Birmingham head coach Lee Bowyer denied his side were time-wasting and playing for a point after Stoke manager Michael O’Neill was not impressed with the stoppages in the goalless draw.The majority of Birmingham’s opportunities came from Marc Roberts’ long throw-ins and O’Neill revealed he spoke to referee Gavin Ward regarding the time wasted by the home side.When questio...Full Story »

James McPake lavished praise on his Dundee players after they beat Motherwell 1-0 in the Premier Sports Cup at Dens Park.Just a week ago, the Dark Blues suffered a devastating 6-0 defeat in the Scottish Premiership at Celtic Park.However, McPake’s men bounced back strongly against the Steelmen to edge through to the quarter-finals of the cup thanks to a late Lee Ashcroft goal.McPake said: ...Full Story »

Gareth Ainsworth says there is far more to come from Wycombe after their 3-1 victory at Cheltenham.Teenager Oliver Pendlebury struck his first two senior goals in the second half after Sam Vokes’ early header had been cancelled out by Andy Williams.It maintained the Chairboys’ winning start to life back in League One, but boss Ainsworth believes they are only just getting started.&ld...Full Story »

Northampton boss Jon Brady saluted his players’ efforts after they maintained their 100 per cent record with a 1-0 triumph at Colchester.Jon Guthrie’s 22nd-minute winner secured a third successive victory for the Cobblers, who extended their winning start to the new season despite finishing the game with 10 men.Brady said: “It was tough but I thought we controlled the game in t...Full Story »

Leyton Orient picked up their first win of the season as they beat 10-man Exeter 3-0 thanks to goals from Aaron Drinan, Omar Beckles and Theo Archibald.The O’s got off to a dream start as striker Drinan poked the ball beyond Cameron Dawson in the seventh minute to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.Orient doubled their lead in the 25th minute as defender Beckles steered the ball into the back of th...Full Story »

Mansfield made it maximum points from their first two games of the League Two season with a 2-1 home victory over Newport.The first half burst into life with two goals in three minutes – both from mistakes.With seven minutes gone George Maris won the ball back from a poor short corner and fired at goal where Joe Day should have done better as it curled past his dive.But after nine minutes ...Full Story »

Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino says Lionel Messi will not make his club debut in Saturday's Ligue 1 game against Strasbourg. Messi, 34, has had just two training sessions since joining PSG as a free agent on Wednesday after Barcelona were unable to complete his new contract. He won 10 LaLiga titles and four Champions League trophies during a 17-year long stint at Barcelona. Th...Full Story »

Martin Odegaard's move to Arsenal is back on with the Gunners closing in on a deal worth £40million for the midfielder who does not feature in Carlo Ancelotti's plans this season Arsenal are closing in on a £40m deal for Martin Odegaard after Real Madrid slapped him on the transfer list. Odegaard returned to Madrid from his loan spell with the Gunners last season determined to make i...Full Story »

James Rodriguez is among five Everton players who are unavailable for Saturday’s Premier League opener against Southampton as they are isolating. While Rafael Benitez, for whom the Goodison Park clash will be his first competitive match as Toffees boss, has not named all the players in the quintet, he did confirm Rodriguez was one of them. Benitez will be able to call upon Dominic Calv...Full Story »

Accrington are hopeful over the fitness of John O’Sullivan for Saturday’s visit of Cambridge.The Irish midfielder sustained a knock in last Saturday’s season-opening defeat at Wycombe and was absent as a result for the midweek Carabao Cup win at Rotherham, and he is again a doubt for this weekend.Summer signing Joe Hardy will have to wait to make his Stanley debut as the forwar...Full Story »

Arsenal have made Barcelona goalkeeper Neto a transfer target - and are hoping to use a familiar agent to get the deal pushed through. The Spanish side are in crisis, having let talismanic forward Lionel Messi leave for free due to La Liga regulations. This requires the club to reach a salary cap, which would have seen them need to take off £200m if they had kept the 34-year-old on the ...Full Story »

Loic Mbe Soh is a doubt for Nottingham Forest ahead of their Championship game against Bournemouth.The defender was forced off at half-time during the season opener at Coventry with a groin issue and did not feature in Forest’s 2-1 win against Bradford in the Carabao Cup.There are also doubts concerning Joe Worrall, who is suffering a calf injury, and Lewis Grabban, who has returned to tra...Full Story »

Kyle Vassell could complete his return from injury by landing a place in Cheltenham’s starting line-up for the visit of Wycombe.Vassell came off the bench to score in the midweek Carabao Cup win over Bristol Rovers although boss Michael Duff insists he will not be rushed.Defender Ben Tozer and striker George Lloyd both started at Rovers and will hope to have done enough to retain their pla...Full Story »

Mansfield were assessing Harry Charsley and Elliott Hewitt ahead of Saturday’s Sky Bet League Two home clash with Newport.Midfielder Charsley and defender Hewitt have both been sidelined by thigh problems.Forwards Oliver Hawkins and Danny Johnson may return to the starting XI after each scoring in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Bristol Rovers, then coming out of the side for the 3-0 Car...Full Story »

The goalkeeper, 30, joined his team-mates for a meal at The Ivy restaurant on Tuesday evening ahead of the new season. David De Gea's Aston Martin was clamped on Tuesday evening Credit: Eamonn and James Clarke A notice declared the supercar an 'untaxed vehicle' Credit: Eamonn and James Clarke De Gea was forced to catch a taxi home from the upmarket venue Credit: Eamonn and James Clarke But...Full Story »

Joao Carvalho’s first goals since November 2019 proved sufficient for Nottingham Forest to see off Bradford 2-1 in the first round of the Carabao Cup.The Portuguese midfielder, returning to Forest after spending last season on loan at Spanish second division side Almeria, bagged a first-half brace with Callum Cooke’s 54th-minute free kick failing to spark a comeback from the Bantams....Full Story »

New Swansea head coach Russell Martin maintains that his side still have much room for improvement despite a comfortable 3-0 victory at Reading in the Carabao Cup first round.Swansea went ahead in the 16th minute against a youthful Reading side – average age 19 – when defender Joel Latibeaudiere nodded in at the far post.With the hosts offering little going forward, City secured thei...Full Story »

New Swansea head coach Russell Martin secured his first victory at the second time of asking when his side defeated a youthful Reading outfit 3-0 in the Carabao Cup first round.City went ahead in the 16th minute of a low-key first period when defender Joel Latibeaudiere nodded in powerfully.Swansea continued their dominance after the break, with Ben Cabango heading in a second goal on the hour m...Full Story »

Lucas Akins could again get the nod up front for Burton’s Carabao Cup tie against Oxford.Akins started for the Brewers during their League One opener at Shrewsbury, which they won 1-0 on Saturday, with the club’s forward options having been hindered by injuries over the summer.Forward Kane Hemmings is out of action after suffering a hamstring problem during a pre-season game against ...Full Story »

Millwall defender Jake Cooper is a doubt for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup first-round clash with Portsmouth at the Den.Cooper missed the 1-1 Championship draw at QPR on Saturday due to a back problem and was set to undergo a late fitness test ahead of the cup tie.Forward Mason Bennett remains sidelined by the ankle injury he sustained in the pre-season match at Ipswich on July 31.Otherwise, boss ...Full Story »