Gardner dents City title hopes February 2, 2011 BIRMINGHAM 2 vs MANCHESTER CITY 2 BIRMINGHAM midfielder Craig Gardner struck a late penalty to deny Manchester City three precious points in the Premier League title race. An opportunistic strike from Carlos Tevez put the visitors ahead in the fourth minute, but Nikola Zigic restored parity 20 minutes later when he got the slightest of [...]
Strauss bemoans England’s injury list as Clarke steers Aussies home February 2, 2011 ENGLAND captain Andrew Strauss blamed his side’s ever increasing injury list for their latest one-day defeat Down Under. Strauss revealed he intends to go into the upcoming World Cup with a six-man attack, but that will depend on Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad returning to fitness. England were effectively a bowler light as [...]
United legend Neville calls time on glittering career February 2, 2011 GARY NEVILLE, the veteran England and Manchester United defender, last night retired from the game with immediate effect after almost 20 years at the top level. The 35-year-old, who won every major club honour in a career spent solely at his boyhood club, made the last of his 602 appearances for United on New Year’s [...]
Henson to quit Sarries for Toulon February 2, 2011 WALES back Gavin Henson is set to make a shock move to Toulon following his release by Saracens last night – after just one start for the club. Henson, 29, is expected to sign a deal until the end of the season with the French outfit, where he will act as cover while Jonny Wilkinson [...]
Westwood ready for Kaymer duel February 2, 2011 GOLF: England’s Lee Westwood insists he’s not concerned at being overtaken as world No1 by Germany’s Martin Kaymer at the Qatar Masters which started today. If Kaymer wins he will head the rankings unless Westwood finishes as runner-up. “There is no pressure as such of being No1,” said Westwood. “I’m happy that I have been [...]
Thorpe’s sights firmly on 2012 February 2, 2011 SWIMMING: Five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe claims his return to the sport, confirmed yesterday, was inspired by a visit to the London venue which will stage the 2012 Olympic competition. The 28-year-old, who is returning to the sport after a five-year absence, said: “I saw the swimming venue for the London Olympics and it’s extraordinary [...]
Time for Johnson to make the Red Rose bloom again February 2, 2011 ENGLAND begin this year’s RBS 6 Nations as the bookmakers’ favourites and, with an encouraging autumn series behind them and three home games in the championship, the initial predictions were that Martin Johnson’s ripening side, currently ranked fourth in the world, would be able to live up to those lofty expectations. In mid-November a record [...]
England the chief threat to France’s title defence February 2, 2011 But don’t expect another grand slam, says former England scrum-half FOR RUGBY fans February means one thing, and that’s the mouth-watering prospect of another RBS 6 Nations Championship. It’s shaping up to be a two-horse race, but don’t expect to see yet another grand slam. England go into this year’s competition as favourites, a status [...]
THE FAMOUS FIVE – ENGLAND’S FOES February 2, 2011 Italy NICK MALLETT’S Italy remain a work in progress, and will have their work cut out again to not collect the wooden spoon, as they have done for the past three years. But there are some positives, and the Azzurri are becoming more competitive, thanks in part to domestic powerhouses Benetton Treviso and Aironi Rugby’s [...]
Strong squad keeps injury-hit England in pole position February 2, 2011 RUGBY TRADER DAVID WILD, CITY AM’S RUGBY TRADER, LOOKS AHEAD TO THE RBS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP RATHER than those winning rucks, scoring tries and kicking goals, absent players could come to decide where the RBS 6 Nations Champion-ship trophy resides in six weeks’ time. A sizeable collective injury list has dominated the build-up to the [...]