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I went down easy, admits Barton

Newcastle's Joey Barton admits he "went down easy" in an altercation with Gervinho but insists the Arsenal striker deserved to be sent off.

Fulham 0-0 Aston Villa | Premier League match report

In an effort to appease the Aston Villa fans ahead of the new season, the club's owner, Randy Lerner, wrote to season-ticket holders in midweek to acknowledge the turmoil that has vexed the club since Martin O'Neill's departure.Lerner was candid in his criticism of G??rard Houllier's brief reign,...

Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers | Premier League match report

What an interesting way to bookend a summer. These sides met at Molineux in a frantic denouement on the final day of last season and it is a safe enough assumption to suggest that neither set of fans leapt for joy when the fixture secretary arranged for them to again meet so swiftly.Rarely do lazy...

Leicester City 0-2 Reading | Championship match report

"We have days of destiny ahead of us," said the Leicester City chairman, Vichai Raksriaksorn, in the match programme, "and there is expectation in the Leicestershire air." "Bloody rubbish," shouted one fan as the whistle blew on a goalless first half, and he was not much happier an hour later. The...

Birmingham City 1-0 Coventry City | Championship match report

It will take a lot longer than two matches for Chris Hughton to rebuild Birmingham City, not least because the demolition may not yet be complete ??? Cameron Jerome and Scott Dann are among the players still expected to leave St Andrew's ??? but the manager was entitled to take a measure of...

Ars??ne Wenger defends Gervinho after his sending off at Newcastle

??? Wenger: 'I don't think Gervinho deserved to be sent off'??? Joey Barton given full backing by manager Alan PardewIt was no eight-goal thriller but Arsenal's visit to Newcastle still ended as contentiously as last season's game, with Joey Barton as the agent provocateur when the visitors had a...

Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland

Hope springs eternal at Liverpool, but so do performances and results like this. Nowhere was anticipation and optimism more in evidence as the new season got under way, but deja vu was the feeling as the old stadium emptied.Liverpool's stoical supporters confidently expect the revival sparked by...

Andy Carroll still looking to let out his inner monster for Liverpool | Paul Hayward

The striker did not justify his ??35m transfer fee with a struggling display against SunderlandIn January's great striker sale, ??85m worth of goalscoring talent passed through Anfield. Fernando Torres went out for ??50m and Andy Carroll came in to break the record fee for an English footballer....