Rooney enjoys relief and Switzerland pay September 7, 2010 SWITZERLAND (1) vs ENGLAND (3) ENGLAND manager Fabio Capello praised Wayne Rooney after the troubled striker brushed aside off-field concerns to set the team on their way to an encouraging victory in Basel. Rooney, who insisted on playing despite intense newspaper scrutiny of his private life in recent days, took just 10 minutes to justify [...]
Capello is reaping the rewards of a new, adventurous selection policy September 7, 2010 IN some ways, England’s fresher, livelier performance in Basel last night has left me feeling even more short-changed by the Fabio Capello reign. It’s clear he has learned that international football is all about cutting edge and Capello has decided to go adventurous in this European Championship campaign as opposed to the ‘tried and tested’ [...]
Liechtenstein give Scotland huge scare before late drama September 7, 2010 EURO 2012 QUALIFYING ROUND-UP SCOTLAND came within minutes of the most embarrassing result in their history before scraping a 2-1 victory at home to minnows Liechtenstein. Mario Frick set up the possibility of a huge upset when he curled the visitors ahead just after half-time in the Group I Euro 2012 qualifier. Striker Kenny Miller [...]
Colly in seventh heaven after England stroll to series win September 7, 2010 ENGLAND captain Paul Collingwood hailed his side after rallying to a record-equalling seventh successive Twenty20 victory. Collingwood’s men cruised to a thumping six-wicket victory after bowling Pakistan out for just 89 – their lowest total ever in the short form of the game. All-rounder Tim Bresnan led the way with 3-10, while fellow seamers Ryan [...]
Pavin puts his faith in Tiger for Ryder Cup September 7, 2010 TIGER WOODS has vowed to repay the faith shown in him by captain Corey Pavin after getting the nod to play on the US Ryder Cup team. The world No1 was one of Pavin’s four wildcard picks for the event at Celtic Manor on 1-3 October, joining Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink and Rickie Fowler. Woods, [...]
Houllier set to sign two-year Villa deal September 7, 2010 FORMER Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier is poised to complete an emotional return to the Premier League by signing a two-year contract with Aston Villa. Houllier, who left Anfield in 2004 after six years at the helm, is thought to have agreed a deal to become Martin O’Neill’s permanent successor. The Frenchman, who is currently his [...]
Murray conqueror Stan survives Querrey thriller September 7, 2010 ANDY MURRAY’S conqueror Stanislas Wawrinka powered his way into his first Grand Slam quarter-final last night after a gruelling five-set thriller with Sam Querrey. Wawrinka, the Swiss 25th seed, was pegged back twice by the American before coming through 7-6, (11-9) 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in four hours 28 minutes at Flushing Meadows. He [...]
Champion Higgins pleads innocence in fix hearing September 7, 2010 JOHN HIGGINS maintains he is “100 per cent” innocent of match-fixing charges as the battle goes on to clear his name. The three-time world champion spent around nine hours defending himself at an independent two-day tribunal in central London yesterday. The hearing, organized by Sport Resolutions, a London-based independent dispute resolution service, stemmed from a [...]
Ferrari to learn fate in team orders probe September 7, 2010 FERRARI will discover today whether they will be punished further for using banned team orders. The Italian team were fined $100,000 (£65,100) after Felipe Massa appeared to move over to let team-mate Fernando Alonso past him on his way to winning the German Grand Prix. The case was subsequently referred to the World Motor Sports [...]
HAYE TAKES AIM AT AUDLEY September 7, 2010 DAVID HAYE has vowed to “close the Audley Harrison show once and for all” when the former friends meet in an all-British heavyweight showdown in November. Harrison, 38, has been given a shot at Haye’s WBA world heavyweight title at the MEN Arena, Manchester, on 13 November. Haye, left, said: “I don’t believe Audley deserves [...]