Millwall down as Rotherham win April 28, 2015 MILLWALL’S forlorn quest to retain their Championship status was last night extinguished as closest rivals Rotherham beat Reading 2-1 at the New York Stadium to safely navigate their own relegation concerns. Second-half strikes from Matt Derbyshire and Lee Frecklington consigned the Lions to relegation and brought their five-year stint in English football’s second tier to [...]
Chelsea to play PSG and Barca April 28, 2015 CHELSEA are set to face their Champions League conquerors Paris Saint-Germain and Spanish giants Barcelona when they travel to United States to play in the International Champions Cup pre-season tournament in July. Jose Mourinho’s side play their opening game of the competition against New York Red Bulls in New Jersey on 22 July, before clashes [...]
Bournemouth face £240m windfall April 28, 2015 Cherries can bank a huge sum even for a short top-flight stay. DEBATE may rage over whether Bournemouth’s dizzying ascent deserves to be deemed a fairytale, but there can be little disputing that their historic promotion is about to utterly transform their finances. Critics point out that the Cherries’ rise from the bottom of the [...]
Generation next handed England one-day chance April 28, 2015 ENGLAND have given a strong hint towards a limited-overs revolution by naming a youthful squad for the first one-day international since their dismal World Cup showing, against Ireland at Malahide, Dublin on 8 May. The 11-man travelling party includes five players – Zafar Ansari, Sam Billings, Lewis Gregory, James Vince and David Willey – yet [...]
Essex batsman Lawrence, 17, hits maiden ton and re-writes history April 28, 2015 TRAIL-BLAZING teenager Dan Lawrence became the youngest Essex batsman to score a championship century when he reached his maiden hundred on day three of his side’s clash with Surrey at the Kia Oval yesterday. Lawrence, aged 17 years and 290 days, was playing just his second first-class fixture and brought up the three-figure milestone by [...]
Wimbledon 2015 prize money makes it the richest grand slam in tennis April 28, 2015 Wimbledon has increased its prize money by seven per cent for this year's tournament, guaranteeing the men and women singles champions £1.88m apiece. Tennis' premier grass court tournament will this year boast the highest-ever prize money pool in professional tennis at £26.75m, although the growth in the fund did slow down following the 10.5 per [...]
Bournemouth’s promotion push isn’t as romantic as it seems April 28, 2015 After smashing Bolton on Monday night, Bournemouth sealed (barring a miracle) their place in next season's Premier League. Just six years after they avoided relegation from the Football League, the final step into the promised land was one of the easier tasks Bournemouth have faced in their steady climb up the Football League. On the [...]
Possession but no goals? That’s boring April 27, 2015 CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho has derided football’s fetishisation of possession statistics, arguing that the game is losing sight of the only numbers that truly matter. Continuing a strident defence of the style in which his team have marched to the brink of the Premier League title, Mourinho yesterday insisted it was contradictory to prioritise ball [...]
Rodgers banking on a Reds-style crash for top four April 27, 2015 LIVERPOOL boss Brendan Rodgers has not given up hope of one of the current top four mirroring his side’s late collapse last season and opening the door for the Reds to snatch Champions League qualification. The Anfield club were on course to land a first top-flight title for 25 years before skipper Steven Gerrard’s infamous [...]
Chelsea’s golden boys maintain their dominance of FA Youth Cup April 27, 2015 CHELSEA’S insatiable pursuit of silverware continued with the retention of the FA Youth Cup last night following a 2-1 victory over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. Leading 3-1 from the first leg, the hosts were rocked by an early opener from City’s Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho on his Youth Cup debut, before attacking prodigies Izzy [...]