It’s honours even but England have very little to fear July 8, 2009 WHILE the losses of Matt Prior and Andrew Flintoff late last night were a blow, it should not detract from what was an encouraging day’s cricket for England. Yes, the untimely wickets may have proved the difference between England’s opening day and honours even, but captain Andrew Strauss and his top order will be spurred [...]
F1 rules row reignited as rebels walk out of talks July 8, 2009 THE future of the sport was plunged into fresh doubt yesterday when a meeting between F1 chiefs and teams to discuss next year’s rules ended in chaos. Eight rebel teams, who until last month had been set to break away in protest at proposed radical changes, walked out of the meeting at Germany’s Nurburgring. Governing [...]
Arsenal keep Usmanov at arm’s length by rejecting proposal for rights issue July 8, 2009 ARSENAL’S second largest shareholder Alisher Usmanov last night responded frostily after the Premier League club rejected his proposal of a rights issue. Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis said yesterday that the board had discussed the fund-raising exercise but concluded it would not greatly improve their financial position. Usmanov, who owns a 25 per cent stake [...]
Chelsea dismiss claims of keeping Terry in the dark July 8, 2009 CHELSEA last night angrily hit back at claims they haven’t contacted captain John Terry over Manchester City’s interest in him. Reports suggested Chelsea had kept Terry in the dark over a £30m bid received last week while the England captain was away on holiday. “It is total nonsense, we’ve spoken to him a number of [...]
United swoop for France U21 star Obertan July 8, 2009 FRANCE Under-21 winger Gabriel Obertan has vowed to seize his chance after completing a surprise move to Premier League champions Manchester United. Obertan, 20, yesterday sealed his switch from French title winners Bordeaux by signing a deal that will keep him at Old Trafford until 2013. United have not disclosed the fee, with reports in [...]
Wilkinson freed up for England return July 8, 2009 JONNY WILKINSON has been cleared to join up with his England team-mates next month by his club Toulon. Wilkinson, 30, was recalled to England’s elite 32-man squad on Tuesday for the forthcoming autumn internationals. Coach Martin Johnson feared a backlash, however, as Wilkinson was ordered to meet up with the squad on August 9-14 – clashing with [...]
Liebherr is the Saints saviour July 8, 2009 SOUTHAMPTON have been saved from the brink of extinction after Swiss businessman Markus Liebherr announced the completion of his takeover of the League One club yesterday. The 61-year-old has an estimated fortune of £2.5bn and paid an undisclosed fee for the club. Liebherr owns and controls the Swiss-based Mali Group, which consists of five companies [...]
SUMMER SALES July 8, 2009 Barca sanction Ribery swoopBARCELONA have given boss Pep Guardiola the green light to sign winger Franck Ribery should he want him. The Frenchman has been linked with a move to Real Madrid all summer, although the big-spending Spanish giants have given up hope of signing the £60m-rated Bayern Munich star. Chelsea remain in the race, [...]
SPORT IN BRIEF July 8, 2009 Poulter ignores Scottish jinxGOLF: England’s Ian Poulter says he won’t be listening to any “wives’ tales” when he tees off for the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond today. No player has ever won this event and gone on to take the Open Championship the following week, but Poulter, currently at a career high No16 [...]
Armstrong fails in bid to topple rival Cancellara July 8, 2009 LANCE ARMSTRONG just failed to reclaim the yellow jersey from Fabien Cancellara following the fifth stage of the Tour de France. The returning seven-time champion was given the same time as Cancellara for the 196.5km stage from Le Cap D’Adge to Perpignan, ensuring the Swiss star just stayed in front in the overall standings. Frenchman [...]