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Ken Bates and the art of slow seduction cannot help but leave me cold| Martin Kelner

The Leeds United chairman has used a graphic sexual metaphor to try to sum up his slow-burning stewardship of the clubThere has been much amusement round my manor of late following Leeds United chairman Ken Bates's latest programme notes in which, after his customary rant about chucking out asylum...

Chris Powell steers Charlton clear of false dawns in bid to find light

There is pride at The Valley after a bright start in League One that no one is taking for grantedCharlton Athletic have come a long way in five years ??? a long way down. On 23 August 2006 they played Manchester United, the second of seven defeats in their first eight league games. That was the...

SPL round-up: Celtic loss shifts onus from Ally McCoist to Neil Lennon

??? St Johnstone earn first victory at Parkhead for 13 years??? A 3-0 win at Motherwell puts Rangers top by a pointA Sunday that started with discussion surrounding the pressure levels on the Rangers manager, Ally McCoist, became notable for St Johnstone claiming a shock 1-0 victory at Celtic. Dave...

Middlesbrough 3-1 Birmingham City | Championship match report

Three days after joining Middlesbrough, Faris Haroun stepped off the substitutes' bench to bewitch his new public and thoroughly bewilder Birmingham.Quite apart from looking the best player on the pitch Haroun, a 6ft 2in Belgium playmaker freshly arrived on a free transfer from Beerschot in...

West Ham United 2-2 Leeds United | Championship match report

Anxiety persists here long after the horror of relegation has dissipated. A self-inflicted "fear factor" is growing with each home game that passes without a win, according to the West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce.West Ham have managed only five league victories on home soil in the past 16 months and...

Chelsea manager shrugs off heckles and looks to rectify familiar faults

Villas-Boas has shrugged off the heckles that greeted Chelsea's first-half performance in the win against West BromwichAndr?? Villas-Boas is still striving to make a real difference. Any elation at a first competitive victory as Chelsea's manager was tempered by the reality that his team had...

Bolton Wanderers 2-3 Manchester City | Premier League match report

Manchester City may be unfeasibly rich but the price on their head is also extremely high. Although Bolton Wanderers pride themselves on putting all visitors to a rigorous test, there was a keener appetite to them as they rallied and made Roberto Mancini's side defend at length before the win was...

Redknapp says Spurs must strengthen

??? Redknapp promises to bring in at least two new players??? Manager tips Manchester United to retain the titleTottenham Hotspur's record at Old Trafford has been miserable for so long that the manager's part is barely a cameo in the story. The club, who are back there on Monday, last won an away...