Football: Player sacked after Allon's jaw broken

(First Edition)

A TRAINING incident in which Joe Allon, Brentford's leading scorer, incurred a fractured jaw led to Micky Bennett, a winger at the club, having his contract terminated yesterday.

Allon, 27, who moved across London from Chelsea last year for a club record fee of pounds 275,000, had an operation late on Tuesday. He has scored nine goals in the past eight games.

Bennett, 24, came to Griffin Park from Wimbledon in 1992. His contract was cancelled after a meeting with the Brentford manager, David Webb. The club has waived any right to a fee for the player, who becomes a free agent, while Allon will spend several weeks recuperating.

St Johnstone moved quickly to fill the gap left by John McClelland by appointing Paul Sturrock, the former Dundee United player and coach, as manager.

Sturrock quickly set out his priorities after signing a three-and-a-half-year contract: It took some soul-searching to leave United, but I will be my own man and the first job I have here is to raise the confidence of the players.' He has yet to name an assistant.

Keith Curle is to sign a contract with Manchester City that will keep him at the club until 1998. Newcastle and Blackburn had shown interest in the centre-back who moved from Wimbledon for pounds 2.5m two years ago.

Don Hutchison, the Liverpool midfielder, requires surgery on a cartilage and will be out of action for six weeks.

The Bermudan international Shaun Goater is on his way back to Rotherham just days into a month's loan at Notts County. He was pulled out of the side to play Brescia in the Anglo-Italian Cup on Wednesday after problems arose with his work permit. The Department of Employment will not allow him to play for any club other than Rotherham until a new one is issued.

Charlton Athletic have signed Mark Robson from West Ham for a fee that could reach pounds 125,000, depending on how many appearances he makes for his new club.

Swindon Town will today sign Keith Scott, the Wycombe Wanderers striker who has scored 15 goals so far this season, for pounds 300,000.

Sheffield Wednesday may have problems at right-back after reports in a Swedish newspaper that Roland Nilsson wants a move back to his home-land. Michael Williams, who deputised for the international when he was playing for Sweden last week, broke his leg in a reserve match against Sunderland on Tuesday night.

Nilsson was reported as saying that he wants a move to the Helsingborg IF club for 'family reasons' and that his decision was 'final and irrevocable'. Trevor Francis, the Sheffield Wednesday manager, refused to comment on the report.