Birmingham's McLeish Says Soccer Violence Brings Back `Dark Ages': Roundup

The following is a roundup of soccer stories from European newspapers, with clickable links to the Web.

Birmingham Violence

Violence by fans at Birmingham’s Carling Cup match with Aston Villa brings soccer “back to the dark ages,” manager Alex McLeish said, according to the Telegraph.

Supporters invaded the field, injuring 14 people, including 4 policemen, the newspaper said. A flare was thrown back and forth by the fans, and seats were ripped up and thrown, the newspaper said.

The flareup happened just the day before England appealed to FIFA to allow the country to host the 2018 World Cup.

Adebayor Forces Hand

Manchester City player Emmanuel Adebayor is trying to force a loan move to Tottenham Hotspur in January after a series of arguments with his manager Roberto Mancini, the Daily Mirror reported.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp wants City to pay half of Adebayor’s 120,000 pounds-a-week ($187,716) wages.

City Mull Carrico Bid

Manchester City may bid as much as 12 million pounds for Sporting Lisbon central defender Daniel Carrico, the Daily Mail reported. City has watched the 22-year-old “extensively” in the last year, the paper said.

Chelsea Chases Brazilian Keeper

Chelsea may pay as much as 3.5 million pounds for Brazilian goalkeeper Guilherme, the Daily Mail reported.

The 24-year-old Lokomotiv Moscow player could join the London team as backup for first-choice goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Terry’s Weekend Return?

Chelsea player John Terry may return from injury this weekend against Everton, the Guardian reported.

The former England captain has undergone “extensive” physiotherapy in London and Milan to relax the muscle that had been troubling his sciatic nerve, the paper said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Rossingh in London at drossingh@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at celser@bloomberg.net