The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 30

30 The Guardian Friday May 21 1999 Sport mm 4 mmmmmmm 4i (fSVtf First Division play-off liilPW WatiF oirdl take Bouug (road to WemMey can come back next week, but 'we're not having a repeat of last year's staying-up party." "Come off it," I says. "Thebar bill that night was 35 long 'uns." "Yes," she says. "And the -damage to the ladies toilets alone came to more than that. Not to mention the prize- winning koi carp in the, ornamental pool that were poisoned by. cremede menthe, the bill for the industrial cleaners to remove the 4if Matches at Wembley y.

Kick-off 3pm i First Division Bolton Wanderers Watford (Monday May 31) Second Division Gillingham Manchester City (Sunday May 30) Third Division Scunthorpe United Leyton Orient (Saturday May 29) form Watford will take plenty of confidence to Wembley, where Bolton stand in their way of a return to the top tier after an absence of 11 years. Taylor said: "I feel very proud for the players. When you think that in only one week of the season have we been out of the top eight and also that we have beaten Sunderland once and both Bradford and Ipswich as well, then no one can say that we don't deserve this." Holdsworth was sent off after an aerial challenge with Michael Ngonge nine minutes into the secondhalf. Itlefthis team with a fragile rearguard after they had overturned Watford's advantage after only a minute. Forced to defend a dangerous free-kick, Watford thought they had dismissed the threat only for Bryan Hughes to loop the ball back in.

Peter Ndlovu was immediately aware of the possibilities and as he and Chamberlain came together the winger was first to it. The ball hit a post and in the scramble Steve Palmer's clearance cannoned off Adebolabe-fore crossing the line. Despite the numerical disadvantage Ndlovu had the chance to wrap it up before extra-time but could not make a decisive connection. Birmingham (4-4-21: Poole; Rowett, Holdsworth, Johnson, Grainger; McCarthy (Purse, 57min), Hughes, O'Connor (Bradbury, 98), Ndlovu; Furlong, Adebola (Holland, 64). Watford (4-4-2): Chamberlain; Bazeley, Palmer, Page, Gibbs; Wright (Hazan, 88), Hyde, Johnson, Kennedy; Mooney, Ngonge (Smart, 88).

Referee: DPughtWirral). to cast Joe Cole block on Rio Ferdinand's sale to Real Madrid after reports that the Spanish club were about to offer l2m for the young defender. "There is absolutely no question whatsoever of selling him for 12m or any other figure," said the director of football Peter Storrie. "He's on a long-term contract and we have had absolutely no contact with Real Madrid. We don't want him to leave and Rio doesn't want to leave." "It's a non-starter," said West Ham's manager Harry Red-knapp.

"I wouldn't be interested if they offered22m. Where can I find another Rio Ferdinand? I can't because there isn't one." Redknapp also ruled out a move for Davor Suker, whose contract with Real has been terminated. The striker is seeking 40,000 a week. "He's too expensive," said the manager. Bayern Munich's French left-back Bixente Lizarazu will miss the Champions League Cup final against Manchester United on Wednesday.

He has not recovered from a knee injury. Arsenal's bid to sign Barcelona's 17-year-old Fernando Macedo da Silva has been rubber-stamped by the Spanish Football Federation. The midfielder, known as Nano, has been offered a four-year deal worth about 400,000 a year. He currently earns about 10,000. Off the park Darren Tackle fsffortday Like many in the game, yours truly has begun to wonder what has happened to that great British trait: a sense of perspective.

So, Man are poised to win everything In sight play-, ing the finest football seen in the country for a generation. And? Does that justify the ridiculous amount of attention they is getting this week? I. mean, some of us going about our business in our own quiet way is just as worthy of praise for the way in which we nar- rowly avoided relegation for the fourth season on the bounce. But you can scour the media all you like and there's barely a mention of the Greens in this tide of red. Well, except for the news of Mr Chairman's arrest on charges of down-loading child pom from the internet.

But to be honest, one seven-page pull-out special investigation in the People hardly redresses the balance. Still, there's one thing your professional has to hold up his hands and admire about Mart the 17,000 bar bill the lads totted up on their celebration night out. That and Keano's little scuffle. To be honest, those of us what live our lives in the goldfish bowl that is your modern game will have every sympathy with the lad. I mean what's the world coming to these days when a group of a dozen or so Premiership footballers can't even go into one of the most popular bars in the centre of town, give it Jack Large and spend 17 long 'uns getting bladdered without the entire world and his bloody ex-wife lining up to have a pop at them? It was the same with us on our night down at Dell's to cele-, brate staying up among the big bonuses.

As per always, moment we walks into a licensed premises, conversation stops, all eyes spin in our direction and a forcefleld opens up around us atthe bar. Wattsy, me, Herrnann, Darko, and! one of trie Bosnians' (tKeother 7, is in the Royal Infirmary after celebrating with one too many family fun buckets at the KFC on Bridge Street). And, sure enough, there's a circle of space round us as all the other punters stand there eyeing us up, presumably fascinated by the cut of my new Alexander McQueen strides. You know, way they were looking anyone'd think they'd never seen a pair of 36in flares in avocado before. As always, It's no more than five minutes before the first bird is across the space, looking to add the one notch to her bed-post they all want most of all: that of a Premiership.pro.

"Aye, aye, here they come," I says to Wattsy, hoping, in all honesty that this particular savage-looking moose is not heading in the direction of yours truly. "All right you lot," she says, and instinctively I go for rriy pen, expecting at any moment to be presented with a size 36D to sign. "You're barred. Now sod off." 7 Turns out it's only the landlady. It was.Wattsy, breaking the world record set by Vic when he was told there wasn't a table in that new Azerbaijani restaurant down River Street, who said it first.

"Do you know who we are?" "Course I do," she says. "That's why you're out. You smears from the mirrored dance floor and Ginetta the lap dancer, who was off sick forthree months with emotional trauma after Wattsy showed her his tattoo." There's no answer to that. Worse, word had obviously aot out: it was the same tale at Manzi's, Gracelands, the r' Cross Bar, the Firkin Barstew-ard and Bizzv MzLizzv's. We ended up back at Wattsy's by 1 0 with Mrs Watts rationing us to half a pint of lagershandy each.

I tell you, Keano boy, spending the night in the nick, you got off light. And finally, atthe end of a long, hard season, I'm sorry to be the bearer of sad news concerning this column. Everyone what knows Darren Tackle will tell you that he has always said he will know when the time is right to walk away from football. Well, that time is now. At the back of mv mind I always knew thatthe point would come all too soon when I would have achieved everything I set out to do when embarking on a career in this great game of ours.

Namely to have salted away sufficient sponds by my mid- twenties to spend my time. floating around the Canbbean on a yacht full of Mart smoking a joint the size of a cucumber. I mean, the last thing anyone with a jot of self-respect would do is hang around after they're Wou know, way the other punters were looking, anyone'd think they 'd never seen a pair of 36ih lares in avocado before' 30. Look atthe pitiful specimen that is Mickey Scanlan, Old Grandad, a depressing fitness fanatic who, in his pathetic attempt to fight Father Time has turned himself into a stranger to the good things in life. Anyhow, when retirement beckoned foryours truly, I always knew this column would come to an end, I would have to put away my notebook, close down my word processor and stop providing you lot with me pearls of wisdom and that.

Regrettably, and it chokes me to say it, Rodders gave me a bell on the mobile this morning to say my fiscal arrangements preclude the possibility "of early retirement this means, after a mere six weeks lying on a beach In Barbados, I'll be back doing all this nonce come July. Back getting up at some ungodly hour to tortured by Demo attaining, back having to listen to the banter of the Bosnian's; back getting fleeced jn anpther pf Wattsy's betting scams. And back getting pestered by Rodney telling me some no-mark student from the Guardian is demanding my forthls sodding 1 See'ydu next season, msm lift Trevor Haylett at St Andrews Birmingham City 1 Adebola2 Watford 0 Aggregate 1-1 after extra-time Watford win 7-6 on penalties The magical combination that is Graham Taylor and Watford saw them survive a punishing ordeal of nerves and exhaustion which went beyond extra-time and into penalties before they finally saw off abravebut unlucky Birmingham to reach the play-off final. This most unforgiving of climaxes was especially cruel on Trevor Francis's players, who had been forced to endure more than an hour with only 10 men after David Holdsworth was sent off for a secondyellow card. Still they tried to force the pace, still a capacity crowd willed them on with a passion that never died, but ultimately the fates were against them.

"There is a dressing room full of tears down there," said a bitterly upset Francis. "Everything that could have gone against us did so." After 120 minutes the teams remained inseparable. The early goal which Dele Adebola claimed had cancelled out Watford's advantage from the first leg. Higher and higher went the tension quotient as with one miss apiece the penalty shoot-out was tied at 6-6. Then the Watford substitute Alon Hazan scored but Chris Holland, one of three Birmingham replacements, did not and Taylor was on his way back to Wembley, where he suffered more than his fair share of disappointments with England.

The save with which Alec Chamberlain denied Holland was far more comfortable than the string of magnificent stops near the end of normal time. The pick was a dive to his right to block Michael Johnson's header as the Blues gained inspiration from who knows where. With Chamberlain in this SB ECeegan eye over Martin Thorpe The outstanding talents of West Ham's teenage midfielder Joe Cole have been recognised by England in his call-up to train with the senior squad before next month's European Championship qualifier with Sweden. The tiny 17-year-old is acknowledged as one of the most gifted midfMd prospects since Paul Gascoigne, and his ball skills left West Ham first-teamers applauding when he first trained with them. The England midfield has been devoid of a talent capable of unlocking defences since Gazza's decline.

So now, after receiving impressive reports about Cole, Keegan wants to seehimatfirsthand and allow him to gain experience of an England set-up. Although Cole has yet to play a full 90 minutes for West Ham, he particularly caught the eye of Keegan's right-hand man Arthur Cox in the Hammers' 6-0 FA Youth Cup final second-leg win over Coventry. There have been two withdrawals from the England squad for the Sweden game on June 5. The goalkeeper Nigel Martyn, of Leeds, has pulled out to rest apersistent knee injury and Sunderland's Kevin Phillips has atom hamstring. West Ham yesterday put the uibauiiMfVMkrirmiM The saviour Watford's Alec penalty from Chris Holland Photograph: Ben Radford tr have moved ahead of the Irishman in Gullit's mind.

His relationship with Given remains strong, though, despite a professional rivalry that sees one benefit from the other's mistakes. An added uncanny visual coincidence is that the two could pass for twins. "We are very good friends," Harper said. "And you never wish mistakes on anybody. Shay is a top-class keeper and a proven international and whoever plays on Saturday will be supportive of the other.

It's an unusual situation, but Shay has been brilliant." Equal respect travels in the opposite direction and is fully warranted. Not only is Harper afine keeper, he has a solid nature that reflects his upbringing as the son of a miner in Easington Colliery. The pit may have gone, his father may have lost his job, but Harper still lives in the village on the North Sea coast. "A lot of people have left and only now is it starting to get back on its feet," he said of Easington. In Brian Kidd-speak, that is where Harper gets his background and his heart from.

It is also where he got his A-lev-els in geography and communications studies, useful attributes for a young man at a stadium the size and volume ofWembley. 2 Guidi (It) Polli 3 Missaglia (It) Lampre 4 Tosatto (It) Ballan 5 Settini (It) Mapei 6 Trentinl (US) Cantina Tollo 7 Magnani (It) Canto Tote 8 A Petacchi (It) Navigate 9 Blijlevens (Nelhl TVMIOG Figueras (It) Mapei all same time Leading overall standings: 1 Jalabert (Fr) Once 27hr 22min lsec 2 di Luca (It) Cantina Tollo at 7sec 3 Rebellin (It) PoltJ 14 4 Savoldelli 165 Pantani (It) Mercatone Uno 6 Frigo (It) Saeco 7 1 Gotti (It) Polti ell the same time8 GSImoni (It) Ballan 199 Camenzind 2610NAxelsson (Swe) Navigare St. MIDI LIBRE Third stage (22km time trial): 1 Belli (It) Festina 26mln 25sec 2 A Martinez (Sp) Euskaltel at 7sec3G Maignan (Fr) Casino 13 4 A Vinokourov (Kaz) Casino 17 5 Streel (Bel) Team Home 21 6 Blaudzun (Den) Team Home 287 CMareau(Fr) Festina 290verall: 1 Martinez 8hr 49mln 15sec2 Maignan at 2.07 3 Streel 2.104 Belli 2:465 Vinokourov 2.47 6 Desblens (Fr) Cofidls 2.51. REPRESENTATIVE MATCH FA XI Highland League (7.30) wmmmmsm SUPER LEAGUE Cup final countdown Back-up man steps out of the shade Naoper the green teepee Chamberlain blocks the crucial In the time between the contract offer and last week's signature, Harper turned 24. Far from being the young kid coming through he is actually 13 months older than Given.

With the Ulsterman established at St James' Park, first under Kenny Dalglish and then Ruud Gullit, and with Harper having impressed sufficiently on loan at Hudders-fieldTown last season for the Yorkshire club to want to buy him, Harper's ambivalence about his future on Tyneside was justifiable. He wanted first-team action but Newcastle would not sell, even though Given's position was unquestioned under Dalglish, who then signed the Frenchman Lionel Perez on a free from Sunderland last summer. The message Harper was receiving was that he was No3. Again. It had often been that way since he stepped up from Newcastle's juniors with Pavel Sr-nicek, Tommy Wright, Mike Hooper and Shaka Hislop all in front of him.

While learning his trade Harper never complained, and when informed last season that he was being loaned out to a First Division club, having earlier gone to Hartlepool United in the Third, he was excited at the prospect. Then he found out it Chlen-bing (Taipei) Kamide (Japan) Devers(US)FCasas(Phil)CKamps(SA)D Wilson (US)ZLian-TOi(CMna)NVanRensburg (SA)RCuello(Phil)JRandhawa(lnd)S Holmes (NZlK Asahara (Japan) Kaplan (SA) TSuginara (Japan) ATP ST POELTEN TOURNAMENT Third round: El Aynaoul (Mor) bt Canas (Arg) 6-3 7-5MRios (Chile) leads Koubek (Auti 5-3 (rain stopped play for the day), WORLD TEAM CUP (Ousseldorl) Red Group: Sweden 3GB0 (Swe first): Bjork-man bt RusedsW 6-2 6-2 Enqvlit btT Hen-man 7-6 6-4BJortanonN Kultf bt Henmarv' RusedsW 3-6 7-5 6-1 Spain 2 Germany 1. WTA STRASBOURG INTERNATIONAL Third round: Capriati (US) bt Black (Zim) 7-6 6-4A Suglyama (Japan) bt Andretto (Fr) 6-2 6- 2DChladkova(CrtbtMMaleeva(Bul6-4 2-6 6-3 Fernandez (US) bt Foreb (Fr) 7- 5 6-1 Quarter-flnali: Ukhovtteva IRus) bt Morariu (US) 6-4 6-4Caprlatl bt Tauziat (Fr) 6-1 6-0Femander bt Dechy (Fr) 7-5 6-3 Chladkova btSugiyama 7-6 6-2. WTA MADRID OPEN Quarter-flnali: A Frailer (US) bt Farina (II) 7-63-6 6-4L Davenport (US) bt A SmasHnova llsr) 6-1 6-3 Rubin (US) bt Gagliardi (Switz) 6-0 6-2 Suarez (Arg) bt SernaSp)6-46-2. I 70 Michael Walker The players of Manchester United may not be the only ones on the double-take tomorrow afternoon.

When the nation sits down to watch the FA Cup final, a fair proportion of the audience will take one look at the man in the goalkeeper's jersey of Newcastle United and say: "Ah, Shay Given." Then they will look a little closer and say: "It's not Shay Given, is it?" Unless something dramatic occurs in training today or tomorrow morning, the answer will be For the man keeping the Newcastle goal will be Steve Harper. You will be excused a "who?" at this point because this will only be Harper's eighth start for Newcastle in six years. It could be said his moment has been a longtime coming. Harper certainly thinks so. After spending so long in the shadows he was unprepared to sign a new three-year contract offered at Christmas until last week, when he finally felt assured that he was regarded as Newcastle's Nol or at least a legitimate contender.

Considering he first signed professional forms in July 1993, then waited five years for his debut, he was entitled to the doubt and the wait. Semi-final, second leg First Drviilon Birmingham (1)1 Watford (0)0 Adebola 2 29,100 (agg 1-1) laet; 1-0 at 90min; Watford won 7-6 on pens and play Bolton at Wembley, May 3 1, 3.0) IRISH CUP Final, tecond replay: Bray Wndrs 2 Finn Harps 1, mmsmmm ALUED DUNBAR Premlenhlp One Saracens 40 Newcastle 26, Play-off, first leg Rotherham 19 Bedford 11 ASIAN PGA TOUR CHINA OPEN (Shanghai) Flrit-round leading acoroi; was Huddersfield and they were bottom of the table. Yet he describes the temporary move as a'fantastic "I had 15 games for Hartlepool and it was a big thing for me. We only lost one. Then I got the call from Peter Jackson at Huddersfield, and I learned a lot from the Third Division and a relegation battle.

I learned to relax; before that I used to get very uptight. Sometimes when a player is thrown in they try and do too much. Now I just try to be neat and tidy." His neatness has coincided with a period of relative untidiness from Given, yet it was only on May Day against Middlesbrough two games ago that Harper appeared to Keeping the faith Harper's patience is about to pay off WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (Copenhagen) Selected: Women: Morgan (GB)ME Karachkova(Rus) 11-6 U-lMlxod doubloi: Quarter-finals: Archer Goods (GBI bt SupriantoR Zelin (Indo) 15-7 15-9. AMERICAN LEAGUE Texas7TampaBay6Baltimore4Anaheim5 Toronto 3 Detroit 7 Boston 6 NY Yankees 0 Chicago White Son 7 Cleveland 13 Kansas City 14 Oakland 3Seattle 7 Minnesota 0. NATIONAL LEAGUE Atlanta 7 Pittsburgh 3 Colorado 1 2 Cincinnati 24 San Francisco 8 Arizona 3 Montreal 10 Philadelphia 9 Florida 7 Chicago Cubs 8 Los Angeles 5 Houston 2San Diego 7 St Louis 6.

Postponed: NY Mets Milwaukee. NBA Second-round play-offs: Soml-flnala: Eastern Conference: Indiana 85 Philadelphia 82 (Indiana lead series 2-0)Westem Conference; San Antonio 79 LA Lakers 76 (San Antonio lead series 2-0), mmmmmm GIRO D'fTALIA Sixth stage (Laurla to Foggla, 245km): 1 Vainstelns (Latvia) Vini Caldirola 5nr 55n 43sec Stewart would be forced to wear an earpiece I Arsenal 60 Derby County 72 Nottm. Forest 86 Aston Villa 61 Everton 74 Oxford 14 Bamsley 62 Fulham 57 QPR 86 Blrm.Glty 63-Grimsby 15 Rangers 87 Blackburn 64 Hudd. Town 74 Reading 59 Bolton 65 Ipswich Town 75 Sheffield United 88 Brentford 66 Leeds United 76 Sheffield Wed. 89 Burnley 67 Leicester City 77 Southampton 90 Bury 11 Liverpool 78 Spurs 91 Celtic 68 Man.

City 79 Stoke City 92 Chariton 99 Man. United 80 Stockport 12 Chelsea 69 Middlesbrough 81 Sunderland 93 Coventry City 70 Mlllwall 82 Watford 58 Crewe 71 Newcastle Utd 83 West Ham 94 Crystal Palace 13 Norwich City 84 Wimbledon 95 Wolves 96 Calls cost 60p peb mm at all times. supplied by: ms, 15 mark lane, leeds ls1 8lb. helpline: 0171 713 4473 rjiGuardiart (3 i NTERACTIVE Repeat: Hurricajoe I hardly ever 5ioaSes Sarf Oh flipping 67 Hussaln (Pak) Rowa (HK) Sriro (Thai) Hla Han (MallC Pena (USID Zarate (PhillK Oruce(Aus)S Yates (Scot) 69" Hung-lln (Taipei)G Morales (Ven) Young (Aus) Terblanche tSA) Chie-hstang (Taipei) GGhelflnd) Leeds Halifax (7.30),.