Football Archives: 02/2011

The Carling Nations Cup kicked-off in Dublin this week with Ireland and Scotland’s three-goal victories providing an exciting start to the new competition

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni must freshen up his outdated man-management approach to embrace the exciting young talent currently at his disposal

Scotland manager Craig Levein hailed his side’s spirit after they overcame Northern Ireland with consummate ease to seal a 3-0 victory in their opening Nations’ Cup match on Wednesday

Steve McClaren is eager to make a quick return to football management after being dismissed by Wolfsburg on Monday

Gary Speed’s first match as Wales boss ended in disappointment as the Republic of Ireland cruised to a 3-0 Nations’ Cup win in Dublin

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has hinted he may follow Fernando Torres’s lead and consider an Anfield exit if the Reds fail to start challenging for silverware again soon

Theo Walcott admits the news of Manchester United’s shock defeat at Wolves instantly lifted the mood in Arsenal camp in the wake of the Gunners’ four-goal capitulation against Newcastle

Fernando Torres believes Liverpool were fortunate to claim a 1-0 victory over Chelsea – and insists the Blues are still in the title race

Liverpool boss Dalglish hailed his side’s professional performance after the Reds stunned Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

Roberto Di Matteo admits he did not expect to be sacked by West Brom and is disappointed he won’t have the chance to lead the club to Premier League survival

Inter Milan’s new striker Giampaolo Pazzini has made an instant impact at the San Siro after scoring three goals in his first week in Milan

Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick as Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 3-0 at Camp Nou and set a new La Liga record of 16 successive wins in the Spanish top flight

Newcastle recovered from a disastrous first half to stage a remarkable four-goal comeback against ten-man Arsenal in a breathtaking encounter at St James’ Park

Fifa has confirmed it will test 10 goal-line technology systems next week ahead of a meeting of football’s lawmakers in March

Former Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has hit out at his old club over the manner in which the Merseysiders handled both his and Fernando Torres’ Anfield exits

Viewers may soon be free to by-pass UK broadcasters and watch live matches on cheaper foreign channels

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny is eager to beat Manchester United to the Premier League title – and claims it is now a two-horse race

Real Madrid set up a cup final showdown with Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final after their 2-0 win over Sevilla on Wednesday night

Manchester United right-back Gary Neville has announced his retirement from football with immediate effect

Charlie Adam’s agent has launched a scathing attack on Blackpool after the Scottish midfielder was not allowed to leave the club in the January transfer window

Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri is on the verge of signing a new long-term contract, according to the player’s agent