Defender Darren Dennehy has been named in Republic of Ireland Under-21 manager Don Givens' squad for an eight-nation Intercontinental Cup to be held in Malaysia from May 15th.
Ireland have been placed in a group alongside Nigeria, Iraq and Malaysia.
Allround good guy, Joey Barton, will not be at Goodison Park this Sunday to see his boyhood team qualify for Europe.
Instead, the Newcastle midfielder will sit at home and ponder the night in December that led to him being unable to set foot in his home-town until a court case decides his fate.
David Moyes is sweating on the fitness of up to four first team players for Sunday's crucial clash with Newcastle.
Moyes said: "We aren't looking great. We have a lot of injuries and there are quite a lot of players who we'll fitness test before the game on Sunday."
"We are going to be tight for numbers, there are three or four doubts.
"Mikel had the operation. We weren't sure that he was going to need it but hopefully this will get to the bottom of the problem and he will be ready for next season." ...discuss this in our forum...
As the end of the season draws near, and with the race for fourth place once again going down to the wire pitting Everton and Liverpool against each other, websites and fans of both sides come together to continue the series of matches between them. NSNO.co.uk and ThisIsAnfield.com have so far played four games against each other with the series running even on scorelines.
Each side will be donating to their respective charities, The Everyman Cancer Research and the Hillsbrough Justice Campaign, and both sides will be as keen as ever to beat their city rivals.
Such is the dedication to the cause that Neville Southall had even agreed to play for the NSNO side, but a hospital admission yesterday morning has denied the Liverpool fans the chance to try and score past an old nemesis.
Each side has enjoyed comfortable wins in the past, and a 4-4 draw last summer was a highlight with NSNO staging an almost Istanbul-like comeback which included our 'keeper scoring from his own half! ...discuss this in our forum...
Leon Osman believes that Sunday's game against Newcastle United means everything to him and his Everton team-mates in order that they avoid the Inter Toto Cup.
He said: "Sunday's game means everything to us. Not only to make sure we are automatically in the UEFA Cup proper, but we don't really want to be left in the Intertoto Cup.
"With that competition the players have to start back training a couple of weeks earlier and it means competitive football earlier than it should be for the lads, with their fitness levels not quite right by then.
"We really enjoyed our European experience this season and not to have it next term would be a disaster for us.
"With the ability we have shown this season and the quality we have got, and the players we have, we go into Sunday's game with our confidence high.
"If we play to our potential, we should get the result that we require to make sure of fifth and to complete a fine season." ...discuss this in our forum...
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Homegrown talent could be the answer
