Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

José Mourinho urges English coaches to follow Steve McClaren's example
Stewart Downing insists Sam Allardyce can rescue West Ham's season
Oldham's young James Tarkowski out to muzzle Liverpool's Luis Suárez
Saturday Sundae: Southend fans get smart
Wenger insists Walcott gesture to Spurs fans was not offensive
Daniel Taylor on West Ham's struggles
Lewandowski to join Bayern in July
Doncaster 2-3 Stevenage | FA Cup third-round match report
Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Blackpool | FA Cup third round match report
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Reading | FA Cup third round match report
Yeovil Town 4-0 Leyton Orient | FA Cup third round match report
Villa fans vent anger at Lambert
Southend United 4-1 Millwall | FA Cup third round match report
Tim Sherwood's forward thinking undone by Arsène Wenger's tactics | Amy Lawrence
Arsenal 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur – as it happened | Simon Burnton
Arsenal 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur | FA Cup third round match report
Stoke City 2-1 Leicester City | FA Cup third round match report
Norwich City 1-1 Fulham | FA Cup third round match report
FA Cup: Arsenal v Tottenham – in pictures
Lennon calls for 'more zest' as Celtic face St Mirren
Koke goal downs Málaga to send Atlético Madrid top of La Liga
Ross County 1-0 St Johnstone | Scottish Premiership match report
Middlesbrough 0-2 Hull City | FA Cup third round match report
Rochdale 2-0 Leeds United | FA Cup third round match report
Grimsby Town 2-3 Huddersfield Town | FA Cup third round match report

José Mourinho urges English coaches to follow Steve McClaren's example

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 03:01 PM PST

• Chelsea manager says McClaren benefited from time abroad
• Working overseas is a 'fantastic experience', says Mourinho

José Mourinho believes more English managers should follow Steve McClaren's lead and manage abroad. Mourinho, whose Chelsea side visit McClaren's Derby County in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon, described working in another country as a "fantastic experience" and said the former England manager has benefited from spells in Holland and Germany.

McClaren suffered a blow to his reputation when England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 and he has not managed in the Premier League since leaving Middlesbrough to take the national job in 2006. Instead, after being sacked by England, he joined FC Twente in 2008 and won the club's first league title in his second season in Holland. McClaren then had brief and unsuccessful spells at Wolfsburg, where he became the first Englishman to manage in Germany, and Nottingham Forest.

After a second spell at Twente last season, McClaren joined Harry Redknapp's coaching staff at Queens Park Rangers, before replacing Nigel Clough at Derby in September. Mourinho is impressed with the way the 52-year-old dealt with his England experience.

"I think Steve is a very intelligent guy," the Chelsea manager said. "I think he moved on, went to Holland, Germany, new cultures and new football. To go abroad is a fantastic experience and sometimes it looks like English players and managers don't like to go abroad. He had that experience, for sure it was a great one as it was completely different cultures to England in terms of football. He came back with a little Harry in QPR and now Derby."

Mourinho is critical of the lack of opportunities given to homegrown coaches in this country, but said they could use that to their advantage. "I just think we have to look for markets," he said. "We have to open markets not just for ourselves but for other people. I disagree with so many foreign coaches in this country.

"But I think if there are no jobs in the country as a manager or a player, then you have to go. This is a short professional life so go and enjoy, and you always have the chance to come back as a manager and a player. People shouldn't be afraid to be a bit adventurous like other nationalities are. Football is the same everywhere. Eleven against 11, one ball, two goals."

McClaren has led Derby to fourth in the Championship, three points off the automatic promotion places, and it is perhaps a surprise that he has not been offered another chance in the Premier League. But Mourinho said managing in the Championship has its perks.

"Sometimes it is better to go to the Championship than go to the Premier League and be in a team without lots of problems, a team fighting relegation or fighting for one point to survive," he said. "Probably it is Derby doing that job in a calm way. If they don't reach the Premier League this season, probably they will try the next season and he can be in a calm way preparing Derby's future. Maybe it is a better choice than to go to the Premier League."

Mourinho clearly rates McClaren, which is why the young Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford joined Derby on loan for the rest of the season on Friday.

"We want our players on loan to play and develop," Mourinho said. "We don't want our players on loan to go and not play, or play a style of football that is contradictory to what we have here. With Steve, I'm comfortable for my players to be there because I know basically the way he thinks about football."

Jacob Steinberg

Stewart Downing insists Sam Allardyce can rescue West Ham's season

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 03:01 PM PST

Winger says the club have been 'very unlucky' and that the manager retains the players' full support

For West Ham and Stewart Downing, Sunday's FA Cup meeting with Nottingham Forest provides some welcome relief from recent woes. The Hammers have secured two points out of a possible 21 in the Premier League since the beginning of December, so the prospect of a match against Championship opposition, however tricky, at least represents an opportunity to end a barren run.

Sam Allardyce's position as manager has come under intense scrutiny since the New Year's Day defeat at Fulham, but on Friday he dismissed any talk of crisis despite the club's worrying position at second-bottom in the top-flight.

Allardyce has certainly been hindered by injuries this season, with Downing just one of a plethora of players who have been forced to endure spells on the sidelines, following a gash to his calf sustained against his former club Liverpool.

The 29-year-old has suffered relegation. The winger was part of the Middlesbrough side that dropped out of the Premier League in 2009 and he is not keen to repeat the experience. However, he insists that Allardyce remains the man to steer West Ham out of the dogfight.

Asked if the players were responsible for the club's plight rather than the manager, Downing said: "Of course. The manager picks the team but it's up to us to go out and get results and that's what we've not done.

"The easiest thing is to blame the manager because he's at the top. I think he does very well at that, he takes a lot of the pressure off the players but he's one of the reasons why I came here. If you look at it as a whole we've been very unlucky. It's up to us. The manager picks the team but it's up to us to get the results.

"We love playing for him. The owners know, they see sense and see a good manager. It's easy to sulk and point and blame, but you've got to go out and get results.

"The main thing at the minute is to win games. Behind closed doors we stay strong, we are playing for a really good manager who has been in these situations before. No one wants to be relegated on their CV. I've been through that before with my hometown team and it's difficult, you're living in the area and people are asking questions all the time. But we were a young team, when I look at this team it's a lot stronger, with more experienced players."

Downing is relishing the prospect of an imminent return to fitness for Andy Carroll, a striker who the winger said was another of the reasons why he opted to join the club last summer. Carroll trained on Friday, along with Ravel Morrison, but will not feature against Forest with Allardyce set to experiment with a number of players that have emerged from the West Ham academy.

Carlton Cole, Joe Cole and Matt Jarvis will be expected to help the youngsters through what could be a tricky test against Championship opponents, with Downing claiming that it represented a chance for the lesser-known players to stake their claim for a place in the first-team. "It's a massive opportunity for them," he said. "If the manager sees a performance on Sunday he might stick them in for a league game, you never know."

Winning any game breeds confidence, Downing insisted. That will be the message Allardyce emphasises to his squad as they attempt to end a rut that has not been enlivened by a league victory since November.

Yet for Downing, there are no regrets about joining West Ham. "It's been difficult, getting 11 out at times has been difficult for the manager. In that sense it was always going to be tough for us. [West Ham] finished in 10th position last season, so it was a chance to build on that and the next thing you look at is can you get in Europe, can you nick one of those spots? With the players we have and with the signings that Sam made we had a good chance of that [at the start of the season].

"I can understand his frustration. It's frustrating for us players as well. I'm desperate to play and do well for him but I've had two niggling injuries. But if he sees the bigger picture, once he gets everyone back and fit he's got a really good team."

James Riach

Oldham's young James Tarkowski out to muzzle Liverpool's Luis Suárez

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 03:01 PM PST

The 21-year-old is revelling in his position at Oldham and relishes his task of coping with Liverpool's striker as the sides meet in the FA Cup

A visit to Oldham has always been a bit like stepping back in time but a trip to Boundary Park at the moment can make one feel positively old. One can still park in the same place behind the Broadway stand, only it feels like parking next to the pitch now because the stand has disappeared.

Having one side of the ground completely open to the Pennine weather does not make the old ice box any cosier and it is impossible to believe that this was a Premier League venue 20 years ago or that a couple of seasons before that it was the stadium where English football caught its first glimpse of Eric Cantona.

Simply recalling Cantona in a Leeds shirt makes one feel old, as does the imperishable memory of Oldham running out to Mouldy Old Dough. They used to do that, honestly, though by the time Joe Royle took them up into the First Division, as the top flight was quaintly known at the time, they had changed their tune to the smarter though still homely Fanfare For The Common Man.

Nothing, however, makes one feel quite as old as James Tarkowski explaining why he followed Manchester United as a youth and received The Class of '92 DVD as a Christmas present.

"I always feel like I belong to the class of '92," he says. "That was the year I was born. I quite literally grew up watching Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs. They were top players: well, Giggs still is a top player and it is incredible that our playing careers have now overlapped. But as a centre-half more recently I have been watching John Terry and Nemanja Vidic and trying to learn from them."

Tarkowski has evidently been learning well. In addition to picking up the slightly unwieldy nickname of the "New Moston Beckenbauer" – New Moston being an area of Oldham near Chadderton, Beckenbauer being a German legend with whom Tarkowski was unfamiliar until checking out his doppelganger on YouTube – the Latics player has found himself being watched by leading Premier League sides. There have been up to a dozen scouts at Boundary Park for some games and some of the managers already aware of his ability include Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool and David Moyes at Manchester United.

The latter had his eye on the 6ft 1in defender while still at Everton and the former will be able to make his own appraisal in the FA Cup third-round tie at Anfield on Sunday.

A decent performance against Liverpool, where his task will be the tiny matter of keeping Luis Suárez quiet, should do Tarkowski's career advancement no harm at all. "I hope Suárez plays," he says. "I don't know what sort of a side Liverpool are going to put out but, if we can beat them, it would be nice to say we beat their best team.

"I feel the same about Suárez himself. You don't often get the chance to pit your wits against one of the best players in the world and it's something I'm looking forward to. I haven't been watching him specially. I watch a lot of Premier League games anyway, I never miss Match of the Day and, if you do that, you cannot help but see a lot of Suárez. If you switch on the television or open the papers you can't really miss him."

That may sound like braggadocio, though Oldham did knock Liverpool out of the FA Cup last year, and a 21-year-old who not only still lives with his parents but can be seen escorting his mum around Morrisons in Chadderton most Friday nights is about as grounded a character as can be found in professional football.

One of the reasons Tarkowski is unlikely to get carried away is that he knows how close he came to being rejected by Oldham last summer. He was an unused substitute when Liverpool were beaten 3-2 last January, though he did play against Everton in the following round after Paul Dickov had left and been replaced by caretaker Tony Philliskirk.

Tarkowski's contract was up for renewal last summer and he believes he would have had to leave the club had Dickov stayed whereas the new manager, Lee Johnson, not only wanted to keep him but was willing to give him a run in the team.

"One manager likes you, another one doesn't," he says. "That's the way the game goes, isn't it? It's all about opinions. If I am playing well enough to attract the attention of bigger clubs, then that's very flattering but after what has happened in the past I am happy enough at Oldham at the present. I believe in my ability and I would like to play at the top level at some point. Hopefully that time will come but right now I am at a good club with a good manager and I'm playing every week. That's all you can ask as a player. That and a decent FA Cup third-round draw.

"We've had Liverpool three times on the bounce now and this is my first chance of playing."

Paul Wilson

Saturday Sundae: Southend fans get smart

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 02:48 PM PST

Steve Williams's goal means Macclesfield may be able to pay the wages, and Shrimpers fans overcome floodlight failure

MAN OF THE DAY

Steve Williams: toed in Macclesfield's equaliser, set up a replay and kept his club's dream alive of paying next month's wages.

RUNNER-UP

Nikica Jelavic, who nearly hit an Everton hat-trick, now has as many goals in 2014 (two) as he managed in the whole of 2013.

THEME OF THE DAY

Big clubs showing traditional respect for the Cup. Fulham and Hull made nine changes, Norwich and West Brom eight. Only Villa showed restraint, making three changes as they stuck with a failing formula.

BEST DISPLAY

Southend fans, using smartphones to light up the pitch after their floodlights briefly gave out. Roots Hall never looked better.

BEST DEBUTS

Josh Murphy, 18, made his first Norwich start in their draw with Fulham. He lasted 78 minutes before being replaced by another debut-maker: his identical twin, Jacob.

BEST JOURNEYMAN

Jermaine Beckford. The striker has scored in the third round for a different club in five seasons in a row: Leeds, Everton, Leicester, Huddersfield and Bolton.

BEST GESTURE

Accrington boss James Beattie cheered up four fans who had made the 300-mile trip to their postponed Pompey game by giving them tickets to see Southampton instead.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Why was the Nike FA Cup matchball pink? a) To make people talk about Nike; or b) For the good of the game? Nike's answer: "The exclusive colorway enhances visibility and incorporates graphics to generate maximum visual contrast in-flight."

BEST NOSTALGIC MOMENT

Blackburn pair Grant Hanley and Chris Taylor's half-time handbags: recalling 1995's classic Le Saux v Batty on-pitch dust-up.

BEST BREAKTHROUGH

Rochdale finally cracked the American market after their fine win over Leeds at Spotland was shown live on Fox Sports 2.

RESULT OF THE DAY

Came in Scotland: amateurs Queen's Park, mired at the foot of League Two, coming from a goal down against second-placed Clyde to earn a shock 2-1 away win. The plucky Spiders are now just 10 points adrift.

Wenger insists Walcott gesture to Spurs fans was not offensive

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 02:30 PM PST

• Arsenal's Theo Walcott taunts Tottenham fans
• Wenger accepts that FA charge is a possibility

Arsène Wenger has defended Theo Walcott after the injured forward gestured the winning 2-0 scoreline to Spurs fans as he was taken off on a stretcher past them during Arsenal's FA Cup third round win against their north London rivals. The manager was dismissive of any claims of misconduct, citing the missiles thrown at the player – and striking one of the medical staff helping to carry Walcott off the pitch – as incitement.

"The doctors said the coins were raining over his head and they had to protect him," Wenger said. "Maybe that is why he did that [scoreline gesture]. It is not offensive. I have seen the pictures after the game and he does not even look aggressive. He is just smiling."

Asked if he thought there would be any Football Association action against his player, Wenger expressed doubt. "I don't think so," he said. "You look for every single incident, and I understand that. But at some stage it is a reaction. If they judge it offensive what can I say?"

The FA will wait until receiving the match report of referee Mark Clattenburg before deciding whether the incident warrants investigation.

Walcott left the pitch with a knee problem, having led the line with verve. "We don't know if it is a stretched ligament or just a kick. But we still had [Lukas] Podolski and [Mesut] Özil on the bench and [Olivier] Giroud was just ill so should be available for the next game."

He also reported "good news" on Nicklas Bendtner's injury, with the Dane expected to be out for one month, far less than they expected.

Wenger felt his side, which included several fringe players, had been good value for their win. "Every time, when our game is based on movement and quick, sharp passing, we looked dangerous."

Tim Sherwood lamented that his team were "fatigued" as he tried to write off the experience as a bad day at the office. The recently installed Tottenham manager dismissed Walcott's gesture as "just a bit of banter" but did not wish to be drawn on whether Spurs supporters threw missiles at the Arsenal player. "I haven't seen it. If they did it's a problem. If they didn't it's not a problem."

Amy Lawrence

Daniel Taylor on West Ham's struggles

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 02:01 PM PST

Twenty-three years ago Alex Ferguson was rescued by a third-round win at the City Ground. Sam Allardyce – 19th in the Premier League – badly needs a lift as his excuses ring hollow

Sam Allardyce's position might not be quite as endangered as Alex Ferguson's before that famous FA Cup third-round tie at Nottingham Forest in January 1990 but there is also some fairly hard evidence that West Ham United's manager is at a point in his professional life when he desperately needs his own Mark Robins moment.

Twenty-four years ago, it was a 1-0 win at the City Ground that ensured Ferguson kept his job, on a day when Manchester United supporters clambered three-quarters of the way up one of the floodlights and perched on top of the scoreboard, looking only slightly less precarious than the workmen lunching on that exposed girder of the Rockefeller Center.

Now it is Allardyce's turn, facing a team from the Championship's playoff positions and maybe harbouring a few job worries of his own at a time when West Ham are in the Premier League's relegation places and increasingly looking vulnerable to being sucked into the plughole. At one point earlier in the week, bookmakers had stopped the market on Allardyce being the next manager to lose his employment.

West Ham's next assignment is the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi‑final at Manchester City and then a Premier League trip to fourth-bottom Cardiff City for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first home match since Vincent Tan prised him away from Molde. That, arguably, is the biggest occasion of a significant week given the priorities of Premier League life. Another bad result and nobody should be particularly shocked, modern football being what it is, if Allardyce becomes the next casualty of his trade.

Forgive me if that sounds horribly like scaremongering but unfortunately it is just the nature of the business these days, bearing in mind that almost half the 92 clubs in England have brought in new managers since the end of last season, including all the clubs keeping West Ham company in the bottom five. It is a harsh, unforgiving industry and it would be naive to think Allardyce is free of risk when West Ham move into the Olympic Stadium in 2016 and have based all their planning on making the switch as a Premier League club.

There will be 54,000 seats to fill, for starters. New fans have to be found and won over and, with Canary Wharf a few stops down on the Jubilee line, a large part of that process is about filling the corporate areas. Just consider how much easier that would be if the derbies were against Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal, rather than Charlton, Millwall and Watford. Or how many empty seats there might be against, say, Yeovil or Blackpool. In the circumstances, West Ham are entitled to be fretful.

That is not to say it is ever easy second-guessing what goes on behind the scenes at Upton Park. The memory still lingers, for example, of the club's last relegation season in 2011, when nobody from their board could even be bothered to make the trip to Manchester City in the first week of May, on the basis they were bottom of the league and had already decided there was no chance of getting a result. Nobody had rung ahead either, so a table was prepared in the boardroom for David Gold, David Sullivan and their entourage without a single piece of bread ever being broken. The score was 2-1 to City, but that's not really the point.

A small thing, perhaps, but maybe this is also an appropriate time to ask whether there is there any other club in the world where the greatest source of information into transfer dealings and internal business is the daily tweeting of an owner's 13-year-old son. The personal highlight of Jack Sullivan's operation so far – or @jsullivanwhu: "I am David Sullivan's son, and I give you the top West Ham news!" – has to be his apology to his growing following, currently just short of 35,000, when Marouane Chamakh arrived from Arsenal this time last year. Or to quote him directly: "I am very sorry about this news Chamakh has sign a 6 month loan deal! no my pick."

The latest offering was to announce the club suspected Newcastle had gazumped them in a deal for John Heitinga, sparking all sorts of media calls to St James' Park before an admission later on that it was not the case after all. The "lol" generation on Twitter may not see the problem but if West Ham want to be taken seriously it is probably time the old man confiscated the laptop.

The bigger picture is that the stakes are so extraordinarily high for West Ham their manager surely cannot be surprised that he suddenly looks so vulnerable. At Blackburn Rovers, Allardyce used to say keeping the club in the Premier League meant 45% of their workforce staying in their jobs. Yet the financial risks are even higher these days. Bolton Wanderers may be an extreme example but, equally, there is no point overlooking the way they have been financially shipwrecked by losing their top-flight status. Even by the sport's modern standards, there is something particularly ghastly about a club of their size having a debt of £163m, haemorrhaging cash at such a rate one has to wonder where it will all end.

In Allardyce's case, he is experiencing what happens when a manager wins promotion, keeps the momentum going the next season and then finds it difficult to maintain the upward trajectory. There is an irony here, too, because if you were looking for a manager with the necessary skills to scrap out the sufficient number of points in a relegation dogfight, he ticks an awful lot of the boxes. The same applies if West Ham go down and will need a manager who knows a thing or two about what it takes to get out of the Championship. A reasonable case could be made they already have that man in place.

It is also true, however, that sometimes a manager can get stuck in a rut. West Ham won their first home game of the season on 17 August and thereafter have managed it in the league only one more time. A significant number of supporters are close to mutiny and, however much Allardyce cites injuries, there is more to West Ham's current predicament than just misfortune. Poor planning has a lot to do with it, for starters. No manager in this division should risk going into the season with only one senior striker, and it was another shortsighted gamble thinking they could get away with having three centre-halves. As it has turned out, Andy Carroll has not played a single minute in a team that appears to be built exclusively around his style, and West Ham currently have a variety of different odd-job men trying to muddle through in the centre of defence.

In May, Allardyce decided Carlton Cole was not good enough to get a new contract and should be moved out; in October, the same player was still looking for a new club and was brought back on a short-term deal. Cole has actually acquitted himself pretty well, in trying circumstances, but it strays very close to being an act of desperation.

Kevin Nolan's recent transgressions smack of a player who is struggling to cope with his diminished abilities and the club's dithering over offering Ravel Morrison a new contract is another mystery now his transfer value, with 18 months left on his current deal, is starting to depreciate and there are potential buyers circling. Morrison really should be the kind of player West Ham want to use to bring crowds to their new stadium.

Allardyce is now talking about filling his team against Forest with youngsters, partly because of the club's injury list but also in keeping with what Paul Lambert has had to say over the past few days about where the FA Cup ranks these days.

Nobody should be too surprised, either, if Allardyce's team selection against Manchester City at the Etihad on Tuesday is geared towards what happens in Cardiff the following Saturday and trying to avoid, in newspaper terms, becoming the recipient of the first "Another Fine Mess" headline of the Tan and Ole era. A club with West Ham's ambitions have to be jumpy.

It's still hard to abide this 'different' FA Cup

On FA Cup third-round weekend, maybe this is a good time to ask whether the Football Association could possibly find it within themselves to start taking a little bit more care of their own competition.

A smallish thing, perhaps, but for starters it is not terribly impressive that the draw for the fourth round – in keeping with what seems to be the norm these days – will take place on Sunday before five of the games have even kicked off or finished.

At least the final has been moved back to the last weekend of the season rather than being shoehorned in between whatever is on in the Premier League, but it still grates that the FA will not even contemplate whether it would be better to have the semi-finals away from Wembley when, year on year, there is considerable evidence that it takes away from the main event.

Unfortunately, it won't change, as became clear the last time a group of us journalists, all in our 30s or older, put it to the relevant people. "People of our generation and older all remember semi-finals being played at neutral grounds up and down the country," Adrian Bevington, the managing director of Club England, told us. "The younger fans have a different mind‑set, that's the reality of it. The FA Cup is a very different competition to what we remember in the 1970s and 1980s. It has a different place in the football genre now."

But that's the point, surely. Different does not actually mean being any better. Or is this an age that likes Budweiser-sponsored ribbons on the trophy or, thinking back to last season, an operatic version of Abide With Me that could actually drive you to buying a pint of the stuff?

Saints pick out wrong sinner

That really was an embarrassing little sketch from Southampton to report Mark Clattenburg to his bosses and insist he is taken off their games because the referee had apparently responded to a mouthful of abuse from Adam Lallana with a mild put‑down of his own.

At first, the only natural conclusion to draw was that Clattenburg must have had a loss of self-control and sworn at the player. Instead, it turns out he was responsible for saying to Lallana: "You are very different now, since you played for England, you never used to be like this." Shocking stuff, I'm sure everyone would agree.

In other news, the Southampton striker Dani Osvaldo has just been banned for three matches and fined £40,000 because of the flare-up at Newcastle that also led to a member of Mauricio Pochettino's backroom staff, Toni Jiménez, being banished to the stands. Funnily enough, not a word from St Mary's about that.

Daniel Taylor

Lewandowski to join Bayern in July

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 01:49 PM PST

• Lewandowski to see out contract at Borussia Dortmund
• Poland forward joins Mario Götze in leaving for Bayern

The Poland forward Robert Lewandowski became the second Borussia Dortmund player to leave for arch-rivals Bayern Munich in less than a year when he agreed terms on Saturday to join them as a free agent at the end of the season.

In another heartbreaking move for Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp, the Bundesliga leading scorer signed a five-year contract with the current world, European and Bundesliga champions.

The 25-year-old will see out the rest of his contract with Dortmund, which runs until the end of this season, before joining Bayern on 1 July, the Bavarian club said in a statement.

"We are satisfied that this transfer has gone through," said Bayern's chief executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. "Robert Lewandowski is one of the best forwards in the world, and he will strengthen the Bayern squad."

Last April, Mario Götze, one of the jewels of Dortmund's youth academy, also left for Bayern in a shock €37m (£30m) deal that the supporters have barely digested.

Lewandowski's departure did not create the same shockwaves in Dortmund as it had been expected for a long time but it is still a bitter pill for Klopp and baffling for their fans. Dortmund have one of the most loyal set of fans in Europe with about 80,000 regularly filling their stadium, including the 25,000 who pack the famous Südtribune's standing area.

Lewandowski's move to Munich will add to concerns about Bayern's growing dominance in Germany. They won the Bundesliga by a massive 25-point margin from Dortmund last season and lead this season's championship by seven points at the halfway mark with an unbeaten record.

The clinical Poland international will have to battle for his place as Bayern tend to field only one striker at most, with Croatia's Mario Mandzukic the favoured choice at present.

While Bayern have continually strengthened their squad in the last few seasons, Dortmund have lost several top players, including Japan's Shinji Kagawa who joined Manchester United.

Like Götze, Lewandowski was instrumental in helping Dortmund win successive Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012.

However, he made it clear in September that he wanted to join Bayern and a move was widely seen in Germany as just a matter of time.

Lewandowski fell out with Dortmund's bosses over his failed attempt to join the treble winners in the close season but later said ties with the club had been mended and accepted the fact he would spend one more season there.

Lewandowski, whose pace and control make him perfect for Dortmund's high-tempo game, has scored 11 league goals so far this term. He was the Bundesliga's third-highest scorer with 22 in 2011/12 and second in the scoring charts with 24 last season.

Doncaster 2-3 Stevenage | FA Cup third-round match report

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 12:41 PM PST

The Doncaster manager, Paul Dickov, was "raging" after his Championship side had been bounced out of the FA Cup by League One's bottom club, Stevenage.

All the goals came in the second half following a lacklustre performance by both teams before the interval but, when Rovers continued to struggle in the second period, the visitors raised their game and finished worthy winners.

Francois Zoko fired Stevenage in front following a mistake by Paul Quinn in the 49th minute and Peter Hartley headed home unchallenged following a 65th-minute corner.

Harry Forrester pulled one back in the 72nd minute with a spectacular 25-yard volley but Rovers were caught pushing too many players forward when Darius Charles added Stevenage's third in the last minute of normal time.

Teenage right-back Liam Wakefield hammered home a second for Doncaster deep into stoppage time but it came far too late to make a difference to the outcome.

Dickov did not mince his words after the match and said: "I'm not just disappointed with the defeat or the manner of it – I'm raging. It's the cup and obviously we want to do well. But we were devoid of ideas and everything. In fact we were totally inept and I was disgusted with the performance.

"It's all about maintaining high standards and we are not doing that so I'm going to have to sort it out. If it comes to getting one or two players out, or even five or six, then we are going to have to do that because they've all had a chance.

"We've had horrendous luck with injuries and this performance was a massive contrast to how we played against QPR on New Year's Day when we should have had something from the game.

"We had three quality players out today but there are no excuses whatsoever. I'll back by players to the hilt but there comes a time when you start to look stupid doing that. The performance simply underlined how much we need to strengthen the side."

The delighted Stevenage manager, Graham Westley, said the victory had not surprised him in the slightest. "We've been struggling with injuries and had to put a lot of youngsters in but when our best players are available we can compete – even with Championship sides.

"We probably benefited through not playing midweek which gave us the chance to have a good look at Doncaster against QPR.

"They were without Richie Wellens, Federico Macheda and Theo Robinson and that probably helped us because they are class players. But we played well today and I'm really pleased for the players.

"The FA Cup is of massive importance to Stevenage. It's really essential because it's the lifeblood for us and the further we go helps the club prosper.

"I hope it has a knock on effect in the league because we need to win 10 games to ensure we keep our League One status."

Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Blackpool | FA Cup third round match report

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 12:30 PM PST

Dougie Freedman hopes that an FA Cup run can help inspire Bolton Wanderers' league campaign after a 2-1 win over Blackpool saw them into the fourth round.

David N'Gog scored an outstanding opening goal before Tangerines forward Tom Barkhuizen's scored a controversial equaliser just before half-time.

But N'Gog then worked hard to set up Jermaine Beckford for the winner on the counterattack in the second half as Bolton progressed through at the expense of their Championship rivals.

Freedman, whose side are in the bottom seven of the Championship standings with only six wins from 24 games this season, said: "I like a cup run. It helped us last year where we beat Sunderland and that got our season going.

"It was a good old fashioned cup tie today and I would rather be in the next round than not."

He added of his side's performance: "David was fantastic but I don't like singling out any individuals. I felt that our desire in attack was right up there.

"We could've defended some situations a little bit better but the real honesty and desire of the players to win was the most pleasing thing."

Freedman also stated his intentions in the transfer market, but did admit he may need to sell to bring players in.

"The four guys at the back have played most of our games and we've only really got those four defenders in the building so that's where we're looking to strengthen," he said.

"But we've got to cut our cloth accordingly and look for the right sort of deals. It's a fact, that's where we are right now and it's about getting the right deals in.

"I've got to make sure that I work really hard to get things right in the transfer market but the guys upstairs have been really good to me and they've always supported me."

Blackpool assistant manager Steve Thompson was relatively upbeat after the game despite defeat extending their winless run to eight games.

"We've got to take the positives out of the game," said Thompson "We created a lot of chances and their keeper's made a lot of saves so it's disappointing that we didn't win the game when we played like that. On another day I think we would come through.

"We looked like we had energy today and even in the defeats we've had we've shown what we can do.

"We just need that little bit of quality to finish that off which I think we do have in the team."

Meanwhile, despite the Trotters complaints, Thompson believed the Tangerines' equalising goal should have been given.

Barkhuizen magnificently curled the ball past Andy Lonergan but celebrations were then cut short as the assistant referee had his flag up for interference in the build-up.

However, after consultation with referee Simon Hooper, the goal stood, to the disgust of the Wanderers players.

"It's one of those grey areas but they couldn't disallow that because it was a fantastic strike," Thompson said.

"I'd have been disappointed if we didn't get it, but likewise we were disappointed that we conceded that goal just after half-time."

Thompson also admitted that Blackpool were looking to recruit imminently, adding: "There's a lot of things ongoing at the moment and hopefully it will be a busy week for us."

Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Reading | FA Cup third round match report

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 12:18 PM PST

Reading's manager Nigel Adkins distanced himself from speculation linking him with the vacant manager's job at West Brom following his side's FA Cup exit at Brighton.

A 32nd-minute strike by Andrew Crofts sent the Royals diving to their fourth defeat in the last five matches as Brighton clinched a 1-0 win at the Amex Stadium.

Adkins felt speculation linking him with the West Brom job had simply come from bookmakers shortening the odds.

He said: "The bookmakers are covering themselves and this has come out of the blue. West Brom don't have a manager but all my focus is to try and improve Reading. All the energy and focus is to us. I wanted a good Cup run but unfortunately a deflected goal has done us today."

Reading have only scored five goals in their last eight games and Adkins believes the club have no option but to be active in this month's transfer window if they want to have a successful second half of the season.

He added: "We've got a fantastic board and the chairman will do everything that is right for the club. We've got to let the board get on with it. We've got an opportunity to regroup and maybe get one or two in because our focus is to get promoted."

Brighton's assistant head coach Nathan Jones praised the way his team responded after eight changes were made.

"We genuinely used our squad," he said. "We have a fantastic squad which we are very proud of and we haven't finished one game over the Christmas period lacking energy. We were unfortunate not to win them all. We are happy with the performance more than anything and were reasonably dominant in the first half."

Brighton called up midfielder Solly March for his first start and Jones felt the youngster reacted to the opportunity superbly.

He added: "Solly has been chomping on the bit to play and it was time to put him in. He needs games for his own development with us or on loan. We wanted to put him in earlier but he's come to the fore in this game."

Jones also played down reports linking Liam Bridcutt and Will Buckley with moves to Sunderland, with speculation suggesting that the former Seagulls manager Gus Poyet is set to try and tempt players away from his old club in the transfer window.

"They are Brighton players," Jones said. "We are looking to progress to get to where we want to be and we need good players for that."

Yeovil Town 4-0 Leyton Orient | FA Cup third round match report

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 11:58 AM PST

The Yeovil manager, Gary Johnson, praised his strikers after James Hayter netted twice and Kieffer Moore once in the Glovers' 4-0 FA Cup win over League One high-flyers Leyton Orient.

Veteran forward Hayter scored either side of half-time to help the Somerset outfit reach the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in nine years, with Moore adding the finishing touch in second-half stoppage-time. Joel Grant had made it 2-0 five minutes into the second half.

Former Bournemouth striker Hayter had netted only once this season prior to the cup clash with the O's and Johnson was elated with his striker's performance.

"He looked dangerous and sharp," Johnson said. "What we asked for at half-time was a couple of good balls into the box and it was a good ball from Liam Davis, who I thought played very well today, and a good finish from Joel Grant and then Kevin Dawson hit a great cross which Hayter got on the end of.

"I did not want to take him off especially when you're on a hat-trick because you don't get too many chances over the years but I wanted to give Kieffer Moore a confidence boost, and Adam Morgan.

"Morgan nearly scored with his first touch and Kieffer did score when he was put in so there is a lot to come from them - they are only young lads so we need to bring them out of their shells quickly.

"Kieffer is a good finisher and a strong guy. In training when he finishes all our keepers say he has one of the hardest strikes with both feet in the club.

"He can be awkward sometimes, but I have had some big players and funnily enough he is not too awkward and has a decent touch. Give him time, because he is a fine specimen and hopefully we will bring him through."

The Leyton Orient manager, Russell Slade, was not left too dejected by the cup exit, with league matters taking priority. "It was an unfortunate mistake from Jake in goal for the first and we rallied around at half-time and it was only 1-0 but the second was a bit of a killer really.

"The last one you can ignore because he is several yards offside but whether it is 3-0 or 4-0 they deserved to go through on the day.

"It is a difficult time for us because we have injuries and we are trying to bring one or two players in and still get results, so put this in a box and put it to one side. We're out of the FA Cup now so we can concentrate on the league and a very big game which we have on Tuesday."

Villa fans vent anger at Lambert

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 11:55 AM PST

• Fans tear up and throw tickets at Villa manager
• Lambert denies demeaning the FA Cup before the match

Paul Lambert was "gutted" to see Aston Villa dumped out of the FA Cup by League One's Sheffield United and refused to accept that his pre-match comments about the competition had contributed to a dismal performance.

The Villa manager, who had tickets torn up and thrown at him as he walked to the tunnel at the final whistle, claimed he "never demeaned the competition one bit", despite having said Premier League clubs could do without the FA Cup.

Ryan Flynn's goal nine minutes from time gave United, who are 18th in League One, a deserved 2-1 victory over a poor Villa side, who have won only two and lost six of their 10 home league games this season. "I never saw that," Lambert said, when asked about the tickets being thrown. "I've been in the game long enough to know what it's like. I'm just as gutted as everyone else at the club. Fans pay their money to come and watch, hard-earned money, so it's up to us to give them something to be happy about and today we never did that."

Of the remarks he made about the FA Cup before the match, Lambert said: "I never demeaned the competition one bit, I respect its history, I respect what the competition is about. If you look at my own career I've won some nice things through cup competitions. In the context of the whole interview there was never any way I was decrying the competition at all."

Nigel Clough, the Sheffield United manager, was euphoric. "I can understand completely Paul's sentiments [about the FA Cup] and their position, but for us and our 6,000 supporters that came today you saw how much it meant. It is still a special competition."

Stuart James

Southend United 4-1 Millwall | FA Cup third round match report

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 11:44 AM PST

League Two Southend stunned Championship club Millwall with a 4-1 win at Roots Hall.

The Shrimpers controlled the majority of an eventful FA Cup third round match.

And their biggest threat came from the floodlights, which went out for 15 minutes midway through the first half.

The game got off to a controversial start when Barry Corr appeared to elbow the Millwall defender Jack Smith but referee James Adcock opted to wave play on.

The Shrimpers then came close to taking the lead when Anthony Straker saw a low shot saved by Millwall goalkeeper David Forde and both Michael Timlin and Corr had follow-up efforts blocked in the resulting goalbound scramble.

But Corr was not to be denied for long and, with 22 minutes on the clock, he put Southend in front.

Corr headed home his ninth goal in his last 12 FA Cup games when he rose high to head home a cross from captain John White.

Five minutes later the floodlights went out and both teams left the pitch wondering if the match was going to resume.

But when it eventually did, Millwall – who had former Shrimpers striker Neil Harris in charge – suffered another blow in the 44th minute when forward Jermaine Easter was sent off after appearing to stamp on Southend defender Ben Coker.

The Shrimpers then made the most of their extra man just a minute later when Will Atkinson raced on to Timlin's through-ball before confidently chipping the ball over advancing Lions goalkeeper Forde.

Timlin made it 3-0 in the 57th minute with his first goal since February 2012 when he fired home from the edge of the penalty area.

Millwall got back in to the game seven minutes later when substitute Martyn Woolford collected a right wing cross from Steve Morison and sent a neatly controlled volley in to the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

But the Shrimpers were immediately back on top in the appalling wet conditions with Ryan Leonard having an outrageous 50-yard shot tipped over the crossbar by Forde.

Corr then headed a left wing cross from Straker against the outside of the left post before Southend sealed their shock win in stoppage time, with Leonard on target.

The midfielder, who scored twice in Wednesday's 2-1 win against Portsmouth, charged through the centre of the pitch before sending a powerful 16-yard shot goalbound.

That completed a memorable afternoon for the Shrimpers as they reached the fourth round of the competition for the first time since 2008.

Tim Sherwood's forward thinking undone by Arsène Wenger's tactics | Amy Lawrence

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 11:44 AM PST

Injuries meant Arsenal had little alternative but to play Theo Walcott as a false No9 but the ploy worked perfectly

Curiously, at the end of it all, the team with two strikers ended up with nil and the team with no strikers finished up with two. It was Theo Walcott who made sure there was no dispute about who called the shots as he departed on a stretcher. All manner of items were flung in his direction from the away supporters massed in the Clock End as he was carried around the pitch. He held up two fingers (in a numeric rather than abusive way) with one hand, and formed a zero with the other. It's hard to imagine two more contrasting interpretations of the notion of going for it in the FA Cup. Tim Sherwood's forward-thinking approach involves a pair of authentic centre-forwards. Arsène Wenger didn't really have any.

What a clash of attacking ideology – Sherwood's preference for an old faithful 4-4-2, with Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado in tandem, versus Wenger's ambiguously false nine. With Olivier Giroud poorly in bed, Niklas Bendtner awaiting diagnosis on his ankle, and Lukas Podolksi on the substitute's bench after an unconvincing struggle at centre‑forward against Cardiff three days ago, it was something of an emergency situation for Arsenal. Wenger felt compelled to experiment.

The response landed in his lap like a couple of belated Christmas presents. These were small packages. It was a gamble that there would be enough presence in a front line that had Walcott (seven inches shorter than the man who usually fills that role) sprinting around at the top, with three Diddy Men buzzing behind him. Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Serge Gnabry look as if they need to stand on tiptoes to have a conversation with Per Mertesacker. But their stature on a football pitch demanded the maximum attention. Tottenham, outmanned in midfield and outwitted by Arsenal's high tempo technique, could not cope.

Wenger's gameplan, by necessity, was all about little blurs of speed and swift passing moves. Tottenham's defence were unpicked a little too easily for comfort leaving Adebayor and Soldado largely isolated. The Spaniard managed to drive a couple of efforts wide. The Togolese was jeered on the occasions he was close to the action – but it was indicative of how Tottenham found it tricky to click that those moments were irregular, before fizzling out altogether.

Arsenal have been digging out results without playing with particular fluency and creativity lately. But they set about this emotionally charged Cup tie intent to dispel doubts about how they would fare without a target man. They recovered their velocity, their fluency, their mojo.

Before the game Sherwood had suggested Arsenal would be unnerved to see Adebayor's name on the team sheet. Tottenham's centre-halves, Michael Dawson and Vlad Chiriches, would have been forgiven for not quaking in their boots to find they were up against a lone Walcott. For all his insistence that he would like to play up front, his cameos so far have not added much fuel to that particular fire.

His movement and energy quickly unruffled Tottenham feathers. There was, to his great credit, he played with an attitude not normally associated with his game. He chased. The ball stuck to him. He played his team-mates in and kept Arsenal's attacking game ticking. He was also clearly keyed up to shoot on sight, and glimpsed a handful of chances in a bright early phase. Twice his willingness to shoot tested Hugo Lloris's reflexes, and on a number of other occasions he cracked chances just off target.

He was far from the only one to catch the eye. Gnabry was the second surprise package of this remodelled Arsenal attack. Wenger promoted the German in pre-season, making the decision to fast-track him to the first‑team squad.

What to do with him last summer was something of a conundrum. On one hand the temptation to loan him out with a view to regular football and enhanced development was tempting. On the other, there was a feeling he might be needed, and might well be ready to make an impact.

This was his fourth start of the season and Gnabry was strong, used the ball well, and was influential in turning Arsenal's dominance into a deserved lead. In the 31st minute he latched on to Bacary Sagna's pass, surged with a little power-charged boost into the danger zone and laid the ball into Cazorla's path. The Spaniard lashed the ball into the far corner across the face of Lloris's goal.

When Tomas Rosicky – another of Wenger's diminutive, technical creators – took the game further away from Tottenham with a finish of glossy finesse, Sherwood immediately substituted Soldado. It was tacit acknowledgement that his tactics faltered.

The only frustration for Wenger was Walcott's departure – adding to the list of ailing front men. He will have to hope any more improvising ends as well as this.

Amy Lawrence

Arsenal 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur – as it happened | Simon Burnton

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 11:24 AM PST

Minute-by-minute report: Tottenham played very badly and were comprehensively beaten by an impressive Arsenal in the North London FA Cup derby

Simon Burnton

Arsenal 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur | FA Cup third round match report

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 11:19 AM PST

For Tim Sherwood, his first experience of a north London derby in direct opposition to Arsène Wenger ended with long, gloating cries from Arsenal's fans questioning whether it was true Tottenham's latest manager was actually a Gooner. His team had been well beaten, fortunate in many ways that the Premier League leaders had not taken more of their chances, and the majority of the crowd were determined to milk the moment.

They had plenty to enjoy because the imbalance in talent between the two sides was considerable. Arsenal had played with great expertise whereas Spurs chose a bad day to put in their worst performance since the change of manager. Sherwood's tactics have to be questioned, bearing in mind the way his team were crowded out in midfield, and there was a certain amount of ignominy attached too, bearing in mind the tragicomedy of the second goal. Danny Rose had presented the ball to Tomas Rosicky on the halfway line and the Arsenal midfielder ran half the length of the pitch before gratefully dinking the ball over Hugo Lloris.

Rose had been careless in the extreme on a day when Roy Keane, in his television role, talked of "typical Tottenham" and for some Spurs supporters it was clearly one indignity too many when a smiling Theo Walcott held up his fingers to remind them of the score as he was carried round the pitch on a stretcher, having damaged his knee. An amusement arcade's worth of coins were thrown from the away end in those moments, as well as bottles and other items, and the stretcher carriers had to shield their faces to prevent being hurt. Walcott, in hindsight, might reflect it was not the smartest move and Wenger accepted afterwards the Football Association might get involved. Yet it was the reaction from some of the visiting fans that was the most serious part. The idea that Walcott will get anything more than a mild ticking off seems unlikely.

Certainly that incident should not overshadow another illuminating Arsenal performance and their latest demonstration of what can happen when a team places all their trust in their speed of passing and refinement on the ball. Arsenal do it superbly and Serge Gnabry, at 18, looks like yet another precocious talent to roll off the conveyor belt. "Let's not make superstars with one game," Wenger advised afterwards. "But the ingredients are there."

Walcott's elusive positioning and willingness to run directly at Tottenham's defence made him a constant menace. Olivier Giroud was missing because of a virus and that meant the home side had to rely on their other qualities in attack. Behind Walcott, there was the movement and creativity of Gnabry, Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere. In the more withdrawn midfield positions, Mikel Arteta was excellent alongside Rosicky.

It is not often a Premier League club field a team with this lack of inches but Arsenal are one of the few who can make it work.

Walcott alone had manufactured three shooting opportunities before the swift, penetrative move that led to Cazorla putting them into the lead, just after the half-hour mark, with a wonderfully taken finish. Bacary Sagna started the attack on the right and when the ball was played into Gnabry it was his change of direction, from right to left, and Walcott's dummy run in the other direction that opened up the opposition defence. Kyle Walker was sucked out of position as he tried to close down Gnabry and that left Cazorla with the space to pick his spot. The Spaniard took aim with his left boot and fired in a spectacular, diagonal shot.

Tottenham had actually passed the ball reasonably well in the opening exchanges and ought really to have taken an early lead when Laurent Koscielny kicked the ball straight against Christian Eriksen and the rebound fell nicely for the Dane to scamper into the penalty area. Eriksen never really looked fully confident, maybe taking one too many touches, and Lukasz Fabianski, deputising for Wojciech Szczesny, was quickly off his goal-line to narrow the angle and keep out the shot. Spurs deteriorated thereafter and did not manage a better chance throughout the entire match.

There was certainly little evidence of the form that had seen them accumulate 10 points out of a possible 12, including a New Year's Day win at Manchester United, in their four league matches since André Villas-Boas's removal. Nabil Bentaleb, the 19-year-old Frenchman, had a difficult debut, playing in an outnumbered midfield.

Roberto Soldado's turn away from Thomas Vermaelen was one of the game's outstanding moments, despite the defender retrieving the situation with a superb tackle, but there was not a great deal from the Spaniard after that. Emmanuel Adebayor had one of those games when his shoulders were sagged and his touch was erratic and Sherwood's 4-4-2 system looked flawed against a team of Arsenal's midfield riches, however much he insisted afterwards it was not a factor.

It took an injury to Soldado for Sherwood to try something different, bringing on Nacer Chadli to play on the left with Eriksen moving infield in a 4-2-3-1 system. Sherwood was abrupt afterwards when it was put to him he had waited too long, but the evidence was considerable and the change directly followed Rose's horror moment in the centre circle. After that, there was never the briefest moment when Spurs looked capable of rescuing themselves.

Daniel Taylor

Stoke City 2-1 Leicester City | FA Cup third round match report

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 11:08 AM PST

Stoke City withstood a late fightback from Championship leaders Leicester to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup.

A crowd of just 16,844 was at the Britannia Stadium and 4,300 of those were from the visitors but they were kept relatively quiet as Stoke took control. Kenwyne Jones marked his first start for more than three months by heading the opener in the 16th minute and Charlie Adam's screamer made it two 10 minutes after half-time.

A double substitution brought Leicester back into it and David Nugent pulled one back 13 minutes from time but the Premier League side held on.

England goalkeeper Jack Butland, 20, made his first start for Stoke after coming on against Everton in midweek when Thomas Sorensen picked up an achilles injury.

The Foxes began brightly and almost took the lead in the 13th minute when Anthony Knockaert cut in from the left and aimed his shot towards the far corner. Butland stuck out a hand to stop it but he needed help from Glenn Whelan, who produced a fine block to deny Matty James on the follow-up.

Stoke immediately broke down the other end and Marko Arnautovic squared the ball to Adam, who appeared to have an open goal 15 yards out but Ignasi Miquel pulled off a goal-saving block. There was nothing any of the Leicester defenders could do to prevent the Potters opening the scoring two minutes later, though.

Oussama Assaidi swung over a fine cross from the left and Jones rose virtually unchallenged to power a header across Kasper Schmeichel and into the bottom corner. Leicester tried to respond and the lively Jeff Schlupp sliced a shot well wide, while at the other end Jones had another chance with a header from a corner but this time nodded wide.

There was a flat feeling to the game, but it did liven up again at the end of the first half. A Marc Wilson clearance turned into a good through ball for Adam, but Paul Konchesky was alert to clear the danger with Jones lurking. Leicester broke and Schlupp again got in on the left but Butland held his low shot at the near post.

The Foxes struggled to cope with Jones every time the ball came into the box and he almost doubled the lead in the 52nd minute. Again it was a header from an Assaidi cross and this time Schmeichel pushed the ball onto a post before gratefully gathering the rebound. Schlupp looked the man most likely for Leicester and he produced his best effort with a curling left-footed shot that landed on the roof of the net. But in the 55th minute Stoke doubled their lead – and it was a stunning hit from Adam, who picked up the ball 30 yards from goal and unleashed a left-footed drive that went in off a post.

With just over 20 minutes left the Leicester manager Nigel Pearson made a double change, sending on top scorers Nugent and Lloyd Dyer for Schlupp and Andy King. Stoke were looking the more likely to add a third, though, and good work from Arnautovic down the right opened the door for Steven Nzonzi to stroke a shot narrowly wide.

Butland had not had too much to do but he pulled off a terrific save in the 76th minute when Konchesky's cross was headed towards the top corner by Nugent. The resulting corner was cleared but Martin Wasilewski crossed the ball back in and this time Nugent gave Butland no chance with a fine header.

Leicester looked much more of an attacking threat and Butland was called upon again when Dyer was played through, the keeper just getting to the ball first. Chances were coming at both ends and Adam might have made the game safe with four minutes left when he found himself in space on the left of the area but his shot was pushed behind by Schmeichel.

Norwich City 1-1 Fulham | FA Cup third round match report

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 10:39 AM PST

Robert Snodgrass snatched a headed equaliser to keep Norwich City's FA Cup hopes alive after a third-round stalemate against Fulham at Carrow Road.

The Scotland winger stooped low to cancel out Darren Bent's earlier header and ensure the first match in this competition between the teams in 106 years ended in a 1-1 draw. But Fulham also had their goalkeeper David Stockdale to thank for a string of saves, including one close-range reflex stop from the Norwich striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel.

The pre-match statistics had not been encouraging for Norwich. They had not recorded a victory over Fulham since March 1986, a 2-1 league success. Since then the two sides had met 13 times in all competitions, with Fulham winning 10 of those encounters. The most recent of those victories came on Boxing Day when Fulham snatched a crucial three points in their fight against relegation.

But with 17 changes in all from the sides these teams fielded in their Premier League matches on New Year's Day, eight from Norwich and nine from Fulham, there was an open, vibrant feel to the encounter.

It was Norwich who looked the more creative in the early stages, a Johan Elmander right-foot shot fizzing just wide and a Josh Murphy right-footer well smothered by Stockdale.

They have high hopes for Murphy at Carrow Road. The 18-year-old winger was making his full first-team debut and impressed with a series of mazy runs down the left, one shot from the edge of the penalty area, in particular, bringing a flying save from Stockdale.

There was no denying the work rate and determination on show, nor Norwich's domination. It was finishing quality which was in short supply, until, that is, the enigmatic Bent struck after 39 minutes.

The former England striker, on loan from Aston Villa and whose career has been littered with barren patches, latched on to a Chris David cross and rose above the advancing goalkeeper Mark Bunn to head home his third goal in 13 matches for Fulham.

It was against the run of play and barely deserved but to their credit Norwich did not dwell on their misfortune.

In fact, they were level within five minutes and it was Murphy again who provided the inspiration. Another penetrating run saw him surge down the left before whipping in a precise cross which Snodgrass stooped to send past Stockdale.

They may not have been first-choice lineups but, with Derek Boateng toiling in midfield for Fulham and Snodgrass a constant menace for Norwich, there was no doubt the FA Cup mattered at Carrow Road as the teams went in at half-time.

The high tempo continued in the second half and it was clear that neither manager wanted a replay to further clog up the fixture calendar.

Norwich would have taken the lead after 57 minutes if it had not been for the agility and reflexes of Stockdale. A swinging corner from the left fizzed on to the head of Van Wolfswinkel and the Dutch striker's powerful header appeared goalbound until somehow Stockdale palmed it away at full stretch.

It was tough on Van Wolfswinkel, the £8.5m purchase from Sporting Lisbon who was making his first start since 6 October following a troublesome toe injury and who so far has managed just one goal for Norwich.

Snodgrass might have snatched a second goal after 66 minutes but his swerving free-kick rippled the side-netting, although many in Carrow Road were already celebrating.

There was something of a unique occurrence after 79 minutes when Josh Murphy, making his full senior debut, was substituted by his identical twin brother Jacob, also making his full senior debut.

But while both teams had chances to seal their place in the fourth round they will have to fight it out again at Craven Cottage when the replay takes place the week after next.

FA Cup: Arsenal v Tottenham – in pictures

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 10:35 AM PST

Our man brings you all the best images from FA Cup 3rd round north London derby at the Emirates Stadium

Tom Jenkins

Steven Bloor

Lennon calls for 'more zest' as Celtic face St Mirren

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 10:20 AM PST

• Manager noticed 'a tiredness creeping into the team'
• Rangers without suspended Bilel Mohsni for Stenhousemuir

Neil Lennon wants his Celtic side to perform with "a little more zest" against St Mirren in Paisley on Sunday.

The Scottish Premiership leaders hope to extend their unbeaten league run to 20 games against the Buddies and are odds-on to retain their title this season. However, Celtic's past three matches have been won by a single goal and the Parkhead manager noticed a flatness in the second half of their match at home to Partick Thistle on Wednesday, when a Joe Ledley goal was the difference.

The Northern Irishman is looking for one big effort from his players before they fly out to Turkey for a winter break – albeit they are scheduled to play two games in the Antalya Cup, a tournament that also involves Galatasaray, Trabzonspor and the Dutch champions, Ajax, whom Celtic faced in their Champions League group.

"There was definitely a tiredness creeping into the team in the second half against Partick," Lennon said. "I just want us to play with a little more zest.

"We have had a heavy schedule of games recently, but we have had an extra day [more than St Mirren] to recover from the Thistle game. So hopefully we will see a wee bit more energy in the team; that is what I am looking for."

The champions are 11 points clear of Motherwell with a game in hand. However, Lennon does not believe the ninth-placed Saints, whose form has been indifferent this season, will be the expected pushover. "They like to play football but they will play with a bit of intensity, so I expect it to be a harum-scarum type of game," Lennon said.

"They beat Dundee United 4-1 and I know they lost to Kilmarnock on Thursday, but by all accounts they deserved something out of the game. And St Mirren have give us some really tough games at their place.

"The season before last we won 2-0 but they caused us all sorts of problems and we had to rely on Fraser Forster to make some really good saves.

"They beat us in the semi-final of the League Cup last year, so it is going to be as tough a game as we have had in quite a while."

Meanwhile, the Rangers captain, Lee McCulloch, admits he sometimes finds himself in the unfamiliar position of calming someone down, when he plays alongside Bilel Mohsni. But McCulloch believes his central defensive partner's fiery nature is more of an asset than a liability.

Mohsni was shown a second yellow card after the final whistle of the Scottish League One leaders' 1-0 win at Airdrie on Thursday for acting aggressively towards the Diamonds manager, Gary Bollan; the former Southend player had been booked earlier for an off-the-ball clash with Airdrie's striker Jim Lister.

McCulloch told his club's official website: "Out of all the people in the world, I have to calm him down.

"I can get a wee bit fiery myself, but you have to take the sensible approach when you see big Bilel getting a wee bit uptight or agitated. I pull him to the side and, to be fair, he does listen. He's brilliant that way and he really is a model pro.

"It's just about managing his fieriness but you don't want to take it all away from him because you lose a bit of the player. But he's a pleasure to work with and he's a gentleman of a guy."

Mohsni is suspended for Rangers' League One game against Stenhousemuir at Ochilview on Sunday.

McCulloch said: "Bilel and I have been lucky enough to get a few clean sheets this season and some of the goals that have been scored against us have been unbelievable finishes.

"One was an overhead kick and another was from outside the box right into the opposite top corner.

"Goals like that you can't do anything about.

"So I think we've been doing well and he'll be a big loss but we have a couple of players who can come in at centre-half with big Emílson [Cribari] and Seb Faure as well.

"So Bilel will be missed but we have more than enough cover."

Rangers beat Stenhousemuir 8-0 at Ibrox in the league but needed a solitary Jon Daly goal to win at Ochilview in a cup tie.

McCulloch said: "It's a game we are looking forward to but it's always hard going to Ochilview.

"We had the Ramsdens Cup semi-final up there and they made it really difficult for us. It was a pretty open game and the pitch isn't the best. It's like concrete and it is fast so passing needs to be accurate, sharp and you need to try and get the ball down and play.

"Hopefully we can get an early goal and go on from there but it's just all about trying to get the three points to keep the gap above Dunfermline."

Lewis MacLeod (calf) and Steven Smith (ankle) face fitness tests, David Templeton (thigh) will miss out again, but striker Nicky Clark is expected to shake off a knock.

Koke goal downs Málaga to send Atlético Madrid top of La Liga

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 10:17 AM PST

• Málaga 0-1 Atlético Madrid (Koke 70)

A second-half goal from Koke gave off-colour Atlético Madrid a 1-0 win over Málaga to send them top of La Liga on Saturday. With Barcelona not restarting their season until Sunday after the Christmas interlude, Atlético took advantage to move three points clear of Barça.

Atlético lacked a cutting edge against a well-marshalled Málaga defence with the league's top scorer, Diego Costa, having a subdued match. Koke finally made the breakthrough, slotting the ball home after Willy Caballeros saved from Adrián López.

Atlético now have 49 points from 18 games although Barcelona will return to the top with victory at home against Elche. Real Madrid, who are eight points adrift, face Celta Vigo on Monday.

Málaga played five men in defence and the tactic succeeded in stifling Atlético's attacking thrust with Costa and David Villa struggling to get into the game and youngster Óliver Torres, given a chance on the left, failing to unsettle Málaga.

López and Rodríguez were both brought on to add pace to the Atlético attack and with the match starting to open up, Koke struck. López's close-range shot was blocked by Caballeros and Koke put the ball into an open goal.

Ross County 1-0 St Johnstone | Scottish Premiership match report

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 10:15 AM PST

A late winner from Graham Carey handed Ross County all three points against St Johnstone as the Dingwall side completed back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

This Scottish Premiership match with looked to be heading for goalless draw when Carey struck after good work from the County substitute Melvin De Leeuw.

The home side created the first decent opening in the 10th minute when Scott Boyd lobbed the ball in for Gary Glen but Frazer Wright stepped in to clear the danger. In the next attack Alex Cooper whipped in a ball from the left but Steven Anderson intervened.

At the other end Nigel Hasselbaink tried to set up Stevie May but the ball ran away from him as County goalkeeper Michael Fraser gathered. Ross County were doing most of the pressing and a Carey free-kick was knocked down by Brian McLean but Boyd failed to make proper contact. The hosts came close to an opener in the 21st minute when Greek defender Evangelos Ikonomou swung over a deep cross from the left and on-loan Blackburn Rovers striker Jordan Slew rose at the back post to head narrowly over. Play got bogged down a bit in midfield for a spell but things livened up in the 40th minute when Ben Gordon crossed for Slew, who forced a fingertip save from Alan Mannus from the edge of the area.

County forced a corner in the opening minute of the second half but it was Saints who created the first real opening when Hasselbaink broke before laying the ball off for Chris Millar, who curled it just beyond Fraser's left hand post.

The home side pushed for an opener and Cooper flashed the ball across goal as Glen just failed to connect. County kept the pressure on and there were claims for handball as a Slew drive was blocked en route to goal.

Both sides made changes in an effort to make the breakthrough with Saints new signing Michael O'Halloran coming on for Hasselbaink and De Leeuw replacing Glen up front for County.

Saints were seldom seen as an attacking force in the second half and with two minutes remaining Carey grabbed the winner for County.

De Leeuw dispossessed Wright on the flank and squared the ball for Carey, who rolled the ball into the net from 12 yards.

Saints were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area in the final minute but David Wotherspoon's shot was easily held by Fraser.

In the dying seconds on-loan signing Michael Tidser, who came on as a late substitute, flashed a long-range shot narrowly past Mannus's left-hand post as Ross County finished the contest on the front foot.

Middlesbrough 0-2 Hull City | FA Cup third round match report

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 10:02 AM PST

Hull City relied on two out-of-favour strikers to see them into the fourth round of the FA Cup, with Aaron McLean and Nick Proschwitz on target to see off Middlesbrough 2-0 at the Riverside.

A combination of standard cup rotation and a sickness bug in the Hull camp meant Steve Bruce made nine changes to the side beaten by Liverpool on New Year's Day, but they were still good enough to condemn Aitor Karanka's side to a 2-0 defeat.

McLean, just a day after returning from a loan spell at Birmingham, prodded home his first Hull goal in 15 months after 10 minutes and Proschwitz finished emphatically on the hour to seal it.

Neither man features in Bruce's long-term plans and both could be gone by the end of the month, but their efforts ensured a Cup run remains possible for their team-mates. Of those, George Boyd was the standout – starting the move that led to the opener and adding an assist for the second in an impressive all-round performance.

Hull began brightly, Stephen Quinn keen to get on the ball in his first appearance in almost two months due to hamstring trouble and Gedo looking to test Jozsef Varga down the Middlesbrough left.

It took them little time to find the net, with Boyd the driving force. The Scot hassled Emmanuel Ledesma as he lingered on the ball 10 yards outside his own penalty area, Boyd winning possession and squaring to David Meyler, whose hopeful shot took a kind deflection and bobbled dangerously behind the defence. That left the debutant goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulos and McLean challenging to meet the loose ball and the striker won, poking into the top corner from close range.

It was a belated first of the season for McLean, who has played seven games with Birmingham, ending a drought that stretched back to February, when he netted against the same opposition during a loan stint at Ipswich.

Meyler went down in some pain as his team-mates celebrated, a result of a collision with George Friend, but Hull's concerns were allayed when he returned to the pitch after a short break.

The goal did little to alter the flow, with Hull enjoying the bulk of possession without seriously threatening a second. Boro, meanwhile, were struggling to get their lone striker, Curtis Main, in the game – with moves too often breaking down before play reached him.

A mistake almost opened the door for Hull in the 33rd minute, Rhys Williams' ill-conceived back-pass heading straight to McLean, but Ben Gibson made a fine covering challenge at the edge of the crucial moment.

The home side threatened another self-inflicted wound soon after when Williams appeared to push Gedo inside the area, but the referee, Kevin Friend, saw nothing untoward.

At half-time Karanka made two changes, replacing Ledesma and the anonymous Luke Williams with Albert Adomah and Lukas Jutkiewicz. The Spaniard's side certainly came out after the break looking sharper and Friend signalled intent inside a couple of minutes when he charged Meyler off the ball and struck a powerful shot that went just wide of the near-post.

Ten minutes later, Marvin Emnes charged at the Hull defence and drilled a teasing ball low across goal. A touch from Main would have been enough to turn it home but he was a yard short. Adomah retrieved it on the byline and found Dean Whitehead, but with a full sight of goal he was both high and wide.

The Boro resistance was cut short on the hour when Proschwitz put the finishing touch on a neat counter down the right wing. Liam Rosenior and Paul McShane got things going with some tidy interplay that freed up Boyd to race to the byline and cut a pass back to the centre. The ball arrived slightly behind Proschwitz but he got was still able to launch a powerful finish past Konstantopoulos.

Adomah offered pace and flair to Middlesbrough's attack, making his original omission something of a head-scratcher, but he was not able to get them on the scoresheet. His pinpoint cross was headed into the side-netting by Main in injury time but that was as close as the Teessiders got.

Rochdale 2-0 Leeds United | FA Cup third round match report

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 10:02 AM PST

The Rochdale manager, Keith Hill, labelled his side's win over Leeds as "something special" after the League Two side knocked the 1972 winners out of the FA Cup.

Goals either side of the break from Scott Hogan and Ian Henderson saw Dale claim a 2-0 victory and put themselves into the draw for the fourth round.

Hill's men started the day 44 places below their opponents in the Football League but they dominated the game against the Championship team, who struggled to break out of second gear. "It was superb to actually get our chance to pit our wits against Leeds at Spotland – but to win the game, that's something special," said Hill. "It's a huge result for the club. We are not a cash-rich club but we are very honest. We are one of very few, like Arsenal, who don't spend money they haven't got and don't have debts."

A lethargic-looking Leeds barely tested home goalkeeper Josh Lillis, the closest they came to scoring being a first-half header from Matt Smith which Matt Lund cleared off the line.

Hogan netted his 11th goal of the season when he headed home Peter Vincenti's cross in first-half stoppage time and, after Vincenti had spurned a great chance to wrap up the result, Henderson volleyed home Graham Cummins's cross in the 83rd minute.

"It's a tremendous win," added Hill. "There was a bit of doom and gloom when we drew Torquay away in the first round and there was an expectancy that we'd go out of the competition and get no reward for a game that would cost the club a fortune. But today we got our reward.

"Progressively we got better and better and the way the players executed the gameplan was superb. I don't think anyone could argue that we deserved to win the game on that performance. Our first goal was worthy of winning the game – it was a superb cross and header. Our second goal was a superb passage of play. We'd missed three gilt-edged chances and I was thinking we'd missed our chance to put Leeds to bed. But eventually we did that."

The Leeds manager, Brian McDermott, admitted Rochdale deserved to win the tie. "We haven't lost any points today, which is something, but it doesn't mean a lot at the moment," he said.

"Rochdale played some really good football. You always respect the opposition and we showed a lot of respect today because we had to. Keith Hill is a very good manager with a great track record and his teams play great football – when I saw the draw I knew how tough it was going to be. They were good, we didn't perform – but I will use that as a driver going forward."

Grimsby Town 2-3 Huddersfield Town | FA Cup third round match report

Posted: 04 Jan 2014 09:58 AM PST

Aswad Thomas's last-gasp own goal denied non-league Grimsby an FA Cup third-round replay at Huddersfield, who came back late to beat the Mariners 3-2.

The hosts, looking to make the fourth round for the first time since 1998, were 2-1 up with just five minutes to go at Blundell Park after Ross Hannah and Craig Disley struck – sandwiched by Oliver Norwood's goal.

The former Grimsby striker Martin Paterson then equalised on 85 minutes before Thomas's late intervention spared the Terriers' blushes.

The visitors stormed out of the blocks and peppered the home goal in the opening stages. First, Paterson forced goalkeeper James McKeown into action with an excellent header following a cross from the right. Then Danny Ward's strike from 25 yards brought another smart save from the home keeper.

Norwood and Paul Dixon tested McKeown again with further efforts, before Jonathan Hogg's shot was blocked by home skipper Disley. Paterson hooked another volley goalwards in the 13th minute to keep the young goalkeeper on his toes as the early domination continued for Mark Robins' men.

However, the Mariners served notice of their threat when winger Joe Colbeck surged along the right flank and fired a cross in which evaded everyone.

Grimsby went close again in the 19th minute when Thomas's strike was deflected wide for a corner. And the Conference side were in front six minutes later when Colbeck again beat his marker and put in a low centre for Hannah to tap home from five yards.

Huddersfield responded and Ward's strike was superbly blocked by Paul Bignot before Adam Hammill tested McKeown again from 25 yards.

Grimsby defender Chris Doig repeated the trick to keep out Ward's stinging effort as the hosts held on to their advantage at the break.

It took just six minutes for the Terriers to hit back, however, as Norwood lined up a free-kick from 25 yards and hit a stunning, curling effort past McKeown.

But on 62 minutes Grimsby striker Andy Cook saw his shot half-blocked and the ball bounced up for Disley to head home from 10 yards to restore their lead.

Hammill fired wide from distance as Huddersfield's frustrations mounted, before Thomas should have twice made sure of the result.

First, the Grimsby left-back headed on target in the 75th minute, forcing Alex Smithies into a spectacular save. Then, moments later, the same man headed wide at the near post from another set-piece.

But in the 85th minute the visitors were level when Duane Holmes' strike was parried away by McKeown and Paterson was able to side-foot home from 10 yards and level the scores again. However, in the final minute of normal time, a low cross from the left by Holmes was bundled into his own net by the unfortunate Thomas.

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Sunday, 5 January 2014

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

07:18

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

MAN OF THE DAY

RUNNER-UP

THEME OF THE DAY

BEST DISPLAY

BEST DEBUTS

BEST JOURNEYMAN

BEST GESTURE

QUESTION OF THE DAY

BEST NOSTALGIC MOMENT

BEST BREAKTHROUGH

RESULT OF THE DAY

It's still hard to abide this 'different' FA Cup

Saints pick out wrong sinner

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Sunday, 5 January 2014

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

07:18

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

MAN OF THE DAY

RUNNER-UP

THEME OF THE DAY

BEST DISPLAY

BEST DEBUTS

BEST JOURNEYMAN

BEST GESTURE

QUESTION OF THE DAY

BEST NOSTALGIC MOMENT

BEST BREAKTHROUGH

RESULT OF THE DAY

It's still hard to abide this 'different' FA Cup

Saints pick out wrong sinner

Written by TBMU Admin

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Post a Comment

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Follow TBMU FBook/Twitter

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