Bale: Waiting for Real mega deal was very stressful September 4, 2013 WORLD’S most expensive player Gareth Bale says he has endured a “very stressful” summer waiting for Tottenham to agree his £86m sale to Real Madrid. The Wales forward, who now earns £300,000 per week at the Spanish club, admits he grew frustrated by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy’s refusal to sign off the deal. Bale angered [...]
More Moyes misery as Herrera plays down lure of United deal September 4, 2013 MANCHESTER United transfer target Ander Herrera insists he was undecided about joining the Premier League champions before his proposed deadline day move from Athletic Bilbao collapsed. Herrera’s doomed transfer was one of a number of summer deals United failed to pull off, prompting fans to raise concerns that the departure of manager Sir Alex Ferguson [...]
Murray out to settle a score with Wawrinka September 4, 2013 Exclusive: Henman says Scot likes nothing better than vengeance A THIRST for revenge will inspire defending champion Andy Murray to overcome Stanislas Wawrinka in today’s US Open quarter-finals, according to former British No1 Tim Henman. Murray has won the majority of his 13 previous clashes with Wawrinka but lost to the Swiss in their most [...]
Defending champion brushes off injury fears following win September 4, 2013 BRITAIN’S Andy Murray refused to blame a long-term back injury for his struggle in overcoming Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin and reaching the US Open quarter-finals late on Tuesday night. Defending champion Murray lost the first set to the world No65 and admitted to toiling as he came back to win 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, but [...]
Gasquet ends Ferrer US bid September 4, 2013 FRANCE’S Richard Gasquet brushed aside a comeback from Spain’s David Ferrer last night at the US Open to win in five sets and reach only his second career grand slam semi-final. Eighth seed Gasquet raced into a two-set lead and, after fourth seed Ferrer had mustered all his battling qualities to force a decider, completed [...]
Wade carrying Lions buzz into Wasps season September 4, 2013 LONDON Wasps’ flying wing Christian Wade hopes his memorable summer can carry over into the new Aviva Premiership Rugby campaign. Wasps looked on course to secure a return to the Heineken Cup last season only for defeats in their final seven games to see them slip to eighth. And while this was a bitter pill [...]
Cricket Comment: Fans being fleeced by under-strength England September 4, 2013 AS ENGLAND prepare for their one-day series against Australia, which starts tomorrow, it’s hard to escape the feeling that ordinary punters are being cheated. Cricket fans up and down the country have shelled out in the hope of seeing Ashes heroes such as Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Graeme Swann and Ian Bell. None of them [...]
Ozil: Wenger the reason I ditched Real for Gunners September 3, 2013 ARSENAL’S new £42.5m record signing Mesut Ozil has revealed how manager Arsene Wenger personally persuaded him to leave Real Madrid for north London in the biggest deal of transfer deadline day. The Germany playmaker says Wenger lured him to Emirates Stadium late in the window by promising him a pivotal role in the team and [...]
Arsenal spend at last and spark 12-fold increase in shirt sales September 3, 2013 ARSENAL reported an enormous spike in sales of replica shirts yesterday as fans flocked to celebrate the club record signing of Mesut Ozil. Sales of shirts via the club’s online store were 12 times higher than normal, a Gunners spokesperson said, while retail outlets at the stadium also reported huge interest, with the overwhelming majority [...]
England’s captain Morgan turns boos to cheers in hometown win September 3, 2013 ENGLAND captain Eoin Morgan toasted a memorable performance after his career-best score of 124 helped to defeat his native Ireland by six wickets in the one-day international in Dublin. Morgan was booed as he came to the crease on his home ground at Malahide but departed to a standing ovation as his and Ravi Bopara’s [...]