Alys, Always review: Bridge Theatre presents a crowd-pleasing, pulpy thriller March 14, 2019 Alys, Always is an unabashed crowd-pleaser, a gripping, pulpy thriller in the mould of Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train. I imagine the novel, written by Harriet Lane, was advertised on the Underground. It follows Frances, a sub-editor on the arts desk of a magazine called The Questioner. Her job is fixing the [...]
FA Cup quarter-finals: Competition presents a rare opportunity for non-Premier League Big Six sides to make their mark March 14, 2019 The best advertising strikes a chord with consumers and BT Sport’s publicity for its FA Cup coverage has neatly captured the mood around this season’s competition. In the advert, common grievances about football's oldest competition – not enough giant-killings, an unwanted break from fantasy football, a halting of league momentum – are aired. An oversized [...]
England ready to rectify last year’s defeat to Scotland in Six Nations finale March 13, 2019 It was just 13 months ago that Scotland brought England’s winning run to a shuddering halt in a Six Nations match at Murrayfield that saw Eddie Jones and his players harassed on and off the pitch. England lost 25-13 that day, but more significant was the manner in which they were beaten. Out-muscled, out-fought and [...]
Formula One at a crossroads: Successful 2019 is key to keeping motor sport series on track March 13, 2019 In cars. It’s the only way to live, according to Gary Numan, post-punk’s foremost petrolhead. For decades, this attitude has ensured that motorsport, and Formula One in particular, has become a way of life for millions. But as the new season approaches, the sport faces a new wave of challenges and, to paraphrase the Tubeway [...]
Back on track: McLaren CEO Zak Brown ready to return the Formula One team to their glory days March 12, 2019 There was never going to be a quick fix to McLaren's problems but, with the start of the new Formula One season upon us, the team find themselves ably prepared to return their prestigious name to the front of the grid in the coming years. They are some way off ousting Mercedes and Ferrari in [...]
Trevor Steven: It’s time for Mohamed Salah and Liverpool to show they are winners March 12, 2019 For a few minutes of Liverpool’s Premier League win over Burnley on Sunday I kept my eyes trained solely on Mohamed Salah. In that brief spell he must have lost the ball four or five times. In the previous game at Everton, Salah wasted a couple of one-one-one chances against Jordan Pickford in which he [...]
How Raheem Sterling became Pep Guardiola’s go-to guy and Manchester City’s most prolific attacker March 11, 2019 Raheem Sterling is still just 24 years old, but the fact that he made his debut seven years ago and has won 47 caps for England means his relative youth is obscured. The Manchester City forward has been performing at the top level and with such consistency for so long that his influence has been [...]
Monica Seles: “I really don’t care about my legacy. I care about the present and being a good person.” March 11, 2019 “I really don’t reflect. I kind of stay in the moment,” says Monica Seles. It seems a remarkable sentiment for someone with such a glorious career to look back on, but then the past is a complicated place for the 45-year-old Tennis Hall of Famer. Even in sport’s vivid canon, few stories can touch that [...]
Sam Torrance: Sublime Francesco Molinari is at the top of his game and can win the Masters March 11, 2019 Spectacular finishes seem to be part of the fabric of the Arnold Palmer Invitational and this year it was Francesco Molinari’s turn to take the title at Bay Hill with a sublime performance. Just as Rory McIlroy had 12 months earlier, Open champion Molinari carded a magnificent final round of 64 on Sunday at this [...]
New kids on the grid: Lando Norris and George Russell set for Formula One debuts in Melbourne opener March 11, 2019 It was 12 years ago when a young, hungry driver bursting with talent took his first seat in Formula One. His name was Lewis Hamilton. This season, as he goes in search of a sixth World Championship, there are two new British drivers – inspired by Hamilton’s generation – ready to make their own mark [...]