India football captain Baichung Bhutia believes the Englishman is the best coach the team has had for a long time and he should be given a second tenure. Houghton's three-year contract expires in May 2009 but Baichung wants the widely respected former Fulham midfielder to be given another tenure as his continuation will only "help Indian football."
The English Premier League title race was thrown wide open with leaders Manchester United losing a second successive match and Liverpool thumping Aston Villa 5-0 to close the gap at the top to one point. Barcelona maintained their six-point lead in Spain, while a double from Zlatan Ibrahimovic ensured Inter Milan stayed seven points clear in Serie A.
The 52-year-old, who had already admitted a misconduct charge prior to Tuesday's personal FA hearing, will be banned from stadiums for the first three matches and he will be barred from the touchline for the remaining four.
Wayne Rooney scored on his return from injury as champions Manchester United crushed Fulham 3-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday to surge five points clear of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester United crushed Derby County 4-1 away while Everton beat Aston Villa 3-1 at Goodison Park on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. United were pushed all the way by the Championship (second division) strugglers in the League Cup semi-finals last month but cruised home this time with goals by Nani, Darron Gibson, Cristiano Ronaldo and Danny Welbeck.
Schwarzer, 42, played 12 times for Chelsea last season as backup to Petr Cech, but has only been an unused substitute four times this season.
Tottenham Hotspur routed Bournemouth 5-0 as they leapfrogged City into second place in the league, six points behind leaders Liverpool who thrashed Newcastle United 4-0.
Liverpool stayed top of the Premier League on Sunday after an emphatic 5-1 win at Newcastle United gave them maximum points from their two Christmas fixtures.
Champions Manchester City will expect to get back to winning ways at home to Newcastle United in a match which pits Pep Guardiola against his fellow Spaniard Rafa Benitez.
Bolton Wanderers illuminated a dull day in the Premier League on Saturday with a 4-1 victory at Sunderland that lifted them to seventh in the standings.
The top four failed to muster a goal on Saturday as Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United drew 0-0 while Arsenal went down 3-0 at Manchester City. Premier League leaders Chelsea could find no way through Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool had the same problem at home to Fulham and third-placed Manchester United were held 0-0 in a lively game at Aston Villa.
A gunman was jailed for at least 28 years on Thursday for the murder of a former boxing champion who had asked a group of men to stop smoking in a bar.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has been ruled out for a month with a calf injury sustained in Saturday's 6-3 win over Arsenal, manager Manuel Pellegrini said on Monday.
A preview of the line-up action in the English Premier League
While the lack of squad-strengthening is causing consternation amongst the fans, Tottenham's squad is still young and looks more than capable of standing its ground.
Newcastle United eased their relegation fears with a 2-0 home win over Fulham on Saturday as attention focused on the battle to stay in the Premier League.
Burnley reached the Europa League third qualifying round with a 3-1 win over Aberdeen after extra time at Turf Moor on Thursday but now face another tough battle to increase their squad size.
Manchester City defender Michael Ball has admitted an FA charge of violent conduct after stamping on Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo in Saturday's derby.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson will call on a rested Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to fire his side into the Champions League quarter-finals at the expense of Olympique Lyon on Tuesday. The tie with French champions Lyon is evenly poised, albeit with United having an away goal in the bank after a late Carlos Tevez strike secured United a 1-1 draw in Lyon last week.
Former Hull City midfielder Jimmy Bullard, who is now retired, says the club 'changed his life' by paying him up to an extra 15,000 or 16,000 pounds a week by mistake.
Bristol Rovers got the FA Cup fifth round underway with an upset on Saturday when Rickie Lambert's late free kick gave the League One (third division) side a 1-0 win over Championship (second division) Southampton.
Manchester United defenders Jonny Evans and Rafael will miss Tuesday's Champions League match at Real Sociedad due to injury, manager David Moyes said on the eve of the Group A game.
Arsenal will host Newcastle United in the outstanding League Cup third-round tie after the draw was made on Saturday.
Manchester United stayed put atop the English Premier League after 2-0 victory over Reading as Arsenal routed Fulham 3-0 and Chelsea beat Birmingham City 1-0.
Chelsea also begin the new English season at home, against promoted Birmingham City.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Arsenal scored a late goal to force a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa but saw their lead at the top of the Premier League cut to one point after Manchester United won 3-0 at Fulham.
Chelsea captain John Terry, who underwent surgery on Sunday for a broken cheekbone, will travel with his team mates to Valencia for Wednesday's Champions League Group B game.
Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski could be ruled out for up to 10 weeks with a hamstring injury, manager Arsene Wenger said on Thursday.
"It is a different Arsenal now," Wenger told a news conference on Friday. "They are not going to let other teams kick them off the pitch."
Champions Manchester United stumbled to their second successive Premier League draw on Wednesday when they were held 1-1 at Portsmouth.
Chelsea set an unbeaten home record of 64 matches during their 3-2 win over Birmingham City.
A second-string Arsenal side proved strong enough to secure a 2-0 victory at Championship club Burnley on Sunday and with it a place in Monday's FA Cup fourth-round draw.
Chelsea host Villa on Wednesday, Newcastle United on Dec. 29 and are away at neighbours Fulham on new year's day.
Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has agreed a new 12-month contract to stay at Old Trafford next season.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Manchester United beat Fulham 2-0 at Old Trafford on Monday to climb to second in the Premier League.
Leaders Manchester United will meet Premier League rivals Reading in the FA Cup fifth round.
A last-minute own goal gave Liverpool a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur to keep them top of the Premier League but Manchester City stayed two points behind having won at Fulham. Huddersfield Town were relegated after their defeat by Crystal Palace.
Manchester United have scored 14 goals and earned maximum points from their four matches under interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
- George Best, one of the most talented footballers to grace the 'beautiful game'.
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