Vettel makes history at Monza

Germany's Sebastian Vettel stunned Formula One as the sport's youngest race winner at the age of 21 with victory for Toro Rosso at the team's home Italian Grand Prix.

Vettel, who had started as the youngest driver on pole position, gave his Ferrari-powered team their first win with a remarkably assured drive through the spray and slippery conditions.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who started 15th after losing a gamble with the weather in qualifying, retained his championship lead by a single point after overtaking a string of rivals to finish seventh.

Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa, the Briton's closest rival, started and finished sixth in a wet race that began behind the safety car.

Source : eurosport.yahoo.com

Premier League - Gossip Shop: Veloso to United

Miguel Veloso ticks all the Portuguese midfielder boxes: He's young, he's skilful, he's got a trendy mullet and he's massively overpriced.

Sporting Lisbon want £16m for him, and Veloso's agent would have you believe Arsenal and Manchester United are both prepared to pay full whack. Tottenham also want in.

Rather than engage in a bidding war, Fergie, Arsene Wenger and Juande Ramos are expected to settle the matter I gentlemanly fashion - via a game of conkers (Fergie soaks his in vinegar; Arsene paints them with nail varnish; Juande Ramos treats his with chorizo oil).

Chelsea assistant coach Steve Clarke is:

- A loyal servant, who has spent 21 years at Stamford Bridge as player and coach.

- A marginal figure at Stamford Bridge, having been sidelined by Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari.

- Essentially just the bloke who puts out the cones at training anyway.

So how much compensation do Chelsea want from West Ham for him? £4.8 million.

Admittedly, that's less than the Hammers paid for Kieron Dyer, who managed all of three appearances (one in the Carling Cup) last season before falling apart like a giant Jenga - the West Ham physios are still painstakingly stacking him back up again.

And a 'close friend' of Clarke is not happy, telling the News of the World: "Steve is deeply upset by Chelsea's stance. Basically, they are treating him with utter contempt. He has been nothing but loyal to the club, even when he was marginalised under Avram Grant."

You know when you get a gas bill, tax reminder or party invitation, then lose it in a pile of paper and forget about it completely?

Well, David Moyes doesn't, but he will soon. It seems the absent-minded Everton manager has left his new contract on the kitchen table, and it is now lying dormant underneath two months' worth of Heat magazines.

Moyes was offered a five-year deal in July that would double his salary to £60,000-a-week, only he hasn't signed it yet.

Either he has got a brain like a sieve or he is planning to leave Goodison Park after their summer of miserable failures in the transfer market.

GS hears there's a job going in the north-east.

Talking of contracts, Emile Heskey's contract expires at the end of the season, so the English hero could leave Wigan on a free.

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill saw the great lump up close and personal at Leicester, and even persuaded Liverpool to shell out £11m for him.

O'Neill is prepared to splash a cut-price £3m in January to secure a tearful reunion. A Heskey-Carew strike partnership really is a terrifying prospect for everybody.

Daniel Sturridge is a promising striker at Manchester City, who has only really come to GS's attention through his deeply annoying bling-bling goal celebrations.

Gossip Shop has never met the man, but if you could represent 'obnoxious little twerp' in dance form, it would be a Sturridge celebration.

So that new £1.2m-a-year contract should really help.

Today officially marks the return of Cristiano Ronaldo transfer rumours after a two-week hiatus.

Ronaldo has said himself that he doesn't fancy a £135m move across town to Manchester City saying: "I don't see myself in the shirt of another Manchester team."

A sarky devil close to Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has taken to taunting the Toon Army.

He has suggested that if they want to 'save' Newcastle they should spend less time scrawling grammatically-dubious banners and more time emptying their wallets.

"They say there are 400,000 Newcastle fans in the area. If they all put in £1,000 they can but the club back and run themselves," said the source.

But surely it's much more fun to spend the cash on giants sheets, onto which they can paint 'COCKNEY MAFIA OUT'.

Mike Ashley is from Buckinghamshire.

And finally, Blackburn have taken former Fulham defender Philippe Christanval on trial.

Source : eurosport.yahoo.com

Premier League - Ronaldo to return at Chelsea

Cristiano Ronaldo could make a shock return for Manchester United in their Premier League clash with Chelsea next Sunday.

The Portuguese star was expected to be out until October after undergoing ankle surgery in the summer, but manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed he is well ahead of his scheduled recovery time.

Ronaldo, who received the European Golden Boot award on Saturday night after scoring 31 league goals last season, is expected to feature on the bench when United travel to Stamford Bridge.

"I think he will be on the subs' bench against Chelsea," said Ferguson.

"Ronaldo is training now, he's with the first team. He's come on leaps and bounds. He's likely to be involved next week.

"I think we mentioned a couple of weeks ago he was making rapid progress in terms of overcoming the injury problem he had and the training he's been doing with the physios and Tony Strudwick the fitness coach.

"He's been making great strides in the direction towards the first-team."

The news comes as a massive boost for the Champions, who lost 2-1 at Liverpool, on Saturday and are already six points off the top of the table, albeit with a game in hand.

Ronaldo underwent surgery on a persistent ankle injury in July after playing for Portugal at Euro 2008.

Source : eurosport.yahoo.com

Premier League - Ronaldo: I changed football

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo believes he changed the game by scoring 31 goals from midfield in the Premier League last season to win the European Golden Boot award.

"With this Golden Boot I have changed football a little. Usually strikers won it and I'm a winger," the Portugal international told La Gazzetta dello Sport after receiving the trophy at a ceremony in his native Madeira on Saturday.

Ronaldo said he is confident of winning the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year prizes after inspiring United to the Champions League-Premier League double last term.

"The best candidate for the other prizes is Cristiano Ronaldo," the 23-year-old said.

"To be honest, I think I have been the most consistent and the best. And over time I want to enter the book of the all-time best players."

Ronaldo, who has been sidelined since undergoing surgery on his right ankle in July, said he does not fear a hostile reception at Old Trafford after making an unsuccessful request to be sold to Real Madrid in the close season.

"When I put on the (United) shirt, I give my all. And I'm already in the history of the club," he said. "When I play again the fans will love me again."

He also said it was unlikely he would move to Manchester City, after media reports linked him to a big money move to the cross-town rivals.

"No one knows my future, but I don't see myself in the shirt of another Manchester team," he said.

Source : eurosport.yahoo.com

Premier League - What the managers said

Reaction from the touchlines after Saturday's Premier League matches.

Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United

Rafael Benitez: "This was my first win against Manchester United in the league, and that was important for the team and for the fans in terms of belief and confidence for the future. And we also showed character after conceding an early goal. It was really important to score the goals we did, and to improve so much in the second half."

Sir Alex Ferguson: "Our defending was poor, we had a bad day. Overall they were far the better team. They harassed us into mistakes, and they must take credit for how hard they pressed us when we had possession. We should be able to handle that better. There was nothing to take out of that performance in any way."

Blackburn 0-4 Arsenal

Paul Ince: "The goal just before half-time killed us. We lost concentration, it was suicidal defending. You cannot give any team a two-goal start least of all Arsenal. They are an excellent side. I am glad we do not have to play them every week which is a good thing."

Arsene Wenger: "We looked dangerous and fluent going forward. It was a well-accomplished victory. This victory will give us confidence as we know we will have to put in a similar performance [in the Champions League] next week."

Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea

Mark Hughes: "We realise we are still young in time terms. But some people have got a little bit ahead of themselves and a little bit hysterical. We know the level we are at. Chelsea were excellent in the second half. They set traps for you.

Luiz Felipe Scolari: "[Robinho] is my friend. He scored once and we got three, so I am happy with that. Hopefully it will be the same next time we play City and I will be happy again."

Newcastle 1-2 Hull City

Chris Houghton: "The easy thing would be for me to say yes, the events of the last few weeks had a bearing on the result. Probably more to the point was we certainly have got a few injuries in vital positions, we had a few players coming back late from international duty, which is the norm that everybody has to accept and put up with. But the preparation with what we have got has been good. I can't fault the attitude and the professionalism of the players. That I can't fault."

Phil Brown: "The easy thing would be for me to say yes, the events of the last few weeks had a bearing on the result. Probably more to the point was we certainly have got a few injuries in vital positions, we had a few players coming back late from international duty, which is the norm that everybody has to accept and put up with. But the preparation with what we have got has been good. I can't fault the attitude and the professionalism of the players. That I can't fault."

Fulham 2-1 Bolton

Roy Hodgson: "Bobby [Zamora] has the ability to do things like that. He's got good feet but sometimes he has to be careful not to overdo it. It came off for him that time and we've been working hard on him releasing the ball a little bit quicker to fit in with our style. It didn't surprise me that he pulled that goal off because we see it all the time in training. For a big man he has a lot of technical ability."

Gary Megson: "It was a good goal by Bobby but our defending was poor as we should have made him stay wide. Danny Shittu let him inside and we weren't quick enough to recover. It would have been harsh on Fulham if we had got a point but we got ourselves back into it with 10 minutes to go. The effort that we put in was superb."

Portsmouth 2-1 Middlesbrough

Harry Redknapp: "How much would you value Diarra? He's a scary talent, I tell you. He's right up there with the very, very best midfield players in the world. He's that good - an amazing player and he's back in the France team again."

Gareth Southgate: "We're learning lessons which will stand us in good stead and this was another one today. We'll try to take it into a big match against Sunderland next week."

West Brom 3-2 West Ham

Tony Mowbray: "It's good to get that first win and hopefully one or two people will now stop asking the same questions each week about whether we can score goals at this level. It's a brutal industry and the longer you go without a win, the more psychologically it becomes difficult for the players."

Kevin Keen: "The new manager had a very brief word afterwards. All he said was, 'Unlucky, and I'll see you on Monday'. We should have got something out of the game."

Wigan 1-1 Sunderland

Steve Bruce: "[Amr Zaki] has got as good a goal-scoring record as anyone in the world and I hope that will continue. It will be very difficult for him in the winter because he's used to playing in 30 degrees in Cairo every week. But he's got a fantastic attitude and mentality, he's a great boy and he's got an outstanding chance. I was recommended him by Wes Saunders, the former Newcastle scout, and that's where it started. A lot of people mocked me but I went out there and saw him score two and I had no hesitation."

Roy Keane: "We got turned over here 3-0 last year and we got bullied. We weren't bullied today. We proved we were up for the battle. A draw away from home in the Premier League is not the end of the world for us."

Source : eurosport.yahoo.com