Birmingham Post

Murder Charge ; Courts

A man will appear in court today accused of murdering a woman who died in a house fire. Debbie Sheen received fatal injuries and her six-year-old daughter Lizzie sustained serious burns in the blaze in Holbrooks, Coventry, on November 13.

Streetsmart

As the annual round of Christmas parties begins, Birmingham restaurants are asking you to spare a thought for the city's homeless. Almost 20 of Birmingham's favourite eating places are supporting the StreetSmart scheme, by asking their customers for a donation of pounds 1 on each table's bill.

Cage Fighters Going for Gold ; Sport

Organisers of cage fighting in the UK called for the controversial sport to be ranked among Olympic disciplines. They say British fighters could dominate the combat sport - a form of mixed martial arts (MMA) - as it grows internationally.

Boat Dead Honoured ; Memorial

Forty-five people who were killed when a flying boat crashed 50 years ago were remembered in a ceremony yesterday. Three honeymooning couples were amongst those who died after the Solent flying boat, owned by Aquila Airways, crashed into a disused chalk pit on the Isle of Wight in Hampshire on November 15, 1957.

Churches Unite Over Bill On Gay Parenting Rights

The Anglican and Catholic Churches in Birmingham last night stood united against reported Government proposals to grant gay couples equal parenting rights. Rt Revd David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham, said he backed comments made by Archbishop Vincent Nichols on Radio 4's Sunday Programme .

Deputy Mayor and Wife 'Stable' After Transplant Op

Birmingham's Deputy Lord Mayor and his wife were last nightin a stable condition after undergoing life-saving transplant surgery. The couple, who endured the five-and-a-half hour operation on Saturday, were now recovering in the same ward at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston, their surgeon said.

Blues Drop Themselves Into Another Fine Mess ; Comment

The text message came through last Thursday afternoon while I was surveying the large flight of stairs that occupy the position between 923 and 937 Vendome Street in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. "Steve Bruce likely to quit Birmingham City," was the gist of it and I knew then that I was in the perfect place to receive such news.

Golds Still Fighting to Keep Hold of Bruce

Chairman David Gold last night insisted the Birmingham City board were "doing their best" to solve the current crisis as the departure of manager Steve Bruce to Wigan Athletic looked all but inevitable. Blues are stepping up their bid to try to keep hold of Bruce's assistant manager, Eric Black, while they look for a replacement for the former Manchester United captain.

Mcclaren Determined to Keep England's Eye On the Final Ball ; Euro 2008

Steve McClaren has warned England they must not fail to grasp their Euro 2008 lifeline. Israel's shock win over Russia, plus Macedonia's equally unexpected triumph over Croatia means England could actually top Group E when they conclude their qualification campaign at Wembley on Wednesday.

Football: Confident Saddlers Are Proving Hard to Beat ; Coca-Cola League One Walsall 0 Luton Town 0

Richard Money is particularly skilled at quoting statistics and although the Walsall manager didn't mention that his team had lost only one of the last nine league games, he will no doubt have stored away that satisfying information for a future occasion. It proves that the Saddlers are hard to beat, but another statistic he may not be so keen on is that they now have just one win in four league matches, with three draws.

Football: Healy Tops the Chart to Keep Euro Hopes Alive ; Euro 2008 Qualifying Group F Northern Ireland 2 Denmark 1

David Healy looked embarrassed at having to explain how it felt to be the record scorer in a European Championship qualifying campaign. Northern Ireland's predatory striker set a new best of 13 goals with a glorious winner in a dramatic victory against Denmark at rainlashed Windsor Park. Croatia legend Davor Suker's record had stood for 12 years.

Football: Brave Scots Lay Foundations ; Euro 2008 Qualifying Group B Scotland 1 Italy 2

The 89 minutes in-between featured the trademarked tumultuous Scottish endeavour against a major world footballing power. But two Italian goals, in the first and last minutes, underlined why the Azzurri march on to Euro 2008 and the Scots do not. In the end, it was a victory for the team with greater concentration and composure - Scotland's defending for the Italian goals was uncharacteristically sloppy. But it is to this emerging Scottish team's great credit that there was no great gulf in s...

Football: Jewell Supported to Offer the Irish New Optimism ; Group D Wales 2 Republic of Ireland 2

Kevin Kilbane has hailed Paul Jewell as "a forward-thinking coach" as the Republic of Ireland search for a new manager. Legendary Republic player-manager Johnny Giles has already sounded out Jewell regarding the prospect of taking up the post vacated by Steve Staunton following his sacking at the end of last month.

Football: England Can Rise to Big Occasion - Lampard

Frank Lampard believes England's ability to perform at their best in qualification games when the stakes are highest will stand them in good stead for Wednesday's Euro 2008 clash with Croatia at Wembley. And the Chelsea midfielder insists England should approach next summer's finals with great confidence if they go through after earning a dramatic reprieve via Russia's shock reversal in Israel.

Football: Bathroom Refuge Says All On Mcclaren's State ; Frank Malley Wonders If England's Coach Will Cope After Not Watching the End of Saturday's Israel-Russia Match

Steve McClaren expects England's qualifying decider against Croatia at Wembley on Wednesday to be "one of those nerve-wracking games you never forget". By way of illustration he cited the World Cup qualifier at Old Trafford against Greece in 2001 when David Beckham's last-minute free kick secured the 2-2 draw which saved England from enduring a play-off.

Football: Rowe and Thomas Combine to Down Chasetown and Confirm Sutton Class ; British Gas Business Midlands

Sutton Coldfield Town provided further evidence to back manager Chris Keogh's assertion that he has assembled his best Royals squad after they chalked up an eighth successive win. Not only that but it came against one of the pre-season title favourites in Saturday's match of the day as Sutton edged out FA Cup heroes Chasetown 2-1 at Coles Lane.

Football: Robinson Fires Coleshill to Last-64 Territory First ; Fa Vase

Coleshill Town earned their place as FA Vase giant-killers and reached the last 64 of the minnows' FA Cup for the first time. Carl Adams' Midland Combination title-chasers upset the odds by defeating Polymac Services Midland Alliance outfit Barwell 3-1, with Matt Robinson scoring twice.

Football: Playing Close to Edge of Final Slot ; England Need to Earn Just a Point Against Croatia On Wednesday to Secure Qualification for Euro 2008. Liz Byrnes Looks at England's Previous Make-or-Break Games

England v Scotland, 1999 England stumbled into Euro 2000 after a two-leg play-off victory. Paul Scholes scored twice as England won 2- 0 in the first leg at Hampden Park. However, a woeful performance at Wembley and a solitary Don Hutchison goal saw the Scots claim a deserved victory and their first win in England since May 1981.

Football: No Call-Up for Agbonlahor ; Under-21s

Gabriel Agbonlahor and Theo Walcott have travelled with the England Under-21 squad to Portugal ahead of their Euro 2009 qualifier in Agueda tomorrow. Injuries to Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Emile Heskey left senior boss Steve McClaren short on attacking options for the crucial clash against Croatia the following day but Tottenham Hotspur's Darren Bent has been called up while Walcott and Agbonlahor are currently focusing on the Under-21s.

Football: Feisty Croatia Coach Bilic Expects England Fire

Croatia boss Slaven Bilic has warned his side that England will "be on fire" when they travel to Wembley on Wednesday. England need just a point to ensure they qualify for the Euro 2008 finals following Israel's defeat of Russia on Saturday, while the Croats are already assured of their progress to Austria and Switzerland next summer despite their shock defeat to Macedonia.