Jermain Defoe came off the bench to score a superb late goal and earn England victory over their Euro 2012 conquerors Italy.

Italy started strongly with Daniele De Rossi giving them the lead when he headed in Alessandro Diamanti’s corner.

But Roy Hodgson’s side replied, also from a corner, Phil Jagielka sending his diving header in on 27 minutes.

The game looked like petering out, but after Ryan Bertrand cleared off the line, Defoe struck on the counter.

Spurs striker Defoe had plenty to do when he was fed by James Milner on the break, but having checked back, he turned and smashed a shot past Salvatore Sirigu in the Azzurri goal 11 minutes from time.

It turned what appeared to be a satisfactory evening into a very pleasing one for Hodgson, meaning he has yet to lose a game in open play after seven games in charge.

And with a new-look line-up including only Ashley Young from the team that lost to Italy in the European Championship quarter-finals, there were encouraging performances all over the pitch as Hodgson tweaked his formation from 4-4-2 to a more fluid 4-2-3-1.

In a half-full Wankdorf Stadium, a largely inexperienced team included five debutants – Birmingham goalkeeper Jack Butland, Norwich’s John Ruddy, Manchester United’s Tom Cleverley, Chelsea’s Bertrand and Tottenham’s Jake Livermore.

But they were guided by an experienced midfield cast of Lampard and Michael Carrick, who quietly linked play, before Defoe made an almost immediate impact after coming on to score his 17th goal for his country.

It took the jolt of De Rossi’s opener for England to find their rhythm and 19-year-old Butland, who became the youngest goalkeeper to win a full England cap despite having only played as high as League Two, had to be sharp to deny Italy on several occasions.

Nevertheless, 12 minutes after the Roma midfielder headed in from Diamanti’s corner, clever work from Adam Johnson led to a corner for England and Lampard’s delivery found Jagielka, who stooped low to guide his header in from eight yards for his first senior England goal.

That seemed to settle Hodgson’s side. Skipper Lampard, who missed Euro 2012 because of a thigh injury, twice had thumping shots at goal before he fired a free-kick just over.

Ruddy, who also missed the European Championship through injury, replaced Butland at half-time and had to deal with a resurgent Italy as he too adjusted to international football.

He passed his first test well, though, saving to his right from Mattia Destro’s effort. Cesare Prandelli twice wasted good chances soon after.

Having gathered some momentum, Italy were then disrupted by a flurry of substitutions on the hour mark and they almost went behind as first Gary Cahill had a goal disallowed, before Federico Peluso nearly scored in his own net from James Milner’s free-kick.

Defoe’s strike came immediately after a threat on Ruddy’s goal, substitute Bertrand clearing off the line, before Milner led the counter-attack. Once he fed the Spurs striker, Defoe turned, cut inside and unleashed a fearsome shot into the top corner.

(BBC football)

SPL Technically Insolvent

The latest available Accounts for the SPL show an insolvent balance sheet, with liabilities exceeding assets by £196,000.

The directors of the SPL approved the Accounts on a going concern basis because they were:

“… of the opinion that the existence of contracted income will allow the company to meet its liabilities as they fall due for the foreseeable future.”

One wonders how well founded that opinion was! The Accounts were signed off by the SPL on 15 August 2011, at a time when we were all but crippled by the EBT investigation which would certainly lead to administration (at least) if the FTT went against us. In arriving at their opinion, did the SPL directors take into account what the effects would be on the SPL’s ability to pay its debts if Rangers was no longer a member? If not, why not?

Rangers were denied SPL membership by a company whose own most recently published balance sheet was insolvent. Only in bigoted little Scotland.

The accounts can be seen here from the following PDF, here.

With the relevant account information found on pages 17 and 21. (Page 6 and 8 of the accounts)

(rangersmediaforum)

Edinburgh garage roof fall man dies from injuries

A man who fell through a garage roof in Edinburgh while being pursued by police has died, officers have confirmed.

Ian Ross, who was 31 and from Edinburgh, was being treated at the city’s Royal Infirmary.

It is understood he was involved in a disturbance at about 21:35 on Sunday in Robertson’s Bar, Gorgie Road, following the Hearts v Hibs derby.

He suffered serious head and body injuries after falling through nearby Tynecastle Garage roof.

(BBC Football)

Manchester United have agreed a £24m deal to sign Arsenal striker Robin van Persie on a four-year contract.

The 29-year-old will meet with United in the next 48 hours to discuss personal terms and have a medical.

Arsenal captain Van Persie announced in July he would not extend his current deal, which expires in June 2013.

“Manchester United is pleased to announce it has reached agreement for the transfer of Robin Van Persie,” the club said in a statement. 

“The deal is subject to a medical and the agreement of personal terms. A further announcement will be made in due course.”

United will pay £22.5m, with a further £1.5m one-off bonus to follow if they win a Premier League or Champions League title in the next four years.

It is understood Arsenal were willing to make Van Persie their highest paid player ever, but never actually offered him a new contract.

The Netherlands international, who scored 44 goals in 57 games for club and country last season, including two against United, maintained he would not discuss his future until after Arsenal’s final match at West Brom on 12 May.

Three days later, he opened dialogue with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger and chief executive Ivan Gazidis at Wenger’s house.

Wenger and Van Persie disagreed on their vision for the club, transfer activity and the team’s performance in the 2011-12 campaign.

No contract was discussed and Van Persie joined the Dutch squad on 17 May to begin their preparations for Euro 2012.

He announced he would not be extending his contract on 4 July and returned to training on 17 July, the same week he was the subject of bids from United, Manchester City and Juventus.

All three offers fell short of Arsenal’s valuation – they were reluctant to enter formal negotiations until a bid exceeded £20m, and hoped to hold out for £25-30m.

United, City and Juventus increased their offers but, of the three, United were the only side Van Persie would consider joining.

He was not part of the Gunners squad that left on 21 July for a pre-season tour to Asia but did travel with them on 6 August for a week-long training camp in Germany.

It is understood Van Persie was encouraged by the arrivals of Germany forward Lukas Podolski, France striker Olivier Giroud and Spain midfielder Cazorla – to the point where he was open to the idea of staying with or without a new contract.

But Wenger pulled him aside shortly before Sunday’s friendly victory over Cologne,  told him he would be sold if a deal could be reached and informed the Dutchman he was no longer part of his plans.

Formal discussions between Arsenal and United began immediately, with Gazidis and United chief executive David Gill agreeing a fee of £22.5m on Tuesday, only for it to be vetoed by Wenger as he held out for £25m.

On Wednesday morning, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson called Wenger to offer £23m and Wenger quoted him £24m.

But a compromise was finally reached on Wednesday evening and Van Persie will travel to Manchester on Thursday to discuss terms and begin his medical.

Van Persie was named Professional Footballers’ Association and Football Writers’ player of the year but scored only once as the Netherlands were eliminated at the group stage of Euro 2012.

(BBC Football)