How bad is Manchester United’s attacking under Louis van Gaal? Fewer chances, shrinking shots and less goals – the numbers don’t look good for the Old Trafford boss November 11, 2015 Commands of “Attack! Attack! Attack!” have become noticeable in their regularity and forcefulness in recent Manchester United games. Manager Louis van Gaal has been criticised for appearing to force functionality into United’s cavalier DNA, as attacking moves become more synonymous with sideways passing than ferocious forays into the final third. But is the suggestion United [...]
Andy Murray and Great Britain would beat Belgium in the Davis Cup final eight times out of 10, says John McEnroe November 10, 2015 It may be almost 80 years since they last won the Davis Cup, but John McEnroe insists Great Britain should be considered hot favourites when they face Belgium in the final this month. Britain also faces the dual inconvenience of being the away team and playing on clay, although talisman Andy Murray has been practising on [...]
Sam Burgess lacked the stomach to stay in rugby union, insists Bath head coach Mike Ford November 10, 2015 Code-switcher Sam Burgess did not have the stomach to fight for a rugby union future following a turbulent World Cup campaign, according to jilted Bath head coach Mike Ford. Burgess last week quit the 15-man code and returned to former rugby league club South Sydney Rabbitohs despite being just 12 months into his rugby union [...]
Pressure mounts on IAAF chief Lord Coe to issue Russia with bans following report by a World Anti-Doping Agency independent commission November 10, 2015 Athletics chief Lord Coe faced mounting pressure last night after the International Olympic Committee urged governing body the IAAF to ban Russian drug cheats. IAAF president Coe has given Russia until the end of the week to respond to accusations of systemic doping, extortion and corruption contained within a report released on Monday by a [...]
England one-day skipper Eoin Morgan tips lethal wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler to rediscover batting prowess in limited-overs series against Pakistan November 10, 2015 England one-day skipper Eoin Morgan has backed wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler to rediscover his most destructive form during his side’s limited-overs tussles with Pakistan, which start today in Abu Dhabi. Lancashire’s Buttler was dropped for England’s third Test against Pakistan in Sharjah earlier this month after a barren spell which saw him score just 156 runs [...]
Roy Hodgson must decide on his best England team and stick with it against Spain and France if he hopes to succeed at Euro 2016 November 10, 2015 The last thing I want to read next Wednesday is that coach Roy Hodgson rested players for one or other of England’s friendlies against Spain and France because he didn’t want to upset their club managers. These two matches over the next seven days are a chance for England to raise the bar against better [...]
Russian doping scandal: How many medals at London 2012 Olympics could be under suspicion? November 10, 2015 The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) yesterday unveiled a shocking report which alleged a systemic doping programme in Russian athletics and suggest the London 2012 Olympics had been "sabotaged" thanks to the failure of the IAAF to prevent athletes with suspicious tests from competing. Five Russian athletes and five coaches should be given lifetime bans according [...]
Wada strips Russian anti-doping lab of accreditation following bombshell report into “deeply rooted culture of cheating” November 10, 2015 The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has suspended the accreditation of Moscow's drug-testing lab in response to the damning report which alleged Russia had been running a systemic doping programme in athletics. An independent report on behalf of Wada found evidence of the deliberate destruction of 1,417 test samples, the cover-up of positive results and even the [...]
Wada’s report on Russian athletics shows it’s been too easy to corrupt current anti-doping system November 10, 2015 The long-awaited independent commission report of an investigation into allegations first revealed in a German TV documentary shocked but does not surprise those who remember state institutionalised doping of the 1970s. The documentary itself was controversial, alleging doping practices, bribery and corruption in the Russian national anti-doping system involving national doping control officers, laboratory scientists, [...]
Tottenham named Premier League’s best team for club-trained players amid new low in the division November 10, 2015 Premier League clubs are giving fewer chances to their young players than ever before, a new study has found. This season just 11.7 per cent of players in the league play for the club that trained them – down from 13.8 per cent last year. Tottenham are currently the most effective club at blooding academy [...]