By Alan Duffy

"Oi Xavi, stop poncing about, go long... hit the channels, you f*****g girl's blouse"

Never one to hide his light under a bushel, West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has eased Hammers fans fears by reiterating that, despite being linked to the England job (a tiny bit), he is still fully focused on his job at Upton Park.

A pearce-ing scream: The U21 coach is taking over for the Holland friendly

The players are all coming out of the woodwork. After keeping miserably silent and not offering an ounce of support for their former manager. Man, those must have been the toughest five years of their lives? But they're now tweeting their approval of Harry Redknapp as favourite to lead the Three Lions.

Slowly some of those long standing absences are working their way back into the Arsenal squad and not a moment too soon. The latest update has Kieran Gibbs ready and available for next week's Arsenal Champions League first leg against AC Milan if Wenger so desires. Thomas Vermaelen stuck at left back might finally get some relief and relocate to his more familiar centre back role with Laurent Koscielny.

Given that Sam Allardyce supposedly had the hex over us while he was in charge at Bolton, it was interesting to find out that we've actually won 9 out of our last ten games against Bolton in the league. Until today, our last failure to beat Bolton was the rather galling 2-1 defeat last year, when Nasri choked, and we failed to defend our set-pieces.

It was, as things turned out, a mercifully quiet transfer deadline day, but the most curious acquisition of the day ended up involving a young player with just a handful of first team substitute appearances under his belt but also, it would seem, the capacity for potential brilliance and and self-destruction in roughly equal measures.

Rosie gets an offshore bank account. What's in it for Buster?

Harry Redknapp maintained an bank account in Monaco into which Portsmouth's then owner, Milan Mandaric kept sending him secret payments or "bungs" to the tune of £187,000 as commissions from transfers. This was in lieu of bonuses promised to Redknapp when he was at Portsmouth, as director of football, and then manager.

Rangers striker Nikica Jelavic is set to snub the interest of several other English clubs to seal a transfer to Liverpool, a club that the player's father has described as 'great'.

Jelavic has been the subject of interest from the Reds' fellow Premier League side Queens Park Rangers as well as Championship outfit West Ham United.

Nikica Jelavic's father has claimed that the Rangers striker has grander ambitions than to play for West Ham or Queens Park Rangers and is 'most likely' to sign for Liverpool.
The Croatian has been heavily linked with a move away from Ibrox this winter following a series of impressive performances in the SPL over the past 18 months.

By Gareth McKnight

As Blackburn Rovers languish towards the bottom of the Premier League, manager Steve Kean continues to be backed by the club's Indian owners: The Venkys Group. Despite the current trend in the game of sacking underperforming managers prematurely, fan protests outside Ewood Park and the total inexperience of Scottish coach Steve Kean at this level, Kean still remains on the Lancashire side's bench.

Click Here to get a Free £50 with Paddy Power Norwich v Chelsea The Canaries have been this season's Blackpool, impressing with their battling spirit and attacking style in the first half of the season. The big difference being that Norwich are actually good. There's a whole lot more substance and depth to Paul Lambert's [.

Here is some insight into why Rovers fans hate Steve Kean. They actually hate the owners just as much for their bewildering decision to sack the hugely popular Sam Allardyce installing Kean in his place. The reason was never fully explained. But this seems to be par for the course for an ownership whose intention is to marginalize the board right from the inception.

By FRANCO PANIZO

If Brad Guzan retains his spot in Aston Villa's starting lineup this weekend, we are in for a treat.

Guzan and the Villans host Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Everton on Saturday in arguably the biggest match-up involving Americans this weekend.

photo by ISIphotos.com

George John left the U.S. men's national team camp last week to pursue an opportunity abroad.

That move has been completed, with John moving to a club in England.

According to various reports out of England, FC Dallas has loaned John to West Ham United.

Looks like George John is getting the best of both worlds.

The FC Dallas center back will soon be playing at Upton Park as part of West Ham. But it won't be as part of a full transfer as previously believed. Not just yet, at any rate.

I don't have many details, but it looks like the first step here is a loan to West Ham through the end of February.

Budweiser has signed up football managers Sam Allardyce and Ian Holloway to star in radio ads highlighting its sponsorship of the FA Cup

It's probably not new news, but it's being reported that Newcastle need to raise their bid for Jame Tomkins if West Ham are to sell. James Tomkins of West Ham That came from West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, but he seemed to be saying the same thing early last week, as Newcastle had a £2.5M bid turned down [.

1. We were desperately hoping that Steve Kean was going to sit down on the grass during the Stand Up If You Want Kean Out chants. 2. It took seeing how good a hereto hopeless Bolton side to realise precisely how bad Blackburn are at the minute. 3. On a night when the two Lancashire [...]

By FRANCO PANIZO

A week after enduring one of his worst performances of the season, Clint Dempsey responded in a big way.

Dempsey lifted Fulham to victory over Bolton Wanderes on Saturday, scoring a goal and assisting on another in the 2-0 affair. Dempsey found the back of the net with a well-placed header before sending Costa Rican teammate Bryan Ruiz in on goal with a nifty pass.

By Geoff Reid

Saturday
Blackburn Rovers vs West Brom from Ewood Park, Blackburn
Last weekend ended up being a real kick in the teeth for Blackburn and manager Steve Kean, who were winning 1-0 away at Sunderland up until the 84th minute when they conceded two late goals losing 2-1 in Martin O'Neill's debut at the Stadium of Light.

West Ham are the latest club to be linked with a move for Crystal Palace's in-demand forward Wilfried Zaha, who has also been linked with a move to Liverpool in recent weeks.
The teenage forward caught the attention last season when he burst into the Palace first team and this season has once again proved his quality with a string of impressive performances.

The last week or so in the Championship have acted as a sudden reminder to anyone who may have thought that the two automatic promotion places might already have been sewn up. Southampton's stunning start to the season has seen them ascend to the top of the table with West Ham United, relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, clinging onto their coat-tails in second place.

Following our assessment of the Premier League potential of the current Southampton squad back in October, the Saints have opened a three point gap at the top of the Championship table. Just behind them sit the club many tipped to enact a rapid response to relegation in May. West Ham have yo-yoed somewhat over the past decade and it would certainly be no surprise to see them occupy one of the top two slots come the end of the season, especially with a manager as experienced as Sam Allardyce at the helm, as well as a defensive coach of no mean reputation.

[F]ollowing our assessment of the Premier League potential of the current Southampton squadback in October, the Saints have opened a three point gap at the top of the Championship table. Just behind them sit the club many tipped to enact a rapid response to relegation in May. West Ham have yo-yoed somewhat over the past decade and it would certainly be no surprise to see them occupy one of the top two slots come the end of the season, especially with a manager as experienced as Sam Allardyce at the helm, as well as a defensive coach of no mean reputation in.

So Steve Kean at least avoided the ignominy of becoming the Premier League's first coach to be sacked thi season. Poor old Steve Bruce has taken that title for him.
But with Rovers propping up the rest of the division and slung out of the Carling Cup by Cardiff in midweek, most managers in Kean's position would be nervously awaiting a phone call from the chairman.

Spanish fullback Jose Enrique has revealed his Liverpool team-mates are trying to persuade him to switch allegiance and play for England.
Enrique, 25, has impressed at Anfield following his summer transfer from Newcastle United but has yet to win a cap for Spain, the current European and world champions.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club turns more into a laughingstock with every passing day. The latest news is that embattled Rovers manager Steve Kean admits that Blackburn basically "forfeited" last night's Carling Cup quarter-final against Cardiff in order to rest players for the upcoming run of league games.

The biggest mismanager at Chelsea isn't AVB... it's Roman

Why neither JT or Rio will start Euro 2012... and one may not go at all Why gloating at City could come back to haunt Napoli I do like it when this column provides you readers with mirth. Which is why, in August, I was chuffed to hear from Chelsea fans that I'd given them one of the best laughs since Jose Mourinho hid in the club's dirty laundry basket.

"Say hello to my little friend". Ash seeks inspiration from the greats for his new role. Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images Europe.

Ashley Cole has apparently signed on to play himself in a new movie about a dodgy sports agent. Ash, who has managed to stay relatively clear of the spotlight lately by limiting his exposure to ladies, mobile telephones and small arms, will feature in 'Played' alongside Sam Allardyce, Joe Cole and Brit actor Danny Dyer.

Big Sam Oscar winner? In an ideal world the rumours that Danny Dyer is making another movie would be totally unfounded, never mind the fact that the film is set to feature cameo performances from Ashley Cole, Joe Cole and Sam Allardyce. The film, Played, is set around the life of a fictional football [.

Manchester United's surprise transfer deal of the summer came when we paid £16m for Blackburn's Phil Jones. With plenty of other clubs circling, Sir Alex Ferguson decided now was the time to buy him, even if the original plan was probably to wait another year or two.

Ferguson has revealed that United have been watching Jones since he was in Blackburn's youth team, before Sam Allardyce gave him his first team debut.

It is being reported today that Arsenal have turned down a request from West Ham Utd to take the 31 year-old French defender Sebastien Squillaci on loan. The Hammers recently had Manuel Almunia at Upton Park for a month while Robert Green was out injured and Sam Allardyce was hoping for a similar deal for [.

It hadn't been Rangers' best week. On the Monday, they lost two directors down the back of the corporate governance sofa, including "Mr. Rangers", John Greig. And three days later, the BBC broadcast some people saying not very nice things about owner Craig Whyte's business dealings. Either side of BBC Scotland's documentary Rangers: The Inside Story, Whyte threatened legal action over allegations it made whilst counter-alleging a BBC institutional anti-Rangers bias and joined the queue of football people suing the BBC, just behind West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, who "is going to sue" them.

Prohibieron a los aficionados del Blackburn entrar al estadio con pancartas contra su técnico, por los polémicos precedentes, para que todos animaran ante el Chelsea. Unos aficionados contrataron una avión y sobrevolaron Ewood Park con una avioneta que pedía 'Steve Kean out'. Hubo aplauso general.

Don't be negative over AVB's positive football

What a mad week. Sam Allardyce gets booed when West Ham are second in the Championship, people complain to the BBC when I do Michael Jackson moves in a Michael Jackson dance routine and – craziest of the lot – there are rumours that the Chelsea hierarchy aren't happy with Andre Villas-Boas' tactics.

Okay, if the next England manager has to be English, who do we choose? Here are some of the English manager currently employed as football managers (seems like a good filter), in order of preference (some rational, some not):

Alan Pardew hmmmmmmmmmmm.

Lee Clark knows how to win, was a good player, should be a dark horse, but ideally would have managed and succeeded in the Premiership.

Controversial striker El-Hadji Diouf has dropped down to the Championship to join Doncaster Rovers on a three-month deal. The move is still to be rubber-stamped but the Senegalese player has decided to sign for Dean Saunders' Yorkshire outfit after being released by Blackburn in the summer. The two-time African Footballer of the Year is well known in these parts after spells with Liverpool, Bolton, Sunderland and Rangers and he has, of course, been in his fair share of trouble.

(In)Famous Facial Hair in Football: Then and Now - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

It's something that's perhaps said almost as much in jest as it is in seriousness, but for some, the mark of a true manly man is all in the facial hair.

If you subscribe to that notion, then you may also be among the population that feels that football isn't what it used to be, with finesse, flair, and frailty pushing physicality in the past, or at best compressed into several three-to-five minute Youtube compilations.

Sam Allardyce signed Alan Smith for Newcastle in the summer of 1997 for £6M from Manchester United. Alan Smith Sam Allardyce interested And he was a favorite player of the new manager, and Sam played Alan in most games, even out on the right wing, but of course Sam's reign was short at Newcastle, and then [.

If Arsene Wenger's career was a kung fu movie, we would be in the part where the search is on for the villain who poisoned Arsene's rice. Taking cues from the charismatic Frenchman, all eyes would be on the usual suspects, the media, referees, disloyal players, Roy Keane, Sam Allardyce, and the most obvious targets, those pin-stripe-suited figures throwing around Scrooge McDuck money for fun.

Harry Redknapp was offered the Newcastle manager job after Sam Allardyce was sacked in January of 2008, and it was obvious that Harry was first choice. Alan Pardew and Harry Redknapp today's managers in opposition But on a Friday, after he had accepted the position, he went out to dinner with his wife and some friends, and it was that [.