Today's other stories in brief
Scots rise to 13th
Scotland are on the brink of leapfrogging England after rising to their highest ever position in the Fifa world rankings.
The Scots had a mixed month, beating Ukraine 3-1 before going down to a 2-0 defeat in Georgia, but it was enough to see them rise one place to 13th, their best placing since the rankings were introduced in 1993.
It means they are now just two spots behind England, who dropped two places when their 3-0 win over Estonia was followed by the 2-1 defeat in Russia which could scupper their hopes of reaching Euro 2008.
The rankings determine the seedings for the 2010 World Cup qualifying, with teams needing to finish in the top nine to be among the top seeds. If Scotland finish in their current position they will be in the second pot of seeds, a marked improvement on the draw for the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign when they were among the fourth-ranked teams.
Argentina and Brazil leapfrog World Cup holders Italy to lead the standings, while France rise two to fourth.
The Republic of Ireland stay in 32nd as they look for a new manager following Steve Staunton's exit while Northern Ireland also stand still in 36th. Meanwhile, Wales have dropped five places to 58th.
Blatter opens way
Fifa president Sepp Blatter yesterday opened the way for England to bid for the 2018 World Cup after he told British Prime Minister Gordon Brown he expected rotation of the tournament to be scrapped next week.
Blatter met Brown for half an hour in Downing Street yesterday with an England bid for the 2018 finals top of the agenda.
Brown asked whether Fifa would end rotation of the finals between different continents. Blatter said he expected the world governing body would change the system so that any country apart from those in the continent hosting the previous World Cup - ie South America, as Brazil are 2014 hosts - could bid.
Fifa's executive committee will make the final decision in Zurich on Tuesday but it should just be a case of rubber-stamping Blatter's proposal.
It would mean England going head-to-head with China, Russia, Australia, Benelux and the USA and Mexico.
Speaking outside Number 10, Blatter said: "Gordon Brown has asked that we shall take a decision that the FA will be able to bid for the 2018 World Cup.
"It's an item we will be discussing on Monday and Tuesday at the Fifa executive committee in Zurich, on how the World Cup is to be presented to the world. The most important thing is that the British government will support our "Football for Hope" programme in Africa."
Award for Bates
Drogheda United's Guy Bates was named yesterday as the Eircom/Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland player of the month for September, writes Emmet Malone. The 21-year-old's finest moment since moving to United Park actually came last Friday night when he scored the goal against Cork city that clinched the league title for his side.
He had quite a decent September as well, though, scoring an equaliser in the draw with Galway United at Terryland Park, the only goal in the 1-0 win over Derry City and the opener in the 2-1 win at Longford.
"It's one of the proudest days of my life", says the ex-Newcastle and Carlisle front man. "To have a team award for winning the league is fantastic and for me personally to win an award is really excellent as well."
