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Wolves manager Mick McCarthy is confident stand-in striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake can fill the gap left by injured forward Kevin Doyle for Saturday’s Premier League clash at Newcastle.The club’s bid to stave off relegation took a major blow when Doyle was ruled out for the season with knee ligament damage sustained while playing for the Republic of Ireland, but McCarthy believes Ebanks-Blake can fire 18th-placed Wolves up the table to safety – starting at St James’ Park at the weekend.

“Kevin has been terrific but someone else has got to play. Sylvan is coming in. If I bemoan the loss of one, it kind of detracts from the ability of the other,” McCarthy said.

“I prefer to look at Sylvan, who can score goals. He has got to play as well as Doyley, simple as that. He has scored goals when involved. I’ve no worries about that.”

McCarthy has taken the unusual step of naming the entire side that will take to the field against Newcastle, the 52-year-old sticking with team that won at Aston Villa two weeks ago with Ebanks-Blake the only change.

“The rest of the team is the same because they have been different class. Why would I change it?” he said.

“Anyone who is watching this can sort their free-kicks and corners out. I don’t give a flying hoot. We are going up there, we’ve been playing well. Why would I try and change and hide it? Let them deal with us.”

Winger Matt Jarvis scored the only goal in the 1-0 win at Villa Park a fortnight ago and earned his first England cap as a late substitute against Ghana in midweek.

But McCarthy admits Wolves will face a battle to keep Jarvis if they receive a big-money offer from one of the leading Premier League clubs, despite him only signing a new five-year contract at the start of this season.

“Jarvo has been here and done nearly five years. He has been wonderful for us. But if a top-four club comes in and offers an unbelievable amount of money for him, it becomes very difficult,” he said.

“The other scenario is we go ‘no chance, we’ve stayed up, we are adding to the squad, we are going to do this or that’.”

McCarthy believes three points against Newcastle, who are 11th in the table, would drag the north-east club right back into the scrap to avoid the drop – but a win for the hosts would pile on the pressure.

“Newcastle have 36 points but, if we beat them, they’re in it (a relegation battle), no question. But a loss would put seven points between us. That would make catching Newcastle hard,” McCarthy added.

Lokeren defeated Gent 1-0 in the Belgian First Division Playoff I on Saturday, and there were also wins for Kortrijk and Charleroi.Belgian striker Nill De Pauw put Lokeren ahead with what proved to be the winning goal in the 66th minute at the Daknamstadion. Lokeren now have one win and one defeat from two matches played in the playoff to determine the league champion.

In Group A of Playoff II, Sint-Truiden drew 0-0 at home to Cercle Brugge.

The teams are level on two points from two playoff matches played, behind group leaders Mechelen.

The winner of the group will meet the top team in Group B with a Europa League qualification berth at stake.

In Group B, Kortrijk beat Germinal Beerschot 1-0 thanks to a 57th-minute strike from midfielder Mohamed Messoudi.

Kortrijk and Germinal Beerschot both have three points from two matches played.

Westerlo remain top and can take a three-point lead with a win over Zulte-Waregem on Sunday.

In Playoff III, Charleroi overcame AS Eupen 2-0 at home.

Goals from Israeli striker Dudu Biton and midfielder Alessandro Cordaro wrapped up the win for the hosts at the Stade du Pays de Charleroi.

Both sides now have one victory each in their five-match contest to avoid automatic relegation.

Ligue 1 leaders Lille can put some breathing space between themselves and second-placed Marseille when they travel to Lorient on Sunday.With seven games remaining in the season, Lille have a one-point lead over Marseille – but Rudi Garcia’s side have stumbled in recent weeks, playing out a 1-1 draw with Bordeaux last Saturday and slipping to a 1-0 loss to relegation strugglers Monaco a week earlier.

With Marseille taking on Montpellier on Saturday in the final of the league cup, and his side riding high after a 2-0 Coupe de France semi-final win over Nice on Tuesday, Garcia’s men will be confident of increasing their lead as they bid to land a first league title since 1954.

The match with Lorient should see a shootout between Ligue 1’s two premier marksmen, with Lille’s Moussa Sow keen to add to his season tally of 21 goals and Lorient ace Kevin Gameiro on 17 goals for the campaign.

Paris Saint-Germain could leapfrog Lyon – who do not play this weekend – into third should they emerge successful from their trip to 11th-placed Brest, who are just four points clear of the relegation zone.

Fifth-placed Rennes will look to keep the pressure on PSG in the race for a Europa League place when they travel to Monaco, who need a win to move further away from the drop zone.

Arles, whose relegation was confirmed with a 1-0 loss to Valenciennes last Sunday, travel to 16th-placed Nancy and sixth-placed St Etienne travel to Bordeaux with the former still an outside chance of qualifying for the Europa League.

Caen will be eager to move out of the bottom three when they welcome Toulouse and 13th-placed Valenciennes take on Sochaux at Stade Nungesser.

Adaptation is always cited when a player comes in from another country to ply his trade in the Premier League . The physical nature of English football, with its high tempo and crunching tackles, has been a major cause of some player’s failing to perform in one of the best leagues in the world. It is said, that to make it in England, you have to have certain characteristics to adapt to its style. Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said this about Luis Suarez this week:

“He’s a good person. He’s bubbly and just loves playing football. For the style he is, both as a player and a person, I don’t think he’d find it difficult to fit in anywhere. That’s great credit to him.”

It is a fact that is clearly evident from the Uruguayan’s performances so far that he has seemingly needed no time to adapt whatsoever. Even those with the most ideally designed characteristics for the rigours of English football, it is said that it takes most players at least 6 months to adapt to the tempo and speed of thought necessary to play at the top of your game week in, week out in the Premier League. For some, less ideally suited to the style, it takes even longer to adapt, and for others, the adaptation never takes place at all.

Many of those who failed to adapt came from the lesser leagues of Europe, especially Holland. For every Ruud van Nistelrooy and Sami Hyypia, there is a Mateja Kezman and Alfonso Alves, and for that reason, I certainly wasn’t the only one who was thinking that spending £22.5million on Luis Suarez could have been a risk. Spending more money than we did on Fernando Torres to land the player, could have obviously back fired, but as you can tell from King Kenny’s comments, he never expected the Uruguayan to fail. Both himself and Damien Comolli had done their homework, and knew what they were getting.

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Back in January I was fully expecting that I would have to write an article before the end of the season that would have to defend Suarez against accusations that he couldn’t cope with the rigours of the Premier League; that he needed time to adapt. It was clear from the first minute of his debut however, that he would take to the Premier League very quickly indeed.

Everyone was aware of Luis’s qualities when he starred for Uruguay at the World Cup. Great with the ball at his feet, he had a turn of pace and the ability to ghost past defences with his skill and trickery. He was a very awkward to mark as Uruguay more or less afforded him a free role to move from the left flank to right or through the centre. No doubt these qualities would come in use in the Premier League , but how would he cope with the change in tempo? In Holland, there is a greater time on the ball and a lot more time to think. In England however, Suarez has found that the greater pace of play has provided him with larger amounts of space to play in, which he can exploit:

“The pace of the Premier League is completely different to where I’ve played before. It’s unlike the Netherlands, it’s unlike Uruguay and it’s unlike playing in the World Cup. This is a big league and it’s got its own way of doing things.You have to be strong and be able to play very physically. You have to be able to adapt to the way the game is played. In other leagues defences play very tight but here you get space. I’m enjoying it.”

He is stated yesterday that he firmly believes that playing in England can help him become a better footballer and I have no doubt it will. Although he is still use to having more time on the ball, Suarez may sometimes give away possession too easily as he tries to make something happen, but he great thing about the Uruguayan is that he is always lively. He is always looking for space, looking to create opportunities and open defences. Unlike Raul Meireles or Alberto Aquilani, there is no need to state that he needs time to adapt. This is the most surprising thing about Suarez so far, and hopefully this rich vein of form he is in will continue long into his Anfield career.

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Read more of David’s articles at Live4Liverpool

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Listen to the latest episode of our award nominee podcast – The Football FanCast. – Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O’Reilly and King Jacks! Don’t forget to help Razor and O’Reilly become award winners in the 2011 EPL Awards

Sunderland’s last home game of the Premier League campaign ended with a 3-1 loss to relegation-threatened Wolverhampton.For the second home game in a row Sunderland conceded three goals and at the final whistle, Wolves, the lowest scorers in the division, had succeeded in knocking six goals past the Black Cats in their two encounters this campaign.

Just as they did against Fulham in their last game at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland started the game brightly and played some delightful football in the first half.

But once again they went down to the sucker punch when Stephen Hunt’s 22nd-minute cross from the left was volleyed home by defender Jody Craddock at the far post.

Sunderland bounced back when Stephane Sessegnon acrobatically converted Bolo Zenden’s corner in the 33rd minute and the teams went in the break on level terms after an open 45 minutes in which Zenden hit the post for the Black Cats and Jamie O’Hara for Wolves.

Another 40,000-plus crowd at the Stadium of Light would have hoped their team’s better football would prevail.

But Sunderland were dreadful in the second half and slipped behind in the 53rd minute when Steven Fletcher found it all too easy to head home Matt Jarvis’s cross.

And the Wolves made certain of the three points when defender George Elokobi headed home O’Hara’s free kick in the 80th minute.

Victory took Wolves to the magic 40-point mark, just four points adrift of Steve Bruce’s sadly under-performing side.

West Ham just can’t keep themselves out of the news as there end of season party got out of hand and police were called in to resolve the incident. It has not been a great week for the Hammers owners who are reportedly desperate to get a new manager in as soon as possible.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include the FA in £50k bung probe; Ferguson gets the go-ahead to rest players, while Liverpool’s planned summer spending convinced Reina to stay.

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Ba brawl! West Ham players clash with fans at London hotel – Mirror

FA in £50,000 bung probe – Sun

African confederation backs Blatter – Guardian

Ancelotti faces a year’s gardening leave after Chelsea axe – Mirror

Ferguson gets go-ahead to rest players – Guardian

Sunderland defenders Onuoha and Mensah in dressing-room scrap- Daily Mail

Spending promise convinced Reina – Guardian

West Ham exodus begins – Daily Telegraph

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Harry eyes a spending spree – Sun

Arsenal and United on alert as target Hazard admits he wants to leave Lille – Daily Mail

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Despite the thrills and excitement that modern football provides us with, from the ever improving Premier League to the glamourous Champions League battles which are shown on our televisions, talked about on our radios and written about in our newspapers (and on the world wide web), football today is not all it’s cracked up to be. Today in modern football, there are all-seated stadiums, a variety of football boots and of course the celebrity footballers who are treated like movie and rock stars, but what about the football of ‘yesteryear’, the football that I am sure most of us grow up with and still like to remember.

Of course football today has improved in terms of fitness levels and professionalism which has coincided with the big money involved in the sport. It paints a very different picture from the football from the early 1990s to the start of the 1980s and an even different picture looking back further to the seventies and sixties eras – but as football fans, we do love to look back with a sense of joy and loss for football as we knew it.

I am sure most of us would like to see a few changes made in football today, with the cost of ticket prices or a cap on player wages, but the following Top Ten is on Football Nostalgia – what we used to love from the beautiful game that got lost in its own decade but still provides us with great memories. Join me for my Top Ten of Football Nostalgia….

Click on the League Ladder below to see the Top TEN

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Kevin Nolan’s defection to West Ham United left a burning hole in the Newcastle United squad. If you think I’m talking about his midfield slot you’d be mistaken. Nolan’s departure left the captains armband hanging lonely on a peg in the dressing room for over a month. Numerous candidates were thrown to the fore with Joey Barton, Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor the frontrunners to lead the Magpies next season.

The obvious choice was Barton after the season he had and his continuous professing his love for the club via twitter making him the ideal candidate in the eyes of the fans. Taylor was also a popular choice with the Geordie fans with the defender spending his entire career to date at the club. Even long serving goalkeeper Steve Harper was mentioned alongside midfielder Cheick Tiote although both would have proved to be the wrong choice.

In fact the armband went to one of the biggest favourites in St James’ Park and capped a massive turnaround in a career that looked doomed just two short years ago. The man affectionately known as ‘The Love of My Life’ Mr Fabricio Coloccini was chosen by Alan Pardew to sport the cherished armband next season. The Argentinian looked certain to be one of the first to scamper away from Tyneside in the wake of relegation after a disastrous first season. Signed for £10.9 million from Deportivo by the king of cowards Kevin Keegan he looked like yet another expensive flop. He was shown to be frail and incapable of dealing with Premier League forwards week after week.

But a season in the rough and tumble of the Championship was the making of him and his performances last season, manic goal celebrations and wild hair have endeared him to the Geordie faithful. It’s obvious he’s earned the captaincy on merit of performance but there is a sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t Pardew’s first choice.

Whilst I’m a big fan of Coloccini’s and believe we’d be weaker without him at the back I still think Barton was the first choice to replace Nolan as skipper. The problem with Coloccini is that his English isn’t exactly as fluent as it should be for a captain. Being a defender he’ll need to communicate from the back and make his voice heard throughout the team. With a legion of French speakers now joining the team along with the other nationalities in the squad why appoint a man who can’t speak English good enough to communicate with those who were born and bred here. He’ll have no trouble barking orders in Spanish to Jose Enrique and Jonas Gutierrez though.

Especially when the other players will be learning English to try and fit in with the manager and the majority of players who speak the native tongue. If the entire team is going to be speaking English wouldn’t it make sense to have a fluent English speaker as captain. Not only to communicate properly with the English players but to also help out the others who are learning the language and assist them in understanding any mystifying words or phrases.

I’m also not a fan of captains playing in defence. In my opinion a midfielder is the perfect position for a captain and that is why Barton was always going to be my first choice. It’s easier to communicate with the defence and forwards whilst playing in the centre of the park will give a player greater license to exert more influence on games. That’s what we got from Barton last season especially in the Arsenal game at home. He literally dragged us to that 4-4 draw having a hand in all four goals and scoring two himself. Unfortunately his contract situation and constant outbursts on twitter caused him to lose out in the race for the armband.

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Don’t get me wrong Coloccini won’t be a bad captain it’s just his communication that will be a major problem. Nolan was such an influence in the dressing room and away from the field and I can’t see the Argentinian doing the same. However what he will give the team is years of experience of playing at the top level, knowing what it means to play for Newcastle United and a consistency that seems to be unwavering at the moment. The way he fought back after his calamitous first season show that he is a player people can look up too. There is no doubt, as captain, he will continue to serve the club with great dignity. I just hope his French is up to scratch!

Chelsea are close to agreeing a deal for promising Barcelona midfielder Oriol Romeu, according to the Daily Mail.

The Blues have tabled a £5 million offer for the 19-year-old and he is now on the verge of swapping the Nou Camp for Stamford Bridge.

Big things are expected of the defensive midfielder who broke into the first team last season and made two appearances.

However with the plethora of world class midfield talent already established in Pep Guardiola’s side a move appeals to the youngster who will no doubt find it difficult to gain regular playing time.

Andre Villas-Boas is keen to bring the Spaniard to London after trying to sign him when he was at Porto. The Chelsea boss is keen to add to his midfielder after losing knee injury victim Michael Essien for six months.

The Spanish giants are prepared to sell the midfielder although they want an option to buy him back after two seasons. This comes after the success of Cesc Fabregas at Arsenal who left the Catalan club without much ceremony in 2003.

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It may prove to be a deal breaker  for Chelsea as they’d obviously like to keep the player if he does go on to be a success.

Newcastle United captain Fabricio Coloccini is reportedly looking for a move back to Spain according to the Sun.

The Argentine defender, who was handed the armband only last month after the departure of Kevin Nolan, wants to play Champions League football.

Despite his new role as skipper the Argentinian wants to play in Europe’s premier competition although it’s unlikely the Magpies will let their key defender leave.

It’s thought that his agent Macello Lombilla has already met with St James’ Park officials with the Spanish club preparing a £5 million bid.

It would be yet another blow to manager Alan Pardew who has suffered a testing first pre-season on Tyneside.

Having lost Nolan to West Ham and seeing his side beset by injury worries, visa problems and player unrest losing his captain would be the icing on the proverbial cake.

Coloccini is a massive fans’ favourite at St James’ Park and has won the Geordie public over with some commanding performances over the last two seasons after his debut campaign ended in relegation

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The 29-year-old would be prepared to take a drop in wages to £40,000 if he could secure a three-year deal to move back to La Liga.

He spent four years playing in Spain for Deportivo up until his £10.9 million move to Newcastle in 2008. He also had three separate year-long loan spells at Alaves, Atletico Madrid and Villareal from 2001 till 2004.