News Headlines

Liverpool's Martin Skrtel ruled out for up to eight weeks

• Liverpool defender unavailable until end of April• Player will not need surgery on broken toeMartin Skrtel will be out for up to eight weeks with a broken metatarsal he sustained against Unirea Urziceni last week.Liverpool said the defender would be absent for most of the rest of the...

James Milner leads players' condemnation of Wembley pitch

• 'It's not good enough,' says England midfielder• England team face same surface against EgyptManchester United and Aston Villa players have condemned the state of the Wembley surface during the Carling Cup final, with James Milner, who will feature with England back at the national...

England squad must be better role models, says Wayne Rooney

• 'We are role models and we need to be aware of it'• Striker stresses disgraced John Terry still has role to playWayne Rooney has reacted to a month of lurid allegations surrounding England players by conceding he and his national team-mates do have a social responsibility to be better...

Red Knights give Manchester United fans hope of respite from Glazers | David Conn

Red Knights ride to the rescue of United's green-and-gold loyalists but will the Glazers play ball?During all the Manchester United fans' long campaigning against what they have seen as serial financial exploitation of them and their cherished club, beginning with the Stock Market plc and ending...

HMRC forces Portsmouth back to high court to challenge administration

• HMRC to pose questions over validity of new status• Administrators confident club can satisfy demandsPortsmouth will return to the high court today with a new question mark over their future, after Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs took the unusual step of challenging the process by...

Has roughing up Arsenal become part of the plan? | Louise Taylor

Arsène Wenger says his players need more protection but others feel opponents already err on the side of caution for fear of cardsNot for the first time Arsène Wenger finds himself at the heated centre of a debate about aggression and modern football. On one side stand those who believe...

Manchester United fall behind Barcelona on Deloitte rich list

• Real Madrid break €400m barrier to stay top• Seven English clubs on the annual top 20 listTen months ago Manchester United were soundly beaten by Barcelona in the Champions League final and now they have been overtaken by the Catalan club in revenue-generating terms as well,...

Capello can take Hart to end England's goalkeeping malaise | Kevin McCarra

England's manager has problems at the back, not least the absence of a regular No1 goalkeeperJohn Terry may have been losing his balance on and off the field, but the poise could return at any moment. Rio Ferdinand's bad back may stop giving him gyp. There is confidence that Ashley Cole's recovery...