14 HRS AGO - Alan Smith: the all-German final will be won by the team who can come out on top in series of sub-plots.     Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - • Relegation skirmish has raised doubts about manager• 'Expectation of top-10 finish' – Derek LlambiasAlan Pardew has been warned his job will be under threat should Newcastle United fail to achieve at least a top-10 finish next season. Derek Llambias, the managing director, has made it clear that Pardew requires a strong start to the new campaign to eliminate doubts about his suitability that emerged during Newcastle's recent relegation skirmish."We are now entirely focused on the forthcoming campaign with the expectation of at least a top-10 finish in the Premier League," said Llambias, who dismissed suggestions that he and Mike Ashley, the club's owner, considered sacking Pardew – who, this time last year, steered Newcastle to fifth place but now has to prove himself all over again – during a meeting with the manager in London on Wednesday."Everyone was disappointed to finish where we did last season, particularly on the back of such a fantastic year prior to that," said Llambias. Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - Old-school Stoke City manager paid the price for failing to introduce a more beautiful game at the Britannia StadiumTony Pulis possibly first suspected his time at Stoke City was running out last December. As Christmas approached, Peter Coates, the club's owner, appointed Mark Cartwright, a former Wrexham and Shrewsbury Town goalkeeper and football agent, to the newly created post of technical director – and two worlds collided.Civil as relations between Pulis and Cartwright might have appeared to casual observers, there were understood to be underlying tensions between an "old-school manager" instinctivelysuspicious of delegation and a 40-year-old tasked with identifying and recruiting competitively priced talent from far-flung corners of the world.Although Pulis had the final say on transfers, Cartwright's appointment represented a loss of control and, perhaps, an implicit criticism on Coates's part of a transfer policy that saw Stoke's net spend on players during the past five Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - Brilliant goals, best-forgotten predictions and matches that prompted dramatic late rewritesBest playerPaul Doyle Luis Suárez. His dazzling turns, incessant mischief-making and much-improved finishing made him a joy to watch.Dominic Fifield Juan Mata. Of those I watched regularly, he was the most consistently excellent, with his astonishing tally of 12 assists and 12 league goals testament to his impact at Chelsea throughout another tumultuous campaign.Owen Gibson Hard to see beyond Gareth Bale. Not since Cristiano Ronaldo was in his pomp at Manchester United has a player demonstrated such an ability to seize a game and shape it.Barry Glendenning A stunningly original choice here: Tottenham game-changer Gareth Bale.Andy Hunter Robin van Persie. Signed to wrestle the title back from the wealthiest team (though not much of a team) on the planet and delivered under that pressure by February.David Hytner Dimitar Berbatov. The best player to watch and the best player to write about.Jamie Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - Alan Hansen: Sir Alex Ferguson has left David Moyes a bigger task at Manchester United than he makes out.     Collapse

6 DAYS AGO - Henry Winter: his time in the dugout may finally be at an end, but Sir Alex has so much he can still give the game .     Collapse

6 DAYS AGO - The Under-21 manager had talked about wanting "more support" from the England manager but none has been forthcomingOne day last week Roy Hodgson was invited to Westminster to speak to the all-parliamentary football group and one of the MPs put an idea to him that felt more in keeping with Yes, Prime Minister and the motion to rename the British sausage the "emulsified high-fat offal tube". Why, Hodgson was asked, if he wanted to bring through more young players into the England team, as he has talked about recently, did he not impose a limit on age? And not only that, how about deliberately going low with the cut-off point? Nobody 25 or over, was the suggestion, and let's see if it catches on.It's some theory. Thirteen of the 22 players Hodgson has named for the friendlies against Brazil and the Republic of Ireland fall outside that bracket. At a strike, it means Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Joe Hart, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, James Milner and Ashley Cole would be excluded Collapse

7 DAYS AGO - Sir Alex Ferguson's time in management encapsulates just how much the sport has changed, writes Henry Winter.     Collapse

7 DAYS AGO - • Pardew reassured by talks with club's owner Mike Ashley• Manager hopes to recruit experienced players in summerAlan Pardew has been reassured that his job as Newcastle United's manager is secure after a meeting with Mike Ashley on Friday. The club's owner arrived at the training ground in his helicopter before spending time chatting to players and enjoying a convivial lunch with Pardew."There is no uncertainty in my mind," said Pardew, whose side secured their Premier League status only by winning at Queens Park Rangers on Sunday. "I expect to be manager here next season 100%."After finishing fifth last year this campaign has been a disappointment and Newcastle's manager is keen to reinforce his young squad with a little more experience. "We have some fantastic young players and they will all have gained from this year's extra pressure," said Pardew."It will make them stronger but we need to bring in experience, it's what this team needs. We've got a lot of young players with Collapse

5/16/2013 - Brilliant Beckham has chosen the right moment to call time on a career none of us who watched him play will ever forgetOver the coming days it is fair to say we should expect to see quite a few replays of the free-kick David Beckham famously speared into the net against Greece and that slightly unusual feeling – growing old, possibly – when so many people who have been a part of our football lives are politely showing themselves to the door.Never before can there have been a time in football when retirement has been so de rigeur among the A-listers. Paul Scholes and Jamie Carragher have already called time on their own careers. Michael Owen's announcement came in March and, in case you have not heard about it, a certain someone at Manchester United takes charge of his last match on Sunday. It makes you wonder who might be next. It also means there are only two players, Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand, from that World Cup qualifier at Old Trafford in October 2001 who will be going in Collapse