European international fixture list set to get major overhaul from 2014 October 5, 2011 ENGLAND games on Mondays and Thursdays will become a regular occurrence from 2014 under a major shake-up of the way qualifying matches for major championships are structured. Fixtures will be grouped into double-headers three days apart and kick-off times harmonised, meaning teams will play on a Thursday and Sunday, Friday and Monday or Saturday and [...]
SPORT | IN BRIEF October 5, 2011 Murray survives scare TENNIS: Andy Murray came back from a break down in the deciding set to beat Marcos Baghdatis in the opening round of the Japan Open. The Cypriot led 3-1 in the third set but the Briton battled back to complete a 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-4 victory in Tokyo. “He played well under [...]
TIED TO THE TRACK October 4, 2011 West Ham not allowed to ditch athletics facility for 125-year lease of London 2012 Olympic Stadium WEST HAM will not be able to scrap the running track once they have moved into the Olympic Stadium, despite concerns being raised over its effect on sight lines and atmosphere. Baroness Ford, chair of the Olympic Park Legacy [...]
Chiefs give London top marks for 2017 bid October 4, 2011 ATHLETICS chiefs gave London a glowing review yesterday after they completed their visit to evaluate the city’s bid for the 2017 world championships. Bob Hersh, senior vice-president of governing body the IAAF, led a delegation that spent three days in the capital before jetting out to rival bidders Doha. American Hersh cited the overwhelming demand [...]
Chelsea supporters harness power of Facebook in bid to stay at Bridge October 4, 2011 CHELSEA fans are taking to Facebook in an attempt to block moves that could pave the way for the club to leave Stamford Bridge. The action has been sparked by the Premier League outfit’s bid to buy back the freehold on which their home of 106 years lies. Owning all parts of the land would [...]
Campbell: You can’t change the rules just to suit Bolt October 4, 2011 FORMER Olympic sprint champion Darren Campbell believes it would be dangerous for athletics chiefs to start tinkering with the false-start rule in order to prevent a repeat of Usain Bolt’s World Championship disqualification at next year’s London Olympics. Bolt fell victim of the rule – which he supported when a change was originally proposed in [...]
Hape let down by conduct of his England team-mates October 4, 2011 ENGLAND centre Shontayne Hape admits he feels let down by the off-field conduct of those team-mates who were reprimanded by manager Martin Johnson, but denied the suggestion his side are spiralling out of control. The trio of James Haskell, Chris Ashton and Dylan Hartley were recently read the riot act by Johnson over inappropriate comments [...]
Wilkinson fitness boost but Tindall looks doubtful October 4, 2011 FLY-HALF Jonny Wilkinson provided England manager Martin Johnson with a timely fitness boost ahead of Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final against France by taking part in light training yesterday. But vice-captain Mike Tindall, who suffered a dead leg in last weekend’s narrow victory over Scotland, sat out the session and remains a major doubt. After another [...]
Rio still has a part to play for England, says Welbeck October 4, 2011 ENGLAND striker Danny Welbeck believes his Manchester United team-mate Rio Ferdinand still has a valuable contribution to make at international level, despite being left out of Fabio Capello’s squad to face Montenegro on Friday. The 32-year-old, a veteran of 81 caps, was surprisingly not part of the Italian’s plans for the clash in Podgorica, from [...]
THE BREAKDOWN | WORLD CUP BRIEFS October 4, 2011 TUILAGI mouthguard fine ENGLAND centre Manu Tuilagi has been fined £4,800 by Rugby World Cup officials for wearing a sponsored mouthguard during the win over Georgia. Tuilagi, whose brother Alesana was fined last week for the same offence, also wore the gumshield in the victory against Argentina. The Rugby Football Union said Tuilagi’s breach was [...]