FIFA excludes Indonesia´s World Cup bid

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has been named Vanarama National League manager of the season.

But Wrexham striker Paul Mullin, who scored 47 goals in all competitions, lost out on the player of the season award to Macaulay Langstaff.

Notts County striker Langstaff scored 42 National League goals – four more than Mullin – as Luke Williams’ side finished four points short of champions Wrexham’s record total of 111.

Parkinson steered Wrexham over the line amid the fierce spotlight on the Welsh club because of their Hollywood star owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Phil Parkinson scoops the Manager of the Season award with Macaulay Langstaff named Player of the Season |

— The National League (@TheVanaramaNL)

Wrexham missed out…

Market: Atletico Madrid win

Odds: 4/11 @

Looking to extend on what has been a real domestic romp, Atletico Madrid will make the trip to an already-relegated Elche on Sunday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, only continuing on what has been a woeful La Liga campaign this season, Elche have long since accepted their top-flight relegation. Coming under a huge amount of scrutiny and sat a staggering 18 points adrift of safety heading into this weekend’s fixtures, Sebastian Beccacece’s men were last seen putting in yet another downbeat display. Making an immediate return to losing ways as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat away at Almeria, Los Franjiverdes have lost each of their last nine La Liga appearances a run that stems all the way back to a 1-1 draw against Va…

Manchester City travel to Newcastle United on Sunday eyeing a win that would move them to the top of the Premier League.

City, who sit second ahead of Saturday s fixtures, have an outstanding record against Newcastle in recent times, their last defeat coming in 2005 at St James Park when a goal from Michael Owen gave the Tyneside club a 1-0 win.

Since then City have continually piled misery on Newcastle and will be confident of taking all three points from a team they have already beaten twice so far this season.

Manuel Pellegrini got his reign at the Etihad Stadium off to a flying start with a 4-0 home victory over Alan Pardew s side in his first game in charge, although the 2011-12 Premier League champions were made to work harder for a 2-0 League Cup triumph at Newc…

Liverpool are ready to offer cash and Rickie Lambert to Aston Villa in an attempt to sign Christian Benteke,.

The Reds, who ended a disappointing season by being thrashed 6-1 at Stoke City on Sunday afternoon, are on the lookout for a new striker as they look to improve on this campaigns sixth place finish.

Their current selection of strikers managed just eight league goals – one less than top scorer Steven Gerrard, who is moving to the MLS this summer.

One of those forwards, Rickie Lambert, as failed to impress at Anfield and is now set to be used as a makeweight in a potential deal for Benteke.

The Belgium international, who moved to England in the summer of 2012 has been in stunning form since Tim Sherwood took charge at Villa Park, and next wee…

Harry Kane says Tottenham have got to get better after letting slip a two-goal lead to draw against Olympiacos on Wednesday, but he remains confident they will qualify for the Champions League knockout stages again.

Losing finalists last season, Spurs opened their Group B campaign in 2019-20 by picking up a point from a tricky trip to Greece.

However, it could have been much better for Mauricio Pochettino s side after Kane s 26th-minute penalty was followed by Lucas Moura s strike from the edge of the box, putting the visitors 2-0 up.

Kane acknowledged conceding just before the interval was crucial, with Daniel Podence halving the deficit in the 44th minute. 

Mathieu Valbuena then drew Olympiacos level from the penalty spot in the second half, forcing…

Liverpool have virtually wrapped up the 2019-20 Premier League title since they hold a 22-point lead over Manchester City with nine games left in the schedule. However, they shouldn’t be as relaxed as they might be ahead of the 2020-21 campaign. The Reds will have a tough title rival in Chelsea.

The Blues have already secured the services of Hakim Ziyech and, on Thursday, they announced an agreement to sign Timo Werner. The club confirmed the deal in an official statement on the club’s website, saying the Germany international already agreed to personal terms and that will report at the club during July once the Bundesliga season comes to an end.

Chelsea are doing things right when it comes to transfers

Needless to say, the arrival of Werner gives Chelsea a huge bo…

South Korea and Greece dip their toes into the World Cup water at this Eastern Cape port on Saturday anxious to get precious points on board with Argentina and Nigeria facing off later up in Ellis Park.

While by no means one of the first round glamour games an intriguing clash of styles is nevertheless in store at the brand new Nelson Mandela Bay stadium overlooking the Indian Ocean for this early 1130 GMT kick-off.

Speed and astute tactical awareness are the calling cards of a Korean side that tore up the World Cup formbook when making it through to the semi-finals in 2002.

Greece, who also turned football s natural order on its head when belying their status as rank outsiders to waltz off with Euro 2004, will be relying on their height advantage and set-piece …

Will Messi win his 5th Ballon d Or? / Image via dailyrecord.co.uk

The 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or approaches and the voters are faced with another tough decision as they prepare to determine the world’s best for the previous twelve months.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been joined in the race by Neymar who broke into contention thanks to his scintillating displays for Barcelona. However, he is unlikely to break the order, at least this year as he faces stiff competition from the two players who have dominated the award for the past seven years.

National team coaches and captains will be joined by journalists from around the world in a tough challenge and a usual dilemma.

Goals

Cristiano Ronaldo carried Real Madrid on his back against Real…

Defender Jan Kirchhoff is on the verge of securing a move away from Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champions have confirmed.

Kirchhoff has not travelled to Doha for a mid-season training camp, with the club revealing the 25-year-old is away with his agent concluding negotiations for a possible transfer .

First-team opportunities have been limited for Kirchhoff since arriving from Mainz in 2013, making just seven league outings for the Bavarian giants.

Kirchhoff spent much of that time on loan at Schalke, but only made 20 appearances in all competitions during an injury-marred 18 months in Gelsenkirchen.

Kirchhoff s permanent departure from the Allianz Arena now appears imminent and reports in Germany suggest he is heading to Sunderland to finalise a …

Pep Guardiola has a plan to make sure his Manchester City players cope with playing twice in less than 48 hours in December: Go home, open the fridge and get inside.

The reigning champions have been dealt a tricky hand over the festive period following fixture changes for live television coverage, with their trip to Wolves now starting at 19:45 local time on December 27.

They then welcome Sheffield United to the Etihad Stadium on December 29, that game kicking off at 18:00, before a home match against Everton on January 1, 2020.

Asked what he can do to combat such a quick turnaround between travelling to Molineux and hosting the Blades before the turn of the year, Guardiola replied: Players to the fridge. I m not joking.

Go home, open the f…