Search: ' Terry Venables'

Tuesday 1 Joe Kinnear is to step down as Wimbledon manager, apparently because he wants to work at a bigger club. "I believe he will go like hot cakes," says Sam Hammam. He will be replaced by former Norway coach Egil Olsen. Sam again: "His way is the Wimbledon way. He is also the complete master both tactically and technically." Someone's been watching re-runs of Kung Fu.

Wednesday 2 Having missed out on Edwin van der Sar and Fabien Barthez, Man Utd finally sign Mark Bosnich, who seems to have turned into a character from a Barbara Cartland book: "I could have gone abroad and lived like a king, but I followed my heart." Ireland's Euro 2000 match with Yugoslavia is unlikely to go ahead after the Irish government withdraw entry visas for the Yugoslav squad. "The decision was taken by a government. We are not in a position to condone or condemn it," says an FAI spokesman. Dundee Utd supporters group United For Change are backing an attempt by a local businessman to buy out Jim McLean's controlling stake in the club. Steve Parkin resigns as manager of Mansfield.

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Some people were just born to manage England, albeit with the right name and at the right time, says Harry Pearson

Walter, Alf, Don, Joe, Ron, Bobby, Graham, Terry, Glenn, Howard, Kev­in.When studying this list of of the forenames of England’s managers it quickly becomes apparent that since the mid-Seventies the FA have got things hopelessly wrong. The departure of Don Revie and the brief interregnum of Joe Mercer should clearly have been followed by a more modern sounding manager, one whose name reeked not of linament and toad-in-the-hole, but of frothy coffee and formica, a Tony, perhaps, an Alan or even a Brian. Instead the FA went backwards and opted for Ron Greenwood.

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Saturday 2 FA Cup headlines are made at Rushden, where Leeds are held to a goalless draw, Forest, who lose 1-0 to Portsmouth – Dave Bassett’s non-attendance at a post-match press conference fuelling speculation that he may be about to quit – Upton Park where Swansea are minutes away from beating West Ham before a Julian Dicks goal forces a replay, and at the Dell, where metropolitan fat cats Fulham are denied victory by a last-minute equaliser from Southampton’s Egil Ostenstad. Yeovil also concede a late goal in a draw at Cardiff but the other non-League team, Southport, are beaten 2-0 at home by Leyton Orient. This week’s FA inquiry will look into an incident during Chelsea’s 2-0 win at Oldham when referee Paul Durkin was struck by a hot dog (tomato sauce, no onions) though stewards claim it was only a sausage roll.

Sunday 3 Man Utd recover from a goal down to beat Middlesbrough 3-1 with the help of a penalty decision, given for Neil Maddison’s “trip” on Nicky Butt, that Alex is happy with for once: “If Graham Barber gave it must have been a penalty.” Another questionable spotkick, acquired and scored by Michael Owen, sets Liverpool on the way to a 3-0 win over Port Vale. In Scotland Rangers go four points clear at the top, and ten points ahead of Celtic, after the Old Firm “New Year’s Day” match ends 2-2. There are 50,000 Scots in the crowd and eight on the pitch.

Monday 4 A Cup shock looks on the cards for half an hour at Preston, where the home team race into a two-goal lead against Arsenal, before eventually going down 4-2. Controversy surrounds Arsenal's third goal, which is preceded by Preston defender Ryan Kidd being laid out by an elbow from substitute striker Fabian Caballero (don't ask). "I think there was an elbow incident and that was disappointing," says home manager David Moyes. "We don't need to start fights to win matches," snaps Arsene.

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Steven Morgan explores the financial depths to which Portsmouth have sunk

As Christmas presents go, it was like finally unwrapping something you’d asked for two years ago. Still, better late than never. Chairman Martin Gregory’s decision to quit Portsmouth on December 18th had been the top item on every fan’s festive wish list, such was the crippling financial damage wreaked during his three-year stint in charge.

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From one of Australia's most promising lethal strikers to hate figure and team nuisance, Matthew Hall investigates Celtic's latest signing

Prior to finalising the £3 million transfer of Mark Viduka from Croatia Zagreb to Celtic, Parkhead officials – wary of adding another dodgy portrait to the club’s Transfer Hall of Shame – made three trips to Croatia to investigate their potential new striker’s state of mind. Three trips? What were they doing all the while? 

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