Tottenham set to sign Southampton’s Victor Wanyama for knock-down price June 20, 2016 Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is poised to sign Victor Wanyama for a second time after Spurs agreed a knock-down fee of £11m for the Southampton and Kenya midfielder. The price is less than the £12.5m Saints paid Celtic in 2013 and Tottenham have been able to drive a hard bargain because Wanyama has only one [...]
Didier Deschamps shrugs off criticism as France secure favourable last-16 draw with point June 19, 2016 France boss Didier Deschamps rebuffed criticism of a lacklustre showing after Les Bleus snared the point they needed to secure their passage to the last 16 as group winners with a goalless draw against a resilient Switzerland in Lille. Recalled midfielder Paul Pogba twice struck the woodwork in the first half and substitute Dimitri Payet did likewise [...]
Roy Hodgson ignores contract talk and plans to make as many as six changes for Slovakia clash June 19, 2016 England boss Roy Hodgson has shrugged off renewed speculation over his future as the Three Lions bid to seal top spot in Group B with victory over Slovakia in Saint-Etienne on Monday. The issue of Hodgson’s contact, which expires at the end of Euro 2016, was reignited by outgoing Football Association chairman Greg Dyke who [...]
Euro 2016 betting: England can get the win they need to top Group B June 19, 2016 At half-time against Wales Roy Hodgson must have been wondering if the man upstairs had something against him. England completely dominated their opening fixture against Russia yet succumbed to a 92nd minute equaliser by Vasili Berezutski. And then Gareth Bale’s free-kick just before the interval crept past Joe Hart to leave the Three Lions in serious [...]
Euro 2016 betting: Wounded Welsh look ready to bounce back and make history June 19, 2016 Wales can book their place in the last 16 by beating Russia in Toulouse on Monday evening. In fact, even a draw should be good enough for Chris Coleman’s men to prolong their stay in the tournament. Only a last-gasp Daniel Sturridge winner prevented them from earning a point against England last Thursday and it [...]
Mercedes blame F1 rules after Lewis Hamilton thwarted by technical problem in Baku June 19, 2016 Mercedes blamed Formula One’s radio regulations after a technical problem dented Briton Lewis Hamilton’s title hopes at the European Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday. Hamilton vented his frustration to the team as he battled with the settings on his car and, although Mercedes engineers knew how to fix the problem, F1 rules prevented [...]
Richard III at Almeida Theatre: Ralph Fiennes puts the bunch-backed toad and the bottled spider into Shakespeare’s villain June 17, 2016 Richard III | Almeida | ★★★★★ Richard III is the ideal play for these post-facts times, where rhetoric is no longer anchored to reality and fear is the prevailing political currency. We approach a referendum whose result will be decided by whichever apocalyptic vision of the future the public chooses to believe. Across the pond a [...]
Olympics 2016: Russian athletes banned from competing in Rio de Janeiro by IAAF June 17, 2016 Russia's athletics team will be barred from competing at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, after failing to convince the sport's governing body it had sufficiently dealt with doping amongst its athletes. The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) has refused to lift the suspension imposed on Russia following revelations of a state-sponsored doping [...]
Euro 2016: What England need to know about Group B opponents Slovakia – head-to-head, tactics, danger men and form preview June 17, 2016 With wins against both reigning European champions Spain and world champions Germany in the last two years, Slovakia will consider England beatable opposition when they face each other on Monday. Tactics After narrowly negotiating a spirited Wales side both adept at frustrating the opposition with bodies behind the ball and in possession of one of [...]
Tale of Tales film review: Salma Hayek is brilliant in this gory fairytale June 17, 2016 Tale of Tales | Dir. Matteo Garrone | ★★★★☆ Italian film maker Matteo Garrone, best known for his realist Mafia drama Gomorrah, makes a surprising choice for his English language debut in this 17th century fairytale. We follow the interweaving stories of three monarchs – an ageing ruler (Toby Jones) who acquires a strange [...]