Today's other stories in brief
Death of a 'true Celtic legend' aged 51
CELTIC legend Tommy Burns has died at the age of 51 after losing his long-running battle against cancer.
Burns had been undergoing treatment in both Glasgow and France in recent weeks after being diagnosed in March.
The former Scotland midfielder was treated for skin cancer in 2006, but it returned earlier this year.
Burns was with Celtic from 1974 to 1989, had a spell as manager in the mid-1990s and was the club's first-team coach before being granted leave.
A statement from Celtic said: "Tommy, a true Celtic legend and wonderful man, will be sadly missed by us all. Clearly, our thoughts are very much with Tommy's wife, Rosemary, and his family at this extremely difficult time."
Leeds move one step closer
JONNY Howson fired Leeds into the League One play-off final at Wembley with a stunning last-minute winner to break Carlisle hearts at Brunton Park last night.
The young midfielder hauled the Yorkshiremen back into the tie early in the first period and with the clock ticking down towards extra-time, with Leeds looking the more composed, he arrowed the winner into the bottom corner from 15 yards.
Howson's double completed a surprise turnaround for Gary McAllister's side, who had been outplayed in the first leg at Elland Road to trail 2-1 on aggregate ahead of last night's return.
Most in a crowd of 12,872 were expecting John Ward's side, playing Conference football three years ago, to finish the job.
But Leeds now head back for their second play-off final in two years and a chance to erase the memory of their defeat to Watford at the Millennium Stadium in 2006.
Talks with billionaire expected
ARSENAL chairman Peter Hill-Wood admits there is every reason to expect there will be further discussions with American billionaire Stan Kroenke over how his involvement within the Premier League club can be "extended".
Kroenke already owns 12 per cent of Arsenal following his purchase of the ITV broadband stake and his KSE (Kroenke Sports Enterprise) group already have a marketing link with the Gunners via the Colorado Rapids.
Hill-Wood believes this could be developed into a more formal arrangement as Arsenal look to force themselves back into contention for the Premier League title.
Arsenal defender Gael Clichy has revealed he is on the brink of signing a new four-year deal with the club. Clichy has made the left-back role his own following Ashley Cole's departure to Chelsea in 2006.
Eriksson eyes 'much bigger club'
SVEN-Goran Eriksson has turned down Benfica, as well as an opportunity to manage Mexico, as he contemplates an offer from what one of his close associates described as a "much bigger club". The identity of that club has not been revealed but Eriksson is said to be keen to make things official as soon as he is put out of his misery at Manchester City.
The City manager put on a facade yesterday, fronting the club's promotional end-of-season tour to Thailand and Hong Kong and putting on a brave face to talk about how happy he was to be there. He is resigned to losing his job and has made it clear he wants to return to work straight away.
The Swede is preparing for talks with City's owner, Thaksin Shinawatra, this weekend, hoping to ascertain when exactly he will be leaving.
Liverpool's stadium in doubt
FRESH doubts have been raised over Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks' ability to fund the club's proposed new home in Stanley Park following a shock decision to delay the building of a stadium in Texas.
The €323 million venture has been put on hold because of the credit squeeze and troubled retail market. Hicks said in an interview with the Dallas Morning News: "We are in the most difficult credit crunch I have seen the last 20 years."
Liverpool's stadium in doubt
TWO goals from Michael Collins, followed by the clincher from captain, Stephen Ward, were enough to see the Republic of Ireland under-21 team home in the first match of the Intercontinental Cup in Malaysia yesterday against a battling home team who struck back late on through Mohammad Safee Mohammad Sali.
Irish manager Don Givens said: "It was a good start for us with a young, inexperienced team and it's good to get the three points on the board. We knew that Malaysia would be technically good and they caused us a few problems." Ireland will face tournament favourites Nigeria tomorow in the MBPJ stadium at 11.30am (Irish time).
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Redmond (Nottingham Forest), Elebert (Hamilton Academics), Nolan (Blackburn Rovers), Dennehy (Everton), Lowry (Aston Villa), Berrett (Huddersfield), Spillane (Norwich City), Collins (Huddersfield), Treacy (Blackburn Rovers), Ward (Wolves), Clarke (Falkirk). Subs: Maher (Yeovil Town) for Elebert (69 mins), Ryan (Shrewsbury) for Barrett (76 mins), Judge (Blackburn Rovers) for Treacy (84mins).
