Karl Robinson manager

          

  Following that meeting on Wednesday morning, the Milton Keynes club released the following statement: "It comes as no surprise that Karl's name is once again touted for one of the top managerial positions in the Championship as his bold and stylish brand of football has invited plenty of talk in the industry.Following discussions between Karl and the chairman, the club have turned down an approach from Blackpool to speak to Karl regarding the managerial vacancy at Bloomfield Road.The statement continued: "Since being appointed at stadium:mk as the youngest manager in the Football League, Karl has guided our side to back-to-back play-off campaigns, broken a number of club records and only yesterday he created history by leading our club into the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time.Karl remains committed to the players, staff and, most importantly, the fans at Milton Keynes Dons, and will be looking to take the club from strength to strength by continuing to write new chapters in its history books.Karl is an ambitious, bright, young manager and he is firmly focused on realising MK Dons' dream of Championship football.

Dickov quits

            

  The 40-year-old former Scotland international has been under pressure at Boundary Park for some time following poor form, but earned a stay of execution after masterminding a famous FA Cup victory over Liverpool last weekend.Oldham chairman Simon Corney spoke with Dickov on Sunday morning, and before those talks opened said he and the manager would "need to get a plan together and work something out, and figure out whether or not together we can handle this.However, eight defeats out of nine games in League One has left the Latics hovering above the relegation zone and Dickov has decided to quit after two and a half years in the job."I have been at too many games now where we just haven't performed. When they put in a performance like they did against Liverpool, you know they have the talent and ability, and yet in the day-to-day bread and butter games, they are not showing what they need to show week in and week out.A statement on the club's official website read: "After yesterday's defeat to Walsall, Paul Dickov has decided that for the good of Oldham Athletic Football Club, it is best that he steps aside.

Coventry play down fears

        

Arena Coventry Limited, who manage the Ricoh Arena on behalf of joint owners the Alan Edward Higgs Charity and Coventry City Council, on Wednesday issued a statutory demand for £1.1million in unpaid rent by the npower League One club stretching back 10 months. They have 21 days to pay the sum or potentially face a winding-up order.Fisher was coy over how much money, if any, will be paid by Boxing Day and said negotiations will continue to have to play a part over the next three weeks. But the City chief is adamant Coventry, FA Cup winners in 1987, will not go to the wall and says they will play elsewhere before that happens.But speaking to Press Association Sport on Thursday afternoon, Fisher said: "My message to supporters is there is no liquidation scenario.This is about the club setting up a sustainable business model. We will fulfil our fixtures and, by the way, we have contingencies because we are managing our risks, you have to plan. So if the Ricoh shut the doors, we will play elsewhere. If forced into a corner that's exactly what we'll do.Coventry responded on Wednesday with an official statement claiming their annual rate of £1.28m is the highest in both League One and the Championship by some considerable distance, while also bemoaning the fact they do not get access to 100 per cent of matchday revenue.

Derek McInnes

             

   The Robins slumped to the foot of the npower Championship table following a 4-0 home defeat to Leicester on Saturday.The statement continued: "We want to give ourselves the best possible chance of getting out of the situation we are currently in and we've got 20 games to do that.Director Jon Lansdown said in a statement: "This is a decision we felt we had to make for the good of the football club. Derek has been a pleasure to work with; he's disappointed but he understands the decision.

Curle sacked

           

  The Magpies sit 10th in npower League One, but lost to rock-bottom Hartlepool on Saturday and have won just two of their last 11 games in all competitions.But poor form since the start of December has seen County slip out of the play-off picture, although they remain only five points off the top six with games in hand.Members of Curle's backroom staff, Colin Lee and Colin West, have also lost their jobs.Trew said: "Since Keith first came in, just under a year ago, we, as a board, have backed him to bring in the players that he felt could move Notts County onto the next level and felt that he assembled a squad capable of challenging for promotion this season.Chairman Ray Trew said in a club statement: This obviously is not a decision that we have taken lightly and certainly not one that I have taken any pleasure in reaching, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Keith Curle both as a man and a manager.However, recent displays have unfortunately not lived up to expectations and our poor disciplinary record this season has only further hampered our progress.Curle was appointed last February and led the Magpies on a club-record 22-game unbeaten run away from home and appeared to be building a promotion campaign this season.

Cardiff's lead

           

  Malky Mackay's Cardiff had only won one of their last five games before the clash with Rovers at the City Stadium, but goals by Fraizer Campbell and Joe Mason either side of half-time and Peter Whittingham's injury-time penalty ended their dip in form moved them further ahead of second-placed Hull, who play Watford on Tuesday.Wolves gave their hopes of avoiding the drop a shot in the arm with a 3-2 win over local rivals Birmingham at St Andrew's. Stephen Hunt found the net from inside the six-yard box in the 20th minute before two goals by Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, one from the penalty spot, saw Wolves take a three-goal lead at half-time.The win keeps Cardiff in pole position to secure automatic promotion to the Barclays Premier League as champions with seven games remaining. The result meant Blackburn, who were relegated from the top flight last season, slipped into 19th place and only above the bottom three on goal difference.Elsewhere, Sam Baldock scored an injury-time equaliser for Bristol City as they drew 1-1 against fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday at Ashton Gate. Baldock cancelled out Jermaine Johnson's first-half strike in the second minute of injury time to leave Bristol City seven points adrift of safety, with Wednesday just above the drop zone.Barnsley moved away from danger thanks to their 2-0 win over Leicester at Oakwell. Michael Keane's fourth-minute own goal and Chris O'Grady's 40th-minute strike saw the Tykes climb into 20th place.

Sunderland talks

        

The Italian has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Martin O'Neill, who was sacked in the wake of the Wearsiders' 1-0 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday.Paolo Di Canio is travelling to the north east for talks over the managerial vacancy at Sunderland, Press Association Sport understands.It is believed Di Canio will hold talks with Sunderland officials with a view to being formally appointed on Monday.

Sunderland job

     

    Di Canio will take charge from Monday after travelling to the north east on Sunday for talks.As a result of the appointment, former MP David Miliband resigned from his role as vice-chairman and non-executive director of Sunderland due to Di Canio's "past political statements.The 44-year-old Italian replaces Martin O'Neill who was sacked following Saturday's 1-0 defeat at home to Manchester United, which left the club a single point above the relegation zone.

Rodgers salutes

          

The 32-year-old England skipper completed Liverpool's comeback at Villa Park with a 60th-minute penalty and then produced a crucial goal-line clearance to prevent Christian Benteke from equalising.He had a bit of pain and was struggling to get his boot on. But for him it was a case of whatever it takes to play.Afterwards, Rodgers revealed that Gerrard had required a pain-killing injection in his heel in order to play, and said it was a mark of his commitment to the club.It was nothing major but many other players might not have played or even trained. That shows the mentality and mindset of the man.Steven is a remarkable man. Look at his fitness level, and his running ability. He has been like that the majority of the season," Rodgers said.Rodgers confirmed that the club were studying the possibility of offering Gerrard a new contract and said he could see the central midfielder playing on for several seasons.He had to get an injection in his heel to play. We had an issue with his heel for a couple of days.

Terry for Chelsea-United

         

  The England striker was rested for his side's 1-0 win at Sunderland on Saturday, in an apparent bid to keep him fresh for Monday's game, but he was not even included in the list of United substitutes.Chelsea and United, who drew 2-2 at Old Trafford on March 10, are competing for the right to face Manchester City in the semi-finals.Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez made six changes to the side beaten 3-1 at Southampton on Saturday, with club captain John Terry dropping to the bench.His strike partner Robin van Persie, was named on the bench with manager Alex Ferguson electing to pair Danny Welbeck with Javier Hernandez in attack.

Liverpool keep Villa

             

  Villa looked on course for a third successive win after leading at the interval through Christian Benteke's 18th goal of the campaign.Liverpool needed only three minutes of the second half to get back on level terms. Philippe Coutinho's defence-splitting pass was seized on by Henderson who flicked the ball past Brad Guzan into the corner of the net for his fourth goal of the season.But the Reds equalised through Jordan Henderson early in the second period and then skipper Steven Gerrard's penalty sealed victory for the visitors.Coutinho should have put Liverpool ahead in the 56th minute after beating the offside trap to run onto a pass from Luis Suarez but he dinked his shot wide of the post.Andreas Weimann had a volley blocked but Gabriel Agbonlahor should have put Villa ahead after 17 minutes. Matt Lowton delivered a superb curling cross into the danger area which picked out the run of Agbonlahor. But the England striker turned his shot straight at Jose Reina when it looked easier to score.But Liverpool were not to be denied and went ahead three minutes later. Suarez was brought down in the box by Nathan Baker and the resulting spot-kick was converted by Gerrard.Benteke had scored twice in the 3-1 win at Anfield earlier in the season and after 31 minutes he put Villa ahead. Ashley Westwood's cross was turned back by Agbonlahor to Benteke who drilled a fierce shot past Reina who got a hand on the ball but could not keep it out of the net. It was the 18th goal of the season from the Belgian international.

United success

           

The Blues welcome United to Stamford Bridge on Easter Monday for their FA Cup quarter-final replay after the original tie ended in a 2-2 draw. Twenty-two points separate league-leaders United and Benitez's Chelsea and the Spaniard has pin-pointed the Red Devils' attacking options as a reason for their domestic dominance.Chelsea came from two goals down to earn a replay at Stamford Bridge, with Eden Hazard and Ramires scoring the second half to cancel out early efforts from Hernandez and Rooney.With Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez at his disposal, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has already said he has a better strikeforce than his treble-winners of 1999. Benitez said: "The reason United are top of the table is they have a very strong squad.Benitez feels his side played well enough to win the game at the first time of asking and is now counting the cost of another fixture that will see the Blues play five games in a two-week period.He continued: "Just analyse the four strikers they have and we only have two. They have four all at a very good level and we only have two at that level.United are top of the table but I thought we were much better than them in the first game. We can compete but when you playing two games in three days, for months, it isn't easy so I think we are doing well in the situation we are in.It was a problem when he had just [Fernando] Torres but now we have Demba [Ba] so that is two attacking options. We have offensive players of quality.

Europa success

              

  Spurs climbed to third in the Barclays Premier League table with a 2-1 win at Swansea. The victory, combined with Chelsea's defeat at Southampton, leaves the north London club well-placed to secure a top-four finish. Tottenham are also challenging on the European front, and face Basle on Thursday in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.Despite their strong position, Villas-Boas knows the job of securing a place in European football's premier competition is not done yet. But he does not expect his side to struggle with the pressure of fending off the chasing pack.Villas-Boas insists he and his players will be fully focused when the Swiss side arrive at White Hart Lane. He said: "We dream of winning trophies so our focus on the Europa League won't shift. We understand that we have to keep the team fresh and we are able to rotate as we have top-quality players that allow us to do so.It is not the first time that the other teams have been so near to us and it shifts every week. The fact that we are going to be third this week doesn't put more or less doubt on ourselves or make us over-confident. We have to continue to do our job.The Portuguese continued: Now we are in the Europa League quarter-finals we can only dream of winning the trophy. It has the same importance as every game we play, although I understand that it is always the league position that determines the success of the season.

Chelsea through to FA Cup

        

    Ba volleyed in a Juan Mata pass four minutes into the second half to send Chelsea into the semi-finals and deny runaway Barclays Premier League leaders United a Wembley clash with derby rivals Manchester City.The opening 20 minutes were even, with United fielding Antonio Valencia at right-back and Phil Jones in midfield, the latter tasked with nullifying the threat of Eden Hazard in particular. Petr Cech made a stunning 61st-minute save from Javier Hernandez and Chelsea held on to stay on course for a fifth FA Cup triumph in seven seasons, with City their last-four opponents on April 14.Hernandez, who has been prolific against the Blues with seven goals in 10 games, created space for himself in the area but slipped before he could shoot. Despite the close attention of Jones, the impressive Hazard was Chelsea's most dangerous outlet and he fashioned an opportunity for Ba to shoot, only for David de Gea to save with his feet.Both sides made seven changes for their second game in three days, with Wayne Rooney absent for the visitors after picking up a groin problem on England duty in Montenegro last week. Rio Ferdinand was in the United starting XI, but John Terry and Frank Lampard were only on the bench for Chelsea's second of six games in 16 days.

Ibrahimovic

        

  Messi, who turns 26 this year, scored his 43rd goal of the season in La Liga at the weekend, becoming the first player ever to score against every other team in the league in consecutive games.He has been winning this golden ball for so long now (he has won it four times in a row), maybe they should change it's name to Messi from the Ballon d'Or.The Argentine has broken endless goalscoring records in recent times and will be Barcelona's principal threat when the Catalans take on Ibrahimovic and PSG in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.I think he has to quit football and then you can say if he is the best there has been. We can talk about it now, but when he quits playing I will answer.I think today for sure Messi is the best player in the world," said Ibrahimovic, who played alongside the reigning world player of the year at the Camp Nou in the 2009-10 season.

Ronaldo welcomes attack

         

We have to play well, like we do at home in the Champions League. We know that they have a good squad that also attacks a lot and that's good because our chances of winning increase when the opponent plays us one-on-one.He's a player who's doing well in the Champions League because scoring eight goals is hard. As always, we have to be focused. The defenders have to be on the ball because it's crucial that we make it to the semi-finals.Galatasaray will face Real on Wednesday boosted by the acquisitions of vastly-experienced Champions League winning duo Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder in the January transfer window, whilst they also have the competition's joint top-scorer in Burak Yilmaz.The German has shown glimpses of his best form over recent weeks and Ronaldo lauded his teammate's contribution of late.The Turkish international is tied with Ronaldo himself on eight goals and the Portuguese is full of admiration for the form shown by Yilmaz.

Fulham hold on

          

Adel Taarabt pulled one back in the first half and Loic Remy added a second, moments after seeing a penalty saved, before Fulham lost Steve Sidwell to a red card for a late foul on Armand Traore.Christopher Samba gifted Fulham an eighth-minute penalty by upending Ashkan Dejagah and Berbatov tucked away the spot-kick with customary sang-froid.Cesar had to prevent Jose Bosingwa putting through his own goal in 35th minute after an exquisite touch and cross from Berbatov but Hill did not have such a fortunate escape six minutes later.QPR could not find an equaliser however, and remain second from bottom in the table ahead of a crucial game at home to fourth-bottom Wigan Athletic on Sunday.It was the fourth consecutive league game in which the Bulgarian had scored, and in the 22nd minute he added a second.QPR's pressing need for goals was evident in manager Harry Redknapp's decision to hand erratic Moroccan playmaker Taarabt his first league start since February 23.Again, Samba was at fault, dawdling in possession and allowing Berbatov to nip in and prod the ball beneath the exposed Julio Cesar.Fulham were unchanged from the team that won 1-0 at Tottenham Hotspur in their last outing and although they quickly hit their stride, they were abetted by some appalling defending from the visitors.

Warnock leaves

          

   The 64-year-old said in the wake of Easter Monday afternoon's 2-1 loss to Derby - a sixth game without win - that he would not be in charge at Charlton on Saturday, and the club later confirmed his departure in a statement. Academy coach Neil Redfearn has been placed in charge while the club's owners, GFH Capital, search for a replacement.He signed an 18-month deal to replace Simon Grayson in February last year and openly said it would be his last job, with the sole aim being to get a record eighth promotion before retirement.We would like to thank Neil for his efforts during his time as our manager and share his disappointment that we could not achieve promotion this season, said chief executive Shaun Harvey. "We would also like to thank Mick Jones and Ronnie Jepson, who will leave the club with Neil, for all their hard work since coming to the club.Harvey added: "We now need to look to the future and the search for his replacement is under way, for which there is no fixed timescale as securing the services of the right person is the primary objective, so as to give us the best chance of promotion next season.The game against Derby was Warnock's 62nd in charge of Leeds and much of it was spent with the former QPR boss the subject of abusive chants from his own supporters.

Fulham 3-2 QPR

         

  Marquee January signing Christopher Samba gifted the Cottagers their first two goals, bringing down Ashkan Dejagah to allow Dimitar Berbatov to net an eighth-minute penalty.Berbatov stepped up to take the resulting penalty and nonchalantly sent Cesar the wrong way to give Fulham an eighth-minute advantage.Things got worse soon after when Samba lost possession of the ball on the edge of his own box, allowing Berbatov to coolly slot home past Julio Cesar.Samba was caught out by the evergreen Duff, whose hassling saw the ball end up at Berbatov's feet, allowing him to burst into the box before finishing with aplomb.Chants of "going down" echoed around Craven Cottage when Clint Hill put a John Arne Riise cross into his goal, but QPR rallied and launched the unlikeliest of comebacks.Fulham fans were quick to goad their rivals, before a wayward Bobby Zamora strike saw the target of their ire aimed at their former striker.Adel Taarabt, who stormed out at half-time of last season's Craven Cottage encounter, reduced the deficit on the stroke of half-time before Loic Remy netted moments after seeing a penalty saved by Mark Schwarzer.Remy and Andros Townsend saw strikes deflect behind as QPR pushed for a response, with the latter also seeing a fierce drive go inches wide.The veteran Australian had to be at his best for the rest of the match and, despite Steve Sidwell's late sending off, Fulham held on, condemning QPR to a potentially season-defining defeat.Hangeland, showing the skill and poise not normally associated with a centre-back, directed a deft backheel into the path of Riise, whose driven cross was deflected home by Hill.The hosts started brightest and, after early warning shots from Riise and Damien Duff, Samba thought he had thwarted Berbatov with a decent tackle inside the box.Remy saw a shot deflect just wide 10 seconds in and, after a strike was blocked by Hangeland, had a chance from the penalty spot in the 49th minute.However, the Rs defender had not accounted for Dejagah latching onto the loose ball and his late challenge on the winger saw referee Lee Probert point to the spot.

Beckham deal

            The former England captain joined Carlo Ancelotti's side on a five-month deal in January, and his brief contribution has helped the capital club book a Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona as well as consolidate their position at the top of Ligue 1.He told Le Parisien: We'll see. Who wouldn't want to stay at a place like this.Recruiting David was one of my best decisions. As a man, player, ambassador, he is exceptional. It creates something in this group. Everyone loves it," Al-Khelaifi told L'Equipe. We will talk with him. Whatever his decision, we support David. He is very happy in Paris. Frankly, we want to keep him with us next season.It's very special but I'm not getting any younger so we'll see how I feel at the end of the season. It's always nice to be wanted.Beckham, who has started once and made four substitute appearances for PSG, confirmed on Saturday he is open to extending his stay.