Ireland squad manager Mick Kearney insists Cian Healy’s recovery from neck surgery is “coming on fine”.

Crystal Palace 1 Southampton 3

Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy and his assistant Terry Connor have signed new three-year deals, the club have announced.

Manchester United reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign Juan Mata for a club record £37 million (€44m) late last night.

A difficult week at Muirfield got even trickier for Open Championship organisers the R&A yesterday as some golfers rounded on near unplayable greens on the sun-parched Scottish links.

Southampton 0 West Brom 3

Alex Ferguson believes David de Gea’s performance at West Ham on Wednesday showed how much progress the Manchester United keeper has made since his arrival from Atletico Madrid.

I met Margaret Thatcher half-a-dozen times in the fraught 1980s. She was inquisitive, formidable, and indifferent to opinion of her,says Allan Prosser

It will not only be Pádraig Harrington and Hunter Mahan kicking their heels this weekend when the Ryder Cup begins without them at Medinah.

Radio presenter Mark Chapman was caught out when cricketer-turned commentator Geoffrey Boycott stopped an interview because one of his favourite television shows was about to start.

Charles Green has outlined his vision of Rangers as a profit-making exercise able to exploit its name across the globe after succeeding in securing the club for his broad ownership group.

Premier League chairman Dave Richards had a day to forget at a football conference in Qatar yesterday when his remarks causing consternation at the start — and he ended it by falling face first into a fountain pool.

ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS has challenged his Chelsea team to follow up Saturday’s victory over Wolves by going on a run that he hopes will kick-start the club’s Barclays Premier League title challenge.

Andre Villas-Boas has challenged his Chelsea team to follow up yesterday’s victory over Wolves by going on a run that he hopes will kickstart the club’s Barclays Premier League title challenge.

Nicolas Mas has put France on full alert for a fearsome challenge from the New Zealand pack in tomorrow’s World Cup final at Eden Park.

WORLD CUP final referee Howard Webb will take charge of the crucial Premier League title showdown between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has accused Kenny Dalglish and Graham Taylor of having short memories as he vowed to launch a vigorous defence to a Football Association improper conduct charge later this month.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has denied a charge of improper conduct.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson will turn to Wes Brown to fill the defensive void left by the suspension of Nemanja Vidic following the Serbian’s dismissal in last night’s damaging loss at the hands of Chelsea.

aChelsea 2 Manchester United 1

Steve McClaren has today parted company with German side Wolfsburg following a string of poor results.

Rory McIlroy continued to hold onto the clubhouse lead at the UBS Hong Kong Open today but New Zealand’s Mark Brown was making a solid bid to usurp him as the opening round headed towards a close.

Rory McIlroy got his bid for a second European Tour win off to the ideal start after firing a seven-under-par 63 to take the clubhouse lead in the first round of the UBS Hong Kong Open.

Michael Jarvis' young stayer Opinion Poll grabbed the first major prize of what could be many when coming home best of all under Frankie Dettori to win the Weatherbys Insurance Lonsdale Cup at York.

JEREMY CLARKSON even swears in his sleep, his Top Gear colleague James May has disclosed.

AFTER a season having their emotions heartlessly toyed with, did any Newcastle supporter seriously expect anything other than the agony being prolonged until the last possible moment?

The head of World Snooker admits he is unsure whether Sheffield will continue to host the sport's World Championships.

Gareth Maybin has moved into a tie for ninth place at the Malaysian Open today.

Shaun Murphy claimed a thrilling last-frame victory over Marco Fu to win the Maplin UK Championship in Telford.

Simon Dyson was tied for the clubhouse lead with Ernie Els when darkness ended play at the weather-interrupted Barclays Singapore Open today with half of the field yet to complete the second round.

Simon Dyson stormed into contention at the Barclays Singapore Open today, carding a four-under-par 67 to join Ernie Els at the top of the leaderboard during the weather-interrupted second round of the $5m (€3.9m) Asian Tour event.

Sergio Garcia surged in front of the field to take a four-shot lead into the final day of the Castellon Masters, the tournament he is hosting on the course he played as a boy.

Michael Lorenzo-Vera continued to impress at the Volvo China Open as he secured a one-stroke lead at the end of the second round in Beijing today.

ADRIAN Boothroyd may not have set much store by the FA Cup this season but that did not allow his Watford players to escape a tongue-lashing after this limp 4-1 defeat.

THEO WALCOTT has long been hailed as the saviour of English football, but last night redemption was plundered closer to home.

Shaun Murphy and Stephen Maguire will play each other in the first of this year’s Northern Ireland Trophy semi-finals.

RAFAEL Benitez will not confirm it, at least not publicly, but Peter Crouch’s days of starting games for Liverpool are all but over.

Darren Clarke’s English caddie Billy Foster insists he has not been approached to start working full-time with world number one Tiger Woods next season.

Forget the swashbuckling stuff, Ryan Giggs knows it is points that will mean prizes for Manchester United this season.

Manchester United 7 Roma 1 (United wins 8-3 on aggregate)

The Examiner’s football correspondent Liam Mackey likes a good argument

little-known Englishman Marcus Higley was enjoying his new status today after the Challenge Tour graduate rolled in a monster birdie putt at the final hole to draw level with Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez for the third-round lead at the Maybank Malaysian Open.

ANDY FORDHAM was last night in a “stable” condition in a Surrey hospital after being taken ill shortly before his first-round match at the Lakeside World Championship in Frimley Green.

Dennis Priestley staged a stunning comeback to win the last three sets and scrape through yet another Ladbrokes.com World Championship second-round cliffhanger in Purfleet today.