Tottenham seal a Milk Cup victory in style

Preston NE 1/ Tottenham 5
There were no League Cup surprises last night as Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester Utd and Tottenham all ensured their places in the fourth round. For the third time this season, Spurs travelled north and bagged five goals, and the highlight of the bunch was the last, which hat-trick hero Peter Crouch audcasiously put away with a backheel volley.

[101GG]

Former gaffer is the current favourite for the Rovers gig

Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince today became the sixth Premier League manager to leave their post this season, in the process saving what was in danger of being a chronically slow news day (front page of The Sun: Benitez’s kidney stones; back page of The Sun: Capello wants the Wembley grass shorter). Here are the leading contenders to replace the Guv’nor at Ewood Park according to chickendinner:

Graeme Souness (best price: 5/2 with Paddy Power)
Souness took the club back into the Premier League and won the League Cup during his first spell as manager between 2000 and 2004 and starts as the early favourite to regain the position after newspaper reports over the last few days linked him to the post. He walked out of the club four years ago for Newcastle after a winless start which left Rovers in the relegation zone, and at the time it was rumoured that Souness had jumped before he was pushed.

Sam Allardyce (best price: 3/1 general)
In case you haven’t read a newspaper since January, Sam Allardyce is pretty interested in finding himself a job and having previously overachieved without spending much money at Bolton, he is a strong candidate. However, Blackburn opted for Ince over more experienced candidates like Allardyce and Steve McClaren in the summer so Big Sam may bear a grudge.

Alan Curbishley (best price: 10/1 with Paddy Power)
Two years ago Curbishley took charge of a West Ham team

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