The Four Nations tournament kicked off last month with the first two matches involving Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

In 2006, former Northern Ireland boss Lawrie Sanchez put forward the proposal for the mini-tournament to be played on a round robin format with a single game played between each team − resulting in a total of six matches.

The Republic of Ireland and Scotland lead the way after win-ning their first outing 3-0.

Three of the nations involved, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, previously competed in the now-defunct British Home Championship along with England.

Other football news of interest for February:

• Manchester United defender Gary Neville announces his retirement with immediate effect after being plagued by a series of injuries.

• Former Manchester City star Neil Young, scorer of the only goal in the 1969 FA Cup final, dies aged 66.

• Manchester United duo Alex Ferguson and Dimitar Berbatov are named Manager and Player of the Month for January, respectively.

• Manchester United suffer their first defeat since the start of the season – vs Wolves 1-2.

• West Bromwich sack manager Roberto di Matteo.

• In Empoli, England Under-21 lose 0-1 to Italy.

• In the new Carling Nations Cup, Ireland beat Wales at home 3-0 (Gibson, Duff, Hafey) and Northern Ireland go down in front of their own fans to Scotland 0-3 (Miller, McArthur, Commons).

• Ashley Cole, of Chelsea, is voted England’s Player of the Year by the fans.

• In an international friendly in Copenhagen, England beat Denmark 2-1 (Bent, Young).

• West Ham win the backing of Olympic bosses to take over the 2012 stadium in east London after the Games.

• West Brom appoint Roy Hodgson as manager.

• In the Champions League second round, first leg, Tottenham win 1-0 in Milan and Arsenal beat Barcelona 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

• In the Europa League second round, first leg, Manchester City draw 0-0 in Aris.

Other results: Rangers-Sporting Lisbon 1-1, Sparta Prague-Liverpool 0-0.

• Chelsea beat FC Copenhagen away 2-0 and Manchester United draw 0-0 in Marseille in the second round, first legs, of the Champions League.

• In the Europa League, all three British clubs progress to the last 16 − Liverpool-Sparta Prague 1-0 (1-0 aggregate), Sporting Lisbon-Rangers 2-2 (3-3), Manchester City-Aris Salonika 3-0 (3-0).

• Due to the recent positive results, mostly by Rangers, Scottish clubs will have two places in the Champions League group stage next season.

• At Wembley, Birmingham shock Arsenal 2-1 to lift the League Cup for the first time since 1963.

Leading marksmen

Premier League
19 − Berbatov (Man. United)
18 − Tevez (Man. City)
11 − Bent (Aston Villa), Carroll (Liverpool/Newcastle), Nolan (Newcastle)
10 − Hernandez (Man. United), Van Persie (Arsenal), Van der Vaart (Tottenham)

The Championship
18 − Graham (Watford)
17 − Long (Reading)
16 − Sinclair (Swansea), Becchio (Leeds)

Scottish Premier
13 − Rooney (Inverness), Stokes, Hooper (Celtic)
12 − Goodwillie (Dundee United)
11 − Blackman (Aberdeen)

Average attendances
1. Man. United - 75,008
2. Arsenal - 60,011
3. Newcastle United - 46,954
4. Manchester City - 46,313
5. Liverpool - 41,991
6. Chelsea - 41,421
7. Sunderland - 39,351
8. Aston Villa - 37,116
9. Everton - 35,851
10. Tottenham Hotspur - 35,799
11. West Ham United - 28,182
12. Wolves - 27,213
13. Stoke City - 26,784
14. Fulham - 24,989
15. Birmingham City - 24,906
16. West Bromwich - 24,297
17. Blackburn Rovers - 24,070
18. Bolton Wanderers - 22,170
19. Wigan Athletic - 16,228
20. Blackpool - 15,707

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