West Ham remain in deep relegation trouble at the foot of the Premier League after a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland.

Jordan Henderson's first league goal of the season for the Black Cats was enough to settle the contest in the 34th minute.

The newly-capped England midfielder finished brilliantly with his left foot after a delightful ball into the middle by Asamoah Gyan.

The result leaves the Hammers three points from safety at the foot of the table, while Sunderland may allow themselves to start thinking about a European place as they leapt into seventh.

Just behind Steve Bruce's men are West Brom who continued their impressive start to the season with a 3-1 win against fellow top-flight new boys Newcastle.

Cameroon midfielder Somen Tchoyi set the Baggies on their way in the 32nd minute before Peter Odemwingie netted a second-half double.

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Peter Lovenkrands turned in an injury-time consolation for the Magpies after Albion keeper Scott Carson could only manage to parry an effort from Andy Carroll.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Chelsea finally ended their awful run of results with an unconvincing win over high-flying Bolton at Stamford Bridge. My biggest concern for the Blues is their inability to change their system should a game not go to plan. Under Jose Mourinho, this was one of the cub’s greatest strengths, however with a lack of pace and attacking resources, Chelsea have looked short of ideas. If they go behind, Ancelotti’s men lose.

Aston Villa have been equally poor this year, and with their threadbare squad still struggling to get results this game cannot be simply written off, despite the 7-1 humbling they experienced here last season. Gerard Houllier will be hammering on Randy Learner’s door as the clocks strike on New Years Eve with requests for funds to strengthen a poorly balanced squad.

It must be pointed out that the current league champions are not even close to the side that tore into Villa in March, however their response to finally getting three points will be an interesting indication of how they will finish at the end of the season.

The first meeting between these two ended in a tight draw, and I can see the same unfolding on the Kings Road this weekend.

Prediction: 1-1

Click to see match odds at Paddy Power below

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Robbie Keane’s hunt for a new club reminds me of an advert where an owner is looking to offload their pet somewhere: ‘Wanted – a loving home for a striker who we no longer have room for.’ It’s all been a little sad really, because he was once a much wanted man. So where has it all gone wrong for the Tottenham forward?

I think the easiest explanation is Liverpool. Keane was offered the chance to join one of the biggest clubs in the world and he just couldn’t resist. In all fairness to him, not many strikers would have turned them down. But it never really happened for him, well it never did at all. His all too brief spell at Anfield not only lowered his stock, but seemingly lowered his confidence as well.

On return to Spurs, we all expected him to pick up from where he left off. The goal-scoring hero, the captain of the side and the driving force. But times change and so did Spurs. He now finds himself down the pecking order, out of favour and unwanted.

But surely he couldn’t have just lost all that ability? We can’t forget just how good he has been for most of his former clubs. Ask any Wolves fan who they want to see the club sign this season to help them stay in the Premier League and you’ll only get one answer.

So maybe that is the problem. At 30 and not scoring, Keane is no longer an attractive option to some of the top clubs but the teams like Wolves and Stoke, who have also expressed an interest, do recognise that he is still a good striker. The problem they face, just as Birmingham found out last week, is Keane still considers himself one of the best thus prices himself out of a move to the lower tier of the Premier League’s cliental.

It’s time he woke up and realised that if he is to continue asking for excessive wages, he will carry on warming the White Hart Lane bench and potentially could go stale. It would be a shame as Keane has the ability to be a big player once more, it would just be at a smaller club.

He would be a legend if he scored the goals at Wolves that kept them in the league. What about Aston Villa? They’re on a roll, his goals could propel them further up the league and into Europa League places contention.

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Keane has options but only if he recognises that he is no longer a player worthy of the wages he asks for. Time to find a new home, Robbie.

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Few shocks in the FA Cup yesterday with non-league Crawley the only club punching above their weight. Notts County will be hoping to do a job on Manchester City today, as the once highly ambitious County faces a club who actually had the resources to make that a reality. It will be tough for Paul Ince’s men, although as they say anything is possible in the FA Cup.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Tottenham denying ground claims, player plus deal could secure Torres, while Gareth Southgate to take key role in FA coaching set-up.

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Spurs deny ground claims – Sky Sports

Player plus cash could seal Torres deal – Guardian

BBC backs Groves after sexist comments – Daily Telegraph

Kenny Dalglish: I’d have gone potty over a bad call – Daily Mail

David Silva has no regrets about choosing the Blue half of Manchester – Mirror

Southgate to take key FA coaching role in shake-up – Independent

Redknapp to make last-ditch Diarra loan raid – Mirror

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Wenger backs Wilshere for England role – Guardian

Ba – I will save Hammers – Sky Sports

Vieira eager to extend Man City career – Guardian

Sir Alex Ferguson believes that ten more wins will be enough to secure Manchester United a record breaking nineteenth title this season. The Red Devils currently find themselves five points clear at the top of the table and have a golden opportunity to stretch their lead further at Molineux this afternoon; a victory that would arguably bring an end to both Chelsea and Man City’s title aspirations.

In the papers this morning there has been a mixed bag of stories that includes Harry Redknapp ruing the chance to sign Van Bommel; Premier League chief cites £100m transfer, while Carlos Tevez concedes that City have blown the title.

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Redknapp rues Van Bommel snub – Sky Sports

I never kissed the Liverpool badge, says Chelsea’s Torres – Guardian

Fifa consider snood ban – Daily Telegraph

Blues bill hits £172million – Sun

Scudamore predicting £100m transfer – Guardian

Wenger defends youth policy as rivals spend – Daily Telegraph

Tevez: We’ve blown the title – Sun

Moyes remains defiant in Fábregas row – Guardian

We’ve been sold short! Newcastle and Sunderland rue striker departures – Daily Mail

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Grant – Parker for England – Sky Sports

Ferguson says 84 points will seal title – Guardian

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Sickening, isn’t it? You dream and push yourself as a child, hoping to be good enough to maybe once pull on the colours of your favourite team, and walk out in front of a packed house. Then, at age nine, you see your Scout team lose 9-1, and you realise that you are never going to reach that elite level.

Think then, just how incredible it is to be good enough to compete in two sports at a high level, and finding such people is not at all easy (as I have found out!) Whether it is giving up a football career to chase another dream, or using another outlet to pursue that winning feeling, I present to you ten players to have lived the dream.

This group of talented individuals have been able supplement (mostly) successful careers with appearances in a variety of different other sporting environments. From an Olympic gold medalist to a Norwegian chess champion, from an international poker star to a BBC breakfast host, these ten players have been able to enjoy two tastes of sport at the highest level. Don’t hate them too much.

Click on Teddy below to see the footballers and their secondary careers

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Can you think of any more to be added to the list? Throw some comments down below, or follow me on Twitter.

Birmingham City will hope to shake off a Carling Cup hangover when they play Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday.Birmingham stunned Arsenal 2-1 at Wembley to win the Carling Cup on February 27. It was just the second piece of major silverware in the Midlands club’s history – their only other success came in the same competition way back in 1963.But they suffered a damaging 3-1 loss at home to local rivals West Bromwich Albion in their first match back in league action and remain in danger of souring their cup final triumph with relegation to the Championship.Next up is a trip to Merseyside to face an inconsistent but dangerous Everton. David Moyes’ team accounted for FA Cup holders Chelsea with a penalty shootout win on February 26, then conspired to lose to second tier Reading in the fifth round last week. Everton’s league form has also been patchy, but they have won their last two matches, 2-0 at home to Sunderland and 2-1 away to Newcastle.While they are unlikely to be dragged into the relegation battle, Moyes will be eager to increase the six-point gap between 10th-placed Everton and Birmingham in 18th on 30 points with two matches in hand. The visitors will be without defender Scott Dann for the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury, while midfielders Alexander Hleb, Barry Ferguson and Craig Gardner are all in doubt.Everton have fewer concerns, with only midfielders Marouane Fellaini and Tim Cahill ruled out. In the absence of two of their key men, Everton are likely to rely even more on Spanish playmaker Mikel Arteta, who impressed in the win at Newcastle.”I thought he (Arteta) was outstanding, absolutely outstanding,” Everton assistant coach Steve Round said.”He was creative, he was elusive, he could have created three or four goals and it was a terrific performance.””We moved him to the left for tactical reasons because we thought he might get more space and it worked, he delivered.””I think you have seen Mikel steadily over the last six weeks improving his performance.””He is really starting to come through again, whether you play him in the middle, on the right or the left. If he’s in that form he is unstoppable.”

Tottenham Hotspur can draw level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea if they beat West Ham United at White Hart Lane on Saturday.Tottenham are fifth on the English Premier League table and three points behind the defending champions, who occupy the final Champions League qualification place.If Spurs beat West Ham they will move on to 51 points, but would remain fifth due to an inferior goal difference.Nevertheless, a Spurs win would put the pressure back on Chelsea ahead of their home match against third-placed Manchester City on Sunday.But the visitors to White Hart Lane will be desperate to foil Tottenham and collect vital points in their battle to escape relegation. West Ham are third from bottom, level on points with Birmingham in 17th place and just one point behind Blackburn Rovers in 14th. If they win and other results go their way, Avram Grant’s side could leapfrog a number of the teams above them and leave the drop zone behind.They bowed out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage with a 2-1 defeat away to Stoke City on Sunday, but had previously been unbeaten after four matches in all competitions – including a 3-1 win over Liverpool.Spurs’ last hitout was a hard-fought 0-0 draw at home to AC Milan last Wednesday, with the result securing their passage to the quarter-finals of the Champions League following a 1-0 away win in the first leg in Italy.Despite their impressive achievement in European competition, Harry Redknapp’s side are without a win in their last two league outings. They lost 3-1 away to Blackpool on February 22, followed by a 3-3 draw away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on March 6.West Ham have only long-term absentees Junior Stanislas and Jack Collison on the sidelines.Tottenham will be missing centre-backs William Gallas and Jonathan Woodgate, while fellow defenders Vedran Corluka, Ledley King and Younis Kaboul are also in doubt.Midfielders Wilson Palacios and Tom Huddlestone are unavailable through their own injury problems, while Rafael van der Vaart could also miss out.

Doubles from Miroslav Klose and Thomas Mueller helped Germany to a 4-0 Euro2012 qualifying victory against Kazakhstan on Saturday.The result in Kaiserslautern means Germany’s perfect record remains intact with five wins from five matches, establishing an eight-point buffer on second-placed Austria.

Klose’s brace saw his incredible national team record move to 61 goals from 107 appearances, meaning he just needs eight more goals to top Gerd Mueller’s national-team record.

While he has struggled at club level for Bayern Munich, Klose opened his account on Saturday after just three minutes when he met Bastian Schweinsteiger’s free-kick at the far post.

Another set-piece proved Kazakhstan’s undoing 22 minutes later.

Midfielder Mesut Oezil whipped the cross in and this time it was Mueller – winner of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot – who found the back of the net.

Mueller was at it again just before half-time as Kazakhstan’s suspect defence was breached once more, with the Bayern Munich striker controlling a long ball from Oezil on his chest before slotting home Germany’s third goal.

The match petered out in the second and Germany lost some of their shape, with Kazakhstan coming close to scoring a consolation goal when Zhambyl Kukeyev’s effort was denied by the woodwork after 71 minutes.

But just before full-time, Klose added polish to the scoreline with his second to seal a 4-0 win in a match in which Joachim Loew’s side were never really tested.

Following swearing into the camera at Upton Park last weekend, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has lost his sponsorship deal with Coke that was reported to be worth £600,000. Rooney is just one of the players who are only more than happy to take the money on offer for appearing in adverts, while Man United aren’t adverse to a few commercial deals here and there.

The commercial side of Manchester United is one that often annoys the Red Army. Watching MUTV interview yet another “first time visitor” to Old Trafford carrying two shopping bags full Fabio Da Silva tampons or other such tat can often grate.

It should be remembered however that for many fans around the world, the commercial side is an intergral part of their love for the club. Not everyone’s fortunate enough to be able to walk down to OT so merchandise does have its part to play. As well as United’s own commercial side, there’s also the various sponsorship deals which every player – bar Paul Scholes, who lives life as though he’s a footballer in 1951 – makes part of their income.

Rather than turn our nose up to the stream of adverts that have been broadcast featuring our favourite United players, we at Redflaflyinghigh, decided to embrace them. Here’s a pick of our top six United ads.

Click on King Eric below to see the Man United ads in all their glory

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Read more fantastic Manchester United articles at RedFlagFlyingHigh.com

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