Evening Mail back issues from Monday, January 8:
Football: Gregory set for talks on striker
Jan 08, 2001; ... JOHN Gregory will meet Villa's board of directors today and notonly in an effort to bring some much needed fire-power to the club. Villa were so short of experienced players at Newcastle yesterdaythat only one of the four outfield substitutes had any experience offirst-team ...
Football: Beckham sights on bigger cut
Jan 08, 2001 ... IN their unremitting search to earn a few extra bob for DavidBeckham and the like, agents have a new wheeze. Actually, it's an old one re-cooked but that won't botherBeckham's advisers, STX, who are angling for a sizeable cut of theprofit on all Manchester United merchandise ...
Football: Gregory home comfort
Jan 08, 2001 ... VILLA will face bogey team Leicester if they overcome Newcastlein next week's third-round replay. The Foxes, who have not lost to John Gregory's men in thePremiership, will be the visitors to Villa Park at the end of themonth. And Gregory was delighted to see several ...
Football: Coventry progress in cruise control ; Swindon 0 Coventry 2
Jan 08, 2001; ... GORDON Strachan can see the light at the end of Coventry City'stunnel after this comfortable FA Cup third-round win. Their success over hard-up Second Division strugglers SwindonTown at a packed County Ground was no big deal. But, at least, it saw two of his strikers coming up ...
Football: Francis: We have no fear ; Blues ready for semi clash
Jan 08, 2001; ... BLUES plan to draw on their disastrous play-offs experiences whenthey tackle Ipswich Town in the League Cup tomorrow. And this time, manager Trevor Francis hopes they will emergevictorious from a semi-final battle played out over two legs. Blues are at Portman Road first and ...
Football: Emblen back out
Jan 08, 2001 ... NEIL Emblen, a late replacement for Simon Osborn at the CityGround, will continue his comeback from injury in Wolves' ...
Football: Unlucky Fulham impress Fergie
Jan 08, 2001; ... SIR Alex Ferguson believes Fulham can make their mark on thePremiership next season but has stressed Manchester United'sdetermination to embark on an FA Cup run. United set up a fourth round home encounter with West Ham aftersqueezing past First Division leaders Fulham at Craven ...
Football: Albion keeper unsure of his future
Jan 08, 2001; ... CHRIS Adamson fears his future may lie away from The Hawthorns -despite making his first appearance of the season in Saturday's 3-2FA Cup exit at Derby. The 22-year-old keeper earned a rare call-up at Pride Park asBrian Jensen missed his first game since joining in March with ...
Football: Anger at cup clash
Jan 08, 2001 ... BLUES' first appearance in a major cup final for 37 years couldbe overshadowed - before they have even booked their ticket to theMillennium Stadium. Fans have been angered by the decision to move ManchesterUnited's ...
Football: Jones enjoys flying start ; Positive reaction pleases Jones
Jan 08, 2001; ... DAVE Jones made a great return to football management with Wolvesemerging victorious in their FA Cup clash at Forest yesterday. Jones said after the 1-0 win: 'It was a great start. The longerthe game went on people were going to get tired. We came here with ajob to do and we were ...
Football: Proudlock cuts down Forest ; Nottm Forest 0 Wolves 1
Jan 08, 2001; ... ADAM Proudlock steered Wolves through to the FA Cup fourth roundagainst Forest with a Steve Bull-type goal the legend would havegladly accepted. The 19-year-old fair-haired striker made it a wonderful return tofootball management for new manager Dave Jones. But the excited ...
Football: Late show Blues run out of time ; Man City 3 Blues 2
Jan 08, 2001; ... WHEN Blues trailed to a third goal in the 43rd minute, you had towonder whether their minds were elsewhere: Portman Road, League Cupsemi-final, tomorrow, perhaps? And then, in the opening 10 minutes of the second-half, it was asif they were resigned to their fate, and not too ...
Football: Villa can build on Stone's platform ; Newcastle 1 Villa 1
Jan 08, 2001; ... ALL the pre-match talk had been about Juan Pablo Angel. After thegame Villa's fans were singing 'there's only 'Juan' Steve Stone.' Stone was a mere pebble last season in an injury-blightedcampaign. But the Toon can now testify that he is a boulder in themaking. Villa were ...
Football: Jan at a loss to explain ; Halifax Town 3 Kidderminster Harriers 2
Jan 08, 2001 ... JAN Molby could not hide his frustration after Kidderminster'sheroic fightback ended in the cruellest of disappointments. But the Harriers boss was more annoyed by the performance ofreferee Mike Ryan than his own side as they fell to a last-gaspdefeat. The Aggborough chief ...
Football: Too little, too late for sloppy Baggies ; Derby 3 Albion 2
Jan 08, 2001 ... DON'T throw away your road maps to Cardiff just yet, Albion fans. Derby's Cup double over Gary Megson's troops may mean the Baggieswon't be heading for the Millennium Stadium in either of the majorknockout competitions. But Albion's FA Cup exit might, just might, help them ...
Football: Bellamy starting to repay Strachan's faith
Jan 08, 2001; ... CRAIG Bellamy hopes to finally win Coventry City's fans overafter helping the side overcome Second Division strugglers SwindonTown in the FA Cup third round. The pounds 6 million record signing from Norwich set the SkyBlues up for their 2-0 win at the County Ground scoring the ...
Football: Ban blow for Zigor
Jan 08, 2001; ... WALSALL defender Zigor Aranalde is suspended and missesSaturday's Second Division match with bottom-of-table Oxford Unitedat the Manor Ground. He has collected five cautions and the ban brings to an end hisever-present run of 32 league and cup matches. The Spaniard has been ...
Football: Walsall take pride from Hammer blow ; Walsall 2 West Ham 3
Jan 08, 2001; ... GOOD things, it is said, come in pairs. Although definitely not for the West Midland clubs on Saturday,three of whom lost in the FA Cup despite scoring twice. Not for Walsall goalkeeper Jimmy Walker, either. He made two high-class quickfire saves in the first half, bettered ...
Football: Bescot hit by flu bug
Jan 08, 2001; ... FOUR Walsall players have been hit by the 'flu bug and defenderZigor Aranalde will miss Saturday's Second Division game with OxfordUnited through suspension. That was the morning hangover facing manager Ray Graydon todaywhen only a handful of players reported for training after the ...
Football: Sky Blues in haggle over pounds 4m Hartson
Jan 08, 2001; ... STRIKER John Hartson's pounds 4 million move to Coventry hingeson agreement on transfer terms with Wimbledon. The Welsh international is keen to move to Highfield Road afterthe collapse of deals with Spurs, Glasgow Rangers and Charlton. ButCoventry want to pay pounds 300,000 down ...
Football: Carbone set for the boot
Jan 08, 2001 ... BENITO Carbone and Dan Petrescu could join Stan Collymore inbeing shown the door at Bradford. Jim Jefferies is now ready to wield the axe - just as he promisedupon his arrival seven weeks ago - to get rid of players he feelsare not ready to fight for the Bradford cause, with ...
Football: Eriksson in Lazio crisis showdown
Jan 08, 2001 ... SVEN-GORAN Eriksson was today set to have crisis talks with Laziopresident Sergio Cragnotti after last night's shock defeat toNapoli. The England coach-elect faced a showdown meeting amid rumoursthat another humiliating home defeat at the hands of a team 15th inSerie A was the ...
Football: Super sub Russell to rescue ; Non-League Football
Jan 08, 2001; ... AN injury time goal from substitute Keith Russell earnedHednesford Town a 1-1 draw at fellow Nationwide Conferencestrugglers Hayes. Hayes had taken the lead on 76 minutes when Neil Boylan met aMark Preston cross. Although Mark Gayle, playing his first game backfor the Pitmen, got ...
Rugby Union: Worcester have to scrap to hold on to top spot
Jan 08, 2001 ... WORCESTER secured a scrappy win over struggling Exeter to staytop of National League One, but they will be disappointed with theirthree try, 25-6 effort. Worcester's Tongan winger Sateki Tuipulotu opened the scoringafter 11 minutes with a penalty. The Sixways side stretched the ...
Rugby Union: Moseley's day to forget ; London Welsh 34, Moseley 6
Jan 08, 2001 ... MOSELEY will have an early chance to avenge this desperate defeatwhen London Welsh visit their Birmingham University ground onJanuary 27. John White's team gave the Exiles the freedom of Old Deer Park,conceding four tries and rarely threatening the home team's line. Their ...
Rugby Union: Bees battle but can't find sting ; Birmingham & Solihull 16 Henley 16
Jan 08, 2001; ... BIRMINGHAM & Solihull blew off their post-Christmas cobwebs toearn a share of the spoils against a classy Henley side, but paidthe price for failing to dominate up front in their usual manner. Bees' pack came into the game looking to impose themselves ontheir opposite eight, ...
Rugby Union: Hill tops
Jan 08, 2001 ... Richard Hill has emerged as a strong candidate to fillHarlequins' coaching hot-seat after the Zurich ...
Tennis: Rios rallies
Jan 08, 2001 ... Marcelo Rios survived a mid-match crisis to defeat Czechqualifier Bohdan Ulihrach 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in the pounds 650,000 QatarOpen ...
Cricket: Hot Streak
Jan 08, 2001 ... New Zealand were rocked by a late boundary barrage by HeathStreak and a brilliant half century from Andy Flower as Zimbabweclinched the one-day series at Eden Park, Auckland, by one wicket. Captain Streak smashed a six off Craig McMillan in thepenultimate over to ...
Tennis: Dokic joy
Jan 08, 2001 ... Australia's Jelena Dokic (pictured) upset top seed AnnaKournikova to win the Hong Kong exhibition tournament 7-6 (7/3), ...
Motorsport: Deacon bid
Jan 08, 2001 ... John Deacon has set himself a new target in the Paris-Dakar Rallyafter making up 117 places at one third distance in the gruelling6,500-mile race. The 38-year-old Plymouth motorcycle dealer wants to win one ofthe remaining stages to make his mark on an event for which he hadhigh ...
Basketball: Bullets back on Leopards' tails ; Pertemps Bullets 98, Edinburgh Rocks 81
Jan 08, 2001; ... BULLETS stepped up their intensity levels and poured in 61 second-half points to extend the Rocks losing streak to an 11th game. The win, a fifth in six BBL and Trophy outings, hoisted Bulletsto level on points with second-place London Leopards in the ...
Cricket: Surrey sign Ed
Jan 08, 2001 ... COUNTY champions Surrey have strengthened their squad for the2001 season by signing England seam bowler Ed Giddins. The 29-year-old moves to The Oval from Warwickshire and hasagreed a two-year contract. Giddins began his county career with Sussex but left Hove afterbeing ...
Tennis: Tommy guns down Massu
Jan 08, 2001 ... German Tommy Haas swept aside Chilean Nicolas Massu in the men'sfinal of the Australian Hard-Court Championship in Adelaide. Haas, the tournament fifth seed currently ranked 23 in the world,was in control ...
Cricket: England plotting victory charge
Jan 08, 2001 ... ENGLAND A were in sight of victory after the third day of theBusta International Shield match against West Indies B in Grenadawent entirely to a pre-arranged plan. Skipper Mark Alleyne declared the second innings on 226 for fourand set the West Indians a target of 329 to ...
Racing: Spring to a Margot win!
Jan 08, 2001; ... SPRING Margot has the subject of encouraging gallops reports forsome time - and now trainer Venetia Williams will hope that the thetalking can stop and the action begin. Spring Margot has had many options over the last couple of weeksand the ground conditions have been a decisive ...
Racing: Real Value for punters
Jan 08, 2001; ... PUNTERS looking for Real Value can find it at Fontwell today. The Victor Chandler Sussex National has been rescued from theabandoned meeting at the same track on December 30 and Real Valuecan reap the benefit. Gardie Grissell's gelding was one of last season's leading ...
Chess: Chaos reigns
Jan 08, 2001 ... PLAYERS from both Staffordshire and Greater Manchester werecaught up in M6 traffic delays, forcing their National CountyChampionship match at Walsall Wood to be played under two sets ofrules. After a late start Greater Manchester were rewarded for theperseverance in fighting ...
Hockey: Jane stars for Sutton
Jan 08, 2001; ... VETERAN Great British Olympian Jane Sixsmith gave SuttonColdfield just the sort of mid-winter tonic they needed by netting10 of her side's 21 goals on the first weekend of the IndoorNational League programme in Sheffield. Sutton won all four matches to lead Division One with a ...
Athletics: Shoe-fire winner
Jan 08, 2001; ... MIKE Bouldstridge regained the Warwickshire cross country titleyesterday - wearing only one shoe. The 27-year-old graphic designer was well ahead with threekilometres of the 9.5 to go on his home course at Perry Park. Then the shoe stuck the mud, his foot came out and Shoeless ...
Ice Hockey: Hot Blaze
Jan 08, 2001 ... COVENTRY Blaze went two points clear at the top of the league asthey trounced Edinburgh Capitals 12-2. Hilton Ruggles and Marc Twaite gave Blaze a 2-0 lead inside thefirst six minutes only for Craig Wilson to pull a goal back beforethe first break. Ruggles then hit three ...
Golf: Ernie makes a plea for match play shake-up
Jan 08, 2001; ... ERNIE Els believes the Accenture world match play championship isin need of a makeover - after just three years in existence. After a week in which he arrived in Melbourne late and thenwanted to leave early - but unlike 40 other golfing stars did atleast show up - Els recommended ...
Darts: Andy's on Oz alert
Jan 08, 2001 ... ANDY Fordham aims to keep his perfect Embassy World Championshipfirst-round record intact tonight against an opponent being tippedas the dark horse of the tournament. Third seed Fordham has never lost an opening match at theLakeside but many pundits are predicting he will have ...
Just the job: Nurse - Caring is in the blood
Jan 08, 2001 ... THE JOB: Lurieteen Miller works at Ladywood Health Centre,specialising in Haemoglobinopathy, the study of Sickle Cell Disease,Thalassaemia and other blood-related disorders. 'Both Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia are becoming more common incommunities, so it's important that we raise ...
Just the job: First class change for Phil
Jan 08, 2001 ... A FORMER postman, who swapped the Royal Mail for e-mail, isencouraging other people to think about a change of career. Phil Green decided he had had enough of early mornings so heenrolled on a computer applications programming course, organised byDudley-based Computeach ...
Choices: Course lays firm foundation
Jan 08, 2001 ... IT'S a training milestone - more than 500 people have taken acourse aimed to help them find work with estate agents and homesdevelopers. Believed to be the only one of its kind in the country, theMaitland Selwyn School for Sales Consultants, was founded five ...
Choices: Opportunity is knocking
Jan 08, 2001 ... BRADFORD & Bingley Estate Agents are recruiting independentfinancial advisers to join their teams working in 600 outlets aroundthe country. Qualities needed include dynamism and energy, good communicationand interpersonal skills, honesty and dedication, ability todetermine and ...
Choices: Double Tick joy for NHS
Jan 08, 2001 ... BIRMINGHAM Specialist Community Health NHS Trust has won the'double tick' award for its positive attitude towards employingpeople with disabilities. The award, made by the Government's Employment Service, shows theTrust's commitment to valuing staff who are disabled. 'It ...
Choices: Charity work is a really top job ; Putting group on map
Jan 08, 2001; ... GRAHAM Brogden wanted a job that would make a difference - andhelping raise money for national charity Cancer Research Campaignfitted the bill perfectly. As senior fund raiser 30-year-old Graham oversees the charity'sappeals in the West Midlands, liaises with supporters throughout ...
Chess
Jan 08, 2001 ... Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) v Robert Hubner (Germany), Dortmund2000. Kramnik, who won the tournament last month, beat GarryKasparov for the world title. Innovatory strategy produced today'sposition. In a normal formation where White has an isolated d4pawnbut long-term attacking chances, ...
Switch On! Mel's ahead by a mile
Jan 08, 2001; ... HEART-THROB actor Mel Gibson was a double winner at the 27thPeople's Choice Awards in the US. The 45-year-old star of The Patriot beat Tom Hanks and DenzelWashington to win the best film actor and the best film drama actorcategories. The Green Mile, starring Hanks, won the ...
Switch On! Postcards from edge of heaven
Jan 08, 2001; ... WISH YOU WERE HERE. . ? (Carlton, 8pm) THE holiday wars start here. ITV's flagship travel show returns tonight - and the BBC's nowyear-round Holiday series keeps plugging away tomorrow after noteven taking last week off. For the next six months, Wish You Were Here. . ? ...
First Night: Waltz time ; The Music of Vienna, Symphony Hall
Jan 08, 2001; ... THE delightful elegance of the 19th Century Viennese ballroom wasbrought magically to life by the City of Birmingham SymphonyOrchestra. With American conductor David Charles Abell displaying tremendousenergy and enthusiasm, the familiar waltzes and polkas, principallyof the ...
First Night: Still swinging ; Glen Miller Orchestra, Symphony Hall
Jan 08, 2001; ... UNMISSABLE - demand for the delicious brass of the wartime bigband sound took even the organisers by surprise, with both concertssold out and all the programmes snapped up. It was not surprising that the Saturday concerts were sosuccessful. From the elegant Perfidia to Pennsylvania ...
Switch On! Paul spins his magic
Jan 08, 2001; ... ROOM 101 (BBC2, 10pm) YOU could have been forgiven for thinking that Paul Daniels wasdead. It seems ages since we've seen this brilliant magician on TV,but, it seems he's on a bit of a roll. Fresh from a recent appearance on Celebrity Ready Steady Cook onDecember 27 - ...
Brum project is on stream ; Upgrade for canals on city's Eastside
Jan 08, 2001; ... A MULTI-MILLION pound plan has been drawn up to breathe new lifeinto Birmingham city centre's Eastside canal system. It is hoped the exciting scheme, due to be officially unveiledtomorrow, will do for Eastside what the renovation of the Gas StreetBasin off Broad Street has done for ...
Forum on forgotten green site
Jan 08, 2001; ... A FORGOTTEN green corridor of land in Birmingham is set to becomethe focus of a major public consultation to find out how localpeople would like to see it developed. The land along the Bournbrook Walkway, near Selly Oak includesabout 14 hectares which stretch from Stonehouse Hill ...
Orange appeal
Jan 08, 2001 ... MOBILE phone giant Orange today revealed it is to float a 15 percent stake of the company on the ...
Real high flier
Jan 08, 2001 ... TOUR operator Airtours has appointed Georg Eisenrich, executivewith German ...
IT specialist in pounds 25m buyout
Jan 08, 2001; ... A BIRMINGHAM IT specialist company is facing exciting newhorizons in 2001- after a pounds 25 million management buyout. Network Disaster Recovery, of Aston Science Park, announced theNew Year deal today following intensive negotiations. The company, which has a 60-strong ...
Software group listed at pounds 10m
Jan 08, 2001 ... MIDLAND-based software group Intercede will become the firstcompany to float on the London markets this year, when it lists thisweek with a value of pounds 10 million. The group, ...
Deal cemented ; French swallow up Blue Circle
Jan 08, 2001; ... UK CEMENT group Blue Circle Industries has been swallowed up byFrench building materials giant Lafarge in a pounds 3.1 billiontakeover, it was revealed today. Shares in Blue Circle surged 7 per cent today following news ofthe recommended offer, which will create the world's largest ...
Tree project to boost wildlife
Jan 08, 2001 ... A PROGRAMME to stop pine saplings and bracken from invadingprecious Midland heathland is under way to provide a refuge for rarewildlife. Rangers have begun the massive programme at Cannock Chase as partof a pounds 3.25 million project to tackle the encroaching pinewhich is ...
Tolkien trilogy strife for family
Jan 08, 2001 ... THE pounds 66 million blockbuster film of Birmingham author J R RTolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy has divided his family, itemerged today. His son, Father John Tolkien, a retired Catholic priest, haspredicted the interest generated by the movie will create anightmare for the ...
Fun on high seas!
Jan 08, 2001 ... SINBAD the Sailor will be dropping anchor as the latest pantomimeproduction from a leading Midland amateur dramatic group. Tickets are now on sale for the popular tale from the ArabianNights as brought to the stage by the Vesey Players, of SuttonColdfield. Linda Turner said: ...