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England 4-0 Bulgaria

The result may have had the ring of vigorous revival after indignities of the World Cup, but this was also an enjoyable muddle of a match. Fabio Capello has every right to beam at a win by such a margin in this Euro 2012 qualifier and to take encouragement from Jermain Defoe's hat-trick. The manager, all the same, should beconcerned about the identity of one other key figure.

Joe Hart, in his first competitive start for his country, was outstanding to an extent that should make Capello uneasy about the troubles that could lie ahead on Tuesday, in the away game with Switzerland. There must be alarm, too, over the apparently serious injury to Michael Dawson's left knee that saw him carried off on a stretcher in the second half.

Nonetheless, any manager is entitled to revel in aspects of such a clear victory. It should be appreciated that this occasion liberated Wayne Rooney from the torpor that has overcome him since the spring. He may not have scored, but the Manchester United attacker revelled in the freedom of the deeper role he had here and assisted, particularly, in each Defoe goal.

Despite the heartening aspects, it has to be underlined that England were vulnerable in the absence of the injured John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. Capello seemed to regard the outcome as vindication, but while he is entitled to some satisfaction there is much still to be done.

The manager, all the same, can pause and savour elements of the win. Adam Johnson, on as a substitute for Theo Walcott, is an interesting footballer with variety in his play and he took his first England goal, to send the side into a 3-0 lead, that was largely his own work even if the pass to him did happen to come from Rooney. The real flourish was delivered by Defoe in the 86th minute after the great provider fashioned the opportunity. Despite all the glee, it is premature of Capello to act as if his status following the World Cup is once more beyond dispute. The authority was no so marked as to stop Hart from showing his worth to an extent that must have made the goalkeeper wonder about the lack of protection from defenders.

At Wembley the audience was entitled to relish the more severe suffering of Bulgaria. Rooney flaunted vision and touch when he released Ashley Cole in the third minute. The goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov blocked his shot at the near post, but the ball ran back to the defender, who set up Defoe to volley home comfortably.

Bulgaria were not rigorous opponents, even if the appraisals had spoken of a solid line-up whose hopes lie with younger players edging towards maturity. That would have sufficed to scare the wits out England in South Africa, but these are men who have since been on holiday and now relish their restored appetite.

There was an obvious freshness, with Capello preferring to give Dawson his competitive debut and first start for England. The Tottenham Hotspur centre-half benefits from being with a club on the rise, but, at 26, he is also five years younger than his presumed rival Matthew Upson. The west Ham defender did not even make the bench and Gary Cahill took over from the stricken Dawson.

There was no calm authority to the defending and this, after all, is still an England team in psychological convalescence following the World Cup. There were overtones of malaise when Glen Johnson miscued a low cross from Ivan Ivanov in the 20rd minute and would have turned the ball into his own net had Hart not been alert enough to grab it. Shortly after, Phil Jagielka had to make an important tackle on the former Manchester City attacker Valeri Bojinov.

The defender had not been at the World Cup. Neither had Walcott and, restored to competitive international action here, he made little impression. The manager lacks the means to conduct a radical overhaul and seven members of the side eliminated by Germany in Bloemfontein started here.

Despite the score, the game was slightly dull in periods. There were signs of optimism in Stanimir Stoilov's line-up even if Bulgaria have not been to a major tournament since 2004.

The Wembley crowd were not overjoyed after 45 minutes but they had been given no cause either for disapproval. This was an arena full of people, whether on the pitch or in the stands, exhorting one another to be patient. England understood that they were attempting to start all over again.

The efforts of Capello's team to reach tranquillity were thwarted for a spell. Bulgaria had purpose and optimism in the 52nd minute, with Ivelin Popov calling on Hart to turn a chip over the bar. The sense of adversity could have been deepened, but a block by Hart from Stanislav Angelov instead triggered the counterattack that extended England's lead.

Gareth Barry initiated the move and Rooney was to unleash Defoe for the second goal after 61 minutes. The visitors may have been more adventurous thereafter, but it was the enterprise of men on the edge of defeat. Hart could not take time off from excellence and denied the substitute Dimitar Rangelov when he ran clear. Shortly after, Cahill deflected a Stiliyan Petrov drive off-target.

There was a merriness to all this uninhibited work that would not have been to Capello's taste. The ruthless control of a match that he seeks will be essential for England in times to come, but entertainment was appreciated on this occasion.

Defoe offers praise for resurgent Rooney

• 'Sweetest night of my career,' says Tottenham striker
• Spurs team-mate Michael Dawson to miss Swiss match

Jermain Defoe became the first England player to score a hat-trick at the rebuilt national stadium last night and said his rewards were the "sweetest" of his career as Fabio Capello's side sparked their qualification campaign for Euro 2012 in some style.

The Tottenham Hotspur forward had been expected to miss the visit of Bulgaria, together with the more daunting trip to Switzerland on Tuesday, to undergo surgery on a long-standing groin complaint. Yet he passed himself fit to join Capello's squad last week and, combining superbly with Wayne Rooney, duly swelled his international goal tally to 15 in 44 appearances.

"It's difficult to find the words to describe the feeling you get when you score a hat-trick for your country," said Defoe, who became the first England player since Alan Shearer against Luxembourg in 1999 to score three in this arena. "It's just the best feeling in the world. It's the sweetest hat-trick of my career, without doubt ... a special night.

"I thought I'd miss out through the injury but I've put the surgery on hold and might not have to have it at all yet. Over the last few months of last season my groin was a bit sore. I thought it was just fatigue but I felt it in the World Cup and a bit pre-season. You start to worry – I think Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard may have had the same thing [both have since had surgery] – and it felt a bit sore tonight but I've worked really hard in the gym doing a lot of core work to strengthen the area and it felt good.

"It was always my decision whether or not to have the operation but I always want to play and put myself up for selection when I can. I'd spoken to the physios at the club but I told them: 'You have to trust me. I know my own body.' I didn't get any reaction from it tonight."

Defoe did depart three minutes from time having been kicked on an ankle but will be fit for Tuesday's game in Basle. Michael Dawson is expected to miss that match, however, after appearing to damage knee ligaments when falling awkwardly early in the second period on his first start for his country. The Spurs defender was carried from the pitch and will be assessed today once the swelling on the joint begins to recede, with the prognosis not promising.

Capello pointed to Gary Cahill and Matthew Upson as potential replacements next week and reserved praise for his excellent goalkeeper Joe Hart, though he drew most encouragement from the slick teamwork exhibited by Defoe and Wayne Rooney. The Manchester United forward was asked to play in a slightly more withdrawn role by his manager – "just in front of their two central midfielders," said the Italian – and played a part in all four of England's goals.

"When you play with a new partner it can take a bit of time for it to gel but Wayne's a great player to play alongside," added Defoe. "He works so hard for you and, if you make the runs, he will find you. After I scored my second he said: 'Now go and try to get your third.' To have that from someone playing with you is fantastic.

"Everything seemed to click tonight and it was really enjoyable. I spoke to Ian Wright before the game and he said: 'You're due a hat-trick.' He texted me after the game and said: 'I love you JD, well done.' When I was younger I used to study him and watch his movement and finishing and he was at West Ham when I was there as a 16-year-old. We used to practise movement and finishing after training and it has definitely stuck with me. You have to get into positions and work hard. I felt sharp and did that tonight."

France 0-1 Belarus

France, under their new coach, Laurent Blanc, failed to shrug off their old ways as they slumped to an embarrassing 1-0 home defeat against Belarus in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier.

The French players were cheered on to the pitch by flag-waving fans but were booed off at the end after the Belarus substitute Sergei Kislyak scored the winner with four minutes left, converting his side's only clear chance in the Group D match in Paris.

"I want to thank the fans who came here to support us," the France captain, Florent Malouda, told the angry crowd shortly after the final whistle was blown on Les Bleus' hopes of rediscovering the pride they lost at the World Cup in June. "It is a pity to start this campaign with a defeat."

Hopes were high that France would have closed the book on their sorry World Cup chapter, when they were knocked out in the first round after a players' revolt, and start afresh under Blanc.

The players were greeted by a round of applause by the Stade de France faithfuls during the warm-up as Blanc welcomed back nine players who were at the World Cup in South Africa.

France took control early on, with the Marseille striker Loïc Rémy heading just wide from a corner after 17 minutes.

Though they were shaky at the back, Belarus proved sharp on the break as Alexander Hleb twice caused havoc in the French defence.

Malouda produced France's first attempt on target but Yury Zhevnov parried the Chelsea winger's powerful drive on the stroke of half-time.

Malouda thought he had scored in the 63rd minute but was ruled offside. France increased the pressure and Mathieu Valbuena, who came on for the injured Rémy in the first half, had a superb dipping volley from the edge of the box tipped over by Zhevnov.

Louis Saha came on for Jérémy Menez in the 70th minute in an attempt by Blanc to strengthen his front line. The Everton striker, however, was replaced injured 10 minutes later by the newcomer Kévin Gameiro. It was not enough, however, as Kislyak, who came on in the 75th minute, collected a back‑pass from Vyacheslav Hleb in the box before firing past Hugo Lloris.

France next face Bosnia, who won 3-0 in Luxembourg last night, in Sarajevo on Tuesday.

Slovenia 0-1 Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland got off to a fine start in their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign last night by defeating Slovenia, who reached the World Cup finals last summer in South Africa. Corry Evans was the unlikely matchwinner, the Manchester United squad player stepping off the bench to get the only goal in Maribor.

It was Evans' first competitive outing for his country and he marked it by getting on the end of a glorious cross from Craig Cathcart to sweep the ball home at the far post. The supplier had been drafted in as Corry's brother, Jonny, had been ruled out because of a groin injury.

"We worked all week with Jonny as a left-back," said Nigel Worthington, the manager. "I was disappointed to lose him but you cannot take your thoughts away from everyone else. Whatever big brother can do little brother can do as well. What a family that is. Young Corry is a fantastic young professional."

Northern Ireland started brightly then found themselves under pressure for long spells, only to pull off the victory they had craved. "I haven't scored for Northern Ireland since I was a schoolboy," Evans said later, "so to get on the scoresheet in such an important match is fantastic.

"We've had our criticism over our away form and for not being able to score, so to win away with a clean sheet is great."

Johnny Gorman, 17, who attends Wolves academy and Repton School, also made a competitive debut, coming on for Chris Brunt a minute from time, and Northern Ireland held out for their famous win.

"We started the second half slowly but defended well," Worthington added. "We knew Slovenia would throw the kitchen sink at us but we got our blocks in – it was fantastic. The players deserve all the credit because they worked hard all week and stuck to the game plan tonight."

Armenia 0-1 Rep of Ireland

Giovanni Trapattoni said beforehand he would settle for a victory by the only goal, even if he had to suffer. The Republic of Ireland manager duly went through the wringer on a nervous night in the capital Yerevan but he emerged with the result he wanted to ignite his team's Euro 2012 campaign after the substitute Keith Fahey, who had been on the field for eight minutes, swept home the precious goal.

The Birmingham City midfielder was winning only his fourth cap but had not played in a competitive international before. With one swing of his right boot he became an instant hero. Trapattoni ought to struggle no more with the pronunciation of Fahey's surname.

It felt as if Ireland had been let off the hook. Armenia had the initiative for much of the second half and there was a desperation about some of Ireland's defending. But Trapattoni's team could also point to a glaring miss by the captain, Robbie Keane, in the 63rd minute, when he dragged a shot against a post when clean through. It was not his only miss of the evening, moreover.

Ireland have a chequered history in what used to be the Eastern Bloc but this result was one to cherish. If it once again demonstrated the perilously fine margins at international level, it also allowed Ireland to look ahead with optimism. Next are Andorra in Dublin on Tuesday. Trapattoni will fancy his chances of making it six points from six before the sterner tests in Group B .

"Sure, I suffered tonight," the Italian said, "because Shay Given had to make two or three important saves. The result could have been 0-0. We had difficult situations in our defence. But I knew that Armenia would be tough and other teams will not find it easy to come here and win."

Keane had said on the eve of the tie that the most important thing was not to lose but nobody really believed him. Armenia, ranked 96th in the world, have had some encouraging results at home lately – they beat Belgium in a World Cup qualifier last year and in Euro 2008 qualification they drew against Serbia and Portugal and beat Poland. But if Ireland were to entertain hopes of making it to a first major finals since the 2002 World Cup, everyone knew, deep down, that this was a match they needed to win.

Keane, who is carrying a knee problem, might have put his team ahead in the early running, only to volley wide after meeting Kevin Doyle's headed flick. The captain looked dangerous throughout, even though he could not add to his record 43 international goals. He also had the ball in the net in the 36th minute, only to be pulled back for offside.

The best chance of the first half came from an Ireland set piece. Aiden McGeady's corner was deep and Sean St Ledger's header firm after he had got up well. The goalkeeper, Roman Berezovsky, made a fine reaction save.

Armenia showed themselves to be quick and technically talented – other teams will surely struggle here too. All of their front players caught the eye, especially Henrik Mkhitaryan, Shakhtar Donetsk's new £6m signing, who roamed and probed with menace, while Yura Movsisyan was excellent. Ireland restricted Armenia to efforts from distance in the first half, a volley from Movsisyan apart, although one shot from the striker whistled just over the crossbar.

Ireland's defence did not enjoy the best protection from Glenn Whelan and Paul Green, who started anxiously on his competitive debut. It was tense and tight stuff. Armenia were the better team in the second half and they subjected Ireland to a series of nervous moments. One almighty scramble ended with Movsisyan firing at Richard Dunne. And the Ireland defender – his usual tower of strength – almost put a looping header through his own goal.

But after Keane had blown his golden chance and Doyle had gone close the last word, unexpectedly, went to Fahey, who capitalised after good work by Liam Lawrence. It was far from a beautiful performance but, as Trapattoni has always said, it is the result that stands the test of time.

Wenger escapes charge for Stoke 'rugby tactics' jibe

• Tony Pulis accuses Wenger of trying to influence referee
• Stoke manager wrote to Arsenal to complain

The Football Association has decided Arsène Wenger has no case to answer following his claim that Stoke City employ "rugby-style" tactics.

The Arsenal manager was unhappy at Ryan Shawcross's challenge on his midfielder Aaron Ramsey earlier this year which left the promising 19-year-old with a broken leg and he criticised the City defender's approach, along with Robert Huth, during their team's 2-1 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur last month.

Wenger said: "You cannot say it is football any more. It is more rugby on the goalkeepers than football. When you see the way Shawcross kicked Heurelho Gomes, how Robert Huth pushed Gomes in the goal, you cannot say that is football any more."

Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager, was furious at the comments and wrote to the Premier League to complain and said on Sunday: "The club is desperately disappointed with the comments which Wenger has come out with, especially the comments about Shawcross. We think they are out of order and you don't expect it from a person of Wenger's esteem. What he said about Ryan was very, very poor and the football club will take that matter up. The club will deal with it in the right and proper manner."

Although that process included Pulis writing to Arsenal to complain, and copying the Premier League in, there was a suspicion that Wenger's comments were an attempt to influence the referee Chris Foy. He had taken charge of the Stoke-Spurs game and was due to officiate Arsenal's visit to Blackburn Rovers last Saturday.

Asked about this Pulis said: "To say he was doing it as a sidetrack to influence the referee, you've said it. I've just agreed with you. He's entitled to his opinion. We've fought two world wars to be a free country. We've all got different opinions and we must let people say what they say. Whether you agree with it or disagree with it, that's a different matter."

As Wenger did not directly mention Foy or any official by name, and so was voicing a general view on the game the FA decided that the Frenchman was within his rights and so would not have to answer any charge.

Rangers hooligans jailed for Manchester violence

• Rangers fans caused 'mayhem' at final in 2008
• Manchester suffered 'worst night of destruction since blitz'

All but one of 12 rioting football hooligans who took part in the worst destruction Manchester has suffered "since the blitz" will be going to jail, a judge said today.

They were among hundreds of Rangers fans who caused "mayhem" at the Uefa Cup final held in the city two years ago, in which Zenit St Petersburg won 2-0. Police were attacked and property damaged in the hours of violence in the city centre and two officers – Mick Regan and John Goodwin – were caught by the mob, surrounded and battered.

Judge Andrew Blake had indicated 11 of the 12 were going to jail and had sentenced eight of the defendants before a fire alarm caused Manchester Crown Court to be evacuated temporarily.

Several defendants put thumbs up to weeping relatives in the public gallery as they were led down to the cells. But then Scots accents could be heard shouting up to the courtroom: "Fuck Manchester! Fuck Pc Regan and Goodwin as well!"

Passing sentence, Judge Andrew Blake said: "The riot police were deployed in full riot gear and struggled to contain the trouble and restore order.

"What followed was the worst night of violence and destruction suffered by Manchester city centre since the blitz.

"What came afterwards, the damage, the filth and litter was apparent to all who arrived in Manchester the following day.

"Many more than these 12 were involved. It had nothing to do with football rivalries but everything to do with drink.

"The anger of the mob was directed at the police doing their best to restore order."

There were audible gasps from the public gallery as he jailed Scott McSeveney for three-and-a-half years for violent disorder and the assault on Pc Goodwin.

Pc Goodwin was separated from his detachment, outnumbered by tens of fans and attacked. Brought to the ground, he was stamped on and kicked and said later he thought of the Met Police officer Keith Blakelock – killed in the Broadwater Farm riot in 1985 – and thought he was going to die at the hands of the mob.

He was saved only after a Rangers fan, Sharon Gibson, lay across him and her boyfriend shouted: "You are letting the team down."

Rangers return to Manchester to play United in a Champions League group game on 14 September.

Beckham plans LA Galaxy comeback

• Beckham hopes to face Columbus Crew on 11 September
• Midfielder almost recovered from achilles tendon injury

David Beckham hopes to make his return to action in LA Galaxy's match against Columbus Crew on 11 September, the midfielder said today.

Beckham has been on the sidelines since March when he suffered an achilles tendon injury, while playing on loan for Milan, that cost him a place in the England squad at the World Cup in South Africa.

"The doctors' original date was 1 October but I always kind of said I want to be ready before then," he said.

"I'll keep my fingers crossed and hopefully will play in part of the game here against Columbus. I'll be on the bench, and hopefully I'll get on the field for 15-20 minutes. That's what I'm looking at."

Beckham took part in his first full training session with the club on 11 August.

"At the moment, you have good days and you have bad days," said Beckham. "You wake up with a lot more pain in your body when you're in preseason. I have to do it because I need to get as close to match fitness as possible.

"It's a bit difficult because when you don't play in games; that's where you get the real fitness from. But I'm doing what I can in the gym and what I can on the field, just trying to get strength back in my leg.

"It kind of kicks you up the backside when you realise you can't do certain things. Working out was something I've done for the last 25 years, and to not being able to do it was tough for me."

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder said he was still tentative in some areas of movement.

"When you do go through a trauma like this, an injury like this, there's always going to be that thing in the back of your mind saying, 'The last time I did that motion was when it actually snapped'. Cutting and turning and pushing off is still difficult for me, but that's going to come in time."

The 35-year-old said he had never considered retirement and added that he had been grumpy at home.

"It's probably better asking my wife that more than me," he said. "Being around the house, not being able to train, not being able to play, I think it's been worse for her than me. It's been a long road."

Portugal U21 0-1 England U21

Portugal 0-1 England

England Under-21s kept alive their hopes of qualifying for next summer's European Championships with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Portugal in Barcelos last night.

Defeat by the Group 9 leaders Greece in their previous match in March had left Stuart Pearce's side five points adrift but they closed the gap thanks to Daniel Sturridge's 35th-minute goal.

Victory for England in their final qualifying match against Lithuania on Tuesday should be enough to send them through to the play-offs before the finals in Denmark.

Pearce chose not to start with the Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, who made his senior England debut last month, while Manchester United's £7m signing Bebe won his first Under-21 cap for Portugal.

David Simao had the first shot on goal after eight minutes but his long-range effort flew well over the bar.

England's striker Danny Welbeck then produced a clever flick to break into the box but Daniel Carrico cleared the danger.

The cagey opening to a game both sides needed to win was summed up after 24 minutes when the England goalkeeper, Frank Fielding, was booked for time-wasting.

The visitors should have opened the scoring when Welbeck tapped in Kyle Walker's cross but the flag was incorrectly raised for offside.

However, England had to wait only seven minutes to put that behind them as Tom Cleverley played in Sturridge and the Chelsea man chipped the Portugal goalkeeper, Rui Patricio.

The same pair then combined again but this time Cleverley shot high and wide as England had to settle for a one-goal lead at half-time.

England continued to press after the break and Tottenham's Danny Rose had a close-range effort well blocked by Carrico.

Bebe had been largely disappointing but he tested Fielding for the first time with a shot in the 65th minute that the Blackburn keeper beat away.

The home side cranked up the pressure and Fielding was called on again to save from Andre Pinto.

There was still time for Welbeck and the substitute Nathan Delfouneso to miss presentable chances but the win was all that mattered for Pearce and England.

'Nothing wrong with Chelsea's old boys'

• Frank Lampard says Chelsea have moved on from last season
• 'Older you get, more you appreciate what you have got'

Frank Lampard has hit back at critics who claim Chelsea's squad are past it – and declared there is more to come from the Premier League champions.

Carlo Ancelotti's men have started the new campaign the way they finished the last one with three successive victories, including 6-0 routs of both West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic, while they are yet to concede a goal.

Much has been made of the age of the Blues' senior men, such as Lampard, 32, John Terry, 29, and Didier Drogba, who will be 33 in March.

However, the England midfielder Lampard – who is currently sidelined by a hernia problem which forced him out of tonight's opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria at Wembley – rejects any suggestions the Chelsea players are over the hill.

Speaking to the October edition of the club's official magazine, Lampard declared: "It is a load of rubbish when I hear talk about there only being one or two years left in our spine. This has been going on for a year or so.

"Sometimes that is mind games from other managers or press talk and we proved them wrong last year.

"We have got players here who are experienced and you can't buy experience in football – look at Didier, he is a specimen and he will overpower any 24- or 25-year-old.

"People have been waxing lyrical about Paul Scholes, and rightly so, because if you take him out of the United team now, they will want to replace him and they probably won't be able to."

Lampard may have a trophy cabinet full of honours, but the former West Ham trainee maintains his hunger for more success. "Every year I set my goals again, I don't lose any ambition or drive," Lampard said. "I would love to win the Champions League one day, but I would love to win more Premier League titles as well, so it's quite easy to self-motivate.

"I think also that, the older you get, the more you appreciate what you have got as a footballer. I think it's one of my strong points that I always want to do more because you don't play forever. If I can keep my level up to the way I am playing now I believe I can go on playing for many more years."

With 14 goals from the opening three Premier League matches, things are certainly going to plan for Chelsea, who saw experienced midfielders Joe Cole and Michael Ballack leave on free transfers during the summer. "I think our game feels more natural now – you can see that from the way we finished last season and started this one," Lampard said.

"Don't get me wrong, we had difficult moments last season when it wasn't flowing, but it became more natural to us and after winning the Double and celebrating that, I think we came back here in the summer wanting to step up again to another level."

Lampard paid tribute to Ancelotti, who delivered the club an historic Double in his first season. "The manager is very involved – his method, his training, his personality and his calmness is something the players have related to more and more over the last year or so and that's making us stronger as a unit," the midfielder said.

City 'came close' to signing Borriello

• City inquired about Milan forward just before transfer deadline
• Italy international has joined Roma on loan

The Italy forward Marco Borriello came close to signing for Manchester City earlier this week, his agent has claimed.

The Milan player was loaned to Roma on the final day of the transfer window after turning down a loan switch to Juventus. The 28-year-old was also strongly linked to Real Madrid.

"It could have ended differently," Tiberio Cavalleri, Borriello's agent, told Corriere dello Sport. "On Monday, I had a call from [Roberto] Mancini saying he wanted the player Borriello to go to Manchester City. On Tuesday, Real Madrid made an approach, but then [Karim] Benzema said no to [a move to] Marseille and that's when Roma came into the picture."

Borriello has five caps for Italy but was not part of their World Cup squad.

You are the Ref

Click to enlarge, and debate the strip below the line. Keith Hackett's verdict appears in Sunday's Observer and here from Monday.

Competition: win an official club shirt of your choice

For a chance to win a club shirt from the range at Kitbag.com send us your questions for You are the Ref to you.are.the.ref@observer.co.uk. The best scenario used in the new Observer YATR strip each Sunday wins a shirt of your choice from Kitbag. Terms & conditions apply.

For more on the fifty year history of You Are The Ref, click here.

Win! Win! Win!

Tickets to see Arsenal v SC Braga in the Uefa Champions League could be yours

Fuming bosses and Neymar exposed

Also featuring college football classics, a very risky overtaking manoeuvre and a driver on his fag break

1) The college football season kicks off tonight. The Oregon Ducks will be hoping their opener goes better than last season when running-back LeGarrette Blount decided to lay out an opponent with a straight right. Blount narrowly escaped a season-long ban, issued a full apology and was later drafted by the Tennessee Titans, where he has not entirely avoided further fisticuffs. While we are at it here are a few classics from last season: Fresno State 53-52 Illinois, Arizona 41-44 Oregon and Central Michigan 27-26 Michigan State.

2) The Luton Town manager Richard Money took exception to fans abusing his players at the weekend and was forced into a Blount-style apology. Harry Redknapp apologises to no man though. He just tells them to eff off (SyCo and MoxyCoxy spotted this about five minutes after we had seen it, so they shall have their spotters' badges).

3) Still, Harry was not quite as exposed by that question as Neymar was by this tackle.

4) Is this the riskiest overtaking manoeuvre of all time?

5) Roger Federer pulled off this ludicrous between-the-legs winner at last year's US Open. He did it again at Flushing Meadows this week, only this time the shot was better.

6) There has been some disillusion on this blog in the past few weeks about the prevalence of faked videos. One of the most infamous is the clip in which Kobe Bryant jumps a speeding car (over 4m views and counting). But could it be done in real life?.

Our favourites from last week's blog

1) Ways to entertain yourself when the safety car comes on.

2) The Chicago Bears showed that it is not just (British) football teams who can produce awful pop music. But for the most gut-wrenchingly terrible team song of all time, you have to delve into the world of the Glasgow Diamonds.

3) If you are going to put your money on a greyhound, put it on a greyhound smart enough to cheat.

4) What Wayne Rooney would have liked to do to Cristiano Ronaldo after the winking incident at the 2006 World Cup.

5) When showboating goes well.

6) Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham lands the first double backflip in a wheelchair. You wouldn't eat those Skittles he chucked on the floor, mind.

Spotters' badges OhMonsieur, dontgetmeimasnowman, mattiogo, rowingrob, escartin, moxycoxy, TheCorporal, stubnitz.

Gareth Bale

The Tottenham player stars as a monkey, an ape and Jimmy Neutron. Now we want your takes on Andy Carroll

Footballers suffering from memory loss

Plus: Capital cities without top-flight clubs; Burton Albion: record breakers?; and why do PSG have a pram on their logo? Send your questions and answers to knowledge@guardian.co.uk. And you can now follow the Knowledge on Twitter at twitter.com/TheKnowledge_GU

"After Daniel Agger's admirable performance against Arsenal last weekend after being knocked on the head, it made me wonder: what's the most memorable performance by a player who couldn't remember it?" enquired Bill Maclachlan last week.

Lilian Thuram had what he described as his "Miles Davis moment" in the 1998 World Cup semi-finals. Having played Davor Suker onside for Croatia's opener, the France defender scored twice in the second half, his first international goals, but his brain seemed slightly scrambled:

'I still have no recollection of what happened and, even though I try, I can't put it together. I needed [coach] Aimé Jacquet and the other players to tell me that we had won, and that we were in the World Cup final.'

Jacquet himself told me that he thought Thuram was in 'some mystical state'. This was confirmed by Marcel Desailly who, when he went to congratulate Thuram, asked him: 'What is going on? Who are you?' 'I didn't know who I was or where I was,' Thuram says now.

His first goal came within a minute of Suker's and reinvigorated the French. The second, on 70 minutes sent France into the final and from there, on into history with victory against Brazil. No less a figure than President Jacques Chirac described the Croatia match as 'the most beautiful day in the history of French sport'.

Thuram remains dazed by his achievements on that semi-final night. 'It was what I call my Miles Davis moment,' he says. 'Footballers can be like artists when the mind and body are working as one. It is what Miles Davis does when he plays free jazz - everything pulls together into one intense moment that is beautiful. He doesn't have to think about it; it's pure instinct.'

Then there's the case of VfL Bochum's Stanislav Sestak. "During the 2007-08 season, Sestak injured his head after a crash with Karlsruhe's notorious hard man Mike Franz quite early in the match," writes Christian Schneider. "Nevertheless, he continues playing and even makes the score 1-0. However, during the break, he confesses that he can't remember scoring the goal - he's still not substituted. Karlsruhe score twice, but the match ends 2-2 after a Bochum player scores with a header. Who? Sestak, of course."

Some players have suffered their memory loss in the act of scoring. "There is a famous story about Gus Poyet playing for Spurs against West Ham at Upton Park," writes Leo Brownstein. "He was knocked out heading a goal in a 1-0 win but when he came round, he berated the ref for not giving Spurs a corner as he had no recollection of the actual goal."

And English players have not been immune. "In 1952 Nat Lofthouse was knocked unconscious by the Austrian goalkeeper in scoring his second goal of the 3-2 win for England," writes Mike Lever. "It was only when he returned to the dressing room he found out he had actually scored twice. From which came his nickname 'The Lion of Vienna'."

JUST CAPITAL

"Berlin currently has no representative in the German Bundesliga," notes Stephen Glennon. "What's the longest period of time that a capital city has had no team in the corresponding country's first league?"

Along with Canberra (nine years from 1986-1995) and London (16 years from 1888-1904), two capital cities stand out: Bonn and Brasillia.

First, to South America. "Brazil went 12 seasons without its capital represented by a club in the top flight, from 1986 (after Brasilia FC was relegated in 1985) to 1999 (when Gama competed in the top division)," writes Paulo Padilha. "Additionally, if you consider that Gama comes from the Distrito Federal, the state Brasilia is in, but is actually in the satellite town of Gama, you would have to look at the 2000 season for a club actually from Brasilia competing for the national title. There is, however, an extra catch there because in 2000 the top league was the aptly named Copa João Havelange, a bloated monster that, due to some litigation, included all four divisions from the previous season as 'one division' split into various groups (essentially the previous year's divisions), with the groups formed from the lower divisions sending their winners into the play-offs. Brasilia FC participated that year, but in what would have been the third or fourth division (the Wikipedia entry only scratches the surface on that season). You'd have to fast forward to 2005 to find Brasiliense in the official top flight, officially representing the capital city. So there you go, Brasilia stayed 18 seasons out of Brazil's top division."

That's nothing, though, compared to with Bonn. The capital of West Germany never had a team in the Bundesliga – a period of 27 years from 1963 to 1990.

ON THE UP

"John Ashdown, in his excellent recent blog on Burton, stated that their run of 11 successive seasons of improvement (with one aberration) might be a record. Surely it can't be?" wrote Andrew Pechey last week.

Accrington Stanley can currently match Burton's record. Since their relegation from the Unibond Premier in 1999, Stanley have improved year on year with, like Albion, just one season of stagnation – and even then it can be argued they go one better than the Brewers, failing to improve on their 10th-place finish in the Conference 2003-04, but winning more points in finishing in the same position in 2004-05. Currently the club's forward momentum is gradual – in the past three seasons they have finished 17th, 16th and 15th in League Two.

Know of a run better than Accrington's or Burton's? Then let us know at the usual address.

KNOWLEDGE ARCHIVE

"The Paris St Germain logo has what can only be a pram under the Eiffel Tower - why?" asked Tom Haslam back in 2005

The pram is actually a cradle, as several of you have picked up on, but you're on the right lines Tom. "The badge does indeed combine the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower with a cradle and the fleur de lis, or lily," explains Tim Pike.

"Obviously, the Tower represents Paris, while the cradle and fleur de lis are the symbols of the quiet suburban town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where PSG train and are headquartered (about 15 miles west of Paris). A similar design features on the town's crest, which you can see here.

"Saint-Germain is nicknamed 'le berceau de Louis XI' (the cradle of Louis XIV), as the town happens to be the birthplace of the Sun King (in 1638, fact fans), hence the cradle. The lily is also a longstanding royal symbol in France.

"The pram is an emblem for Paris," adds Stéphane Di Cesare. "More exactly, it was the emblem of the 'Water Merchants', a merchants' guild in Paris in the Middle Ages." So now you know.

For thousands more questions and answers take a trip through the Knowledge archive.

Can you help?

"Some fans of my hometown ice hockey club are trying to implement a boycott after the trade of the star goalie and as a protest against what they perceive to be a lack of local talents in the team," writes Mike de Mascouche. "They are not talking about boycotting the club's shop or even the arena, but the owner's other interest, the Molson brewery. Are there examples of football fans boycotting the owner's firm in protest of a club's decision?"

"Some friends of mine are considering creating a club team in a recreational league in New York City," writes Kyle Hill. "We reckon that if all of them are as good as they claim to be after a half dozen beers, they'll be the best side in the world and could prove it by winning every trophy on offer up to and including the World Club Cup: 1) Winning their league and a regional FA tournament in their first season, thereby qualifying for the next season's US Open Cup; 2) Winning the next season's US Open Cup (in October of year two), and qualifying for the Concacaf Champions League (starting in August of year three); 3) Winning that tournament (in May of year four), and qualifying for that year's edition of the Club World Cup (in December). By my calculation, it's possible to be the best club in the world within 46 months and only 56 matches (30 league/regional, nine US Cup, 14 CCL, three CWC). Pretending this is even remotely rational, are there any examples of where a local pub side, created from nothing, can qualify through to the World Club Cup faster or easier?"

"In these modern times of ball boys throwing on a different ball when one goes out of play, which ball does a hat-trick hero keep at the end and where do the others go?" ponders Jon Trickett.

"Through the use of the internet I am deperately trying to prove to my friend something which I am certain of - that a player around about 5-10 years ago, when signing for their new club, possibly Middlesborough, had contractual agreements set in place that they could not fly to space," writes Andy Simpson. "Can anyone shed some light on this?"

"Following the transfer to Kilmarnock of David Silva and Momo Sissoko," writes Iain Rooney. "I was wondering: What other instances have there been of famously-monikered players and have they managed to emulate the glory of their more celebrated namesakes? (For example, a Michel Platini currently plays for CSKA Sofia...)"

"I met Gary Taylor-Fletcher - an ardent Red - en route to the 2007 Champions League Final in Athens," writes Gaz Kendall. "Injuries permitting, he'll be lining up for Blackpool against Liverpool in the Premier League on 2 October. But what is remarkable – and perhaps unique – is that in scoring the Seasiders' first Premier League goal on the opening day against Wigan, he completed the set of having played and scored in the Isthmian League, the Conference, League Two, League One, the Championship, Premier League, FA Cup, and League Cup... all since the year 2000. Is there a player who has scored goals spanning a greater gulf of class than Isthmian to Premier League and everything in between in such a short space of time?"

"Driving past Colchester United's ground the other day I remarked to myself how close it was to the A12 - seemingly less than a goal kick from the road. Also, the stands are not the biggest, and it's not a 'bowl' stadium, so I reckon it's very possible to kick a ball out of the ground on to the A12," writes Philip Genochio. "So two questions: Has a ball yet been kicked out of the ground on to the A12, and can any other stadium lay claim to being closer to a major road?"

"If one day, FC Luch-Energiya Vladivostok reaches the Champions League or Europa League, we could witness a European fixture played very close to China," writes Emre Ozturk. "I want to know: what is the furthest a team has had to travel in a European competition?"

Send your questions and answers to knowledge@guardian.co.uk.

England display their familiar failings

Jermain Defoe's hat-trick is uplifting but Fabio Capello's stuttering side remain far from the finished product

An early goal, they say, settles a team down and loosens them up. In England's case, that rare and precious commodity can have the opposite effect. A sudden outbreak of euphoria in the opening stages of a match can be the enemy of coherence, as we saw after Jermain Defoe's 13th senior international goal provided a swift reward for the 73,000 who turned up on a warm London night to see if Fabio Capello could inject a greater sense of purpose into the national team.

The first goal was a beauty, albeit one with its origins in the most mundane of errors by the Bulgarian defence. Wayne Rooney was made a gift of possession by Stanislav Manolev, the right-back, and responded by launching an exquisite chip that found Ashley Cole's run into the six-yard box, beyond the stranded Manolev. After the left-back's shot had been blocked, his second bite at the cherry produced a neat square cross that Defoe volleyed home from close range.

Speed of thought, precision of technique, anticipation, initiative and persistence – it had everything you might expect from a side still ranked, albeit mystifyingly, seventh in Fifa's world standings. But then came the misplaced passes, the muddled attempts at creative interplay, a Glen Johnson backpass that forced Joe Hart into his best save of the first half, and the sight of Rooney, alone on the left touchline, attempting a sort of Cruyff turn but only managing to fumble the ball into touch, with the nearest opponent 10 yards away.

That, too, is mystifying, and such moments of befuddlement convey the message that clarity will not be restored to the England squad simply through the launch of a perfectly decent new strip. And by the way, what was wrong with the old one? Barely a year ago we were being informed of the virtues of its "reduced internal seam friction", "improvement thermal regulation", and a collar said to be "shaped at the shoulder with a two-piece collar stand for 'motion control'". No such technical claims are being made for the new one, which was designed, it is said, by Peter Saville, the man whose plundering of the innovations of the Italian Futurist movement gave birth to the graphics that distinguished Tony Wilson's Factory Records in the late 1970s.

England could do with a New Order, of course, and there is also a joke in there somewhere about Fabio Capello and Italian Futurism, possibly to be made by someone who really believes that the England manager is trying to take his team back to the dark ages with a distinctly retro 4-4-2 formation. But Capello is right when he says that we are wrong to think in terms of strict formations. Modern football – at least since Rinus Michels, Johan Cruyff and the Dutch of the 1970s – is about fluidity. The challenge is to persuade the team not just to accept the theory and practise it on the training ground but to reproduce it in matches, particularly when there is something at stake. So far his success has been at best intermittent and unconvincing.

Capello rose to his feet once or twice before the interval to make a point to his players, something he eschewed during the match against Hungary, when he seemed to be trying to prove that his modus operandi in the technical area is not restricted to an opera buffa of impotent bellowing and wild gestures of frustration. He was on his feet again in the second half last night after Glen Johnson had failed to cut out Valeri Bojinov's short pass to Ivelin Popov, who should have equalised as he cut in from the left but instead floated his shot across the unprotected Hart and wide of the far post.

The swathes of empty seats in the upper tier and, more dismayingly for the Football Association's financial officers, the middle tier, where the corporate hospitality folk pay premium prices, spoke of the sense of disillusionment felt by a section of the England support. This is a post-World Cup phenomenon that a scratchy win in a friendly against lowly Hungary and combative words from the manager had not been enough to dissipate.

There was the sort of febrile atmosphere that usually attends friendly games in the summer months, when children make up a large proportion of the attendance and their excitement is not dimmed by dull play. But it was a sign of the paucity of England's invention and ability to create excitement that after a mere 35 minutes, the soundtrack to the Mexican wave was making its way round Wembley.

Defoe's second goal, which itself could be seen as more than England deserved, came as the product of a textbook counterattack, as did his third. Both scoring shots were distinguished by great composure, and so was the one from Adam Johnson that separated them – and which also demonstrated that the Manchester City winger is in real competition with Theo Walcott for the right-sided position. Welcome as they were, these moments nevertheless seemed out of context with the remainder of the performance against a team ranked 43rd in the world.

'Souness knocked Liverpool off the top'

Jamie Carragher's passion for Liverpool is undimmed after 14 years – now he's trying to help recover their class and dignity

Jamie Carragher owns two restaurants in Liverpool and hopefully his next culinary step will be to host Come Dine With Me. The company and conversation would not be eclectic – his obsession with leading managers would produce a guest list limited to such names as José Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson and Fabio Capello – but the concoction would be unforgettable.

"There is still a mystique about these people for me," he says. "The likes of Ferguson and Mourinho, I could talk to them all day if I had the chance." Which raises the question of what the Liverpool defender would ask the Manchester United manager if the opportunity arose?

For once, Carragher pauses to consider a response. His eyes sparkle when it comes. "I'll tell you what I would say to him. I'd say he never knocked Liverpool off their fucking perch. That's nonsense that. Graeme Souness did that. United were competing with Norwich and Aston Villa for their first title. They weren't competing with Liverpool, were they?" Why Carragher remains a prized interviewee requires no explanation.

Fourteen years after breaking into the Liverpool first team as a goalscoring midfielder, or so we thought, the 32-year-old stages his testimonial at Anfield this afternoon. He has invited an Everton XI to provide the opposition and Michael Owen to face the wrath of the Kop by swapping United red for Liverpool's.

Both have caused a stir, though proceeds do go to his charitable 23 Foundation. The choices are unsurprising, however.

Owen is a lifelong friend, Everton are the team he loved, and he has never become the PR-moulded, bland character we now expect – but abhor – of our Premier League stars. It is the reason Anfield identifies with Carragher more than any other player of his generation and why, despite a wish to retain a low profile ahead of his big day, 10 journalists are waiting when he walks into the press room at Liverpool's training ground.

Fourteen years of opening up with searing honesty, yet he still retains a capacity for revelation. Only when discussing the testimonial guest list does it dawn on Carragher that his mother, Paula, will watch him play today for only the second time in his life. Not the second time in a career that has yielded every medal bar the Premier League championship – his whole life.

"It's just never been the done thing in our family" is the explanation. "She didn't watch me as a kid. My missus doesn't go to the match either. It's a waste of a ticket. To my mum, I'm James. I suppose she's kept me grounded. She still lives where we always lived and she does the normal things like going to the Asda. It's funny, she went shopping the other day to the Lidl, which is the cheap one, isn't it? And one of the girls on the till went: 'What are you doing in here?' She can't go back now. She said she only went in to get a bit of fruit."

Andy Burnham MP is also expected at Anfield, and his presence suggests Carragher's claim to be interested only in "Liverpool football club and my family" is not entirely true. The Bootle-born defender donated £10,000 to Burnham's Labour leadership campaign, having been impressed by the then culture secretary's efforts to release internal documents on the Hillsborough disaster, though Carragher proclaims only a passing interest in politics. "I watched Tony Blair's interview with Andrew Marr the other night and I'll watch Newsnight, but that's about it. I like Tony Blair. But [donating to Burnham] was because he is a local fella and I vote Labour and hopefully that would give him a good push. I like seeing people from round here doing well and it would be great if someone from round here was leader of the Labour party.

"He's an Evertonian, though, isn't he? I think he's coming to the match with the leader of the council. It probably looks good for them as well, doesn't it? I read Piers Morgan's book on holiday and he was never out of Downing Street."

Any fan of Blair must place an importance on image and Carragher is no exception, although only in the context of the club he serves. Proud though he is of his achievements at Anfield, and of a career of dramatic highs and lows on a collective and personal level, the defender admits the recent image of Liverpool FC is one that pains him.

"I care about the club because I'm a supporter as well," he says. "It does bother me if things aren't as they should be. I think a lot about the future of the club, the direction it's going in, the way it is run and how it is perceived from the outside. There are some things that Liverpool should be doing in a certain way, the correct way. We should be a little bit different, and we need to get back to that.

"I'm not just talking about winning games, but the way we do things and the way we conduct ourselves. The class and dignity this club was renowned for. It's the way Liverpool used to be seen by people and we should be aiming to recreate that."

Carragher's use of "class and dignity" is instructive. Those are the same words David Moyes used to describe Everton when responding to the former manager Rafael Benítez's description of his Merseyside rivals as "a small club". George Gillett and Tom Hicks have brought financial turbulence to Anfield and supporters on to the streets. Though Carragher refuses to mud-sling – "I'm not getting into why we lost that, but we do need to get back to it and I think we are" – it is clear he believes the American co-owners are not entirely responsible for Liverpool's recent soap opera.

"I just think that over the last few years people didn't like Liverpool. Other managers didn't like us, we were always getting criticism in the press, obviously we were not doing well on the pitch so that comes with it, but everything was just negative Liverpool all the time.

"We've had situations like Martin O'Neill and Steve Bruce criticising Liverpool and they were right. We shouldn't be getting involved with stuff like that. Everyone else should look at Liverpool and say they have dignity, class. I mean, like the way people look at Arsenal. They do things right and you think they conduct themselves in the right way. I think we have been a club who were like that and we need to get back to that, to do things right. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose; that's football. You can't win all the time. But you can still behave in a way where people respect you."

Though it goes against the grain for Carragher, a testimonial demands reflection and the vexed issue of what next? His son, James, is already at the Liverpool academy and while a step into management has always appeared natural, a reluctance to leave Liverpool does not make it a foregone conclusion. "If it was just me and the missus then I wouldn't mind seeing the world or different parts of the country, but I'm very big on my kids being settled with their family," he says. "I want to be a manager, it wouldn't scare me, but I also think you could be sacked in six months and you'd have to take the kids back to school with your tail between your legs."

He is, however, unequivocal about what he will not miss when the time finally comes to hang up the No23 Liverpool shirt. "People go on about how much players earn in the Premier League but once you've bought a nice house and car, what else is there to spend it on?" Carragher asks. "There is pressure, and I would never complain about that, but as players we put pressure on ourselves all the time. That's one thing I won't miss when I finally stop playing. It was my wife's birthday party last Sunday but I knew I wasn't going to enjoy it if we didn't beat West Brom that afternoon. It was on my mind from the moment the whistle went. All through the game, I'm thinking: 'We've got to win it, we've got to win it.' "

Six hundred and thirty five appearances for Liverpool and still yearning for victory. That says it all.

Mascherano mocked contract ideals

Charles N'Zogbia's failed transfer and Robinho's departure show that players have all the power

Fifty years ago a young Lancastrian working on Tyneside wanted to change his job. It should have been a simple matter of working out his notice before moving on, but this was football and at that time a player who wanted to leave could not do so as long as the club held his registration. Newcastle United would not let George Eastham join Arsenal so he went on strike and took them to court.

Three years later Mr Justice Wilberforce ruled that the retain-and-transfer system operated by league clubs was an unreasonable restraint of trade. The Eastham case did not win players full freedom of contract, they had to wait another 15 years for that, but it was a start.

While all this was happening the clubs, threatened by an all-out players strike, agreed to abolish the £20-a-week maximum wage, which in terms of today's purchasing power would be worth about £850. Not a bad income, then as now, but still paltry seeing that in 1960 an entertainer topping the bill at the London Palladium was getting £1,000 a week or more.

Most fair-minded people had agreed that a reform of the transfer and wages system was long overdue. Even Alan Hardaker, the hidebound secretary of the Football League who once declared that he "would not hang a dog on the word of a professional footballer", thought that retain-and-transfer "was not only ludicrous but would clearly not stand up in law".

The freedom footballers won to ply their trade for reasonable money probably helped England to win the World Cup in 1966, since it contributed to a general improvement in playing standards. In the longer term, however, it is difficult to avoid the feeling that the arguments of those opposed to change are now being borne out. The clubs believed that if players were at liberty to come and go as their contracts permitted the wealthy teams would buy up the best talents with the less well-off struggling to survive. Which is about where we are now.

Consider the latest flurry of market activity during the summer transfer window. Eastham knew the value of a bob or two – his manager at Newcastle, Charlie Mitten, tartly described him as having "long pockets and short arms" – but could hardly have envisaged the sort of situation at the end of last week that led to Charles N'Zogbia's proposed £9m move from Wigan Athletic to Birmingham City fall down because, if reports are to be believed, the Frenchman was demanding a sum which, while it would not have put him in John Terry's earnings band, was too much for Brum.

Javier Mascherano may have agreed to join Barcelona for less than the £70,000 a week he was getting at Liverpool but the manner of his £17m transfer still mocked the ideals of those who were fighting to loosen players' chains in the early 60s. Roy Hodgson was prepared to hold the Argentinian to his contract, which was supposed to keep him at Anfield until 2012,but then admitted that he had been forced to let the player go after Mascherano had missed Liverpool's 3-0 defeat at Manchester City.

Mascherano insists he did not at any time refuse to turn out at Eastlands. Nevertheless, the Liverpool manager felt compelled to observe: "It's not easy to defend his actions because professionals are paid to play and when called upon to do so they should," then added: "It's a selfish situation where they want to do something and then expect the club and me, in my position as one of the leaders of the club, to bow down and accept they are going to get their way."

Tony Pulis, Stoke City's manager, was adamant that Asmir Begovic, his Bosnian goalkeeper and the object of a bid from Chelsea, had pulled out of a Carling Cup tie against Shrewsbury Town. This Begovic denied, and the Professional Footballers' Association's deputy chief executive, Bobby Barnes, explained: "Asmir's take is that he had indicated that his mind was a little bit scrambled by things and that probably, if there was an alternative, it would be best if he didn't play." Mr Justice Wilberforce would have been intrigued by that one.

Throw in Robinho, who did little for Manchester City except confirm that Brazil is where the nuts come from, and it is tempting to wonder whether the freedom of contract hard won all those years ago has now become freedom from contract.

These days agents and anarchy rule.

Hotshot Hamish put the mockers on me

If you talk a player down he will surely rise up to contradict you – unless he's playing for England, of course

On Saturday I had two visitors from the continent. They'd already seen Buckingham Palace, Edinburgh Castle and Bath, so there seemed no other way to complete their tour of Britain's cultural highlights than to take them to the Victoria Ground to see Hartlepool play Sheffield Wednesday.

Looking at the away team in the programme shortly before kick-off, as the man behind us warmed up for an afternoon of hearty complaining with a few light moans about the number of old age pensioners he'd had to queue behind in Morrisons, my eyes alighted on a name from the past. "Neil Mellor," I exclaimed to my friends, "Hah! Neil Mellor. He came out of the Liverpool academy. He was supposed to be the next Robbie Fowler. The new Ian Rush. Hah!" I added for emphasis, because when you are a middle-aged bloke the collapse of a younger man's career is a source of delight that only the words "at this stage, I don't feel there's any need to carry out a full prostate examination" can really match.

My joy survived until five minutes into the game, by which time Mellor had already established such dominance over the home centre-backs he appeared to be twice as big as both of them put together. The on-loan striker brushed opponents aside like they were matchwood, surged forward as unstoppably as a tidal bore, set up one goal, blasted home another. He looked like some Hyborian Age-version of Emile Heskey: Conan the Targetman. The new Ian Rush be buggered, this was the new Hotshot Hamish.

We often hear commentators say they have "put the mockers" on a player by praising him, but what we had at the Victoria Ground was an equally common, though altogether less remarked upon, sporting phenomenon – the reverse mockers. Just as if you talk up a player you can be guaranteed that he will promptly display the first touch of a steam hammer and the balance of a Daily Mail editorial on asylum seekers, so if you talk a player down he will surely rise up to contradict you (unless he's playing for England, clearly).

I have to say that I am something of an expert in the field, having been schooled in the craft by my grandfather, a man whose snorting derision was so frequently confounded by subsequent events that if I'd been paid a pound every time he'd wisely observed "What's he doing? He'll never score from here" only to see the ball ballooning the back of the net a split second later, I'd be richer than a Sharjah bookmaker.

Down the years – or so it appears to me – dozens of sportsmen have revived their careers purely in order to spite me, but the one who humiliated me most was mustachioed winger Peter Beagrie, arguably the first player to do acrobatics as a goal celebration and thus a source of anguish to club physiotherapists and insurance brokers everywhere.

Back in the mid-90s I used to go to Roker Park with my old next-door neighbour and his son. I always enjoyed it because if Sunderland won my old neighbour bought us beer in the pub on the way home and if they lost, well, as a Middlesbrough fan, it cheered me up, obviously. One Saturday Sunderland had signed Beagrie on loan from Everton. When he made his debut, we were stood in the Fulwell end. "This lad played for the Boro, didn't he?" my next-door neighbour's son said. "What's he like then?"

"Bags of trickery, but there isn't an end-product," I said wisely. "Flatters to deceive. You think he's brilliant, until you realise nothing ever comes of it all. It's physical blather. He's the Don King of ball control. His talent is like an elaborate toupee – an artifice that works hard to conceal nothing and ultimately fools nobody."

After such a trashing there was clearly only one way things could go. And they did. Five minutes into the game Beagrie zipped past the full-back and whipped in a cross that Don Goodman headed into the net. Ten minutes later he blasted a shot against a post from 25 yards. Midway through the second half he banged a volley straight into the top corner from even farther out.

As the ball zipped down the netting my next-door neighbour and his son turned to me with raised eyebrows. "No end-product," they said. "Nothing ever comes of it …"

"Oh yes," I said, "he's doing it now, but that's only to make me look a total idiot. Wait till I'm at Ayresome Park and you're here on your own. See what he does then." Beagrie was back at Goodison inside three months, but the damage had been done.

At least at the Victoria Ground on Saturday the unfamiliarity of their surroundings had disoriented my friends sufficiently to get away with it. "Which is the forward you said is so hopeless he couldn't find the ground if you pushed him out of a tree?" one of them asked as Mellor romped into the penalty area once again. "Sadly," I replied, "he appears not to be playing." Which was true in some ways, at least.

Davies and Doughty clash at Forest

Last season's third place cannot conceal the fracturing relationship between the club's manager and chairman

In football nostalgia is the file that smooths the rough edges off the good old days. Supporters of certain clubs will always hark back to the past, very often because they do not particularly like the present. They just prefer to cherry-pick the moments to reminisce about, getting dewy-eyed about the good times, airbrushing out the bleak ones.

Nottingham Forest are the classic example. This is a club whose followers have been going on about the past for longer than they would care to remember: the league championship, two European Cups, the 42-match unbeaten league run, the annual trips to Wembley and that once-in-a-lifetime manager, leaning out of the dug-out in a green (though sometimes yellow) sweatshirt, wagging his finger or maybe giving John Robertson a thumbs-up.

As for what came in the years BC (Before Clough), that period is seldom spoken about. All those years of obscurity, plodding along, scarcely being noticed. There were a few highs, the best being an FA Cup win in 1959, but mostly it was a story of a club treading water, seldom threatening the football establishment.

Eleven years have passed now since Forest dropped out of the Premier League and the events of this summer – or the last seven months, to be precise – can tempt the thought that the club are stuck in that same rut again. After a few years of going up and down they have discovered they can no longer even be classed as a yo-yo club. The string has snapped and not been repaired. It has been a decade of mismanagement and boardroom buffoonery, of sieving five goals at home to Yeovil (live on TV), of four-paragraph match reports in the national newspapers and the gathering sense that Forest have become the dreary operation Clough grabbed by the testicles when he took over from Allan Brown in 1975.

All of which may sound slightly harsh considering they finished third in last season's Championship, losing in the play-offs to Blackpool, and were the bookmakers' favourites for promotion only a couple of months ago. But there is another story here, one they would rather not publicise.

Were Forest under the microscope of the Premier League, we would probably all be familiar with it by now. Instead the political infighting, the divisions, the fall-outs, have largely gone unreported. To outsiders Forest have been depicted as a club on the up again. In reality there is a messy, deeply unsatisfactory rift destabilising the entire operation. It is one that could yet lead to the manager, Billy Davies, leaving and, if that is the case, it does not matter what PR gimmickry is applied to the press statement: this would be mutual contempt rather than mutual consent.

The last transfer window has brought everything to a head, although tensions have been simmering since the start of the year, and maybe even before. Davies had targeted "four or five stellar signings" he felt could help the club win promotion. Instead Forest did not manage to bring in one permanent deal, just as in the January window. The team have yet to win a league match and went out of the Carling Cup to Bradford City, currently fifth bottom in League Two. More Forest supporters would probably bet on a below-halfway finish now than promotion. There is talk of protests at their next match, largely directed towards the owner, Nigel Doughty, and the chief executive, Mark Arthur, although the situation is more complex than that and the truth is that Davies must take part of the blame, too. In short they all need their heads knocking together.

Those who are acquainted with Davies will recognise the symptoms. Davies is a talented, driven man who has got the team playing the Forest way (ie the Clough way). When he took over from Colin Calderwood two Christmases ago the club had the chilly fingers of relegation closing around their throat. But Davies somehow got a stagnant team out of the bottom three, despite often having to use youth-team players.

He described it as the best achievement of his career, even better than taking Derby County to the Premier League. Then, last season, he led Forest to the top two of the Championship in January. In their first league match of 2010 they went to The Hawthorns and took apart a West Bromwich Albion side that would eventually be promoted, winning 3-1 and playing the best football a Forest side had put together since the team of Stan Collymore, Bryan Roy and Lars Bohinen in the mid-1990s.

But Davies made the mistake of believing the club's ambitions matched his. This is a man, to quote one former colleague, who "wants to manage the world XI, and yesterday". The targets were Nicky Shorey from Aston Villa, Victor Moses of Crystal Palace, the Swansea City midfielder Darren Pratley and Gareth Bale, then in the Tottenham Hotspur reserves. But Shorey was on big money, Moses had offers from the Premier League, Swansea dug in their heels and Bale was about to re-establish himself at White Hart Lane. Doughty pulled out and Forest, without a left-back for the run-in, predictably ran out of steam, just as Davies had predicted. Over the course of several months the manager has made it clear where he believes the blame should lie.

Davies is a complex man, unpredictable and difficult to describe. He has a considerable ego, regularly referring to himself in the third person, and describing himself as the most successful manager in the history of Preston North End, the club of the Invincibles. He can be charming, good company, a man's man, generous with his time, a fine raconteur. He is also fiercely competitive and could argue about a game of Pooh sticks. But the people who have worked with him say there is a level of insecurity, even paranoia, and that he can often end up falling out with people.

A few years ago, when he was in the process of getting the Derby County job, a football reporter from the local paper rang the Lancashire Evening Telegraph to find out more about him from his time at Preston. "He's 5ft 5in, he's from Glasgow and he owns a Rottweiler called Axel," was the verdict. "You make up your own mind." Davies is a "nippy sweetie", to use the words of Alex McLeish, which is basically Glaswegian for a little man with a loud voice. But he is clever, too. And there is a political edge that should not be under-estimated.

At the worst points he has seemed on the point of spontaneous combustion. Davies is not a fan of the club's transfer acquisitions panel and has made sure everyone knows it, often with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. But Doughty assembled this committee – comprising himself, Arthur, Davies, the club's football consultant David Pleat, the chief scout Keith Burt and the finance director John Pelling – for good reason, so they could research potential signings properly, mindful of some of the wasteful buys made by previous managers.

Most clubs have a similar operation – the difference is that Forest gave theirs a silly title – but Davies has issues with Pleat and Arthur and has taken just about every opportunity, using an obliging local media, to argue that the manager should be given more authority when it comes to transfer business.

The situation had deteriorated to a point at the end of last season when he was openly advertising his potential availability. There was a vacancy at Celtic and Davies, even as a Rangers man, was keen. "There is not a job that I would not consider," he said in one of many interviews. "From my point of view I certainly would not turn my back on any potential interested party if they make it official to Forest, if they agree compensation and they do what is necessary."

His solicitor, Jim Price, said Davies would review his position in the summer. "It does not automatically mean he will be leaving Forest. But I can't lie to you. What happened during the January transfer window will be high on the agenda."

Behind the scenes at Forest those remarks have been described as "beyond belief". Information also reached the club that Davies had been put forward for the Bolton Wanderers job before Owen Coyle's appointment in January. Doughty summoned Davies to his office in Pall Mall on 20 May and made it clear he would not tolerate what he perceived to be blatant disloyalty. Davies gave his word that he was still committed and left Doughty with the impression that he would stop the moaning. The meeting was described as a success.

Then, on the eve of the new season, Davies was asked by a television reporter about James Perch's £1.2m transfer to Newcastle United. He said he had not known about it until he received a telephone call from Arthur after the deal had been closed, the clear implication being that the player had been sold behind his back. The club were furious, Arthur making a rare pubic statement to explain when and how Davies had been kept in the loop. Doughty is then said to have dished out what has been described as the biggest rollicking he has given any manager during his eight years in charge.

Since then there has been a "Mexican stand-off", to quote one observer, not helped when Davies apparently sat next to a Forest supporter on a flight from Glasgow to East Midlands airport, and the details of the alleged conversation appeared on a fans' website the following day. The content was extraordinary and, while it is still not clear whether the posting was genuine or malicious, the men in power at the City Ground took it seriously enough to investigate.

And so we arrive at the latest transfer window, ultimately clanking shut on Davies's fingers. The club, in their defence, did turn down bids from Celtic for Kelvin Wilson and Blackpool for Nathan Tyson and they finally recruited a left-back at long last, Ryan Bertrand arriving on loan from Chelsea. But Davies wanted Shorey for that position, as well as targeting Pratley, plus Peter Whittingham of Cardiff City.

One theory is that Doughty did not want to give transfer funds to Davies after everything that has happened. Alternatively it has become a standing joke among supporters how many times the club will be accused of making "derisory" offers. We may never know the full reasons, though, because the men in power rarely speak to the fans.

Arthur, a well-spoken man with a cricket background, has become a popular target for an increasingly agitated fanbase. Doughty, whose personal worth is estimated at £128m, polarises opinion. Davies, by and large, has the sympathy of most fans, though certainly not all. His reputation should be as one of the better managers outside the Premier League but he has already left Preston and Derby on bad terms and, if he makes it a hat-trick with Forest, he may just find that, in terms of baggage, he will be carrying the equivalent of a breeze block under his arm. Football club chairmen tend to shy away from employing managers who may make life difficult for them.

The question is what happens next. There is a bad vibe and, as often happens, it seems to have trickled through to the players. The supporters are frustrated and angry. In the 1-1 draw with Norwich City last weekend (a game that could have finished 3-0 to Norwich) they took it out on Paul McKenna, booing the out-of-form captain when he was substituted. McKenna was the club's best player for six months of last season. The booing was boorish and stupid but would never have happened had the mood not been so fractious.

In the meantime Forest are trying to leave the City Ground, the place of so many great memories, and build a shiny new stadium for the 2018 World Cup. The club have devised a nice scenario whereby they will be established in the Premier League by then and will have doubled their current crowds. Something is going to have to give.

Ghost goals as Serie A returns

Serie A returned to action with a big new arrival, harsh treatment in Bologna and a Hulk-like Sinisa Mihajlovic

For a round of fixtures that brought only 15 goals, Serie A's opening weekend was certainly eventful even if some of the games were not.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic did rather well in that regard, taking his seat among the directors and dignitaries at San Siro for one of the weekend's more entertaining games – his new Milan team-mates put four past newly promoted Lecce without reply. In the seats either side of the Swede, his agent Mino Raiola and Milan's vice-president, Adriano Galliani, glowed with satisfaction. A seat further down, Silvio Berlusconi glowed with what one suspects is hundreds of Euros worth of fake tan.

"I am incredibly happy," Galliani declared before the match, and well he might after sealing a transfer that defied all expectations. Barcelona gave up €45m plus Samuel Eto'o to secure Ibrahimovic one year ago, yet Milan will pay nothing to the Catalan club this season – when the striker is technically on loan – then only €24m, in instalments, after that. The Swede agreed to take a pay cut from €12m to €8m a year, although bonuses could take him back up towards the former figure.

Critics may still consider that a large sum for a player does not address an area of particularly great need, but supporters can counter that Ibrahimovic's 16 goals during a supposedly disappointing 29 La Liga games for Barcelona was more than any of Milan's strikers managed last year. Before that he managed 57 in 88 Serie A fixtures for Inter.

Ibrahimovic's declaration that "I won't leave Milan until we've won everything" prompted more than one pundit to joke that he could be there some time, but such cockiness is not totally without foundation. It should be remembered that he has finished top of whichever league he has been playing in for the past seven seasons.

Certainly the fans have been won over, a banner in the Curva Sud reading: "Summer transfers: many youngsters and one great champion … the right mix for becoming a great champion once again. Thank you." Another was unfurled with the message: "At Milanello, at San Siro and at the club. Welcome back president." It was a far cry from July, when Berlusconi was heckled by the club's fans when he showed up at a training session.

Ibrahimovic's arrival was followed by a cryptic suggestion from Berlusconi that Milan are "ready to move" if one other target, widely assumed to be Robinho, becomes available and cynics have been quick to note that this flurry of activity follows a difficult spell for the Italian prime minister. The Alleanza Nazionale leader Gianfranco Fini pulled out of Berlusconi's centre-right coalition just before the summer break, sparking talk of an early election. It would not be the first time the Milan owner has sought to use football for political ends.

But success on the pitch, at least, is attainable. Mlian's first team yesterday featured six players in their 30s, four of whom were 33 or older, but they are not alone in boasting an ageing side. A study over the summer showed Serie A to be the second-oldest league in Europe, after Cyprus, and the team Inter started with against Atlético Madrid in the European Super Cup had an average age of over 30.5 years. Deficiencies at full-back and the inexperience of the manager Massimiliano Allegri make a strong Champions League run unlikely, but a title challenge is not out of the question.

Indeed, while it would be foolish to read too much into one weekend's results – especially when Milan were facing such compliant opposition – the Rossoneri certainly looked a far better bet than the other supposed candidates. While Milan were rejuvenated by a healthy Alexandre Pato and a leaner-looking Ronaldinho, Juventus seemed utterly unimproved by close to €60m of new signings.

If Juventus' 3-1 defeat away to Bari was met with shock and anger last season, this year's 1-0 loss – their first opening-day reverse since 1982 – brought only resignation. There were six new faces in the starting XI, and a further two brought on before the end, but the performance was all too familiar. With both teams lined up in a 4-4-2 there was no question of Juve having been outwitted; they were simply outplayed by a team with more energy and more ideas. In the end Juve managed two shots on target to their hosts' eight.

Almost all the new signings were underwhelming. Fabio Quagliarella looked every bit the man who had not had a chance to train with his team-mates; Milos Krasic and Simone Pepe failed to get behind their opposing full-backs and Marco Motta, just as in his Roma days, is the defender who just won't defend. At the back Leonardo Bonucci and the goalkeeper Marco Storari escaped without particular blame, but that's about the best that could be said.

The new manager Luigi Del Neri had the twin excuses of players needing time to gel and being tired from Thursday's Europa League win over Sturm Graz, although he refused to bring up an even greater grievance – the sale of Diego. After Del Neri had insisted all summer that the Brazilian was a key part of his plans, the club's decision to sell him to Wolfsburg this week looks like a massive folly. A team already short of creativity could ill-afford to lose a player who showed flashes – albeit only intermittently – of real talent last season.

Juve may yet be active in the remaining two days of the transfer window, with reports today that they will move for Milan's Marco Borriello, likely to be the odd man out after Ibrahimovic's arrival. Not that they'll be the only ones spending big – as Bari's goalscorer Massimo Donati explained at full-time. "I want to show you a text sent to me by my friend Paolo," he said, before holding his phone up for reporters. "Teletext said you wouldn't play," read the message. "But I bet on Bari to win 1-0 with a goal from you anyway. Nice one!"

But if it was a disappointing weekend for Juventus, it was a worse one for Franco Colomba, sacked by Bologna just two days before their opening game against Inter. Sergio Porcedda, the team's new president, claimed Colomba had complained too much about the club's transfer dealings and failure to bring in more experienced players. The former Parma, Chievo and Torino manager Mario Beretta is favourite to take over after he was sacked by PAOK in July – after less than a month in the job.

That just leaves our ghost goal – 'scored' by Edinson Cavani during Napoli's 1-1 draw at Fiorentina. His header from an Andrea Dossena cross after just seven minutes crashed down on to the line but was incorrectly deemed to have crossed it by the referee Andrea Gervasoni. On the sideline Sinisa Mihajlovic looked ready to burst, Hulk-like, from his too-tight shirt, but managed to restrain himself before helping his team regroup to claim a more than merited draw.

"They got it wrong and they know that," Mihajlovic said. "It wasn't a goal, but in football these things can happen." For Serie A this season it seems the acrimony can wait till week two.

Talking points

• Roma were scarcely more impressive than Juventus as they laboured to a 0-0 draw with Cesena. Perhaps it was the absence of a real crowd – just 18,600 made it into the stadium as Ultras staged a protest against the tessera del tifoso outside – but the Giallorossi lacked energy and invention against a spirited but limited opponent. Claudio Ranieri finally has the one signing he wanted all summer, the centre-back Nicolás Burdisso, but with Adriano out for a month there is little alternative up front to the listless showing of Mirko Vucinic and the bad-tempered one of Francesco Totti.

• Sebastian Giovinco more than lived up to billing on his Parma debut, setting up Valeri Bojinov's opener against Brescia with a delicious chip over the defence and generally causing all sorts of bother as he orchestrated play in the final third. Sterner tests await, but once again the Ducali seem to have made shrewd investments this summer.

• Sampdoria shook off their Champions League hangover with a 2-0 win over Lazio. Samp's manager Mimmo Di Carlo said when he arrived that he would stay faithful to the 4-4-2 that got the team fourth place but, after the play-off defeat to Werder Bremen, he seems to feel more free to try his own ideas – moving Stefano Guberti up behind the attack to give himself more of a diamond midfield. So far, so good, as Guberti got the second.

Results Bari 1-0 Juventus, Chievo 2-1 Catania, Fiorentina 1-1 Napoli, Milan 4-0 Lecce, Palermo 0-0 Cagliari, Parma 2-0 Brescia, Roma 0-0 Cesena, Sampdoria 2-0 Lazio, Udinese 0-1 Genoa

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Watch Serie A video highlights

Cyprus stun Portugal in 4-4 draw as Spain, Holland and Germany win

• Portuguese held at home after blowing 4-2 lead in Guimaraes
• Van Nistelrooy marks return for Dutch with goal in San Marino

Group A

Miroslav Klose's goal was enough to give Germany a winning start to their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign in Brussels.

The Bayern Munich striker scored six minutes into the second half as Joachim Low's side edged out Belgium 1-0 in Group A.

In a tight game there were chances for both teams early on, but Belgium could not find a way past Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and paid the price.

Germany scored with the first attack of the second half as Thomas Muller's ball found Klose for a simple finish.

Turkey seized early control of the pool by cruising to a 3-0 victory in Kazakhstan.

Two goals in three minutes from Arda Turan and Hamit Altintop had them in command midway through the first half, and Nihat Kahveci made sure of the three points 14 minutes from time as coach Guus Hiddink made a winning start.

Group B

Filip Holosko's stoppage-time strike earned Slovakia a 1-0 victory over 10-man FYR Macedonia in Bratislava.

Vladimir Weiss's side had the better of the chances but could not make the breakthrough until the 91st minute. By that time they had a man advantage after Vance Sikov had seen red for two bookable offences.

Group C

Antonio Cassano equalised on the hour mark before setting up Leonardo Bonucci three minutes later for the Azzurri's second.

Sergei Zenjov had put Estonia ahead just past the half-hour mark and the home side were unlucky not to add to their advantage when Sander Puri's right-footed strike beat Italy goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu but hit the crossbar and stayed out.

The result marked Italy's first win in 2010 and gave new coach Cesare Prandelli his maiden victory since replacing Marcello Lippi after the World Cup.

Serbia started their campaign with a routine 3-0 victory over the Faroe Islands in Torshavn.

Danko Lazovic set the Serbians on their way after 13 minutes and when captain Dejan Stankovic doubled their advantage from a free-kick five minutes later it looked like Brian Kerr's hosts could be in for a torrid evening.

But Gunnar Nielsen, on loan at Tranmere from Manchester City, was beaten just once more – by Birmingham City's new signing Nikola Zigic in the 90th minute.

Group D

The other group game surprisingly finished in a draw, with Romania held 1-1 at home by Albania.

Substitute Bogdan Stancu ended Romania's wait for a goal in the 80th minute, only for Gjergj Muzaka, who came off the Albania bench with nine minutes remaining, to grab an 88th-minute equaliser.

Group E

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar netted a hat-trick and Ruud van Nistelrooy found the net on his international return after Dirk Kuyt had opened the scoring. Kuyt converted a 16th-minute penalty after Huntelaar had been brought down in the box.

Huntelaar, who joined Schalke from Milan last week, added a second after 38 minutes as the Dutch took a 2-0 half-time lead.

Huntelaar netted again after 48 minutes and completed his treble after 67 minutes before substitute Van Nistelrooy struck in stoppage time at the Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle.

It was Van Nistelrooy's 34th goal in his 65th appearance following two years in the international wilderness.

The 34-year-old Hamburg striker was overlooked for South Africa as the Oranje marched to the World Cup final, having come out of international retirement.

Bert van Marwijk's side will play Finland on Tuesday, who suffered a 2-0 loss away to Moldova.

Moldova took full advantage of the dismissal of former Liverpool captain Sami Hyypia to triumph at in Chisinau.

Bayer Leverkusen defender Hyypia was sent off after 36 minutes for a professional foul on Viorel Frunza and Moldova made their visitors pay for their numerical disadvantage in the second half.

Substitute Alexandru Suvorov struck a free-kick opener after 69 minutes before Anatolie Doros added a second after 74 minutes to complete the victory for Moldova, who travel to Budapest to meet Hungary in their second qualifying match on Tuesday.

Hungary will be seeking their first win, after losing 2-0 to Sweden, courtesy of two goals from Pontus Wernbloom.

Wernbloom netted after 51 and 73 minutes to steer Sweden to victory at the in Solna.

Birmingham's Sebastian Larsson set up the opening goal, with Wernbloom heading his cross past Gabor Kiraly to end Hungary's resistance.

Sweden doubled their lead when Wernbloom showed his strength in the air once again as Kim Kallstrom swung over a corner and the 24-year-old AZ Alkmaar forward headed against the bar before converting the rebound.

Sweden will next meet San Marino in Malmo on Tuesday.

Group F

Hamburg striker Mladen Petric opened the scoring shortly before half-time and Bayern Munich's Ivica Olic doubled the lead six minutes after the break before Shakhtar Donetsk's Darijo Srna completed the scoring.

Croatia dominated from the off and had several chances before finally taking the lead two minutes before half-time.

Tottenham midfielder Niko Kranjcar had several opportunities before Petric netted just before the break.

Bayern Munich's Olic added the second goal after 51 minutes and Srna also netted with eight minutes remaining to wrap up the three points for the visitors.

Greece drew 1-1 with Georgia after Nikos Spyropoulos earned them a point with a second half equaliser.

Alexander Iashvili had given the visitors the lead after three minutes but Spyropoulos levelled with 18 minutes remaining.

Group H

First-half goals from Efstathios Aloneftis and Michael Constantinou for Cyprus were cancelled out by Portugal's Hugo Almeida and Raul Meireles, the new Liverpool midfielder.

The home team then led 4-2 through goals from Danny and Manuel Fernandes in the second period, but Yiannis Okkas and Andreas Avraam, who scored the eighth goal of the match in the 88th minute, drew Cyprus level and earned them an unexpected point.

In the same group, Norway staged a fine second-half comeback to beat Iceland 2-1.

Egil Olsen's side went behind shortly before half-time in Reykjavik when veteran QPR striker Heidar Helguson scored for Iceland.

But captain Brede Hangeland showed his team the way with a headed equaliser after 58 minutes, and Mohammed Abdellaoue hit the winner 17 minutes later.

Group I

Fernando Torres struck twice while David Villa and substitute David Silva were also on the scoresheet.

Vicente del Bosque's side, who have now won 52 of 57 matches since 2006, scored two fine goals in the first half through Torres and Villa but could have had many more after cutting open the home defence time and again.

They added the gloss in the second half to get their Group I campaign off and running in style.

Czech Republic are not in action until next week's midweek matches.

Revitalised Wayne Rooney emerges from his own shadow | Paul Hayward

So bad in South Africa, so good again at Wembley – Capello's talisman showed the appetite to help rebuild his side's reputation

Over the dying summer months the thought must have floated through Wayne Rooney's head that England duty is just not worth the candle. He would have kept this internal murmur to himself, of course, but there was a diminishing allure to being booed and playing badly at a World Cup in a rotten national side.

International retirement was never on the cards once the Manchester United fold had reclaimed him. Imagine the hot lava of vilification at Premier League grounds if the country's best player quit, at 24, citing the futility of wasting precious youthful days on a such a hopeless enterprise.

The question was not whether Rooney would flee back to United and lock the doors but whether he would disengage inside and submit to the mediocrity of this other life. The good news is that to surrender would require a downward shift in his nature too great to be undertaken by such a demonically competitive character. Without Rooney's artistry Jermain Defoe would not have left Wembley with a hat-trick in a 4-0 win that concealed England's defensive frailties. Each of the Tottenham striker's three goals against Bulgaria stemmed from Rooney's passing and spatial awareness.

Listless, sluggish and gloomy in South Africa, Rooney's brain was writing cheques his denuded body was unable to cash, but it was always an odds-on bet that the terror who struck 34 times for United in 2009-10 and scooped the PFA and football writers' footballer of the year awards would recover his old barnstorming self one happy day.

So hard is the enamel of his confidence that some may have expected him to take a summer holiday, sup a few ales and re-emerge from United's Carrington training complex ready to inflict instant havoc again. But the journey back has been a good deal more painful than that.

Against Bulgaria here he started the move that led to Defoe's third-minute goal – golf-chipping a pass to Ashley Cole, who bundled it eventually to Defoe – but was booed by the Wembley crowd for mis-controlling a ball on the touchline in front of Fabio Capello.

After those jeers filled the night air the whole audience seemed to pause to contemplate the enormity of that gesture, that derision. Was Rooney being heckled for his impotence in South Africa or out of lingering resentment at his rebuke to England's fans for barracking the team during the Algeria game in Cape Town? "Nice to see your home fans booing you — that's loyal supporters," Rooney complained in the eye of a TV camera – a challenge that clearly pierced the skin of the more sensitive souls in the Green Point Stadium.

Whatever the cause of this enduring crowd displeasure it seemed to strike Rooney hard as Capello clapped his encouragement. The team's most lethal presence tends not to need ego-massages but Capello gave him one anyway in the build-up to this first Euro 2012 qualifier, in which Rooney dropped off the front line and foraged in advanced midfield circles, which, in fairness to Capello, he had been authorised to do, to loosen the binds of 4-4-2.

"I monitored him during the last game he played, against West Ham. He's good, he's back and I'm happy because he scored a goal," Capello said. "Rooney runs a lot around the pitch, he's free to move where he decides to go. Rooney will play in style."

The captain, Steven Gerrard, also spoke of "the Rooney style" but was at a loss to explain his fellow Merseysider's torpor this summer. "I don't know. It's difficult to say. You'd have to ask Wayne why it didn't happen," Gerrard said. "He did have an injury going into the tournament but only he can answer that."

Rooney's penalty against West Ham was his first competitive goal since March and he has still not located the net for England since the 5-1 win over Croatia here a year ago on Thursday. Eleven international outings have now passed. In four, in South Africa, he was supposed to present his credentials as a World Cup aristocrat. At least Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi failed to make that leap with him.

On his 66th England appearance Rooney used the freedom to roam granted to him by Capello to hone his passing and movement. Four minutes after the interval he forced Bulgaria's Nikolay Mihaylov into an acrobatic save with a subtle chip and then stroked two passes to Defoe for him to complete his hat-trick. In this mode Rooney was no longer the talisman centre-forward but something closer to a young Paul Scholes, probing and prodding behind a fellow striker.

His chip dragged the Wembley hardcore back from hostility towards devotion, which is what they always felt before his shadow turned up in Rustenburg and the crowd goaded him in Cape Town. Rooney has yet to reclaim the status of house gladiator but was not born to chase the adulation of strangers. It was enough, in this fresh start (chapter 682), that he regained some of his old rhythm and looked happy to be wearing an England shirt again.

England player ratings v Bulgaria

How the England players fared individually in their Euro 2012 qualifier

Joe Hart 8

Exudes the quality and confidence demanded of a first-choice international goalkeeper. This was his first competitive appearance and he excelled, conjuring fine saves from Johnson, unexpectedly, Rangelov and Angelov to spark the break that supplied the hosts' second goal

Glen Johnson 5

Far from convincing defensively, where he was prone to aberrations, not least when mistiming a clearance and almost beating Hart from close range. He remained a threat when offered the opportunity to spring forward down the flank

Michael Dawson 6

Eased into his first start before an ugly-lookingn awkward tumble and twist to the turf seconds later looked ugly, with the defender clutching his left knee in agony

Phil Jagielka 7

Grew into the contest, his distribution improving and his judgment and pace in recovery at times impressive. There was one particularly eye-catching challenge to repel Bozhinov. This was encouraging

Ashley Cole 8

Combined superbly with Rooney at times, especially for England's early goal, which owed much to his calm persistence. He may still attract murmuring discontent in the stands, but he remains one of this side's gems

Theo Walcott 6

This was a trickier test than he has endured in the Premier League to date this season, but he was bright and energetic on the flank, exposing Milanov at times with his pace and trickery

Steven Gerrard 8

Deep-lying but imperious for long periods, spraying accurate passes to either flank and, with Rooney, cajoling forward thrusts from his team-mates. This was inspirational at times and offered those around him real conviction

Gareth Barry 7

Busy and disruptive as ever as he attempted to stifle Bulgaria's attempts at fluid forward movement. He was perhaps fortunate to escape a booking, but he is a reassuring presence

James Milner 7

Broke forward well, all hustle and bustle where Walcott glides. He combined well, particularly with Rooney when the striker dropped deep, with his persistence offering his markers no respite

Jermain Defoe 8

Smartly taken early goal, pealing off Ivanov and volleying England ahead with what might have been perhaps his first touch. His second and third were each fed by his strike partner, suggesting there is logic in persisting with the Rooney-Defoe partnership after all

Wayne Rooney 8

Some of England's best attacking play stemmed from his endeavours, even if his touch is stodgier at times than he would like. One mistake drew boos from the crowd, but played a part in all four goals

Substitutes

Cahill for Dawson 57mins

Made telling block to deny Bulgaria

A Johnson for Walcott 74mins

Scored his first England goal

Young for Defoe 87mins

Little time to impress

Theo Walcott shows appetite and greater appreciation of the game | David Pleat

The Arsenal winger answers critics of his footballing intelligence in an encouraging performance against Bulgaria

This was a predictable result against anaemic opposition in an encouraging showing by England, especially in a much improved second half. No one let the team down and Theo Walcott showed glimpses of a greater appreciation of the game.

Buoyed by Jermain Defoe's early goal, courtesy of Wayne Rooney's clever touch and Ashley Cole marauding forward from left-back, we dominated play. Walcott on the right was given licence to challenge his immediate opponent, Zhivko Milanov. As Glen Johnson sat with little attempt to force two-against-one situations, this invited the Arsenal man to show whether he has progressed. His positional ability and selection of pass were under the microscope; no one doubts his speed.

The Arsenal man indicated he's regained his appetite – he sought the ball, and is realising that he must bring variety to his game and not be known solely as a touchline "hugger".

Good wingers mix up their games to keep opponents guessing. Walcott has improved his knowledge of when to spin into space behind the full-back if tightly marked and when to race away, then check towards the ball to receive to feet. Here he moved smoothly off his touchline and played the ball infield and followed his pass. In doing so, he dragged his marker, Milanov, away from the touchline and Glen Johnson accepted the next pass into space. He is learning to make space unselfishly for colleagues.

In the early moments of the second half Walcott did not receive enough supply of the ball and switched with James Milner for the first time. Milanov followed him to the right-back area and then Walcott and Milner switched again – clever wingers.

When Walcott was replaced by Adam Johnson after 74 minutes, I felt comfortable that the young man accused of lacking a football brain is gradually picking up the nuances of wing play. He has played 13 times for his country now and at 21 he is slowly polishing his game.

Other credits were the newcomers: Michael Dawson, Phil Jagielka and Joe Hart. Cole was as good as ever.

There was nothing new in our line-up, with Milner and Walcott wide and Rooney drooping a little deeper than Defoe to help Steven Gerrard and Gareth Barry. In truth, they had to cope with a tidy but not powerful midfield.

This week Fabio Capello tried to distract his detractors by suggesting we might be playing 9-1, as opposed to 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. The most important factor, though, is that individual players must work collectively, respecting certain principles – compactness, depth, width and penetration.

England's win over Bulgaria entitles Fabio Capello to benefit of doubt | Paul Wilson

A successful 4-4-2 formation, real width, a sparky front two and a dependable goalkeeper were positives for the manager

The formation

Definitely 4-4-2, whatever Fabio Capello says. When the match got under way England's lines were as straight as the creases in newly pressed trousers. That said, England did not play in straight lines, as has sometimes been the case, so perhaps Capello deserves the benefit of the doubt. Wayne Rooney was back tackling and looking for the ball in his own half as early as the second minute, and it was his inspired pass to Ashley Cole that set up the opening goal. Cole was miles ahead of Rooney when he received the ball, only Jermain Defoe was in a more advanced position – that's why the Spurs player was on hand to stick away the rebound when Cole's shot was saved. A fluid, flexible 4-4-2 may well be what suits England best, at least until they have the option of picking Owen Hargreaves again, though a downside of the system is that it is not geared to bring the best from the present captain.

Steven Gerrard

A huge success on his last Wembley outing when deployed in a forward position, the captain spent a lot of this game further back than Gareth Barry. In theory that might allow him to join in attacks by breaking strongly from midfield, in practice it encourages his tendency to hit 50-yard quarter-back passes with a limited success rate. Gerrard's game is not all about goals, he can make a contribution from just about anywhere on the pitch, but he hurts opponents more by playing in the hole or just off a lone striker.

The flanks

A 4-4-2 system ought to at least encourage width, though it is debatable whether either Theo Walcott or James Milner are wingers in the true sense. Both favour cutting inside and looking for a shooting opportunity rather than holding wide positions and sending over crosses, and Ashley Cole remains England's most effective wide provider. Milner looks as if he would be happier playing inside, and Walcott found few opportunities to show his pace. Glen Johnson did send him away once in the first half, but the cross was ultimately weak. Bulgaria were tiring by the time Adam Johnson came on, yet even so it was noticeable how the substitute managed to find space for himself.

The front two

Never quite looked a partnership in a first half that gave little indication of what was to follow, though Defoe and Rooney did combine early in the second half for the latter to test Nikolay Mihaylov with a chip that the goalkeeper only just managed to palm on to the roof of his net. Then, following Joe Hart's first save of the evening, it was Rooney's pass that set up Defoe for his second, before the pair struck again for Defoe's hat-trick goal. Mihaylov must have been expecting a busier night at Wembley, and for the first five minutes England looked as if they were going to give him one, only to settle down to a more plodding pace for the next hour. With Walcott being withdrawn early, and Rooney spending most of his time in a withdrawn position, England will be congratulating themselves on accepting their chances rather than giving their opponents a pummelling. Still, 4-0 was convincing enough by the end, Defoe's finishing was excellent and Adam Johnson took his chance well. When Rooney rediscovers his scoring boots, or just gets on the end of a move or two, England should be fine.

Joe Hart

A highly promising competitive debut and a rarity in the context of recent English goalkeeping history in that he hardly put a foot wrong. True, he did not have a lot to do – the only save he had to make in the first half was to prevent a Glen Johnson own goal – but what he was asked to do he did competently and with confidence. He may have got lucky when first Ivelin Popov and then Dimitar Rangelov managed to miss the target with decent close-range opportunities, though the first time he had to deal with a shot on target he managed to turn it into a goal assist. In beating away Stanislav Angelov's shot after an hour, Hart enabled England to go straight down the pitch and score their second. Angelov did hit his shot straight at Hart, though even so the goalkeeper's reflexes helped turn a possible 1-1 into an instant 2-0, and England supporters have not been seeing too much of that sort of thing of late.

Montenegro 1-0 Wales | Euro 2012 Group G qualifier

There was a familiar look of dejection on John Toshack's face as he reflected on a defeat that seriously undermines Wales's hopes of qualifying for a major finals for the first time since 1958 with only one match played. Bulgaria, soundly beaten by England last night, come to Cardiff next month and Toshack admitted Wales will be going through the motions in their final six matches if they fail to pick up three points in their first home fixture.

It was a sobering message to come out with so early in a qualifying campaign but arguably a realistic one. Toshack was desperate to get off to a good start against Montenegro but the Wales manager could only look on with frustration as his side were overrun before the interval. The excellent Mirko Vucinic scored during that period and the only surprise was that Montenegro failed to inflict further damage as they opened Wales up time and again in the first half.

When another Montenegro blow did arrive, it came via the elbow of Miodrag Dzudovic, as the central defender made contact with the side of James Collins' face during an aerial challenge in the second half. The referee, Anastassios Kakos, gave no free-kick but Collins left the stadium with a suspected fractured cheekbone. Toshack suggested Dzudovic's actions were deliberate. "Things like that don't happen by accident," he said.

The Wales manager, however, had few complaints with the final outcome here as he acknowledged his players were outplayed before the break, when Vucinic wreaked havoc. "We never got to grips with them at all in the first half," he said, highlighting the poor performances of Dave Edwards and Joe Ledley in central midfield. "This result means that the Bulgaria game is must-win or we will not have too much chance."

Wales roused themselves in the last 15 minutes and finally began to apply some pressure. The substitute Simon Church headed Sam Ricketts' centre against the crossbar in the 86th minute and then endured more disappointment moments later when he bundled the ball home, after Robert Earnshaw's shot was saved, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. Television replays showed that the assistant referee was correct to raise his flag.

Vucinic then squandered a chance to put the game beyond Wales when he made a hash of beating Wayne Hennessey as he burst through the middle in injury-time but the Montenegro captain had long since left his mark on the game. Picking up possession just inside the Wales half in the 30th minute, he skipped past a weak challenge from Collins before exposing Hennessey's suspect positioning with a left-footed drive that went in off the upright.

It was a goal that felt long overdue after an eight-minute period when Montenegro, inspired by Vucinic – whose name Chelsea fans will remember after he scored two goals for Roma against them in the Champions League a little under two years ago – came close to scoring on three other occasions. Toshack could sense what was coming next. "They were getting on top and had too much space and too much room," he said.

Lithuania 0-0 Scotland | Euro 2012 Group I qualifier

Craig Levein's contentment at a rare, impressive showing from Scotland away from home will be tempered by the reality. Landed in a qualifying group which also includes Spain and the Czech Republic, the Scots needed to glean six points from their meetings with Lithuania to keep hopes of an appearance at Euro 2012 alive.

Scotland's unrewarded domination here in Kaunas last night, particularly during the second half, will pray on the manager's mind. For the remainder of Levein's tenure, he is unlikely to see his team enjoy as much possession away from home as they did here.

"We had the opportunities to win," he said. "All our performance lacked was a goal.

"They had a tactic which was to foul, but they were going five and six without getting a booking," he added. "It is important that the referee looks after things like that, but he didn't."

Levein described a late lunge by Kestutis Ivaskevicius on Alan Hutton as "ridiculous".

Stockholm, Cardiff, Oslo, Skopje and Amsterdam are among the cities Scotland have visited in the recent past. Victory has not been forthcoming in any of them. The continued faith of the Tartan Army, 3,000 of whom made the journey, is baffling.

Yellow cards for two members of Lithuania's back four, issued within 20 minutes, illustrated the home side's combative approach and it was they who created the first meaningful chance, when Allan McGregor was forced to make a fine stop from a Saulius Mikoliunas shot.

His opposite number, Zydrunas Karcemarskas, was similarly smart in clawing away two long-range efforts from Barry Robson. Stephen McManus also volleyed narrowly wide, having collected a Darren Fletcher free-kick.

Levein had banked on experience to improve fortunes. David Weir – at 40, three years older than Lithuania's manager – and Lee McCulloch had returned. Youthfulness and pace was to be supplied by Steven Naismith, who was lively enough during the first-half. Hutton, having made a surprising recovery from groin surgery, offered further attacking presence with marauding runs from full-back.

There was an anxious moment for Scotland as half-time approached, Mikoliunas falling – all too readily – inside the area under a challenge from Scott Brown. The Turkish referee waved away claims for a penalty, however, but only after a pause.

Robson's cross to the unmarked Kenny Miller moments after the restart afforded Scotland their first clear-cut opportunity. But the Rangers striker, who has opened the domestic season in terrific form, should have done better than supply a tame header, which sailed into the home goalkeeper's hands.

The appearance of Kris Boyd and McFadden warming up on the track suggested Levein was perplexed by Scotland's bluntness. The manager could at least take solace from the presence of Weir at the other end, with the veteran coping with what little Lithuania threw towards him.

Naismith was the next Scot to be foiled, shooting again straight at Karcemarskas while under no pressure, in another example of wastefulness.

If it was clear long before full time that Lithuania would be the grateful recipients of a point, Scotland's desperation grew. That emotion, though, rarely triggers the composure needed to prise open teams, as proved the case.

Euro 2012 qualifier: England v Bulgaria

We bring you all the action from Wembley as England kick off their Euro 2012 qualification campaign and hope that three points and a good performance will put the memories of their disastrous World Cup to rest

France 0-1 Belarus
Laurent Blanc's first competitive match as France coach ended in a shock defeat which deals an early blow to their Euro 2012 qualifying bid.

Liechtenstein 0-4 Spain: Torres grabs brace
Liechtenstein 0-4 Spain: Torres grabs brace

England 4-0 Bulgaria: Defoe hat-trick
Jermain Defoe gave the surgeon's knife a swerve and instead carved up Bulgaria with his first England hat-trick to bring a smile back to Fabio Capello's face.

Fabio Capello hails Rooney-Defoe partnership
England boss Fabio Capello has praised the performance of his two strikers, Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe, as they led England to a 4-0 win over Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday night.

Slovenia 0-1 Northern Ireland: Evans shocks hosts
Slovenia 0-1 Northern Ireland: Evans shocks hosts

Euro 2012: Belarus beat France, England cruise
England opened their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a 4-0 win over Bulgaria, but Laurent Blanc's first competitive game as France manager ended in a shock 1-0 defeat to Belarus and Portugal were held by Cyprus in an eight-goal thriller. Meanwhile, Spain cruised to a 4-0 win in Liechtenstein and Italy came from behind to beat Estonia.

Fabio Capello reveals Scholes' England U-turn
Fabio Capello has claimed Paul Scholes performed a World Cup U-turn on the eve of his squad announcement.

San Marino 0-5 Netherlands: Huntelaar hat-trick
A hat-trick from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and a last-minute goal from Ruud van Nistelrooy helped the Netherlands to thrash San Marino 5-0 in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier on Friday.

Belgium 0-1 Germany: Klose snatches victory
Miroslav Klose's goal was enough to give Germany a winning start to their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. Klose struck six minutes into the second half as Germany edged out Belgium.

Estonia 1-2 Italy: Cassano leads Azzurri fightback
Italy had to come from a goal down to ensure a winning start for new coach Cesare Prandelli in his first competitive outing against Estonia.

Montenegro 1-0 Wales: Toshack rues Vucinic goal
Mirko Vucinic enhanced his growing reputation by firing Wales to defeat in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier in Montenegro.

Lithuania 0-0 Scotland: Missed chance for visitors
Scotland failed to capitalise on their territorial advantage in their Euro 2012 opener in Lithuania as Craig Levein's competitive debut as manager ended goalless.

Andorra 0-2 Russia: Pogrebnyak at the double
Striker Pavel Pogrebnyak scored twice for Russia as they opened their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win over Andorra.

Kazakhstan 0-3 Turkey: Altintop stunner for Turks
Turkey made a confident start in Group A when defeating Kazakhstan 3-0 in Almaty, with Hamit Altintop scoring a stunning volley from a corner.

Faroe Islands 0-3 Serbia: Zigic rounds off easy win
Faroe Islands 0-3 Serbia: Zigic rounds off easy win

Armenia 0-1 Ireland: Fahey nets first goal
Keith Fahey's first senior international goal got the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2012 qualifying campaign off to a winning start in a tight encounter in Armenia.

Brian McBride announces his retirement
Former Fulham and United States forward Brian McBride will retire at the end of the 2010 season.

Roma star Riise reveals his American dream
John Arne Riise has revealed his desire to end his career in MLS, once he has left Roma.

Spurs star Van der Vaart reveals Atletico interest
New Tottenham signing Rafael van der Vaart has revealed that only Atletico Madrid made an offer for him - with Bayern Munich failing to table a "concrete" bid.

Friendlies: China beaten convincingly by Iran
Goals in each half from Andranik and Mohammad Gholami helped Iran beat China 2-0 in a friendly at Zhengzhou Hanghai Stadium.

Arsenal star Arshavin: I've lost my sparkle
Arsenal star Andrei Arshavin says he has been frustrated over the past 18 months by his inability to score the kind of sublime goals that saw him become Russian football's biggest star.

Birmingham boss McLeish reveals Zamora interest
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has revealed he made an enquiry about Fulham striker Bobby Zamora before the end of the transfer window.

MATCHDAY LIVE: Latest updates and chat
MatchDay LIVE - September 3

France players told to sing anthem
New France coach Laurent Blanc has given his squad the words of the national anthem - to make sure they can sing along to La Marseillaise as they line up to face Belarus in Paris on Friday.

Scholes: I thought last season would be the end
Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has revealed that he felt certain he would retire at the end of last season, after struggling for form during a poor first half of the 2009-10 campaign.