F-B-F.org -

Taylor’s approach to Liverpool for the first-team coach Sammy Lee has been rebuffed.Sunderland are adding the Austrian goalkeeper Jurgen Macho to their squad. The 22-year-old FC Vienna keeper is a free agent and will cost no fee.Steve Staunton, the 31-year-old Republic of Ireland defender, is poised to return to Aston Villa from Liverpool for a third spell with the Midlanders.Nottingham Forest’s French winger, Bernard Allou, is wanted by Huddersfield. He will be allowed to leave for nothing by Forest.Coventry have agreed a fee for Arsenal’s young striker Jay Bothroyd, transfer-listed after an incident at a youth match. The 18-year-old, who has played for England at Under-15 and Under-16 level, threw his shirt at the bench when substituted by Don Howe during the FA Premier Academy League play-off final against West Ham in May..

There was no repeat yesterday of the almighty roar that had cracked the sky over Berlin when Germany scored its only goal at Euro 2000; only an enormous sigh of relief. There was no repeat yesterday of the almighty roar that had cracked the sky over Berlin when Germany scored its only goal at Euro 2000; only an enormous sigh of relief.
While Franz Beckenbauer and the officials who kicked the national team into the 2006 World Cup were smiling ear to ear, the fans milling around the stadium that is to host the final were in less jubilant mood. “Let’s face it, we’re in the shithouse,” lamented Alexander Schmidt, an 18-year-old Hertha supporter “We no longer play good football. This is the only way we were ever going to qualify for the World Cup in 2006.”On the playing field of sports diplomacy, Alexander was always sure his country would emerge victorious. “Of course they wouldn’t give it to South Africa – it’s too far away.” As for England, and “all your hooligans”, the football there was no better than in Germany.The pundits had not shared his confidence. They had already given up on Germany’s chances of staging the World Cup, so yesterday’s strange goings-on in Zurich had caught even them by surprise.The instant comment of the television presenter anchoring the live broadcast from Switzerland was that “the rational arguments have won over the emotional ones”.”Kaiser” Franz received plaudits for his clever tactics. Once again, the Germans had reckoned with a long campaign and peaked at the right moment.

Beckenbauer had foreseen a victory in the third round of voting.Another man of the moment was Otto Schilly, the Interior Minister, who was praised for cleaning up hooliganism. “I think it was an important factor that German fans behaved themselves during the European championship,” admitted Rudi Völler, the national team’s provisional coach. Unlike the fans of some other contenders, he might have added.Some commentators were even prepared to shed a few crocodile tears for the “dark continent”, so blatantly robbed. But the fans were unconcerned about hurt feelings in Africa.”Why should we care?” asked Yvonne Nickeleit, another young Hertha supporter, watching her team go through their paces in the shadow of Hitler’s Olympic stadium. “They wouldn’t have felt sorry for us if they had won.”"It’s good the World Cup has been given to Germany,” she added “Hopefully it will raise the team’s game.”.