Manchester City fan Noel Gallagher has no doubt who is to blame for his beloved club's current plight former boss Alan Ball. The Oasis star believes Ball should carry the can for the club's relegation into the Second Division, not current manager Joe Royle or the Maine Road board.
"I don't blame the board - I blame Alan Ball," insisted Gallagher. "He sold Garry Flitcroft, who's one of the best midfield players in the country, with six games to go in 1996 and we went down. I went to one game and they were singing 'Wonderwall'. At the end they were mentioning Alan Ball and I didn't want them to mention his name in my song."
But Gallagher won't be buying into Maine Road in a bid to revive the fortunes of the ailing club. He has been repeatedly linked with moves to take over the Blues, but he said: "I haven't got as much money as people make out - I've actually got more! I won't say how much money I've got but I couldn't buy one decent player. Maybe if we go down again next season, the club will be worth £500,000 and I can turn it into a Tesco's and have done with it."

TIVERTON WIN VASE, BUT ONLY JUST Tiverton Town 1 Tow Law Town 0 Substitute Peter Varley became Devon's hero when he saved Tiverton's blushes with the only goal of the FA Vase Final at sunny and steaming hot Wembley on Saturday. Rated as England's top junior non-League side, Tiverton have scored an incredible 154 goals on their way to winning the Screwfix Direct League for the fourth successive year. Tiverton were expected to steam-roller Northern League side Tow Law with five players all scoring over 30 goals this season, including Varley, who scored his 37th of the season ten minutes from time, just when it looked like the underdogs were going to cause a huge shock as they launched countless attacks. Jarrod Suddick, their main offensive weapon, squandered their best chance in the first half when he shot straight into the hands of Tiverton's inspirational goalkeeper Paul Edwards. Varley saved the bookies from a big pay-out when he sent a lethal drive into the top right hand corner of Tow Law's net after they had failed to clear Neil Saunders' cross. The north-easterners' frustration was epitomised by Tony Nelson, who had the embarrassment of being sent-off a minute from time for violent conduct.

KIDS WIN FIRST TITLE FOR IRELAND The future of football in the Republic of Ireland is looking bright after their Under-16s clinched the country's first-ever international title by beating Italy 2-1 in the European Championship Final at Perth on Friday night. Ireland coach Brian Kerr hailed his battling troops after they clinched an unexpected triumph with a stunning 20-yard free kick by Nottingham Forest defender Keith Foy just before half-time and a tap-in winner from Newcastle's David McMahon after good work from Graham Barrett of Arsenal and Forest's Andrew Reid. Italy had equalised through Simone Pelanti the first goal Ireland had conceded in the tournament. "We have come from nowhere to be champions of Europe - that sounds good,'' Kerr said. ''It is a special moment for Irish football and there should be great joy around the whole of Ireland with this victory. To be honest, I didn't think we had that in us. It was a sensational performance. Meanwhile, over 17,000 were at Old Trafford to see England Under-15s beat Hungary 1-0. Middlesbrough's Stuart Parnaby, son of manager Dave, saved a poor England performance with a tap-in from Jay Bothroyd cross after the Arsenal striker's excellent run.

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