Early Doors realises it talks about Michael Owen's chances of an England recall a lot. But then, so does Michael Owen.

Even when he's claiming not to talk about it, he's talking about it. Take yesterday's press conference ahead of Manchester United's game against CSKA Moscow.

Rather than blowing off yet another question about England, he took the opportunity to reiterate how little it means to him: "The last squad I was in was a year ago now. It's something other people talk about more than I think about.

"I don't go to bed thinking if I will play for England again."

Here are some more

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has taken the club off the market.

For those of you that had forgotten, Ashley had been trying to sell the club after pumping a significant part of his fortune into it yielded only relegation from the Premier League and bile from the Magpies' fans.

Last season, Newcastle's demise was the gift that just kept on giving for sneering, faceless morning football blogs, and stories like those of a shadowy Nigerian consortium trying to buy the club in exchange for a suitcase full of Rolexes didn't help matters much.

However, after talks to sell the club to local

Much as Early Doors is amused to see a Premier League tug-of-war in which Bolton are described as the big club, it simply cannot understand why Owen Coyle would walk out on Burnley to take the manager's job at the Reebok.

Last summer, Coyle said he did not want the Celtic job, and what has happened since then? His side have made a decent fist of life in the Premier League and stand every chance of staying up.

ED is no fan of Scottish football, but it recognises that by virtually any measure, Celtic are a much bigger club than Bolton.

So what has changed that would make Coyle reject the Bhoys

Alex Chick, Tony Mabert and Sean Fay discuss tragedy at the African Cup of Nations and disruption to the domestic fixture list.

Click here to download as mp3 file!

Despite going down 1-0 at Wigan last night, Liverpool still have their noses in front in the race for that much-coveted final Europa League spot.

They obviously like it in that tournament. Despite playing just two matches in the nascent competition, their goal average of four goals scored for every one conceded means it's evidently their kind of place.

Had they managed a smash-and-grab raid for all three points at the DW Stadium, they could have dared to dream about climbing up the table and joining the big guns in the top four.

It's an inspirational example of just what a club lacking in star

Video footage has emerged of IFK Gothenburg goalkeeper Kim Christensen breaking the rules in spectacularly blatant fashion.

During a recent game against Orebro, Christensen kicked the base of the posts, which were resting on the artificial turf, shifting them closer together and reducing the width of the goal by several inches.

It is the kind of thing that would bring English football to its knees, but the Swedes are phlegmatic sorts, and this brazen act has hardly raised a murmur of disapproval.

After the game, referee Stefan Johansson said: "Had I seen him do it I would have warned him. I

Having undergone something of an identity crisis, and recently withstood a ferocious Mancunia-fuelled assault from the Carling Cup, the FA Cup has found its calling at last.
 
The oldest knockout cup competition in the world now exists purely to provide financial succour to stricken teams who came unstuck chasing the dream of Premier League glory.

It is football's answer to those reprehensible websites offering you a cash advance while charging 2356% interest - a short, sharp injection of funds with untold consequences (although, in fairness, a bit of fixture congestion is worse than a £200 loan

From the moment in the first half when the ball sailed through Marques Colston's hands and clanged off his helmet, Early Doors realised its bet on the New Orleans Saints was not going to end well.

Then something odd happened. The 'Aints' started to put points on the board while the Indianapolis Colts' receivers took turns to impersonate David James attempting to catch a cross.

It was all over when Peyton Manning, the best player in the game, flung one down the throat of a Saints defender, leaving ED ever-so-slightly better off and feeling well-disposed towards the curious game of American