Football Association clears Premier League clubs to field weakened teams in the FA Cup and confirms plans to increase prize money January 8, 2017 Premier League clubs have been given the green light to field weakened teams in the FA Cup after Football Association chiefs said they would not take action against sides who made wholesale changes. Top-flight teams’ attitude towards the competition is in the spotlight again after six crashed out at the earliest opportunity over the first two [...]
Everton sell training ground naming rights to company co-owned by Arsenal investor Alisher Usmanov and majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri January 6, 2017 Everton's training ground will be renamed USM Finch Farm after the Premier League club agreed a naming rights deal with the holding company for the businesses owned by Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov. USM Holdings, which is also part-owned by Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, counts Russia's largest mining company Metalloinvest, Russian social network VKontakte and stakes [...]
Here’s our pick of 2017’s best upcoming films January 5, 2017 Blade Runner 2049 Dir. Denis Villeneuve, out late 2017 Set thirty years after the events of Ridley Scott’s seminal science-fiction classic, Blade Runner 2049 stars Ryan Gosling as the wet-behind-the-ears replicant hunter tasked with tracking down a missing Rick Deckard, played by the unknowable force of nature that keeps Harrison Ford’s seemingly immortal body in [...]
Here are the most highly-anticipated art exhibitions coming up in London in 2017 January 5, 2017 Grayson Perry: The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever! Serpentine Gallery: 8 June to 10 September The uncharacteristically modest Grayson Perry returns to the Serpentine Gallery this summer to present The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever!, a new collection that explores classic themes of masculinity, contemporary culture and art galleries themselves. The Turner Prize winning artist [...]
Here are the most highly-anticipated theatre shows hitting the West End in 2017 January 5, 2017 Hamilton Victoria Palace Theatre: November 2017 Theatrical events don’t come much bigger than Hamilton’s highly-anticipated arrival in London. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece charting the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America who died in a duel (historical spoiler!), racked up 11 Tony Awards and won the Pulitzer Prize [...]
Pep Guardiola dismisses retirement talk as West Ham’s Slaven Bilic talks up qualities of two transfer targets January 5, 2017 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has doused suggestions he is contemplating retirement as he prepares to embark upon his maiden FA Cup clash against West Ham at the London Stadium on Friday. Guardiola moved to clarify comments made last week in which he indicated he was pondering the end of his coaching career, which led [...]
Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge redevelopment gets thumbs up from planners January 5, 2017 Chelsea's redevelopment plans for Stamford Bridge have moved a step closer to going ahead after being recommended for approval by planners at Hammersmith and Fulham council. The council will make their final ruling on planning permission for the Blues' £500m project next Wednesday. Chelsea want to boost the capacity of Stamford Bridge from 41,600 to 60,000 and build [...]
Up for the cup: Sutton United bask in overdue return to spotlight January 5, 2017 Non-league Sutton United may be cast as extras in the FA Cup script but nearly 30 years after their last show-stopping third round performance the part-timers are busy rehearsing their lines for a long overdue encore. It was January 1989 when Sutton, playing as they are today in English football’s fifth tier, knocked out top-flight Coventry [...]
Everton new boy Ademola Lookman attracted by Ronald Koeman’s development skills January 5, 2017 Everton's new teenage signing Ademola Lookman says manager Ronald Koeman's record at developing young players convinced him to join the Premier League club. The highly-rated 19-year-old has become most expensive player ever signed from a League One side after The Toffees agreed a deal worth up to £11m with Charlton. His performances both on the wing and up front for [...]
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Chelsea could struggle after Tottenham ended their all-conquering sequence January 5, 2017 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Chelsea could struggle to regain momentum in the Premier League title race after Tottenham ended their 13-match winning run on Wednesday. The leaders slipped to their first league defeat since September as two Dele Alli headers lifted Tottenham to third place and gave fresh hope to the rest of the chasing [...]