Huddersfield Town boss Simon Grayson credited former manager Lee Clark after they were promoted to the Championship. The Terriers beat Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United eight-seven on penalties after one hundred and twenty minutes of stalemate minutes failed to separate the two teams in the play-off final at Wembley. Grayson took over from Clark in February and told BBC Sport: 'Credit goes to Lee Clark because he put most of that team together. We came in with a remit to finish the job off and we've managed to do that.' The former Leeds boss has now guided three teams to promotion from League One having taken Blackpool up via the play-offs in 2007 and sealing automatic promotion with the Elland Road club in 2010. Despite the positive result he admitted he is yet to put his mark on the team: 
'This promotion is different. We came in at the end of February so we only had three months to work with the players. There'll be players with us here today that may not be with the club next season and it won't be until then that I stamp my authority on the team.' Blades keeper Steve Simonsen missed the vital penalty for his side to hand victory to the Terriers. Grayson praised United's efforts: 'Sometimes it's written in the stars and you have a bit of luck. How we recovered from missing our first three penalties I'll never know. I feel sorry for Sheffield United because someone had to lose and they're a good team with a good manager. Hopefully they can go up next year.' Reading loanee Sean Morrison was successful in his attempt from the spot, to cap off an impressive display alongside Town skipper Peter Clarke. The Huddersfield boss was unsure whether he would be able to retain the services of the twenty one-year-old centre-half: 'We'll assess the situation with the chairman. He's not our player. He's got a very good partnership with Peter but whether we try and sign him will depend on other availabilities and budgets I have at my disposal.' Personally, the moment that Simonsen missed his kick the first thought that went through yer actual Keith Telly Topping's head was of the ignorant numskull who pulled a knife on yer actual Keith Telly Topping after his beloved (though even then unsellable) Magpies had beaten the Blades in an FA Cup semi-final in 1998. Purely, it would seem, because yer actual Keith Telly Topping happened to be walking the wrong way down a street after the game in which his team had lost. I hope you enjoy another year in division three, pal.
Roy Hodgson's reign as England manager began in Oslo's Ullevaal Stadium with a first win against Norway in thirty two years. Ashley Young's early goal provided the decisive moment of a rather low-key friendly that turned into an audition for several of Hodgson's shadow squad as he formulates his final plans for Euro 2012 after replacing Fabio Capello. England showed early signs of the tactical discipline that will be demanded by Hodgson. And while the performance hardly set pulses racing, it should be remembered that the side that starts the serious action against France in Donestsk on 11 June will not resemble the one on show in Oslo. Hodgson also has Wayne Rooney to call on once he has served a two-match suspension at the start of the tournament - and it is abundantly clear that England will rely as heavily as ever on Rooney's ability to shape the outcome of important games. If Hodgson was looking for early evidence of what he must improve before the tournament gets under way in Poland and Ukraine, it was carelessness in possession - especially in the second half - that will not go unpunished against opposition superior to Norway. Hodgson was able to introduce Arsenal teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for his debut late on as this makeshift England line-up closed out a victory that was solid for the most part without ever threatening to be spectacular. There was also an injury scare for Hodgson as midfielder Gareth Barry, who was substituted after replacing captain Steven Gerrard at the start of the second half, was replaced by Liverpool's Jordan Henderson with seventeen minutes left. Hodgson admitted there would be an early element of experimentation about England's side, with his focus firmly on that opening Euro 2012 meeting with France, perhaps even above getting a victory in Norway.
He would still have been looking for encouraging signs, however, especially from striker Andy Carroll. The Liverpool Alabama Yee-Haw forward's presence has taken on increasing importance with Rooney suspended and Danny Welbeck's ankle injury still a source of concern. And Carroll provided a hint of what Hodgson was looking for in the opening minutes as he sent a header wide from Stewart Downing's cross before playing a role in Young's fine individual effort after nine minutes. Carroll played in Young and the Manchester United winger took advantage of desperately flat-footed defending from Fulham's Brede Hangeland and an intelligent decoy run from Gerrard to beat keeper Rune Almenning Jarstein. England's formation was a rigid four-four-two against a Norway side of surprisingly limited ambition and on one of the rare occasions James Milner got in the action he forced a save from Jarstein. Gerrard had been loudly cheered before kick-off as a result of Liverpool's large Norwegian following - but he was being jeered as the villain by the time he ended his forty five-minute appearance after a heavy challenge that resulted in Tom Hogli being replaced by Espen Ruud. The second half was a scrappy affair, not helped by the disruption of substitutions. Oxlade-Chamberlain was given his England debut late on in place of Young, while Henderson came on for Barry. England's failure to retain the ball inevitably encouraged Norwegian pressure and keeper Robert Green needed to be alert to block John Arne Riise's powerful drive at his near post. As the game drew to a muted conclusion, there was even time for Liverpool defender Martin Kelly, who did not make England's stand-by list for Euro 2012, to get his first cap as an eighty seventh-minute substitute. It underlined the experimental nature of this fixture, a fact acknowledged by Hodgson as he began his tenure with victory.
Craig Levein suffered his heaviest defeat as Scotland boss as the USA raced to a 5-1 victory in Florida. Which was funny. Effing hilarious, so it was. The kick-off was delayed by more than twenty minutes as a record crowd turned up in Jacksonville to see the hosts make a flying start through Landon Donovan. Michael Bradley had the Scots two down after eleven minutes before a Geoff Cameron own-goal halved the deficit. But Donovan struck two more to claim his hat-trick and Jermaine Jones's seventieth minute header completed the rout. The result proved to be ample reward for the majority of the forty four thousand fans as they watched the US make the gulf between the two nations appear far greater than the nineteen places which separate them in the FIFA World Rankings.
The Netherlands played the first of three warm-up matches on home soil in the next week on Saturday evening, but opponents Bulgaria ran out surprise 2-1 winners at the Amsterdam Arena.
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk opted to start with Newcastle's Tim Krul between the posts, the twenty four year-old winning his third senior cap. The home side led 1-0 at the break but Krul was then beaten by a fiftieth minute spot-kick and could do nothing to prevent an injury time winner. Before kick-off, the United 'keeper was confirmed as one of three custodians in the Netherlands squad for Euro 2012 and with AS Roma's Maarten Stekelenburg struggling for fitness, Krul has been chosen to start against Bulgaria ahead of Swansea City's Michel Vorm.
'This promotion is different. We came in at the end of February so we only had three months to work with the players. There'll be players with us here today that may not be with the club next season and it won't be until then that I stamp my authority on the team.' Blades keeper Steve Simonsen missed the vital penalty for his side to hand victory to the Terriers. Grayson praised United's efforts: 'Sometimes it's written in the stars and you have a bit of luck. How we recovered from missing our first three penalties I'll never know. I feel sorry for Sheffield United because someone had to lose and they're a good team with a good manager. Hopefully they can go up next year.' Reading loanee Sean Morrison was successful in his attempt from the spot, to cap off an impressive display alongside Town skipper Peter Clarke. The Huddersfield boss was unsure whether he would be able to retain the services of the twenty one-year-old centre-half: 'We'll assess the situation with the chairman. He's not our player. He's got a very good partnership with Peter but whether we try and sign him will depend on other availabilities and budgets I have at my disposal.' Personally, the moment that Simonsen missed his kick the first thought that went through yer actual Keith Telly Topping's head was of the ignorant numskull who pulled a knife on yer actual Keith Telly Topping after his beloved (though even then unsellable) Magpies had beaten the Blades in an FA Cup semi-final in 1998. Purely, it would seem, because yer actual Keith Telly Topping happened to be walking the wrong way down a street after the game in which his team had lost. I hope you enjoy another year in division three, pal.Roy Hodgson's reign as England manager began in Oslo's Ullevaal Stadium with a first win against Norway in thirty two years. Ashley Young's early goal provided the decisive moment of a rather low-key friendly that turned into an audition for several of Hodgson's shadow squad as he formulates his final plans for Euro 2012 after replacing Fabio Capello. England showed early signs of the tactical discipline that will be demanded by Hodgson. And while the performance hardly set pulses racing, it should be remembered that the side that starts the serious action against France in Donestsk on 11 June will not resemble the one on show in Oslo. Hodgson also has Wayne Rooney to call on once he has served a two-match suspension at the start of the tournament - and it is abundantly clear that England will rely as heavily as ever on Rooney's ability to shape the outcome of important games. If Hodgson was looking for early evidence of what he must improve before the tournament gets under way in Poland and Ukraine, it was carelessness in possession - especially in the second half - that will not go unpunished against opposition superior to Norway. Hodgson was able to introduce Arsenal teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for his debut late on as this makeshift England line-up closed out a victory that was solid for the most part without ever threatening to be spectacular. There was also an injury scare for Hodgson as midfielder Gareth Barry, who was substituted after replacing captain Steven Gerrard at the start of the second half, was replaced by Liverpool's Jordan Henderson with seventeen minutes left. Hodgson admitted there would be an early element of experimentation about England's side, with his focus firmly on that opening Euro 2012 meeting with France, perhaps even above getting a victory in Norway.
He would still have been looking for encouraging signs, however, especially from striker Andy Carroll. The Liverpool Alabama Yee-Haw forward's presence has taken on increasing importance with Rooney suspended and Danny Welbeck's ankle injury still a source of concern. And Carroll provided a hint of what Hodgson was looking for in the opening minutes as he sent a header wide from Stewart Downing's cross before playing a role in Young's fine individual effort after nine minutes. Carroll played in Young and the Manchester United winger took advantage of desperately flat-footed defending from Fulham's Brede Hangeland and an intelligent decoy run from Gerrard to beat keeper Rune Almenning Jarstein. England's formation was a rigid four-four-two against a Norway side of surprisingly limited ambition and on one of the rare occasions James Milner got in the action he forced a save from Jarstein. Gerrard had been loudly cheered before kick-off as a result of Liverpool's large Norwegian following - but he was being jeered as the villain by the time he ended his forty five-minute appearance after a heavy challenge that resulted in Tom Hogli being replaced by Espen Ruud. The second half was a scrappy affair, not helped by the disruption of substitutions. Oxlade-Chamberlain was given his England debut late on in place of Young, while Henderson came on for Barry. England's failure to retain the ball inevitably encouraged Norwegian pressure and keeper Robert Green needed to be alert to block John Arne Riise's powerful drive at his near post. As the game drew to a muted conclusion, there was even time for Liverpool defender Martin Kelly, who did not make England's stand-by list for Euro 2012, to get his first cap as an eighty seventh-minute substitute. It underlined the experimental nature of this fixture, a fact acknowledged by Hodgson as he began his tenure with victory. Craig Levein suffered his heaviest defeat as Scotland boss as the USA raced to a 5-1 victory in Florida. Which was funny. Effing hilarious, so it was. The kick-off was delayed by more than twenty minutes as a record crowd turned up in Jacksonville to see the hosts make a flying start through Landon Donovan. Michael Bradley had the Scots two down after eleven minutes before a Geoff Cameron own-goal halved the deficit. But Donovan struck two more to claim his hat-trick and Jermaine Jones's seventieth minute header completed the rout. The result proved to be ample reward for the majority of the forty four thousand fans as they watched the US make the gulf between the two nations appear far greater than the nineteen places which separate them in the FIFA World Rankings.
The Netherlands played the first of three warm-up matches on home soil in the next week on Saturday evening, but opponents Bulgaria ran out surprise 2-1 winners at the Amsterdam Arena.
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk opted to start with Newcastle's Tim Krul between the posts, the twenty four year-old winning his third senior cap. The home side led 1-0 at the break but Krul was then beaten by a fiftieth minute spot-kick and could do nothing to prevent an injury time winner. Before kick-off, the United 'keeper was confirmed as one of three custodians in the Netherlands squad for Euro 2012 and with AS Roma's Maarten Stekelenburg struggling for fitness, Krul has been chosen to start against Bulgaria ahead of Swansea City's Michel Vorm.
