the New Year being bottom of the Premiership and ten points adrift of safety, with West Ham United and Charlton Athletic also several points behind fellow strugglers Sheffield United, Wigan Athletic and Middlesbrough. Birmingham now lead the Championship, six points ahead of Preston and Derby. Colchester have overcome a slow start to stand in sixth, behind Southampton and West Brom. Hull, Leeds and Southend remain in the Championship drop zone. 11 January 2007 – Former Barrow defender James Cotterill is sentenced to four months in prison for causing grievous bodily harm to Bristol Rovers player Sean Rigg during an FA Cup first round match in November 2006. Rigg suffered a double fracture of the jaw after being punched by Cotterill. 16 January 2007 – In the FA Cup third round replays, third tier Bristol City knock out Championship club Coventry City. Elsewhere, top-flight sides Manchester City and Middlesbrough survive scares against Football League teams to progress, beating Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City respectively. 25 January 2007 – Peter Taylor resigns as England under-21 manager, stating that he wants to focus on managing his other team, Crystal Palace. 31 January 2007 – Manchester United remain top of the Premiership and look safe to reclaim the title they last won in 2003. Chelsea remain six points behind, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Bolton, Portsmouth and Reading (the latter expected by many to struggle in their first ever top-flight campaign) completing the top seven. The relegation zone remains unchanged from the end of December, but the strugglers are cranking up the pressure on Wigan Athletic. Derby end the month as the leader of the Championship, six points clear of Birmingham (who have two games in hand) and Preston, with West Brom, Southampton and a resurgent Cardiff not far behind. Leeds has swapped places with Southend at the foot of the Championship while Hull have escaped the bottom three at the expense of QPR. 1 February. 2007 – Stuart Pearce is appointed as Peter Taylor's replacement. 6 February 2007 – George Gillett and Tom Hicks complete their takeover of Liverpool. 7 February 2007 – Milan Mandarić completes his takeover of Leicester City. 25 February 2007 – Chelsea defeat Arsenal 2–1 in the Carling Cup final at the Millennium Stadium. The match was marred by a mass brawl between the two sides during the final few minutes of the game, in which three players were sent off.