Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey feels sorry for his team-mates who have suffered injury or suspension, but he is ready to step up as a replacement.
The £1.7million signing from Charlton in May 2010 was at the beginning of December recalled from a loan at Blackpool by boss Kenny Dalglish after Lucas Leiva's season was ended by knee surgery.

A quarter of the way through. The Red Bull is on ice. And I hope you all had a successful day football watching. Or, at the very least, a not too depressing today.
@Hibernitoon came up with this one on Twitter: Should football be an Olympic sport?
Team GB - and that's a ridiculous name that really gets on my nerves - aren't a big part of this argument.

Craig Bellamy – Our Shrewdest Summer Signing?

Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli wisely spent around £60m on new players this summer. Most of them fit into our new, yet old, philosophy of securing young, preferably British talent and working to develop the individual at Anfield.

England manager Fabio Capello has once again emphasized that no one is guaranteed a spot in his starting line-up but has revealed that at the moment, his selection dilemma lies particularly in the midfield position following the emergence of Tottenham Hotspur new boy Scott Parker.

The superstar pairing of Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Chelsea's Frank Lampard has always been criticized for a lack of rhythm but with the former out of contention due to injury, Capello has revealed that the pressure is mounting on the latter to fight for his place.

So, how much stock are you taking from the statistic 'Ipswich Town have lost two out of three games'?
At the risk of stating the obvious, it's not a great start! And if you include the fact that Town have already been dumped out of the Mickey Mouse Cup, it looks even worse.

6 August, 2011 Kathmandu, NepalNepalifootball.com
Nepalese team routed Srilankan team 6-0 in their 2nd match of 1st SAFF under-16 Championship football tournament at Dasharath Stadium, Kathmandu.
Nepalese U16 team went to attack straight from the start against the minnow Srilanka U16 team.

Nepalifootball.com
Nepal is going to play against Bangladesh in its first SAFF U-16 Championship Football Tournament match tomorrow at its home venue Dasharath Stadium, Kathamndu. Nepal is in Group B of this tournament alongside Bangladesh and Srilanka.
Nepal has to finish in top two spot in order to progress to the semi-finals of the SAFF U-16 Championship Football Tournament.

SOURCE: REPUBLICAKATHMANDU, July 31: Nepal will play its first SAFF U-16 Championship Football Tournament match against Bangladesh on Thursday at Dasharath Stadium.
Nepal has been placed in group B in the six-team contest, which has Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as other teams in the group, in the first edition of event scheduled to kick off on Monday at Dasharath Stadium.

You may have been forgiven for thinking, and indeed hoping that the issue over the 2012 Olympic Stadium would be dead and buried after yesterday's High Court ruling. However, it could be set to rumble on with the option of another appeal for Spurs.

Part of the official statement for our club reads,

'The club now has the option of renewing its application at an oral hearing at the High Court and we shall give consideration to this in the next few days.

For the simple reason that we think the Seagulls would have been less likely to stroll to promotion like they did without him, Elliott Bennett takes this year's Young Player award. Of course, the man of the protruding tongue has since caved in to Paul Lambert's advances but given the Canaries' rising star, who can really blame the lad?

By Chris Wright

A flurry of late goals from Tommy Rowe, Grant McCann and the ridiculously prolific Craig Makail-Smith were enough to see Darren Ferguson's Peterborough see off Lee Clarke's Huddersfield (who came into the game on the back of a 27-league game unbeaten streak) to win the League One play-off final at Old Trafford this afternoon after a one-year absence, Posh will be playing Championship football again next season.

Portsmouth striker David Nugent is out-of-contract this summer and the one-time England international is keen to resolve his playing situation one way or another in the coming weeks.

The former Bury trainee enjoyed a good footballing education at Gigg Lane in League Two, earning a move to Preston North End, who, at the time were challenging for Championship promotion.

With Reading and Swansea set to battle it out for the most valuable of all football prizes, promotion to the English Premier League, it seems a good time to evaluate another excellent season of Championship football with my team of the year [...]

It is no small secret that the form of Aston Villa has dropped off considerably since Gerard Houllier took over the reins left by the departed Martin O'Neill back in September. The Birmingham side, which regularly challenged and, at times, almost broke the coveted top four in seasons past, have looked a shade of themselves since the former Liverpool manager took charge.

Gems of the Lower Leagues: Jack Cork is a post from: Just Football

by Theo Fan

21 year old Jack Cork, son of former Wimbledon player and current Sheffield United assistant manager Alan Cork, is currently enjoying the best form of his early career. Under the new and more creative style of Burnley manager Eddie Howe the young midfielder is being looked to to provide his skills and work rate in midfield with a regularity that highlights just how much his exciting brand of midfield play brings to the table.

Plymouth Argyle are languishing at the bottom of League 1, ten points having been deducted by the Football League for an ‘insolvency event', giving notice of their intention to appoint administrators.Players have not been paid since November and their debts are estimated at £13m.

Yet in 2008 they finished 10th in the Championship, had posted a £1.

By Chris Wright

Word reaching Pies this morning is that West Brom are all but set to swear in Chris Hughton as Roberto Di Matteo's replacement later today, after the former Newcastle boss held talks with the Baggies' board last night.

The Birmingham Mail are also reporting that an unidentified 'hitch' brought a premature halt to the negotiations, but that all parties are hopeful of ironing out any kinks by this evening.

As someone who watches Championship football every week I've been trying to think of a logical reason why we should not welcome a four-team play-off final into the Premiership.

The play-offs are what keeps hope alive for teams outside the top six, a chance to find some form in the second half of the season and climb the table, hoping for a taste of the big time.