Larsson gets O’Neill off to perfect start December 11, 2011 SUNDERLAND (2) vs BLACKBURN (1) NEW SUNDERLAND manager Martin O’Neill celebrated a ‘surreal’ victory after late goals from David Vaughan and Sebastian Larsson helped the Wearsiders come from behind to beat Blackburn and move out of the relegation zone. Sunderland trailed to Simon Vukcevic’s first-half header until the 84th minute when Vaughan’s piledriver found a [...]
Verheijen hopes for Wales job December 11, 2011 Wales assistant manager Raymond Verheijen hopes the leadership of the national side will be decided today by the Football Association of Wales. Gary Speed’s death last month has left Wales without a manager and Dutchman Verheijen has expressed an interest in completing the job Speed had started. “Tomorrow FAW meet about future of Wales,” he [...]
Farrell won’t rely on nepotism December 11, 2011 Saracens fly-half Owen Farrell admits he must earn the right to represent his country rather than rely on nepotism after his father Andy was appointed as an interim England coach last week. Owen, who kicked 16 points and was also sent to the sin-bin in his side’s 31-26 Heineken Cup win over Ospreys at Wembley [...]
Top Trump too good for Allen December 11, 2011 England’s Judd Trump beat Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen 10-8 to clinch his first UK Championship title in York last night. He said: “It’s a brilliant feeling and it’s been a brilliant week. After losing at the World Championship and to come to this event and win in the way I did is just brilliant.”
The rugby international who turned business star December 8, 2011 MULTI-TALENTED Sir Bill Gammell played international rugby for Scotland before employing his competitive skills in the business world. The well-connected entrepreneur attended Fettes College in Edinburgh with former Prime Minister Tony Blair before moving on to the University of Stirling, where he obtained a BA in Economics and Accountancy. Gammell’s talents also stretched to the [...]
Community service vow cuts Rooney’s Euro 2012 ban December 8, 2011 ENGLAND striker Wayne Rooney succeeded in persuading European chiefs to cut his Euro 2012 ban to two matches yesterday after agreeing to undertake a stint of community service. Governing body Uefa reduced Rooney’s original three-match ban, handed out for his red card in October’s qualifier in Montenegro, freeing him to face Ukraine in England’s final [...]
Joker only ready to be played after group stage December 8, 2011 YESTERDAY’S decision is a huge positive for England but it will not change the mindset of manager Fabio Capello one bit, which will be to tackle the Euro 2012 group stage without Wayne Rooney. By the time Rooney’s two-match suspension has elapsed, England could be as good as out of the tournament, if fixtures against [...]
New England coach Lancaster ready to get tough December 8, 2011 Farrell and Rowntree also on board as new-look set-up aim to eradicate memories of dismal World Cup ENGLAND’S new interim head coach Stuart Lancaster intends to rule with an iron fist in an attempt to eradicate the disciplinary issues and laddish culture which undermined the Red Rose’s abysmal World Cup campaign. Lancaster, the England Saxons [...]
Mancini sets a new trophy target for City December 8, 2011 MANCHESTER CITY manager Roberto Mancini admits his side will need to end the season with two trophies if they are to compensate for the shattering blow of exiting the Champions League on Wednesday night. Having invested heavily over the summer in experienced Champions League campaigners such as Sergio Aguero, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri, City [...]
Euro exit will test Ferguson’s powers of recovery December 8, 2011 THE BIGGER they come the harder they fall, and after Wednesday’s double Champions League knockout blow, the destiny of the Premier League title could well be determined by which Manchester heavyweight is able to rise from the canvas first. While United, the seasoned, battle-scarred campaigners are famed for their powers of recovery, City represent the [...]