to be a major weapon for Manchester United in the title run-in.
Benitez rues missed chances in Lille defeat
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was left to rue missed opportunities in the 1-0 Europa League last-16 defeat in Lille but has backed his side to turn things around in next week's second leg.
Blatter defends decision over goal-line technology
Sepp Blatter has defended FIFA's decision to rule out goal-line technology on the grounds of cost and keeping the game the same throughout all levels of football. FIFA, supported by the Welsh and Northern Irish Football Associations, voted at the International FA Board at the weekend to block any further experiments with technology. Blatter, the FIFA president, said on www.fifa.com: ''The application of modern technologies can be very costly, and therefore not applicable on a global level. ''The universality of the game: one of the main objectives of FIFA is to protect the universality of the game of association football. ''This means that the game must be played in the same way no matter where you are in the world. ''If you are coaching a group of teenagers in any small town around the world, they will be playing with the same rules as the professional players they see on TV.'' Blatter said goal-line technology would lead to the introduction of video replays which would disrupt the rhythm of the game. He added: ''If the IFAB had approved goal-line technology, what would prevent the approval of technology for other aspects of the game? Every decision in every area of the pitch would soon be questioned. ''No matter which technology is applied, at the end of the day a decision will have to be taken by a human being. ''This being the case, why remove the responsibility from the referee to give it to someone else? ''It is often the case that, even after a slow-motion replay, ten different experts will have 10 different opinions on what the decision should have been. ''Fans love to debate any given incident in a game. It is part of the human nature of our sport.'' Blatter added that FIFA's goal is to improve the quality of refereeing, which is why experiments such as with additional referees or the role of the fourth official will continue.
