Death of GreenwoodWhen Ron Greenwood, who died yesterday aged 84, worked as a teenager on the ground staff at Wembley stadium before the second World War, he could hardly have expected to return there as England's team manager. But he did, holding the post from 1977 to '82.
Before that, Greenwood had been, from 1961 to '77, manager, coach and general manager of West Ham. There were FA Cups in 1964 and '75, and the European Cup Winners' Cup in '65, when West Ham beat Munich 1860. Under Greenwood's shrewd, perfectionist rule, West Ham became the crucible of skilful football. It was an irony that he probably did more for the England team that won the 1966 World Cup by helping the development of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters than he did as manager in the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
McLeish's exit plan
Rangers manager Alex McLeish is leaving the Scottish Premier League champions at the end of the season after more than four years in charge. "The manager's departure was agreed in early January as Alex believed that a 4½-year term at the club was an appropriate period upon which to end his tenure," chairman David Murray said yesterday.
The man tipped to take over at Ibrox is Frenchman Paul Le Guen, who has been without a job since stepping down from Olympique Lyon last May.
O'Neill is favourite
The next England manager will be British or Irish, one of the central figures in the selection process has said. Dave Richards, chairman of the English Premier League and a member of the group that will devise a shortlist for the job, has indicated Martin O'Neill is the favourite to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson. Manchester City's Stuart Pearce, Bolton's Sam Allardyce and Charlton's Alan Curbishley are also under consideration. It is expected that interviews will be held before the end of this month.
Mido hits back
Mido accused the Egyptian FA of an overreaction last night as he faced up to missing the African Nations Cup final. The Tottenham striker was thrown out of the Egypt squad following his heated touchline dispute with Pharaohs coach Hassan Shehata, and banned from international football for six months.
"I was talking to him in our language, saying, 'why are you always changing me?'. I didn't insult him." As for the ban, he said: "I think they overreacted. This is how things are going in Egypt and this is football here. I feel sorry for the fans. I think they wanted me to play in the final."
In brief. . .
Argentinian club Banfield have said defender Gabriel Paletta will travel to England to open talks with Liverpool. The World Anti-Doping Agency say they will launch an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport should it fail to agree with Fifa on their controversial anti-doping regulations. The future of Rotherham, which is losing £140,000 a month, is in doubt after the Millers revealed they could "cease trading within the next few weeks".
