socceroos to kick off world cup preparations against the netherlands

the socceroos will kick off their world cup preparations against footballing giant the netherlands in sydney in october. the friendly has been booked for the sydney football stadium on october 10 and will be a 40,000-sellout. the netherlands, no.3 in the world, will be the highest-ranked team to play on australian shores in more than a decade. in a case of double-dutch, socceroos coach pim verbeek will also get the chance to prove his much-maligned tactics can stand the test against his native country.

lawrie mckinna praises central coast defensive effort after phoenix draw

central coast mariners manager lawrie mckinna praised his team\'s defence after a goalless draw in an a-league pre-season game against wellington phoenix in dubbo on saturday. the mariners nearly snatched a win in the late stages of the match but had to settle for a 0-0 scoreline as phoenix goalkeeper mark paston denied michael mcglinchey and adam kwasnik in the dying minutes.

manchester city lose 1-0 to kaizer chiefs in south africa

emmanuel adebayor failed to score on his debut as manchester city fell 1-0 to kaizer chiefs in the vodacom challenge final in south africa. the $a50.65 million signing from arsenal came close early in the second half at loftus versfeld when he pounced on a clearance and rounded a defender only to fire over. other new strikers carlos tevez and roque santa cruz were not used by city while ex-aston villa midfielder gareth barry was the only player from the big-spending barclays premier league outfit to have a first-half shot on target.

aston out and gudjohnsen in

the sunday express say fulham, stoke and hull are all leading the chase to sign dean ashton. the paper seem to be inferring that his imminent departure is somehow related to the \"anticipated signing of eidur gudjohnsen from barcelona\". .

internationals return for blues

carlo nash is in goal for everton as they take on river plate david moyes has also included jack rodwell, joseph yobo and steven pienaar for the first time this summer.the trio returned to e... .

cesare prandelli, “eboue has characteristics which we are definitely looking for”

fiorentina coach cesare prandelli is interested in arsenal’s emmanuel eboue as he wants a versatile player to add to his viola squad. the italian said: eboue is a very important player. in attack he is second to very few players in his role. i’m not going to look at other positions because first we want to evaluate what we have in order not to make the slightest mistake in the market.

ancelotti wants english side

carlo ancelotti has revealed that he would like to have a team full of englishmen at chelsea as he begins his rebuilding process at stamford bridge. ancelotti said: \"in this team, there are top players. i like their quality, i like their mental attitude. above all, i like the english players. terry, lampard, ashley cole. i also like didier, petr, they all have a very good mentality. \"if you have these english players, it\'s much easier to build an identity for the club because of their fantastic mental attitude.

tevez not at city for money

man city forward carlos tevez has not joined the club for money, despite sir alex ferguson insisting otherwise. tevez joined city in a 25 million gbp deal three weeks ago. the argentinian quipped: \"i am not bothered about alex ferguson. this is in the past and manchester city is in the present. \"ferguson is pre-occupied with me and always talking about the money aspect. but that was not my motive for this move, and i will prove myself with goals.

manchester city not ready for premier league title challenge - chelsea manager carlo ancelotti

chelsea manager carlo ancelotti is the latest figure to dismiss manchester city\'s premier league title ambitions this season.manchester united boss sir alex ferguson has already shrugged off the citizen\'s league credentials for the new campaign, despite their capture of gareth barry, emmanuel adebayor, roque santa cruz and carlos tevez.and now ancelotti has stated his belief that mark hughes\' squad may not be ready to mount a genuine threat this year.

age no issue in signing patrick vieira - tottenham hotspur manager harry redknapp

tottenham hotspur manager harry redknapp has dismissed age as a determining factor in signing inter midfielder patrick vieira.the frenchman is currently 33, and no longer features in the serie a club\'s future plans.redknapp has been vocal in defending the move for the former arsenal man, scoffing at the rivalry between the two clubs, and has now pointed to a string of veteran signings in justifying any possible transfer.