Andy Murray would rather win Olympic gold again this year than Wimbledon January 12, 2016 Britain's Andy Murray is prioritising the defence of his Olympic crown in Rio de Janeiro over winning a second Wimbledon title or ending his quest for success at the Australian Open this year. The world No2, who helped Great Britain win the Davis Cup for the first time in 79 years, has also pledged to [...]
Arsene Wenger has completed his Arsenal puzzle – now I think they can last the course and win the Premier League January 12, 2016 Confidence in the Arsenal camp must be sky-high as the table-toppers attempt to take another significant step towards a first Premier League title since 2004 on Wednesday at Liverpool. The Gunners aren’t going to be runaway champions yet I felt at the start of the season that they had a good enough squad to compete until [...]
Mike Ashley splashes the cash: Newcastle smash own transfer spending record as Jonjo Shelvey joins for £12m from Swansea January 12, 2016 Newcastle United's transfer spend for the season has reached £64m following the £12m purchase of Jonjo Shelvey from Swansea – the largest total spend for a single season in the club's history. Having made just £3.5m from player sales so far this campaign, Newcastle also currently have the Premier League's second highest net spend at [...]
Steyn loss gives England upper hand, says seamer Anderson January 12, 2016 England seamer James Anderson insists the continued absence of South Africa paceman Dale Steyn gives his side the upper hand as they bid for a series-clinching victory in the third Test in Johannesburg. Steyn will miss England’s latest showdown with the Proteas, which starts tomorrow, with the shoulder injury which ruled him out of the [...]
Liverpool want to trademark Jurgen Klopp nickname “The Normal One” January 12, 2016 Liverpool have applied for a European trademark for "The Normal One", the nickname bestowed upon their manager Jurgen Klopp. The charismatic German coach used the phrase, a reference to Jose Mourinho's "I am the special one" pronouncement, to describe himself in his first press conference as Liverpool boss in October. Just over a week later Liverpool [...]
Fifa crisis: Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini could receive longer bans as Ethics Committee signals intention to appeal January 12, 2016 Disgraced former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini could yet be banned from football's governing body for life after internal ethics investigators signalled their intention to appeal to extend their existing suspensions. The two men were handed eight-year bans from Fifa in December by four Ethics judges over a £1.3m payment Blatter made to [...]
Lionel Messi Ballon d’Or 2015: The stats behind the Barcelona star’s incredible year January 12, 2016 Lionel Messi has once again been named the best footballer on the planet. For a record fifth time, Messi received Fifa's Ballon d'Or award for the best player in a calendar year after more trophies, many more goals and, of course, his quintessential jaw-dropping moments of magic categorically made 2015 one of his best years [...]
No respite for Van Gaal as FA Cup fourth round draw hands United tricky tie January 11, 2016 Under-pressure Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has been handed a potentially perilous tie in the FA Cup after the 11-time winners were pitched at Championship high-flyers Derby County in last night’s fourth round draw. Van Gaal has overseen a turbulent season at Old Trafford and one which sees United sit fifth in the Premier [...]
Arsene Wenger thinks Premier League clubs could surpass the £235m spent in January 2011 this month January 11, 2016 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has predicted a bumper month of spending by Premier League clubs in the January transfer window that could surpass the record £235m lavished in 2011. Top-flight teams have shown signs of loosening their purse-strings following a slow start to the window, with Bournemouth’s capture of Lewis Grabban from Norwich yesterday taking [...]
Wiping world records will help to restore integrity, say UK Athletics January 11, 2016 Governing body UK Athletics has called for world records to be reset in a bid to cleanse the probity of a sport which has become overshadowed by allegations of corruption. The radical proposal is one of 14 contained within ‘A Manifesto for Clean Athletics’, which it published yesterday, and also includes lifetime bans for any [...]