With Portsmouth assistant manager Kevin Bond expected to join old friend Glenn Roeder as Newcastle United assistant manager before the end of the week, speculation is rife that Jamie Redknapp will join the coaching staff at Fratton Park alongside his father Harry.

Jamie Redknapp has worked as a Sky Sports football pundit since retiring from football last season and his time as a Southampton player under his father’s management shouldn’t stand in his way of becoming accepted as a member of the Portsmouth coaching fraternity.

During his time at Tottenham, Jamie Redknapp was often seen giving instruction to other players from the bench and it had been suggested that he would begin his coaching career at the North London club after his career finished but following a swansong at relegated Southampton, he now appears set to follow his father again to the South coast.

It won’t be the first time that Harry Redknapp has looked to his close family for coaching support either as his brother-in-law and former West Ham colleague Frank lampard senior was also his assistant manager while he was boss at the Upton Park club.

Predicted Order of Finish: Germany, Poland, Costa Rica, Ecuador

Germany are firm favorites to win this group, not only because they are easily the most talented of the four, but because they will be inspired to perform in front of their home fans.

The other three teams all come to the Finals with something to prove and are looking to atone for dissapointments four years ago.

Poland went into the last World Cup expecting to make a strong showing but failed to get out of their group as the USA and South Korea advanced. They are now stronger although coach Pawel Janas raised more than a few eyebrows by not bringing to Germany Liverpool’s Champions League hero Jerzy Dudek and striker Tomasz Frankowski who lead the Poles in scoring during qualifying.

Costa Rica are one of the most entertaining of the 32 teams in this years Finals and were just a goal difference away from advancing from their group in 2002. They will be a pleasure to watch again with Paolo Wanchope up front looking to impress, World Club Championship MVP Chrstian Bolanos playing on either wing, and Alvaro Saborio, who has averaged 20 goals the last 5 years for Saprissa FC.

Ecuador qualified for the World Cup by finishing third behind Brazil and Argentina, but an asterisk will always accompany them as they play their home matches in their capital, Quito, which has an elevation over 9000 feet. When they play closer to sea level, their form drops significantly, winning only once away from home during qualification and recently drawing with Columbia, and losing to Macedonia in friendlies. In 2002 they defeated Croatia but it was meaningless as they had already been humbled by Italy and Mexico.

Expect the Germans to get 7 points to lead the group, with Poland and Costa Rica battling it out for second. As eventual semifinalist Turkey did to them in 2002, the Poles are likely to finish just ahead of the Costa Ricans on goal difference. Ecuador will not fall easily but don’t have enough quality (at sea level) to get more than a draw or two.

Tomorrow: Group B

Former Crystal Palace manger Iain Dowie has opened a major can of worms by agreeing to take over from Alan Curbishley at London rivals Charlton Athletic with Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan threatening to take the case to the High Court to get compensation.

Jordan even had a court representative attempt to serve Dowie with a writ as he sat at his unveiling before the press as Charlton’s new manager but was denied access to do so.

Simon Jordan believes that he only allowed Iain Dowie to break his contract as Crystal Palace manager because Dowie assured him that he wanted to take a job further north to be closer to his family in the north west of England. To find that Dowie had taken a job with local neighbours Charlton came as quite a shock to Mr. Jordan who had foregone a ?1m compensation clause in Dowie’s contract to allow him to leave.

Jordan said:

“My football club waived compensation because he wanted to go back to the north.

“I released him from a ?1million compensation clause because he said he wasn’t going to do what he’s done.

“I’ll prove it to the High Court. Iain Dowie had a #1million compensation clause in his contract and there is no reason why I would take that out unless it was as a gesture of goodwill.

“My repayment for that is for Iain to do exactly what he said he was not going to do.”

Iain Dowie has refuted the allegations however and has said that he simply wanted a new challenge after a couple of years in the Selhurst park hotseat.

“The first conversation I had with Charlton was two days after.

“I found them very enthusiastic and I was one of several people they
nterviewed.”

“It’s a job which doesn’t come up too often,” said Dowie.

“Charlton has a fantastic reputation I think it’s been earned over the years.

“It’s a special place to work because they have got a history of being stable.”

He added: “I just think it was time for a new challenge.”

The next actions in the saga now look likely to take place in the negotiating room or else the High Court.

Despite having the biggest international tournament of his career approaching for England, Frank Lampard has been speaking to the Spanish press about his situation at Chelsea and the rumoured interest in him from European champions Barcelona.

Lampard has told Spanish daily paper Marca that while he is happy at Chelsea, playing for Barcelona would be “a dream”.

“It would be a dream to go to Barcelona but I am happy at Chelsea. They have offered to renew my contract which is something to be proud about,” he told Marca.

“Chelsea are reinforcing and are going to be stronger still and we will be capable of winning things again.”

Frank Lampard’s Spanish fiancee, model Elen Rives, originally comes from Barcelona so there has been heightened speculation in recent weeks as to whether he would follow England compatriot David Beckham to the sun and sangria lifestyle in Spain.

Along with most of the English footballing supporting public, Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce has questioned the level of influence held in the FA by the Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein.

While similar questions have been asked by fans and the press over the past couple of years, it is the first time a high profile Premiership manager has come out with the question and surely now there has to be some level of inquiry into how one of the top men at one of the top clubs in the country can sit on decision making panels that have repercussions for all of the other clubs in the league.

Sam Allardyce’s main problem was that, through his position with the FA, David Dein could steer the committee responsible for replacing Sven Goran Eriksson away from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger so as not to upset that particular club.

“I don’t know how much power David Dein has but he obviously has a great influence within the FA and on what they do,” Allardyce told the News of the World. “One minute he had nothing to do with it and then he was sitting on the top table interviewing candidates for the England job. You would have to ask them how that came about. We do know one thing, he wouldn’t want the rest of the committee to go for Arsene Wenger so I am sure he would have batted that back with as much vigour as possible.”

After Crystal Palace agreed fees of ?8.5m with Wigan Athletic, Bolton Wanderers and Everton last week, England striker Andy Johnson has made it clear that he sees his footballing future at Goodison Park.

With so much upheaval at Selhurst Park over the past fortnight with failing to reach the play off finals and the resignation of manager Iain Dowie, it had become apparent that their star man Johnson was going to be allowed to leave and once Everton entered the race for his signature, he decided that they were the club for him.

Andy Johnson has told www.evertonfc.com:

“After several days of careful consideration, I have decided that my footballing future lies at Goodison Park with Everton.”

“I find the prospect of playing for one of the biggest names in British football impossible to resist, and I am now just hopeful that I can swiftly complete my medical so that I can sign on the dotted line and commit myself to the club.”

“Whilst I do believe that Everton will afford me the best opportunity to fulfil my twin ambitions of winning major honours and again representing England at senior level, the last few days have been both hectic and demanding,”

“I would like to thank both Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers firstly for having sufficient faith in my abilities to lodge a bid and secondly for being so courteous and professional during the course of our negotiations. I was very flattered by the interest of both clubs.

“I would also like to thank everyone at Crystal Palace - especially (former manager) Iain Dowie and the fans - for their support and dedication during my time at Selhurst Park. In many ways I am sorry to be leaving but I wish them well for the future.”

Johnson should now complete his medical tomorrow and finalise the deal this week after being given time off from international duty by Sven Goran Eriksson to discuss the deal with the Merseyside club.

AC Milan are reportedly eyeing up Manchester United’s wantaway striker Ruud Van Nistlerooy as a replacement for Chelsea bound striker Andriy Shevchenko.

Shevchenko told the Milanese giants this week that he wouldn’t be signing a contract extension with them and is now set for an English transfer record busting ?35m move to English Premiership champions Chelsea.

Milan have been keeping an eye on Van Nistlerooy for quite a while but following his well publicised bust ups with Sir Alex Ferguson and Cristiano Ronaldo recently, they seem ready to make an official move to add the Dutchman to their striking options for next season.

Van Nistelrooy could be available for as little as ?8m now that Manchester United seem certain to offload him and it would be a fantastic piece of business for AC Milan to sell one 29 year old striker for ?35m and get him replacement in for less than a quarter of that. Chelsea had also been interested in Van Nistelrooy but the potential Shevchenko move now opens the way for a transfer to Serie A for the wantaway Manchester United star.

Former England coach Terry Venables has revealed that he has turned down the offer of the Middlebrough manager’s job as he feels the stress of Premiership management is too much for him.

“It had not entered my mind to work full-time again, but chairman Steve Gibson was very persuasive.

“At 63 I couldn’t have committed to full-time management the way I would five or 10 years ago.

“I think I have had my years as a full-time manager now.”

With Steve McLaren leaving the job after the World Cup to take up the reins with England, Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson is left with a race against time to find a replacement in time to ensure adequate preparations are made for next season and his first choice was the 62 year old Londoner who helped Boro avoid relegation in 2000/2001 alongside Bryan Robson.

While Venables managerial record has been patchy overall since leaving Tottenham Hotspur under an acrimonious cloud in the early 1990s, his reputation has apparently went unharmed at Middlesbrough. He also still holds Gibson and the club in high regard:

“If it had been any other club bar Boro, I’d have made up my mind sooner.” Venables said.

“I had a great time there before and have a lot of happy memories of the area, the club and the fans.”

Coincedentally, Steve McClaren is now believed to be keen to use Venables as an advisor when he begins his own job of leading England after the World Cup.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has warned Wayne Rooney to not push himself too hard in the build up to the World Cup or else face ruining his chances of taking part completely.

Rooney has been given permission by Manchester United to travel with the England squad when they leave for Germany on June 5th despite not knowing whether he will be able to take any part in proceedings until after another scan on his broken foot on June 14th.

Alex Ferguson spoke to MUTV:

“We do not just look at this from the medical point of view. Wayne has to take care of himself too. He has to look after himself by ensuring he is getting the proper rest and is wearing his orthopaedic boot at the right time, particularly in training.”

Comments by Ferguson’s old boot kicking friend David Beckham about Wayne Rooney strutting his funky stuff on the dance floor at a party at the Beckham’s house last weekend will have done nothing to calm the fears for Rooney’s fitness from Ferguson or Manchester United who, while having a mild interest in the World Cup, will need their star man ready for an assault on Chelsea’s Premiership stranglehold come August.

Feyenoord striker Salomon Kalou will overcome his disappointment at not getting fast track citizenship in time to play for Holland at the World Cup finals by signing a five year deal with Chelsea this week.

The Ivory Coast born player, brother of Ivory Coast star Bonaventure Kalou, has been a revelation for Feyenoord this season and the club reluctantly agreed to let him travel to London for talks with Chelsea after opening negotiations with the club on Thursday.

The 20 year old then had talks with both Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and manager Jose Mourinho and is now expected to complete the move next week after the Chelsea and Feyenoord agree a transfer fee.