New loan signing Phil Bardsley will make his debut for Sheffield United in Saturday's Championship clash at home to Preston.
The 22-year-old Manchester United defender completed his switch for an initial three months and will start at full-back for the Blades at Bramall Lane.
But manager Bryan Robson has doubts over midfielder Lee Hendrie and defender Gary Naysmith, who are hoping to shake off knocks.
Northern Ireland international Keith Gillespie is another player struggling to shake off a minor niggle, but he is expected to make the squad.
Defender Derek Geary remains a long-term absentee following knee surgery and although Rob Hulse returned to action for the reserves this week, the former Leeds striker is at least a month away from first-team action.
Midfielder Nick Montgomery (pleurisy) looks almost certain to miss out.
Preston midfielder Paul McKenna is in contention to make his first appearance for eight months.
McKenna has not played for the first team since February because of a groin injury, but proved his return to fitness by coming though 90 minutes of a reserve game unscathed last week.
But goalkeeper Wayne Henderson is expected to be out for three months after undergoing surgery on his back, meaning Andy Lonergan will continue between the sticks.
Back-up stopper Chris Neal is fit to take his place on the bench after recovering from conjunctivitis.
Defender Matt Hill is also fit again after missing the defeat to Ipswich with a hamstring injury, while Callum Davidson twisted a knee
in that game, but should be okay to face the Blades.
Striker Neil Mellor meanwhile strengthened his claims for a starting place by bagging a hat-trick for the reserves in midweek.
11 October 2007
Highly-regarded Sligo Rovers defender Seamus Coleman has been drafted into the Republic of Ireland under-21 squad for Friday evening's friendly international against Sweden.
Manager Don Givens called up three players after goalkeeper Shane Supple, defender Darren Dennehy, midfielder Keith Keane and forward Keith Treacy were all ruled out.
And Coleman is a welcome addition having turned in some stellar performances for Sligo in the eircom League of Ireland this season.
The other call-ups are for Bristol City goalkeeper Stephen Henderson, who has been a regular at under-19 level in the past, and Everton's Aidan Downes.
The squad arrived in Sweden on Wednesday night to prepare for Friday's friendly in Uppsala, while they will then return to Ireland for Tuesday night's European qualifier against England at Cork City's Turners Cross.
Republic of Ireland under-21 squad (v. Sweden, 12/10/2007):
Goalkeepers: Darren Randolph (Charlton Athletic), Shane Redmond (Nottingham Forest).
Defenders: Stephen O'Halloran (Aston Villa), Eddie Nolan (Blackburn Rovers), Darren O'Dea (Celtic), Alan Sheehan (Leicester City), Michael Spillane (Norwich City), Seamus Coleman (Sligo Rovers).
Midfielders: Darron Gibson (Manchester United), Stephen Quinn (Sheffield United), Owen Garvan (Ipswich Town), Alan Power (Nottingham Forest), Patrick Cregg (Falkirk), Aidan Downes (Everton).
Forwards: Billy Clarke (Ipswich Town), Anthony Stokes (Sunderland), Jim O'Brien (Celtic).
09 October 2007
The Football Association has charged Ipswich boss Jim Magilton with using abusive and/or insulting words following Town's 2-2 draw at Burnley earlier this month.
Ipswich had to settle for a point after leading 2-0 at one stage, but Magilton was particularly upset with the decision to disallow Pablo Counago's late effort for offside.
After the Turf Moor clash he had said: "It wasn't even close. Pablo was three or four yards behind the ball. How it was ruled out is beyond me. It was a bad decision and cost us two points."
Magilton has until 23 October to respond to the charge.
03 October 2007
Jim Magilton watched his Ipswich side squander a two-goal lead before drawing 2-2 at Burnley and then admitted he felt "robbed" by the decision to disallow a late Pablo Counago effort.
The Tractor Boys are still searching for a first win on the road in the Coca-Cola Championship this season despite being handed the ideal platform to end their away-day blues at Turf Moor.
Sylvain Legwinski and one-time Claret Alan Lee both scored inside the opening 10 minutes with neat headers before Burnley mounted a tremendous fightback.
Kyle Lafferty pulled one back and Andy Gray netted a fortuitous equaliser to set up a grandstand finish.
And Ipswich looked to have won it late on when Tommy Miller and Counago exchanged passes inside the penalty area before the ball was squared for the latter to slot home from close-range, only for the linesman to eventually rule it out.
The result - and the decision - left Magilton to rue what could have been.
"I think it was a shocking decision," said Magilton, whose side have now shipped 11 goals in their last four away league games.
"It's a really bad decision which has cost us three points. The linesman didn't give it, then he's waited and waited and gave it and I think robbed us of three points. He's (Counago) behind the ball by two or three yards and it's a goal."
Magilton, however, was full of praise for the way his team started after stunning the home crowd with an impressive first-half showing.
He added: "I thought we played very well in the first half against a very good side. Again it was a pattern of our season that we played very well without scoring goals. We scored two good goals and then another pattern of our season we fell asleep and allowed them back in the game. We knew at half-time with Burnley 2-1 down at home they would come back at us. I thought we showed a lot of courage and passed the ball well at times and the very least we deserved is a point."
Burnley's stirring comeback was overshadowed by the news influential defender Michael Duff faces a lengthy spell out with a knee problem.
Duff did not feature against Ipswich but manager Steve Cotterill revealed after the game the severity of the injury sustained in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
"It's a big blow for us, a big blow," conceded Cotterill. "Michael has had an operation tonight and his lateral ligament has snapped off the bone. His hamstring tendon has snapped off the bone as well and he's snapped his cruciate ligament. But the worst part is he's going to have to go back in (to hospital) in six to eight weeks because it depends on when it will settle down. That's where we are with that but we'll deal with it."
Cotterill - who has now masterminded a six-game unbeaten streak in the league - also paid tribute to Burnley's "character" but bemoaned their sluggish start.
He added: "It was a very eventful game. All in all I think we could have won it and I think their goalkeeper has pulled off a couple of great saves. But we've got to start better. The annoying thing is we talk about it and we were conscious about it before the game but there's a couple of people in the dressing room who are having steep learning curves."
01 October 2007
Wigan defender Titus Bramble believes the days when he was made to feel a scapegoat at Newcastle are now far behind him.
There were many occasions during Bramble's five years on Tyneside that he failed to live up to his £5million price tag following his move from Ipswich.
Bramble's performances often attracted considerable criticism, so it came as no surprise when he left the club during the summer at the end of his contract.
Wigan manager Chris Hutchings, fresh from taking over at the JJB Stadium from Paul Jewell, made Bramble one of his first signings, and since then the 26-year-old has not looked back.
Bramble impressed in Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Liverpool as he was at the heart of repelling virtually every Reds attack.
He could certainly not be happier as he said: "I needed the move away, and with such great boys at this club, it's been easy for me to settle in. I know I was often criticised when I was at Newcastle. At times I thought it was fair, but at others I thought they were looking for a scapegoat, and that was me. I was big enough to take it, but I was glad to move and now I am playing every week, whereas at Newcastle I was in for a few games and then out for a few. Playing week in week out is something every footballer needs for consistency, and I think my performances are reflected in that. Against Liverpool, that was one of my best since I joined Wigan, but then as a team we were outstanding. We've done well all season, and against Liverpool we showed the spirit we have in the team because to match them was fantastic. We deserved a point at least. As long as we continue to play the way we did on Saturday, then we will win more games than we lose."
Emile Heskey has proved what can be achieved with application and hard work after reclaiming his England place, despite playing for a club still trying to shake off its unfashionable tag.
But Bramble is not looking to emulate his team-mate.
"I'm not really thinking about that," added Bramble. "I've seen what Emile's done, and he's a fantastic player, he has been all his career. He has proven that by getting back into the England squad, so well done to him. But I just want to play regularly for Wigan, which is my bread and butter."
01 October 2007
Ipswich manager Jim Magilton is preparing to ring the changes after his team's embarrassing 3-1 defeat against Hull at the weekend.
David Wright is likely to be reinstated at right-back after missing Saturday's loss at the KC Stadium with an infected blister and may replace Alex Bruce in the Tractor Boys' defence for the trip to Burnley.
"I wanted to play at Hull but it was painful and the manager had to make a call on it so that's fair enough," Wright told the club's website.
The lively substitute performance of former Fulham midfielder Sylvain Legwinski was one of the few positives to be taken from the weekend and he will start in midfield.
Danny Haynes will be named in Magilton's starting XI, with Alan Lee the man sacrificed.
Long-term absentees Gavin Williams and Richard Naylor remain sidelined although Naylor is hoping to make an appearance for the reserves in a fortnight.
01 October 2007
Martin Jol believes there are few clubs in Europe that compare to his Tottenham side ahead of their game against Aston Villa on Monday evening.
Spurs' Dutch manager is confident his side can turn their floundering season around against Villa after just one win in seven league games to date, and has pointed to their similarly weak start to last year's campaign, which saw The Lilywhites recover to finish fifth.
'The only thing I can say is that we came up with the goods and even more than that over the last couple of years,' said Jol.
'Of course you saw that with Coventry they lost 4-1 against Ipswich [in The Championship] and then had a big win over Manchester United [in The Carling Cup]. That is football.'
The 52-year-old is all geared up for the Setanta cameras' arrival in N17, and believes the atmosphere at The Lane will lift his side as he looks for a win on the evening on which the club commemorates its 125th anniversary.
'I'm looking forward to it - it will be a sell-out,' he said. 'That is why Spurs is special. You see for example Chelsea in the Champions League [with an attendance of] 23,000. You see us playing in the Carling Cup on a normal evening and it was almost a sell-out. Against Bolton as well I was looking at the fans behind the goal and I was thinking 'not bad', and then after 15 minutes I realised that the upper tier was full of Spurs fans as well. I don't think there is a lot of other clubs in Europe like us.'
Jol's adversary Martin O'Neill has also talked up Spurs' credentials ahead of the game.
'They got off to a stodgy start this time last year again. They were able to battle through that and come good at the end and finish fifth,' said the Ulsterman.
'I think that every team, once you hit a couple of bad results, there seems to be a cloud that hangs over a football club for a while. But Tottenham Hotspur are very capable of pulling through because they have got quality players. They'll be very difficult to beat. This will be a hard game for us. They have got a lot quality players who are capable of winning games, as they have proved.'
01 October 2007
Sunderland striker Anthony Stokes has been restored to the Republic of Ireland under-21 squad for the European Championship qualifier against England at Turners Cross later this month.
Ireland will attempt to get their qualification campaign back on track against the English having gone down to a 2-0 defeat to Portugal in the opening game last month.
And Stokes returns to the squad having been frozen out following a row with boss Don Givens ahead of a friendly against Germany in August.
Darron Gibson, the Manchester United midfielder, is also included, dropping down from the senior squad despite making his debut against Slovakia three weeks ago.
Injured Wolves midfielder Stephen Gleeson and UCD striker Conor Sammon drop out of the squad.
Givens has also named a squad for a warm-up friendly against Sweden four days before the meeting with England, with 12 of the 18-man panel on duty for both games.
eircom League trio Shane McFaul, Darren Quigley and Conor Powell, as well as Huddersfield Town's Richard Keogh and Michael Collins and Adam Rooney of Chesterfield, have been excused for the friendly in Uppsala on Friday, October 12th.
In their stead comes four players who graduate from last season's under-19 side - midfielders Keith Keane and Alan Power, highly-rated Blackburn Rovers winger Keith Treacy and Norwich City's Michael Spillane.
Ipswich Town goalkeeper Shane Supple and Leicester City full back Alan Sheehan will also be on duty for the game in Sweden before dropping to a stand-by list for the qualifier against England four days later.
Republic of Ireland under-21 (v. England, 16/10/2007):
Goalkeepers: Darren Randolph (Charlton Athletic), Darren Quigley (UCD).
Defenders: Stephen O'Halloran (Aston Villa), Conor Powell (Bohemians), Darren Dennehy (Everton), Eddie Nolan (Blackburn Rovers), Richard Keogh (Huddersfield Town – on loan from Bristol City), Darren O'Dea (Celtic).
Midfielders: Darron Gibson (Manchester United), Stephen Quinn (Sheffield United), Owen Garvan (Ipswich Town), Shane McFaul (UCD), Michael Collins (Huddersfield Town), Patrick Cregg (Falkirk).
Forwards: Billy Clarke (Ipswich Town), Adam Rooney (Stoke City – on loan at Chesterfield), Anthony Stokes (Sunderland), Jim O'Brien (Celtic).
Republic of Ireland under-21 (friendly v. Sweden, 12/10/2007):
Goalkeepers: Darren Randolph (Charlton Athletic), Shane Supple (Ipswich Town).
Defenders: Stephen O'Halloran (Aston Villa), Darren Dennehy (Everton), Eddie Nolan (Blackburn Rovers), Darren O'Dea (Celtic), Alan Sheehan (Leicester City), Michael Spillane (Norwich City).
Midfielders: Darron Gibson (Manchester United), Stephen Quinn (Sheffield United), Owen Garvan (Ipswich Town), Alan Power (Nottingham Forest), Patrick Cregg (Falkirk), Keith Keane (Luton Town).
Forwards: Billy Clarke (Ipswich Town), Anthony Stokes (Sunderland), Jim O'Brien (Celtic), Keith Treacy (Blackburn Rovers).
