Fowler's future in doubt after Houllier row

Robbie Fowler has had a new row with the Liverpool manager, Gérard Houllier, putting his future at Anfield in fresh doubt.

During a frank exchange of views last week, the England striker was informed by Houllier that he would have to accept being Liverpool's third-choice striker behind Michael Owen and Emile Heskey, and told he could be facing an extended spell in the Anfield reserves.

It was a shock development for Fowler, who had just made his peace with the management after an argument with the Liverpool coach Phil Thompson that cost him his place in the squad.

Fowler and Houllier are understood to have exchanged angry words, although the player made it clear he would not ask for a transfer, despite what he sees as provocation to do so. Fowler is still revered by Liverpool's supporters and there would be an outcry if the club were to sell him against his wishes.

Houllier proved to be as good as his word last week, leaving Fowler on the bench against Boavista and again at the weekend against Everton, even though the striker scored twice for the Liverpool reserves against Manchester United on Thursday.

The Blackburn manager, Graeme Souness, is waiting in the wings with a major offer, and Leeds United and Chelsea will also be watching developments with interest. Liverpool would want around £12.5m, but the price will drop as Fowler nears the end of his contract, which currently has 20 months to run.

The 31-year-old Rangers striker Rod Wallace has joined Bolton until the end of the season. The Wanderers manager, Sam Allardyce, is also trying to sign the Macedonian midfielder Artim Sakiri for £500,000 from his Slovenian club NK Gorica, and has applied for a work permit.

The French Football Federation says it has Fifa backing to call up British-based players for their friendly against Australia.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham and Manchester United have said they do not want to release players for the 11 November match in Melbourne, fearing they will return jaded for the following weekend's Premiership matches after two long-haul flights. But the FFF president Claude Simonet said the Fifa president Sepp Blatter would back them in any club-versus-country conflict.

Wolves were last night attempting to resolve the hitch that has so far held up Sunderland midfielder Alex Rae's £1m move to Molineux. The 32-year-old has agreed terms with the Wanderers – but Wolves' chief executive Jez Moxey revealed they were still waiting for one issue to be settled.

The Professional Footballers' Association is to auction Sir Stanley Matthews' 1953 FA Cup winners' medal to raise money for its Benevolent Fund, which assists retired and injured players and their families. The medal, from the so-called "Matthews Final" when Blackpool beat Bolton 4-3, was given to the PFA recently by Sir Stanley's family and will be auctioned in London later this month.

"It is a marvellous gesture on the part of Sir Stan's family," Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the PFA, said. "It is a special gift to the PFA and it is brilliant. To say I am chuffed would be an under-statement."

The medal's sale comes as the PFA continues its negotiations with the football authorities for a share of the game's television income. The union received almost £9m from the English leagues last season to fund its work (which includes education and anti-racism programmes and helping financially-troubled clubs) but has yet to agree a package from the current three-year television deals. They are worth £500m a year to the Premier League and Nationwide League combined. Taylor has said that if the issue is not resolved this week, a ballot on strike action is a possibility, with televised games likely to be affected.

"Up to this minute, £12m of services to our members are currently in a state of suspension," Taylor said. "We have been kept waiting for an offer for the last few months and are very keen to get an agreement in place quickly because our services to our members are being affected.

"Industrial action remains a possibility although we would hope that we do not have to go down that road, but the negotiations have not yet started and we are considerably behind schedule. We are confident our members would back industrial action if asked but hopefully common sense will prevail and we can get around a table to discuss these issues."