End of the road for England legend Wilkinson December 12, 2011 ENGLAND’S iconic World Cup winning fly-half Jonny Wilkinson yesterday announced his retirement from international rugby. The 32-year-old, arguably England’s greatest ever player, won 91 caps over the course of an injury-plagued career and also represented the British and Irish Lions on two tours. Wilkinson will forever be remembered as the man who kicked England to [...]
MATCH ANALYSIS December 12, 2011 KEY MOMENT Manchester City’s early dominance was hardly reflected by a 1-0 scoreline handed to them by Mario Balotelli’s second minute strike and a famous Chelsea comeback may never have materialised had referee Mark Clattenburg spotted Jose Bosingwa’s trip on David Silva inside the penalty area in the 14th minute. Only after super-slow-motion replays was [...]
Shanghai eye Drogba and Anelka pairing December 12, 2011 AMBITIOUS Chinese outfit Shanghai Shenhua want to reunite Nicolas Anelka with his old Chelsea strike partner Didier Drogba. Anelka, 32, will move to the Far East in January on a two-year contract believed to be worth £8m a year, it was confirmed yesterday. But, not content with just one former Stamford Bridge frontman, the Chinese [...]
Arsenal to conquer new frontier with pre-season tour of Nigeria December 12, 2011 ARSENAL chiefs are planning to take the club into new territory next summer by embarking on a pre-season tour to Africa. The Gunners are in talks about playing a number of matches in Nigeria next summer, before the 2012-13 campaign gets underway. Other tours are also being discussed and it is understood Arsenal could schedule [...]
Kauto Star set for King George December 12, 2011 HORSE RACING: Four-time winner Kauto Star has been entered for the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day by his trainer Paul Nicholls. The 11-year-old defied the critics by beating Long Run to win the Betfair Chase at Haydock three weeks ago.
Hoy caught in Foy crossfire December 12, 2011 FOOTBALL: British cyclist Sir Chris Hoy has been accidentally targeted on Twitter by Tottenham fans angry with referee Chris Foy following Sunday’s defeat at Stoke. Foy made several controversial calls and a number of Spurs fans have mistakenly written to Olympic champion Hoy expressing their displeasure. “Getting some rather amusing grief from Spurs fans!” Hoy [...]
Stoke and ref Foy combine to ruin Spurs run December 11, 2011 STOKE CITY (2) vs TOTTENHAM (1) TOTTENHAM manager Harry Redknapp tore into referee Chris Foy after watching his side’s 11-match unbeaten run come to and end in controversial circumstances at the Britannia Stadium. Matthew Etherington struck twice against his former side in a first-half almost exclusively dominated by the home side. Emmanuel Adebayor’s penalty halved [...]
Major target for Donald December 11, 2011 After securing an historic money-list double, World No1 hopes 2012 represents the year he finally wins one of golf’s biggest prizes AN EMOTIONAL Luke Donald completed an unprecedented money-list double yesterday and immediately outlined his determination to ensure 2012 marks his maiden Major victory. The world No1 capped a sensational year in which he won [...]
Beaten Khan left to ponder rematch offer December 11, 2011 CRESTFALLEN Amir Khan lamented the performance of referee Joseph Cooper after he slipped to the second defeat of his career at the hands of American Lamont Peterson, which prompted his management team to call for an investigation into the way the fight was scored. Khan was deducted two points, one crucially in the final round [...]
Defeat City and we’re back in the race, says Cech December 11, 2011 CHELSEA vs MANCHESTER CITY CHELSEA goalkeeper Petr Cech insists victory over Manchester City in this evening’s heavyweight Premier League clash will catapult his side back into title contention. City have set a ferocious early season pace and have failed to win just two of their 14 league games, but Wednesday’s demoralising elimination from the Champions [...]