England: The next England manager could be known before this June's World Cup finals, FA chief executive Brian Barwick said . "We have the opportunity, if we want, to get the person in place hopefully before the finals," said Barwick. "The upside of that is that they can watch the side they will inherit in August with a sense of semi-distant ownership, and it may well be an advantage. But I don't think there's any chance at all of that person being involved directly in the inner sanctum of Sven's set-up - unless they are already in it."
Chelsea: Premier League champions Chelsea announced a pre-tax loss of £140 million for the year to end-June 2005 yesterday. The figure is an increase of 60 per cent on the previous 12 months when the club posted an 87.8-million-pound loss. Despite the loss, Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon said the club, which is bankrolled by Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, is on course to break even by the 2009-10 season.
Woodgate: Real Madrid's Jonathan Woodgate is hoping he can stay fit after recovering from the latest in a string of injuries that have blighted his career. "I hope this year will be different for me and that all my problems have come to an end," the 26-year-old said. "I hope everything is going to change. I have to take things step by step and not rush but I'm no longer injured."
Hooligans: German police will operate in England before this year's soccer World Cup in an advisory capacity to prevent hooligans travelling to the tournament. Home Office minister Paul Goggins also said uniformed English and German police were set to work "side by side" for the first time at a major tournament. "The Government, police and supporters groups are working hard with the German authorities to make the World Cup a safe and trouble free tournament," Goggins said in a statement.
Petrov: Bulgaria's Stilian Petrov signed a new deal with Celtic yesterday that will keep him at the Scottish Premier League leaders until 2009. Petrov had been the subject of transfer speculation after contract talks stalled.
In Spain: King's Cup semi-final draw - Espanyol vs Valencia or Deportivo (first leg Feb. 8, date of second leg to be announced); Barcelona or R. Zaragoza vs R. Madrid (Feb. 8 and Feb. 15). Ties to be played over two legs.
Africa Cup: Ghana vs Senegal 1-0; Nigeria vs Zimbabwe 2-0.
In England: League Two - Nottingham Forest vs Barnsley 0-2; Southend vs Swindon 2-0.
Williams second test driver: Williams have thrown Indian Narain Karthikeyan a Formula One lifeline by appointing him as their second test driver for 2006. Karthikeyan, dubbed the 'Fastest Indian on Wheels', raced for Jordan last year but lost his seat when that team was renamed Midland. The 29-year-old Chennai driver tested twice for Williams last month and had hoped to land the main test and reserve role. Williams signed experienced Austrian Alex Wurz from McLaren instead.
MFA Div. III: Ta' Xbiex vs Xghajra 0-2; Siggiewi vs Birzebbuga 0-1.
Basketball: Peugeot League play-off semi-final (game one) - Hibs vs Luxol 58-43. BoV KO Division One - Mellieha vs Loyola 41-56.