England blow as Flintoff is ruled out of Ashes clash August 6, 2009 ANDREW FLINTOFF is definitely out of the fourth Ashes Test at Headingley, starting this morning. The Lancashire all-rounder yesterday failed a fitness test on his injured right knee, leaving England with no option but to plan for the next assault on Australia without their star performer. The Leeds clash was due to be Flintoff’s penultimate [...]
Is this the end of Test star Fred? August 6, 2009 WITH Andrew Flintoff out of today’s fourth Ashes Test at Headingley, the question has to be asked: Is this the last we’ve seen of the big man in the Test arena? Sadly, Freddie showed during the last two days at Edgbaston that he is clearly not fit enough to withstand the rigours of five more [...]
Spurs pluck 8m Bassong out of Toon August 6, 2009 TOTTENHAM manager Harry Redknapp yesterday moved to patch up his injury-ridden back line by agreeing an £8m deal for Newcastle defender Sebastien Bassong. The 23-year-old has admitted he is leaving St James’ Park following the Magpies’ relegation to the Championship, and is thought to have passed a medical at Spurs. Redknapp, meanwhile, needs cover at [...]
Mourinho’s dig at Chelsea business August 6, 2009 FORMER Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has accused the Blues of trying to prevent him from taking ex-charges Deco and Ricardo Carvalho to Inter Milan. Mourinho, who managed the pair at Porto and signed Carvalho for Chelsea, has tried to lure them to the San Siro this summer. But the Portuguese says his interest has cooled [...]
Wenger rues Rosicky loss and eyes buys August 6, 2009 ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Tomas Rosicky’s injury curse has struck again, ruling him out for six weeks. The Czech midfielder only returned from an 18-month lay-off in pre-season, but has suffered a hamstring injury. “He could be out for six weeks,” said Wenger. “It is hard to accept because he had looked [...]
Butcher hangs up his bat August 6, 2009 CRICKET: Former England batsman Mark Butcher announced his retirement from cricket last night with immediate effect. The Surrey captain, 36, scored 38 first-class centuries – eight of them for England – in a career spanning 17 years. He managed five County Championship matches for Surrey this season but has now admitted defeat in his battle [...]
Bent: Twitter jibe worked August 6, 2009 FOOTBALL: Striker Darren Bent admits his Twitter outburst against Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy helped speed up his £10m move to Sunderland. Bent, 25, hit out at Levy on the social networking site after the proposed transfer was delayed. Bent said: “In the long run it seems like it has paid off but at the same [...]
Fulham progress in Europe August 6, 2009 FOOTBALL: Fulham booked their place in the Europa League play-off stage with a 3-0 win over FK Vetra. Midfielder Dickson Etuhu opened the scoring at Craven Cottage, before a brace from striker Andrew Johnson completed a 6-0 aggregate win over the Lithuanian side.
Tigers pounce for pair August 6, 2009 FOOTBALL: Hull City have completed the double signing of Seyi Olofinjana from Stoke City and USA international Jozy Altidore. Midfielder Olofinjana has joined on a four-year contract for £3m, while striker Altidore arrives on a season-long loan from Spanish club Villarreal, subject to a work permit. Newcastle defender Habib Beye could be next to arrive [...]
Casey’s USPGA injury worry August 6, 2009 GOLF: England’s Paul Casey is a major doubt for next week’s US PGA Championship after suffering a chest injury last night. The world No3 pulled a muscle teeing off at the seventh hole of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio. Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington held the early clubhouse lead with a six-under-par 64.