FA Cup fourth round: How much is winning worth? How its prize money compares to the Champions League and Premier League January 30, 2016 In football's modern landscape of multi-billion pound TV deals, prawn sandwiches and sponsored stadiums it's often taken as a given that cold hard cash rules all. Yet if there's one counter point to that cynicism it's surely the FA Cup, which remains one of English football's most prized assets despite a relatively paltry economic reward for [...]
Arsenal: Coquelin’s return provides welcome relief from Flamini – but is Cazorla the key to defensive solidity? January 30, 2016 Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin is in line for a return from two months on the sidelines this weekend and among the cacophony of relieved sighs at the Emirates Stadium none will be louder than Petr Cech’s. The Arsenal goalkeeper could justifiably expect a welcome drop in his workload once there is a Coquelin-shaped shield sitting [...]
Six Nations 2016: Stade de France security to be beefed up in light of Paris attacks January 29, 2016 The French Rugby Federation (FFR) has promised increased security at the Stade de France for next month's Six Nations fixtures. Terrorists targeted the stadium during a friendly between France and Germany's football teams on 13 November last year. Three suicide bombers were foiled in their attempts to enter the 81,338 capacity stadium as part of coordinated attacks throughout [...]
Real Madrid and Adidas set to agree huge £100m sponsorship that trumps Manchester United’s record deal January 29, 2016 Adidas and Real Madrid are close to agreeing a huge kit manufacturing deal that would trump the German sportswear brand's record £75m deal with Manchester United. According to reports from Madrid paper Marca, Real will receive €140m (£107m) a season from Adidas in a 10-year extension of their current partnership. The deal will once again make Real [...]
Australian Open 2016: How much has Jamie Murray made in prize money from his doubles career? January 29, 2016 Andy Murray and Johanna Konta have dominated British-themed headlines from the Australian Open this week – but Jamie Murray has been equally impressive in reaching a third consecutive grand slam final. Jamie Murray and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares comfortably won their semi-final in straight sets and will now face Canadian-Czech pairing Daniel Nestor and Radek [...]
West Ham chairwoman Karren Brady warns that Brexit would have “devastating” consequences for football January 29, 2016 West Ham vice-chairwoman Karren Brady has warned that the UK leaving the EU would have "devastating consequences for the competitiveness of British football" and has called on clubs to publicly back an "In" vote ahead of the forthcoming referendum. In a letter to the chairs of all professional clubs in the UK, Brady has written that [...]
Chris Powell: Managers shouldn’t ignore the power the FA Cup has to invigorate fans – just look at Arsenal January 28, 2016 I’m always really surprised to hear people suggest there’s not much interest in the FA Cup these days because for me, it will never die. Financial concerns mean the league has taken precedent over the cup and have changed people’s mentality towards the season. Now it’s all about the league and nothing else which is [...]
FA chairman Greg Dyke to leave role following Euro 2016 January 28, 2016 FA chairman Greg Dyke has announced his intention to leave the organisation after Euro 2016, claiming it needs "more of a conciliatory figure" to push through reforms. The former BBC director-general replaced David Bernstein in July 2013 and quickly built a reputation for his outspoken style and strong opposition to Sepp Blatter as Fifa president. Dyke [...]
Racing betting: No Planning required for in-form Sue Smith at Doncaster January 28, 2016 Regular readers of this column will know that we have had a cracking start to 2016 with three consecutive decent price winners all trained by women. Kerry Lee’s pair Mountainous (14/1) and Russe Blanc (20/1) were followed into the winners’ enclosure last week by Sue Smith’s Cloudy Too (7/1). And I’m sticking with another Smith-trained [...]
Football betting: West Ham aiming to beat Liverpool in FA Cup and complete historic treble January 28, 2016 Before this season it had been 52 years since West Ham did the double over Liverpool. Now, with Premier League wins at Anfield and the Boleyn Ground under their belts, Slaven Bilic’s side return to Merseyside in the FA Cup tomorrow looking to make it a treble. The Hammers have scored five unanswered goals, with [...]