Former Everton striker Gary Lineker:, external Saddened to hear that Sir Philip Carter has passed away. Was chairman of Everton when I was there. A football lover and delightful man #RIP

Ex-Everton midfielder Phil Neville:, external Sad to here the death of Sir Philip Carter - was a wonderful man who always gave me great support at Everton RIP.

Former Everton goalkeeper Neville Southall:, external "Gutted about Sir Phillip Carter, top guy, top chairman. Will be sadly missed, a true gentleman.

Image source, Getty Images

Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray has said he expects to sign a new contract with the League Two club.

Murray, 33, became the youngest boss in the Football League when he was appointed player-manager in December. The Stags are currently 21st in the league, with six losses in their last seven games, but safe from relegation.

"I've had a couple of chats with the chairman and hopefully it'll be sorted out within the next few days," Murray told BBC Radio Nottingham.

This morning we asked you for your ticket tales - the occasions when you have lucked upon a ticket to a big event, lost your entry for a defining moment or spent a fortune on getting in to a sporting event...

Craig from Stoke: Paid a small fortune to watch Stoke in the 2011 FAC Final. Finally managed to get tickets a few days before the day and paid nearly £300 each for them for me and a friend! Came to nearer £400 each with travel etc. Certainly not the result I wanted but well worth it as I never thought I'd ever see Stoke in another Cup Final in my lifetime, having turned down the chance at 9yrs old to be a ball-boy in the '72 League Cup Final!!

Get in touch via #tickettales, external on Twitter, or text us on 81111.

Image source, @jhenderson

Jordan Henderson has taken to Instagram, external and Twitter, external to comment on signing his new long-term deal at Liverpool. Here is what he posted: "Very proud to commit my future to this great club. Looking forward to achieving great things here. Thanks for all your support. #YNWA."

Finally a tongue-in-cheek reply from Alan Pardew, when he was asked if every player has his price:

"I'll sell Yannick [Bolasie]! If someone wants to give me £40m, £60m. I'll build a team with that money."

Asked about the prospect of Joel Ward and Scott Dann playing for England, Alan Pardew says they should be aiming for international recognition.

"I'm sure [Roy] Hodgson has a good idea of the quality we've got here. Whether he thinks that's better than his current players is up to him."

Going back to Saturday's game, he warns Steve Bruce's side: "With the players we have, particularly the very fast wide players, Hull's three at the back could be a dangerous set-up.

Our away form suggests we're a top eight team, our home form a bottom six team."

Image source, Getty Images

Two more bits of team news from the Aston Villa press conference ahead of Saturday's match at Manchester City. Aly Cissokho is in, Nathan Baker is out (knee). We've no idea who is shaking it all about.

Alan Pardew dismisses reports linking him with Tim Krul, who he managed at Newcastle United until December.

"There's been no contact between me and Newcastle, or me and the player. I don't know where that's come from," he said.

He also suggests valuations of 25-year-old winger Yannick Bolasie in the media are too low.

"When I hear figures being talked about regarding my players, I think: 'They're not even close,'" he adds.

"It's easy to address, a manager has to ring me up and I will give them a price."

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Sport coverage of the Snooker World Championship has begun. You can watch it live on BBC TV, HD, Red Button, Connected TV, online, tablets, mobiles and the BBC Sport app. Here is the current state of play and what is coming up...

13:00 BST

First round: Judd Trump (Eng) 7-3 Stuart Carrington (Eng), second round: Mark Selby (Eng) v Anthony McGill (Sco)

19:00 BST

First round: Shaun Murphy (Eng) 7-2 Robin Hull (Fin), second round: Ding Junhui (Chn) v John Higgins (Sco)

More from Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew, who says Hull will be seeking an "immediate result against us" because they have "a difficult run-in".

Regarding team news, he says Marouane Chamakh and Fraizer Campbell are training, but won't be available this weekend.

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood has revealed that Philippe Senderos is in his squad to face Manchester City on Saturday. The defender has played just two minutes of football since October because of a recurring calf problem. It is a timely boost for Villa, who will be without fellow centre-back Ciaran Clark for the remainder of the season.

Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew is now facing the media as his side prepare for their home game against relegation-threatened Hull on Saturday.

He starts by admitting it is a difficult stage of season for sides like Palace who have little to play for.

"I think it's difficult for players and teams that have secured safety, which we have, to have motivation.

"We need desire to win. Hull's desire will be 10 out of 10 and we need to match that.

"Our pure focus is to win this game. I do want a top 10 finish. I'm very proud of these players and we owe it to the fans."

This morning we asked you for your ticket tales - the occasions when you have lucked upon a ticket to a big event, lost your entry for a defining moment or spent a fortune on getting in to a sporting event...

James Barker: AUD 500 for Rugby World Cup Final 2003, Sydney - worth every penny to see Jonny Wilkinson's winning drop goal!!

Scott Walker: Paid £120 for FAC final 2008 to watch Pompey win the cup. A mate got them for me 24 hours before kick off. worth every penny.

Chris Baldwin: I won tickets to Germany vs Ireland and England vs Argentina at 2002 World Cup including all flights, food and beer. Pretty lucky.

Get in touch via #tickettales, external on Twitter, or text us on 81111.

Former Everton chairman and Football League president Sir Philip Carter has died after a short illness, the Merseyside club has announced., external

Sir Philip, 87, was Everton chairman during their most successful period, as they won two league titles, one FA Cup and one European Cup Winners' Cup between 1984 and 1987.

He died peacefully at home on Thursday morning.

Image source, Getty Images

John Carver is well aware of the challenge posed by Garry Monk's Swansea for Saturday's match at St James' Park...

"Garry Monk has made a very good transition from player to manager and he's taken Swansea on to another level," said Carver. "Swansea will keep the ball so we will have to be patient at times, but I've got to come up with a formula to get three points."

Image source, Getty Images

John Carver's side have been dragged back into relegation danger after last week's 3-1 home loss to Spurs. They are not in full-blown panic just yet, with seven points separating them and the bottom three. But Carver is clearly not underestimating how big a win would be for United on Saturday...

"We need a win. It's so important for everyone and may just lift that bit of gloom that's over the city at the moment," he said. "The time for talking is over. We have to go out on the pitch and deliver. Actions speak louder than words."

Image source, Stuart Broad

Fast bowler Stuart Broad, who took 4-61 as West Indies were dismissed for 299 in the second Test, is feeling proud to be English as we approach the start of day three in Grenada.

The tourists have made a good start to their first innings, with Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott reaching 74-0 at he close of day two.

Don't forget there will be live text commentary on this website when play resumes at 14:45 BST.

Image source, Getty Images

John Carver is currently speaking to the media ahead of Newcastle's game with Swansea on Saturday. The manager has confirmed that Jonas Gutierrez and Siem de Jong will be in the squad for the match.

Gutierrez was left out for the home loss to Tottenham last Sunday for "selection reasons", with rumours suggesting a fall-out between him and Carver.

De Jong suffered a collapsed lung in February but has played two reserve games recently, with Carver saying in his press conference: "Siem de Jong will be in the squad and be involved. Some of his play in the Under-21s at Aston Villa was excellent."

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova suffered a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) defeat by American Madison Brengle on her return to the WTA Tour in Stuttgart.

Kvitova, 25, was playing her first WTA match since February following a six-week break for exhaustion, although the Czech did win both matches on Fed Cup duty against France last weekend.

Brengle is at a career high of 43 as she enjoys her best season to date, and the 25-year-old from Delaware converted her sixth match point for the best win of her career.

Image source, Getty Images

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink...

The Dongfeng Race Team, the Chinese entrants in the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race, have suffered a scare in the sixth leg from Brazil to the United States when the onboard electronic machine that converts sea to drinking water failed. The boats do not stock bottled drinking water and the heat in the cabin can sometimes reach 50 degrees Celsius so it was a huge relief to them that they have managed a makeshift repair to get it working again for the time being.