World Cup starts at last March 22, 2011 AT LONG long last after 42 generally one-sided and predictable matches the World Cup can officially begin with the top eight teams in the world having made it through to the last eight. The group stages have been a complete waste of time and by maintaining such a long-winded format the latter stages have potentially [...]
United Supporters Trust fury at Glazers £109m loss March 22, 2011 THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of the Manchester United Supporters Trust, Duncan Drasdo, has accused the clubs owners of wasting money after the Glazers announced losses of £109m yesterday. The loss by Red Football Joint Venture, the family’s parent company that owns United, includes some one-off costs from setting up the £526m bond scheme last year to [...]
Usmanov ups stake in Arsenal March 22, 2011 RUSSIAN-BASED billionaire Alisher Usmanov has again increased his share in Arsenal to over 27 per cent. The Uzbek oil magnate remains the club’s second largest shareholder behind American Stan Kroenke who, unlike Usmanov, holds a seat on the board. Under the financial rules of the City, were any party to cross the 29.99 per cent takeover [...]
Fifa president Blatter will leave his position in 2015 March 22, 2011 FIFA president Sepp Blatter has announced that he will stand down to make way for his successor in four years time – assuming he is re-elected in June. Blatter is seeking a fourth term as Fifa president and is being challenged by Asian confederation chief Mohamed Bin Hammam. The 75-year-old told Uefa’s Congress in Paris [...]
RFU regret at Grand Slam video leak March 22, 2011 THE RFU has expressed its dismay and regret that an advertisement celebrating England winning the Grand Slam was leaked. The video, made by kit suppliers Nike, shows several players, including Toby Flood, Chris Ashton and Ben Foden, in a series of action clips. The advert, which was leaked on the internet earlier this week signs [...]
Murray set for Djokovic clash March 22, 2011 TENNIS: British No1 Andy Murray could meet in-form Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. The 23-year-old, seeded fifth, has been placed in the same quarter of the draw as the man who beat him in the Australian Open final in January. Murray will open his campaign against either Victor Hanescu [...]
Johnson eyes England stay March 22, 2011 RUGBY UNION: England manager Martin Johnson has for the first time intimated he would like to stay on in the job beyond September’s World Cup. His employers, the RFU, are determined to delay any contract negotiations until after the World Cup campaign has run its course, but asked if he wanted to stay on afterwards, Johnson said: “Yeah. [...]
Don’t Push It tops declarations March 22, 2011 HORSE RACING: Grand National winner Don’t Push It heads 74 entries for this years race at Aintree on 9 April. Jonjo O’Neill’s 11-year-old gave multiple champion jockey Tony McCoy an emotional first success in the world’s most famous steeplechase last year, but will be forced to concede weight all round to his rivals this time. The early [...]
Australian GP future looks safe March 22, 2011 FORMULA ONE: Grand Prix promoter Ron Walker says the future of the Australian GP is safe despite a recent verbal spat between Bernie Ecclestone and Melbourne’s Lord Mayor. With the contract for the Melbourne race, which kicks-off this year’s F1 season on Sunday, is up in 2015, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle voiced his opposition to [...]
FOUR-FOUR-CLUELESS March 21, 2011 FORMER England manager Glenn Hoddle believes Fabio must ditch his favoured 4-4-2 formation or risk missing out on qualifying for next summer’s European Championship. England currently trail leaders Montenegro by three points in qualifying Group G, albeit having played a game less, following their goalless draw at Wembley last October which again showcased Capello’s tactical [...]