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Houllier looking to hire Frenchman
New Aston Villa manager Gérard Houllier is reportedly eager to appoint former Liverpool staff member Patrice Bergues at Villa Park.

Hajduk Split's Ante Vukusic scores six goals in six games (Video) / Player on fire
19-year-old plays major role in his side's qualification for the Europa League group phase.

Robins pick up Rose
Bristol City have signed Tottenham winger Danny Rose on loan for the remainder of the season.

Allardyce has doubts whether latest buyer for Blackburn will proceed
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce is doubtful Ahsan Ali Syed's takeover of the club will be completed. Rovers announced last month they were in negotiations with the Indian businessman, through his Bahrain-based investment firm Western Gulf Advisory, over a £300million deal, with Syed pledging up to £100million to spend on players. But things have since gone quiet amid stories of unpaid debts and Allardyce has admitted he is not now expecting the deal to go through. He said: "If it's happening, it's going to happen in the next week or two. But whether it does happen or not seems now doubtful, for whatever reason I don't know, I'm not privy to that information yet." Allardyce also admitted the timing of the announcement had been unhelpful, coming as it did in the last month of the transfer window. "The timing didn't help," said the Rovers boss. "People still felt we had a lot more money than we had coming up to the end of the window. It's been a distraction, I think."   Need your Blackburn Rovers news fix? Click here for all Rovers news and transfer rumours.

Toshack resigns as Wales manager
John Toshack has resigned as Wales manager. The 61-year-old announced at a press conference on Thursday afternoon he was stepping down from the post he has held since 2004 with immediate effect. Toshack's position had been the subject of considerable scrutiny since Wales were beaten in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier in Montenegro last Friday. "Wales are still very much in this group, and now the decision has been made hopefully they'll be able to get some positive results in the next two games," Toshack said. "If the results do go against us, I think I would have preferred that to happen with me still in charge." The Football Association of Wales confirmed the decision for Toshack to step down had been reached by mutual agreement. Toshack said he had been prepared to continue until after next month's qualifiers against Switzerland and Bulgaria, when he revealed both parties had agreed to review the situation. Toshack said: "I thought after three matches of this group we would review everything. "Even after the disappointment of the game in Montenegro that was still the way I felt. "But we have come to the agreement that this might be better for everyone concerned." Toshack admitted he had begun to grow concerned after a friendly loss in Croatia in May, when his squad was decimated by a number of unavailability's and a raft of withdrawals. He added: "I was disappointed by one or two things. "Four were involved in the play-off final but some of the others I felt could have been there. "I spoke to the president about reviewing it after the first few games but it is generally felt a change would be in the best interests of everyone."

Liverpool boss praises those behind the scenes for successful transfer window
Liverpool Roy Hodgson is pleased with the player's now at his disposal and has saluted managing director Christian Purslow and chief scout Eduardo Macia for their help at a busy time. "We should be very happy," he said. "A lot of hard work has gone in and you have to mention Christian Purslow and Eduardo Macia, who both worked really hard during the transfer window to do the deals I wanted to happen but also to do deals for quite a few players to leave the club. "We were unbelievably overstaffed when I came to the club and, if the truth be known, we still are overstaffed. "It was just as big a job making sure some of the players who never feature for the first team move on and that we limit our squad to players who are either in the frame to play first-team football or who have a bright future who are still anxious to play academy and reserve team football. "We don't want that middle group who are too old for reserve football but are not serving any purpose for the first team because they never feature."   Need your Liverpool news fix? Click here for all Reds news and transfer rumours.

Tottenham's Rose to bloom with Bristol City
Arsenal Tottenham Bristol City have signed Tottenham winger Danny Rose on loan for the remainder of the season. The deal includes a recall clause that becomes active after the first 28 days of the loan. Rose shot to prominence towards the end of last season when he scored a wonderful volley in Tottenham's 2-1 home win over rivals Arsenal in April. It remains the 20-year-old's only club goal, having previously had loan spells at Watford and Peterborough in 2009.   Need your Tottenham news fix? Click here for all Spurs news and transfer rumours.

West Brom consider letting Mattock go out on loan
West Bromwich Albion Joe Mattock may go on loan this season, although West Bromwich Albion are keen to keep hold of the defender whist they are short of cover at left back. The England Under-21 international is looking to put his recent court case behind him after being given a suspended jail sentence for pleading guilty to affray in a nightclub 12 months ago. Hawthorns technical director Dan Ashworth admits the club could let the defender return to the Championship before the loan window ends when Cech returns to fitness. "He's a young boy. What happened was worrying for Joe but he was 19. He's still young," said Ashworth. "He will knuckle down and focus on a promising career. We are sure he will be fine. "We have had some interest in Joe but he was injured, and I think people were concerned about the court case, so it will be interesting to see what happens." Ashworth added: "Joe has achieved a lot in his career. He played a lot of games for Leicester, a lot for us last season. "He's got two terrific players vying for the same spot in Nicky Shorey and Cech. "If he goes to the Championship to gain more experience, then fine. But we currently only have one fit left-back and Joe will be fit before Marek so he will stay here for now."   Need your West Bromwich Albion news fix? Click here for all Baggies news and transfer rumours.

Sullivan remains calm after trio of West Ham league defeats
Manchester United Aston Villa Chelsea There is no panic at Upton Park insists West Ham co-owner David Sullivan despite their miserable start to the season. The Hammers are currently rooted to the foot of the Premier League table after a trio of defeats at the hands of Aston Villa, Bolton and Manchester United. Next on the agenda for Avram Grant's men is a home clash against free-scoring league leaders Chelsea. "I'd like to put the record straight," Sullivan told the London Evening Standard. "Nobody is pressing any panic buttons and reports to the contrary are rubbish. We are building a new team under a new manager and transition is a tough time but game by game, I anticipate an improvement over the coming months. "We expect the team to come together over the next few games and see some real progress. When we looked at the early fixtures we knew we faced a tough time but we only managed two points from the same fixtures last season." Sullivan has also back-tracked over his recent criticism of the club's foreign players, after he suggested at the weekend that some 'couldn't be bothered'. He added: "It was one or two I didn't want to name. The vast majority are totally committed and we have worked hard with others that wanted to go to get them back onside."   Need your West Ham news fix? Click here for all Hammers news and transfer rumours.

Portsmouth administrator defends Kitson and Lawrence salaries
Portsmouth Dave Kitson and Liam Lawrence have been offered salaries that are the "exception to the rule", claims Portsmouth administrator Andrew Andronikou. Pompey's existence has come under threat in recent times as a result of a financial crisis partly caused by the hefty pay packets of players. However, he recognises that the club will have to spend a little more to attract players such as Lawrence and Kitson that will significantly strengthen Steve Cotterill's squad. Andronikou told The News: "There has been a significant change in the wage bill this season. It is something we have had to do. "Gone are the days when extraordinary pay packets put this club in financial trouble. "Nowadays we are looking at a budget of £13-15m this season and around £10m for next season if we retain our Championship status. "However, in the cases of Kitson and Lawrence, we have had to push the boat out a little. "Their wages are £19,000s and £20,000s but it is something we are comfortable with. "As long as our overall wage bill averages out at £10,000 a week then I am happy - and it still does. "Obviously we would rather bring in players on £8-9,000 but there is obviously going to be exceptions to the rules."

McCarthy: New Wolves signing Bent will add power to the team
Fulham Wolves Wolves boss Mick McCarthy is confident Marcus Bent will add a physical presence to his side. Bent could be in Wolves' squad for this weekend's Premier League match at Fulham after making his debut in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Burton on Wednesday. McCarthy has a number of attacking talent at his disposal for Saturday's trip to Craven Cottage, with Kevin Doyle, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Steven Fletcher all pushing for a starting berth. "Nobody is a 'shoo-in' anymore are they?" McCarthy told the Express and Star. "Everyone anticipated it would be Fletcher and Doyle as first choice, but Sylvan scored his couple of goals and has played out of his skin. "Now we've got Marcus in as well who will give us more competition for places. He will add something. "He's big, quick and powerful and I remember when he played against us here with Cameron Jerome against Michael Mancienne and Richard Stearman he didn't 'half rough us up'. "He caused us problems by his presence - all the qualities he has are what defenders don't like playing against. "He's quick, good in the air, he backs into people and he's got a goal in him. He's only 32 and had a real tough time with his hamstring last year. "But whenever he's played against any of my teams he's been a real handful."   Need your Wolves news fix? Click here for all Wolves news and transfer rumours.

Chimbonda has no problems signing a new Blackburn deal
Blackburn Rovers Tottenham Blackburn defender Pascal Chimbonda would be happy to sit down and discuss a new deal to stay at Ewood Park. Chimbonda came close to a move to West Ham on transfer deadline day only for the proposed switch to fall through. The Frenchman, who moved to the club from Tottenham in the summer of 2009, has revealed he would be happy to pledge his long-term future to Rovers. "It is true West Ham tried to sign me on transfer deadline day, but Blackburn decided to keep me," Chimbonda told skysports.com. "The chairman told me I was too important to the team to sell as I can play at right-back, left-back or centre-back. "I have heard rumours about a new contract and I would be happy to sit down with the club and discuss a new deal to stay at Blackburn."   Need your Blackburn Rovers news fix? Click here for all Rovers news and transfer rumours.

Tottenham Manager Harry Redknapp: It Would Be Hard To Turn Down England Job
Spurs boss hopes for international chance...

London's Olympic chair welcomes West Ham interest in Olympic stadium
Lord Coe is encouraged over West Ham's bid to take over the Olympic Stadium in Stratford after the 2012 Games. The Hammers have been boosted by the news that Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, would happily hand over the keys to the venue if it was up to him. The Premier League club will find out before Christmas whether they have been successful with Coe revealing a "plethora" of other alternatives are vying for the facility. "I would welcome it," he said. "I was never naive enough to believe that track and field [alone] could support an 80,000-seater stadium and the whole point was not to lumber East London with a stadium that nobody had a use for. "The Olympic Park Legacy Company are currently talking to Newham Council, talking to West Ham and talking to a plethora of other organisations that have shown interest at one level or another so I know that West Ham are not the only game in town. "But the owners of West Ham have expressed a real understanding that the community wants to have a footprint here and I have no problems with track and field living alongside football." West Ham and Newham Council confirmed their joint bid in March this year and will submit their official proposal for the right to lease the stadium on a long-term commercial basis before the deadline at the end of this month. Should it succeed, the club's owners will have to agree to finance some necessary modifications to the stadium. "This would not come at no cost to West Ham," warned Coe. "There would be things that they will need to do to reconfigure the stadium such as installing catering facilities inside the stadium. "It has not been designed as a football stadium in order not to saddle future tenants with things they didn't necessarily want. But the primary objective all along was to make sure we were not going to be left with a white elephant."   Need your West Ham news fix? Click here for all Hammers news and transfer rumours.

Southampton withdraw job offer to Adkins for managers post
Southampton Scunthorpe chairman Steve Wharton understands Southampton have withdrawn their offer to Nigel Adkins to fill the vacant managerial position at St Mary's. Adkins had emerged as the man the Saints want to replace Alan Pardew, who was sacked on August 30. Assistant manager Andy Crosby was expected to follow Adkins to St Mary's but the two clubs have failed to agree a compensation package. And Wharton said: "The latest I've heard is that Southampton have withdrawn their offer to Nigel. "They gave him an ultimatum to resign from his position as Scunthorpe United manager, but he was not prepared to do that until a compensation package had been agreed. "I'm on my way to Glanford Park this morning and hopefully everything will then become clearer."

Brough is back in Scotland squad
Scotland's European Cup hopes are boosted by the return of former captain Danny Brough.

FIFA consider time out for extra time
World Cup FIFA is to consider abolishing extra time at the World Cup and going straight to penalties if knockout matches are drawn. President Sepp Blatter also said that FIFA would look at ways of encouraging teams to play a more attacking game after a flurry of low-scoring contests in the early stages of this year's World Cup in South Africa. "In the first few matches of the group stage in South Africa, we witnessed some teams that went out to avoid defeat, that were playing for a draw from the outset," he told FIFA's website. "This is a topic that I would like to discuss at upcoming football and technical committee meetings. We have to try to find a way to encourage free-flowing football in tournaments like the World Cup, with teams playing to win. "We plan to take the opportunity to look at the concept of extra time as well. Often we see teams set themselves up even more defensively in extra time, in an attempt to avoid conceding a goal at all costs. "To prevent this, we could go directly to a penalty shootout at full time, or reintroduce the golden goal rule. We'll see what emerges from the committee meetings."

Didier Drogba: Marseille Summer Bid
Didier Drogba: Marseille said that they had a big for Drogba denied during the summer transfer window, reports Sky Sports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Bundesliga: Bayern look to find winning ways
will be looking to get their season back on the rails when they meet in the clash of two of the Bundesliga's most successful clubs in European football on Saturday evening.

Jermaine Pennant: Long-Term Option
Jermaine Pennant: Stoke have said that the club would like to keep Pennant on a permanent deal after his loan expires, reports the Premier League. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.