Championship: Neil: Canaries can soar in top flight May 25, 2015 MIDDLESBROUGH 0 NORWICH 2 NORWICH manager Alex Neil believes his side can thrive in the Premier League next season after he wrote the latest chapter in his remarkable ascent by masterminding victory in the Championship play-off yesterday. Two goals in the space of three first-half minutes from striker Cameron Jerome and winger Nathan Redmond saw [...]
Victorious Murray revels in Grand Slam nerves May 25, 2015 BRITAIN’S Andy Murray admitted he thrived on the nervous tension before breezing through to the second round of the French Open with a commanding victory over Argentine qualifier Facundo Arguello yesterday. Third seed Murray was rarely troubled by world No139 Arguello during his straight-sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 success, dispatching his opponent in one hour and [...]
Strauss ready to name Bayliss as new head coach May 25, 2015 ENGLAND are set to appoint Trevor Bayliss as their new head coach after the Australian emerged as director of cricket Andrew Strauss’s preferred candidate to succeed the sacked Peter Moores. Yorkshire’s county championship-winning coach Jason Gillespie was believed to be the frontrunner for the position after holding productive talks with Strauss last week, but he [...]
Pavey gamble pays dividend May 25, 2015 BRITAIN’S Jo Pavey admitted the reward outweighed the risk after overcoming illness to claim the British 10km road title in London yesterday. The 41-year-old European 10,000m champion was sick overnight and only decided to compete after warming up, but surged home ahead of second-placed Rebecca Murray in a time of 32 minutes and 56 seconds. [...]
Mourinho talks up winning habit and enjoys Chelsea’s title parade May 25, 2015 JUBILANT Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho urged supporters who lined the streets of south west London for the club’s Premier League trophy parade yesterday to prepare for a repeat next summer. Thousands of Blues fans turned out to see the champions take to three open-topped buses 24 hours after they beat Sunderland 3-1 in their final [...]
Golf Comment: New star is born as flawless An coolly claims life-changing win May 25, 2015 A NEW star was born at Wentworth on Sunday when 23-year-old South Korean Byeong-hun An became only the third debutant to claim victory at the BMW PGA Championship. For someone so young and in his first season on the European Tour to handle the pressure of leading at the flagship event on the last day [...]
Chelsea end of season stats: How do Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa compare against each other? May 25, 2015 In the end, they made it look easy. Chelsea cantered to the Premier League title with three games of the season remaining and finished off with a 3-1 cruise against Sunderland. The successful season was defined by Jose Mourinho’s consistent selection policy that rendered the identity of the Blues’ starting XI on the Stamford Bridge [...]
Could Liverpool legally let Raheem Sterling “rot in the reserves” in response to contract dispute? May 22, 2015 When a 20-year-old footballer publicly declares he wants to leave a club and his agent hurls insults at one of its legendary players, you can forgive fans for reacting emotionally. Raheem Sterling's all-too-public wrangling over a new contract with Liverpool has turned ugly in recent days, with many fans calling on the club to come [...]
Football League Championship attendance makes it the fourth most-watched league in Europe May 22, 2015 The Championship looks set to once again be named the fourth most-watched league in Europe, following a seven per cent increase in attendance. Read more: How Bournemouth's promotion push was funded by a Russian millionaire English football's second tier achieved a total audience of 9.9m, with an average attendance of 17,847. According to the Football League, [...]
Attack proves tonic as Root leads revival May 21, 2015 RUN-MACHINE Joe Root insisted it was imperative that attack became England’s primary form of defence after a shaky start on the opening day of the first Test at Lord’s yesterday. The hosts were in disarray at 30-4 before newly-appointed vice-captain Root and all-rounder Ben Stokes joined forces to kickstart England’s revival with a stand of [...]