The former England Under-21 international was due to appear at Willesden Magistrates' Court in north west London on Tuesday morning to answer the charge, but never turned up.

Preston reacted angrily to widespread reports that Neil was Stoke's favoured choice and that he was ready to take on the challenge of resurrecting the Championship's bottom placed club.

EXCLUSIVE BY MIKE KEEGAN: A small section of fans of the home club were heard to sing songs including the words 'f*** the Pope and the IRA' and 'f*** the IRA' a number of times.

A goalless draw with Holland in Belfast on Saturday ended Northern Ireland's hopes of automatic qualification from Group C, even before their final qualifier against Germany tomorrow.

The 28-year-old Rangers understudy is being considered as Middlesbrough brace themselves for an offer from West Ham for current number one Darren Randolph.

Stoke want £15million for Allen, 29, who is on around £65,000 per week, yet West Ham are looking to pay closer to £8m. Stoke had interest from Burnley in the summer who remain admirers.

Excellent strikes form Anthony Knockaert and Harry Arter saw Fulham overcome Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup while Watford blew a 3-0 lead at home to Tranmere Rovers.

JANINE SELF AT THE HAWTHORNS: What started as a night of goal-scoring celebration ended with the prospect of a lengthy stint in the rehab room for Stoke striker Tyrese Campbell

Fulham took full advantage of Leeds' slip and closed the gap to the automatic promotion places with a 1-0 win at blackburn. Aleksandar Mitrovic's 20th league goal of the season fired them into third place.

PETER CROUCH: This week, Crouchie reflects on the time he scored with his hand against Arsenal, his plans for when the lockdown is lifted and why Jamie Redknapp was livid with him at Southampton.

It's a busy night of Carabao Cup action as the leading Premier League clubs enter the competition at the third round stage. Join Sportsmail's ADAM SHERGOLD for all the goals as they go in.

While the Championship's promotion race is notoriously tight, this year's push for the Premier League is looking like it could be the closest for many years.

The 19-year-old was diagnosed with the disease in February, immediately undergoing chemotherapy and responding well to treatment before returning to training in September.

Swansea City's highly-rated coach Cameron Toshack is attracting interest from clubs in Portugal and the Championship. The coach has been hailed for developing young players.

Norwich were interested in James but Farke admitted ahead of welcoming United to Carrow Road on Sunday that they stood no chance of signing James, against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's financial firepower.

The 21-year-old joined United from Swansea in the Championship this summer in a £15million deal and has fast become one of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's go-to men this season.

Dan James admits he is still coming to terms with being a Premier League star at Manchester United and has to remind himself: 'I'm here for a reason'.

Brendan Rodgers insists he has no reason to leave Leicester for a Premier League rival after Tottenham showed tentative interest before appointing Jose Mourinho.

RICHARD GIBSON AT THE HAWTHORNS: West Brom were on their best form as they embarrassed Swansea City by a 5-1 scoreline. Matheus Periera stole the show with an outstanding performance.

West Bromwich Albion and Swansea City have joined Burnley in the chase for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher. The 19-year-old is expected to cut short his season-long loan at Charlton this month.

Since arriving from Swansea last summer, James has settled into life well at United but admits he often does his best to 'avoid' the Argentine centre back during training.

The 23-year-old striker was spotted among the travelling fans at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday as he supported his old team Swansea during the South Wales derby.

The 23-year-old was spotted among the travelling fans at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday as he supported his old team Swansea during the South Wales derby.

The 31-year old is a free agent after leaving Swansea City last season and fellow Championship outfit West Brom have invited him in to train with their squad.

Leicester City midfielder Andy King has agreed to join Huddersfield Town on loan. The 31-year-old, who has spent his entire career at the Foxes, is out of contract in the summer.

Club legend Gary Neville has brought the 21-year-old back down to Earth and believes he still has things he needs to work on if he is to become truly to draw and establish himself among the elite.

The Championship promotion race is shaping up to be a classic as we head into the final months of the season with as many as 10 clubs still fancying their chances of going up automatically.

Bruno Fernandes has been backed to thrive in the Premier League by one of his most influential coaches, former Swansea boss Francesco Guidolin.

On loan Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster had an eventful afternoon on Saturday as Swansea drew 1-1 at Preston. He had fans in fits of laughter when he showed the referee a yellow card.

The 22-year-old Wales international has returned to Steve Cooper's starting line-up in recent weeks after recovering from an ankle injury that had sidelined him since October.

Renato Sanches has lifted the lift on his disastrous loan spell at Swansea during the 2017/18 season and revealed he did not want to join the club in the first place.

He is currently on loan at Swansea where he had kick-started his career, before football's coronavirus-enforced suspension, after a serious ankle injury that kept him out for 16 months.

The Wales international joined the Red Devils last summer from Swansea for £15million. James has made 37 appearances in all competitions during his first season at Old Trafford scoring four goals.

WILL KELLEHER AT THE PRINCIPALITY STADIUM: Warren Gatland bid a final farewell to Wales with a special send-off match with his former flame.

CHRIS FOY'S WORLD OF RUGBY: At the end of a World Cup season, players will try to muster some energy for matches in the Southern Hemisphere at a time when they should be lying on a beach.

Teen sensation Louis Rees-Zammit re-confirmed his desire to play for Wales after agreeing a new contract at Gloucester.

Teen star Rees-Zammit can have an instant impact for Wales in the Six Nations according to new coach Wayne Pivac, who included the 18-year-old as one of five uncapped players in his squad.

Wales and their fly-half might have been the fancy Dans last week against Italy, but it will be back to basics for Biggar & Co in Dublin on Saturday.

As the second weekend of Six Nations action draws to a close, Sportsmail's Chris Foy digests the best of the offerings around the grounds...

Wales wing Hallam Amos will miss the rest of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations due to a knee injury. Amos sustained the injury during the Cardiff Blues' Guinness PRO14 victory over Benetton.

Wales' leading internationals are set for a 25 per cent salary reduction for three months while Premiership Rugby is working on possible scenarios to restart the season.

COMMENT: It is a sad fact that the main barrier to rugby's progress lies here; in the home nations and those other centres of the sport's narrow European landscape - France and Italy.

EXCLUSIVE BY WILL KELLEHER: Wayne Pivac's side were due to play Japan in Shizuoka on June 27 before jetting down to New Zealand for a two-Test series shortly afterwards.

Panic over coronavirus has badly shaken the world's financial markets, culminating, on Monday, in the FTSE 100 suffering its sharpest one-day fall since the height of the 2008 crash.

BUMBLE AT THE TEST: Josh Hazlewood has put Australia in complete control of the fourth Ashes Test after grabbing three quick wickets late on during the third day at Old Trafford.

England have abandoned plans to rest senior players from the two-Test series in New Zealand that begins this winter as they start to again prioritise the ultimate format.

PAUL NEWMAN AT OLD TRAFFORD: Joe Root was battered and bruised as he tried desperately to keep England afloat at Old Trafford but he just could not steer his ship to Ashes safety.

Australia retained the Ashes with a 185-run victory at Old Trafford despite some dogged resistance from England's lower order. Relive the action from day five with JAMES DUTTON.

PAUL NEWMAN AT OLD TRAFFORD: Australia have retained the Ashes with victory over England in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, claiming their first away series win since 2001. 

BUMBLE AT THE TEST: Australia retain the Ashes and in truth they have been the better team. They planned well in advance and got their attack spot on.