Raheem Sterling-Joe Gomez row: Gareth Southgate’s firm response has ensured this won’t happen again November 12, 2019 It’s rare, but I can’t say I’ve never witnessed two England team-mates coming to blows on international duty, as Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez did on Monday at St George’s Park. On one occasion, four of us were in a taxi back from an official England team function – including two Scousers who played for [...]
World of athletics in uproar and unionising after IAAF decides to cut major events from Diamond League meetings November 12, 2019 Athletics is not in a happy place at the moment. Having spent the past few months reeling from criticism for staging this year’s World Championships in Qatar and the still-unfolding scandal that is Nike’s Oregon Project, the sport ran headlong into yet another obstacle last week. While not as serious as issues like migrant workers’ [...]
Ed Smith interview: England’s national selector on his academic background and establishing the Institute of Sports Humanities November 11, 2019 Ed Smith is a familiar figure in cricket. He is a former player, commentator and journalist turned England national selector who frequently appears on our screens, radios and in print to name squads, explain call-ups, rebuff criticism and accept praise. But that isn’t all he has spent his time doing. For three years, Smith worked [...]
Tyrrell Hatton’s Turkish delight was his just desserts – and now even bigger things beckon November 11, 2019 It was all over for Tyrrell Hatton when his third shot came to rest off the green at the first replaying of the par-five 18th hole at the Turkish Airlines Open on Sunday. Or so it seemed. Hatton conjured a birdie with an extraordinary chip to keep himself in a record-equalling six-man play-off, which he [...]
Liverpool 3-1 Manchester City: Reds produce their best performance of the season on biggest stage November 10, 2019 This wasn’t so much a passing of the baton as the baton being wrenched away and twirled in celebration while the opposition howled at the moon about perceived injustice. The upshot is the same, though: Liverpool have replaced Manchester City as the best in the country, have a strong claim to being the best in [...]
Unhappy Hammers: West Ham sinking down the table after thrashing by Burnley November 10, 2019 Things are not looking rosy for West Ham United. The problems are mounting for Manuel Pellegrini following their abysmal 3-0 thrashing by Burnley on Saturday. The Hammers have plummeted to 16th place in the Premier League, having taken just one point from their last five games and haven’t tasted victory since 22 September. Read more: [...]
World Para Athletics Championships 2019: Is parasport the sponsorship industry’s best kept secret? November 10, 2019 The 2019 World Para Athletics Championships is currently being held at the new stadium of the Dubai Club for People of Determination – a fitting name for what will be the climax of the para athletics season. The championships are also the last major opportunity to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, so it’s [...]
ATP Finals 2019: The battle for world No1 ranking and four more things to watch at the O2 this week November 10, 2019 Winning the final and biggest ATP Tour event of the year will be enough motivation for the eight taking centre stage at London’s O2 Arena this week, but for Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic the world No1 spot is also on the line. Nadal currently leads Djokovic in the rankings by 640 points, but the [...]
Eddie Jones has enriched English rugby but the RFU should try and hire Steve Hansen November 7, 2019 Firstly, I want to hold my hands up: I called the Rugby World Cup final completely wrong. I have rewatched the match since to try to make sense of it, and although Kyle Sinckler’s early injury helped give South Africa the ascendancy in the scrum, it was far from the biggest factor in England’s 32-12 [...]
Revealed: How Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes retained their Formula One titles but kept a lid on costs November 7, 2019 Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes team has become the only outfit in the past decade to win the Formula One championship without increasing its spending by more than £1m. Hamilton steered his Mercedes to a sixth title at last weekend’s US Grand Prix despite the team’s costs only increasing by £0.9m to £321.5m, analysis of company accounts [...]