Click the auto-refresh button or batter F5 for the latest news. Email your thoughts to paul.doyle@guardian.co.uk. And click here for all the latest scores in the Europa League1 min: To the sound of Fulham fans out-singing the muted locals, the game gets under way ...Premable:No time for pre-match niceties. Teams:Juventus: Manninger, Zebina, Cannavaro, Legrottaglie, Grosso, Salihamidzic, Poulsen, Marchisio, Candreva, Diego, Trezeguet.Subs: Pinsoglio, Iaquinta, Del Piero, Camoranesi, Grygera,Sissoko, De Ceglie.Fulham: Schwarzer, Baird, Hangeland, Hughes, Konchesky, Duff, Davies, Etuhu, Greening, Gera, Zamora. Subs: Zuberbuhler, Kelly, Nevland, Dempsey, Smalling, Marsh-Brown.Referee: Florian Meyer (Germany)Uefa Europa LeagueFulhamJuventusPaul Doyleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media...

Eyes down and sponge cakes at the ready. Let's leaf through the European football newsJames RichardsonAndy GallagherMatt HallChristian Bennett...

• Pompey owe £15m to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs• 'The Revenue has accepted the administration is valid'Portsmouth's hopes of survival were today given a major boost when Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs accepted the club's move into administration.Pompey escaped being wound up after HMRC, which is owed around £15m by the club, abandoned its claim that the the club's owner, Balram Chainrai, did not have the legal right to put the club into administration.A spokesman for the club said: "The Revenue has accepted the administration is valid."The club yesterday made more than a quarter of their staff redundant. Eighty-five of 320 employees will lose their jobs but the administrator, Andrew Andronikou, said the chief executive, Peter Storrie, would remain on a salary of "under...

Click the auto-refresh button or batter F5 for the latest news. Email your thoughts to rob.smyth@guardian.co.uk. And click here for all the latest scores in the Europa LeagueSample Neighbours dialogueBoy: "This has been the best day of my life"Girl: "Ever?"Boy: "The clue's in the word 'life' you brainless wench, I never want to see your stupid face again Ever"And then they kiss.And then it cuts to a scene involving Lou Carpenter and Toadie.No way can the game top this.One good thing about Liverpool being on Channel Five is that I've just accidentally stumbled across Neighbours on that channel while waiting for the game to start. All our yesterdays. I defy anyone to watch this video and not weep their heart out with joy at a youth well spent in Ramsey Street.You did cry, right? Right?A...

• Former world champion without two mentors this season• 'I race for the same team and I've still the same determination'Lewis Hamilton has no intention of going off the rails now he no longer has by his side two dominant characters who have ruled his life.Less than a year ago Hamilton lost his mentor Ron Dennis who stepped down as McLaren's team principal, many believe to ensure his team avoided severe punishment over the 'lie-gate' scandal. Dennis had been an instrumental figure in Hamilton's career since the age of 13 when he was taken on by McLaren and Mercedes as part of their driver development programme.Then just last week, the 25-year-old announced a parting of the ways from his father Anthony as his manager, insisting he wanted to build a more normal father-son relationship...

• Benítez looking for a reaction after Wigan defeat• Mmanager has consulted Valencia about French opponentsRafael Benítez has told his underachieving players to demonstrate "desire" at Lille in northern France this evening as Liverpool strive to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League. "We have to show we're ready to win," added Benítez before his team's first-leg, last-16 tie.Normally protective of his squad, Liverpool's manager was stung by Monday's Premier League defeat at Wigan, which has damaged the Merseysiders' hopes of a top-four spot and Champions League qualification. "We are looking for a reaction," said the Spaniard. "Everyone knows Wigan was a bad performance and a missed opportunity."We know it's sometimes not so easy when you have another game so very quickly,...

What can rowing and sculling coaches learn from the recent Winter Olympic Games? The Mind’s Eye explores extensively the evolution of the athlete’s skills and awareness.  So it was with great interest during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games that the cameras showed the figure skaters and skiers engaging in visualisation practices on a number of occasions.  In both situations, the athletes were Gold Medalists, Shen and Zhao in figure skating, and Lindsay Vonn in downhill skiing. My immediate reaction and question to myself in viewing their pre competition preparations was how much of this type of inner training is being done by rowing coaches and athletes today?  For me I was fortunate to have experienced this practice in two sports in the 1950s, in wrestling and...

Dominic...

• United manager warns 3-2 first-leg lead is precarious• Wayne Rooney will be fit to play despite knee injuryThere are some nights in the Champions League when it is more than just a football match; it is an occasion. Manchester United versus Milan, under the Old Trafford floodlights, is one of them – even if Sir Alex Ferguson is right and David Beckham is left out by the Rossoneri tonight. Milan will have to be bold and adventurous if they are to recover a 3-2 deficit from the first leg and Ferguson's hunch is that the most recognisable player on the planet will be sacrificed in a game that reads like a Who's Who of the Champions League elite.Beckham being Beckham, he needed a police escort when he arrived at Manchester airport yesterday, the latest instalment of what his former...

• Arsenal manager would welcome all-Premier League semi-final• 'It would be a good chance to show we can do it against them'Arsène Wenger said he would welcome the chance to face Manchester United or Chelsea in the Champions League quarter‑finals, after he watched his Arsenal team book their place in the last eight with a dismantling of Porto. They won 5-0 on the night for a 6-2 aggregate victory, thanks to a hat-trick from Nicklas Bendtner and outstanding contributions from Samir Nasri and Andrey Arshavin.Arsenal have suffered at the hands of United and Chelsea in the Premier League this season, losing home and away to both. The home defeats were particularly demoralising and led to them seeing their title chances widely written off. Wenger has even suggested that his team have...

Some of you have probably heard of the 10 Minute Solution series of exercise DVDs. I mean, they have a Pilates version, Tone and Trouble Zone version, even one called Hot Body Boot Camp. (Shouldn’t it be called Hot Body Booty Camp? Just saying.) Anyway, Anchor Bay Entertainment, who makes these 10 Minute Solution videos, is planning on doing some business on the Wii as they are making a Wii version of the 10 Minute Solution. The 10 Minute Solution for the Wii uses the WiiFit board, and has three categories of aerobics, cardio boxing, and other mixed games. I can’t help but wonder why the 10 Minute Solution is being made into a Wii game when the Wii Fit has a very in-depth exercise program. I suppose that the 10 Minute Solution is probably the current exercise fad that...

After almost four months and 14 Premier League games without a win Sunderland's bleak midwinter finally ended last night. As the thermometer dropped to freezing point it did not exactly seem like spring but Steve Bruce's suddenly relaxed body language was that of a man who has just felt the sun's warmth on his back for the first time in a very long while.Like Bolton, who began brightly enough but faded badly, Sunderland have not yet banished relegation fears but, thanks to Darren Bent's hat-trick and Fraizer Campbell's opener, their manager now has no reason to feel trepidation when he attends a scheduled formal meeting with his boss this morning.More than an hour before kick-off Bruce stood in the centre circle deep in conversation with Ellis Short, Sunderland's owner. Given Fabio...

• Scotland coach looks to Nick De Luca for midfield strength• Robinson not surprised at flak received by Johnson's EnglandAndy Robinson prepared for his first Calcutta Cup match as Scotland's head coach by talking up England ahead of Saturday's encounter at Murrayfield. Any inside knowledge gleaned from his Twickenham days, he insisted, will be irrelevant if the visitors are allowed to play with pace and freedom and are not stopped at source by a hungry Scottish pack.It will be the first time that Robinson has sent out a side against England, with whom he played a prominent role in the 2003 World Cup triumph and was head coach for 22 games, winning nine, until his departure in 2006. Victory this weekend would rank among the sweetest of his career but he is acutely aware rugby matches...

…Man Of The Match. You can pretty much figure out what type of game it was without seeing a single minute of it. Unfortunately I did see every single minute of it – thank you teh interweb, fuck you STV – and you’d be right. A lot of huff, quite a bit of puff and another game on the fixture list. ‘Arry, team selection wise, with his hands tied due to injuries and him buying/recalling cup tied players, meant he had only 13 recognisable first teamers at his disposal. One of them carrying a niggle, Defoe, the other not had much first team action of late, Gudjohnsen. So we got a starting XI and formation many had wanted to see for some time. Benoit Assou-Ekotto at left-back, Bale in front of him as a left winger and Modric moved into the central playmaker role. A...

As the first signs of spring tempt more of us back in the saddle, this month's video round-up features our pick of MTB films and clips from the internetThis month's video chart is all about mountain biking. So basically broken bones, scabs and some moments that will bring a tear to your eye, all against backdrops of rather large and unforgiving hills. Here are our favourites but there's plenty of room for you to add yours below. 1. What better way to kick off than with Sheffield's Steve Peat finally becoming World Champion? There are lots of clips from the Canberra race in 2009 which saw him squeeze past Greg Minnaar and achieve a dream, but most of them have terrible music. Plus this one shows him doing what he predicted he would do if he won – cry. Can anyone else feel their...

• Lloyd to consider position as Davis Cup captain• Rusedski admits shock at Great Britain defeatThe Lawn Tennis Association this morning denied a report that it has approached Greg Rusedski about taking over from John Lloyd as Great Britain's Davis Cup captain following yesterday's loss in Lithuania.Lloyd became the first GB captain to oversee five consecutive defeats as Britain crashed to a 3-2 loss at the hands of a country with only three world-ranked singles players, all of them teenagers.Britain now face a relegation playoff against Turkey in July to avoid dropping into Europe/Africa Zone Group III – the lowest tier of the competition – alongside the likes of San Marino, Andorra and Montenegro.Lloyd, a former Australian Open finalist, admitted yesterday he was considering his...

That seems to be the implication of this article by Philip Johnston in the Daily Telegraph:The 1990 Calcutta Cup was a grudge match for the Scots, but now the discontent has moved to England, says Philip Johnston I hope those were present at that momentous game in 1990 knew they were watching an historic change in the tide of men...appparently:The background is set out in a new book called...

• Arsenal manager says playing captain would be a gamble• Tight hamstring forced Spaniard off after goal against BurnleyArsène Wenger says it would be a gamble to play Cesc Fábregas in Tuesday night's Champions League last-16 second-leg tie against Porto at the Emirates Stadium and one that he will not be prepared to take if there is too great a risk of the Arsenal captain suffering another serious hamstring injury.Fábregas was forced off with tightness to the musclein the 39th minute of Saturday's 3-1 Premier League home win over Burnley after scoring his 17th goal of the seasonmoments earlier to put his team 1-0 up. The manager gives him "a little chance" of being fit for the game against Porto, who lead 2-1 from the first leg. Wenger, who also said he would be without the...

• Manager's 'serious words' inspired Villa fightback• We don't fear Chelsea in semi-final, says O'NeillMartin O'Neill delivered what John Carew described as "some serious words" at half-time to inspire Aston Villa to recover from a two-goal deficit against Reading yesterday and set up an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley next month.In an absorbing contest that saw Shane Long score twice for Reading before the interval, Villa eventually triumphed 4-2 after a second-half hat-trick from Carew, although it was clear where the motivation for the turnaround had come from.O'Neill is renowned for being a measured speaker but the manager's ire was stoked after watching a listless first-half performance that left Villa's hopes of reaching the last four of the FA Cup hanging by a...

Chelsea entered the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a purposefulness that almost suggested the defence of the trophy was their priority. The victors were probably more intent on recovering confidence after consecutive defeats in other competitions. It was, in a sense, to their advantage that Stoke City should demand the best of them.Frank Lampard opened the scoring before the interval, but victory was not clinched until the second goal in the 67th minute. Chelsea had been insistent. Thomas Sorensen put a Nicolas Anelka header behind. That corner led to another and John Terry's header was not to be denied. Chelsea required the margin of error since their goalkeeping situation is worrisome while Henrique Hilário deputises for the injured Petr Cech.Stoke would have been encouraged by that,...

• Lithuania's Laurynas Grigelis beats Dan Evans in four sets• Britain face play-off to avoid another relegationBritish tennis sunk to a new low today with defeat by Lithuania in the Davis Cup.After James Ward's defeat by Ricardas Berankis earlier today, the result came down to the last singles rubber between Dan Evans and Laurynas Grigelis, a player ranked 269 places below the Birmingham teenager at 521 in the world and who has never played a match on the ATP World Tour.Evans recovered from a dreadful third set to force a decider but it was not enough as the 18-year-old Grigelis won 6-7, 7-5, 6-0, 2-6, 6-4.Lithuania, with only three world-ranked singles players and a team made up entirely of teenagers, were ecstatic at the most famous result in their history.The British captain John...

Click on auto-refresh for all the latest updates. Email your musings to barry.glendenning@guardian.co.uk. You can follow the rest of action at home and abroad with our live scores serviceChelsea: Hilario, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Paulo Ferreira,Malouda, Mikel, Lampard, Anelka, Drogba, Kalou.Subs: Turnbull, Joe Cole, Deco, Sturridge, Matic,Kakuta, Van Aanholt.Stoke: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Abdoulaye Faye, Huth, Collins,Whitehead, Whelan, Delap, Sanli, Sidibe, Fuller.Subs: Simonsen, Lawrence, Kitson, Pugh, Amdy Faye,Davies, Moult.Ref: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).Match preview from our squad sheets: There may be less sting to Rory Delap's throw-ins when he is parted from the narrow pitch at the Britannia Stadium, but Stoke City do not depend solely on home comforts – Tony Pulis's team are...

Click on the auto-refresh doohicky for all the latest. Email your musings to barry.glendenning@guardian.co.uk and click on live scores to follow the goals as they go in around the UK and beyond this afternoon.Full disclosure dept: I'll make no bones about the fact that I want Reading to win this game, and not just because they're the underdogs. I tipped them confidently in last Thursday's Football Weekly podcast and this match is the last leg in a 22-1 treble I put on yesterday: Man Utd to beat Wolves, Almeria to get a result against Barcelona and Reading to beat Villa. Team news we've pulled from the wires: Gabriel Agbonlahor is the only notable absentee from the Aston Villa side for their FA Cup quarter final against Reading at the Madejski Stadium.Agbonlahor was ruled out with a...

England's star batsman, under pressure and out of sorts, needs to go back to his basics against BangladeshOn Friday England and Bangladesh lock horns in Chittagong for the first Test in their two-match series. As Test matches go – and they come and go with relentless regularity nowadays – this one is a long way down the pecking order. At best we are in Hull v Everton territory.Despite all the optimistic noises there probably will not be many watching in Chittagong. Bangladesh, while they are increasingly a threat in one-day internationals, are still a weak side in the longest form of the game. It will only be newsworthy if the tourists contrive to lose.Yet for one England cricketer, universally regarded as their best player – until recently – there is an unusual pressure building....

• Portsmouth Supporters Trust prepare for the worst• Hopes for new side to play in Conference if club foldBrian OliverNext month it is a big day out at Wembley for potless Portsmouth – and next season they could be playing at Westleigh Park, Havant. A "Plan B" has been drawn up whereby, if Pompey go into liquidation, they will drop down to non-League football in a groundshare with near neighbours Havant & Waterlooville.Nobody working on the plan, devised by the Pompey Supporters Trust, wants it to happen, and fans are desperate for the club to remain at Fratton Park. But they are aware that Portsmouth have built up debts of nearly £80m and that the famous old stadium could be sold to pay off creditors.Portsmouth, who have had more owners than league wins at Fratton Park this...

• Support would boost Red Knights• Manager denies claim over buyoutSenior City financiers allied to the wealthy consortium planning a takeover of Manchester United claim Sir Alex Ferguson is supporting the controversial bid.Several key sources have told the Observer that they believe that the Old Trafford manager would be prepared to invest his own money in the club if the bid by the group known as the "Red Knights" were to succeed."Alex Ferguson is not only supportive of the bid but would be prepared, if successful, to back it," claimed one source who described it as a "killer blow" for the American Glazer family who bought the club in 2005 and who are now facing massive protests from fans because of the club's debts.Another senior City figure, who also requested anonymity, said: "We...

• Rooney set to miss Milan return with knee injury• Fábregas pulls hamstring in win over BurnleyManchester United and Arsenal may have to play their Champions League second-leg matches this week without key players Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fábregas.Rooney is expected to sit out United's home tie against Milan with a knee injury, while the Arsenal captain's pulled hamstring looks likely to leave him on the sidelines for the visit of Porto. "How big the damage is we don't know yet," said Arsenal's manager, Arsène Wenger, whose side face Porto on Tuesday trailing 2-1. "We have to make a late decision over whether he plays."Rooney missed United's 1-0 win over Wolves at Molineux after aggravating a knee problem during England's 3-1 midweek victory over Egypt. Sir Alex Ferguson was not...

As weeks on the defensive go, this has been a memorable one for Arsène Wenger. As if the Aaron Ramsey injury and all its molten opinion were not enough, there was the delicate matter of Theo Walcott. "No football brain," complained former England winger Chris Waddle. "Not only does he has a football brain," retorted Wenger acidly, "he has a brain."Walcott could have chosen no better way to thank his manager for his unwavering support than the footballing intelligence he showed when Arsenal found themselves in a precarious position against the worst travellers in the Premier League. Burnley had snaffled an equaliser through David Nugent's opportunism, and nervousness was trickling around the Emirates Stadium. Cesc Fábregas was off the pitch, having been withdrawn early to nurse some pain...

Press F5 for the latest news, or let the auto-refresh thing take the strain. Email rob.smyth@guardian.co.uk, and click here for the latest scores around Europe19 min Nani kicks Zubar in the head, albeit completely by accident. Nani stuck h is foot out a long way to control the ball, and he simply didn't know that Zubar was behind him. As a consequence he studded him right in the face. Peter Walton gives only a free-kick but that wasn't especially dissimilar to the incident for which Middlesbrough's Mido was sent off at Highbury in 2007-08. It was, I should stress, a complete accident.17 min "Darron Gibson," says Ifti Khan. "Can you think of anyone else who has so many deficiencies in midfield play (poor mobility, no great passer, can't tackle) masked by having such a cracking shot?" No....

Hit the auto-update thingummybob for the latest posts, view the latest scores here and email scott.murray@guardian.co.uk tooKick off: 12.30pmSo, then, the Dream Final: perm any two from Portsmouth, Birmingham, Fulham, Tottenham, Stoke City, Reading and Aston Villa, basically. Anyone but, anyone but. Sorry, Chelsea, but it wasn't us who expressed a wish to become the Manchester United of the South.Portsmouth of course have already served us up with a Dream Final in recent years, their 2008 match-up against Cardiff City. Which, if not quite a stone-cold classic, was a damn sight more interesting than the usual Manchester United v Chelsea v Arsenal snoozefest normally foisted upon us between players who don't really care watched by spoilt supporters wishing it was the Champions League...

Meera Syal, Shilpa Shetty and Amir Khan among more than 100 calling for rescue of digital radio stationThe BBC, already under fire over plans announced this week to close BBC 6 Music, faces a new wave of protest today as more than 100 prominent British Asians call for the digital radio station the Asian Network to be saved.Actor and writer Meera Syal, Olympic medal-winning boxer Amir Khan and Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty are among the entertainment stars, actors and peers signing a letter, published in today's Guardian, urging the BBC to halt the closure of the station.The letter, to the BBC Trust chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, is also signed by Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha, England cricketer Vikram Solanki, singers Jay Sean and MIA and Sir Mota Singh QC, Britain's...

• Ferguson expected Rooney to withdraw from England friendly• Striker doubtful for Wolves game due to swollen kneeManchester United's increased reliance on Wayne Rooney after Michael Owen was ruled out for the season has led to Sir Alex Ferguson clashing with the Premier League's leading scorer. Ferguson, reeling from the news that Owen needs an operation, was incensed that Rooney defied him by not pulling out of England's midweek defeat of Egypt and has made his feelings plain to the player, accusing him of being irresponsible and jeopardising United's chances of silverware.Ferguson had been led to believe Rooney would withdraw because of a knee injury that has troubled him for several weeks. Instead, the forward played 86 minutes of the 3-1 win, whereas Chelsea's Frank Lampard was...

• Flanker ordered back to Paris for Toulouse match• International career could be jeopardisedJames Haskell has been warned he will face severe consequences from Stade Français after the Six Nations, when it emerged that he may have breached his contract by failing to return to his French club this week.The England flanker had been ordered to go back to Paris to prepare for the Top 14 match against Toulouse at the Stade de France. The Rugby Football Union refused to let him go, though, saying the player's lawyer had confirmed a release clause for any and all of the elite player scheme periods.However, the Stade Français president, Max Guazzini, said that applied only to extra training weeks before the autumn internationals and Six Nations and that Haskell was contractually obliged to...

The Vancouver Olympics have finished, with a clutch of gold medals for the Netherlands (I was particularly impressed by the snowboarding gold for a country with no mountains..), and one for the Brits. The Olympic torch has passed to London, and with less than 900 days to go, attention is turning to 2012. This week at the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium VisitBritain held their annual event for the Dutch Travel Trade and press - with an Olympic flavour to the day. Dennis van der Geest, judo Olympic medal winner, and Chris Holmes, a British blind Paralympics swimmer with 9 Olympic medals, spoke to the participants. Both presentations were inspirational, but pride of place must go to Chris who was present as an Ambassador for the See Britain Through My Eyes campaign. He made the point that London...

Friday morning starts with a meeting with NI-CO, a non-profit public body based in Northern Ireland; representatives from the Ukrainian Ministry of Family, Youth and Sport; and the embassy projects team.  It's inspiring to see enthusiastic and dedicated experts from the top left and bottom right corners of Europe getting together to improve the quality of social services.  The plan is to develop project ideas, using experts from the UK and Ukraine, to share best practice in delivering a range of social services to the most vulnerable members of the community.  I support the project strongly: as a European country, Ukraine should be able to benefit from the exchange of expertise in social services as in many other fields, and the European Union is well-placed to help make...

The City forward has always been seen as 'one of the good guys', but he too seems to have an inflated sense of self-importanceThe first reaction on hearing that Shaun Wright-Phillips feels under-appreciated to be offered a new contract worth £70,000 a week is one of weary acceptance. This is England, after all – a country where football enjoys excess in all areas. Or at least at clubs such as Manchester City, where the rich get richer and the players might like to imagine that what they ask for is what they get.Wright-Phillips is so upset not to get a weekly £100,000 his father, that eternal voice of reason Ian Wright, went on radio this week, without any apparent sense of irony, to denounce City's chief executive, Garry Cook, and the football administrator, Brian Marwood, for "just...

…will be. Fabio has come out and stated he picked his strongest available side on Wednesday night against Egypt to scare their fellow North Africans Algeria who England face in their second group game of the World Cup on June 18th. Well Fabio that first half starting XI will have them pissing themselves. Seeing the performances of Brown, Upson, Terry, Lampard, Gerrard, Walcott et al, will have the urine flowing down their legs. Of course not in fear but pissing themselves laughing. © Toxic Web Learn to play CLASSIC guitar leads...

McLaren driver on the forthcoming F1 season and the pressures of being world champion...

Fabio Capello has no right to tell his players to behave off the pitch – what they do in private is none of his business, or oursI know practically nothing about the game of football. Paradoxically, however, I have of late become very interested in the social milieu in which the game is played in this country. If football had remained the amateur working-class pastime which was how it began, my concern might have remained confined to its place in the social history of Great Britain. But as we all know, it has metamorphosed into a billion-pound, media-obsessed and media-hungry industry, in which the key workers – the players – can and do earn fantastic sums and can and do command huge popular followings. Does that mean that they lose their entitlement to rights that other British...

• Reports say striker out for rest of season• Ferguson says Wembley pitch partly to blameMichael Owen has been ruled out for the rest of the season.The Manchester United striker injured a hamstring during last Sunday's 2-1 victory over Aston Villa in the Carling Cup final at Wembley, having scored United's equalising goal.Manchester United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, said: "It's a bad blow – he's out for the season."Unfortunately it's more serious than we thought. He will be operated on on Monday morning."It's a terrible blow for the lad and is disappointing news for us too. He has never missed a training session all season. I think the heavy pitch at Wembley on Sunday made some contribution to it but really it is just bad luck."Michael OwenManchester UnitedPremier LeagueMartin...