Europa League: Villas-Boas tips goal-shy Soldado to rediscover his shooting boots November 28, 2013 TROMSO 0 vs TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 TOTTENHAM boss Andre Villas-Boas has backed out-of-form striker Roberto Soldado to soon justify his £26m price tag. The 28-year-old endured a goalless 90 minutes in the Arctic Circle last night, but Spurs cemented top spot in Group K thanks to an own goal and a first strike of the [...]
Life begins at Christmas as Giggs turns 40 November 28, 2013 EVERGREEN Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs, 40 today, feels the hectic festive period brings out the best in him. The Welshman rolled back the years on Wednesday to produce a commanding display as United routed Bayer Leverkusen 5-0 in the Champions League. United play the first of nine fixtures in December away at Tottenham on [...]
Sugar wants Fergie at Spurs November 28, 2013 FORMER Tottenham chairman Lord Alan Sugar wants Sir Alex Ferguson to come out of retirement to replace manager Andre Villas-Boas. Sugar was chairman at Spurs for 10 years and would like to see his successor Daniel Levy sack under-fire Villas-Boas and replace him with the man who delivered 13 Premier League titles to Old Trafford. [...]
Ojo: Big name Irish backline is best I’ve seen November 28, 2013 LONDON Irish back Topsy Ojo is convinced the current squad is the finest he has played alongside as he prepares to make his 200th appearance for the Exiles in the Aviva Premiership against London Wasps tomorrow. Ojo forms an exciting back three that includes Australian James O’Connor and England international Marland Yarde. And, despite having [...]
Brawn exit won’t hit title bid, says Hamilton November 28, 2013 BRITAIN’S Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes are primed to break Red Bull’s Formula One stranglehold next season, despite the departure of team principal Ross Brawn. The English-based team yesterday confirmed the long-anticipated move, which sees control pass to Toto Wolff, the former Williams executive who oversees the business, and ex-McLaren technical chief Paddy Lowe. Brawn, who [...]
Froch-Groves rematch in doubt as champ eyes Vegas swansong November 28, 2013 WORLD super-middleweight champion Carl Froch has dashed George Groves’s hopes of a rematch by outlining his ambition to bring the curtain down on his career with a blockbuster fight in Las Vegas. The 36-year-old successfully defended his WBA and IBF belts last weekend when controversially awarded a ninth-round stoppage by referee Howard Foster, despite Groves [...]
Change World Cup kick-offs November 28, 2013 ORGANISERS of the 2015 Rugby World Cup risk alienating England fans because of the scheduled 8pm kick-off times for all four of their pool matches, according to shadow sports minister Clive Efford. England are set to play one match in Manchester and three at Twickenham and Efford believes the kick-off times should be evaluated to [...]
Swans and Latics’ Euro hopes dented November 28, 2013 FOOTBALL: Swansea and Wigan suffered setbacks in their respective bids to reach the Europa League knockout stages last night. The Welsh side suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Valencia thanks to Daniel Parejo’s first-half goal, keeping them second in Group A and in need of a point in their final match to progress. Meanwhile, Wigan [...]
London’s NFL schedule unveiled November 28, 2013 AMERICAN FOOTBALL: Wembley Stadium will host regular season NFL matches in three consecutive months next autumn, it was confirmed yesterday. The Oakland Raiders will face the Miami Dolphins on 28 September, before London debutants Atlanta Falcons face off against Detroit Lions on 26 October. Finally, Jacksonville Jaguars – owned by Fulham chairman Shahid Khan – [...]
White scrapes through to last 64 November 28, 2013 SNOOKER: Six-time World Championship runner-up Jimmy White felt he was fortunate to progress to the second round of the UK Championship in York yesterday. White, 51, beat world No74 Michael Wasley 6-4, but lamented key areas of his game. He said: “In the balls, I felt ok, but my safety play was non-existent. Luckily enough [...]