Van der Vaart boasts Spurs have taken over as the top team in north London October 31, 2011 TOTTENHAM forward Rafael van der Vaart believes his side remain the dominant force in north London and has warned Arsenal not to get carried away by Saturday’s win over Chelsea. After a shaky start to the season Arsenal moved back to within three points of a Champions League place following their stunning win at Stamford [...]
City blasted by PFA chief Taylor over ‘strange’ Toure disciplinary hearing October 31, 2011 PLAYERS’ chief Gordon Taylor has labelled Manchester City’s decision to hold a disciplinary hearing with Kolo Toure over his failed drugs test as “strange”. Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, attended the hearing with Toure this afternoon and the outcome of the gross misconduct charge is expected later this week. Toure, who has [...]
Wenger: There’s more to Arsenal than reliant Robin October 31, 2011 ARSENAL vs MARSEILLE ARSENAL manger Arsene Wenger insists there’s more to his side’s recent resurgence than the remarkable goalscoring exploits of Robin van Perise. The Dutch striker took his tally for the calendar year to a remarkable 28 goals in 27 matches with a hat-trick in Saturday’s epic 5-3 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. [...]
Ivanovic defends AVB right to read riot act to Chelsea flops October 31, 2011 GENK vs CHELSEA CHELSEA defender Branislav Ivanovic has admitted Andre Villas-Boas had every right to read the riot act to his players after his side shipped five goals at home for the first time in 22 years on Saturday. Blues boss Villas-Boas denied delivering a “rant” to his squad during Sunday’s post-mortem of Saturday’s 5-3 [...]
Henry steps down as Kiwi coach October 31, 2011 World Cup-winning coach Graham Henry has stood down as All Blacks boss after an eight-year reign. The 65-year-old was in charge for 103 Tests and saw his side narrowly beat France 8-7 in the World Cup final earlier this month to claim their second title. He said: “I’ve had enough, it’s been an enormous privilege [...]
Funding cut fair, says Sotherton October 31, 2011 Former Olympic bronze medallist Kelly Sotherton says she has no problem with having her funding cut and she hopes to compete in the heptathlon in 2012. “I’m not angered by the decision, I don’t feel it was unfair,” said Sotherton, who lost her UK Athletics second-tier “podium relay” funding this month. “I had my funding [...]
Parker and Bale the stars as Spurs continue to climb October 30, 2011 TOTTENHAM (3) vs QPR (1) SPURS boss Harry Redknapp lavished praise on summer signing Scott Parker last night, after the England midfielder starred in a convincing win over London rivals QPR. The visitors struggled to cope with Tottenham’s first–half onslaught and were fortunate only to be trailing to clinically taken goals from Gareth Bale and [...]
Fernandes fully behind Ferdinand October 30, 2011 QPR OWNER Tony Fernandes claims defender Anton Ferdinand has the full support of the club in relation to the ongoing racism row involving England captain John Terry. The Football Association are currently conducting an investigation into whether Terry used an offensive term during the stormy west London derby at Loftus Road earlier this month. Ferdinand [...]
Desire to emulate Barca’s style leaves defences cruelly exposed October 30, 2011 SATURDAY’S goalfest at Stamford Bridge may have made the task of those whose job it is to sell Premier League TV rights easier, but the match showcased just how far the standard of defending exhibited by the top teams has dipped this season. While Arsenal’s defensive fragility has been long-standing – though Laurent Koscielny’s recent [...]
McIlroy secures bumper pay day with play-off victory in Shanghai October 30, 2011 NORTHERN IRELAND’S Rory McIlroy believes he’s overcome his play-off demons after claiming golf’s biggest first prize with victory over Ryder Cup rival Anthony Kim at the Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters. The US Open champion banked a cheque of £1.25m, but only after he had seen a three-shot overnight lead disintegrate for the second tournament in [...]