Reading manager Veljko Paunovic has spoken of his relief that the uncertainty of a possible EFL points deduction has been lifted from the Sky Bet Championship club.A six-point deduction was confirmed on Wednesday, with the Royals then going on to draw 1-1 with Nottingham Forest at the SCL Stadium.In-form Forest were rewarded for an enterprising opening by going in front in the fourth minute thro...Full Story »

Assistant boss Jason Tindall has insisted Eddie Howe’s Newcastle rescue mission was never going to be a quick fix after seeing the club slip to the foot of the Premier League.Head coach Howe was unable to be in the dugout at St James’ Park for his first game in charge after testing positive for Covid-19, and saw the side he inherited from Steve Bruce scrap their way to a 3-3 draw wit...Full Story »

Steve Morison credited his own pep talk to super substitute James Collins with sowing the seeds for Cardiff’s 2-1 Championship comeback win over Preston.Second-half strikes from Mark McGuinness and Collins helped the Bluebirds take three points in Morison’s first game as permanent manager.And it seems the new City chief, who took four points from a possible nine as caretaker, had a d...Full Story »

Graham Alexander revealed a pep talk with Connor Shields paid off when the Motherwell attacker opened his Fir Park account in the well-deserved 2-0 home cinch Premiership win over 10-man HeartsThe 24-year-old attacker was signed from Queen of the South in the summer but after failing to pin down a regular spot a loan move was mooted.However, the Fir Park boss persuaded Shields to keep plugging a...Full Story »

New Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder felt disappointed at coming away from his first game in charge with just a point against Millwall.The Championship clash ended 1-1 as Matt Crooks gave Boro the lead in the 15th minute with a back-post header before a Sol Bamba own goal 12 minutes later brought Millwall back into the match.The point for both sides left Middlesbrough 14th in the table, five plac...Full Story »

James Collins came off the bench as Cardiff claimed a much-needed 2-1 Championship victory over Preston.In a genuine game of two halves, the home side were dominant in the first and ended up rueing missed chances that should have seen them more than just the one goal up at the break.Straight from kick-off, Emil Riis Jakobsen broke free and played a ball back to Ali McCann who had his shot deflec...Full Story »

Doncaster and Lincoln battled out a tame goalless draw at the Keepmoat Stadium.Clear-cut chances were few and far between throughout the game as both sides lacked the ruthless touch in the final third.Lincoln enjoyed the better of the first half in attacking terms with striker Dan N’Lundulu causing problems for the Doncaster defence.But they struggled to test young Rovers goalkeeper Louis ...Full Story »

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers admitted he was disappointed after his side were booed by their own fans during Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Chelsea.Rodgers also dismissed a suggestion that speculation over his future, with the former Liverpool manager having recently been linked to Manchester United, played any part in the Foxes’ latest underwhelming performance.Some supporters voiced thei...Full Story »

New Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has said Philippe Coutinho can become an important player for the club if he can rediscover his confidence. Coutinho, 29, has failed to live up to expectations at Barca since signing from Liverpool in a club-record transfer worth €160 million in 2018. The Brazilian has struggled with injuries since returning from a loan spell with Bayern Munich in 2020,...Full Story »

Eddie Howe was appointed Newcastle boss during the international break but will miss the clash with Brentford having tested positive for Covid-19, the club announced Eddie Howe will miss his first game as Newcastle manager after testing positive for Covid-19. Howe was appointed boss at the start of the international break with Steve Bruce having previously been shown the door. But he will mis...Full Story »

New boss Giovanni Van Bronckhorst will watch Rangers’ Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Hibernian from the Hampden Park stand on Sunday as he awaits a work permit.Player-coach Jermain Defoe, B-team boss David McCallum and his assistant Brian Gilmour, along with goalkeeping coach Colin Stewart, will be on the sidelines and may consider giving fit-again Ryan Jack a start after he came of...Full Story »

Former England striker Andy Carroll could make his Reading debut in Saturday’s Championship clash with Nottingham Forest.The 32-year-old joined the Royals on a free transfer from Newcastle this week, having not played competitively since May.Reading have been impressed with Carroll’s sharpness however and the nine-cap striker could step straight into league action this weekend.Danny ...Full Story »

Preston could be boosted by the return of some of their injured players against Cardiff.Injured trio Patrick Bauer, Alan Browne and Sean Maguire have been back in training and could be in contention to feature.Frankie McAvoy will be without the injured Josh Murphy (ankle), although the on-loan winger would have been ruled out of the fixture against his parent club regardless.Ched Evans is also g...Full Story »

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has denied that he is interested in the Manchester United job amid mounting pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Last month, ESPN reported that Rodgers is a potential replacement for the Norwegian after impressing senior figures at Old Trafford during his short tenure at Leicester. Rodgers, 48, signed a long-term contract in 2019 at the King Power Stadium an...Full Story »

Benjamin Mendy awaits trial, charged with six counts of rape. Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy, 27, has been charged with two additional counts of rape, the United Kingdom Crown Prosecution Service said. Mendy is now facing six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. The charges relate to four complainants over the age of 16. The France left-back was originally charged on Aug...Full Story »

QPR will assess Lyndon Dykes and Seny Dieng ahead of Friday’s clash with Luton.Striker Dykes has been battling an ankle injury and missed Scotland’s World Cup qualifiers over the international break while Dieng has left a period of isolation after contracting coronavirus but needs checking.Moses Odubajo (hamstring) is also a doubt and Ilias Chair will be checked over following his re...Full Story »

Arsenal are reportedly interested in an ambitious potential transfer swoop for Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling as a replacement for Alexandre Lacazette. Lacazette is nearing the end of his contract at Arsenal, and Mikel Arteta would do well to bring in a new signing in attack to ensure he isn’t overly reliant on other players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe. Nei...Full Story »

Zinedine Zidane has made his stance on becoming Manchester United manager clear. Zinedine Zidane has responded to an approach from Manchester United by saying that he will be available at the end of the season. United are on the hunt for a potential replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but are suffering from a lack of current options. Reports on Wednesday claimed the Red Devils had accepted th...Full Story »

The man who brought the Netherlands international to the UK was also involved in the development of Kieran Tierney, Wilfried Zaha and Jamal Musiala Though there have been some question marks over his form this season, there is no doubting that Virgil van Dijk remains one of, if not the world's premier centre-back. How, then, did it take him so long to earn himself a move to one of Europe's e...Full Story »

Mark Bonner was pleased with Cambridge’s performance after they beat Northampton 3-1 in their FA Cup first-round replay.Bonner’s side made comfortable progress, with the game effectively over soon after half-time when Ben Worman added to first-half goals from Harvey Knibbs and Sam Smith. Danny Rose scored a late consolation for the League Two Cobblers.League One Cambridge will go on ...Full Story »