However his feelings changed about the bronze medal which meant that Ian Black’s 1958 record of three golds in one

However his feelings changed about the bronze medal, which meant that Ian Black’s 1958 record of three golds in one championship remained intact.”I can’t be disappointed with bronze,” said Palmer, whose problems had been compounded by his exhausting progamme and a lack of sleep, an essential part of a swimmer’s vital rest and recuperation. His team-mate, Massimiliano Ro- solino, who was also second in the 200m on Tuesday, took the silver.”I don’t like making excuses but I was worn out,” the 22-year-old Palmer said “I knew after the heats that I was in trouble I felt really rough I knew this morning it just wasn’t on. It’s good that we’re playing Rangers ahead of the Uefa Cup return against Trabzonspor as it will concentrate our minds.”. When Paul Palmer said he did not want another silver, he was not intending to win the bronze. Setting a blistering pace over the first quarter of the 400 metres freestyle here yesterday, the Briton was looking for his third gold medal of the European Championships, but was overtaken by two of Italy’s finest.
The 19-year-old Emiliano Brembilla became the third fastest man of all time when he won gold in 3min 45.96sec.

I don’t think we have hit top gear yet; we have only really played in fits and starts. We need games to get everybody up and playing.”Gazza is needing a game more than anyone as his season has been disrupted because of suspension but he has been training well enough.”Tommy Bowman, the Dundee United defender, said: “The expectations are higher after we finished third last season and it is up to us to build on that. They may be a wee bit disappointed by starting their league programme with two draws but they are always dangerous opponents.”Paul Gascoigne returns for Rangers, his first domestic game after a three- match ban. “Dundee United were the team that put the best unbeaten run together last season and this is a very important match for us,” the Rangers manager said.
“Of the teams outside of the Old Firm I see United as the ones who can mount a title challenge.

Smith added: “We have started to show our all-round match fitness. Walter Smith’s appraisal of Dundee United as contenders for the Scottish Premier Division title is no empty flattery. Rangers and Tommy McLean’s side meet at Ibrox today, a match Smith is taking seriously. Martin O’Neill, having beaten two of last year’s top five, will not sound plausible should a win over the champions be followed by his customary gratitude for “three more points towards survival”.Ian Wright needs only a single strike at Southampton to equal Cliff Bastin’s record of 178 goals for Arsenal. Like Wright, Leeds, at home to Palace, hope to score for the third match running. After netting in only 17 of the 38 fixtures last season – compared with 19 by Wright alone – it would be like George Graham sporting a paisley bandana in the dug-out.Meanwhile, a first-day defeat at Coventry for Chelsea’s international all-stars, which followed similar surrenders at Leeds, Sunderland, Nottingham and Middlesbrough last winter, should encourage Barnsley to believe that they can beat the FA Cup holders and throw off their Premiership “L” plates at Oakwell tomorrow.. That, in turn, means Dwight Yorke and Stan Collymore will shed the third member of the strikeforce which was supposed to take the division by storm, Savo Milosevic.Someone’s 100 per cent records must go as Leicester collide with Manchester United.

For a third player facing ex-colleagues, the Croatian centre-back Slaven Bilic, the Hammers that concern him most are sure to be John Hartson and Paul Kitson.Harry Redknapp’s attacking duo have transformed the prospects for West Ham, leaving Howard Kendall envious. “I just hope that whatever partnership we have, of Duncan Ferguson and A N Other, will gel just as well,” the Everton manager said.Although Everton have played only once – losing at home to promoted Crystal Palace – Kendall’s problems in attracting top-class recruits have created a mood only victory can dispel.Villa have used the hiatus to go “back to basics”, as Brian Little put it, successive opening losses having forced him to revert to three at the back at Liverpool Old Boys, aka Newcastle. To the teams spluttering in their wake, notably the Merseyside clubs and Aston Villa, the period theoretically offered a chance for much-needed retuning.
Not so, the Liverpool manager, Roy Evans, complained yesterday. Far from the break allowing them to regroup after gaining a solitary point from two games, it meant they were “left to stew for 10 days”.Evans’ mood might have been better if he had been able to name Robbie Fowler for the first time this season at Blackburn. For the clubs who had slipped straight into the fast lane, particularly those like Blackburn, West Ham and Leicester who were expected merely to potter along, the snarl-up was as welcome as rush hour on the M6. What a strange, staccato season it has been so far.