Ban upheld but Barca can carry on splashing out August 20, 2014 BARCELONA could yet embark on another spending spree before next month’s deadline despite having their appeal against a year-long transfer embargo upheld yesterday. The Spanish club failed in a bid to overturn a ban on all player trading for two transfer windows, originally imposed in April by world governing body Fifa for breaking rules on [...]
Palace disarray deepens as Mackay talks stall August 20, 2014 CARETAKER manager Keith Millen looks increasingly likely to take charge of Crystal Palace’s Premier League match with West Ham on Saturday after negotiations with leading candidate Malky Mackay stalled yesterday. The former Cardiff City boss had seemed in pole position to succeed Tony Pulis in the Selhurst Park hotseat but doubts have emerged about whether [...]
Time for Murray to step up, says McEnroe, as Mauresmo partnership faces test at US Open August 20, 2014 FORMER world No1 John McEnroe believes next week’s US Open will provide a telling indication of the progress Britain’s Andy Murray has made under new coach Amelie Mauresmo. Murray has not reached a final in 16 tournaments since winning Wimbledon last year, during which time he has had surgery on a back injury and, in [...]
Return of our Germans will be just the Teutonic, says Wilshere August 20, 2014 ARSENAL midfielder Jack Wilshere expects the imminent return of the club’s World Cup-winning Germany stars to boost the Gunners as they approach a testing spell. Playmaker Mesut Ozil, vice-captain Per Mertesacker and forward Lukas Podolski are all set to be named in the squad for Saturday’s trip to Everton, having been given an extended holiday [...]
All the attributes: Harry backs new boy Fer to have big season August 20, 2014 QPR boss Harry Redknapp believes new recruit Leroy Fer ticks plenty of boxes after the former Norwich City midfielder put pen to paper yesterday and moved to Loftus Road for a fee said to be £8m. The 24-year-old, who scored for Holland during their group stage victory over Chile at the World Cup in Brazil, [...]
Celtic boosted by away goal August 20, 2014 CELTIC are in pole position to qualify for the Champions League group stages for the third consecutive season after Callum McGregor scored the all-important away goal as the Bhoys drew 1-1 with Slovenian side NK Maribor last night. McGregor scored his third goal of the qualifying campaign to fire the visitors into a sixth minute [...]
Cricket Comment: India shake-up is no surprise as one-day series England’s to lose August 20, 2014 IN ALL sport winning is a habit and, though the personnel will be slightly different, the emphatic manner in which England won the Test series means it will be extremely hard for India to reverse that trend in the one-day series, which starts on Monday. England must be cock-a-hoop at the 3-1 Test series victory, [...]
Australia shows grit and grace to land lucrative Juddmonte at York August 20, 2014 AUSTRALIA is likely to be aimed at next month’s Irish Champion Stakes after the dual Derby winner underlined his class by claiming the Juddmonte International Stakes at York yesterday. The odds-on favourite was made to work under jockey Joseph O’Brien on this drop back to 10 furlongs, but finished strongly to beat The Grey Gatsby [...]
Champions League: Ramsey off but Arsenal secure draw August 19, 2014 BESIKTAS 0 ARSENAL 0 RELIEVED Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes his side are now in pole position to qualify for the Champions League proper after weathering the storm against Besiktas in the first leg of their group stage play-off in Istanbul last night. The Gunners failed to build on their perfect record of 12 previous [...]
Football Comment: Man Utd at risk of another European failure August 19, 2014 IF PROOF were ever needed that pre-season results have little bearing once the real business of the Premier League season starts, then Manchester United are surely it. All clubs just want to get the first 90 minutes out of the way and leave with three points, and United looked in a good position to do [...]