English football clubs turn to MetLife for £117.5m loan after baulking at Bank of England emergency funding conditions March 30, 2021 Championship football clubs have chosen to take a £117.5m loan from US insurer MetLife instead of the Bank of England’s emergency Covid-19 support scheme. The English Football League (EFL), which represents clubs in the second, third and fourth divisions, said it rejected the Bank of England loan due to the conditions imposed. Teams in the [...]
What is the ‘Swiss model’ set to be used in the Champions League, and why have big clubs chosen a system common to chess but unheard of in football? March 30, 2021 The biggest changes to the Champions League for 20 years – including the introduction of the controversial “Swiss model” – are set to be rubber-stamped in April. From 2024, it will mean more teams, more matches and a new format common to chess and croquet that, until now, was unheard of in elite European football. [...]
Players vow to scupper Silver Lake £235m bid for All Blacks commercial rights March 29, 2021 Several leading All Blacks and Black Ferns say they will veto Silver Lake’s bid for a stake in New Zealand Rugby (NZR). The US-based private equity giant has offered £235m for 15 per cent of NZR’s commercial rights, which the deal values at £1.5bn. If successful, it would be the latest investment by private equity [...]
Falcon and The Winter Soldier S1E2: Marvel picks up the pace March 29, 2021 *** WARNING: spoilers ahead for all current episodes of Marvel’s Falcon and The Winter Soldier *** Unlike WandaVision, which played its cards close to its chest, Falcon and Winter soldier had a lot of world building to do in its first episode. Sam/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) had given up Captain America’s, while Bucky/The Winter Soldier (Sebastian [...]
Mason Mount continues emergence as key man in Gareth Southgate’s England Euro 2020 project March 29, 2021 When Mason Mount collected Harry Kane’s pass and clipped the ball over Albania goalkeeper Etrit Berisha on Sunday it was job done. Another three points for England to continue their flawless start to the qualifying campaign for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. And another exhibit in the burgeoning cache of evidence that Mount deserves a [...]
Travel influencers get a bad rep – but don’t judge too soon March 26, 2021 What’s your first thought when you hear the word ‘influencers’? If it’s anything like many members of the general public, it’s not too positive. Just the mere mention of ‘influencer’ evokes eye rolls, tuts and head shakes. Of course, the recent news stories haven’t helped. Hordes of influencers have been flocking to far-flung places like [...]
EP: 49 Doncaster, Newbury, Hong Kong & Dubai March 26, 2021 Trainer Richard Hughes joins us as our guest today as we look forward to the start of the new flat racing season at Doncaster where the Lincoln Handicap, run over the straight mile, is the feature race City A.M. racing editor Bill Esdaile previews this weekend’s global action in the UK and the Dubai World [...]
A drive to survive: How Liberty Media used Netflix and esports to win a new generation of fans and safeguard the future of Formula 1 March 26, 2021 It feels like an awful long time ago now that Liberty Media took the wheel of Formula 1, completing a takeover valued at $8bn including debt in January 2017. Donald Trump had just been inaugurated and the most relevant global health emergency was the Zika virus. In motorsport, meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton had been dethroned and [...]
Ollie Phillips: England need change but that doesn’t mean sacking Eddie Jones; France to wreak havoc on Scotland; and Lions pecking order March 25, 2021 In the space of a few days England went from brilliant, devastating and clinical against France to devoid of ideas against Ireland. Credit to Ireland for well and truly doing a job on England last weekend. They didn’t just beat Eddie Jones’s side, they thrashed them 32-18. This is a team that talks about wanting [...]
Six Minutes To Midnight – Eddie Izzard stars in wartime thriller March 25, 2021 Eddie Izzard has enjoyed quite an eclectic big screen career over the years. She’s been in cult hits such as Velvet Goldmine and Mystery Men; mixed it up with Clooney and Co in the Ocean’s films; and even faced off with a Nazi Tom Cruise in 2009’s Valkyrie. The Third Reich looms ominously in her [...]