Lineker defends Balotelli in row October 23, 2014 FORMER England striker Gary Lineker has jumped to the defence of Mario Balotelli after the misfiring striker swapped shirts with defender Pepe at half time during Liverpool’s drubbing by Real Madrid on Wednesday. The actions of Balotelli riled Anfield boss Brendan Rodgers although ex-Tottenham hitman Lineker believes the incident requires little debate. “On the Balotelli [...]
Van Gaal hands Valdes United training chance October 23, 2014 MANCHESTER United boss Louis van Gaal could hand stricken goalkeeper Victor Valdes a permanent deal in January after allowing the ex-Barcelona stopper the chance to continue his recovery from a torn cruciate ligament at Old Trafford. Valdes was given his La Liga debut by Van Gaal as a 20-year-old in 2002 and went on to [...]
NY tour could help Lampard October 23, 2014 FORMER Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard’s loan spell at Manchester City could be extended if his parent club New York City FC firm up plans for an English training camp. Lampard is due back at New York in January but may stay longer if they visit sister team City’s facilities before their debut Major League Soccer [...]
Five million bids for World Cup tickets set for moment of truth October 23, 2014 TOMORROW is D-day for swathes of rugby fans who deluged organisers of next year’s World Cup in England with five million ticket applications for the tournament. Customers are set to learn on Saturday whether they have been successful, but were warned yesterday that demand vastly exceeded supply during last month’s two-week application window. Those who [...]
24 October on this day… October 23, 2014 1999: Martin Johnson walks off after England crash out of the Rugby World Cup in Paris. England led 9-8, but a record five second-half drop-goals by South Africa fly-half Jannie de Beer left them stunned and 44-21 losers. Coach Clive Woodward kept his job, though, and led England to glory four years later.
London calling for Murray as Brit edges nearer to qualifying for end-of-season spectacular at O2 October 23, 2014 BRITAIN’S Andy Murray took another step towards qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals in London next month by progressing to the quarter-finals of the Valencia Open yesterday. Murray, who is in a six-way fight for the remaining three places at the O2, beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-4 and will meet South African Kevin [...]
Caterham may miss race in US October 23, 2014 TROUBLED Formula One team Caterham could miss next week’s US Grand Prix after being locked out of their own factory in Oxfordshire amid a row with administrators. Team boss Colin Kolles insists the cars inside the building belong to 1MRT – involved in a dispute with former owner Tony Fernandes, the QPR chairman and AirAsia [...]
Magic Mourinho to haunt United again October 23, 2014 BEN CLEMINSON PREVIEWS MAN UNITED VERSUS CHELSEA AND QPR AGAINST ASTON VILLA CHELSEA travel to Old Trafford on Sunday with Loic Remy a doubt and top-scorer Diego Costa ruled out. That could pave the way for the ageing Didier Drogba to lead the line for the Premier League leaders and, even though the Ivorian isn’t [...]
QPR can make it five defeats on the bounce for Villa October 23, 2014 THE VERY public spat between Harry Redknapp and Adel Taarabt has overshadowed what was a great performance from Queens Park Rangers in Sunday’s dramatic 3-2 loss to Liverpool at Loftus Road. How Rangers didn’t emerge with at least a point is hard to fathom, but two own goals didn’t help their cause and it suggested [...]
Spread betting on goals October 23, 2014 SPORTING Index offer a wide variety of spread betting markets on goals, covering everything from total goals in a match to when the last goal in a game will be scored. Just one of the last four games between Manchester United and Chelsea has seen over 1.5 goals, but Sporting Index are trading total goals [...]