The Tottenham Hotspur player was troubled by an Achilles problem during the latter part of the domestic season.

But he was able to participate when the squad met up to launch preparations for its Euro 2012 campaign, although the extent of his involvement is not being revealed at this juncture.

Hodgson has to decide whether he thinks Parker is fit enough to play a full part in Poland and Ukraine by May 29 - the final UEFA deadline for squads to be announced.

Liverpool defender Glen Johnson and Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck sat out the 90 minutes closed session in what was described as a precautionary measure.

But both are expected to train later this week before England flies out to Oslo for the friendly international with Norway on Saturday.

Welbeck suffered a bruised leg in United's penultimate English Premier League clash with Swansea two-and-a-half weeks ago.

Hodgson had the chance to address the players at its city centre base before training for the first time since he was appointed as head coach three weeks ago.

The former West Bromwich Albion boss has 19 days and friendly internationals against Norway and Belgium to hone his plans and ideas before the Euro 2012 opener with France on June 11.

The Chelsea contingent of John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Gary Cahill - plus stand-by player Daniel Sturridge - have been given extra time off after the club's UEFA Champions League triumph.

They will not report for duty until next Tuesday while Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is working to the same schedule after playing with a minor injury during the latter part of the campaign.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a look back at some of the game's longest suspensions.

LUIS SUAREZ

The Liverpool striker was banned for eight matches and fined £40,000 by the Football Association for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra earlier this season.

ERIC CANTONA

The controversial United forward was handed a nine-month suspension from all football and ordered to complete 120 hours of community service after an infamous kung fu kick on Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons at Selhurst Park in 1995.

MARK BOSNICH

Australian goalkeeper Bosnich was suspended for nine months in April 2003 after a positive drugs test for cocaine, with his contract at Stamford Bridge cancelled.

RIO FERDINAND

England defender Ferdinand was handed an eight-month ban in December 2003 after he missed a drugs test, ruling the Manchester United centre-back out of Euro 2004.

PAOLO DI CANIO

Italian striker Di Canio, now manager at Swindon, chalked up an 11-match suspension and a £10,000 fine in September 1998 after he pushed over referee Paul Alcock when at Sheffield Wednesday in a Premier League match against Arsenal.

VINNIE JONES

Self-confessed football hardman Jones courted controversy with a video in which he revelled in over-the-top tackles, which landed him a six-month ban, suspended for three years in November 1992 and also a then-record £20,000 fine by the FA.

ROY KEANE

Keane received a five-match ban and a £150,000 fine in October 2002 for comments made about Manchester City's Alfie Haaland in his autobiography.

DAVID PRUTTON

Southampton midfielder Prutton was punished with a 10-game ban and fined £6,000 by the FA after shoving referee Alan Wiley following his red card against Arsenal in 2005.

PAUL DAVIS

In 1988, Arsenal midfielder Davis was banned for nine games after punching Southampton's Glenn Cockerill.

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY TRIO

Sheffield Wednesday players David Layne, Peter Swan and Tony Kay were banned for life in 1965 - punishments which were lifted after seven years - after it emerged they had bet on their own team to lose. All three were jailed.

The 34-year-old has announced he was leaving the club which he helped win the Champions League in Munich to bring the curtain down on a trophy-laden spell in west London.

Drogba is now expected to join up with former Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka at Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua in a lucrative free transfer.

It remains to be seen who will take over the team, with Chelsea set to wait until Roberto Di Matteo's contract expires at the end of June before deciding on the Italian's future after the interim manager delivered an FA Cup and European Cup double.

Spain striker Torres may feel he has had to play second fiddle to Drogba since his move from Liverpool 18 months ago, but the departing star is in no doubt who will be the new goal king of Stamford Bridge.

"It has been difficult for him, but he has showed he is the man. Next season is going to be his season and I will try to speak to him," said Drogba.

"We have a good relationship. We don't understand why we didn't play together more, but that's the past. Torres is the future."

Drogba admitted had Chelsea not won the Champions League, delivered with his decisive penalty in the shoot-out, then he might have been tempted to stay for one more crack at Roman Abramovich's 'Holy Grail'.

Speaking to Radio Five Live, he said: "I think winning the game was the key. Not me scoring the penalty. Winning the game was the turning point, that's why I have decided to say goodbye.

"We made the story together and I want people to remember that. This is the best time to move on.

"Yes, there's a chance that if the result was different, maybe I would be here.

"We were talking for many weeks, but the turning point was based on the fact I won everything I could and scored in most of the finals we have played, trying to make a difference.

"I hope everyone will understand. Everything I did was for the fans and I hope they understand."

Drogba added: "Leaving Chelsea in any case would be difficult, but now even more. It is impossible, Chelsea is in my heart. My blood is blue and my heart even more so."

Hodgson has had to wait three weeks since becoming manager to link up with new skipper Steven Gerrard and the majority of the players chosen to play at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine this northern summer.

The conclusion of the Barclays Premier League season and the need for players to take a short break before preparations begin has delayed Hodgson's involvement with the squad.

It leaves the former West Brom boss just 19 days and two friendly internationals against Norway and Belgium to hone his plans before the Euro 2012 opener with France on June 11.

The players will undergo their first training sessions with Hodgson over coming days before flying out to Oslo for a match with Norway.

It is the first time the squad has been together since the 3-2 defeat by the Netherlands at Wembley in late February - and it will be next week before a full compliment of players is at Hodgson's disposal.

The Chelsea contingent of John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Gary Cahill - plus stand-by player Daniel Sturridge - have been given extra time off after the club's Champions League heroics.

They will not report for duty until next Tuesday ahead of the home clash with Belgium at Wembley on June 2.

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is also working to the same schedule after playing with a minor injury during the latter part of the campaign.

But in any case Rooney is suspended for England's opening two Euro games and his first chance to be involved in the tournament will be against Ukraine on June 19.

Hodgson has still to decide whether Rooney will play against Belgium given that he has to make alternative plans against France and then Sweden. Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe and Danny Welbeck are the other striking options in the squad.

The main injury concern of the players reporting tomorrow continues to be Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker.

Parker, who skippered his country against the Netherlands, was troubled by an Achilles injury during the latter part of the domestic campaign and he will be assessed by the England medical team.

Hodgson was optimistic about his chances when he announced his squad a week ago but will not make a final decision until May 29 - the date the final Euro squad needs to be submitted.

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson is on stand-by should Parker be ruled out.

Ex-Manchester United defender Neville has become part of Hodgson's backroom staff ahead of Euro 2012, penning a four-year deal.

The 37-year-old, capped 85 times for England, became the Manchester United skipper after Keane's departure from Old Trafford in 2005, going on to lift the Premier League twice.

Neville has divided opinion in his role as media pundit for Sky Sports, drawing criticism for some forthright views - including claiming Chelsea defender David Luiz had played like he was controlled by "a 10-year-old on a PlayStation".

Keane, 40, feels his old team-mate will take to a coaching role, but on very much of a steep learning curve.

"It is important you are yourself. Gary can talk, but don't think for one minute he was as influential in the dressing room as people might think he was," said former Republic of Ireland midfielder Keane, who will be part of ITV Sport's media team at Euro 2012.

"Gary would say his piece, but he wasn't running the show far, from it so don't think for one minute he will be going into England and calling the shots.

"He will be learning his trade and being a link between the manager and the players and I think he will be good at that."

Keane added: "It is a good appointment, but let's see how it pans out.

"Just like with anyone who is appointed to any job, only time will tell.

"He has not done any coaching before, I know he has done his coaching qualifications, but sitting in a studio talking about teams is very different. "There is no point building them up too much and there is no point knocking them either. Give the man a chance."

Keane believes Neville could find it difficult juggling roles on and off the pitch.

"I am surprised he has kept his role with doing TV, that can be difficult," said the former Sunderland and Ipswich manager.

"You can get your way around criticising players by saying: 'I would expect the player to do better'.

"He probably won't be as critical as me and speak in the terms I do. I know Gareth does it, but he's not on the dressing room, he's not on the training pitch, he's not working with the players.

"Hopefully he will do well. Gary is a decent guy and he has played at a decent level, but that doesn't guarantee you success."

Former England midfielder Gareth Southgate will also be on the ITV panel at Euro 2012.

The 41-year-old is currently the Football Association's head of elite development, working alongside Sir Trevor Brooking at the new St George's Park hub.

Southgate, who had a spell as Middlesbrough manager from 2006 to 2009, believes a delicate balance between criticism and analysis is needed when working in the media.

He said: "You are conscious that people would like to see you fall over so you've got a responsibility whenever you talk on television. It is easy to have an opinion without responsibility.

"It is similar to coaching. When mistakes happen you'd call your players in talk through it and highlight what went wrong. You wouldn't necessarily crucify them for doing that.

"You are trying to explain what has happened and how you could improve and what they could do differently and try to keep their confidence at the same time."

Southgate - who famously missed a penalty in the Euro '96 shoot-out defeat to Germany at Wembley - added: "I don't find it a problem, if ITV wanted someone to come on and did a hatchet job on people then fine, but there is no point in bringing in me.

"I know how hard it is to play and especially how hard it is to manage."

The former Manchester United striker, currently manager of Norwegian side Molde, was interviewed by Villa owner Randy Lerner over the weekend.

But Solskjaer has opted not to be considered as Alex McLeish's successor for personal reasons.

City unexpectedly gave the former England international a short-term deal last August after he was released by Manchester United, where he failed to complete a game in three years.

A Champions League winner with Bayern Munich and United, Hargreaves joined City after resorting to posting videos on YouTube showing himself working in a gym and running to prove his fitness.

The 31-year-old has played 42 times for England, but has been dogged by knee, hamstring and shoulder injuries.

His last appearance was in City's 3-2 loss to United in the FA Cup on January 8 when he played the last eight minutes.

Principal owner John Henry and Tom Werner head Fenway Sports Group's quest to find a successor to Kenny Dalglish, sacked as manager last week.

However, the pair is also undertaking a re-structuring at Anfield which will see a technical director, among others, put in place to ensure a long-term strategy is developed and adhered to.

One fans' group the Spirit of Shankly, which led the protests against the despised former regime of Tom Hicks and George Gillett, has written to Henry and Werner asking for clear direction and communication to dispel a growing perception the club is "in disarray".

Barnes insists if FSG's decision-making is to set up Liverpool for its next chapter in history it must get it right.

"If the club believes in a new philosophy then they need to stick with it, regardless of how well or badly we do in the short-term," he said.

"If it takes two, three or four years to fulfil the plan then we need to give the club time to realise it and make it happen.

"But it won't take as long as Liverpool fans have been waiting to see the team win the Premier League.

"Maybe if a system was put in place 20 years ago we wouldn't still be waiting to win our first title since 1990.

"If we keep changing the manager, the players or the system every one, two, three or four years, we could be waiting another 20 years to win the title too."

Liverpool is continuing to narrow down a list of potential candidates with a view to short-listing the key group for next week.

While this has always been FSG's plan, its approach is causing consternation and continued media speculation.

Spirit of Shankly tried to address the matter in its letter, which read: "From the outside it looks like a football club in disarray.

"Confusion and chaos seems to reign and no one is coming out of this with much credit, particularly the football club's image and brand.

"We need clear and pro-active communication, a confident message about the club's plans that breeds confidence amongst supporters that we are moving in the right direction.

"Instead, we have silence and a lack of information or understanding on decisions being made.

"As supporters we have seen all too clearly what a lack of communication from absentee owners leads to.

"We find ourselves experiencing deja vu, where boardroom decisions lead to more questions than they answer."

Barnes, however, urged fans to give FSG time to put together a coherent strategy.

"It's time to support the owners because they want to return Liverpool to a team that competes for the biggest trophies," he told liverpoolfc.tv.

"It's not necessary for fans to know the inner workings of any football club because we don't know the inner workings of any business.

"I'm sure in the next week or two or three, it will become more apparent how we intend to move forward when a new manager is unveiled.

"I understand fans frustrations but if everyone is giving 100% then you need to be patient."

Barnes believes a new far-reaching strategy is the key to Liverpool competing against vastly-richer and more successful clubs in the future.

"I don't think Liverpool have had a philosophy of how we want to play," he added.

"They've seen which players have done well at other clubs and then gone out and bought them and hoped that it works and a lot of the time it hasn't.

"With your own philosophy you don't need to necessarily look at the best players in the world - players Liverpool might not be able to afford.

"Rather you can go out and buy a player who will do a better job in your team than they do in their current side but it may not cost you a lot of money.

"Now Liverpool are at a stage where they can't get all the best players in the world so what do you do?

"You come up with a system and a vision of how you want your team to play.

"They may not be able to get [Lionel] Messi but they can get very good players and with a proper system, which I'm sure the new manager will introduce, they can be successful."

The offer, from Chainrai's company Portpin, is the only one Pompey's administrators PKF has received but, if it is accepted by creditors, the club could be out of administration within six weeks.

Administrator Trevor Birch said: "PKF has not received bids from any other potential buyers and we do not expect any new bidders to emerge before the club runs out of money.

"We've made it clear from the start that a new owner would need to demonstrate that it cannot only fund a Company Voluntary Agreement that is acceptable to creditors, but also cover the club's ongoing operating losses.

"Only Portpin has been able to give us the necessary assurances that the funding will be in place. This is important because at some stage it will have to give The Football League those assurances too.

"Portpin has made an offer to buy the club. The offer will form the basis of a proposal for a CVA that, in the circumstances, is likely to give the best possible deal for creditors of Portsmouth Football Club (2010) Ltd and provide the most realistic opportunity for protecting the club's financial position going forward and avoid liquidation.

"We are aiming to send details of the proposed CVA to creditors next week. Creditors will then get an opportunity to vote on the proposals at a meeting to be scheduled for early June. If the CVA is accepted, it will pave the way for Portpin to acquire the club by early July."

Suggestions that he would get a place in the Team GB football squad because of glamour, newspaper sales or because he is a bigger commercial hitter is "a bit disrespectful", he said.

"Any time I have been asked about shirt sales and filling stadiums, I've never said it is disrespectful but it's the kind of question I have felt is," he said.

The 37-year-old LA Galaxy midfielder and former England skipper was a key member of London's winning bid to host the London 2012 Games and has always said he will fight for a place to compete at the Olympics.

He is proud of his career, proud of being part of the London bid and would be proud to play at the Olympics.

He said: "Throughout my career I've been pretty successful. I've played for some pretty big teams. I've played for my country quite a few times and for managers without sentiment.

"That's one of the things when you play for Sir Alex Ferguson, Fabio Capello and Sven Goran Eriksson, the managers I have played under - they don't pick players because they want to fill a stadium with people or to sell shirts.

"I'm very proud of the fact and I have always found it an honour that people want to buy my shirt, that fans turn up to watch the team I am playing in or to see myself. I've always found that a huge honour.

"No, I don't want to be picked on a shirt sale or a stadium filler. I want to be picked because of what I can bring to the team. It's a thing that has happened all the way through my career and I don't want that to change."

He feels he can bring experience and being a good team player to the squad.

Beckham said he has always been vocal about his desire to play at the Olympics and it is one of the reasons he has not retired so he is still available to play for his country.

Speaking in Athens after he took part in the official handover of the Olympic Flame to London, he said: "Everybody knows that I love representing my country.

"I have done that for quite a few years with the national team - 115 times - and I am very proud of that.

"It is one of the reasons I said I would probably not retire from the England team. I always want to be available - whether I get picked or not is a different story.

"I am very proud of my achievements for my country. I have not taken part in an Olympic Games but I would love to be part of the team.

"Fitness has never been a problem all the way through my career. If I am selected I would be in good condition."

Stuart Pearce, boss of the Olympic football team, was in Los Angeles a few weeks ago to see Beckham's form but there was no talk about selection.

Beckham said: "He knows what my fitness is like and he knows what my passion is like. We will see."

If anyone was in any doubt, Beckham stressed again: "I want to play. That's my only objective. Something that I have now is experience. I am 37 and I have experience of playing in big games and big competitions so that is one of the things I have always been able to bring to a team.

"When I was captain that was one of the things I was able to bring to the team, the confidence and the hard work that you need to win.

"Experience will be important because, when you have a team of young kids coming together for the Olympics for a short period of time, it is important to have that experience in there. But we have that in Stuart as well, he has played in big games so we are very lucky."

Allardyce's side cracked under the strain of battling for automatic promotion from English football's second tier and allowed Reading and Southampton to secure the first two spots in the top flight.

But the east London outfit rebounded impressively in the play-off semi-final against Cardiff, cruising to a 5-0 aggregate victory that kept it on course for an immediate return to the Premier League after last season's relegation.

Now it must pass one final test against Ian Holloway's Blackpool, which was relegated along with West Ham 12 months ago and is also desperate to seize the financial rewards at stake in world football's single richest match.

Allardyce, boosted by the return to fitness of Wales midfielder Jack Collison, has no doubts West Ham's players are capable of dealing with the high-stakes clash.

"It's a fabulous game to be involved in, particularly for the players," Allardyce said.

"We are the favourites with all the pressure on us, so we have to handle that as we have done all season. Hopefully we can deliver and beat Blackpool for third time this season.

"We will treat them with the utmost respect and make sure we try to expose the weaknesses they have in their side if we can and as early as we can.

"We've got to live with the pressure to spur us on to give us our best performance. The pressure should bring the best out of us and not be one of those games where we actually freeze on the big stage."

While West Ham is the firm favourite after beating Blackpool 4-0 and 4-1 in their league meetings earlier this season, the Seasiders play an eye-catching brand of attacking football that, on Wembley's wide open spaces, could trouble the more rudimentary tactics employed by Allardyce.

One of Blackpool's key figures will be young winger Tom Ince, who is relishing his first taste of a major occasion after watching his father Paul play in so many during his illustrious career with Manchester United, Inter Milan, Liverpool and England.

Ince junior left Liverpool last year in a bid to get more regular first-team action and the switch to Blackpool has proved an inspired move.

The 20-year-old, whose father began his career with West Ham, admits it has been a significant advantage to have a parent who knows exactly what he is going through.

"I can't fault my dad," Ince said. "He's brought me up in the best way I could have ever wished for.

"With my dad it's father to son, but it's also player to player. I've been having that double advantage where someone can point me in the right direction both on and off the field.

"He'll be the first to praise me and the first to criticise me."

Ince senior is something of a hate figure at West Ham after the controversial manner of his move to Manchester United and his son would love to silence the critics with a Wembley win.

"They've got a lot of Premier League stars on big wages and a big budget. But that doesn't mean anything on the day," Ince said.

The former full-back has signed a four-year deal with the FA and will join England for this northern summer's European championships, the Football Association said on Monday.

"Roy asking me to be a part of his staff and to work with the national team is not only an honour but a very special moment for me," said Neville, who has been working as a TV pundit.

"I had absolutely no hesitation in accepting this role and I am relishing the opportunity to work alongside Roy and the team at the Euros and through to the next two tournaments."

Hodgson, who took over as England manager earlier this month, said he had no hesitation in calling on Neville.

"Gary has achieved so much in the game as a player with Manchester United and England," he said.

"He has obtained UEFA coaching qualifications and will be tremendously respected by the players because of his vast experience as a player.

"At my first meeting with the FA, I explained that Gary was someone I wanted as part of my staff. I think it is very important we have a younger coach who knows the dressing room and is very experienced at international level.

"That he has represented England as a player at five major finals tournaments will make him an invaluable member of staff."

Parker missed Tottenham Hotspur's final match of the Premier League season, a 2-0 home victory over London neighbour Fulham.

And Redknapp revealed that new England manager Roy Hodgson will discover within a week whether he must do without the midfielder.

"He is going to have an injection tomorrow and they are hoping with six or seven days of rest it could clear up," Redknapp said.

"So we will have to wait and see with Scott. If it doesn't clear up then he wouldn't be fit for the finals.

"If he has to have an operation then he would be out long term."

Another player who would be expected to be included in the squad for next month's finals in Poland and Ukraine if fully fit is Kyle Walker.

The defender was already playing despite a broken toe and had to be substituted early in the second half because of an ankle injury.

But this time the news was more positive.

"He's OK," Redknapp said. "He was limping about there but I'm sure he will be all right tomorrow. He just couldn't run properly. Kyle will be OK for the Euros."

Meanwhile, Hodgson has failed to persuade goalkeeper Ben Foster to come out of international exile for the European championship.

Foster has impressed Hodgson while on loan at West Bromwich Albion from Birmingham City this season even though the 29-year-old Foster announced a year ago that he was taking an indefinite break from international football.

Foster says Hodgson "tried hard to persuade me to change my mind ... but he totally understood my reasons and was very respectful of that."

Foster wants to spend time with his family instead of going to EURO 2012.

And he says his "best form has been since I retired from England and I feel my body gets a good rest."

These are the top 10 stories of the 2011-2012 campaign.

Manchester title race

Although big-spending Manchester City was expected to mount a challenge for its neighbour United's title this season, few could have anticipated the enthralling battle that ensued.

City was scoring goals for fun at first - including six at Old Trafford - and seemed so secure in top spot that Carlos Tevez's self-imposed exile appeared a complete irrelevance, but United subsequently reeled it in before going eight points clear in April.

City - with Tevez back - then rallied, won the derby at the Etihad Stadium and went into the final day ahead of its local rival by goal difference alone.

Roy's redemption

Hotly tipped as a potential candidate beforehand, Roy Hodgson's chances of managing England had appeared to dissipate after his brief and unhappy spell at Liverpool in 2010-2011 but he was soon installed as boss at West Bromwich Albion, where he did an impressive job that carried on this season.

When Fabio Capello resigned in February, Harry Redknapp was widely regarded as the favourite to succeed the Italian but it was Hodgson who the Football Association approached about leading the Three Lions and he was subsequently unveiled as England's new manager on 1 May, completing a remarkable turnaround for the 64-year-old.

Liverpool's woes

While Hodgson's star was on the rise, the club which had dismissed him endured a tough time of it this season for various reasons.

Victory in the Carling Cup and a run to the FA Cup final could not hide Liverpool's poor results in the league, particularly at Anfield, where Kenny Dalglish's men managed to take maximum points on only six occasions.

They also had to contend with major controversy surrounding their striker Luis Suarez, who served an eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra and appeared to refuse to shake the defender's hand before a game at Old Trafford.

AVB to RDM at Chelsea

Chelsea was another high-profile outfit to experience plenty of problems this term, including a race row of its own involving captain John Terry and Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand.

In terms of its league position, the Blues struggled to keep a grip on a top-four spot and in March, amid talk of dressing room unrest, manager Andre Villas-Boas - brought in pre-season to renovate the ageing squad at Stamford Bridge - was sacked.

In stepped Roberto di Matteo, who delivered the FA Cup but only a sixth-placed finish - yet may still secure UEFA Champions League football, having guided the Londoners to the final of this year's competition.

Surprising Magpies

One of the clubs making it difficult for Chelsea to get into the top four was Newcastle, which - to the surprise of virtually everyone - emerged as Champions League contenders.

Expectation levels on Tyneside had been less than sky-high before the campaign got under way, with the likes of Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan and Jose Enrique leaving the Magpies over the summer and Andy Carroll having already departed.

The players manager Alan Pardew brought in, though, proved masterstrokes, with French midfielder Yohan Cabaye and Senegalese strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse rapidly developing into Toon icons as the team soared.

High-flying Swans and Canaries

Newly-promoted sides have been taking on the Premier League with commendable fearlessness in recent years and Swansea City and Norwich City were prime examples this season.

Utilising many of the same players that had got them up and with no real big-name stars in either team, both Brendan Rodgers' Swans and Paul Lambert's Canaries made a comfortable adjustment to top-flight life.

Major scalps were claimed, severe hammerings were generally avoided and a healthy distance was kept from the relegation dogfight at the bottom end of the table as the two managers enhanced their growing reputations.

Turmoil at Blackburn

While Swansea and Norwich flourished in their new environment, experienced Premier League campaigner Blackburn Rovers looked like a novice in a disastrous season which culminated in relegation.

Certainly many Rovers fans felt the club's owners Venky's and manager Steve Kean did not know what they were doing and let them know with a series of organised protests which made for an often-poisonous atmosphere at Ewood Park.

Despite the calls for him to be sacked and some dire results, Kean remained in charge and Blackburn was condemned to the drop in its penultimate game, a 1-0 home defeat to Wigan.

Wolves implosion

If Blackburn was the victim of prolonged mismanagement this term, it seems in hindsight as if Wolverhampton Wanderers' relegation hinged on a single bad decision.

Wolves were struggling under Mick McCarthy when they suffered a humiliating 5-1 derby defeat at home to West Brom in February, and the next day the Yorkshireman was sacked.

A search for the man to keep the club up got under way, but it was McCarthy's assistant Terry Connor - never a manager before - who was eventually appointed boss until the end of the season, and after a run of eight defeats in 10 games, rock-bottom Wolves were down.

Wigan's late surge

Wigan Athletic, a survivor on the final day of the 2010-2011 season, looked destined for the Championship for much of this term but managed to preserve its top-flight status thanks to a superb run of form in the last few months of the campaign.

At the end of January the Latics were propping up the division, but they started digging out results and then shocked everybody by pulling off victories over Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle.

Their win at Blackburn on 7 May, their sixth in eight matches, confirmed their safety as Roberto Martinez showed how faith in a manager can be rewarded.

Muamba miracle

The feel-good story of a season which saw considerable tragedy - not least the death of Wales manager Gary Speed - was the incredible recovery made by Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba after his on-pitch cardiac arrest in an FA Cup tie against Tottenham at White Hart Lane in March.

Muamba's heart took 78 minutes to start working again properly but his subsequent progress amazed doctors and after being discharged from the London Chest Hospital almost exactly a month on from the incident, the 24-year-old made an emotional return to the Reebok Stadium in early May to watch his side take on Spurs in a league match.

Eight days ago the BBC announced that Redknapp would be part of its team in Poland and Ukraine for the European Championship.

The 65-year-old is now thinking about turning his back on the deal as he wants to rest after a draining year that his seen him undergo a heart procedure, successfully contest two charges of tax evasion and lead Spurs to the brink of a top-four finish in the English Premier League.

Redknapp also feels it would be difficult to offer his views on England's performance at the tournament given that he missed out on becoming Three Lions head coach to Roy Hodgson.

"I'm still trying to make up my mind (about the BBC position)," said Redknapp, who was part of the broadcaster's team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

"I will look at it in the summer. It could be tricky. I wouldn't be criticising (Hodgson) in any way so I suppose there's not much point having me on!

"I just feel like I need a holiday. I need to get a break from it all.

"Maybe I'll go to Canvey Island or the Isle of Dogs or something."

The revelation is something of a surprise given that Redknapp was the focal point of the BBC's announcement of its team for the tournament on May 3.

The Spurs boss dropped another bombshell with the news he thinks midfielder Scott Parker's participation in the tournament could be in doubt due to an Achilles injury.

The influential midfielder has been left out of the Tottenham starting XI for its last three matches and it is unlikely he will be selected for Sunday's (Monday 00:00 AEST) season finale against Fulham - a game the Londoners need to win to secure at least a top-four finish in the English Premier League.

Redknapp thinks the 31-year-old may have to miss the Three Lions' pre-Euro 2012 training camp, which begins on May 21 in Spain, and fears for his fitness over the northern summer.

Redknapp said: "He's had a problem with his Achilles, I hope it's not going to get worse. It isn't getting any better. It's a long-term concern.

"The way he is at the moment, he is struggling for fitness.

"It's not a rupture but it is sore. It is bothering him.

"After Sunday he will have some injection in it and we'll see if that can clear it up.

"He's been carrying it a few weeks. Maybe the only cure is a bit of rest but maybe the injections might clear it up.

"The specialist thinks it will clear up but it will need 10 days rest afterwards."

Under normal circumstances a fourth-place finish would guarantee Redknapp's team a place in the UEFA Champions League, but should Chelsea beat Bayern Munich in the European Cup final on Saturday, Spurs will have to settle for a place in the Europa League.

The only way they can guarantee Champions League football is if it beats Fulham and Arsenal slips to fourth by dropping points at West Bromwich Albion.

Gareth Bale has said he will consider his future at Spurs if they are not in Europe's top club competition next season, but Redknapp insists the Welshman, and other stars like Luka Modric, will remain at White Hart Lane regardless of whether they qualify.

"That idea gets a bit over-hyped," Redknapp said.

"When they [Bale and Modric] came to Tottenham, they weren't in the Champions League.

"Players will still sign for Chelsea and Liverpool if they aren't in the Champions League and they will still come to Tottenham because it's a great club."

William Gallas looks set to deputise at left-back for the Londoners as Benoit Assou-Ekotto is missing due to a shoulder injury and Danny Rose is suspended.

The match may be Manchester City loanee Emmanuel Adebayor's last for Tottenham as the club is struggling to agree terms over the striker's huge wages.

A report this week claimed New York Red Bulls is interested in signing the former Arsenal man but Redknapp has advised Adebayor not to move to the United States.

"I would be surprised if he went there," Redknapp said.

"No disrespect to the league in America, but he is still capable of being a top player in a top league - whether it's here or in Spain."

Brighton and Hove Albion stars Lewis Dunk, 20, Anton Rodgers, 19, George Barker, 20, and their former team-mate Steve Cook, 21, who moved to AFC Bournemouth, indicated pleas of not guilty to both charges.

Prosecutor Amanda Burrows told Brighton and Hove Magistrates' Court that the alleged offences happened at the Jury's Inn hotel in Brighton on 17 July last year.

All four men were arrested by Sussex Police officers in January and made their first appearance in front of a courtroom packed with friends and relatives.

Rodgers and Barker, both of Highview Avenue North, Brighton, Dunk, of Woodbourne Avenue, Brighton, and Cook, of Perth Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, spoke only to confirm their personal details during the hearing.

The Gunners announced long-serving number two Rice will retire at the end of the season after 44 years with the club.

Bould, the former Arsenal defender, will be promoted from his current role as youth team coach.

Wenger said: "I always want to give a chance to people who know how we coach.

"Steve is a very good coach and brings a continuation of our philosophy."

Rice, 63, has been associated with the Gunners for 44 years having first joined as a youth team player in 1964 before then going on to make 528 senior appearances over 14 seasons.

After a four-year spell with Watford in the early 1980s, Rice then returned to Arsenal as youth team coach before joining Arsene Wenger's backroom staff following the Frenchman's arrival in 1996.

The letter from Hunt to the club's Indian owners Venky's was written in December and stated he wanted them to sack manager Steve Kean.

The owners have stood by Kean however, despite Rovers being relegated, and reports that Hunt instead has parted company with the club have now been confirmed.

Blackburn said in a statement: "Blackburn Rovers Football Club can confirm that deputy chief executive Paul Hunt has left the club

The 22-year-old Irishman has been limited to just one start and eight substitute appearances this season after starting the campaign fighting for match fitness following two serious knee injuries.

O'Neill said: "It's been very, very tough for players, David Meyler in particular, whose last start for us - it might even have been his only start for us - was against Stoke City (on February 4).

"It's been really tough for him. He's been involved in the squad but he hasn't started and of course it's frustrating.

"It's something we would look at in the summertime. He's a genuinely good lad. He hasn't moaned about it to me, but he did say he would like to play.

"His first choice would be playing for Sunderland, but at some stage or another he has to play."

O'Neill is currently drawing up plans for his summer rebuilding programme, but is relatively well served in midfield with skipper Lee Cattermole, Jack Colback, Sebastian Larsson, James McClean, David Vaughan, Craig Gardner and Meyler competing for places, while Kieran Richardson, who has played much of the season at left-back, is a midfielder.

Meyler's previous form had caught the eye of Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni, who called him up for end-of-season friendlies against Paraguay and Algeria two summers ago, but a cruciate ligament injury ruled him out.

The former Cork City player will hope for a chance when Manchester United heads for the Stadium of Light for the final game of the season, but whatever happens at the weekend he intends to return raring to go for pre-season.

He told the Sunderland Echo: "Obviously, I haven't played as much as I would have wanted to, but I have never even considered leaving or going out on loan.

"I haven't gone knocking on the manager's door or anything. I just want to do my talking on the pitch. I want to play for Sunderland and I want to play for the manager.

"I will do some work over the summer and aim to come back for pre-season fitter than ever. I'm just looking forward to a full pre-season, because it is very hard to catch up if you miss out on that."

A win for City in the final match of the Premier League season would secure the title, but City faces a QPR side still fighting for top-flight survival.

Since Mark Hughes took over at Loftus Road in January Rangers has only collected one point on its travels, but Mackie believes the pressure on the City players could be costly.

"They've not been in that position for a long, long time," he told QPR's official website.

"Not many of their players would have won the Premier League before - pressure does really strange things to people.

"We've been really poor on the road this season, but it's got to change at some point."

Following Djibril Cisse's late winner against Stoke last weekend, QPR now has its destiny in its own hands and a point against Roberto Mancini's side would confirm survival and make for a tense finish at the top of the table.

"Everybody is expecting a big day for Man City," Mackie said. "But for us, we're scrapping for our lives and a point would mean the world to us."

Many people already believe the title belongs to City, with main challengers Manchester United travelling to Sunderland knowing it needs a favour from former player Hughes.

But the underdog tag suites the R's, according to Mackie.

"We feel we can go there and spoil the party. People have already written us off and think City are going to have a massive day," he said.

"But we're focused on trying to get something out of the game. It will be nail biting stuff, but I can't wait for it."

There is also doubt over two other key players in leading scorer Peter Odemwingie and winger Jerome Thomas for a match Arsenal needs to win to secure a Champions League spot.

Brunt has had his tonsils removed now as he is a potential candidate for the Great Britain Olympic squad, and wants to ensure he will be available if required by Stuart Pearce.

Albion number two Keith Downing confirmed: "We know Chris might be considered for the Great Britain team.

"He has been stop-start with them (the tonsils) so the decision was taken to (remove them) now and it will give someone else the opportunity to play on Sunday."

Odemwingie (leg) and Thomas (illness) are also battling to be fit to face Arsene Wenger's side.

Downing said: "Peter is doing rehab to try and get back before the weekend while Jerome has been out for the past couple of days with a virus."

Downing is still waiting to find out whether he will remain part of the clubs plans after Hodgson's departure.

He said: "I've not spoken personally to anyone. We will review it this summer. I'm a realist."

The Sky Sports pundit was arrested near his home in Cobham, Surrey, in the early hours of Monday.

The 55-year-old, who notched up 84 caps for England during his playing days, was pulled over in Fairmile Lane in the town at 1.50am, Surrey Police confirmed.

He was interviewed at Reigate police station before being charged and bailed.

During his career he played at various clubs including Chelsea, Manchester United, AC Milan and Queens Park Rangers.

He was awarded an MBE in 1993 for services to football.

Wilkins is due to appear at North Surrey Magistrates' Court on 21 May.

Lewington had been tipped to join former Craven Cottage boss Hodgson during the northern summer and now Fulham and the FA have agreed a deal for them to renew a working relationship they had at club level.

A statement issued by the FA read: "The FA and Fulham Football Club can confirm that Ray Lewington will join Roy Hodgson's England coaching staff at the end of the Premier League season to work with the team during the European Championship."

Hodgson said: "I'm delighted that Fulham have agreed to Ray joining the England coaching staff for the summer. I know Ray well and enjoyed working with him at Craven Cottage.

"He's a very good coach and the players will I'm sure enjoy working with him.

"We're currently finalising the rest of the coaching staff but it's great to have Ray confirmed.

"I'd like to thank Fulham for agreeing to this."

Lewington will return to Fulham in time for next season.

Seven days ago, Redknapp remained the overwhelming favourite to replace Fabio Capello, as he had been since the Italian walked out in February.

Yet the FA turned to Roy Hodgson instead, with FA chairman David Bernstein stating this week that the four-man Club England panel responsible for making the decision had chosen the West Bromwich Albion manager as their man a month before making their move.

Yet Bernstein offered no explanation why Redknapp, who unlike Hodgson has won a major trophy in England and secured Champions League qualification with Tottenham, was overlooked.

Once again, there has been scrutiny of an apparent bust-up between Brooking and Redknapp dating back to the 1990s, which centred on how Billy Bonds ended up being replaced as West Ham manager.

It has been suggested more than once that Brooking believed Redknapp stabbed Bonds in the back in order to get the West Ham job and had never forgiven him.

However, in the wake of Hodgson's appointment, Brooking insists that was not the case.

"To be honest, we discussed a lot of candidates, none of whom I had a personal problem with," said Brooking.

"It's a non-starter. That didn't come into the decision-making at all."

Perryman, Tottenham Hotspur's record appearance holder and a once-capped England midfielder, was watching as his current side - already condemned to relegation - drew 2-2 with the Blades, who saw their hopes of automatic promotion ended with the result.

"Exeter City director of football Steve Perryman was taken to hospital during today's match after feeling breathless," a club statement read.

"He is now comfortable in hospital."

Scott Neilson was the hero of the hour, netting the only goal in the 67th minute to send Crawley up with champion Swindon Town and Shrewsbury Town.

At the other end of the table there was heartbreak for Hereford United, which beat promotion contender Torquay United 3-2 but saw its six-year stay in the Football League come to an end.

Wednesday knew it only needed to match the Blades' result to secure promotion alongside Charlton Athletic after two seasons in the third tier and it took the lead through Michail Antonio in the 25th minute.

Wycombe's defensive record is the reason it will return to League Two and Nile Ranger was given far too much space to head in Chris Lines' free-kick seven minutes after half-time and seal victory.

United's disappointment was compounded as it could only draw 2-2 with another relegated side, Exeter, which went ahead in the 24th minute through a fine goal from Alan Gow.

The visitor was then reduced to 10 men when James Beattie was shown a straight red card for a tackle on James Dunne.

Lee Williamson levelled matters a minute before the break and Kevin McDonald put United ahead within two minutes of the restart, but Scot Bennett equalised late on, and if the Blades are to bounce straight back to the Championship it must be through the playoffs.

The English Football Association has written to all agents and players' representatives warning them that the players will be held responsible for what goes out in their name.

Some players have previously claimed third parties have posted comments on their Twitter accounts.

The FA has previously advised players about social media and has not extended that to their agents.

The advice says any posts that are over-critical of match officials or that make reference to race, nationality, faith or sexual orientation can result in disciplinary action.

The FA's letter states: "An individual is strictly responsible for any posting on his/her account.

"Participants should take every care to ensure that others do not access their account, as the fact that a posting or comment may have been made by a third party will not prevent disciplinary action being taken against the account holder."

The letter goes on: "Any comments which are improper, bring the game into disrepute or are threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting may lead to disciplinary action. Comments about match officials which imply bias, attack the officials' integrity or are overly personal in nature are considered improper."

Any comments about a person's ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality, faith, gender, sexual orientation or disability "may be considered aggravated and attract a higher disciplinary sanction" warns the letter.

Even re-tweeting another person's post could lead to disciplinary action, while deleting an improper posting will not prevent action being taken.

The 37-year-old Campbell - a powerful, ball-playing center-back who played 73 times for his country - called time on his career having failed to find a club after his release from Newcastle at the end of last season.

"It's hard to let go when you have been a top sportsman for a long, long time," Campbell said. "To say that I am not going to play professional football again is difficult because I've had a long time at the top."

Campbell made one of the most controversial moves in the history of English football when he left Tottenham - where he was captain - after 10 years to join Arsenal in 2001, provoking a deluge of criticism from angry Spurs fans.

Campbell won two league titles and two FA Cups in that first stint with Arsenal, when he was part of the "Invincibles" team that went through the 2003-04 season unbeaten in the league.

He rejoined Arsenal on loan for half a season in 2010, and also played for Portsmouth and Notts County.

Campbell, who played at three FIFA World Cups and three European championships, went through his career without ever moving for a transfer fee.

Redknapp's Tottenham heads to Bolton currently in possession of the last Champions League place, but faces a side just as desperate for points in its fight to stay in the top flight.

Redknapp knows full well what to expect at the Reebok Stadium tonight.

"Bolton away is always tough," he said.

"We've been there enough times over the years and it's always a difficult place to go.

"They are playing well, Owen (Coyle, manager) has got them going at the moment.

"It will be a hard game but we've got to go there and be positive."

Redknapp is not taking fourth place for granted - in fact, he is as prepared for his side dropping down to fifth as the boss is for pipping north London rival Arsenal to third.

"You can't predict results," he told Spurs TV.

"Manchester United had an eight-point lead after (Manchester) City got beat at Arsenal, you thought that was the end of them, you thought it was all over. You just can't tell.

"You look at Wigan's games and they had no chance (of survival). They had to go to Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, play United, Newcastle, five of the top six, and they go on this incredible run. You just can't predict results.

"You never know. You just have to keep going. That's all we can do. We've two tough away games this week and then a tough home game against Fulham to finish with. That's three hard games.

"Newcastle have three tough games, for sure. Chelsea might have the best fixtures.

"We have to keep going and if we play well, we can do it (third)."

Tottenham goes into the match in decent spirits having beaten Blackburn 2-0 in a strong showing on Sunday.

It went into that match with a record of just one win in nine matches, but Redknapp insists that was a false representation of his side's performances.

"We're fine. As I said all along, we haven't been playing badly," he added.

"We had one bad performance against Norwich, they played well and we had a bad day. Other than that we've played very well, the results just weren't going our way.

"We beat Swansea, beat Bolton in the FA Cup, drew at Sunderland, beat Blackburn well at home, so we've not been in bad form, we're confident we're playing well."

Gerrard worked with Hodgson during the 64-year-old's ill-fated spell in charge of Liverpool and has been tipped as a possible future England captain.

Gerrard said in a statement: "I've worked with Roy. He's a good man and a good manager. It's important he's given a chance and I'm looking forward to working with him again."

Hodgson dodged a question earlier today over whether Gerrard would replace John Terry after he lost the skipper's armband over allegations he racially abused Anton Ferdinand in a league match earlier this season.

Terry faces a court case in July when he will answer the charges, which he denies.

Speaking at Wembley to announce his appointment, the new England manager said: "Will Gerrard be England captain? That's another thing that will have to be carefully thought out.

"It's one of the things that will occupy my time in the days ahead."

Gerrard was joined in welcoming Hodgson by fellow midfielder Jack Wilshere who has missed much of Arsenal's season through injury.

Wilshere tweeted: "For England....good choice in my opinion! Good luck and I hope I can help him in some way in the future!"

VIDEO: Hodgson named England manager

Hodgson has signed a four-year contract and will lead England into Euro 2012 after completing the domestic season with current club West Bromwich Albion.

But he is aware of the need to prove himself to fans expecting Harry Redknapp to be named in the role, while many of the players had voiced their backing for the Tottenham manager.

Hodgson said: "The scrutiny will be big. I understand that. Inter Milan wasn't exactly too easy, though, when I was there.

"We all know the England manager's job is the pinnacle of success for every England manager but it brings scrutiny and criticism, so I have to be prepared for that.

"It's always a big job to win people over. I'm prepared for criticism. The fact is I took it at Liverpool and I'll take it here.

"It's important the players buy into what we do, and that the country buy into what we're trying to do. I'm expecting a lot of support from everybody.

"I'm hoping everyone in England gets behind their football team, because we want to give this country the successful football team we've been waiting for since 1966."

In terms of gaining the backing of the squad, Hodgson admitted: "Every coach has to win over the players. There's no question about that.

"It won't be the first time I've stepped into a group of players, many of whom I don't know.

"I'd like to think, with my CV, I'll command respect. But every coach has to win the players over, get them on his side, and make sure they're united behind the cause.

"Our cause is a very big one. We are England, the England football team. We interest a lot of people. I have a lot of responsibility - but so do the players."

Hodgson admits the task of England being successful at Euro 2012 has become more challenging given Capello's decision to quit three months ago.

He has only six weeks to prepare before the opening game against France on June 11 and is delaying naming his squad until the end of the domestic campaign.

Hodgson said: "It's going to be difficult, of course. But hopefully I have a lot of time on my hands to make the decisions necessary.

"The players are pretty well known to me, even if I haven't worked with many of them.

"We always have to go into tournaments to win them because we're a major footballing nation.

"It will never be easy, and will be more difficult here because the man who qualified the team isn't with us and I've taken over at a late stage.

"But no-one would expect anything less of us than to go there trying to win it."

Hodgson confirmed Wayne Rooney would be part of his squad despite being suspended for the opening two group matches.

But he wants time to consider other matters including John Terry and Rio Ferdinand's relationship and whether Steven Gerrard, who worked under him at Liverpool, will be his captain.

Hodgson said: "The important thing is to speak to as many players as possible. John and Rio, as respected members of the team, are going to be two I need to speak to.

"Will Gerrard be England captain? That's another thing that will have to be carefully thought out. It's one of the things that will occupy my time in the days ahead.

"But I'm looking forward very much to Wayne Rooney coming to the Euros with us and to his contribution, even if he can't play in the first two games."

Hodgson revealed he had received a good luck message from Redknapp, who has been the odds-on favourite since Capello quit until the FA approached West Bromwich Albion this weekend for permission to speak to Hodgson.

He said: "I've got great respect for Harry. He's sent me a voicemail message, which I'll reply to, and has been very gracious.

"We're great friends who have unwittingly become rivals, but we'll be friends again."

Hodgson was, as expected, confirmed today as Fabio Capello's successor on a four-year contract but there has already been much speculation as to why bookies' favourite Harry Redknapp was not approached.

The Tottenham boss was widely perceived to be the popular choice for the position, but England's Football Association has confirmed Hodgson was its first and only choice.

"It is a very proud day for me, I'm a very happy man to be offered the chance to manage my country," he said.

"I'm looking forward to the task ahead. Everyone knows it is not an easy one but I'm hoping that everyone, fans and supporters will get behind the team.

"It's the team that counts, they go out and win football matches.

"What I'll do is try to make sure the team is well prepared for the challenge ahead.

"I'm really looking forward to it."

Hodgson is unlikely to put the accent on flair as was anticipated being the case if Harry Redknapp had landed the role as Fabio Capello's successor.

But he will bring a plan honed over 36 years as a coach at international and domestic level.

His last project at West Bromwich Albion is typical of the way Hodgson likes to set his sides up.

Hodgson immediately set out to tighten up a defence incapable of keeping clean sheets and prone to leaking soft goals.

The former Switzerland boss could hardly contain his pride after Albion kept its 10th clean sheet of the campaign during the clash with Aston Villa.

He has two centre-backs in Swedish international Jonas Olsson - who will face Hodgson's England during Euro 2012 - and Gareth McAuley who head the ball away for fun in commanding fashion.

Hodgson has often favoured a 4-2-3-1 formation in guiding Albion into the top 10.

He has felt comfortable with two holding midfield players - in Albion's case Youssouf Mulumbu and Paul Scharner.

But the 64-year-old also knows the importance of speedy wide players and has persevered with the inconsistent but threatening Jerome Thomas.

During the second half of the campaign, Hodgson put the accent on a big target man in Marc-Antoine Fortune who is accomplished at holding the ball up.

Whether that means someone of a similar ilk in Peter Crouch will come back into the international fold under Hodgson remains to be seen.

Question marks have been raised over Hodgson's ability to motivate players after his unsuccessful spell at Liverpool.

But immediately before that the former Switzerland and Finland boss had led Fulham to the Europa League final, getting the best out of a mid-table Premier League side and giving the side belief.

Of course, Hodgson will have to attempt to do the same with the cream of England's talent sometimes criticised for lacking desire and passion.

But to write that side of his game off because of a eight-month spell at Liverpool where little went right would be foolish.

The 64-year-old has signed a four-year deal, taking him to the end of Euro 2016.

Hodgson will remain in charge of West Brom for the final two games of the Premier League season, although he will be released for England duties as required.

Police say three players from second-tier Brighton and another from Bournemouth, which plays in England's third division, will appear in court on May 11 in connection with an incident in Brighton on July 17.

Another two Brighton players were arrested in January but one was immediately eliminated from the police investigation and the second was told on Monday no further action would be taken against him.

Brighton finished 10th in the League Championship standings this season.

Redknapp had been the overwhelming favourite to replace Fabio Capello prior to this summer's European Championships.

However, it is Hodgson who will have talks with the Football Association on Monday after West Brom granted permission.

"No problem," Redknapp told BBC Sport.

"I wish him [Hodgson] all the best. He's a great guy. I've got a great job here (at Spurs). I don't hold grudges.

"I've woken up in a great mood today on the back of a great win yesterday (Sunday). I will be concentrating on Tottenham as I have done all along."

"I still think England's got some great players, I really do.

"I think there's some fantastic players in this country, some young players coming through, some great experienced players.

"I'm looking forward to the European Championships, looking forward to watching it.

"Life couldn't be better, the sun's shining, my health is good, very lucky man."

The latest developments mark the beginning of an end to a tortuous few weeks since Capello announced his resignation on February 8.

It is anticipated Hodgson will speak to the four-man FA board and his appointment will be confirmed within the next 48 hours, which would allow him to announce England's Euro 2012 squad on May 10, as indicated by Stuart Pearce last week.

"I suppose it's dragged on, but it's no problem," said Redknapp.

The West Bromwich Albion manager will hold talks with the Football Association about replacing Fabio Capello after the governing body identified him as its preferred candidate ahead of Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp.

Curbishley, who was interviewed for the England post in the past, claimed Hodgson had the credentials for the job but would have to change public opinion.

He told Sky Sports News: "I think if you look at Roy's CV, he's vastly experienced and I think most people's memories just go back to Liverpool.

"I think most people who looked at Roy's CV would understand why the FA are going down that route. He's well respected within the game, but I think the public perception is the Liverpool situation and perhaps the fact Harry was the people's favourite. He's got to overcome that."

But he added: "I think he'd take it in his stride."

Curbishley claimed Hodgson would suit the FA's job description.

He said: "David Bernstein, the head of the Football Association, is looking for a certain type of manager I think and with the big move to St George's Park (the national football centre) coming up, it was a manager that was going to embrace all levels of the game and be involved on the coaching side. I think when it comes down to that then Roy Hodgson ticks most of the boxes.

"I think the job description probably suits Roy more than Harry. I think firstly the FA, once they got the vacancy, decided on a certain type of manager they were looking for and probably Roy ticks more boxes than Harry in that respect."

Former England midfielder Matt Le Tissier labelled Hodgson as "the cheap option and the safe option".

The West Brom boss is out of contract at the end of the season so no compensation would be due to the Baggies. The FA would have to pay to release Redknapp from his Tottenham contract.

"I think all the players, all the fans and all the media wanted Harry Redknapp to have the job," Le Tissier told Absolute Radio.

"It seems to me - as an outsider looking on - the FA has gone for someone who's going to do as he's told (and) isn't going to cost anything in terms of compensation."

"It looks to me like it's the cheap option and the safe option... whether or not it's the right option only time will tell.

"There are a whole bunch of issues... If you look at the committee that is selecting the next England manager. One of them, I think I'm right, is (Director of Football Development) Trevor Brooking.

"I think Trevor and Harry had a falling-out many years ago and I'm not sure if that's played a part in one of the reasons why they've decided against going for Harry.

"The FA has not been known for making fantastic choices in the past and seems to have continued that tradition.

"I've never really been excited by Roy Hodgson's teams and I think that's where my reservation stems from. I'd like to see the England team play with a little style and I think that's what the fans want as well."

But West Brom player Steven Reid came out on Twitter in support of his boss.

"Obviously those in the press who have hammered Hodgson have never met or worked with the man," he wrote.

Hodgson is due to meet the four-man Club England board on Monday afternoon for talks over the England vacancy.

It is widely anticipated Hodgson will accept the offer, which has come as a major surprise as Harry Redknapp had been the overwhelming favourite.

Whilst many have condemned the FA for ignoring Redknapp, Perryman does not see it that way and has rubbished comparisons between the Tottenham Hotspur boss and Brian Clough, who was denied the chance to manage England because the FA was fearful of his confrontational approach to the job.

"It is a ridiculous comparison," said Perryman.

"Harry Redknapp has been a manager for 30 years and won one FA Cup.

"Brian Clough won two European Cups and lots of other trophies besides.

"To link the two doesn't stand up at all. Clough was the greatest manager never to manage England. Harry is the populist choice, but so was Kevin Keegan and what an unmitigated disaster that turned out to be.

"Roy Hodgson will be a steady hand on the till.

"He took Fulham to the Europa League final, which was a magnificent achievement and on the basis that the best three managers around just now, Marcelo Bielsa, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, wouldn't want the job, Hodgson is a good choice."

However, Perryman concedes a Hodgson appointment would lower expectations around the Three Lions.

"There is no doubt the general public will expect less of a Hodgson managed team than one Redknapp was in charge of," he said.

"But is that necessarily a bad thing? I don't think so. Expectations around the England team have been way too high since 1966.

"People have spoken about Euro 2012 being a push towards making a big impact towards the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Trust me, there is absolutely no way we are going to win that. It is just not going to happen.

"What we should be aiming for are the next European Championships in France."

To that end, Perryman thinks Hodgson will stick with the youngsters Fabio Capello introduced into his squad after the dire performance in South Africa.

"Jack Wilshere and Jack Rodwell won't be fit for the summer unfortunately, but the other lads should get some experience," said Perryman.

"We have to look at this from a long-term perspective.

"Both Fabio Capello and Sven-Goran Eriksson had impressive CVs at club level but they didn't get us to win something, so maybe we have been looking at this from the wrong perspective."

Kidderminster striker Anthony Malbon was airlifted to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital after being knocked unconscious during the Blue Square Premier fixture against Mansfield at Aggborough.

In a statement issued on Kidderminster's official website, the club said Malbon, 20, was talking to those treating him as he was taken to hospital.

The statement read: "Harriers are pleased to be able to say that striker Anthony Malbon was awake and speaking to those around him as he was airlifted to hospital.

"Malbon was stretchered off in the 3-0 defeat to Mansfield but was said to be aware of his surroundings and even the score of the game at the point of his injury as he was carried into the air ambulance, which had landed on the Aggborough turf."

Confirming that a player had been airlifted at the end of the match, a spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "An ambulance arrived at the scene and took over treatment of the player who had received first aid from medics at the stadium and had regained consciousness.

"Due to the nature of the man's head injuries, the Midlands Air Ambulance was called to the scene.

"The man's condition was stabilised and he was airlifted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham for further assessment and specialist treatment."

The hospital had been pre-alerted to the player's arrival and the nature of his injuries, the spokesman added.

Second-tier title winner Reading has already ensured its return to the top flight by clinching one of the two automatic promotion spots on offer and cannot be caught at the top of the table.

West Ham is two points behind Southampton heading into the weekend.

The London club needs to beat Hull City and hopes Southampton loses to relegated Coventry.

If Southampton draws, West Ham would need to win by three or four goals - depending on how many Southampton scores - to clinch promotion.

Teams that finish third, fourth, fifth and sixth in the regular Championship season will then enter the playoffs, which culminates in a Wembley final for the prize of the third and last promotion place to the Premier League.

West Ham is looking to bounce straight back following its relegation at the end of the 2010/11 season while it is seven years since south coast side Southampton last played in England's top flight.

Southampton slipped up in losing 2-1 at Middlesbrough last week but manager Nigel Adkins was confident of success at St Mary's.

"We will have to make sure we do it at home now," Adkins said.

"We know what we have to do when we play Coventry at our place in front of 32,000 people."

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce, who has been criticised by some sections of the Upton Park faithful for a direct style of play supposedly not in keeping with the club's reputation for passing football, insisted the season would be a success even if it missed out on second place.

"Considering the turnover of players and the state of the club when I walked in, this is a happy club now with a soul," Allardyce told BBC Radio London.

"We know we were good enough to clinch first or second but where we've come from we've had a magnificent season," added Allardyce, who has Premier League experience from his time in charge of Bolton, Newcastle and Blackburn.

Looking forward to Saturday's matches, Allardyce said: "We don't want to come off the field and not having taken advantage of a slip-up by Southampton.

"Let's do the job. If it's not to be, it's not to be."

Ferdinand's lawyers had advised him not to shake Terry's hand - the first time the pair would have met in a Barclays Premier League match since the Chelsea captain was accused of racially abusing the QPR player in October.

After taking legal advice, the Premier League has now decided to suspend the handshake convention.

A Premier League statement read: "The Premier League position on the pre-match handshake convention remains consistent.

"In all normal circumstances it must be observed.

"However, after discussions with both Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers about the potential and specific legal context in relation to John Terry and Anton Ferdinand the decision has been taken to suspend the handshake convention for Sunday's match."

While Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has been attempting to play down the chances of his side ending the season as Barclays Premier League champion, Ferguson is happy to talk up the pressure.

After all, he is the one who boasts all the championship-winning experience in his squad.

However, that engagement with the task should not be mistaken for relishing the intensity of a situation United created for itself when it threw away that two-goal advantage against Everton on Sunday, and in the process allowed City to creep within striking distance.

It was the kind of self-inflicted wound United has endured so often during Ferguson's long reign. And it never gets any easier to take.

"I am a confirmed masochist," said Ferguson. "I joined about 26 years ago.

"When the fixtures came out at the beginning of the season, it all pointed to this game. It was inevitable I suppose. In the context of our history, we almost expected it.

"Our supporters have been subjected to that drama for years and years. God knows what they are like just now."

It is true that United tends to make life hard for itself.

That epic 1999 Champions League final victory is the most obvious example, but there are plenty of other instances down the years where United has staggered over the line after initially appearing to saunter towards it.

There is one clear advantage this time around, which could be vital - it does not actually have to win.

"We know the exact situation we are in here," said Ferguson. "We are in a better position than Manchester City.

"We can get two results, they can only get one.

"They have to win. We can draw or we can win, although you know my attitude and the club's attitude. We will be trying to win."

What is now being billed as the most important Manchester derby of all is the latest in a succession of fixtures between the red and blue halves of a divided city which seem to have increased in intensity on every occasion.

Starting with that memorable Michael Owen injury-time winner, there have been two semi-finals which yielded one victory apiece, Wayne Rooney's magnificent winner at Old Trafford last season, United just holding off a rampant 10-man City to claim an FA Cup third round triumph at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season, and City's magnificent 6-1 win last October.

"We have to get used to playing Manchester City in important games," said Ferguson.

"They are not going away. The support they have means we are going to be playing them in a lot of big games - finals maybe. We already have done in semi-finals and an important cup tie this season.

"If we are going to be contesting for league titles regularly - and I think we will be doing - it will become just as important as the Liverpool game.

"Maybe not in terms of emotion but there is certainly an importance which, at this moment in time, supercedes the Liverpool games.

"They are our direct opponents now. Manchester City are up against us to win titles. That is what our focus is on, the team who can stop us winning."

Yet, for all that, Ferguson accepts what has gone before is of no consequence.

As he takes his team away for a short break to fill a "long weekend", all fit and ready for action with the exception of Nemanja Vidic, Darren Fletcher and Anderson, the United manager is acutely aware the only thing that matters is how his side performs for 90 minutes on Monday night.

"I don't know if I thrive on it but I am up for it," he said.

"I am prepared for it and my players will be prepared for it.

"The previous games are irrelevant.

"We have played three times this year, the Community Shield, the FA Cup and the league game at Old Trafford. It doesn't matter now.

"The past is the past. It is all down to Monday."

Gerrard was left out of the squad for Sunday's home defeat to West Brom as a precaution in order to protect a minor hamstring niggle.

With nothing but pride left to play for in the Barclays Premier League, manager Kenny Dalglish does not want to take any chances with the England international with an FA Cup final coming up in just over a week's time.

"He's fine, no problem," was Dalglish's assessment of Gerrard.

"We said it was just a precaution so he's back training. He's been training all week, so there's no other problems."

Central midfield has been a problem area for Dalglish this season with Gerrard absent for the majority of the first half of the campaign, after groin and then ankle problems.

He then lost Brazil international Lucas Leiva, seen as a pivotal figure in the Liverpool set-up, to a knee injury in November which required surgery and prematurely ended his involvement.

Gerrard has returned to full fitness in the second half of the season and has been paired alongside Adam, Jordan Henderson and Jay Spearing.

The latter has taken over as first-choice after Adam's initial loss of form and then his injury in the 3-2 defeat at QPR on March 21, and looks set to continue after Dalglish confirmed he would not be returning before the northern summer break.

"There is no operation needed but he won't play this season," said the Reds boss, who also warned Great Britain coach Stuart Pearce the midfielder was unlikely to be available for consideration in any London 2012 plans.

"And I would think if they had any designs on having him in the Olympics he wouldn't be fit for that either."

The extent of Adam's injury has taken some time to have confirmed. Adam was on crutches for Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final victory over Everton at Wembley just under a fortnight ago but by last weekend he was walking unaided.

It brings to an end a disappointing first season at Anfield for the 26-year-old, who arrived from Blackpool in the northern summer with high expectations.

However, after an encouraging start, scoring on only his fourth appearance, Adam's form dropped.

He missed a penalty in the Carling Cup shoot-out win over Cardiff in February and soon after, having been a regular starter, lost his place to Spearing.

With three matches in eight days coming up - including the cup final against Chelsea next weekend - Dalglish may be tempted to rest a few other players in the coming days.

He has resisted the urge to throw in some of the club's youngsters who have done well in the reserves, although he did give teenager Raheem Sterling his first-team debut in last month's defeat to Wigan.

But he maintains he has enough depth to ensure the team can compete in its remaining four league matches as it looks to improve on a disappointing eighth place.

"I think everyone deserves to play," he said.

"We've not picked a squad yet (for Saturday's trip to Norwich, who are only three points behind) but everyone is capable of playing in the Premier League.

"We will have a look tomorrow at what we have got and will pick the team accordingly."

Connor's future will be decided at the end of the campaign in a comprehensive review undertaken by club chairman Steve Morgan and chief executive Jez Moxey.

But whatever the outcome, Connor will take both positives and negatives from his time in charge of the Barclays Premier League outfit.

"I have no regrets," he said. "I've tried to do things properly and as honestly as I can. I have no regrets on that score.

"You want to win games and it hasn't happened for me. It doesn't mean I have to have regrets about decisions I made.

"I made them honestly and for the good of Wolves, and as long as I stick to that, that's all I can do.

"I've learned loads, loads about everything, and probably more about myself and how I handle certain situations."

Regarding his future, Connor said: "You will have to ask Jez and Steve there. They will decide where the club wants to go.

"If it involves me, great, if not, I'll use the experiences at Wolves to find employment elsewhere."

One option would be for Connor to be reunited with former Wolverhampton boss Mick McCarthy, whom he worked under as assistant manager before being named as his replacement until the end of the season.

McCarthy has indicated he would happily work with his former number two again, but Connor is also adamant he can stand on his own two feet.

Connor said: "We worked well over a number of years and got to know each other very well.

"I can understand Mick saying that and I'd have no problems if he asked me to work with him again. I would have no problems doing that.

"But I would also say I'm nearly 50 now and I got by for 45 years on my own two feet. I can look after myself.

"It is nice Mick has given me that recommendation but I can stand on my own two feet if necessary."

Meanwhile, Wolverhampton's on-loan Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong has been ruled out of Saturday's trip to Swansea with a hamstring injury.

Christophe Berra is set to deputise as Wolverhampton look for its first win in 12 games.

The London club has produced a remarkable end to what has been a difficult campaign to reach the finals of both the Champions League and FA Cup under interim boss Roberto Di Matteo following the departure of Andre Villas-Boas, who had only been appointed in the northern summer as successor to Carlo Ancelotti.

With so many key matches to focus on as Chelsea aims to qualify for next season's Champions League via a top-four finish in the Barclays Premier League and secure victory over Liverpool at Wembley before it heads to Munich on May 19, a fresh permanent managerial appointment is not on the immediate agenda for Abramovich and the Chelsea board.

The club has been managed by Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, caretaker Guus Hiddink, Ancelotti and Villas-Boas since the departure of Jose Mourinho in September 2007, but Buck argues the consistency of the team would appear to prove that those were sound decisions.

The American said: "When people talk about instability at Chelsea, they refer to the fact we have changed a lot of managers over the years, and we have.

"It is probably important to have stability with your manager, but you have to do it with the right manager.

"We think we have made the right decisions all along, and we have a hell of a lot of trophies to show what we have done over the last eight or nine years, so that is the proof in the pudding."

Buck hailed the performance of Di Matteo - who has overseen 10 wins and just one defeat in his 15 games - following its progress to the Champions League final which was secured by an aggregate victory over Barcelona.

"It is about the Chelsea spirit, we kept the blue flag flying high, and we just have to be proud of these guys each day," Buck added.

"We have had a lot of ups and down this season, a lot of criticism, but here we are in the final of the Champions League and the final of the FA Cup, it is a pretty good position to be in."

Before its Munich date, the Blues will be out to make up the four-point gap on fourth-placed Newcastle to ensure qualification for the Champions League again regardless of the result in Munich.

First up is the small matter of the west London derby against QPR, which Buck concedes has its own added "dynamics" given the ongoing debate surrounding Anton Ferdinand and Chelsea captain John Terry.

"We have a long way to go. We have to take it one match at a time, as Robbie and the team are doing," Buck continued.

"We have got QPR this weekend, and that is going to be difficult because the dynamics are difficult, but we have got to snare the three points there."

Chelsea is waiting on the fitness of centre-half Gary Cahill, who limped out at the Nou Camp with a hamstring injury. It will also be without Ramires and Raul Meireles as well as defender Branislav Ivanovic for the final because of disciplinary sanctions after bookings against Barcelona, although FIFPro, the international players' union, has called on UEFA to show leniency, with Bayern's first XI also set to be hit.

Forward Salomon Kalou has enjoyed a new impetus since Di Matteo's elevation, and with the suspensions could be in line to start in the final.

The star forward said: "We have to give credit to Robbie. He brought some energy to the club and to the team.

"He gave the belief to all the players who were not in the squad before and when you want to win this kind of competition, you have to use everyone and not exclude players.

"He brought everyone together, the belief for everyone to bring his potential to the team and to try to help the team win a prize."

Earlier this month the Wigan manager rubbished claims he was set to quit the club this northern summer while fresh reports this week have linked him with Greek giant Olympiacos.

The futures of players such as Hugo Rodallega, James McCarthy and Victor Moses have also been the subject of conjecture throughout the season.

But Martinez, who has resisted overtures from Aston Villa to stay at the DW Stadium, is paying no attention and focusing only on his side's battle against relegation.

The 38-year-old said: "I have got no time to think about that.

"Those stories are there - so be it - but I don't think we have to talk about them.

"With all these stories - as I always said with players - if you get attention from other clubs it must be because we are doing something right.

"We should all be pleased, but we will never lose concentration on the job in hand.

"What we have got on our hands is one of the biggest moments in the club's history.

"Any story that is away from that - it is not the time and it is not important."

Wigan, having spent most of the season in the Barclays Premier League bottom three, was being widely written off in the relegation scrap just over a month ago.

Since then a series of remarkable results, including wins over Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal, has lifted it out of the drop zone and within reach of safety.

But defeat at Fulham last weekend still leaves little room for error and Martinez wants no distractions ahead of Saturday's visit from Champions League-chasing Newcastle.

He said: "I am extremely proud of the team and the results we have been getting.

"But we have done nothing, we need to concentrate on the next three games.

"That is not just for myself but for everyone - the staff, players and everyone connected to the football club.

"All we are talking about is Newcastle and making sure we are as good as we can be in the next three games, and nothing else."

Wigan, which beat the drop on the final day of last season, is just a point above 18th-placed neighbour Bolton, which has a game in hand.

After the Newcastle test, Wigan wraps up its campaign with games against fellow battlers Blackburn and doomed Wolverhampton and Martinez envisages more twists and turns ahead.

Martinez said: "I am not looking at the table at all.

"We are fighting to get points we lost really early in the season but since February we have found a very good level of performance and that is all I am concentrating on.

"Carrying on that level until the final moment of the final game is all we want to do.

"If we do that then we can look at the points tally and see where it takes us.

"It would be a big mistake now to think we are safe just because we are outside the relegation places."

Martinez is hopeful Rodallega will have a role to play in the season's closing fixtures as he nears full fitness.

The Colombian striker, scorer of the vital late winner on the final day against Stoke last season, has been out for seven weeks with a knee problem but is now back in training.

Martinez said: "We will assess him over the next two days but he is slowly getting ready to make the squad, which is great news.

"Hugo has got something quite special - he has been able to grab the big moments and score goals.

"We all saw what happened last season and that is something natural. I don't think you can coach that to anyone.

"To have that in the squad is of real value and all we want is everyone in the squad to be fit and available to help the team in the last three games.

"There are going to be big moments, big emotions and we need every player ready to perform. Hugo is no exception."

Fellow forward Franco di Santo is doubtful with a calf problem while defender Ronnie Stam is unlikely to feature after suffering a hamstring injury in training.

Bolton chairman Phil Gartside, who also sits on the 14-member FA board, has described the Tottenham boss as having the potential to be an "outstanding England manager".

Redknapp is the overwhelming favourite to take over the role that has remained vacant since Fabio Capello handed in his resignation on February 8.

Despite Redknapp's seemingly universal approval the FA has remained tight-lipped about who will lead England into the European Championship, saying only that a decision would be made towards the end of the season.

In an interview to be aired on on the BBC World Extra Time this weekend, Gartside also labelled Redknapp as a "good motivator with a winning mentality".

Gartside is not, however, part of the four-man Club England board tasked with appointing the new manager, although as part of the FA board he will be asked to ratify any decision.

The four men charged with replacing Capello are director of football development Trevor Brooking, general secretary Alex Horne, Club England managing director Adrian Bevington and FA chairman David Bernstein.

As usual, Gill will play a lead role in negotiating United's transfer business and there are also other significant issues, not least a new contract for Paul Scholes, that need to be sorted out.

It means Gill will be busy when Sir Alex Ferguson is beginning his annual vacation - possibly after guiding United to a record 20th league title.

"The work goes on all year round but obviously intensifies as we come to the end of the season in terms of players," Gill told United Review.

"There's various contracts we've got to do, we'll look at some acquisitions and there will be some players who will leave. It's an interesting time."

The most notable players likely to be heading for the exit door are record signing Dimitar Berbatov, who has already been told by Ferguson that United would listen to suitable offers; Michael Owen, whose contract runs out anyway, and Bebe, who is due to return from a loan spell with Turkish outfit Besiktas, with whom he is currently suspended after breaking a club curfew.

Normal rumours about player purchases are starting to intensify and though Ferguson solved what appeared to be a significant weakness in central midfield by calling Scholes out of retirement mid-season, it would be a disappointment to many United fans if the club did not try and secure at least one reinforcement. Doubts remain over the future of Anderson, and fans are eager to ensure there is no repeat of this term's awful European performances.

Efforts will be made to try and persuade French youngster Paul Pogba to sign a long-term deal and with Fabio due to leave on loan, a deputy at left-back for Patrice Evra is also required.

The task is made easier by United's continued presence in the Champions League and winning yet another league title would also provide further proof the Old Trafford outfit is able to compete for the major honours.

For long periods this term, it did look as though United would end up playing second fiddle to big-spending neighbour Manchester City.

However, a run of 11 wins from 12 games swept Ferguson's team into top spot and though defeat at Wigan nine days ago was a surprise setback, Gill accepts he would have taken United's present lead of five points with four games left had it been offered at the turn of the year.

"I think we all would," he said.

"It's been an amazing run and it's going to be a tense end to the season. If we do it, it will be fantastic.

"This time of year's not good [for the nerves]. You do get tense but we've done very well and are in good shape now - five points ahead with four games to go. It's going to be tight but it's been wonderful."

Stuart Pearce has been in interim charge of the team following Fabio Capello's resignation in February over the Football Association's decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy while he fights a racism charge.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is widely considered to be the favourite for the role but so far no official announcement has been made, with the tournament kicking off in less than two months' time.

Lineker, speaking on BBC Radio Five Live, said: "What is going on with the FA? When are they going to decide or even approach some form of England manager or let Stuart Pearce know he's got (the job) for the Euros? Somebody has to prepare.

"The only reason I can think of - which I'm sure is the reason - is that they don't want to upset any club's applecart.

"If they were going to go for Harry Redknapp, which we all presume they will, they don't want to upset the end of Spurs' season - but it seems they have already done that now so they might as well get on with it.

"They may think everything is in place and there are no (England) games until the end of the season, the training camp is all sorted, but the new man needs to start thinking and planning his team.

"He needs to start thinking and planning about how other teams play and do his homework on them and things like that, now they're running out of time.

"If they were going to go with anybody, they should have done it by now."

This time last week the American, together with chairman Tom Werner, had arrived from the United States for one of their infrequent visits and relieved director of football Damien Comolli of his duties, closely followed out of the door by head of sports science and sports medicine, Australian Peter Brukner.

The pair missed Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final win over Everton having gone back to the US to watch the first home game of the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Sports Group's other major sports investment.

Dalglish has spoken to Henry on his return this week but said nothing too much should be read into that.

"We spoke to the owners, we speak to them frequently enough in the normal course of events," said the Scot, who last week was given the full backing of FSG by Werner despite a disappointing league campaign.

"They own the club and [if] they want to speak to the people they employ they are entitled to do that.

"It doesn't matter (where they are), if you talk to someone you talk to them.

"We've had plenty of conversations but they will remain private.

"We don't tell everyone what we speak about and I don't think there is any danger of us ever coming out publicly and saying what our conversations have been.

"It it our own private business and that is the way it should be.

"I don't know what the big deal is - if you run the football club you talk to the manager, you talk to whoever you want, it is your club.

"I don't even see why it keeps coming up. I don't hear people asking everyone else if they have spoken to their owners this week."

The players returned to the club's Melwood training ground today following a few days off after their Wembley exertions.

Despite an FA Cup final against Chelsea looming on May 5, Dalglish is confident his players will be able to focus on the league - and the improvements which have to be made - before then.

"They are coming off the back of a fantastic performance and result at Wembley on Saturday, but for us to think that it is finished would be wrong and we want to continue," said the manager.

"I don't think they had a problem the last time (after winning the Carling Cup in February).

"They played Arsenal and they were magnificent, although the result (a last-minute 2-1 defeat) was not what we hoped for or what we deserved.

"It is not difficult for them to lift themselves. They are not complacent or arrogant; we are delighted we got the result at the weekend but we will not get carried away.

"The players have been really professional in the way they have gone about their job and I am sure they will continue to do that from now until the end of the season in every game we play.

"They come in and are determined to do their training properly and they want to win every game on the pitch.

"We try our best to win, we want to win and we are capable of winning so if we go about it in the right way and not rest on our laurels we will be okay.

"They enjoyed the result (against Everton) but I am sure they will dust themselves down and try to get some positive results from now until the end of the season.

"Although we haven't won as many games as we would have liked in the league we have still given ourselves fantastic opportunities to do that.

"We will just plod on and as long as we believe in each other we will be okay.

"We have important games coming up and we want to win them."

London sides Arsenal and Chelsea have confirmed they will participate next season, when the league expands from 16 to 24 teams.

It takes to seven the number of British teams involved and means United is the only member of England's elite not to commit to the event given Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham were all involved in the debut season.

And despite the obvious attraction of having United featuring alongside Barcelona and Inter Milan, which beat Ajax in this season's final, and the added competition for its Under-19 group, it is understood the Old Trafford hierarchy has already decided not to get involved.

Man United will continue to look for extra competition away from domestic fare, though, and earlier this month had a successful run to the final of the Dallas Super Cup, where it was beaten by Brazilian outfit Coritiba 2-1, after having two players sent off.

Pearce has slashed his 191-strong long list to 80 players, who are now being contacted by the Football Association to confirm they remain in contention.

Beckham is the most notable figure and it remains highly likely the former England skipper, 37 next month, will be one of three over-age players in Pearce's final 18-man squad when it is confirmed at the end of May.

Having played such a pivotal role in getting the Olympics to London in the first place, it would be a suitable reward, although others may argue it could weaken British hopes of a gold medal.

Representatives from all four Home Nations are in the latest squad, including Gareth Bale, Craig Bellamy, Steven Fletcher and Chris Brunt and the FA remains optimistic non-English players will accept a chance to play in a major tournament on home soil.

However, the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish FA's are completely opposed to participation and whilst they accept there is no legal basis to bar selection, dire warnings about future existence of national teams are bound to be made.

Arsenal's Jack Wilshere has been ruled out through injury but former Chelsea star Joe Cole, currently on loan at Lille, is amongst the potential over-age players, whilst Birmingham's Jack Butland, Chelsea's Josh McEachran and Crystal Palace's Nathaniel Clyne are amongst those who meet the under-23 criteria.

Knowledge that Beckham could still be in the squad and appear in competitive games in the UK for possibly the last time should help push ticket sales which, for GB games, are said to be strong.

In excess of 50,000 have been sold for the opening game at Old Trafford on 26 July and a double-header friendly featuring the men's and women's teams will be confirmed for the north-east at some stage over the next few weeks.

GB will learn its three group stage opponents at the official draw on Tuesday, although it is likely it will be kept apart from fellow European contenders Spain, which is almost certain to include Manchester United keeper David de Gea, Switzerland and Belarus, plus Brazil, which will almost certainly be a fellow top seed.

Argentina, USA and Australia are amongst the most notable teams who have not qualified but the presence of Uruguay, Mexico and New Zealand should generate wider interest.

The final place in the men's competition will be decided at Coventry on Monday, when Senegal takes on Oman in a playoff.

Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, said it was high time football followed other major sports.

The issue has been thrown into the spotlight again after Chelsea's 'ghost goal' against Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final.

Taylor said: "I think the more it goes on that we don't use technology, the more perverse it is looking for football, being the major spectator game throughout the whole world as well as the major participant game.

"When you see how successful it has been used in rugby league, rugby union, tennis and cricket - it is what the modern sporting spectator expects.

"In the interests of seeing justice is done and the right result - although controversy is always going to be part of the game - the sooner it comes in the better.

"I know people will say it is the thin end of the wedge because the next point will be was it a penalty, was it offside or not - but that might be a debate for another day.

"I think we should at least have that goal-line technology for starters. The technology is there and I see no reason why we should wait any longer."

The Football Association also back goal-line technology - but there is no guarantee of systems being used in FA Cup matches even if approval is given by the game's law-makers on 2 July to two systems after final tests.

The FA is wrestling with the issue of whether it should be used in a competition where some clubs, for example in the Premier League, would have a system in place and others lower down the leagues would not.

FA general secretary Alex Horne said last month the issue was still being discussed, adding: "We have to think about it locally in terms of whether it is enforced in an entire competition or at specific entry points. I don't think we could force 763 clubs to introduce it."

The FA has confirmed that it is still too early for a decision to be taken, but pointed out it had long supported the idea on the International FA Board (IFAB), where it holds one of eight votes.

The systems being tested are a camera-based design developed by Hawk-Eye, the British company bought out by Sony last year, and GoalRef, a German-Danish firm who has a chip in the ball which is monitored by magnetic fields in the goal.

A GoalRef spokesman confirmed that its system would function even during an incident such as the one involving Chelsea and Tottenham, when Juan Mata's shot struck bodies lying on and over the goal-line.

The spokesman told Press Association: "GoalRef is for just these sorts of situations.

"It is a simple system with a small transmitter inside the ball and some antennae behind the goals which detect a change in the magnetic field when it crosses the line."

A number of high-profile players have been accused of diving in recent weeks with Manchester United's Ashley Young twice the subject of attention.

Young was accused of going down too easily to win a penalty in his side's Premier League win over Aston Villa, a week after a similar incident in a controversial defeat of Queens Park Rangers.

Taylor has not commented on individual incidences but does feel that, generally, strong measures need to be put in place to prevent cheating.

Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, said: "When it is blatant, when players are feigning injury or holding parts of the body that weren't even touched just to try to exaggerate a contact or get an opponent booked or sent off, that is something that needs to be condemned and that can't be tolerated.

"From that point of view, it is up to all authorities, including the referees and with the aid of technology, to make sure there is education and appropriate sanctions when it is blatant - when someone has tried to gain an advantage they shouldn't have done - so that the message will get through.

"It is very difficult when players are playing with so much at stake and managers jobs are on the line - sometimes their futures depend on the next game - for them not to think to seize an advantage if they can get one.

"But I think we have got to do all we can to try to make sure the game is played in the best possible way.

"That sounds a little bit innocent and naive but unless you do that you are not doing your job."

For matters that are not clear cut, Taylor can understand the difficult pressures players can be placed under.

It is also not a new debate with Taylor, whose playing career in the 1960s and 70s took in spells with Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham city and Blackburn Rovers, remembering how Manchester City legend Francis Lee was often accused of diving.

Taylor said: "Sometimes a forward will try to keep his balance and try to keep going when contact has been made but not enough to knock him down.

"But then he will be asked why he didn't go down, because that would have been a penalty.

"I played with Francis Lee at Bolton and he went on to City.

"As a player if contact was made and you felt you had lost control, or you were not in as good a position as you were, then you were not exactly told but, as a professional, would be expected to try to make the most of the opportunity.

"That is the more cynical side of the game, bearing in mind what is at stake. You are damned if you do, damned if you don't.

"That does not make it easy for the referee, and the commercial cynicism and win-at-all-costs (mentality) has got to be really discouraged."

Taylor is an advocate of using video reviews to take retrospective action against players who transgress, but would go further.

As well as introducing technology for goal-line decisions, Taylor would also use replays during games to catch divers.

He said: "We have got the Olympics coming up and you hope sport will be played according to the spirit, to the letter of the law, but in professional sport - indeed all sport - there will always be people looking to gain an advantage.

"It needs careful monitoring and for all the education we give to our members and young players, and of course the sanctions to stop it happening and acting as a deterrent, it is always going to be with us.

"No doubt if we do get video technology, there will then be a debate about should we use it to see if contact was made - was it a penalty, was it a free-kick.

"In really crucial situations, I see no reason why the referee can't hold up play for a period of time, albeit a short time, to see that justice is done."

Birmingham Heartlands Hospital confirmed the former England striker has been released, with the 57-year-old having recovered well from successful surgery.

A hospital spokesperson said: "Trevor Francis was discharged from Birmingham Heartlands Hospital this afternoon."

The news comes as welcome relief, not just to Francis' family but to the footballing world, who have shown their support over the weekend.

It also comes on the same day that Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba has been discharged from the London Chest Hospital after his cardiac arrest on the pitch during an FA Cup tie with Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on 17 March.

Francis earned legendary status with Birmingham City, the club where he starred between 1970 and 1979 before becoming Britain's first £1 million ($1.54 million) player when he joined Nottingham Forest.

He went on to score the winning goal for Forest in the 1979 European Cup final against Malmo, subsequently helping the team reach the 1980 final against Hamburg although he missed the victory through injury.

And current Forest chairman Frank Clark, who played alongside Francis for the Reds in their 1979 triumph, has wished his former team-mate well.

"I was shocked to hear the news that Trevor had been taken ill," Clark told the club's official website.

"On behalf of everyone at Nottingham Forest I would like to wish Trevor a full and speedy recovery."

Gary Lineker added his delight that both Francis and Muamba had been released.

Using Twitter, he wrote: "I see Fabrice Muamba has been released from hospital. How good is that? #miraculous. Trevor Francis also discharged from hospital after a suspected heart attack. Good news all round."

Francis left Forest in 1981 and enjoyed spells with Manchester City, Sampdoria, Atalanta and Rangers.

And Rangers manager Ally McCoist earlier told the Glasgow club's official website: "I had the pleasure of playing with Trevor later in his career at Ibrox and I know he enjoyed his time in Scotland.

"It was a shock to hear of his heart attack but he is a fighter and I hope he can make a quick and complete recovery.

"On behalf of everyone at Rangers Football Club I wish Trevor and his family well at this difficult time."

Francis won 52 England caps and represented his country at the 1982 World Cup, later enjoying player/manager stints with Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday.

The Plymouth-born forward returned to Birmingham as manager in 1996 and led the club to three play-off semi-finals as well as the 2001 League Cup final, which it lost to Liverpool on penalties.

After leaving St Andrew's in 2001, Francis had a two-year spell as manager of Crystal Palace and has since worked extensively as a television pundit.

The trouble left a 33-year-old man in hospital with injuries to his head and neck following the fight at The Circle Club in Manchester in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Diouf, a former player with Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool and Rangers, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of violent disorder.

Five other men were also arrested and all have been bailed until May 23, pending further police inquiries.

Ferdinand, the brother of Manchester United and England star Rio, was questioned under caution by officers on Sunday.

Diouf and Ferdinand were team-mates when both played for Sunderland.

Diouf, 31, originally form Senegal, is now with Doncaster Rovers, who was relegated from the npower Championship on Saturday.

Ferdinand, 27, currently plays for Queens Park Rangers, who is fighting against relegation from the Barclays Premier League.

Police are investigating whether a bottle was used in the fighting.

The Circle Club, a members-only bar, has in the past attracted professional footballers from both Manchester United and City, actors from Coronation Street and reality stars from Big Brother.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "A fight had taken place and a 33-year-old man was injured.

"He was taken to hospital for treatment to injuries to the side of his head and to the side of his neck, and he remains in a serious but stable condition.

"Six men were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder, five of whom have been bailed until May 23 pending further police inquiries.

"Another man has assisted the investigation, which is ongoing."

No-one at the Circle Club could be contacted for comment.

The 57-year-old is recovering after being admitted to Birmingham Heartlands Hospital in Bordesley Green on Friday.

A tweet from his former club Birmingham read: "Trevor Francis' family have contacted the club to express their thanks at the overwhelming messages of support from Blues fans."

The club said it had been told Francis had undergone surgery to have a stent fitted and that he had made good progress.

Francis starred for Blues from 1970-79 before becoming the first £1 million player when he joined Nottingham Forest. He later managed City between 1996 and 2001.

Another of Francis' former clubs, Sheffield Wednesday, also expressed its best wishes.

A tweet from the South Yorkshire club read: "All at Sheffield Wednesday would like to wish former player and manager Trevor Francis a speedy recovery."

Francis guided the Owls to the FA Cup and League Cup finals in 1993 after taking over as player-manager at Hillsborough.

Mark Bright, a member of that Wednesday team, tweeted: "I'm stunned to hear that my former swfc manager Trevor Francis is in hospital after suffering a heart attack. getwellSoon."

Former England team-mate Gary Lineker also used Twitter to convey his thoughts.

Lineker said: "Shocked to hear Trevor Francis has suffered a heart attack. Thoughts are with him and his family getwellTrevor."

Mick Rathbone, a former Birmingham team-mate, said last night: "Just heard bad news about Trevor Francis.... spoke to him at length last sat... best player in england in late seventies getwellsoon."

Francis remains the youngest player to have featured in a first-team game for Birmingham having made his debut in September 1970 at the age of 16 years and 139 days.

He is regarded as one of the finest players to have represented the club and helped it win promotion back to the old Division One in 1972.

He went on to score the winning goal for Forest in the 1979 European Cup final against Malmo, before helping the team reach the 1980 final against Hamburg, although he missed the showpiece through injury.

He left Forest in 1981, going on to play for Manchester City, Sampdoria, Atalanta and Rangers.

He won 52 England caps and represented his country at the 1982 FIFA World Cup before his player manager spells with QPR and Wednesday.

He took over as Birmingham boss in 1996 and led it to the 2001 League Cup final.

Since leaving Blues he has had a spell as manager of Crystal Palace from 2001 to 2003 and worked extensively as a television pundit.

A spokesman for the npower Championship club said it had been informed by a person close to Francis's family that he had been taken ill.

It is believed Francis was taken to Solihull Hospital and the club spokesman said it had been told that the former England striker had had a stent fitted and was making a good recovery.

Francis played for the Blues between 1971 and 1979 before becoming England's first £1 million player when he joined Nottingham Forest. He also managed Birmingham between 1996 and 2001.

A statement on the club's official website www.bcfc.com read: "Everybody at Birmingham City FC would like to send our best wishes to club legend Trevor Francis after news that he is recovering in hospital from a suspected heart attack.

"The former Blues striker and manager is much loved by everybody associated with the club and we'd like to wish Trevor a speedy recovery."

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) says research commissioned by them concluded that trouble on match days could be attributed to football.

Assistant chief constable Andy Holt, who leads ACPO on football policing, told BBC Radio Five Live: "My personal view is that the clubs should bear a greater burden of the costs for the overall policing of football."

Presently, clubs are responsible for the costs of policing in and around stadiums, and any further demands could lead to conflict with the football authorities.

ACPO has yet to publish the research but Holt defended the move to investigate the situation, saying: "This research is about enabling us to have an informed discussion with football clubs to determine the most fair and equitable way of policing football.

"We have a very productive working relationship with the football clubs and I want that to continue.

"But it is still the case that on occasion we have violence and disorder in town centres and transport interchanges that are associated with rival football fans, that causes a problem to local communities and is a drain on police resources.

"I think it's right and proper that we understand the extent of that problem which is why we commissioned this research, and we use the results of the research to inform our discussions with the clubs."

He added: "We were always challenged when we said that football contributed to an increase in crime and disorder on match days, and hard-headed businessmen in the Premier League and the Football League quite rightly said, 'What evidence do you have of that?'

"Most senior football commanders would say, 'I know there to be an increase in crime and disorder', but they didn't have the empirical evidence to prove it."

The research was conducted by a team from University College London, led by Professional Nick Tilley.

Holt said: "I'm quite comfortable that that research will stand scrutiny as entirely correct and it shows that on a match day there is an increase in crime and disorder associated with football in a wider area than just the footprint.

"There are some clubs that cause very few problems to police forces up and down country. Other clubs, that is not the case.

"You have to have a negotiation with individual clubs that will come up with an appropriate response.

"I can't sit here and say you're going to have the same costing and charging regime across the piece.

"The ACPO policy remains extant. We have an agreement that stemmed from a judgement which involved Greater Manchester Police and Wigan Football Club. We stand by that, but in future discussions we will be making reference to the research that we've commissioned."

Coppell, who has also had stints as manager of Manchester City, Crystal Palace and most recently Bristol City, takes up his new post with immediate effect.

In a statement, Crawley announced: "Steve will oversee all aspects of the club's football operations. Craig Brewster will remain as caretaker manager."

Former England and Manchester United winger Coppell, 56, has led Palace and Reading into the Premier League in his career as a manager and has been out of the game since leaving Bristol City in August 2010, after less than four months in charge.

At the time, Coppell said he was retiring from managing but hoped to find another role within football.

Reading's win over Leeds United on Saturday nudged Brian McDermott's side a point ahead of the Saints at the summit but their rivals responded with a Billy Sharp brace in the south-coast showdown that ended 2-2 at St Mary's.

Sharp must have thought his late second had secured all three points, after Chris Maguire spectacularly cancelled out his opener, but Pompey responded again with David Norris firing home from outside the box deep into injury time.

Cardiff City climbed back into the playoff places with a 2-0 win over top-six rival Middlesbrough.

The Welsh side arrived at the Riverside in eighth position, two points behind its opponent and sixth-placed Brighton and Hove Albion, but usurped both come the end of the day after first-half goals from Ben Turner and substitute Joe Mason.

Centre-half Turner headed the opener from a Liam Lawrence corner after 11 minutes before Mason, on for the injured Kenny Miller in the sixth minute, tapped in from close range from another Lawrence assist with 19 minutes on the clock.

That was the end of the scoring, though Adam Hammill and Lukas Jutkiewicz hit the woodwork for Boro in the second half.

Birmingham strengthened its grip on a playoff spot with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace, whose record at St Andrew's was extended to eight defeats in its last nine visits.

Chris Burke and Keith Fahey struck within two minutes of each other midway through the half before David Murphy got on the scoresheet in the 32nd minute. All three goals were excellent finishes from outside the box.

Palace pulled a goal back on the stroke of half-time through Owen Garvan and it was another outstanding goal from long range.

Leicester City kept up its push for a top-six place with a 4-0 win over bottom side Doncaster Rovers.

Danny Drinkwater gave them the half-time lead with a 33rd-minute effort from the edge of the area and Lee Peltier, Ben Marshall and Paul Gallagher struck in the second half to secure a comfortable margin of victory for the Foxes, who trail the playoff places by five points.

Rovers ended the day seven points adrift of 21st-placed Coventry City, which was prevented from moving further clear by Emile Sinclair's brace for Peterborough.

Cody McDonald's header and Gary McSheffrey's penalty saw Andy Thorn's team come from behind after Sinclair's superb 25-metre opener early on, but the former Macclesfield striker earned Posh a point in the 76th minute.

Hull City's losing run continued as Harry Kane's 25th-minute header and Andy Keogh's penalty gave Millwall a 2-0 win at the New Den, while Derby County and Ipswich Town drew 0-0 at Pride Park.

Chris Wood marked his return to the Bristol City team with the goal that lifted the Robins out of the relegation zone and dragged Nottingham Forest back into trouble.

Wood, on loan from West Bromwich Albion, kept his cool to score from the penalty spot early in the second half after Forest goalkeeper Lee Camp had a rush of blood and upended birthday boy Jon Stead eight yards out.

The 69-year-old Venables, who led England to the semi-finals of the 1996 European Championship, has been hired as the new technical adviser of the non-league club, which usually attracts fewer than 100 spectators to its games.

Venables was last seen in the dugout in his role as assistant to England manager Steve McClaren, before both were fired in November 2007 after the national team failed to qualify for Euro 2008.

Wembley FC has been able to sign Venables after agreeing a sponsorship deal with Budweiser, which is also in the first of a three-year deal as title sponsor of the FA Cup.

Three Bradford players and two from visiting Crawley Town were shown a red card by the referee after punches were thrown in the aftermath of the away side's 2-1 win at Valley Parade on Wednesday.

Bradford manager Phil Parkinson says "I have never been in a situation before where a ref has come into the dressing room, pulled players on one side and sent them off. He wouldn't allow me in there."

Seven players - six from Crawley - were also booked during an ill-tempered match.

The Football Association is expected to investigate the brawl.

Howard Wilkinson, who left the post to take over as Sunderland manager in 2002, said it was 'high time' that the FA made such a move.

The successful candidate is likely to be an experienced manager and will head up operations at the FA's new national football centre at St George's Park near Burton-on-Trent.

Wilkinson told the Press Association: "Any federation needs someone who is responsible for the strategic direction in terms of technical matters and the FA is no different.

"It is high time someone was appointed, absolutely yes. I can't think of a country in Europe that does not have one.

"From my point of view it is a welcome announcement and if we are going to make the most of the opportunity that St George's Park offers to us, then in the long term you need someone to think into the future and to plan for the future."

Wilkinson has for years called for such an appointment. Les Reed was appointed to the role in an acting capacity after Wilkinson, but lost his job in an FA shake-up in 2004.

The new technical director will work alongside Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA's director of football development, and lead the drive to make St George's Park a centre of excellence for coaches.

Alex Horne, the FA's general secretary, said: "The role of technical director will be crucial as we continue to strive towards improving the technical ability and knowledge of our players and coaches, both now and in the future."

The new technical director will have to possess a UEFA Pro Licence or the equivalent and is part of the FA's drive to raise the standards of football at elite and grassroots level.

St George's Park will also have the latest sports science and medical facilities and the new man will work at maximising the influence of cutting-edge developments in the game.

The successful candidate will also work with Premier League and Football League representatives on the new Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP). The EPPP is aimed at boosting the chance of domestic talent breaking through into first-term football and will rank club academies to determine their funding levels.

There has been opposition to the EPPP from some Football League clubs who believe they will get less compensation for talented young players who come through their ranks.

The position will suit an experienced manager who will head up operations at the FA's new national football centre at St George's Park near Burton-upon-Trent.

Howard Wilkinson is the only previous permanent technical director of the FA. He left in 2002 to manage Sunderland, although Les Reed served as acting technical director until 2004.

The new technical director will report to Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA's director of football development, and lead the drive to make St George's Park a centre of excellence for coaches.

Alex Horne, the FA's general secretary, said: "The role of technical director will be crucial as we continue to strive towards improving the technical ability and knowledge of our players and coaches both now and in the future."

The new technical director will have to have a UEFA Pro Licence or the equivalent and is part of the FA's drive to raise the standards of football at both elite and grassroots level.

Liam Stacey, 21, provoked revulsion with comments made while the Bolton Wanderers star still lay on the pitch.

The 23-year-old midfielder was left fighting for his life after suffering a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup tie againsgt Tottenham Hotspur on March 17.

Horrified fans watched live on TV as he fell to the ground during the quarter-final clash at White Hart Lane.

Police were inundated with complaints as members of the public reported the student's comments.

Stacey, a Swansea University biology undergraduate, was quickly tracked down and arrested.

Last week he admitted inciting racial hatred when he appeared briefly at Swansea Magistrates' Court and on Tuesday he was jailed for 56 days at the same court.

The first of Stacey's messages began with "LOL (laugh out loud). **** Muamba. He's dead!!!"

A number of people took him to task for his views and he responded with a further string of offensive comments aimed at other Twitter users.

Stacey was close to tears during his appearance before magistrates last week.

Muamba's recovery since suffering a cardiac arrest 10 days ago has been described as "miraculous".

He remains in intensive care in hospital where his condition is described as serious but stable.

The 54-year-old last managed his country in 1998 - losing his job after comments made in a newspaper interview - and has not coached a side since leaving Wolves in 2006.

But, with no-one installed as England boss for the summer tournament following Fabio Capello`s departure, a number of names and options, in particular Harry Redknapp, Roy Hodgson and current caretaker Stuart Pearce, have been mentioned.

Hoddle, though, has added his name to that list by telling the Independent that he feels he has unfinished business with the national job.

"If I were to die tomorrow, my life would be incomplete," he said, referring to his previous stint in charge.

"Would I get that opportunity (to manage England again)? Probably not. But I don't dwell on the past and, if we fast-forward to the present, I think we have a batch of players capable of going to the Euros and doing well. I find it a very interesting moment.

"Because Stuart Pearce, Harry Redknapp, Roy Hodgson, myself - anyone - who went to the tournament with the status of a caretaker would have the pressure off him and the players would be liberated too, not least those who have been on the fringes and are accustomed to thinking that the manager doesn't fancy them."

Hoddle, who won 53 caps for England as a player, does not think that using a caretaker coach is too bad an idea, should Redknapp not take the job on a permanent basis, citing the example of England's rugby union side and its temporary boss, Stuart Lancaster.

"Look at how a caretaker has worked for the England rugby team in the 6 Nations - they've done fantastically," he added.

"Everyone's got an edge. No-one's sure of a place and everyone has an incentive. So I'd back the FA if they decided not to go for a full-time manager yet. If Harry goes and does well, fine."

The Hammers, along with three other un-named rivals, have submitted applications to lease the stadium in Stratford.

West Ham won the original contest to move to the stadium last year, but that deal collapsed after a number of complaints and the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) decided to start the process again, instead offering candidates a temporary lease, rather than permanent residency.

The Championship club has applied for a 99-year lease - the maximum on offer - but insists it will only move there if the stadium is converted in to a 'world-class' 60,000-seater football ground after the 2012 Games.

One gripe West Ham fans have is the running track will remain at the stadium as part of the OPLC's commitment to ensuring an athletics legacy in the capital.

The Hammers are confident they will be able to fill the stadium regularly and create a vibrant atmosphere to match the one they currently have at Upton Park, but Barry Hearn, chairman of Leyton Orient - which officially withdrew from the campaign - thinks otherwise.

"This represents a quantum change in the experience of a football punter and frankly it could be the demise of West Ham if they move there," Hearn told Press Association Sport.

"It's a huge slap in the face to their fans and their history.

"The stadium is a magnificent athletics stadium, a magnificent building. It's just not built for football.

"The pitch is 40 to 50 yards away from the front row of seats. I personally find that abhorrent.

"It is designed for athletics. Football grounds have steep stands but this one doesn't. The view from the lower tier is dreadful.

"It's not a white elephant. It's a white elephant that they're trying to make into a pink flamingo.

"If you're talking about atmosphere, then forget it.

"You would have to rebuild the entire stadium to create any atmosphere in that place."

Hearn feels Leyton Orient was never taken as a serious candidate despite being the closest club to Stratford out of the original bidders for the 2012 showpiece.

"We organised a £30,000 ($45,514) survey of the effect that West Ham will have on moving to Stratford and the results are pretty disastrous," he added.

"The whole thing has been totally bonkers. No one has talked to little Leyton Orient about it.

"This stadium is going to kill the area and kill our football club, but no one wants to listen.

"The people who are organising this are ignoring us. They don't care about us. It's total, complete b******t."

West Ham believes that leaving Upton Park - its home for the last 108 years - to move to Stratford is 'an opportunity too good to miss'.

Its current stuttering form means it may well miss out on promotion to the Premier League, but the club's board is confident that it has the ability to make the move financially viable due to its business acumen.

The Hammers will consider bidding for naming rights but are not thought to be keen on sharing the stadium with another football club or rugby team.

Their commitment to keep the running track has ensured they received the support of UK Athletics, which has bid to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships, and West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady is confident the move is right for the club.

She said: "From the outset it has been my firm, unwavering belief that the stadium can truly become a multi-use destination of which east London and the nation as a whole can be proud.

"I have never lost sight of our vision to play our part, along with the stadium's major stakeholders, in ensuring it grows into a global asset, the 'jewel in the crown' of the (Olympic) Park that will be watched by the world.

"Our vision for the stadium has always been about standing up for the promises made for London back in Singapore in 2005 and what they meant for our future generations.

"We are honoured to have once more received the support and backing of our friends at UK Athletics."

The OPLC is expected to announce a verdict before this summer's Games, which start in July.

Platini said the apology may have gone missing and the chance of making one face-to-face was lost when Richards pulled out of attending UEFA's Congress in Istanbul yesterday.

"I read in an English media outlet he was going to send an email; maybe the email got lost in the corridors of UEFA but I never saw it," Platini said.

"What he said was slightly surprising because I know Mr Richards' ingenuity.

"He said football was stolen from England and that a gang has done this. We are not a gang at UEFA and the English are so generous they have given football to the entire planet.

"Football now belongs to the whole world and I want to thank England for their gift to the world."

Richards had been due in Istanbul to sign a contract with UEFA in his capacity as chairman of the European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL).

The memorandum of understanding between the EPFL and UEFA was instead signed by Sergey Pryadkin, the president of the Russian Premier League.

"I don't know the reasons that motivated the president of the EPFL not to come. What was important was to have the contract with the EPFL signed," Platini said

Richards made his remarks at a conference in Qatar last week.

"For 50 years we owned the game, we were the governance of the game. We wrote the rules and designed the pitches," he said.

"Then, 50 years later, some guy came along and said we like this and they actually stole it. It was called FIFA. Fifty years later another gang came along called UEFA and stole a bit more."

Meanwhile, the FA signalled it is prepared to give up the "anachronistic" British FIFA vice-presidency as part of the reforms of the world governing body.

FA general secretary Alex Horne admitted the position, which has been shared between the four British associations since 1946, was of limited value, while it has been the target of resentment in other parts of the football world for years.

Horne said the FA's priority was to maintain their presence on the law-making body known as the International FA Board (IFAB).

"We are open-minded about it. If you look at it objectively the vice-presidency is quite anachronistic and I wouldn't fight tooth and nail to keep it if I'm honest," he told the Press Association.

"I'm not sure there's a great benefit in keeping it. If we give it up in the right way there will be a little bit of goodwill and it could mean an extra UEFA seat [on FIFA's executive committee].

"As far as IFAB goes, that's much more important to us, the status of IFAB and the conservatism around controlling the laws of the game and the sanctity with which we believe the laws should be protected."

The much-anticipated complex at Burton is due to open in the northern summer.

Although the main aim is to improve coaching standards, it will also boast a significant medical facility which the Football Association believe will gain the prestigious F-MARC for excellence from world governing body FIFA.

In the wake of the treatment Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba received at Tottenham Hotpsur last weekend after suffering a cardiac arrest, the way players are looked after is now a hot topic.

And while Dr Beasley believes the medical attention Muamba received at White Hart Lane saved his life, he feels St George's Park will be the catalyst for even greater improvement.

"We will be able to monitor players from a much younger age and in far more detail," he said.

"We will have the capacity to view their skeletons, monitor their heart rates, give them cardiac tests, from the youngest teams right up to the national side.

"If they are part of an academy the information will go onto the passports they receive under the Elite Player Performance Plan.

"St George's Park is something very close to my heart and whilst I have been to many FIFA centres of medical excellence around the world, it has the ability to be much better."

The medical staff who treated Muamba on Saturday have earned widespread praise for their work, which Dr Beasley acknowledges saved the 23-year-old's life.

Not everyone is entirely happy though, in particular Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, who expressed his concerns in forthright fashion.

Dr Beasley can understand Mancini's argument for more rigorous screening and it is something that will be brought up at key meetings of football's senior doctors in May.

The FA medical committee meet in early May, with the Premier League doctors group to convene also.

FA AREA course is the FA Advance Resuscitation and Emergency Aid course.

"In the past there has been no real consensus about how often screening should be done," Dr Beasley added. "FIFA say once every two years, UEFA say every year, in Italy it is every six months.

"Doctors would love to see every player screened all the time, but there is a cost implication. When we sit down together in May we will talk to each other and see what the best way of screening should be.

"After all, we might not get everything but if we manage to save one player, it has to be worth considering."

However, what happened at the weekend convinced Dr Beasley more than ever that a Premier League football ground is one of the best places to have a major health trauma.

"I quite often say if you are going to have a heart attack, do it at 3pm on a Saturday at the Emirates Stadium or White Hart Lane, or wherever," he said.

"Not only do they have the facilities, they have the best trained people.

"The FA runs courses (the AREA or Advance Resuscitation and Emergency Aid course) and we hope everybody in football continues to be trained in this way.

"On Saturday, if Fabrice had not received the care he did, he would not have survived."

Richards claimed that FIFA and UEFA had 'stolen' football from England - comments which the Premier League moved quickly to distance itself from.

The plain-speaking Richards then told the International Sport Security Conference that Qatar must makes the sale of beer freely available at the 2022 World Cup or face a boycott by fans.

A bad day for the Yorkshireman got worse when he later fell face first into a fountain pool at a hotel in Doha after tripping on a low ledge while on the way to dinner.

An eyewitness told the Press Association: "It was quite a shallow pool but he fell into it face first, so his suit was completely soaked."

Richards had earlier raised eyebrows when he told the conference that England had given the world the game of football only to have it 'stolen' from them.

He said: "For 50 years, we owned the game, we were the governance of the game. We wrote the rules and designed the pitches.

"Then, 50 years later, some guy came along and said you're liars and they actually stole it. It was called FIFA. Fifty years later, another gang came along called UEFA and stole a bit more."

The Premier League has been privately embarrassed by the remarks and issued a statement saying: "Sir Dave is attending the conference in a private and personal capacity and his comments in no way reflect the views of the Premier League."

He also warned fans may boycott the Qatar 2022 World Cup unless beer is made freely available - the sale of alcohol is severely restricted in the Middle Eastern country.

Richards said: "In our country and in Germany, we have a culture. We call it, 'We would like to go for a pint', and that pint is a pint of beer.

"It is our culture as much as your culture [in Qatar] is not drinking. There has to be a happy medium.

"If you don't do something about it, you are starting to bury your head in the sand a little bit because it needs addressing.

"You might be better off saying don't come. But a World Cup without England, Germany, the Dutch, Danes and Scandinavians. It's unthinkable."

Hassan Al Thawadi, general secretary of Qatar 2022, has always insisted that alcohol will be available for visiting fans at special zones but he said he did not see the need for beer to be sold in stadiums.

He said: "For me personally, I don't see the reason for it being in the stadiums, but it's something we're discussing with FIFA."

Richards, an FA board member, also launched an attack on FIFA over the failed 2018 World Cup bid.

He also said FIFA was responsible for England 2018 spending millions of pounds - he referred to £19 million ($28.43 million) although FA accounts last year revealed the full cost was £21 million ($31.42 million) - on a bid with the odds stacked against them by FIFA who wanted to take the World Cup to new territories.

He said: "Why couldn't FIFA have said, we want to take it to the Gulf, to the eastern bloc? We spent £19 million on that bid.

"When we went for it everybody believed we had a chance. But as we went through it a pattern emerged that suggested maybe we didn't."

The Football Association also distanced itself from Richards' remarks.

An FA statement read: "Sir Dave Richards is not representing the FA at this conference and his personal views are in no way shared or endorsed by the FA.

"The FA greatly values its relationships with FIFA and UEFA, which it is working hard to strengthen."

A statement from Richards read: "Further to the comments I made earlier today at a conference in Doha I would like to apologise for any offence caused.

"It is important to clarify that I was expressing my personal views and not those of any organisation I represent.

"My comments on the heritage of the game were intended to be light-hearted. They clearly have not come across in that way and I sincerely regret making them and any resulting negativity that may have been interpreted towards FIFA and UEFA. I will be writing to both organisations in these terms."

Richards hurt his leg in his fall and had it checked out in a Doha hospital before being released.

Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside, who was with Richards at the time, told BBC Sport: "I was on the way to dinner with Sir Dave at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. We were walking across to our table in a dark courtyard area. There were three fountain areas nearby, no pool.

"They had switched off the lights. He thought he was stepping on to flat marble, but his foot went down into the water, he fell over and hurt his leg quite badly. Any suggestions he had a drink is nonsense. It's a dry place."

The ban on Welsh clubs playing in the English league representing Wales in Europe has been in place since 1995.

UEFA's executive committee will rule next week on an application by the Football Association of Wales (FAW) to allow exiled clubs to be admitted to European competition via the Welsh Cup.

FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford said that if UEFA gives the go ahead, any exiled club choosing to do so would have to opt out of the FA Cup, and possibly the Carling Cup as well.

Ford believes there is little prospect of Swansea or Cardiff doing so, but that it might appeal to a club such as Wrexham, who is currently second in the Blue Square Bet Premier, and could enjoy considerable financial benefits from qualifying for the Europa League.

Bangor City, current Welsh Premier League champion, is estimated to have earned around £1million ($1.48 million) from its last three seasons in Europe.

Ford said: "The proposals will allow any club playing in English leagues to choose to enter the Welsh Cup and try to access European competition that way.

"They would have to choose between the Welsh Cup and the FA Cup however. I think it is unlikely they would be allowed to play in both competitions.

"But if they came back into the Welsh Cup they would have a guaranteed place in Europe should they win the cup."

Newport County, Colwyn Bay and Merthyr Tydfil are other Welsh clubs that play in English leagues.

The veteran coach has emerged as a contender to succeed the recently-departed Fabio Capello, although Tottenham Hotspur counterpart Harry Redknapp remains favourite for the post.

The role is seen as one of the hardest in football but Hodgson sees no reason it cannot bring success.

"I don't think any job is impossible," the former Switzerland coach is quoted as saying by various national newspapers.

"England have won a major tournament - only one, but they've still won one - and we are working in a league where football of a very high quality is played and we are producing players who most people would regard as top European standard.

"So, impossible, no."

Asked about being linked to the job, Hodgson added: "I am flattered to be considered."

Valcke claimed the national associations should not stand in the way of their players' "dreams" of competing at the Games this summer.

"Let the players play. If they want to play, let them," he told BBC Sport.

"For the players, when you are 20, 21, 23 it's a dream. And that's what we have to respect."

The SFA, FAW and IFA opposed plans for a British men's football team at London 2012 over fears it will compromise their independence.

"You can always understand [their concerns] but you still hope that... we should forget about these problems when you're talking about an event like the Olympic Games," Valcke added.

Valcke said it was important the GB team was made up of players from all four home nations.

"There's a team and this team should be composed by the four British associations," he added.

"We finalised an agreement between the four British associations and FIFA. It took a long time - there was a lot of exchange of letters and things said, and a lot of words used in this period.

"Now it's up to the coach and the FA to finalise the composition of this team.

"But it should be a representation of a country."

Pompey's financial position has been the stuff of nightmares since 2009, when former owner Sacha Gaydamak admitted he no longer had the funds to run the club.

A succession of collapsed sales and two administrations have followed, finally leading present administrator Trevor Birch to say Portsmouth have insufficient funds to get through the season and face a very real possibility of becoming the first professional club in England to go out of business in the middle of a season since Aldershot in 1992.

Much of the blame has been laid at the door of Portpin Ltd, and its shareholders Balu Chainrai and Levi Kushnir, whom are alleged not to have the club's interests at heart.

However, in a detailed statement, released to Press Association Sport this evening, Chainrai and Kushnir have defended their position.

"Portsmouth FC has reached a critical juncture," said the statement.

"It is with an increasing sense of real frustration that we feel the process of finding an equitable solution is being derailed.

"This is a tough but not unsolvable situation. However, if people are more concerned with chasing shadows and hearsay in anticipation of being unable to complete the assignment instead of rising to the challenge of and actively finding suitable buyers, the club will cease to exist.

"There are no winners when a business dies.

"We need to collectively find a solution to save the club."

In its statement, Portpin say it has not received a penny of the money promised by the now discredited CSI group when they agreed to buy Portsmouth in 2011.

Instead, it has banked just one interest payment of £240,000, which was done shortly before it was asked to provide further financial assistance after CSI, 80% owned by Lithuanian businessman Vladimir Antonov, failed to pay December's wages on time.

Even after the club entered administration once more last month, there were some nasty surprises waiting as a potential short-term way out of the present situation was sealed off once it was established that a parachute payment of £2.2million had been promised to Gaydamak as part of the sale to CSI.

Portpin have been attacked for the deal.

However, in its statement, Portpin say that the club could not have been sold to CSI without Gaydamak receiving "new security over the new club by way of assignment of the Premier League parachute payments".

And it insists if it had not gone through Portsmouth, who tonight loaned skipper Liam Lawrence to Cardiff to help ease its financial burden, would have almost certainly been liquidated.

But for Portsmouth and its fans, it proved to be a brief reprieve, with Birch now tasked with finding a buyer who can unravel the present situation, which includes a further sum in excess of £10.8million that CSI raised to buy players without any obvious way of paying it back.

Portpin insist it can be done. However, not with the kind of attitude they feel Birch has adopted.

"We do not understand PKF's approach," said the statement.

"Daily, we find ourselves attacked in the press by PKF.

"The ultimate irony here is that PKF acted as financial advisor to CSI in the acquisition of the club from us.

"If they had felt anything was untoward in the history of the club and its financing, they would have flagged that to their client at that time and advised against the purchase.

"As clearly evidenced in their due diligence report to CSI on the acquisition, they supported the purchase entirely.

"It is therefore quite peculiar that PKF is now pleading ignorance to terms that were agreed in not only the first CVA but also to the purchase of the club by CSI less than five months ago.

"We honestly felt we had put Portsmouth in as sound as possible a financial position when we sold it to CSI.

"You can imagine our surprise, then, when CSI got into extreme financial distress and we were forced to once again become reluctant owners.

"We do not want to see the club be forced into liquidation, as the current administrator appears to be suggesting.

"Given that no creditor or new buyer has agreed to step forward yet in this short time to fund this administration process run by PKF, it appears that liquidation may be the only way PKF would be able to get paid.

"Otherwise, we don't understand why after only two weeks on from their appointment - Trevor Birch and PKF want to register on their record a liquidation of this very proud club.

"We, on the other hand, call on all parties involved to work together to try to find any other solution that liquidation of a football club that has been in existence since 1898."

The Blues published a summary of a presentation made to Chelsea Pitch Owners a week ago in which they provided the reasons why they felt increasing the capacity of its home of 107 years may be unviable.

The club had been accused by shareholders in CPO - the fan-led company which owns the land beneath Stamford Bridge - of not fully exploring the possibility of staying put before attempting to buy back the stadium freehold last October.

That was seen as a precursor to a move to a new 60,000-seater ground, something Chelsea is unable to do before convincing CPO to sell up.

In publishing the findings, the club insisted it had consulted fully with Hammersmith and Fulham Council, who vowed in November to do everything possible to help them stay put.

Chelsea said in a statement: "We are not in any way stating that the club has made a decision on the need to move.

"This is certainly not the case and the board and the owner are, as we have continually said, keen to stay at Stamford Bridge."

But added: "It is clear to the board of Chelsea Football Club that a complete new build of a 60,000 seat stadium at Stamford Bridge has little chance of acceptability.

"We believe that, after our discussions with the council, they have come to the same conclusion.

"A 60,000 new-build would cost over £600million and require the club to play away for at least three seasons and, even if the economics were acceptable, the planning risks would likely be insurmountable.

"Expanding Stamford Bridge to 55,000 also has a number of challenges. The cost-per-seat of expanding the stands is very high. The incremental revenues provide an unsatisfactory level of return, would not even cover the hypothetical financing costs, and the planning risks are significant. We believe the council recognises these challenges.

"The club's exercise over the years has been to analyse a large spectrum of possible expansion options, even some which would appear to be unworkable.

"The board recognises that our work will not satisfy every fan, but the board also believes its work has been thorough, appropriate and in the best interests of the club and all of our fans."

CPO said of the presentation in a statement: "The presentations were very open, with regular input, questions and points made by the CPO board. All were responded to with clarity and transparency by the club and the experts they had brought along.

"Like many of our shareholders, we have hoped and felt that there might still be some way to expand the capacity of Stamford Bridge.

"Having seen the detailed analysis, we all felt that a persuasive case was put that this might no longer be feasible or viable.

"Since so many of the planning issues concern the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, we are requesting further information and comments from them regarding Chelsea's presentation.

"We hope that, as far as possible, Chelsea make the materials we have seen available for scrutiny by all shareholders and supporters so that the issue can be debated further."

The Premier League ends on May 13, about a month before the start of the European Championship.

While Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is the leading contender to replace Fabio Capello, FA general secretary Alex Horne says there is more than one name on the short list.

Horne says: "A lot of the managers on the list are employed, and we don't want to interrupt anyone's season."

Horne is on the four-man board that will hire the coach and says a decision is expected at the "back end of the season."

Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce is in temporary charge.

The central England clubs missed a March 1 deadline to file reports with the Football League, which oversees the second-tier League Championship in which both play.

Birmingham, which was relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, blamed Friday's decision on delayed auditing following the arrest on money laundering charges of owner Carson Yeung.

Coventry said it is waiting for its owner to approve its budget.

"We have to be able to show committed funding out for the next financial year and, at this stage, we could not do this," Coventry chief executive Tim Fisher said.

"There is nothing untoward about this and it is perfectly normal to be negotiating funding with the owner. We would hope to secure funding commitments in the very next few weeks.

"The owner has previously funded the club for a period of more than four years and is currently reviewing our budget proposal for the coming year."

Although regular transfers are not possible between the end of the January transfer window and the end of the season, clubs can still sign out-of-contract players or bring in players on loan.

"While the situation is far from ideal, we are confident it will be resolved very soon," Fisher said.

Hong Kong-based Yeung was charged in June with five counts of money laundering involving more than $US92 million ($A85.5 million).

Yeung acquired Birmingham in October 2009 in a takeover worth $130 million but, despite ending a 48-year streak without a major trophy by winning the League Cup, the club was relegated from the Premier League last season.

The charges against Yeung involve money deposited in bank accounts from January 2001 to December 2007.

"The delay in filing the financial statements is occasioned due to the delayed audit processes ... due to the arrest and freezing of the assets of the club's main benefactor and changes to banking arrangements," Birmingham said in a statement.

"The draft financial statements are prepared and it is understood that these will be finalised and published by the end of April."

Birmingham recently signed three players. Peter Ramage joined on loan from Premier League side Queens Park Rangers, while Caleb Folan and Cian Hughton were free agents.

The Football League has already deducted 10 points from Portsmouth, which won the FA Cup in 2008 but was relegated two years later, after the club entered bankruptcy protection.

Pompey's administrator said this week the club may not have enough money to stay in business until the end of the season.

Lampard last week admitted for the first time his relationship with Villas-Boas had "not been ideal", but Villas-Boas this afternoon reiterated it was "good, excellent".

The Blues manager claimed that did not mean he and Lampard needed to hold clear-the-air talks on the matter, insisting they were still on speaking terms.

"It's just a manager-player relationship in the end," Villas-Boas said.

"Frank's words are genuine.

"They are genuine from a player that has a reflection of a relationship between us.

"For me, it's fine, I have no problems with it."

Star midfielder Lampard has been unhappy with the number of games he has missed this season but Villas-Boas said: "I have to choose the team and I try to choose the best team for every single game.

"It hasn't involved Frank a couple of times but it doesn't mean I have a personal problem with him.

"His own interpretation of the relationship is his own but I have no problem with it and I explained it to him.

"They are decisions I have to take for the benefit of the team, always."

Chelsea fans left little doubt who they would back in any dispute between Villas-Boas and Lampard during last weekend's Premier League win over Bolton, repeatedly singing the latter's name throughout.

Villas-Boas was not worried about losing the battle for hearts and minds, saying: "No, not at all. I think the fans take the team's side.

"We were winning 3-0 - everybody's happy, no?"

He added of Lampard, who broke another two Chelsea goalscoring records: "He's a legend of the football club. If they chant his name during the whole game, it's because he represents exactly that.

"He achieved two great individual records in that game and I think he fully deserves it.

"I hope one day to have the curriculum that Frank has at this football club, which is amazing in terms of trophies.

"If that is the case, that means that I will be a successful manager and my shadow will be lurking over other managers of this football club."

Giggs claimed the newspaper "misused" private information and argued that he was entitled to claim damages for distress and breach of a right to privacy enshrined in human rights legislation.

But The Sun argued that Giggs's claim - made after the newspaper published an article about a relationship with reality television star Imogen Thomas - is "dead in the water" and should be stopped.

Mr Justice Tugendhat heard arguments at a High Court hearing in London last month and delivered his ruling.

Hugh Tomlinson QC, for Giggs, argued - at a hearing on February 21 - that The Sun misused private information in the article, in which Giggs was not identified.

Mr Tomlinson said Giggs was claiming damages for the subsequent re-publication of information in other newspapers and on the internet, and argued that his claim should go to trial.

He suggestedthe article "generated a large media storm" and said the damages claim was about "providing effective protection" for Giggs's right to privacy - enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.

Richard Spearman QC, for The Sun's publisher News Group Newspapers, said the article reported Ms Thomas's relationship with a Premier League player and did not identify Giggs.

He said The Sun behaved "properly" and was not responsible for what happened after the article appeared.

Mr Spearman said legal action had been "spun along for a long, long time" - an allegation Mr Tomlinson described as being "wholly without foundation" - and told the court: "Going forward, there just is not a basis."

In a written judgment handed down in London, Mr Justice Tugendhat said he had decided to "refuse to grant relief" to Giggs.

The 76-year-old former Leeds defender fell down stairs in his home in Northumberland and had to crawl to the phone to call for help.

His son John told the Daily Mirror: "Dad's going to have an operation on Friday to sort his hip out.

"The stairs in his house are a bit tricky and awkward and he basically fell down them on Monday night.

"It could have been a lot worse because my mum was out of the house and he was on his own.

"Luckily he managed to crawl to the phone and rang me. When I got round to the house he was sitting in his chair watching telly.

"Because of his age they want to operate on him, give him a new hip. We've all been worrying but he's going to be fine."

The pair were charged by the Football Association on Monday along with Manchester United striker Federico Macheda.

All three were accused of acting in a way which was "improper and/or brought the game into disrepute", including "a reference to a person's or persons' sexual orientation".

An FA statement read: "Newcastle United's Nile Ranger and Walsall's Manny Smith have been fined £6000 and £1200 respectively and both warned as to their future conduct after each admitting a charge of using abusive and/or insulting words including a reference to a person's sexual orientation.

"The charges relate to Twitter comments and both players requested a paper hearing."

No details of the case involving Macheda, currently on loan at Queens Park Rangers, were confirmed.

West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison was last week fined £7000 by the FA in response to a homophobic remark made on Twitter.

Morrison, who completed an undisclosed switch to Upton Park from Manchester United at the end of January, is reported to have made the comment in response to another Twitter user.

The 19-year-old was also warned as to his future conduct by the FA.

Manchester United striker Macheda, currently on loan at Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle United forward Ranger and Walsall's Smith are accused of acting in a way which was 'improper and/or brought the game into disrepute', including 'a reference to a person's or persons' sexual orientation'.

The three players have until 4pm on Wednesday to respond.

An FA statement read: "Newcastle United's Nile Ranger, Walsall's Manny Smith and Manchester United's Federico Macheda, currently on loan at Queens Park Rangers, have all been charged with improper conduct in relation to comments made on Twitter.

"The charge is that the players acted in a way which was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute.

"It is further alleged that the breach included a reference to a person's or persons' sexual orientation.

"Each has until 4pm on Wednesday 29 February 2012 to respond to the charge."

West Ham United midfielder Ravel Morrison was last week fined £7,000 ($10,302) by the FA in response to a homophobic remark made on Twitter.

Morrison, who completed an undisclosed switch to Upton Park from Manchester United at the end of January, is reported to have made the comment in response to another Twitter user.

The 19-year-old was also warned as to his future conduct by the FA.

The 72-year-old former Tottenham star spent two nights in hospital and underwent neck surgery after falling ill at his home in Chelmsford, Essex. He has since been discharged and says he is feeling as fit as ever.

"I had a mini-stroke but just weeks later I'm honestly feeling better than I have in years - I'm as fit as a butcher's dog," Greaves told The People.

Doctors at Chelmsford's Broomfield Hospital discovered the football columnist, who is England's third-greatest scorer with 44 goals, had suffered a transient ischaemic attack.

They performed a successful operation on an artery in his neck before giving him the all-clear.

Greaves added: "I'm out and about, enjoying life to the full. I lost a stone, which I needed to do and it's made me feel a lot younger.

"If anyone complains about the NHS, don't believe a word of it. The people who looked after me couldn't have been any more professional or caring."

The 33-year-old, of Northampton, was sentenced to six months in prison after admitting sending the letters to Northamptonshire Police in an attempt to avoid speeding convictions.

Sentencing the former Premiership footballer at Northampton Crown Court, Judge Richard Bray said: "A custodial sentence is necessary for this type of offence which strikes right at the heart of justice.

"It would completely send out the wrong message if I did not hand out a custodial sentence."

McKenzie, who retired from professional football in December, was also handed an 18-month driving ban.

McKenzie admitted six charges of perverting the course of justice at a hearing earlier this year after sending letters to Northamptonshire Police to avoid six speeding fines between February 2008 and December 2009.

The letters, purporting to be from a fictional garage in London, claimed McKenzie's car was off the road.

In mitigation, Andrew McGee, defending, told the court that the former striker, who started his career with Crystal Palace and had played for Northampton Town and Norwich, was known to be a person of good character who had, at the time of the offence, been suffering from depression, resulting in him attempting to take his own life at the end of 2009.

Acting as a character witness, the father-of-four's uncle, Duke McKenzie, a former championship boxer, told the court he too had suffered from depression.

"People think we live these glamorous lifestyles but we're under the same pressures.

"It mounts up if things are not going your way."

Clarke Carlisle, chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, said McKenzie's story had resulted in him seeking help for his own depression.

Carlisle, who is on loan to Northampton from Burnley, said he and McKenzie had been working with other players who had since come forward with depression through the PFA.

As family and friends sobbed in the public gallery, Mr Bray said that, although he was aware McKenzie had suffered from depression, he had committed 'professional fraud'.

"You were prepared to pretend that your car was in a garage that didn't exist.

"I can't excuse the offences.

"A custodial sentence is necessary for this type of offence which strikes right at the heart of justice.

"It would completely send out the wrong message if I did not hand out a custodial sentence."

In the build-up to his testimonial game at the end of last season, Neville confirmed his intention to create a bar for United supporters.

It was envisaged the scheme would be operational by at some point in the 2013-14 season and, at the time, United was fully supportive.

However, as plans have been re-shaped, so United began to get cold feet.

And now it has lodged a formal objection on the grounds that the entire development, which includes a 10-storey 139-bedroom hotel and leisure complex, would be too big,

"The club has been developing its vision for the area over the last few months, following on from the very successful pedestrianisation scheme executed in July," said a United spokesman.

"As part of that vision, we considered in detail the changes to the sheer scale of the new project proposed, as distinct to the original plan.

"We had some projections done of what the view of the stadium would be from various angles on the other side of Wharfside Way and have concluded that, on balance, we do not want a building of that size so close to the stadium."

It now raises the bizarre situation of Neville, who celebrates his 37th birthday on Saturday and is forging an impressive career as a pundit with Sky Sports, being at odds with the club he represented for 19 years over a site for supporters.

Joshua Cryer, 21, of Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, faced a public order charge after a complaint from the football pundit.

Cryer, a student at Newcastle University, appeared before city magistrates to deny sending messages that were 'grossly offensive'.

He gave his address to the court as Coal Clough Lane, Burnley, Lancashire.

The case will be heard on 2 April and is expected to last two hours. The defence called for one specific witness, unnamed in court, to attend on that day.

Cryer was arrested last month after Collymore reported the alleged online abuse to Staffordshire Police and it passed the matter to its Northumbria Police counterpart.

Collymore, 40, originally from Cannock, Staffordshire, played for a string of top clubs, including Liverpool, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

He works as a broadcaster for talkSport and Channel 5, campaigns against racism and is a supporter of the Depression Alliance charity.

Joshua Cryer, 21, of Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, faces a public order charge after a complaint from the football pundit.

Cryer, a student at Newcastle University, is to appear before city magistrates.

He was arrested last month after the former England striker reported the alleged online abuse to Staffordshire Police and they passed the matter to their Northumbria Police counterparts.

Collymore, 40, originally from Cannock, Staffordshire, played for a string of top clubs, including Liverpool, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

He works as a broadcaster for talkSPORT, campaigns against racism and is a supporter of the Depression Alliance charity.

In an emotionally-charged press conference, Tottenham manager Redknapp fought back tears as he described how he was left bemused at the decision to bring the case to trial and feared his life would be "finished" if he had been found guilty and jailed.

The 64-year-old also revealed how Sandra, his wife of 44 years, has fallen ill because of the case, and how he had banned her from visiting the court because he claims "it would have killed her".

Redknapp and co-defendant Milan Mandaric were both unanimously cleared of two charges of cheating the public revenue after a draining 13-day trial at Southwark Crown Court.

The 12 jurors accepted Redknapp's denials that he avoided tax on any payments on £189,000 ($279,000) found in a Monaco account named after his dog, Rosie.

The Crown alleged Mandaric gave Redknapp the money as a bonus from their time at Portsmouth together, where the former was chairman and the latter manager.

However the jury found the pair not guilty after five and a half hours of deliberation, in a case which has cost the CPS an estimated £8 million.

Redknapp lifted the lid for the first time in detail about his ordeal in court.

The main gripe Redknapp, the overwhelming favourite to be the next England manager, has with the CPS is how they brought the case to court over allegedly not declaring tax on such a small amount of money for two extremely wealthy men.

"It was farcical," Redknapp said

"It was only [taken to court], as my barrister (John Kelsey-Fry QC) kept saying, because it was me.

"I was supposed to be saving the chairman a few quid on income tax and he is a man who had paid £100 million in income tax, who at one time employed 40,000 people.

"Milan has billion-dollar companies.

"I went out to play out in America in the 1970s and he was the biggest name in football over there.

"He set up the San Jose Earthquakes, signed Eusebio and he was businessman of the year there.

"Now, suddenly he's sitting there at 74 years of age, accused of nicking f**king £30,000 of income tax. It's unreal, isn't it?

"He's paid millions in tax, employed all these people, kept football clubs going, paid everybody's tax and suddenly he's accused of this.

"Four times, we tried to get it thrown out. My barrister was saying 'this should not be going to court', but they (the Crown) wanted to go with it.

"They thought they had nothing to lose.

"It's not their money ... that was the attitude they had."

Redknapp has gone through many emotions during his 29-year management career, but nothing could have prepared him for the experience of being in the dock for 13 days.

The Londoner's trial became heated at times, particularly when he was being cross-examined by Crown prosecutor John Black QC, who accused Redknapp of telling a "pack of lies" during his testimony.

"It was a horrendous period ... the most draining thing I have been through in my life," said Redknapp, who went on to thank his son Jamie for being with him throughout the trial in the public gallery.

"Jamie really carried me through it. He was there for me 24 hours a day.

"It was tough. I was being questioned by a man who is probably 100 times better educated than I am. He has probably gone to Eton or somewhere and I'm standing up there uneducated really and I have to try to stand my corner. It is very difficult."

No moment was tougher than the final morning of the trial when the pair returned to court to hear the verdict of the 12 jurors.

"I remember getting called in," said Redknapp.

"I was sitting on my own beforehand and I was thinking things that were scary."

When asked whether he was thinking about the possibility of being jailed, Redknapp replied: "Yeah, definitely."

He added: "Milan had been very strong all the way through and he suddenly said to me: 'What do you think?'

"You don't know what to think. You have 12 people that are going to decide [whether] to finish your life, basically. It is not a feeling that you would wish on anybody."

While his son was there throughout the trial, one person who was absent was Redknapp's wife Sandra, who he had banned from attending.

"I wouldn't let her come to court, she couldn't have handled it. It would have killed her, without a doubt," Redknapp said.

That did not prevent Sandra, who was alone while Redknapp stayed in London throughout the trial, from being affected by the trial, according to the Spurs manager.

"It made her ill," Redknapp said. "It slaughtered her. It knocked her for six.

"Her back's gone. That's the stress of it all. She couldn't move this morning because that's what happens. Your body gets wrecked.

"It has been difficult especially for her. She's soft. She's not a tough lady at all."

The CPS defended their decision to charge Redknapp and Mandaric.

A spokesperson said: "We concluded that there was sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and that a prosecution was in the public interest."

Capello has been on a £6 million-a-year contract since first being appointed as Steve McClaren's successor in December 2005.

As he still had five months remaining on that deal when he told FA chairman David Bernstein of his intention to leave after their meeting at Wembley on Wednesday afternoon, there has been a huge amount of speculation about what size pay-off Capello received.

Neither Bernstein, nor his fellow Club England board members - FA chief executive Alex Horne, FA director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking and Club England managing director Adrian Bevington - would discuss the matter in public.

However, it has been widely reported Capello has received £1.5 million.

Press Association Sport understands this figure is far in excess of what Capello is actually getting.

And the FA has confirmed it is wide of the mark.

An FA spokesman said: "Media reports this week that Fabio Capello received a £1.5 million pay-out are inaccurate.

"In yesterday's England media conferences, the FA repeatedly declined to discuss details regarding Fabio Capello's contract."

Capello quit the job in midweek after a meeting with Football Association chairman David Bernstein over its decision to go over his head and strip John Terry of the England captaincy.

The Italian was due to stand down after this summer's Euro 2012 finals but dismissed suggestions by departing early he had taken the easy way out.

Speaking to Italian television show Striscia La Notizia, he said: "I wasn't escaping, I left because there was a misunderstanding.

"It had been going well but there are times in which you decide to leave."

Capello's next move has been the subject of some debate with Inter Milan touted as a likely destination.

Inter moved to distance itself from those reports by releasing a statement in which it said the speculation was "groundless" and 65-year-old Capello was also adamant he had no intention of returning to work straight away, especially in his homeland.

The former Roma, Juventus and AC Milan boss added: "In Italy absolutely not. Now I want to relax."

Capello's tumultuous week meant he was the latest recipient of Striscia La Notizia's Tapiro d'oro - a lighthearted award handed out to someone who has had a difficult few days.

Several prominent figures from football have been handed the gong previously, including Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli.

Overwhelming favourite for the job, it is thought Redknapp could be prized away from White Hart Lane, if not immediately, then at the end of the season.

Redknapp is due to attend a press conference himself to preview Sunday morning's (AEDT) home encounter with Newcastle.

He is bound to be asked about the England vacancy, which he would now be free to take after he was found not guilty of tax evasion.

However, even though the 64-year-old ticks all the right boxes, FA chief executive Alex Horne is keen to ensure the correct procedures are followed before Capello's replacement is named, no matter how obvious the claims of one man.

"We understand the feeling of the nation and supporters," said Horne.

"Fans of England are very important when it comes to choosing the right person for the job.

"But we have to sit down and look long term. We owe it to ourselves to write up the job brief and make sure we sit down calmly and ensure we have an exhaustive list."

Horne will be joined in his quest by FA chairman David Bernstein, Club England managing director Adrian Bevington and FA director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking.

And the brief will involve far more than just managing a football team.

It is anticipated the successful candidate will pay more than lip-service to the National Football Centre in Burton, providing a lead to the numerous coaches and youth teams that will be based there.

And whilst non-English candidates will be considered, they will need to have a better grasp of the language than Capello mastered in his four years at the helm.

For his lamentable failure to learn English properly, Capello was paid the princely sum of £6 million ($10million) a year, part of an overall £50 million ($80 million) lay-out on foreign coaches who have made negligible improvement on England's fortunes.

Steve McClaren was paid nothing like as much and as the groundswell of opinion in favour of Redknapp continues to build, it is not thought Bernstein is in favour of matching that figure.

However, Bernstein is adamant there will be no penny-pinching should the FA decide on Redknapp, or an alternative home-grown candidate.

"We will have to assess things very carefully," he said.

"But let me be absolutely clear we are not going to do anything on the cheap.

"We have to get the right person for the job and we will pay the proper market rate."

Football Association chairman Bernstein confirmed this afternoon that England Under-21 boss Pearce would manage the senior team for the February 29 friendly with the Netherlands.

Pearce, who has been on the England coaching staff for five years and was Capello's assistant for four of them, last year ruled out putting himself forward to succeed the Italian after Euro 2012.

But the fiercely patriotic former England left-back had no qualms stepping into the breach on a temporary basis.

Bernstein said: "I want to commend Stuart Pearce. I spoke to him a little earlier and, as you might expect from Stuart, his first thought was for his country and for managing his country without any conditions at all.

"He just said, 'If you would like me to do it, I want to do it'.

"And, I must say, I was really impressed with his attitude. I would expect nothing less from him."

He added: "He has huge experience outside and inside the organisation.

"He has been working with the under-21 team and has been working with Fabio for some time.

"He knows the players very well. I have got great confidence in Stuart - we will be in good hands."

Capello told ANSA, the national Italian news agency: "I leave England and I will not say anything else."

When asked about the quotes attributed to him by other Italian news agencies, he said they were 'false'.

The Italpress agency quoted Capello at length attacking the Football Association.

His son Pierfilippo wrote in an email: "A story on football-italia website quoting Fabio Capello is not accurate and not true.

"We will take legal actions against any further story of this nature."

Capello quit as England manager after a showdown with the Football Association chairman David Bernstein over the decision to go over his head and strip John Terry of the England captaincy.

At almost exactly the same time as the Wembley meeting, Harry Redknapp was being cleared of charges of tax evasion at Southwark Crown Court - and opening the way for the him to take over as England manager.

Capello was due to leave his £6 million ($8.79 million)-a-year job after EURO 2012 but now his successor - and the FA will have to deal with Tottenham Hotspur first if it does want Redknapp - will have only four months or less to prepare for the finals of a major tournament.

Capello quit as England manager after a showdown with the Football Association chairman David Bernstein over the decision to go over his head and strip John Terry of the England captaincy.

At almost exactly the same time as the Wembley meeting, Harry Redknapp was being cleared of charges of tax evasion at Southwark Crown Court - and opening the way for the him to take over as England manager.

Capello was due to leave his £6 million ($8.79 million)-a-year job after EURO 2012 but now his successor - and the FA will have to deal with Tottenham Hotspur first if it does want Redknapp - will have only four months or less to prepare for the finals of a major tournament.

The dispute had been brewing since Friday when the FA board decided Terry, who is standing trial in July where he will deny a charge of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers' Anton Ferdinand, could not be England captain until after the case.

Capello, who was not consulted, blew a fuse and told Italian TV station Rai on Sunday that he 'absolutely' disagreed with the decision.

That led to this meeting and though the FA was not anticipating Capello quitting, both sides were determined to stick to their guns and after an hour of talks that led to the Italian resigning - and the FA accepting.

An FA statement read: "The Football Association can confirm that Fabio Capello has today resigned as England manager. This follows a meeting involving FA chairman David Bernstein, FA general secretary Alex Horne and Fabio Capello at Wembley Stadium.

"The discussions focused on the FA board's decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello's response through an Italian broadcast interview.

"In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio's resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England manager with immediate effect."

Bernstein said the resignation was the right course of action.

The FA chairman said: "I would like to stress that during today's meeting and throughout his time as England manager, Fabio has conducted himself in an extremely professional manner.

"We have accepted Fabio's resignation, agreeing this is the right decision. We would like to thank Fabio for his work with the England team and wish him every success in the future."

Bernstein had consulted with the 14-strong FA board ahead of the Terry decision but had not done so before this meeting - an indication that he was not intending to sack Capello for his remarks.

The resignation however gave the FA a way out of a situation that was likely to become increasingly controversial in the build-up to EURO 2012.

The new manager will now have to address the issue of whether Terry should be part of the England squad given the racism allegations and the fact that his presence could be divisive - especially if Anton Ferdinand's brother Rio is part of the squad.

The resignation brought an end to Capello's four years in charge of England - expensive years for the FA and ones which will be remembered as disappointing for the national team when it really mattered, especially at the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals.

The FA will need to move quickly to appoint a replacement but Stuart Pearce, the England Under-21 head coach and coach of the Great Britain Olympic team, is expected to be put in charge for the Netherlands friendly at Wembley on Wednesday, 29 February.

After that, the new manager will have just two friendlies to work with ahead of EURO 2012, against Norway on 26 May and Belgium on 2 June. The first competitive match will be against France, in Donetsk, on 11 June.

Pearce will be on the list of possible successors but he himself has said this northern summer would be too soon, and FA head of elite development Gareth Southgate confirmed that Redknapp is one of the 'leading candidates'.

Southgate told ITV: "Stuart Pearce is in the building and with the under-21s.

"But you have to think for the summer - can you get the person you want for the longer term? Because the leading candidates are with clubs at the minute.

"Harry Redknapp is one of leading candidates but Tottenham will have something to say about that and [Tottenham chairman] Daniel Levy is not going to want Harry to leave without a fight, so there's an awful lot to work out in the next few weeks."

Leamington Spa Magistrates' Court was told that the former Arsenal and Aston Villa star, who pleaded guilty to drink-driving, fell asleep at the wheel on the M40.

Merson, who suffered a head injury in the accident last October, was fined £1500 ($1539) and ordered to pay £105 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Magistrates heard that the Sky Sports pundit was driving to his home in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, after having "a few drinks" at a charity event in London.

Merson's Mercedes ML350 struck the rear of the heavy goods vehicle, damaging its rear lights and under-run bars, at about 3.15am on October 12.

Prosecutor Philippa Cowley said Merson, who was among several people who called the police, failed a roadside breath-test and was later found to have 124 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood - the legal limit is 80 mg.

Merson, 43, was standing on the hard shoulder when two police constables arrived at the scene, said Ms Cowley.

"It was clear that he had got a head injury and he was very frank with the police," the lawyer told the court.

"He said that he had fallen asleep and had been at a charity do for children and had had a few drinks."

The Spurs boss's hopes of managing the England team received a major boost as he walked free from court.

Jurors accepted Redknapp's angry denials that he avoided tax on any payments over £189,000 ($277,000) found in a Monaco account.

His acquittal alongside co-defendant Milan Mandaric blows the final whistle on a five-year £8 million police investigation which failed to yield a single conviction.

Mandaric and former Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie were also cleared of £600,000 tax dodge claims at a previous trial, it can be reported for the first time.

Redknapp and Mandaric hugged as the jury cleared them of all counts.

Redknapp was at times moved to the verge of tears as the Crown alleged that he told a pack of lies in an attempt to get off the hook.

But jurors accepted Redknapp's and Mandaric's evidence that the Monaco account in the name of Redknapp's dog Rosie was nothing to do with footballing matters.

The two-week trial at London's Southwark Crown Court threatened to derail Redknapp's progress at the pinnacle of his 30-year managerial career.

Having led Spurs through their most successful period in the Premier League era, the Londoner was tipped as the outstanding favourite to replace Fabio Capello as England manager this summer.

With his name cleared in the courts, nothing would now appear to stand in the way for the Football Association to hire him.

The verdicts mark a disastrous end of an exhaustive inquiry into football corruption by tax authorities and City of London Police.

Police began pursuing Redknapp in 2006 after he admitted having the Monaco account as he was questioned by the Quest inquiry into Premier League bungs.

The transactions took place as the pair squabbled over a transfer bonus Redknapp was due for the £3 million profit the club made on the sale of England striker Peter Crouch.

But the jury accepted Redknapp's claim that he knew he was "morally but not legally" entitled to the cash.

A recorded telephone conversation between News of the World reporter Rob Beasley and the pair in 2009 was a pivotal element in the Crown's case.

Redknapp telling Mr Beasley it was money for transfer bonuses was "the most compelling and important evidence", prosecutor John Black QC said.

But defence barrister John Kelsey-Fry QC said the Sunday tabloid's evidence was "primarily despicable".

"I do not shrink from suggesting to you it is repugnant to all our basic instincts of fairness in the criminal justice process," he said.

The case served up high courtroom drama over two weeks as one of the biggest names in English football appeared in the dock and gave an impassioned display in the witness box.

Redknapp attacked a detective for "staring" and shouted at prosecutor Mr Black: "You think I put my hand on the bible and told lies? That's an insult, Mr Black, that's an insult."

Redknapp said he was "a fantastic football manager, not a hard-headed businessman" and had always paid too much taxes.

He also revealed that he had squandered millions in bad investments and had the writing ability of a two-year-old.

Serbian Mandaric, an entrepreneur behind a multibillion-dollar business empire, claimed he had paid £100 million in taxes during his time in football, adding: "Did I suddenly go crazy?"

Redknapp, of Poole, Dorset, first flew out to Monaco - a tax haven - in April 2002 to set up the account.

He did not tell investigators about Rosie 47 as tax officials investigated a £300,000 payment he received over Rio Ferdinand's record-breaking transfer between West Ham United and Leeds.

But he voluntarily gave details of the Monaco account as he was questioned by the Quest inquiry.

Darlington Supporters United is appealing for financial pledges on its website as it seeks £250,000 ($366,000) in order to take the club out of administration and gain majority ownership.

The group, which is receiving advice from Supporters Direct, issued a statement which read: "We are a community controlled organisation and the plan is to take at least majority control of the football club to ensure it is run for the benefit of its fans and the wider community of our town.

"If it's good enough for Chester, Wrexham, AFC Telford, Exeter City, AFC Wimbledon and more than 20 other clubs, it's good enough for Darlington."

The Quakers remain on the brink of folding after they entered administration for the third time in nine years at the start of 2012.

On January 18, administrator Harvey Madden told players Darlington no longer existed but they were dramatically saved by a late intervention from fans.

They stumped up enough cash to keep the Quakers alive for the next three games, although their future still hangs in the balance.