Steven Fletcher celebrates scoring the opening goal

A look ahead to this weekend's Premier League fixture at the Stadium of Light

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Independent Crossword

Football: All aboard the Gullit train

The Ruud reawakening: Shepherd and Hall gamble on football becoming an affair of the heart again

Football: Relaxed start to the reign of Ruud

THE CHANGE of guard at Newcastle United was nothing if not brutal. Kenny Dalglish's autobiography had been rudely removed from the souvenir shop at St James' Park and not far away the statue of Jackie Milburn sported a new haircut. Dreadlocks, of course.

Market Report: Footsie sold off into ragged retreat

FOOTSIE SCORED a near-double (negative) century, with most overseas stock markets running for cover as the Russian bear seemed to grow even more angry.

Norbert Stiles, AE Housman and the chaps of '66

The Agreeable World of Wallace Arnold

An awful glimpse of a summer of gloom

Sport on TV

Football: Cup Final: Blankety Blank show a turn-off

Stan Hey gets a Grandstand view of what wasn't happening at Wembley

Football: Keegan takes full command

KEVIN KEEGAN could be leading Fulham out in a Wembley final, just nine days after his previous employers compete for the FA Cup there. The former Newcastle manager put himself in charge of the Second Division side yesterday after ending Ray Wilkins' reign as manager over "a difference of opinion".

Small screen: The face of sport

Last week on BBC1's On Side, the presenter John Inverdale asked the recovering alcoholic Paul Merson what would happen if his team, Middlesbrough, won the Coca-Cola Cup and in the dressing-room afterwards his team-mates were circulating the champagne. Merson asserted that "they wouldn't pass it to me". "Just like in the game," came back Inverdale, without missing a beat.

Football: Football the land of the milked and moneyed

Norman Fox hears how commercial pressures can kick morality into touch

Sport on TV: Why Will's world was not so ideal for Holmes

LIFE cannot be easy when you are Eamonn Holmes. He has made his name - such as it is - on the tackiest breakfast telly station going, where he does his best to dominate not just the guests, but also his co- presenters. And yet, when the calls come through for someone to graduate to better (or more remunerative) assignments, it always seems to be Holmes's sofa companions who move on.

Football: pounds 30m of talent available free

CLUBS will receive details over the next month of more than 500 players available on free transfers this summer due to the Bosman ruling - which could lead to the gulf between the salaries of Premiership and Football League professionals growing wider than ever.

Football: 'I must find out the real answer'

RUUD GULLIT, the deposed Chelsea manager, yesterday again rejected claims that he had been greedy. "I feel I've been very badly treated after all I've done for the club," he said on BBC's Football Focus. "If they'd really wanted me they would have come back with an offer, like they did first time. Of course, I have my suspicions but I want to know the answers from the other side. Unless I can find out it will be a question mark over me for the rest of my life."

Football: Strain behind the cool exterior

GRAHAM RIX, Ruud Gullit's right-hand man at Stamford Bridge, has claimed that the deposed Chelsea manager was on the verge of cracking under the strain. Rix told the News of the World of the Dutchman's actions at half-time during Chelsea's Premiership defeat by Arsenal last Sunday.

Football: Chelsea in Turmoil: Vialli's overriding priority is to bring the team together

Despite the exit of Ruud Gullit, Chelsea fan Andy Prevezer says the revolution must continue
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'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'

Masculinity in crisis?

'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'
Have US shock jocks gone too far?

Have US shock jocks gone too far?

An incendiary remark from Rush Limbaugh may be the beginning of the end for outspoken right-wing US broadcasters
The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey pays more income tax than big cities of the North

The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey

Elmbridge pays more income tax than big cities of the North
Heavenly Bodies

Heavenly Bodies

Michael Landy's artistic marriage made in heaven... and hell
'He will always be a friend': Jackie Stewart backs Polanski

'He will always be a friend'

Jackie Stewart backs Roman Polanski
The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act

The price of pacifism

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.
'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.
The experts' guide to summer: From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz

The experts' guide to summer

From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz
Sex, drugs and fast cars: The legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Early glimpses of Ron Howard's film Rush suggest it will portray Hunt as a high-living lothario, with an insatiable appetite for partying.
Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation when using drugs and alcohol. It was hurting my life'

Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'

The next Vanilla Ice or the next Eminem? Macklemore doesn't have a record contract – but he does have the UK's biggest-selling single of the year.
Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Sri Lankan cuisine is light, sunny, wonderfully spiced – and so easy to cook from scratch. Just as soon as you've broken into the coconut, that is.
Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in