Soccer Central

Former Halifax boss Chris Wilder has been appointed as the new manager of Oxford United. Wilder replaces Darren Patterson who was sacked last month, and takes over from Jim Smith who had taken on the role of caretaker manager after the dismissal of Darren Patterson.

Wilder had most recently been at Bury in League Two as Assistant Manager; having formerly managed Halifax Town he does have experience in the Blue Square Premier league however, and knows what it takes to survive in the league on a minimal budget.

Six years Chris Wilder spent as manager of Halifax, only leaving in June when the club was demoted three divisions from the Blue Square Premier to the Unibond Division One North as a result of severe financial problems.

There had been speculation that former Carlisle manager John Ward would take over at the club; having also been linked with the Swindon Town and Crewe Alexandra jobs however, John Ward currently remains out of work.

Oxford United is currently 13th in the Blue Square Premier division, 11 points behind the play-off places, and just eight points above the relegation zone. Chris Wilder now faces a tough task ahead in dragging Oxford United away from the relegation zone, and closer to the play-off positions. Oxford had been one of the favourite teams to win the Blue Square Premier league before the season began, poor form away from home however has seen Oxford United slump sadly into the bottom half of the table.

There isn’t any money available to bring in new players to the Kassam Stadium to strengthen the squad in January; if Chris Wilder is to sign any new players for the club then he’ll instead be needing to look towards free agents and loan signings.

Chris Wilder faces a tough second half to the season as Oxford manager, if he can get the club promoted back to the football league though then he’ll instantly become an Oxford United club hero. It won’t be easy, but if Wilder can do a good job, then it will be incredibly rewarding.

Oxford United is a big football team that never should have fallen as far as the fifth tier of English football. Chris Wilder becomes the third manager to take charge of Oxford United in the Blue Square Premier league; Oxford United will now be hoping that they have this time found the right man to return them to England’s football league.

Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra has agreed a deal with Real Madrid, and will officially join the club on January 1st. The transfer fee is a “substantial” figure believed to be in the region of £20 million, and Diarra is all set to sign a four and a half year deal at Real.

Diarra has made 34 appearances since signing for Portsmouth in January 2008, aiding his team with three goals in the process. He’ll have a medical in Madrid on Monday, and should everything run smoothly then come January Lassana Diarra will be playing his trade at the Bernabeu.

Having originally moved to Portsmouth due to a distinct lack of first team opportunities at Arsenal; Lassana Diarra has really come on in leaps and bounds since arriving at Fratton Park. Still only 23, Diarra now faces an exciting future ahead in Spain, and if there’s any truth to the rumours then Diarra may well be playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo next season.

Tony Adams now faces a fun January spending the £20 million on new players for Portsmouth, Diarra is one man that won’t be in the Pompey team come January however, and will instead be joining Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as a new signing at the Bernabeu.

After 11 months in charge at Elland Road; Leeds manager Gary McAllister has now been sacked by the club. McAlister’s Leeds was beaten by Doncaster Rovers in the League One play-off final last season, narrowly missing out on promotion straight back up to the Championship. After a run of five straight defeats though which has seen Leeds slip to 9th in the league, 5 points off the much coveted play-off places; Gary McAllister has now become the latest football league managerial casualty.

McAllister took over from Dennis Wise in January 2008, and whilst he did do well for the club last season in almost achieving promotion with Leeds United; five straight defeats is simply not good enough when you’re managing a big club like Leeds, and after such a poor run the club really had no choice but to let him go.

There’s a lot of expectation at Leeds United; Leeds was a top four team in the English Premier League not too long ago, and the fans and management alike would love for Leeds to once more become a top tier team as soon as possible.

Third tier football is not what Leeds United Football Club is all about; in 2004 Leeds United was relegated from the Premier League after 14 years in the top flight of English football, in a very short space of time the team has now dropped to the third tier, and it’s now a case of rising back up through the ranks. Returning to the top flight of English football is not going to be easy, it’s what’s wanted by all those involved with Leeds United Football Club however, and when a team aspires to return to the Premier League; five straight defeats in League One is never going to be anywhere close to good enough.

Leeds United is a football team likely to be making many January transfer signings; something needs to be done at the club, and the team really needs to be strengthened next month if Leeds United is to stand a strong chance of achieving promotion this season. The play-offs are definitely still possible for Leeds United, and automatic promotion would certainly be preferable; with 5 points to make up to reach the play-offs though, and 11 to achieve automatic promotion; there’s a lot of work to be done at the club in the coming weeks and months.

So Gary McAllister has been dismissed, and Leeds United will now be looking to appoint a new manager as soon as possible.

Despite Nemanja Vidic’s sending off in the 49th minute leaving Manchester United down to 10 men for much of the second half; Manchester United won the Club World Cup 1-0 today, becoming the first English club to win the tournament in its current format.

It took a smoothly taken Wayne Rooney goal in the 73rd minute to provide United with the victory; the truth is though that Manchester United should have won the game far more comfortably.

Right from the off Liga de Quito kept a lot of men back, soaking up large spells of Manchester United possession, and able to finish the first half with the score line still at 0-0. United dominated much of the first half, nothing came of the side’s superiority however, and despite the fact that they should have been multiple goals up at the break; sadly for them, they weren’t.

When Nemanja Vidic was sent off just four minutes into the second half; it seemed as though Manchester United may live to regret their failure to convert possession into goals during the first 45 minutes of the match. Thankfully for United though; Wayne Rooney came to the rescue with an excellent goal enabling Manchester United to claim the cup.

So not only are Manchester United champions of England, and champions of Europe; but also now champions of the world. Liga de Quito played a lot better in the second half than in the first, despite being a man down Manchester United still managed to win the match though, and Manchester United is officially now the best team in the world.

BBC Sport has reported that Chelsea will not be signing any new players in the January transfer window, and that neither Alex nor Didier Drogba will be leaving the club either.

AC Milan, Sevilla and Panathinaikos are all thought to be interested in signing Chelsea’s Alex, Drogba meanwhile has been linked with a move to Inter Milan. Chelsea deny that either player will be leaving in January though, Drogba himself confirming that “I have always said I have a contract with Chelsea until 2010”, and Alex reportedly having told Felipe Scolari that he has no wish to leave the club.

So there will apparently be no changes for Chelsea in January, Peter Kenyon insisting that the squad is strong enough as it is means that Felipe Scolari will just have to remain content with the team that he’s got.

Chelsea fans will not be getting an exciting late Christmas present in the form of an expensive new January signing for their club, but should be buoyed by the fact that neither Didier Drogba nor Alex will be leaving Stamford Bridge.