Carlton Cole has announced that he has been released by Premier League side West Ham for a second time.

The striker originally left Upton Park at the end of the 2012-13 season, but was re-signed by manager Sam Allardyce in October 2013 to help alleviate a shortage of strikers.

Cole has featured sparingly for West Ham this term, though, and just eight of his 23 Premier League appearances came from the start.

Looking forward to my next adventure. I have spoken to West Ham United and it has been decide not to extend my contract, he wrote on Twitter.

I wish West Ham United all the best and I will look out for their progress in the future. Thanks for a great 9 years. it s been emotional.

Cole, who scored three league goals this season, almost join…

Alan Pardew has left his role as manager of Crystal Palace, the club have confirmed.

Pardew left Newcastle United to take over at Selhurst Park in January 2015 and led them to a 10th-place finish in the Premier League.

But his first full season in charge did not prove as successful in the league, Palace enduring a dreadful second half of the campaign as they finished just five points above the relegation zone.

The former Southampton and Charlton Athletic boss led Palace to the FA Cup final, only to see his side beaten 2-1 in extra time as Jesse Lingard scored the winner for Manchester United.

And Pardew has failed to turn around their fortunes in the first half of the 2016-17 season, with Palace just a point above the bottom three with 15 points from 17 g…

West Ham have confirmed midfielder Declan Rice is facing a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Rice could reportedly be ruled out for around a month due to the lateral knee ligament damage he suffered in England s 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Poland at Wembley last Wednesday.

The loss of the inspirational Rice is a big blow to the Hammers hopes of securing a Champions League spot, while England boss Gareth Southgate will be hoping he makes a full recovery in time for Euro 2020, which begins in June.

Rice said: I m of course disappointed to have picked up this injury but I m in good spirits, have started my rehab already and hope to be back on the pitch with the lads soon.

While I m not able to be out there, I ll be giving everything I can to…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 

In what could be a lively contest on the South Coast this week, Portsmouth will welcome a free-scoring Oxford to Fratton Park on Friday evening.

Starting with the hosts, last seen back in March when playing out a 2-2 draw with Fleetwood at Fratton Park, the Blues will be looking to refined their touch when they make a return this week. Eventually having to settle for a play-off spot after collecting just 10 points out of a possible 21 over their last seven League One matchups, they hade managed to land just a sole clean sheet in any of their previous seven matchups across all competitions and had shipped a pair of strikes in their last three contests on the bounce. However, there is no doubt that Head Coach Kenny Jackett should…

(GSM) Hoffenheim goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand is set to leave the Bundesliga side at the end of the season, according to a club statement.

The former Germany international, who joined the club from Spanish side Valencia in January 2009, has decided to leave die Hoffe following extensive discussions with sporting director Jan Schindelmeiser and coach Ralf Rangnick.

Goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand will no longer play for Hoffenheim in the coming season, read a statement on the club s official website.

Hildebrand, the current Hoffenheim No.1, made 42 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit but his appearances have been restricted in recent weeks following a thigh injury that has forced him to watch from the stands.

Hildebrand is yet to reveal his preferred destinat…

(GSM) Everton defender John Heitinga has revealed that Manchester City are interested in securing his services.

Heitinga was included in Holland’s preliminary squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and he joined the Toffees for £6.2m from Atletico Madrid in September 2009.

I have heard the reports, but nothing is serious as yet, Heitinga told De Telegraaf.

City have ambitions and I am always looking to move to a bigger club.

But I have a contract for four years, without any get-out clause in it, so I will fully focus myself on Everton. I am very happy at this club, the 26-year-old Dutch footballer said.

…

Robert Lewandowski joked that Bayern Munich should change coach every season if it means they win the treble.

After the exit of Jupp Heynckes was announced in 2013, the Bavarian side went on to win the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League.

If Bayern can replicate that feat ahead of Pep Guardiola s impending departure – which was announced in December – at the end of the campaign, the Polish striker playfully suggested that changing coach each season could breed further success.

We should change coach each season if it would always work like that with winning the treble! Lewandowski said.

Bayern confirmed Carlo Ancelotti would replace Guardiola for the 2016-17 season, and the 27-year-old admitted he was disappointed to hear of the Spaniard s ex…

Antonio Conte has called for focus from Italy s squad as they embark on a crucial week in their quest to reach UEFA Euro 2016. 

Italy – who were beaten finalists in 2012 – have stuttered in recent qualifiers in Group H with draws against Bulgaria and Croatia – the latter having pulled two points clear at the top.

Conte s side host Malta on Thursday in the first of a double-header that also includes a home match with Bulgaria, and the head coach is targeting six points to potentially secure their place at next year s finals.

The duty now is to focus on the Azzurri, he said. It s an important week for us, we can seal qualification to the European Championship with two wins over Malta and Bulgaria. 

The players are well aware that there will be n…

Virgil van Dijk insists playing behind an attack-minded midfield is all part of the spice of life for Liverpool s defenders.

Manager Jurgen Klopp used a new-look midfield three of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and Fabinho in Wednesday s 4-1 Champions League win against Genk.

Keita made only his second start of the season while Oxlade-Chamberlain scored twice on his first appearance in the competition since April 2018.

Genk caused problems for Liverpool s backline in the first half when space opened up in the final third, and Van Dijk concedes there is room for improvement, but he feels the Reds performed securely enough at Luminus Arena.

3 points away from home!
Thank you to all of you travelling Reds!

— Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk)…

ES Setif knocked holders Wydad Casablanca out of the CAF Champions League as a scoreless second-leg draw sealed a 1-0 aggregate victory on Friday.

The visitors knew a clean sheet would be enough to reach the semi-finals and they battled through sustained pressure to preserve their slim advantage.

Isla Diomande s lone goal on home soil seven days earlier ultimately proved enough for the Algerian side to advance at the expense of the 2017 champions.

Setif will now meet the winner of Horoya and Al-Ahly, who reconvene for their second leg on Sunday.

STATS | Check out the full-time stats! Which team had the better overall performance?

— CAF (@CAF_Online)

Five-time winners TP Mazembe also had their dreams crushed after crucially missing…