Date set for legal challenge to FFP by City fans and Bosman lawyer January 21, 2015 Opponents of European football’s financial fair play (FFP) rules have received a boost after a Belgian court set a date to hear a legal challenge to the controversial regulations. The challenge, brought by football agent Daniel Striani and supporters of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, is set to be heard on 26 and 27 February [...]
Arsenal secure Krystian Bielik transfer January 21, 2015 ARSENAL have completed the signing of teenage Legia Warsaw midfielder Krystian Bielik for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £2.4m. The 17-year-old Poland youth international, who can play as a holding midfielder or centre-half, made just six first-team appearances for Legia after joining from rivals Lech Poznan in July. The Gunners [...]
Lancaster backs Easter’s Test revival January 21, 2015 ENGLAND head coach Stuart Lancaster insists he never closed the door on veteran Harlequins No8 Nick Easter after ending his international exile yesterday by selecting him in the training squad for the opening Six Nations clash with Wales. Lancaster has named a 34-man party ahead of the Millennium Stadium curtain-raiser on 6 February which also [...]
Anderson set to manage work post-World Cup January 21, 2015 ENGLAND seamer James Anderson accepts he may be forced to sacrifice elements of his international workload post-World Cup in a bid to retain potency in other formats. The 32-year-old is England’s most prolific bowler in one-day international cricket (ODI) with 261 scalps, while he needs just four more victims to usurp Sir Ian Botham as [...]
Deloitte Football Money League: Real Madrid stay top of rich list as English clubs’ influence increases January 21, 2015 Deloitte’s Dan Jones talks Frank Dalleres through the Football Money League. PREMIER LEAGUE SUPREMACY England’s top-flight teams have never been richer. More than £5bn worth of contracts with broadcasters kicked in last season, leading to record revenue for all 20 clubs and an unprecedented global financial dominance. Every single Premier League team makes it [...]
Johnson dismisses rumours of cocaine but admits drink issue January 21, 2015 AMERICAN golfer Dustin Johnson has denied reports he has a cocaine problem but has admitted bouts of heavy drinking were an issue he needed to tackle. The 30-year-old is currently on a voluntary leave of absence from the PGA Tour after declaring in July he was taking time out of the game to confront personal [...]
Fisher leads at Qatar Masters January 21, 2015 ENGLAND’S Oliver Fisher heads a swamped leaderboard after posting an opening round seven-under-par 65 at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club yesterday. Fisher’s only European Tour victory came at the 2011 Czech Open but held a one-shot lead overnight from Spain’s Rafa Cabrera-Bello. The group on five under par includes two-time champion [...]
Arsenal still need a defender and Manchester United haven’t spent a penny – is this the most boring January transfer window ever? January 21, 2015 Are we in the middle of the most boring January transfer window ever? Almost three weeks have passed since the window opened on 3 January and it seems as if not much has happened. Arsenal were supposed to need a new defensive midfielder but have since discovered a hidden genius of Francis Coquelin, Manchester United [...]
From City currency trader to football manager: the rise of Mark Warburton January 21, 2015 The City's trading floor is not the archetypal breeding ground for Premier League managers but Brentford’s Mark Warburton stands on the cusp of trailblazing his way to English football’s top-flight and completing a sporting odyssey. Just under half the season remains in one of the most unrelenting and competitive divisions in Europe and Warburton and [...]
Capital One Cup: Jose Mourinho revels in decisive clash after stalemate January 20, 2015 CHELSEA boss Jose Mourinho was relieved to establish a winner-takes-all clash at Stamford Bridge next week after navigating a potent Liverpool fightback in the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final at Anfield. An individual strike from Reds forward Raheem Sterling cancelled out Eden Hazard’s fourth successfully-converted penalty of the campaign, as Liverpool extended [...]