Ahead of the Game: England have kicked off!

AHEAD OF THE GAME

Alpha mail. The only truly useful football e-mail

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Wednesday, October 17, 2007. 1600 BST
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The news in 60 seconds

ENGLAND HAVE KICKED OFF!
Steve McClaren's side began their do-or-die match with the Russkies at 4pm BST. If the boss isn't watching, follow all the action in our rolling commentary now.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/sports_commentary/football/index.html

SO LONG, SAMMY
Little Sammy Lee has stepped down as Bolton Wanderers manager by "mutual consent". Well, that's how Big Chief Phil Gartside described it. We're not so sure.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/bolton/article2677155.ece

FANS HURT
Moscow police say that five Brits have been hospitalised after they were attacked in Moscow, though the British Embassy put the number at four. Fortunately none of their injuries is serious.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/euro_2008/article2677021.ece

CAPTAIN'S RETURN ON ICE
John Terry is not playing in today's match after he locked his knee training on the ice-covered toy turf at the Luzhniki Stadium yesterday. Sol Campbell has strapped on his skates and taken the England captain's place.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/euro_2008/article2673728.ece

GEORGIA ON YOUR MIND?
Alex McLeish has had a meeting with the 'King of Georgia' but gleaned no secrets about his opponents tonight. Courtly appointments aside, the Scotland manager promised no gimmicks in his tactics for today's other Big Match.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/scotland/article2674077.ece

TOTTENHAM RING THE TILLS
Spurs have announced record profits for the past financial year. The club trousered £27.7million despite confusing Darren Bent for a £16m forward. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/tottenham/article2676266.ece

BLUES COME CLEAN
Chelsea have admitted a charge of failing to control their players in the Premier League defeat by Manchester United. Is Billy Davies not guilty of that every week?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/chelsea/article2679068.ece

DIDA CASE ROLLS ON
AC Milan have appealed against the two-match ban that Dida received for staging his death at Parkhead. "He was hit!" said Adriano Galliani, the club's vice-president.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article2678489.ece

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>>>>> FANTASY FOOTBALL WITH BRAINS <<<<<
* Register today for PlayTheGame - you'll never get sacked
* It's free and you can still enter
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* http://www.timesonline.co.uk/playthegame
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If you've got another couple of minutes

FLIGHT FRIGHTS
Ramon Calderon's aeronautical troubles continue. A couple of weeks ago, security at JFK Airport mistook the Real Madrid president for a Mexican thief with whom he shares a name. Now, Werder Bremen have told Calderon that his Galacticos cannot fly home immediately after their Champions League tie in Germany next month because the club's new plane breaches night-flying regulations. Apparently, the 135-seater MD-83 jet will make too much noise.

GRAN IDEA
In an attempt to swell the crowd at their recent Dublin derby against Bohemians, St Patrick's Athletic launched a campaign entitled 'Grab-A-Granny'. To the disappointment of those with a Rooney-esque taste in women of a certain vintage, however, the League of Ireland club were not giving away blue-rinsed matriarchs to those who attended. Instead they offered free admission to any fan who brought their grandmother along. Perhaps a little stingily, in the accompanying press release the club regretted that they could not supply barley sweets for the escorted ladies. . .

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5
League One managers have left their job this season, the highest number of the top four divisions.
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A quickie before you go, sir?

SAMMY'S STARTING SIGNAL
It is not often that a chairman gives his manager the dreaded vote of confidence on the day of his appointment. Watch the start of this footage, however, showing Sammy Lee's introductory press conference as Bolton Wanderers manager, and you realise that is exactly what Phil Gartside did to Sam Allardyce's successor. Watch all the clip and you'll see a jobless Big Sam telling reporters that he plans to spend some time in Spain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iMu9HVYPY4

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>>>>> THE TABLOID SCANDAL <<<<<
No hex please... we're British - The Sun
What you need to know: 1.) Russian fans have paid a witch called Dambela to put a curse on four England stars. 2.) Her speciality is to make men's privates itch. 3.) Russians credit her for the injuries to Ashley Cole and John Terry, and Frank Lampard's failure to win back his first-team place. 4.) Joe Cole has side-stepped Dambela's spell (perhaps he has too many tricks of his own 5.) AotG needs to scratch (OK, maybe you didn't need to know that)
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In TheGame

Martin Samuel has answered the best of your responses to his suggestion that Sven is highlighting the shortcomings of English managers. Our Chief Football Correspondent agrees that Manchester City could break into the top four but warns that the Swede is not a loyal manager.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2007/10/the-debate-ma-2.html
Tom Dart analyses the managerial departures this season and finds that life is even tougher at the bottom than it is at the top. Unless you're Sammy Lee.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2007/10/gaffers-who-mad.html
Moritz Voltz takes issue with Sepp Blatter's proposal to limit the number of foreign players allowed at a club. The Times columnist and Fulham midfielder fears such a rule would force him to work in a German restaurant. How awful.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/article2658348.ece
In a godly Game Podcast Times funny man Andy Zaltzman and Tim Lovejoy wonder whether religious faith aids player performance.

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>>>>>THE RIVALS<<<<<
* Joleon's 10-year tip for the top - The Sun
* Hiddink: I will break my bad run - Daily Mirror
* Owen told new deal hinges on fitness - The Daily Telegraph
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Joe Bloggs' Soapbox

"I don't think it's fair to leave the Scots out of Ahead of the Game just because everyone expected them to top their group due to the good fortune that they enjoyed in the draw. I know that, in comparison to the quality opposition that England have had to overcome to be on the brink of qualification, it's a nothing story but maybe an article about the cost of securing insurance for players travelling to Georgia would have been an interesting angle since the sporting angle is so unremarkable. Mind you, I'm surprised that the news about England's game made it into Ahead of the Game [yesterday] after seeing the exciting news of a new contract for Giggs and initial discussions about a new contract for Chimbonda." Ben, Edinburgh. Point taken, Ben, consider this an admission of a poor omission.

"The problem with the kind of runs we have seen with the likes of Greece in 2004, South Korea in 2002, and Scotland now is that their spirit and desire take them to the required destination, but there is very little after that.
I mean, let's say that Scotland get to Euro 2008 and go out in the group stages. What next? I think that's where the real test comes, because you then have to change the mindset from 'we could do something here' to 'this had better be something that we expect from ourselves every time'. That was one of the problems Roy Keane had with the Irish squad. Wasn't his gripe that they were happy enough to treat qualifying for the World Cup as the end in itself? Scotland have the players at the right age to make this a long-term rise, if they keep aiming high and believing they are good enough. Lord knows that international football needs more teams like this in the mix to make it interesting." Bharath Janardhan captures AotG's thoughts precisely.

Tomorrow's news today
- Unrivalled coverage of Russia v England, including Martin Samuel, Matt Dickinson, Giles Smith and Bill Edgar

And expect...
AotG, now probably the most impartial football round-up online, to give due coverage to another stirring performance from Scotland in their match against Georgia. Oh, yes, we will.
Spread the word. It's like pyramid selling but without the hassle. Click on the following link if you (or your friends) want to subscribe to this newsletter:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article2187217.ece

ROBERT DINEEN

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