Fulham have completed the signing of Algerian defender Rafik Halliche for an undisclosed fee.

The player has signed from Portuguese side Benfica on a three year deal and becomes Mark Hughes’ fourth acquisition of the summer.

The player said “I’m so happy that my transfer to Fulham has been finalised.

“For me, the Premier League is the best league in the world and to be able to play alongside some wonderful players and to be given an opportunity to compete against some fantastic teams for a team like Fulham is something that I’ve always dreamed of doing.”

Halliche, who has spent the past two seasons on loan at Portuguese club Nacional, has won 20 caps for Algeria, playing every minute of their World Cup campaign in South Africa.
 
Halliche is unlikely to feature against Port Vale at Craven Cottage in their Carling Cup second round tie but may make an appearance in the Premier league away at newly promoted Blackpool on Saturday.

Fulham are clear favourites for the cup tie and are available at 1.36 Full Time Result, with League 2 promotion hopefuls Port Vale at 9.00, and the draw 4.50.

In the weekend clash the Cottagers are 2.30 Full Time Result, Ian Holloway’s Blackpool can be backed at 3.20 while the draw is 3.25.

View all Soccer betting. 

With Fabio Capello still looking to add another English coach to his backroom staff, TEAMtalk’s Rob McCarthy wants Paul Scholes to be that man.

The under-pressure Capello attempted to coax the 35-year-old out of international retirement for the World Cup last summer, and Scholes admitted he would have said yes had he been asked earlier. But now could be the time for the Ginger Ninja to help his country in another way as we approach the qualifying campaign for Euro 2012.

After England’s dismal failure in South Africa, Capello agreed with the FA that there was a need to bring another Englishman into his coaching set-up, and who better than Scholes to preach the international virtues of pass and move to England’s new breed of players.

The Manchester United veteran, who won the last of his 66 caps six years ago, dominated Chelsea’s star-studded midfield in the Community Shield and put on another passing masterclass in the 3-0 win over Newcastle on Monday night.

Scholes is already taking his coaching badges and while England were boring us all to death against Algeria back in June he was coaching kids in Florida. Just think what he could do for England’s central midfield stars of the future – the likes of James Milner, Jack Rodwell and Jack Wilshere. Even established stars like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard would surely benefit from the great man’s footballing ethos.

Okay so he’s never been the greatest of speakers and still can’t tackle for toffee but he’s always done his talking on the pitch, and the range of passing he displayed in the second half against the Magpies would have left Barcelona’s very own pass-master Xavi purring.

Having signed a new one-year deal with United at the tail end of last season there still seems to be plenty of life in the old dog yet – in fact Scholes just seems to be getting better and better with age like a nice bottle of claret.

So Fabio get yourself down to Craven Cottage this weekend, when United take on Fulham, and convince the little man that his country needs him now more than ever – you never know he might just save your job!

Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra insists he is staying at Ibrox despite interest from several clubs this summer.

The Light Blues were in danger of losing the defender this summer after the 27-year-old attracted interest from numerous European clubs.

But the Algeria centre-back has revealed he will remain at the Scottish champions, admitting his decision was influenced by manager Walter Smith and the club’s supporters.

“Yes, I’ll stay with Rangers,” Bougherra said in the Daily Record. “I prefer to stay with the team so I can maintain stability at the club.

“Also, I have to be fair to the Rangers supporters. They have insisted I stay at the club.

“And I have the highest respect for the Rangers manager too.”

Meanwhile, Bougherra could be joined in Glasgow by new signings, with Rangers reportedly targeting USA internationals Alejandro Bedoya and Benny Feilhaber, with long-term target Nikica Jelavic also a possible arrival.

Antonio Valencia, Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov earned Manchester United a 3-1 win over Chelsea in the Community Shield at Wembley.

The Premier League season is just six days away and Sunday provided an indication of what we can expect over the next nine months in an interesting encounter at the home of football.

Valencia and Hernandez put United in control with goals either side of half-time and although Salomon Kalou set up a nervy finish seven minutes from time, the Red Devils completed a deserved win through Berbatov’s fine goal in stoppage time.

The game was also notable in that it saw Wayne Rooney recapture some semblance of form in the wake of his woeful World Cup; the striker setting up Valencia’s opener with a fine cross he will no doubt claim he meant.

It is the 18th time United have collected the trophy – a record – and they will be hoping it leads to them recapturing the Premier League trophy too.

Together with Paul Scholes, Rooney terrorised the Chelsea defence at times during an entertaining opening period in which both sides could have claimed the lead before United eventually did.

Branislav Ivanovic came closest for Chelsea when he climbed above Nemanja Vidic to reach Florent Malouda’s free-kick and angled a header towards the corner that brought a fine save out of veteran United keeper Edwin van der Sar.

The Dutchman’s inability to hold a long-range Nicolas Anelka effort earlier in the contest had led to a clear sight of goal for Kalou.

But from an acute angle, the Ivorian turned the ball back into the six-yard box, which was vacant of both United defenders and his own attackers.

United took a bit longer to get going but it quickly became apparent Scholes was going to take some stopping and Fabio Capello must have been wondering what might have been whilst watching from the stands.

Scholes’ calmness in possession and the accuracy of his passing mean, even at 35, he is very hard to subdue.

One cleverly disguised pass set Rooney up for a shot that just evaded the far post and Scholes was also the inspiration behind a Michael Owen cross that forced Ivanovic into a hurried clearance.

But it was the brilliant crossfield ball for Rooney, delivered from inside his own half that did the real damage.

Sensing there was little danger as he jogged back, John Terry offered Rooney the room with which to execute a perfect first-time cross, drilled right into the heart of Chelsea’s penalty area.

Only Valencia read Rooney’s intentions and the Ecuador man gleefully tapped past Henrique Hilario.

It was the kind of moment that proved Rooney is right to be lauded, while at the same time leaving his World Cup performances, particularly the awful one against Algeria, totally inexplicable.

Rooney made way at half-time for Javier Hernandez and the new boy came so close to releasing fellow substitute Berbatov with a sublime reverse pass after initially being picked out by that man Scholes.

The Mexico international then scored his first competitive goal for United, but it was otherwise hardly memorable – a mis-hit shot that ricocheted into his own face and bounced into the Chelsea net following Valencia’s cross 14 minutes from time.

It was harsh on Chelsea, who had just gone close through Kalou, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole.

Kalou did eventually beat Van der Sar but a frenetic spell of attacking failed to bring further reward and Berbatov’s deft lob from Nani’s cross ended any hope of a comeback.

Andy Webster can see some light at the end of the tunnel in his Rangers career after taking a central role during the pre-season preparations.

The 28-year-old has only made one competitive appearance for Rangers since his arrival, initially on loan from Wigan, in January 2007.

Suffering a knee injury in his first training session set the tone for the following years, with the only bright spot a goalscoring debut against Gretna in September 2007.

A loan spell at Bristol City failed to kick-start his Ibrox career as he struggled to establish himself in Walter Smith’s plans after recovering from a string of injuries.

But his fortunes were rejuvenated in glorious fashion last season as a loan spell at Dundee United helped him return to the Scotland fold and win a Scottish Cup winner’s medal.

The former Hearts defender has started all three pre-season matches Rangers have played so far to give him encouragement that his Ibrox career is finally lifting off.

“Having done all of the hard work in pre-season, it has been nice to be involved when the games have come around,” Webster told www.rangersfc.co.uk.

“I hope this is me finally getting there now. Everything that has gone on before is in the past and I’m looking forwards and making sure I’m ready for the start of the campaign.

“At this stage, it’s all about getting a level of fitness and with the squad we’ve got, a lot of the boys have played in the majority of the games so far.

“The more you play and the more involved you become, the more comfortable you then get with your surroundings and I’m happy to be in the side at the moment.”

Webster has lined up alongside David Weir in central defence, with Madjid Bougherra moved out to right-back when Rangers beat Blackburn in their first Sydney Festival of Football game on Sunday.

The Algeria defender sat out Wednesday’s rain-lashed goalless draw against the hosts with a minor knock but he will return as Rangers face AEK Athens in their final game tomorrow.

Kenny Miller will also feature despite continuing to suffer pain from shin splints.

Smith said: “Madjid will be okay. He took a kick on the calf but he has recovered from that and he will play against AEK.

“Kenny has the shin splints issue which is painful but it will only become a worry to us if it becomes chronic, which will mean he will have to miss games.

“However, just now if he gets a couple of days’ rest in between matches then he is okay.

“It doesn’t seem to be painful when he is playing – it’s after the game that he feels it.

“We will give him a bit of a rest when we go home and that should clear things up.”