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Lennon reveals Bellamy talks

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Celtic boss Neil Lennon admits Aiden McGeady’s switch to Spartak Moscow will leave a massive hole in his squad, although he is in talks with Manchester City over Craig Bellamy (Celtic 8/11f – SPL Outright).

The new Bhoys chief is desperate to wrestle the SPL crown back from Old Firm rivals Rangers (11/10) this season, but he will have to do it without the winger on board.

Republic of Ireland star McGeady has moved to the Russian capital for a fee of £9.5m which should allow Lennon to draft in some replacements for the 24-year-old, with Bellamy wanted on loan.

The Wales international has been left out of City’s 25-man squad for the Premier League although Spurs are thought to be in the chase for him as well.

But Lennon still believes the loss of McGeady will be a big blow to loyal Hoops supporters.

He said: “I’m sorry to lose him, he is one of the entertainers in the game.

“We’ll probably miss out on his peak years but he came to us and said that he felt at the end of the season it would be better for him to move on.

“It’s difficult to stand in the way of someone who doesn’t want to be here.”

Lennon is hoping Bellamy’s relationship with the Celtic fans will help him land his man.

He added: “When you see someone of the calibre of Craig and the fact that he’s not in the 25 and he’s looking to go out and play football, then we feel it’s something that we can’t try and miss out on.

“We’ve been speaking to his representatives and we’ve been speaking to Man City.

“How far down the line we are will be down to Craig obviously.

“But the advantage we have is that, one, it’s not in the Premier League and, two, he has been here before and he enjoyed his time here and made a huge impact on the game up here and has a real connection with the supporters.”

Celtic kick off their Scottish Premier League campaign at Inverness on Saturday (Inverness 7/1, draw 16/5, Celtic 2/5 – 90 minutes).

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Mascherano exit looms following midfield deal

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Javier Mascherano is expected to leave Liverpool in the next week after boss Roy Hodgson completed the capture of his replacement, Christian Poulsen, from Juventus in a deal worth £4.5million (Liverpool 12/1 to win Premier League).

Danish star Poulsen was widely expected to join the Reds this week and, after completing a medical and the formalities of the transfer, has joined Hodgson’s new-look side and penned a three-year deal at Anfield.

The 30-year-old, who knows Hodgson from when he was manager at FC Copenhagen between 2000 and 2002, is seen as a direct replacement for Mascherano, with his defensive midfield and tough-tackling qualities earning him a decent reputation in Serie A in the past few years.

The experienced midfielder could even be in contention to make his Reds bow in the season-opener at home to Arsenal on Sunday as his capture clears the way for Mascherano to leave (Liverpool 11/8 to win, Arsenal 9/5).

The Argentinian, speaking after their 1-0 friendly win over Ireland in Dublin on Wednesday, admitted he wanted to leave the club and is seeking a move out of England amid reports his family have failed to settle on Merseyside.

Mascherano almost joined Barcelona last summer and has expressed a desire to join the Catalan giants again this year while Inter Milan, with former Reds boss Rafa Benitez now in charge at the San Siro, are also courting the 26-year-old.

“The only thing I want to say is I don’t have nothing against the Liverpool supporters, the Liverpool people,” he said.

“My problem is not to play for Liverpool. I’m very proud to play for Liverpool. It’s another thing.

“I said to him (new Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson) that maybe for my life I prefer to change the country, not to change the club – that is the fact.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool are also closing in on the capture of Middlesbrough keeper Brad Jones as Hodgson eyes experienced cover for number one Pepe Reina.

Jones is set to join the Reds for just over £2million and will cast doubt on the future of current reserve stopper Diego Cavalieri, who is attracting interest from Benfica.

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Carr driven by Blues belief

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Birmingham City head into the new Premier League campaign in good heart following last season’s ninth-place finish and Stephen Carr, who has just penned a new deal, says there is a buzz around St Andrew’s ahead of the opening-day trip to Sunderland (Birmingham 11/5, Sunderland 23/20).

Carr, 33, was out of contract at the end of the coming season but his fine form at full-back last term has persuaded Blues boss Alex McLeish to offer him a one-year extension.

The former Spurs man admits last season exceeded expectations at the club, with City flirting with a European place at one point before they suffered a slightly disappointing end to the campaign.

Speaking to the club’s website, he said: “It’s important to keep our standards high, to keep playing with quality and to look to kick on.

McLeish has added to his squad ahead of the new season with giant striker Nikola Zigic and goalkeeper Ben Foster arriving so far but the Scot is keen to bolster his options further and has been linked with a whole host of players in recent weeks.

AZ Alkmaar striker Moussa Dembele had been in talks over a move but McLeish appears to now have given up on him while they have also pulled the plug on a deal to sign experienced Italian midfielder Mauro Cameronesi.

With all the turmoil going on at managerless Aston Villa at the moment, some Birmingham fans believe this could be the season they usurp their bitter local rivals and finish above them in the table but Carr is trying to keep expectations in check by insisting the first target must be for Blues to stay up (Blues 11/2 to be top midlands club, Villa 1/4)

“It’s important for everyone to remember that although we are ambitious and want to aim high the most important thing is still to stay in the league,” he added.

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Holloway confident of survival

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Blackpool manager Ian Holloway is on the verge of signing a new two-year contract and believes the Seasiders (3/1 to beat Wigan on Saturday) will be able to survive this season despite the difficult build-up to the campaign.

The north-west club make their triumphant return to the top flight of English football on Saturday when they travel to the DW Stadium for their season opener, 39 years after their last game in the top tier.

However, it has been a difficult build-up for Blackpool ever since they secured promotion with a 3-2 victory over Cardiff in the Championship play-off in May.

Holloway’s side have been reduced to the bare bones over the summer as they failed to sign many of the loan stars than made them a success last season.

The Seasiders had been desperate to recruit DJ Campbell from Leicester after his loan spell last season but had a number of bids rejected by the Foxes as they held out for more money.

The problems with signing Campbell have been repeated with a number of players and while Holloway has finally been able to bring in five new recruits it looks as though Blackpool could struggle to fill their 25-man squad allocation for the Premier League season.

Blackpool’s failure to sign as many players as Holloway would have liked is believed to have left the former QPR, Plymouth and Leicester manager frustrated and on the verge of quitting the club.

However, Holloway moved to lay those rumours to rest on Wednesday, stating that stories claiming he had quit the Seasiders (2/7 to be relegated) had been greatly over exaggerated.

The 47-year-old has now given Blackpool fans a boost by announcing that he plans to extend his stay at Bloomfield Road after agreeing a new two-year contract.

Holloway is confident he will remain at the club no matter what happens this season but believes his side has what it takes to stay in the Premier League this season.

The Pool boss said: “No-one is bulletproof but I’m confident the chairman won’t sack me next year.

“And I’m confident that if we have gone down, I will be here the following season to actually build a team.

“But I’m confident we can stay in this division.

“If my lads relish the way we are going to play and how we do things, and if the new lads can settle quickly, we can do it.”

Blackpool (16/1 to win the league in the handicap betting) fans might feel a little bit more confident about the upcoming season after Holloway’s announcement, with the recruitment of five players going some way to stabilising the club.

The Seasiders announced the signings of Ludovic Sylvestre, Craig Cathcart, Marlon Harewood, Elliot Grandin and Malaury Martin on Wednesday, with more expected before the transfer window shuts at the end of August.

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Coppell delivers Robins blow

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Bristol City have moved to appoint Keith Millen as their new manager following the shock resignation of Steve Coppell – after just four months in charge of the Robins (22/1 – Championship outright).

The former Reading, Crystal Palace and Manchester City manager only took over at Ashton Gate in April but has decided to walk away from the Championship club after a disappointing start to the season.

The Robins were humbled 3-0 by newly promoted Millwall on the opening day of the season before being embarrassed by League Two outfit Southend in the Carling Cup, losing 3-2 to the Shrimpers.

The Robins (23/10 v Doncaster- 90 minutes) were one of the pre-season favourites to gain promotion having appointed Coppell, who has a great deal of experience getting sides promoted to the Premier League.

City’s hopes of reaching the top flight were given a further boost after they signed England international goalkeeper David James on a free transfer.

However, despite the big build-up Bristol City’s season has been undone before it has even got going following Coppell’s announcement.

The 55-year-old hasn’t given a specific reason as to why he has left Ashton Gate but did confirm that he was retiring from football management.

He said in a statement released through the League Managers’ Association: “It is with the deepest regret that I confirm my departure from Bristol City. I have made my decision after very careful consideration and I believe that it is in the best interests of both the club and me personally that we go our separate ways.

“I appreciate that the timing of my departure is not ideal, but I believe it is best for the club to appoint a new manager or indeed appoint Keith Millen, who has a deep knowledge of the club and the squad, at this stage of the season.

“I am retiring from football management but still feel I have a contribution to make to the game sometime in the future. I would like to sincerely thank the chairman and the board for their understanding and I wish the club and its supporters every success.”

Bristol City (6/1 – to be promoted) chairman Steve Lansdown has now been forced to turn to Millen, who acted as caretaker manager for much of last season following the sacking of Gary Johnson.

Millen, who applied to become the permanent manager at the end of last season, has been given a three-year contract having done well during his time in charge last season.

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Capello ends Beckham dream

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David Beckham’s dreams of appearing at another major tournament finals appear to be over after England coach Fabio Capello made it clear that he will not pick the former captain again (England 9/1 – Euro 2012 outright).

Having initially been ditched by Steve McClaren following the 2006 World Cup, the former Manchester United star bounced back to reclaim his place in the squad and looked set to play in his fourth consecutive World Cup finals this summer.

However, the LA Galaxy star missed the chance to make history when he suffered an Achilles injury prior to the South Africa tournament.

Despite the severity of the injury, the 35-year-old has always maintained that he would return for both club and country and would never retire from international football.

He had hoped to play some part in England’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, with three matches scheduled to take place before the end of the year, but Capello let slip in an interview prior to Wednesday’s 2-1 friendly victory over Hungary that Beckham would no longer be part of the national set-up but may play in a farewell match before Christmas (England 2/7 – to win Group G).

“I hope when David is okay he can play here the last game at Wembley in a friendly to say goodbye and thank you very much to the crowd,” he said. “I won’t be picking him for any more competitive matches.

“David is a fantastic player, he was really important, but we have to see the new players for the future because the age is important for a lot of people, not only for David.”

Beckham won 115 caps for his country and played at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups, as well as at Euro 2000 and 2004 and he skippered the national side on 58 occasions.

He polarized opinion within the media, with many pundits praising his commitment and ability to score from dead-ball situations and fire accurate 50-yard passes, while others felt he was one-dimensional and lacked the necessary pace to create a real impact out wide.

But his enthusiasm for the England team could never be called into question and Capello even allowed him to sit in the dug-out during the World Cup to offer support to his former team-mates.

The player’s agent responded to the news by stating that Beckham would still be available for England and has not officially retired from international football but it does appear that November’s friendly at Wembley will be the last time he is seen in an England shirt.

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Holloway taking no prisoners

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Blackpool manager Ian HollowayBlackpool boss Ian Holloway has slammed claims he walked out on the club earlier in the week and has also confirmed he has an “absolutely fantastic” relationship with chairman Karl Oyston (Blackpool 8/1 – Premier League 2010/11 Bad Boys).

The Seasiders have been a steady source of rumour and counter-rumour since winning promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs at the end of last season.

Holloway’s contract status and the players’ promotion bonuses have hit the headlines – and now the former QPR, Plymouth and Leicester boss has been forced to come out and deny claims of a rift leading to his departure.

The 47-year-old was away from the club at the start of the week but he has wasted no time in shooting down talk of a dramatic Martin O’Neill-style departure on the eve of the Seasiders’ Premier League bow.

He told reporters: “Before anyone asks a question, I just want to make sure you can see me – you can see me here and I’m not a cardboard cut-out, because somehow or other, I’m not supposed to be here.

“It’s just a crazy world that we have moved into. Apparently yesterday I’d walked out and resigned. I had to be in London the day before and didn’t want to drive back at six o’clock in the morning to get here because I was too tired.

“I had to be at a Premier League meeting, and what that has caused – by not coming back up for training. We only had eight players, some were on international duty and I wasn’t going to train them that hard anyway.

“Look at how things go crazy. But welcome, and by the way, we’ve just signed some new players as well. I just want to get that straight.”

The players Holloway have snapped up are Manchester United defender Craig Cathcart, Ludovic Sylvestre from Czech side Mlada Boleslav, Malaury Martin from Monaco and Elliot Grandin from Bulgarian outfit CSKA Sofia.

Blackpool kick off their Premier League season at Wigan on Saturday although they are widely expected to last no longer than one season with the big boys (Wigan v Blackpool 15/2 – Opening Day Game With Most Goals).

The Seasiders are odds on (11/10) to finish bottom of the table.

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Fergie predicts top four dog fight

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Manchester United boss Sir Alex FergusonManchester United are 12/5 to win the Premier League title this season but Sir Alex Ferguson is predicting a tough campaign and says there will be a dog fight just to make it into the top four.

The so-called big four of United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have dominated proceedings for a long time but that was shattered last season when Tottenham broke into the Champions League places at the expense of Liverpool.

This season will be even more competitive as Manchester City have been spending like it is going out of fashion and anything other than a top four finish will be deemed a failure.

It means everyone is fighting for their lives and even though United are nailed on at 1/20 to finish in the Champions League, it looks like it will be tight and they may find themselves looking over their shoulders now and then.

Ferguson admits it will be tougher than ever following the emergence of City, who are 11/2 to win the title, while Everton and Aston Villa are also clubs who will be pushing all the way.

Gone are the times when a team only lost a maximum of four games when winning the title and Ferguson is well aware that no game is easy these days.

“Things definitely changed last season – it was a different league altogether compared to what we’d seen before,” said Ferguson. “The top four found it difficult and dropped points in games they wouldn’t have expected to.

“That’s an indication of the improvement made by other teams, and I think there’ll be a bit of a dogfight for the top four places this season.

“We all have to be aware of the threats from the likes of Villa, Everton, Tottenham and Manchester City – they’ll all be challenging to get into that top four.”

Chelsea are 13/8 favourites for the title but United showed at the weekend even without the addition of any new players they are the team that will run Carlo Ancelotti’s men all the way.

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Lawrence ends Celtic talk

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Stoke winger Liam Lawrence has confirmed he will stay loyal to the Potters despite admitting he wanted to move to Celtic to be part of the Neil Lennon revolution at Parkhead (Stoke 1/9  To Stay Up).

The Republic of Ireland international, 28, has been at the Britannia Stadium since 2006 after initially arriving on loan from Sunderland, but he was extremely tempted to move on this summer to try his luck in the SPL.

Lawrence’s admission came after Lennon, who was handed the manager’s job at the Bhoys permanently during the close season, declared his interest in taking the five-cap attacker north of the border.

However, Celtic’s spending plans appear to hinge on the sale of £10m-rated Aiden McGeady which left Lawrence in limbo as far as a switch to Parkhead is concerned.

But with just days to go before the start of the new Premier League – Stoke travel to Wolves on Saturday – Lawrence has decided to stick with the Potters and rule out a move away from the club for the time being (Wolves v Stoke 12/1 – Opening Day Fixtures – Game With Most Goals).

He told the Scottish Sun: “The idea of a move to Celtic was really appealing at the end of last season.

“It has gone on for so long now and they have bought a lot of players. Clearly, they’ve had plenty of opportunity to come and get me but for whatever reason it hasn’t happened.

“Stoke have been brilliant with me, stating they were prepared to give me the chance of a move if the conditions were right.

“I really wanted the opportunity to play for Celtic. If they had come in for me I would’ve been happy to go.”

Lawrence added: “With things dragging on it has given me time to reconsider everything.

“I have had a brilliant pre-season with Stoke, I’ve really enjoyed it, and now I feel I’ve got to be fair with them. I feel the best thing for me now is to stay and try to play in the Premier League.”

Stoke defied the odds to finish 11th last season and boss Tony Pulis is looking for them to kick on again this term.

The Welshman has already made room in his squad by parting company with the likes of Amdy Faye, Andy Griffin and Steve Simonsen, although so far he has only brought in Belgium youth international Florent Cuvelier from Portsmouth on a two-year contract.

Pulis’ number one aim is to land a big targetman and he has been linked with West Ham striker Carlton Cole and Sunderland hitman Kenwyne Jones.

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Bradley open to Villa switch

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USA coach Bob Bradley has admitted he would be open to a move into European club management in the wake of Martin O’Neill’s decision to step down as Aston Villa boss (Villa 15/8 to secure a top-six finish).

O’Neill made the decision to quit the club after four years in charge at Villa Park and as yet no reason has been given for his departure, just days before the new season kicks off.

It has been speculated the former Celtic and Leicester boss may have stepped down over the club’s sale of James Milner, with the England midfielder expected to sign for Manchester City after the Three Lion’s friendly with Hungary on Wednesday for a fee of around £24million.

Tottenham are also said to be keen on Villa winger Ashley Young and although little is known about any potential deal involving Young, the wider media have suggested that O’Neill is said to be disappointed the club are planning to sell his star players without giving him a sufficient budget to draft in replacements.

Villa’s American owner, Randy Lerner, is now on the look-out for a replacement and his compatriot Bradley is among the early contenders to take over at Villa, with the USA coach admitting he would welcome a move to Europe at some point.

“I have said over and over as well that I am always excited about new and different challenges,” said Bradley.

“Certainly coaching in Europe at some point is something that I would love to do.”

However, Bradley did not rule out the possibility that he would remain with the USA and lead them through their qualification campaign for the 2014 World Cup.

The USA take on Brazil, who will host the 2014 tournament, in a friendly on Wednesday and Bradley is expected to make a decision regarding his future following the tie (USA 3/1, draw 9/4, Brazil 4/5).

He added: “At the same time, I also consider it a challenge when you finish one (World Cup ) cycle and begin the process of working on another one. From the time one World Cup ends, you begin to go through the process of assessing where you are.”

Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has also been linked with the vacant manager’s position at Villa Park, while Martin Jol and Slaven Bilic have also been suggested as possible candidates.

Reserve team coach Kevin MacDonald will take charge for Villa’s season opener against West Ham (Match Betting – Villa 8/11, draw 12/5, West Ham 16/5).

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