Wilshere critical of FA’s plans for England to field foreign players October 8, 2013 MIDFIELDER Jack Wilshere has criticised the Football Association’s plans to recruit teenage Belgian midfielder Adnan Januzaj stating his belief that only born and bred Englishman should play for the national team. Januzaj, 18, has made an eye-catching start to the season with Manchester United and scored twice in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Sunderland. That led [...]
Confidence key to survival, says new boss Poyet October 8, 2013 NEW Sunderland manager Gus Poyet feels his players need to start believing they are good enough to climb off the foot of the Premier League table and successfully stave off relegation. The 45-year-old has penned a two-year contract and succeeds Paolo Di Canio, who left under a cloud last month after falling out with several [...]
Wenger and Ramsey bag awards to complete remarkable turn in fortune October 8, 2013 SIX wins from six matches have earned Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and midfielder Aaron Ramsey the Barclays’ manager and player of the month awards for September respectively. The Gunners are top of the Premier League and enjoyed wins over north London rivals Tottenham, as well as Sunderland, Stoke and Swansea last month. Wenger’s team also [...]
United chop ticket prices October 8, 2013 PREMIER League champions Manchester United have announced plans to subsidise tickets bought by their supporters to attend away matches for the rest of the season. Following consultation with the club’s fans’ forum United have agreed to discount £4 from all tickets for league fixtures, starting with the trip to Fulham’s Craven Cottage on 2 November. [...]
Exclusive: Hoddle: Independent academies can nurture kids better than clubs October 8, 2013 Former England boss tells Josh Richards his academy blueprint FORMER England manager Glenn Hoddle has told new Football Association chairman Greg Dyke that a radical overhaul of professional clubs’ academies can be the solution he is seeking to the shortage of homegrown talent breaking into the top flight. Hoddle is today expected to be added [...]
Real Madrid debt far higher than club admit, claims fans’ group October 8, 2013 REAL Madrid have been accused of misleading their supporters over the club’s debt levels and operating an inefficient business by a group representing the Spanish team’s members. The Asociacion por los Valores del Madridismo (Association for Madrid Values) says the club’s total debt is €541m (£457m), not the €91m (£77m) reported by Real president Florentino [...]
Football Association hit Ince with five-match stadium ban October 8, 2013 BLACKPOOL manager Paul Ince has been hit with a five-match stadium ban and £4,000 fine following an inquiry into three breaches of Football Association rules. Ince, who won 53 England caps, was charged with using abusive and/or insulting words towards a match official, adopting behaviour towards a match official which constituted violent conduct and using [...]
World Cup bids probe launched October 8, 2013 WORLD governing body Fifa will contact all nations who lodged unsuccessful bids to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cups as part of an investigation into its code of ethics. American Michael Garcia will spearhead the probe, expected to last for several months, into the bidding processes, which saw Russia and Qatar named host nations. [...]
Pietersen bags libel damages from optician October 8, 2013 ENGLAND batsman Kevin Pietersen accepted substantial libel damages from Specsavers at the High Court yesterday after the optician ran an advert suggesting he may have tampered with his bat during this year’s Ashes triumph. The implication was particularly sensitive as Pietersen had recently emphatically rejected Australian media claims that he used tape on his bat [...]
Rugby tightens salary cap rules October 8, 2013 ENGLAND’S top rugby union clubs have agreed to tighten regulations on salary caps in a bid to ensure no teams are cheating the system. Premiership Rugby now has the power to undertake an investigatory audit in addition to the standard salary cap audit in order to root out financial cheats. The organisation, which represents the [...]