Comment: Glimmers of promise for Cook and Co. December 11, 2014 NOT only does England’s victory yesterday maintain their interest in the tour, it shows they can stand up in the face of series-defining pressure. That is significant looking through the prism of the World Cup. Defeat would have seen Sri Lanka secure an unassailable lead in the tour but England at least have a pulse [...]
Europa League: Pochettino laments inability to score as Spurs denied top spot December 11, 2014 BESIKTAS 1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0 DEFLATED Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino rued his side’s lack of killer instinct after a narrow defeat to Besiktas at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium last night denied Spurs top spot in Group C. Striker Cenk Tosun proved the match-winner with his first European goal shortly before the hour-mark, while the fixture [...]
Everton and Celtic defeated but through as Europa last 32 settled December 11, 2014 EVERTON crashed to defeat in their final Europa League pool clash against FK Krasnodar at Goodison Park last night but will enter the draw for the last 32 as a seeded team after already guaranteeing top spot in Group H. Colombian Ricardo Laborde took advantage of a mistake by keeper Joel Robles, one of 10 [...]
Tottenham fined £12,000 for pitch invasion drama December 11, 2014 TOTTENHAM have been fined almost £12,000 for the multiple pitch invasions that blighted their match against Partizan Belgrade and caused the Europa League fixture to be suspended. European governing body Uefa yesterday ordered Spurs to pay £11,870 for the disturbances, which saw last month’s 1-0 halted for around 10 minutes late in the first half. [...]
Name stadium after Wenger, says Pardew December 11, 2014 NEWCASTLE boss Alan Pardew believes counterpart Arsene Wenger deserves to have Arsenal’s stadium named in his honour rather than be the target of abuse by a section of the club’s supporters. A banner calling for Wenger’s resignation was unfurled during games against West Brom and Galatasaray while a group of fans harangued the 65-year-old Frenchman [...]
Sport Comment: Arsenal fans calling for Wenger’s head are focusing on wrong man December 11, 2014 ONE OF Fleet Street’s finest had a pop at Arsene Wenger the other day – form an orderly queue, why don’t you – suggesting his recent struggles will taint his considerable legacy when the time comes for him to move on. Well, I’ll go to the bottom of our stairs! Who’d have thought it? Struggling [...]
Caid Du Berlais can maintain Nicholls hot streak December 11, 2014 Bill Esdaile offers his best bets for the weekend’s racing at Cheltenham and Doncaster CHAMPION trainer Paul Nicholls has won three of the last five renewals of tomorrow’s Caspian Caviar Gold Cup (2.00pm) and the Ditcheat maestro can make it four from six with the unexposed CAID DU BERLAIS. Last month’s Paddy Power Gold Cup [...]
12 December on this day… December 11, 2014 1970: Chelsea skipper Ron “Chopper” Harris goes into the referee’s book, despite the protests of (left to right) Keith Weller (Chelsea’s goal-scorer), Harris himself, Marvin Hinton, David Webb and Charlie Cooke during the 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest. Harris, one of football’s renowned hardmen of the 60s and 70s, spent almost two decades at Stamford [...]
Man United can edge battle versus old foes December 11, 2014 BEN CLEMINSON PREVIEWS THE BEST OF THIS WEEKEND’S PREMIER LEAGUE ACTION BOOKMAKERS have missed a trick by not offering odds on both teams losing in Sunday’s clash between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford. The pair have been a shadow of their former selves for much of this season and, perhaps an even bigger surprise [...]
High-flying Magpies capable of ending poor run against Arsenal December 11, 2014 THE PRESSURE on Arsene Wenger from Arsenal fans has subsided slightly after the 4-1 win over Galatasaray in midweek which ensured the Gunners qualified for the last-16 of the Champions league in style. But the Turkish side are really poor and a resurgent Newcastle can cause problems for Arsenal tomorrow at the Emirates. Seeing Stoke [...]