Stadium rights on ice as Virgin signs up Toon shirt deal January 4, 2012 NEWCASTLE could be forced to shelve plans to sell their stadium naming rights after agreeing a shirt sponsorship deal with Virgin Money. The two-and-a-half-year contract is understood to be worth around the same as their previous £2.5m per season deal with Northern Rock. Virgin Money, which officially completed its buyout of Northern Rock earlier this [...]
Fans asked to return 10,000 non-existent Olympic tickets January 4, 2012 THE PLANS of thousands of London 2012 ticketholders were thrown into disarray yesterday after red-faced Olympic organisers were forced to admit they had sold 10,000 too many tickets for the synchronised swimming event. Around 3,000 successful applicants, many of whom made group or family bookings, have been asked to return their tickets, purchased during the [...]
CARE’S RIVALS | WHO STANDS TO GAIN? January 4, 2012 BEN YOUNGS The Northampton Saints No9 became Martin Johnson’s favoured scrum-half but injuries undermined his World Cup preparations and, had Danny Care been fit, he maye have overtaken Youngs in the pecking order. Care was the man in form this season anyway, so Youngs is now firmly first choice. JOE SIMPSON A late call-up to [...]
No nonsense, no choice January 4, 2012 World Cup misdemeanours left new England coach Lancaster little option but to throw the book at Care WHEN Stuart Lancaster was handed control of a senior England set-up reeling from the fall-out of a disastrous World Cup he promised to stamp out a culture of laddishness and indiscipline that undermined and ultimately overshadowed that doomed [...]
England get boost from No8 Morgan January 4, 2012 ENGLAND have received a boost ahead of the Six Nations after highly-rated Scarlets No8 Ben Morgan rejected the advances of Wales and pledged his future to his country of birth. The Bristolian 22-year-old could be included in Stuart Lancaster’s Six Nations squad next week, with the interim head coach considering sweeping away the old guard [...]
Strauss must use warm-up games to hone bowling attack January 4, 2012 ENGLAND may have only jetted into Dubai on Monday just a fortnight ahead of the first Test against Pakistan, but as ever under the meticulous guidance of head coach Andy Flower I’m confident they’ll have timed their preparations to perfection. Two weeks might seem like a quick turn around, but these England Test players were [...]
Barton to miss Newcastle return as ban appeal fails January 4, 2012 QPR captain Joey Barton will miss this month’s potentially combustible return to former club Newcastle after losing his appeal against a three-match ban. A Football Association panel rejected QPR’s claim of wrongful dismissal and ruled Barton’s suspension should start immediately. It means he will miss Saturday’s FA Cup third round trip to MK Dons, the [...]
Kaboul happy to win ugly in pursuit of Champions League January 4, 2012 TOTTENHAM defender Younes Kaboul believes his side’s new found ability to grind out results could prove the difference in their quest to return Champions League football to White Hart Lane next season. A 1-0 win over West Brom on Tuesday night saw Spurs take their festive haul to seven points from three games, despite failing [...]
Murray marches on with battling win over Muller January 4, 2012 TOP SEED Andy Murray insists he is beginning to shake off signs of early season ring rust after booking his place in the last eight of the Brisbane International with a laboured victory over Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller. Despite his upbeat assessment, it was another largely unconvincing performance from the British No1. Murray, as was the [...]
Bolton move off the bottom January 4, 2012 FOOTBALL: Bolton overcame the ignominy of seeing Tim Howard become only the fourth goalkeeper in Premier League history to score a goal and record a vital 2-1 win over Everton at Goodison Park. Howard opened the scoring in the 63rd minute with a 90-yard wind-assisted clearance. But Bolton hit back immediately through David N’Gog and [...]