Tottenham maintain winning form

SOCCER:ENGLISH PREMIER League leaders Tottenham Hotspur recorded their fourth win in as many matches last night with a comfortable 5-1 win over Championship side Doncaster Rovers in the English League Cup second round.

First-half strikes from midfielders Tom Huddlestone and Jamie O’Hara and a first goal for England striker Peter Crouch put Spurs 3-0 ahead before half-time.

The 2008 League Cup winners and losing finalists last season added two more after the break through David Bentley and Russian international Roman Pavlyuchenko after Rovers had pulled one back from the penalty spot.

Wigan Athletic, beaten 5-0 by Manchester United last Saturday, endured a miserable evening at Championship side Blackpool, losing 4-1 and becoming the first Premier League team to exit the competition.

John Terry and Rio Ferdinand may be England’s first-choice central defenders but Manchester City manager Mark Hughes believes his new €26 million Joleon Lescott is even better.

“I’m delighted to welcome Joleon to the club,” Hughes told reporters yesterday after completing a protracted deal to buy Lescott from Premier League rivals Everton. “It’s been a long and difficult process but I feel Joleon is the best centre half in the Premier League and will be for many years to come.

“I had a good rapport with the Everton fans and got on well with them,” said the 27-year-old, Lescott. “I gave my all for them when I was there but everyone outside the top four is aiming for the same thing and Manchester City are better equipped to get there than Everton.”

Lescott, who has agreed a five-year deal with City, was accused of having a poor attitude by Everton manager David Moyes after he made it clear he wanted to leave Goodison Park for City.

“It hasn’t been easy and I had to weigh up my options. The criticism I got was disappointing because I don’t think I’ve disrespected the club,” added Lescott.

City, who have won their opening two league matches, travel to Portsmouth on Sunday when Lescott is expected to make his debut.

Portsmouth themselves have been taken over by United Arab Emirates investor Sulaiman al-Fahim, the Premier League club confirmed yesterday.

Portsmouth announced on July 21st an agreement in principle had been reached to sell to Al-Fahim but delays in finalising the deal prompted the formation of a new consortium led by chief executive Peter Storrie to try to buy the club last week.

Al-Fahim was named Portsmouth chairman after passing the Premier Leagues “fit and proper” test for prospective club owners last month.

Meanwhile, Spartak Moscow are willing to pay Tottenham €11 million to bring Roman Pavlyuchenko back to Russia.

Brazilian side Internacional claim to have rejected a €15 million offer from Spurs for midfielder Sandro.

Full-back Pascal Chimbonda is in talks with Blackburn about a move to Ewood Park, while Olympiacos have been linked with a move to take Mexico forward Giovani dos Santos on loan.

Ipswich Town manager Roy Keane has tabled a joint offer for Sunderland midfielders Grant Leadbitter and Carlos Edwards as he looks to strengthen his squad.