FORMER Everton manager Howard Kendall has backed the club to claim a Champions League place and believes David Moyes has put the foundations in place to bring back the glory days to Goodison Park.

NEWCASTLE midfielder Nicky Butt will sit out the club’s next three European games after being banned by UEFA.

ARSENE WENGER says he has been surprised by Thierry Henry’s progression from raw talent to FIFA World Footballer of the Year nominee – but he is now backing the French striker to get even better.

HUNDREDS of Roy Keane’s hometown fans queued outside Cork Opera House yesterday as tickets for the critically acclaimed musical, I, Keano, went on sale.

JOE COLE last night completed his move to Chelsea with Juan Sebastian Veron poised to follow suit today.

ARSENAL star Sol Campbell is believed to be ready to take ‘on the chin’ whatever punishment the Football Association hand out to him today over his clash with Manchester United’s Eric Djemba-Djemba in the Community Shield in August.

ENGLAND striker Wayne Rooney has apologised to Sven-Goran Eriksson for his loss of self-control in Madrid.

AC MILAN’S coach Carlo Ancelotti hit out at sceptics who have predicted his side’s Champions League final against Juventus could turn into a defensive stalemate in the worst traditions of the Italian game.

PORTUGAL coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has named his provisional squad for European Championship in June.

FOR all of Alex Ferguson’s dogged insistence that Juan Sebastian Veron is staying at Manchester United there is more than a sneaking suspicion his words are mere bluster.

JOHN HARTSON will face former team-mate Rio Ferdinand determined to leave his mark on the biggest international match of his life.

THE prospect of a bidding war erupting for Manchester United was downplayed yesterday with the man identified as a potential suitor urging caution about a takeover.

Exeter City 0 Manchester United 2

BAYER LEVERKUSEN crushed Dynamo Kiev 3-0 with second-half goals from Juan, Andriy Voronin and Marko Babic to reach the knock-out phase of the Champions League and eliminate the Ukrainians from Group B.

ALEX FERGUSON bundled Cristiano Ronaldo aboard Manchester United’s charter flight to Turkey with a reminder to the precocious Portuguese teenager that he is still just a kid.

CHELSEA’S flying Dutchman Arjen Robben puts his new found scoring success down to living the quiet life off the pitch.

A BRITISH mother said yesterday the public had been too quick to condemn Michael Jackson over his TV admission that he still shared his bedroom with young boys.

WHEN it comes to timing you can be sure the Swiss have covered all the angles. As the countdown clock on the Austria-Switzerland EURO 2008 bid website clicks down to mere hours and minutes, decision day is almost here and the Alpine countries’ campaign seems to have peaked at just the right time.