Ahead of the game: Wembley Beckons For Robinson

The news in 60 seconds

WEMBLEY BECKONS FOR ROBINSON
The Spurs goalkeeper looks set to keep his place in the side to play Chelsea in the Carling Cup final on Sunday. His performance in the Uefa Cup last night suggested his lard-fingered days are behind him. We’ve got all the other team news on the big match and the weekend’s Premier League fixtures. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article3414324.ece

BOLTON ANGRY AT SPANISH POLICE
Bolton Wanderers have complained to Uefa about the treatment their fans received from Spanish police during last night's goalless draw away to Atletico Madrid. The club said officers were "overzealous and disproportionate" in their actions.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/bolton/article3415611.ece#

MABBUTT: GAZZA NEEDS OUR HELP
Gary Mabbutt has urged the "football family" to rally round Paul Gascoigne, his former Spurs team-mate. “One of football's most talented sons needs desperate help," Mabbut said. Kevin Keegan has backed Gazza to bounce back after he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/tottenham/article3416460.ece

ARSENAL ROLLING IN IT
Arsenal’s half year pre-tax profits have increased by 55 per cent. The club have benefited from the move to the Emirates Stadium, a more lucrative TV rights deal and the £16 million sale of Thierry Henry to Barcelona.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/arsenal/article3414475.ece

WENGER TO STAY ‘ANOTHER EIGHT YEARS’
Little wonder, then, that the Gunners’ managing director Keith Edelman believes Arsene Wenger will stay with the club for at least another eight years. Edelman has scotched suggestions the manager will take a seat on the board. The Frenchman’s too busy, apparently.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/arsenal/article3415227.ece

JEWELL SPURNED WIGAN
Paul Jewell rejected a return to Wigan Athletic earlier this season because he did not want to be viewed as two-faced and money-grabbing. “I was tempted,” he said of a deal that included a tasty £2 million bonus if he kept the club in the Premier League.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article3417119.ece

HUGHTON TO JOIN NEWCASTLE
Chris Hughton is expected to join Kevin Keegan’s backroom staff at Newcastle United. Hughton has been looking for work since he was sacked as Spurs’ assistant manager in October.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/newcastle/article3418088.ece

MOYES: YAKUBU DESERVED SECOND CHANCE
Everton manager David Moyes is happy he gave Yakubu Aiyegbeni a second chance even though the forward returned late from the African Cup of Nations.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/everton/article3417316.ece

FERGIE ATTACKS AGENTS
The Manchester United manager has hit out at greedy agents after Wes Brown turned down a £45,000-a-week four-year contract. “Players of today live in their agents’ pockets,” Fergie said. “It’s a situation which depresses me, it really depresses me.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article3412712.ece

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If you’ve got another couple of minutes

Fabio Capello clearly underestimates the gentlemen of the press. Before Arsenal played AC Milan at the Emirates Stadium, the England manager told journalists in his adopted home that the Italian club “could not have got a worse proposition” than being drawn against the Premier League leaders. Strange then that he told a gathering of Italian press at Soho Square yesterday that the Champions League tie, which ended 0-0 after a superlative defensive display from the Italian side, transpired just as he “predicted”.

That was not his only comment to prick our interest. According to the Italian newspaper, Corriere dello Sport, Capello called the manner in which Milan stifled Arsenal’s considerable attacking threat as “very beautiful”. You know what to expect at Wembley over the next couple of years, then.

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A quickie before you go, sir?

SPANISH PEACE PACT
If Capello thought he had a tricky task dealing with the English press, he should spare a thought for Luis Aragones, the Spain coach, who yesterday called a rather unusual press conference with Raul, of Real Madrid.

Aragones met the Spanish media to ask them to stop protesting about his omission of the forward from his squad. Raul has not been picked since a defeat by Northern Ireland in a Euro 2008 qualifier in September 2006. Some journalists reckon the pair fell out and Aragones has been acting on a personal vendetta, even though Spain qualified for the finals without the 30-year-old.

“We want to end the speculation for the good of Spain, for the federation, for the player and for me," Aragones said, smiling through gritted teeth, as the pair shook hands for the cameras and insisted they’re great pals. “His behaviour with me has been exemplary and I hope mine has been with him." 

Whether the hacks will heed his request remains to be seen but any English footie writers hoping for similar respect from Capello might consider that the Italian once described a press conference as “a meeting with people who are clearly less intelligent than me”.

Here’s a link to extended coverage of yesterday’s presser plus an English version of an accompanying Spanish report on the event. Some of the meaning is lost in translation but you should get the drift.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.marca.com/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmarca%26hl%3Den

GAZZA: A TRIBUTE
Like surely all football fans, AOTG was sad to hear about Paul Gascoigne. As Simon Barnes writes in today’s Times, the man who was sectioned yesterday under the Mental Health Act “gave football back to England”. He was also the finest English player of his generation. Take a moment, then, to admire some of his best moments on this highlights compilation, and feel free to send your thoughts on his fragile genius to sport@timesonline.co.uk. Get well soon, Gazza. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXuXu-jDN1E

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>>>>>THE TABLOID TALE<<<<<
Cheryl’s a fool to forgive Ashley – The Sun
What you need to know: 1) Ashley Cole claims wife Cheryl is close to accepting him back. 2) A friend branded Cheryl “a fool” for forgiving the Chelsea love rat. 3) The pal said: “She loves the man and can’t see a future without him.” 4) This friend sounds like a pain in the butt. 5) He/she added: “He’s told her he’s a changed man. she’s completely blind to his lies or genuinely believes it.”

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In TheGame

“I’ve got an illness, I realise that now. It’s not alcoholism, not really — that’s more a result than a cause. What I’ve been suffering from all my life is a disease in my head.” So wrote Paul Gascoigne in his autobiography, Gazza: My Story, an excerpt of which Times Online can make available to you today. The piece came across as heartbreakingly honest when we published it in 2004. It is even more poignant today.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article447507.ece
Bill Edgar has posted his Fiendish Friday Quiz, ten questions that will test even the smartest fan. He has also revealed the answer to yesterday's teaser.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2008/02/bill-edgars-f-2.html
Liverpool achieved the best result of the British sides in the Champions League this week, but they will not go the furthest in the competition. According to our poll, Manchester United are the most likely to conquer the continent.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2008/02/you-the-jury-wh.html
Our Wigan Athletic expert has provoked some heartfelt response to his claim that Paul Jewell betrayed his former club by calling Derby County fans the best he’s known. As one Rams supporter writes, “We need a lift with the dross we've had to put up with.”
http://timesonline.typepad.com/fanzine_fanzone/2008/02/jewell-taints-l.html
Tony Cascarino, football’s first agony uncle, has tackled your latest problems. He suggests one reader curbs his temper on the pitch, advises a manager not to concentrate on the negatives and insists a big barnet should not prevent the perfect header.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2008/02/keep-fit-dodgy.html

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2
Number of times Tottenham have beaten Chelsea since 1990

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Joe Bloggs’ Soapbox

“So, took a couple of days out only to return to your e-mails to find an audience most upset with the George Best/Ian Ure submission I made [Tuesday’s AOTG]. For those that missed the point and focused a little too hard on the details, I just wanted to apologise for calling Ian Ure a full back when, in fact, he was a left half. Left back, left half. Left out would probably have served the Gunners better, particularly on that day.
As to the comment from one fan about debasing the beautiful game, I’ve no argument with that. Hammering guys like Nani and Best because their talent cup runneth over isn't right but anyone that's played - let alone watched - competitive footie knows that, if you get a little too clever against a team you’re dominating, you'll take one in the neck. Do I approve? No. Do I expect it? Bet your life on it.”
Matt McGraw adds to the Nani showboating debate. Which has now finished. We hope.

“In tomorrow’s news today [yesterday’s AOTG], you have ‘Adebayor: How did I miss open goal?’  Surely this is more a case of yesterday’s news tomorrow?”
Yes, very good, Joshua Hardie. Trouble is, we're still scratching our heads about the lanky striker's miss. It would probably still be "news" next Tuesday if he could actually explain his blunder. That would be worth listening to.

“It’s interesting that Matt Drewry says he works in London and is surrounded by fans of London clubs [yesterday’s AOTG]!  My experience of London workplaces is that Man U fans outnumber those of any one London club. Anyway, maybe if Fergie hadn't said anything about Gallas, the FA may have done something. I can't condone the petulance of his kick, but the FA wouldn't want to be seen to punish Gallas as a reaction to what Fergie said. Maybe the Scotsman should keep quiet in future, instead of trying to govern the game himself.  Man U's grievances with the FA go back decades, it’s about time they lost that chip from their shoulder.”
AOTG thinks Stuart Crane makes a very good point. And, no, it’s not a London thing.

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>>>>>THE RIVALS<<<<<
Scuby is smacked – The Sun
Rafa shows his class, but are players behind him? – Daily Mail
Jens: I’m No 1 – Daily Mirror
Stars will shine for me says Capello – Daily Express
Cole kept guessing in fight for bragging rights – The Guardian
Graham Taylor: Why we will all pray for Gazza – The Daily Telegraph
Chelsea ‘bigger than Arsenal’ despite £74.8m less – The Independent

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Tomorrow’s news today

- Ramos: I’m driven by fear of failure
- Grant’s father the Holocaust survivor
- Newcastle offer Gazza helping hand

And expect...

Capello to tell Spanish journalists that Juande Ramos can buck history