* Outrage at the hamstring injury suffered by Steven Gerrard took a new dimension on Wednesday night as England woefully crashed to France.

As Gerrard limped out of the action, LIVERPOOL’S head of fitness and conditioning Darren Burgess, groaned: “Completely amateurish and now we pay for their incompetence.”

* MANCHESTER UNITED boss Alex Ferguson has reopened his attack on Wayne Rooney’s agent by describing Paul Stretford as “not the most popular man in the world”.

* FLEETWOOD TOWN goalkeeper Scott Davies is being tracked by Bury, who could make a move in January, and Walsall.

* Clarence House insist princess-to-be Kate Middleton will not be joining her new fiance Prince William in lobbying for England's 2018 World Cup bid.

* Brazilian 18-year-old Neymar claims CHELSEA, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Juventus are all trying to prise him away from Santos, but the striker says he would prefer a move to the Turin club.

* Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is convinced that his Spain team-mate Cesc Fabregas still wants to move to the Nou Camp, although it is believed the Catalan giants will not be able to afford the ARSENAL midfielder.

* MANCHESTER CITY are considering splashing out £7m to trigger Espanyol’s release clause for their highly rated 21-year-old centre-half Victor Ruiz.

* Robert Pires says he will be fit to play for ASTON VILLA against Blackburn at Ewood Park on Sunday.

* Scottish side AIRDRIE have been forced to apologise after using a picture of Nazi soldiers on the front cover of a special match-day programme for Remembrance Day.

* INTER MILAN president Massimo Moratti has given boss Rafael Benitez a vote of confidence amid speculation the one-time Liverpool chief was about to be sacked.

Meanwhile, Inter Milan are weighing up a move for Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar. The 28-year-old South African is out of contract at the end of the season and the Toffees may be forced to cash in during the January transfer window.

* WEST HAM manager Avram Grant wants to make a move for Kaiserslautern's Croatian 27-year-old striker Srdan Lakic, valued at about £2m by the German outfit.