Coyle and Kean face six-pointer December 19, 2011 FOOTBALL: Under-fire managers Steve Kean and Owen Coyle insist they are refusing to contemplate the repercussions of defeat ahead of Blackburn and Bolton’s relegation six-pointer at Ewood Park tonight. Kean, whose side are a point and a place ahead of bottom of the table Bolton, maintains the club’s owners still trust him to steer Blackburn [...]
Cleverly focuses on beaten Froch December 19, 2011 BOXING: WBO light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly is open to the possibility of facing fellow Brit Carl Froch. The unbeaten Cleverly watched Froch lose his WBC super-middleweight title to Andre Ward on Saturday night. He said: “It’s a fight that would make sense and would be great for the British public.”
GUNNED DOWN December 18, 2011 MANCHESTER CITY (1) vs ARSENAL (0) Wenger concedes Arsenal are out of the title race before Christmas as Silva lands the knockout blow which sends Manchester City back to the summit ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger ruled his side out of the Premier League title race after David Silva’s second half goal returned Manchester City to [...]
MATCH ANALYSIS December 18, 2011 KEY MOMENT Johan Djourou might not be the sturdiest member of Arsenal’s defensive unit, but the injury that ended his game in the 47th minute forced a reshuffle that saw the previously excellent Laurent Koscielny asked to fill in at right-back. And the Frenchman was almost immediately caught out of position in the build-up to [...]
Quins beat mighty Toulouse to boost European chances December 18, 2011 TOULOUSE (24) vs HARLEQUINS (31) HARLEQUINS took their superb start to the season to new heights by coming from behind to score a thrilling win at four-time European champions Toulouse in the Heineken Cup. The Premiership leaders trailed 19-15 after an hour but Mike Brown’s second try and the unerring boot of Nick Evans, who [...]
Westwood and Poulter round off 2011 in style December 18, 2011 A MAGNIFICENT year for British golf was rounded off in fittingly triumphant style yesterday as Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter claimed season-ending victories. Westwood stormed to his fourth title of the year by securing an emphatic seven-shot win over Charl Schwartzel at the Thailand Golf Championship – a success that saw him move up to [...]
United bare teeth and show title credentials December 18, 2011 QPR (0) vs MANCHESTER UTD (2) QPR manager Neil Warnock tipped the Premier League title race to be one of the closest ever after seeing his team become the latest victims of champions Manchester United’ resurgence. A first-minute header from Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick’s second-half solo goal did scant justice to the glut of [...]
I want match-winner Roman to stay put, insists Redknapp December 18, 2011 TOTTENHAM (1) vs SUNDERLAND (0) TOTTENHAM manager Harry Redknapp insists he will attempt to persuade striker Roman Pavlyuchenko that his future remains at White Hart Lane after the Russia international secured three points yesterday with his first Premier League goal of the season. Sunderland, buoyed by the recent managerial appointment of Martin O’Neill, proved obdurate [...]
Suarez drags Reds closer to top four December 18, 2011 ASTON VILLA (0) vs LIVERPOOL (2) LIVERPOOL manager Kenny Dalglish hailed Luis Suarez’s strength of character after the striker overcame off-field distractions to lead the Reds to victory. Forward Craig Bellamy and centre-back Martin Skrtel scored the first-half goals that moved the visitors to within a win of the top four and left Aston Villa [...]
Barca cruise to World Club Cup December 18, 2011 Argentine star Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona cruised to a 4-0 win over Santos in the final of the World Club Cup in Yokohama.