Lampard: Shield row won’t hurt international relations August 10, 2009 CHELSEA’S Frank Lampard is adamant that bad blood between Blues and Manchester United players will not affect the England squad ahead of tomorrow’s friendly against Holland. United were incensed at Lampard’s goal in Sunday’s Community Shield, which Chelsea won on penalties after a 2-2 draw. The midfielder’s strike came while United defender Patrice Evra lay [...]
Wenger not expecting pre-season buys August 10, 2009 ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has admitted he does not expect to strengthen his squad before Saturday’s league opener against Everton. Wenger’s game of brinkmanship with Bordeaux over a fee for Morocco striker Marouane Chamakh remains unresolved, while the Frenchman appears to have shelved plans to bring former captain Patrick Vieira back to the club. With [...]
England didn’t ‘over-react’ August 10, 2009 BADMINTON: Adrian Christy, chief executive of the sport’s governing body, Badminton England, has defended the team’s decision to pull out of the BWF World Championships in India. The England team decided to withdraw from the tournament in Hyderabad amid reports of a terror threat from Muslim extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. The decision was met with criticism [...]
Villa Park pulls out of 2012 August 10, 2009 OLYMPICS: Villa Park has been withdrawn as a venue to host 2012 Olympic football matches due to uncertainty over rebuilding plans. Aston Villa’s ground was due to be one of six grounds used for 2012 but can not commit to hosting games while plans for an additional 8,000 seats are still up in the air.
Attendances at record high August 10, 2009 FOOTBALL: Opening day attendances in the Football League last weekend were at their highest for 46 years, new figures have revealed. More than 450,000 people attended the 36 matches played in the Coca-Cola Championship, League One and League Two at an average of 12,694 per game – up 14 per cent on last season. The [...]
Stoner out for three races August 10, 2009 MOTO GP: Former world champion Casey Stoner will miss the next three MotoGP races as he continues his recovery from illness. The 23-year-old Ducati rider, who lies third in the title race, was recently diagnosed with blood disorder anaemia and an inflamed stomach lining. A team spokesman said: “It is the best for him.”
Wily Ramps is in the frame as England lose patience August 10, 2009 NATIONAL selector Geoff Miller yesterday refused to rule out the possibility of golden oldie Mark Ramprakash being handed a sensational Test recall for the decisive fifth Ashes Test at The Oval. England look set to be forced into middle order changes following their catastrophic innings and 80-run defeat to Australia in the third Test at [...]
Flintoff gets green light to play in Ashes finale August 10, 2009 WOUNDED England received the perfect pick-me-up last night after being told talismanic all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will be fit for the decisive fifth Ashes Test at The Oval next week. Flintoff, 31, was controversially left out of the fourth Test at Headingley at the weekend and was sorely missed as England crashed to Australia by an [...]
Let battle commence again August 10, 2009 THE fantastic battle between Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington at Firestone on Sunday night whets the appetite for what promises to be an intriguing US PGA Championship this week. I’m fast running out of superlatives to describe Tiger Woods – the statistics speak from themselves. This was his seventh Bridgestone victory – a Tour record [...]
Harrington: Rivalry with Tiger only just beginning August 10, 2009 IRELAND’S Padraig Harrington insists he has already put his triple-bogey heartbreak behind him as he turns his attention to this week’s US PGA Championship. Harrington was one shot clear and heading for his first win of the season at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio on Sunday when disaster struck at the 16th hole. The [...]