• Turn on our auto-refresh tool for the latest updates • Email jacob.steinberg.casual@guardian.co.uk for a chat • Follow all the games with our live scores service • Follow Jacob on Twitter if that’s your thing 4.33pm: Has anyone ever sported a head of silver hair more imperiously than Ted Danson? 4.32pm: “Does Paul Scharner do the T-shirt and hair thing so we don’t get him mixed up with Novak Djokovic?” asks Gary Naylor. “Can we be sure they are not the same person? After all, Novak has form .” 4.29pm: What is going on at Leicester? They have just gone 3-0 down at home to Millwall. Liam Feeney with the goal, we hear. And Aaron McLean has equalised at the KC Stadium, making it Hull 2-2 Watford. “Hull City sacked Phil Brown 18 months ago. It’s been going pretty well under Nigel Pearson actually, but I guess he’s not good journo fodder,” says Jonathan Hopkin, who sadly doesn’t know a light-hearted yarn when he sees one. 4.28pm: Ginger Dave has made it Portsmouth 2-1 Doncaster . 4.26pm: The mystery is explained. Stelling’s vidiprinter is broken! He is bereft. I smell sabotage. 4.25pm: This is bizarre. Charlie Nicholas was talking about Newcastle v Wigan and in the background I swear I just heard Jeff Stelling say “I’m in trouble.” What the? 4.23pm: I have been watching the clock these last five minutes. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Ticktockticktockticktockticktockticktock TICKTOCKTICKTOCKTOCKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKBLOODYTOCK. Cardiff have gone 4-1 up against Barnsley. 4.18pm: Watford are back in front away to Hull and lead 2-1! Chris Iwelumo rises highest at the far post and nods into the Hull net. Teach them to sack Phil Brown. 4.17pm: Jordan Rhodes has a hat-trick for Huddersfield against Preston, who are 3-0 down. Rhodes now has 13 goals in his last five games . Wow. Coventry have opened the scoring at home to Burnley through Cody McDonald. GOAL! Aston Villa 1-2 West Brom (Scharner, 57 min): The ever-reliable Paul Scharner hooks in a volley from Chris Brunt’s outswinging corner. The goal had been coming, Villa’s 10 men being made to look increasingly ragged. Scharner celebrates by showing off the West Brom t-shirt which so riled Mick McCarthy last week. West Brom haven’t won at Villa Park since 1979. 4.14pm: So just how long is this Crystal Palace surge going to go on for? They’ve only gone and taken the lead through Paddy McCarthy at Ipswich, the defender heading in from Sean Scannell’s free-kick. It’s Ipswich 0-1 Crystal Palace . 4.12pm: And what do you know, Middlesbrough go straight up the other end, Justin Hoyte crosses and Marvin Emnes heads home. It’s Middlesbrough 2-0 Derby . The hosts will go second. At the Phil Brown Memorial Stadium, Matty Fryatt has made it Hull 1-1 Watford . 4.11pm: 15-year-old Mason Bennett has been denied a goal on his debut for Derby by a fine save from Middlesbrough’s goalkeeper Luke Steele, who has a heart of stone. Well done, he’s only 15 . 4.08pm: Steve Claridge, 87, has scored on his debut for Gosport Borough in the FA Trophy. Wigtown, Keith scoring for Keith, Claridge … what an afternoon. Who needs the Premier League? 4.07pm: Hatem Ben Arfa has come on for Newcastle in a bid to liven things up. 4.06pm: “Come on, surely there’s enough hyperbole in football as there is,” says Mark Guthrie. “A torn shoelace does not a pair of broken shoes make. Any good cobblers, Clarks, or even supermarkets nowadays carry good quality shoelaces that could save those brogues from the scrap heap. Take heart good man, your saturday could improve.” Worst aspect of this story is that the shoes aren’t even mine. 4.05pm: 45 minutes more of this and then it’s Saturday night. Your plans? “Come on dude, U2 rock (in every sense!) and Beautiful Day is still the best recent football-linked song (er, quite the accolade),” says Ryan Dunne. “Their best work will surely outlast all the views and tunes of those who view this as an unironic lifestyle guide! And Achtung Baby, one of the most seminal albums of the last twenty years, is the equal or superior to the best of REM or Radiohead!” I know you’re not being serious. 4.02pm: It would appear that Chris Herd’s red card for Villa was for a stamp on Jonas Olsson. “Good on Simon Gillett,” says Niall Mullen. “I think that might Mach 3 goals he has now scored for Donny.” Back in 10 minutes. Until then. Half time: Bolton 0-0 Sunderland. I forgot this game was going on. 3.49pm: Blimey. Darius Henderson has his second and it’s Leicester 0-2 Millwall. He’s doubled his account for the season. Poor old Sven. Half time: Newcastle 0-0 Wigan. Half time: Aston Villa 1-1 West Brom. 3.48pm: West Brom are threatening to run away with this now. Peter Odemwingie has the ball in the Villa net, but the whistle blows for a very marginal offside against the Nigerian striker. 3.47pm: Wigtown are 9-0 down at home to Stranraer. Middlesbrough lead Derby 1-0 thanks to Rhys Williams’ strike. GOAL! Aston Villa 1-1 West Brom (Olsson, 45 min): Villa’s 10 men are unable to hold on, as Olsson heads the equaliser for West Brom a corner. Both sides have reasons to be very upset indeed with Phil Dowd’s performance. At least he’s not biased. 3.44pm: Kevin Phillips shows his class with a glorious equaliser for Blackpool against Forest. “Gillet: the net this man can get?” offers Observer scribe Jamie Jackson, whose P45 is being drafted as we speak. 3.43pm: STOP FOOTBALL. THERE IS NOWHERE LEFT TO GO FROM HERE. Cammy Keith has scored for Keith. 3.42pm: “Enjoying today’s hot clock action, Jacob, but I have a question: is it acceptable to listen to Coldplay whilst doing so, or are they too uncool for a Guardian-hosted service?” asks Ryan Dunne. “They do, in one’s defence, have some catchy tunes, and a song actually called Clocks. They’re not as good as U2 though.” As good at U2 at what? Because you can’t be talking about doing music. 3.40pm: The Steve Cotterill honeymoon shows no sign of ending. It’s Blackpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest thanks to a close-range header from Wes Morgan. “How’re you enjoying your saturday so far?” asks Mark Guthrie. I broke some shoes this morning, so I’ve had better. Tore the shoelaces by mistake. “I’m watching the Newcastle vs Wigan game (as a Newcastle fan). Like so often this season Gutierrez and Obertan get into promising positions yet fail to deliver anything that could be considered a decent opportunity. It’s got me thinking, yet again. Are there any other teams with a pair of wingers who look so dangerous, so potentially formidable, that get into the final third of the pitch and look as effective as a second hand condom at a bed of nails convention.” 3.39pm: The comeback is off! Aron Gunnarsson has made it Cardiff 3-1 Barnsley . The upsets keep on coming in the Championship as James Chester’s own goal makes it Hull 0-1 Watford . 3.38pm: Ah, but Daniel Drinkwater has made it Cardiff 2-1 Barnsley . The comeback is on! 3.37pm: There’s a shock on the cards at the Walkers Stadium, where it’s Leicester 0-1 Millwall after Darius Henderson’s penalty. Joe Mason has also made it Cardiff 2-0 Barnsley . 3.36pm: Chris Brunt puts his penalty wide for West Brom! Justice, apparently, done. No one knows what the penalty was for or why Chris Herd was sent off. 3.34pm: Incredible scenes at Villa Park! Phil Dowd has awarded West Brom a penalty for a foul by Richard Dunne on Jonas Olsson and has then sent off Chris Herd for … well, no one knows. Villa are down to 10 men. 3.34pm: “Chance!” parps Charlie Nicholas. “Gooooo-ooohhhh what a save.” Al-Habsi makes a fantastic save from Leon Best at St James’ Park. 3.32pm: No goals at Bloomfield Road, but Alan McInally is very excited that the sun is shining. He is Scottish, I suppose. 3.28pm: WARNING! PUN-FREE ZONE Simon Gillett booms a marvellous volley into the Portsmouth net from a John Oster corner to equalise for Doncaster at Fratton Park. Don’t start. WALK AWAY FROM THE PUN 3.27pm: Wigtown are proving a draw. “Wigtown & Bladnoch v Stranraer,” muses Sean Flynn. “Big local derby there Jacob. Sort of. And I say big, needless to say I’d never heard of W&B before you mentioned them. I bloody love fitba me.” 3.26pm: “W&B’s team name would be improved even further if the odd typo changed Bladnoch so it was Wigtown and Baldnog,” says Robin Hazlehurst. “Sounds like a children’s story, ‘Wigtown and the Bald Noggin’ or somesuch.” With John Madejski as the kindly town mayor? 3.24pm: I haven’t seen what happened, but apparently the tackle from Alan Hutton which led to Shane Long going off was very poor and perhaps should have been a straight red card. As it was, he didn’t get booked – but has since been cautioned for another foul. Given that the penalty was apparently a bit iffy, West Brom will be fuming. GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 West Brom (Bent pen, 23 min): Darren Bent sends Foster the wrong way from the spot to give Villa the lead and make up for his earlier miss. 3.21pm: Things go from bad to worse for West Brom, a mix-up from Reid and Foster leading to the goalkeeper fouling Agbonlahor. Villa have a penalty. 3.20pm: Shane Long has gone off injured for West Brom and Somen Tchoyi is on for him. That’s a big blow for West Brom, who are struggling for goals this season. They’ve managed seven in total. Oh Roy. 3.18pm: There’s a Scottish team called Wigtown & Bladnoch. They’re losing 6-0 at home to Stranraer, but they take the prize for the best team name in all of football. They could have sponsored Liverpool last season. 3.17pm: Wigan are continuing to create chances against Newcastle, and Rodallega has just blazed wide of the near post. Newcastle’s unbeaten record is ever so slightly under threat here. 3.15pm: Albion have scored … against Arbroath. Boom! Gotcha! At Villa Park, it’s still 0-0. 3.13pm: Big news. It’s Peterhead 1-0 Nairn County. There’s no stopping Martin Bavidge. 3.11pm: Cardiff lead 1-0 against Barnsley thanks to Kenneth Miller’s typically calm finish. They’ll not be troubling the play-offs though. 3.09pm: 15-year-old Mason Bennett is yet to have a touch for Derby. MASON BENNETT IS IN CRISIS. WHAT IS WRONG WITH MASON BENNETT? 3.08pm: The Blackpool midfield is made up of McManaman and Ince, conjuring memories of the glorious Liverpool 1999 vintage and the Evans-Houllier duopoly. 3.06pm: Wigan have started very confidently at Newcastle and could have had a penalty, while Rodallega has also brought the best out of Tim Krul. 3.05pm: Darren Bent, £24m, has missed a sitter for Aston Villa. “Re Wolves, crowds, like mobs, don’t do nuance,” says Gary Naylor. “If football wanted nuanced opinions from fans, they’d all be set up like AFC Wimbledon instead of being set up like News Corporation.” 3.03pm: No goals yet in the top flight. Maybe the beancounters can make it compulsory for teams to score in order to improve the Premier League brand. Meanwhile managerless Portsmouth lead 1-0 against Doncaster thanks to Luke Varney. 3.01pm: Over on Sky Sports Two, Mick McCarthy has just been asked what he thought the reason was for Wolves’ comeback earlier. “Not telling,” was his forthright answer. Still, not as amusing as Rafa Benitez being “focused on training and coaching my team”. 3pm: Peep! “By Wolves fans disgracing themselves, do you mean their calling for the head of Mick McCarthy?” asks Gary Naylor. “A tad premature, I agree, but it’s not always wrong for fans to demand change in the management or the boardroom. For every club that sticks with a manager and sees better days as a result, there are those who stick with a manager and go down. As an Evertonian, I know that the board left it to the very last minute to replace Walter Smith ten seasons ago with David Moyes who saved the club from the fate that befell Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds United and many, many more clubs who have found Premier League status hard to recover once lost.” Did you hear them though? There’s voicing displeasure and then there’s downright nastiness. At the Riverside, Derby have named Mason Bennett up front. His age? 15 years and 99 days. The club had to get the permission of his mum and school to play. I note Wolves fans have disgraced themselves in their draw with Swansea . What a shower. Get your team news here. Fresh off the wires. Smell the copy! Feel the paste! Aston Villa v West Brom Aston Villa: Given; Hutton, Collins, Dunne, Warnock; Herd, Petrov, Bannan, N’Zogbia; Bent, Agbonlahor. Subs: Guzan, Ireland, Albrighton, Delfouneso, Heskey, Clark, Cuellar. West Brom: Foster; Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Jones; Brunt, Mulumbu, Scharner, Thomas; Odemwingie, Long. Subs: Fulop, Tchoyi, Morrison, Shorey, Gera, Dawson, Cox. Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire) Bolton v Sunderland Bolton: Jaaskelainen; Boyata, Cahill, Wheater, Robinson; Eagles, Reo-Coker, Pratley, Petrov; K. Davies, Ngog. Subs: Bogdan, Sanli, Gardner, Knight, Mark Davies, Klasnic, Kakuta. Sunderland: Mignolet; O’Shea, Brown, Turner, Richardson; Larsson, Colback, Vaughan, Sessegnon; Wickham, Bendtner. Subs: Westwood, Bardsley, Cattermole, Gardner, Ji, Meyler, Elmohamady. Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire) Newcastle v Wigan Newcastle: Krul; Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor; Obertan, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez; Best, Ba. Subs: Harper, Santon, Ben Arfa, Perch, Smith, Marveaux, Shola Ameobi. Wigan: Al Habsi; Boyce, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa; Jones, Watson, Diame, Moses; Rodallega, Crusat. Subs: Pollitt, Thomas, Maloney, Gomez, McArthur, Sammon, Lopez. Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire) Enjoy this while there’s still time. By, let’s say, 2013 matches of this nature in the Premier League will be rendered utterly irrelevant when those poindexters in the boardrooms work out the way to avoid their own incompetence having any consequence is to just get rid of relegation. Kids, struggling with your homework? Just don’t do it! Can’t be bothered to do your tax return? Just don’t do it! Life is so much simpler this way. Sure, English football will be shorn of inconsequential matter such as competitiveness, sporting interest and relevance, but who cares about things like that when there’s money to be made? People who need to get with the programme and engage in some blue-sky thinking, that’s who. But for now, this bumper Premier League programme, replete with three whole games, matters. Perhaps the biggest game of the afternoon comes at the Reebok Stadium, where 18th meets 17th. Only goal difference is keeping Sunderland above Owen Coyle’s Bolton, who got back to winning ways last week at Wigan (and more of them later), while Steve Bruce’s side were unfortunate to lose to Matt Le Tissier Robin van Persie. They’ve been dreadful this season though, have the Mackems, and the last time I watched them play they were comprehensively outdone by Norwich City. It’s difficult to pinpoint where it’s all going wrong: the squad is relatively strong and money has been spent – which means at times like these, you start to look at the manager. Bolton have had a terrible start as well, but because of their difficult run of games, we’ll only really know how their season will pan out after the next month or so. Just to compound Sunderland’s misery, Newcastle are having a whale of a time. Fourth place, unbeaten and playing some great stuff, expect that to continue against Wigan today. Wigan have managed one win all season and that was against QPR, when Franco di Santo of all people scored twice. A once-in-a-lifetime achievement at the same time as a once-in-a-season achievement? The way they’re going, you wouldn’t be surprised. The final game is between Aston Villa, who are doing a stand-up job of existing this season, and West Brom, who are managed by Liverpool favourite Roy Hodgson. It’s sunny by the way, so… Now then, in time this won’t matter, etc etc and so on and I’m repeating myself now. But there’s a few big games in the Championship as well featuring teams hoping to win promotion to the Premier League while they still can. At Portman Road, rising force Ipswich Town (the best Championship side I’ve seen this season) take on Crystal Palace, whose youngsters are worth keeping an eye on, though not in a sinister way. A win for either side could take them second, though they’ll be dependent on affairs at the Riverside, where Middlesbrough face Derby County, a match that has a real late-90s-early-noughties Premier League feel about it. Third v fourth there, only goal difference separating them. The leaders Southampton don’t play at Reading until 5.20pm – they’re five points clear at the moment, so this is a chance to eat into the gap. The Championship is ludicrous. Birmingham are 16th and are seven points off second place. Premier League Jacob Steinberg guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Demonstrators say they are prepared to remain at London landmark until the government changes direction Protesters in London remained in defiant mood on Saturday, insisting that they would not be forced from their tented village outside St Paul’s Cathedral. A week on from the start of the protest, the Occupy London Stock Exchange group said it was prepared to stay at the landmark “until there is a change in direction from the government”. The demonstrators’ latest pledge came as senior officials from St Paul’s met City of London Corporation (CLC) officials to discuss the decision to close the cathedral for the first time since the second world war. Protest organisers said they had complied with every request the cathedral had made and would continue to obey any further demands to ensure the camp stayed. A volunteer for the Occupy movement, Peter Vaughan, 24, from Hackney, east London, said: “We feel we have addressed all their health and safety concerns. We don’t want a battle with the church.” Attempting to explain why the cathedral had appeared to backtrack from its support of the occupation earlier in the week, Vaughan speculated that church officials may have been under pressure from those with financial interests in the City. The dean of St Paul’s, the Rev Graeme Knowles, said the closure was necessary because health and safety, and fire officers had identified unknown quantities of flammable liquids, along with smoking and drinking in tented areas, which compromised fire exits. He also cited public health issues such as sanitation and food hygiene. “The decision to close St Paul’s Cathedral is unprecedented in modern times,” Knowles said. “We have done this with a very heavy heart, but it is simply not possible to fulfil our day to day obligations to worshippers, visitors and pilgrims in current circumstances. “I hope that the protesters will understand the issues we are facing, recognise that their voice has been legitimately heard, and withdraw peacefully.” OccupyLSX estimated that hundreds would swell the camp on Saturday for a series of talks and demonstrations, potentially taking the number of demonstrators up to 2,000. A wedding at St Paul’s nevertheless went ahead on Saturday despite its closure to the general public. Natasha Ighodaro arrived at the cathedral to marry Nick Cunningham against a backdrop of dozens of tents and a banner reading “capitalism is crisis”. The bride and groom had earlier posted a message on Facebook to reassure their guests that the ceremony was going ahead: “We’re looking forward to seeing friends and family at the wedding … and are pleased that it is going ahead as planned.” Occupy LSX supporter Ronan McNern said protesters cleared a space for the wedding party but the bride had to enter the cathedral from a side door as the building’s main entrance was shut. “Closing it doesn’t make sense,” he said. “But it was their choice to close. We made sure the steps were clear so people could get in.” Another supporter, Jenny, a 23-year-old human rights student from Harrow, north London, said: “I don’t want to disrupt a place of worship. I heard the bride was happy for protesters to be here.” Despite the closure of the cathedral, which is a major tourist attraction, most visitors to the site said they believed the presence of the camp, comprising around 200 tents, enhanced the building’s exterior. Earlier, Eqyptian activist Nawal El Saadawi, who was celebrating her 80th birthday, addressed the crowd on the steps of the cathedral. Hours after flying in from Cairo, she likened the tents around St Paul’s to those that occupied Tahrir Square during the uprising: “All over the world it’s a global revolution. We must fight together.” Occupy London London Protest Mark Townsend guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …• Mail scott.murray@guardian.co.uk in the electronic fashion • Follow the rest of the day’s goals as they go in • Press F5 for the latest, or switch on the auto-refresh HALF TIME: Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Swansea City. The teams depart to a chorus of boos. Wolves, more accurately, depart to a chorus of boos. They’ve been as dreadful as Swansea have been scintillating. Molineux is miffed. Here’s Roy Allen with “It’s Oversimplification Time! So here goes. Swansea are a well-coached team of players picked for their ability on the ball. Wolves are a disorganised shower of players picked for brawn and getting stuck in. It’s past v future, and the future is 2-0 up.” 45 min: Dyer is down getting some treatment on his right leg. He’s been outstanding in this first half; Swansea certainly won’t want to lose him. 43 min: Sinclair cuts inside from the left and hammers a shot goalwards. Hennessey parries. On the edge of his own area, Johnson looks to clear, but only succeeds in hammering the ball straight into Berra. The clearance could clank anywhere, but ricochets out of play down the left, well away from danger. Wolves are now officially a shambles. 42 min: Dyer diddles down the right, cuts inside, and is afforded an age to take a shot at goal. Luckily for Wolves, his effort is low and lame; for a second, that looked like a third. Swansea are nothing short of superb in attack, especially down this right-hand side. Wolves, on the other hand, well, let’s not riff on their pain. 38 min: “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” sing the Swansea fans. Black Dog is scampering up and down the vomitories. 35 min: GOAL!!! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Swansea City. So simple. Graham tears down the right after a clever looped pass. He’s in acres, and sends a low cross into the centre for Allen, who sidefoots brilliantly into the net, Hennessey having no chance whatsoever. Brilliant play from Swansea, though the closing down by Wolves in the middle, as the move developed, was questionable to say the least. Molineux erupts in booing, a mix of pique at the (correct) non-penalty decision, and the inadequacies of their own team. 33 min: Jarvis looks to spin Monk on the left-hand edge of the Swansea area. He’s upended by Monk’s lunge as he turns, and it looks like a penalty kick, but that’s an excellent decision by the referee, who only awards a free kick: on second viewing, the challenge was millimetres outside the area. The referee, of course, only had one chance to see it, and the poor buggers get pelters just about every week, so hats off for that. The Wolves fans don’t see it that way, of course, and boo accordingly as O’Hara steps up to send a free kick straight at Vorm. 31 min: Wolves can’t get anything going. “Up early here in the USA watching the match,” reports Herman Hooker from Atlanta. “I just wanted to let you know that my TV’s program guide calls this English Championship Soccer. They usually call it English Premier League Soccer. Perhaps an omen?” If Wolves fans didn’t already feel the chill winds of 1984 against their necks, they will now. 28 min: Graham, Dyer, Gower and Sinclair are coming at Wolves from all angles. The home defence looks very nervous whenever anybody runs with the ball at them. A couple of corners for Swansea, the first nervously cleared behind by Henry, the second a free kick to relieve the pressure after Graham puts himself about a wee bit too much. 25 min: A free kick for Wolves, 30 yards out, just to the left of goal. Hammill hits a beauty, the ball heading for the top left corner, Vorm fingertipping over spectacularly. A very decent response by Wolves, but one made in a very quiet stadium. Outside, you can hear Black Dog creaking through the turnstiles. 23 min: GOAL!!! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Swansea City. Dyer, cutting in from the right, shoots just over. No matter. A minute later, Gower, 30 yards out, lifts the ball straight down the middle, over Johnson and to the feet of Graham, who has broken clear into the area down the inside-left channel. He’s clear on the edge of the six-yard box, and pokes the ball past the advancing Hennessey and into the bottom-right corner. 20 min: Wolves so nearly take the lead. Good work from Doyle down the right, whose low cross finds Jarvis level with the far post. Jarvis spins and shoots, but his effort is blocked. The ball’s quickly swung back in, and there’s a wee melee, O’Hara finally hitting a shot in the crowded area from six yards straight at Vorm. The resulting corner’s wasted, but that’s raised the crowd. 18 min: Dyer, Rangel and Gower are causing Wolves all manner of bother down this right wing. Ward is spinning around like a teenager after two warm cans of Special Brew. He’s helped out this time by Jarvis and O’Hara, albeit not particularly convincingly, Dyer nearly threading a clever pass past two old-gold shirts for Graham in the box, but the ball’s eventually hacked clear. A concern for Wolves, this wing. 15 min: O’Hara busies himself down the left, giving Jarvis a bit of space to cross. The ball’s flung into the area, but easily cleared. Henry has half a second to unleash another long-distance effort towards goal, and he’s encouraged by the crowd to do so via the medium of holler, but he can’t get the shot away and the crowd go back to quietly seething. Don’t judge, a five-match losing run does this to people. 13 min: Swansea aren’t all pretty passes; they snap into the tackle, and harry all over the pitch. Like Barcelona, sort of, only admittedly not quite as good, but very much less self-righteous. 10 min: From the corner, the ball’s worked out to Rangel on the right. A cross to the near post, where Graham guides the ball well right of the target. He was free of the all-gold back line there, and should have done better. Swansea took a while to warm up, but they’re the better team now. Molineux is a wee bit quiet all of a sudden, anxiety having just arrived, Black Dog still queuing up outside the stadium for admission. 9 min: Swansea are pinging it around nicely, all of a sudden. Allen hits a rising shot from 20 yards that’s fingertipped over by Hennessey. 8 min: Swansea have settled a bit now, with Dyer their main outlet. Again he gives Ward a torrid time down the right, and sends a daisycutter into the area. Berra gets across to intercept, sidefooting the ball wide right of goal for a corner. The corner kick… yeah. 7 min: It’s sunny in Wolverhampton, by the way. Crisp and cold, I’ll be bound, coat and sunglasses weather. A good atmosphere, too, both sets of fans giving it plenty. 5 min: Dyer twists Ward this way and that down the right, some good old fashioned Garrinchaisms, but the Wolves man holds firm and Dyer has to lay the ball off. It’ll never make much of an anecdote, but it’s all that Swansea have managed in the Wolves half so far. 4 min: Nothing comes of the corner, but then this is Premier League football. 3 min: A strong start by Wolves, this. Ebans-Blake sends Jarvis free wide down the left, and the resulting cross to the far post is dangerous, but Henry miscontrols. Wolves come straight back at Swansea, though, the promising Hammill twisting and turning down the right to win a corner. And we’re off! Wolves set the ball rolling. Nobody manages to control the ball during the first 30 seconds, but then nobody managed that for nearly 70 minutes during the Liverpool-Manchester United game last week, and few complained about that. Then, after 39 seconds, Henry latches onto a loose ball 35 yards out, and unleashes a super-screamer towards goal. The ball’s low, rising slowly, and swerving all over the place, but by the time it reaches the six-yard box it’s straight at Vorm, who can parry clear. What a shot, though! And what a start. More, teams, please! The teams are out! They’re running about. They’ll soon be playing football. Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland) Swansea City: Vorm, Rangel, Monk, Williams, Taylor, Dyer, Allen, Gower, Britton, Sinclair, Graham. Subs: Tremmel, Orlandi, Routledge, Lita, Moore, Richards, Moras. Wolverhampton Wanderers: Hennessey, Stearman, Berra, Johnson, Ward, Jarvis, Henry, O’Hara, Hammill, Doyle, Ebanks-Blake. Subs: De Vries, Craddock, Hunt, Vokes, Milijas, Doherty, Guedioura. Kick off at the grand old Molineux: 12.45pm. Perhaps more pertinent, is the fact that Swansea are the only side yet to pick up a point away from home this season. And that Wolves have lost their last five league matches, their worst run in the top division since 1984, which was another relegation season for them I’ll be bound. No pointers worthy of note, then. I don’t know why I mentioned it. These two clubs have only ever met in the English top division twice. That was in 1981/82, when John Toshack’s Swansea were on their way to finishing sixth, and a place in Europe, while Wolves were on their way down. In October at the Vetch Field, the teams played out a goalless draw. Come March at Molineux, Swansea scuttled off with a dour 1-0 victory, Ian Walsh heading the winner. The result “salvaged Welsh pride”, it says here, as it sent Swansea top of the division on a day Wales got spanked in the rugby, 34-18 against Scotland, their first home defeat in 28 championship matches. Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers Swansea City Scott Murray guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Trinidadian-born musician who introduced rumba sound to Britain’s dance halls died at home in Spain Edmundo Ros, the man who kept British feet tapping through the war years and during the period of austerity that followed, has died at his home in Spain at the age of 100. Ros was the leading Latin American musician and vocalist of his era and his charisma and infectious rythmns introduced the rumba sound to Britain’s dance halls. His death was confirmed on Saturday by the secretary of the Grand Order of Water Rats, the charitable showbusiness fraternity. “He died last night peacefully at his home in Spain, two months short of his 101st birthday,” said John Adrian. Ros became a household name when Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen, arrived at a party at London’s Bagatelle restaurant and made her first public foray on to the dance floor accompanied by the music of Ros’s band. The South American beat, or at least an anglicised version of the authentic time signatures, quickly became popular all over Britain and Ros’s tunes such as The Wedding Samba, Zing, Zing Boom and The Cheeky Parakeet became favourites. Ros was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad on 7 December 1910. His father was Scottish and his mother a Venezuelan. As a teenager, the musician lived in Caracas, Venezuela, and he began to play with the country’s military academy band as well as learning to play the drums in the national symphony orchestra. He received a government scholarship to study music and, between 1937 and 1942, he learned harmony, composition and orchestration at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 1941 he recorded his first tracks with Parlophone and then played regularly with his own rumba band at the Coconut Grove in Regent Street, London, a club he later bought and renamed Edmundo Ros’s Dinner and Supper Club. At the age of 64 Ros broke up his band and destroyed his musical arrangement sheets before retiring to Spain. Vanessa Thorpe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Trinidadian-born musician who introduced rumba sound to Britain’s dance halls died at home in Spain Edmundo Ros, the man who kept British feet tapping through the war years and during the period of austerity that followed, has died at his home in Spain at the age of 100. Ros was the leading Latin American musician and vocalist of his era and his charisma and infectious rythmns introduced the rumba sound to Britain’s dance halls. His death was confirmed on Saturday by the secretary of the Grand Order of Water Rats, the charitable showbusiness fraternity. “He died last night peacefully at his home in Spain, two months short of his 101st birthday,” said John Adrian. Ros became a household name when Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen, arrived at a party at London’s Bagatelle restaurant and made her first public foray on to the dance floor accompanied by the music of Ros’s band. The South American beat, or at least an anglicised version of the authentic time signatures, quickly became popular all over Britain and Ros’s tunes such as The Wedding Samba, Zing, Zing Boom and The Cheeky Parakeet became favourites. Ros was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad on 7 December 1910. His father was Scottish and his mother a Venezuelan. As a teenager, the musician lived in Caracas, Venezuela, and he began to play with the country’s military academy band as well as learning to play the drums in the national symphony orchestra. He received a government scholarship to study music and, between 1937 and 1942, he learned harmony, composition and orchestration at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 1941 he recorded his first tracks with Parlophone and then played regularly with his own rumba band at the Coconut Grove in Regent Street, London, a club he later bought and renamed Edmundo Ros’s Dinner and Supper Club. At the age of 64 Ros broke up his band and destroyed his musical arrangement sheets before retiring to Spain. Vanessa Thorpe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …First in line to succeed King Abdullah had colon cancer and spent almost a year recuperating in the US and Morocco The heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, has died, raising questions about the succession in the oil-rich kingdom and key US ally in the Middle East. The death of the crown prince – the half-brother of the ailing Saudi King Abdullah – was announced by Saudi state TV. Sultan, who was 85 and had been suffering from colon cancer, was the kingdom’s deputy prime minister and the minister of defence and aviation. He underwent surgery in New York in February 2009 for an undisclosed illness and spent nearly a year abroad recuperating in the United States and at a palace in Agadir, Morocco. The most likely candidate for the throne after Sultan is Prince Nayef, the powerful interior minister in charge of internal security forces. After Sultan fell ill the king gave Nayef an implicit nod in 2009 by naming him second deputy prime minister, traditionally the post of the third in line. Anyone who rises to the throne is likely to maintain the kingdom’s close alliance with the United States. But there could be internal differences. Abdullah has been seen as a reformer, making incremental changes to improve the position of women and to modernise the kingdom despite some backlash from the ultra-conservative Wahhabi clerics who give the royal family the religious legitimacy needed to rule. Nayef is often seen as closer to the clerics. Sultan was a central figure in the world’s top oil exporter who dominated defence policy and was long seen as a future king. British foreign secretary William Hague paid tribute on Saturday to the Crown Prince: “He served the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for many years with great dignity and dedication. His contribution to the prosperity and development of the kingdom will long be remembered. I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the kingdom and its people at this sad time.” US secretary of state Hillary Clinton expressed condolences on the crown prince’s death. “The Crown Prince was a strong leader and a good friend to the United States over many years, as well as a tireless champion for his country,” she said during a visit to Tajikistan. “He will be missed.” Sultan’s death may put in motion for the first time an “allegiance council” consisting of sons and grandsons of the kingdom’s founder. The council was set up by his half-brother, Abdullah, to vote on future kings and their heirs. Saudi Arabia Middle East David Batty guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Chancellor warns debt crisis is a ‘real danger’ to all of Europe as he arrives in Brussels ahead of EU leaders’ summit The eurozone debt crisis is a “real danger” to all of Europe, including the UK, the chancellor, George Osborne, has warned. Arriving for talks in Brussels ahead of a summit of all 27 EU leaders on Sunday, Osborne said it was “critical” and “in Britain’s national interest” that the crisis was resolved. Joining EU finance ministers for talks ahead of the summit, the chancellor said a comprehensive solution to the economic crisis would be the biggest boost for the British economy this autumn. He said: “What we’re going to be arguing for at this meeting is a comprehensive solution to this crisis. We’ve had enough of short-term measures, sticking plaster that just gets us through the next few weeks. “The crisis of the eurozone is a real danger to all of Europe’s economies, including Britain’s. “We need to address the root causes of the problem with a lasting solution that will help all of Europe’s economies.” The finance ministers are assessing the risk of “contagion” from Greece to other bigger European economies, including Italy. They are also finalising plans for a further recapitalisation of banks to protect them against future economic shocks. David Cameron is to attend part of Sunday’s European council summit, but with France and Germany at loggerheads, key decisions have been postponed until Wednesday’s gathering. The prime minister is due to fly to a Commonwealth summit in Perth next Wednesday when the 17 eurozone leaders meet to agree a deal to save Greece from default, strengthen European banks and construct a multibillion-euro fund to protect the euro from future debt crises. Ed Miliband has attacked Cameron for not seeking a place at Wednesday’s meeting , accusing him of an abdication of responsibility. The Labour leader said the prime minister should be “banging on the door to maintain British influence” over the future shape of Europe and said Cameron should ignore his “barking” Tory eurosceptics, who have been urging the prime minister to keep his distance. The foreign secretary, William Hague, advised Conservative MPs on Saturday against voting for a referendum on Britain’s future in the EU, warning it could damage the UK’s economic recovery and undermine attempts to tackle the eurozone crisis. Cameron faces potentially the most serious rebellion of his premiership on Monday in a vote on a backbench debate about Britain’s membership of the EU. At least 61 Conservative MPs have signed a motion calling for a referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU, leave or renegotiate its membership, and some predict the total number of rebels could top 85. In an article for the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, Hague writes: “As a Conservative, I want to bring powers back from Europe, as we set out in our election manifesto. But he said a referendum, especially at this time of profound economic uncertainty, is not the answer. “Nothing would do more to help our economic recovery than a resolution of the eurozone’s difficulties, while its disorderly break-up would have a very serious impact on our economy.” The key to a successful deal on the eurozone debt crisis could be a private meeting between the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, in Brussels on Saturday. They have clashed recently over the details of shoring up the euro and persuading jittery financial markets that the single currency is solid. Some ministers, including Osborne, have set a G20 summit in Cannes in less than a fortnight as the ultimate deadline for resolving the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis. America and China have urged EU leaders to resolve the debt crisis and prevent the world sliding into another slump. European debt crisis Economic policy George Osborne European banks Euro Currencies Euro European Union Economics David Batty guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The foreign secretary has said that supporting the motion in Monday’s debate risks damaging the UK’s economic recovery A referendum on Britain’s future in the European Union could damage the UK’s economic recovery and undermine attempts to tackle the eurozone crisis, the foreign secretary, William Hague, has warned Conservative MPs. The intervention, by one of the cabinet’s most prominent eurosceptics, comes as David Cameron faces potentially the most serious rebellion of his premiership next week. Hague warned fellow eurosceptic Conservative MPs against voting for a referendum in a backbench debate taking place on Monday at a time of “profound economic uncertainty”. His comments echoed a warning by the chancellor, George Osborne, that the eurozone crisis posed a “real danger” to all European economies, including Britain’s. Arriving for talks in Brussels ahead of a summit of all 27 EU leaders on Sunday, Osborne said it was “in Britain’s national interest” that the crisis is resolved. At least 61 Conservative MPs have signed a motion calling for a referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU, leave or renegotiate its membership, and some predict the total number of rebels could top 85. Hague said the Conservatives remain committed to repatriating powers from Brussels, but added that a referendum was not the means to achieve this. In an article for the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, he writes: “As a Conservative, I want to bring powers back from Europe, as we set out in our election manifesto. But a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, especially at this time of profound economic uncertainty, is not the answer. “Nothing would do more to help our economic recovery than a resolution of the eurozone’s difficulties, while its disorderly break-up would have a very serious impact on our economy.” He received support from Tory former cabinet minister, Peter Lilley – regarded as a hardline eurosceptic – who also cautioned against a referendum. “If we are in the business of getting back powers from Europe … then we have to go about negotiating that return of powers and you cannot do that through a referendum,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. “The opportunity will present itself when Europe comes to us and the eurozone countries want to change the treaty to shore up the euro with further integrationist measures,” he said. “We will say then: ‘Well you need our support because you need the unanimous support of all the countries to change the treaty. So even though that doesn’t affect us we will only give you our support if in return you return some powers to us.’” Mark Pritchard, secretary of the powerful Tory backbench 1922 committee, called on Cameron to impose only a non-binding single-line whip in Monday’s vote, which would allow MPs to back the motion without facing disciplinary action. But Downing Street has made clear that Cameron expects all Conservative MPs to oppose not only the referendum motion – triggered by a petition of more than 100,000 public signatures – but also two amendments tabled in the hope of finding compromise. William Hague David Cameron Conservatives Foreign policy European Union David Batty guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Governing National Transitional Council plans declaration as Nato announces it will end military operation on 31 October Libya’s transitional government will finally declare the country liberated on Sunday following the capture and killing of the ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Military official Abdel-Rahman Busin said the governing National Transitional Council (NTC) had begun preparations for a liberation ceremony on Sunday in the eastern city of Benghazi, birthplace of the Libyan revolution. The declaration of liberation comes after Nato announced it would officially end its seven-month operation in Libya on 31 October. In another step towards transforming the former dictatorship into a democracy, the interim prime minister Mahmoud Jibril said on Saturday that Libyans should be allowed to vote within eight months to elect a national council that would draft a new constitution and form an interim government. In the meantime, the priority was to remove weapons from the country’s streets and restore stability and order, Jibril said at the World Economic Forum in Jordan. “The first election should take place within a period of eight months, maximum, to constitute a national congress of Libya, some sort of parliament,” he said. “This national congress would have two tasks: draft a constitution, on which we would have a referendum, and the second to form an interim government to last until the first presidential elections are held.” The Nato secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said late on Friday that the 31 October end to the alliance’s operation would be confirmed formally next week. Diplomats said Nato air patrols would continue over Libya for the next nine days as a precautionary measure to ensure the stability of the new regime and would be gradually reduced, assuming there were no further outbreaks of violence. Meanwhile, Libyan authorities face questions from international human rights organisations about Gaddafi’s death in Sirte on Thursday. Wounds on Gaddafi’s body appeared to confirm he was killed in cold blood in the chaotic minutes following his capture on Thursday. There was a close-range bullet wound on the left side of his head. Blood stains showed another bullet wound to his thorax. His body, subsequently driven to Misrata and publicly paraded, was barefoot and stripped to the waist. Amnesty International has called call on the NTC to investigate. It said that if Gaddafi were deliberately killed, this would be a war crime. The NTC’s position is that it will support an investigation because the new Libya is a law-abiding country, but officials seemed sceptical that it was necessary. Gaddafi’s bloodied corpse, now on public display in a refrigerated meat store in Misrata, has become a gruesome tourist attraction and a macabre symbol of the new Libya’s problems. Hundreds of ordinary Libyans have queued to see the dead dictator. Libya Muammar Gaddafi Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Africa David Batty guardian.co.uk
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