England face test of nerve over ballgate controversy September 29, 2011 ENGLAND vs SCOTLAND ENGLAND will go into their most important and fiercely contested match in four years tomorrow engulfed in controversy for the second time in this eventful World Cup campaign. National team chiefs yesterday took the unusual step of banning two of their own staff – assistant coach and kicking supremo Dave Alred and [...]
Scotland are a big banana skin for improving England September 29, 2011 ENGLAND are just getting into their stride as they prepare to face Scotland tomorrow. They should be very satisfied with the win and improved performance against Romania last week, and key players, like Chris Ashton, are coming into form. They must be feeling confident and I certainly wouldn’t like to be facing them this weekend. [...]
Scotland are not ready to depart World Cup yet, says Lamont September 29, 2011 SCOTLAND centre Sean Lamont has already felt the despair of elimination at this World Cup and insists he is not ready to do so again tomorrow. Lamont admits he mistakenly thought his team had been knocked out after last weekend’s agonising 13-12 Pool B defeat to Argentina. He was granted a reprieve, however, when he [...]
Triple salvo from big guns save Spurs from Shamrock shocker September 29, 2011 TOTTENHAM 3 vs SHAMROCK ROVERS 1 `TOTTENHAM striker Jermain Defoe insisted justice had been done after they survived a huge scare at home to Irish part-timers Shamrock Rovers. Spurs looked set to suffer a humiliating Europa League defeat when Stephen Rice diverted a long-range shot to give the visitors a shock lead. But the Premier [...]
GUNNERS ON TARGET FOR PROFIT September 29, 2011 ARSENAL will today post a small pre-tax profit when the club announces its financial results for the year ending May 2011. The figure will be dramatically lower than the record £56m pre-tax profit for the previous 12 months, City A.M. has learned. However, that 2009-10 sum was boosted by a one-off property windfall and significant [...]
Scholes offers Tevez unlikely sympathy September 29, 2011 MANCHESTER CITY outcast Carlos Tevez, who has been told he has no future at the club following his apparent refusal to play, has found an unlikely ally in Manchester United coach Paul Scholes. City suspended Tevez for two weeks on Wednesday, 24 hours after manager Roberto Mancini accused him of ignoring his orders to warm [...]
ODENSE BK 0 vs FULHAM 2 September 29, 2011 FULHAM manager Martin Jol vowed to keep Andy Johnson after the striker scored twice to earn their first win in Europa League Group K. Johnson, who is in the final year of his contract and can leave for free next summer, scored in the 36th and 88th minutes to take his season’s tally to six. [...]
Scots a big threat when underdogs September 29, 2011 WE’RE approaching another important game at London Scottish against Moseley this weekend. Our last two matches have been very narrow defeats, and so it is vital we get back to winning ways against a team that have had a decent start to the season. As it’s a Sunday game I’ll be able to watch the [...]
THE BREAKDOWN | WORLD CUP BRIEFS September 29, 2011 ENGLAND MUST STEP UP, SAYS HERO ROBINSON WORLD CUP winner Jason Robinson has called on England to find another gear against Scotland or risk an early exit. Former wing Robinson (inset below), part of the 2003 squad that lifted the trophy in Australia, believes Martin Johnson’s men have yet to fire on all cylinders. He [...]
SPORT | IN BRIEF September 29, 2011 Hatton: I considered suicide BOXING: British former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton says he considered taking his own life after a bout of depression triggered by his 2009 defeat to Manny Pacquiao. Hatton, who has battled drink and drugs, said: “I was so down, I was crying and contemplating suicide.” Europa wins for Stoke and [...]