Tyson Fury: World heavyweight champion considers boxing retirement despite £80m offer from Middle East February 4, 2016 World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has revealed he may quit boxing instead of fighting Wladimir Klitschko in a rematch – despite an £80m offer from the Gulf. The pair have agreed to fight again in May or June following Fury's dethroning of Ukrainian Klitschko on points last November. However, no venue for the rematch has yet [...]
Watford 0, Chelsea 0: Provoked Costa has my backing, insists Guus Hiddink February 4, 2016 Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink jumped to the defence of striker Diego Costa and accused Watford’s players of provoking the antagonistic frontman during last night’s goalless draw at Vicarage Road. Neither attack could permeate the defence of their rivals during an attritional contest, although the stalemate extended Chelsea’s unbeaten run to 10 matches across all competitions. [...]
England and Buttler’s batting brilliance hailed by skipper Morgan racking up second-highest ODI tally in victory against South Africa February 3, 2016 England skipper Eoin Morgan hailed the batting brilliance of his side after they racked up the country’s second-highest one-day international total to beat South Africa by 39 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in Bloemfontein last night. The tourists’ 399-5 was underpinned by a hundred from wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler as opener Alex Hales, batsman Joe Root [...]
Six Nations 2016: England head coach Eddie Jones is charismatic but tough and robotic, say players past and present February 3, 2016 A daring new appointment as skipper, seven uncapped rookies in his maiden squad and wisecrack-laden press conferences have all suggested that English rugby is set for a thrilling and unpredictable ride under its new, wily Australian head coach Eddie Jones. Off the pitch, perhaps. But opinion is divided among some in the game about whether [...]
Jones has blundered by failing to pick Itoje or Daly, says Armitage February 3, 2016 Exiled flanker Steffon Armitage has criticised the decision of England head coach Eddie Jones to omit uncapped duo Maro Itoje and Elliot Daly from his maiden matchday squad to face Scotland on Saturday. Saracens lock Itoje and Wasps centre Daly will head to Edinburgh as travelling reserves for England’s Six Nations opener and first competitive [...]
Oscar Wilde’s grandson Merlin Holland on Dorian Gray, censorship and posthumous pardons February 3, 2016 After years in the back room, Oscar has finally found his way onto the Oxford English syllabus,” says Merlin Holland, with both pride and indignation. Most of us in this noisy cafe off Carnaby Street wouldn’t be on first name terms with Oscar Wilde, but as his only living grandson and the sole executor of [...]
How much are Neymar and Gareth Bale worth? Investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald believes it has the definitive answer on player values February 3, 2016 Football clubs have been urged to shut out the noise and defer to statistical analysis sourced from the City, during another high-spending January transfer window. Premier League clubs surpassed £1bn in total transfer spend for the first time in 2015 and invested another £175m last month. With such increasingly huge sums at stake, club owners are [...]
Leicester City 2, Liverpool 0: Sublime Vardy keeps Foxes clear at Premier League summit February 3, 2016 Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri hailed prolific hitman Jamie Vardy’s wonder strike before reiterating his message to fellow title challengers that his side are free from pressure following last night’s dismantling of Liverpool. Premier League top scorer Vardy dealt an opening blow to the Reds with a sublime 25-yard half-volley from Riyad Mahrez’s exquisite pass before [...]
Norwich City 0, Tottenham Hotspur 3: Pochettino cools Premier League title talk February 3, 2016 Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino shrugged of Premier League title talk despite seeing his side move to within five points of leaders Leicester with an assured victory over relegation-threatened Norwich last night. The north London club’s principal match-winners delivered once more as Harry Kane notched twice, taking his tally to seven goals in eight top-flight matches [...]
Arsenal 0-0 Southampton: Arsene Wenger blasts the Gunners’ shoddy finishing as their Premier League title hopes suffer another blow February 2, 2016 Arsenal 0, Southampton 0 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger blasted his team's impotence in front of goal after a fourth successive Premier League game without a win further undermined their title challenge. The Gunners mustered 18 shots, including 12 on target, but found Fraser Forster in forbidding mood on the rare occasions they stretched the Southampton and [...]