How do you solve a problem like England’s No3? Ben Stokes’s move highlights uncertainty not flexibility November 13, 2018 Jonathan Trott retired from international cricket in May 2015 after a return to the England side ended in a disappointing stint against the West Indies. While the struggles to find a successor to opener and captain Andrew Strauss following his retirement in 2012 have been well documented, the difficulties in the No3 batting position have [...]
Trevor Steven: Moving abroad is a risk but young English footballers can only benefit November 13, 2018 To understand why young English players are increasingly attracted to the prospect of joining teams in other European leagues you need only look at the case of Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The midfielder, 22, was part of the England squad that achieved their best World Cup finish in 28 years during the summer, yet back at Chelsea [...]
Jadon Sancho and Reiss Nelson are taking Germany by storm, but how are the rest of England’s youngsters faring abroad? November 13, 2018 It’s no secret by now that for Jadon Sancho a move abroad has reaped huge rewards. Since leaving Manchester City in 2017, the teenager has established a starring role in a Borussia Dortmund side that currently leads the Bundesliga and beat Bayern Munich 3-2 at the weekend. But he has not been the only English [...]
Chris Kermode interview: ATP Tour chief on the men’s tennis circuit’s rebranding, efforts to attract new audiences and the future of London’s ATP Finals host status November 13, 2018 The iceberg looming for men’s tennis is the shelf life of the superstar players who have virtually monopolised the game’s top prizes for the last decade – according to conventional wisdom, at least. Chris Kermode, president and executive chairman of the ATP Tour, has bigger worries, however. For Kermode, the greatest challenge facing the elite [...]
Changing lives for good November 13, 2018 When ActionAid decided to launch a five-year strategy that focused on the rights of women and girls, funding from the players of People’s Postcode Lottery proved vital. It allowed us to scale up our work tackling the violence women and girls face every day worldwide. ActionAid has a long history and reputation for its grassroots [...]
Sam Torrance: Tasty vintage Lee Westwood is playing as well as ever November 12, 2018 Lee Westwood swung as well as I have seen him swing for a long, long time on his way to a magnificent victory in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City in South Africa on Sunday. The Englishman, 45, hadn’t won for four years but looked oustanding all week and some of the golf produced [...]
England’s narrow defeat by New Zealand shows Eddie Jones’s side have turned around poor year November 11, 2018 England may have lost Saturday’s match against New Zealand, but the fact the majority of the 82,149 people left Twickenham disappointed shows just how much Eddie Jones has turned things around. Ahead of the autumn internationals the prevailing mood was more pessimistic than optimistic. England had endured a difficult 2018, failing in the Six Nations [...]
Manchester City brush off financial allegations with dominant derby win over Manchester United November 11, 2018 If last week’s Football Leaks reports suggested that Manchester City’s success owes as much to creativity in their accounting as in their attacking play, then the visit of Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday could hardly have been better timed. Because for all of City’s alleged gaming of Financial Fair Play rules by [...]
Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend: Lucky Arsenal, in-form Jordan Pickford, Fulham test Shahid Khan’s patience, Roy Hodgson’s gripes and Tottenham earn a breather November 11, 2018 There have been many occasions during Arsenal’s rollercoaster 16-game unbeaten streak when it seemed like the run was about to end and the 1-1 draw with Wolves on Sunday was certainly one of them. The match had every one of the hallmarks of Unai Emery’s short reign: a slow, ponderous first half, an improvement after [...]
Tottenham warned for promising Champions League football in delayed new stadium November 9, 2018 Tottenham Hotspur have been warned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for an advert claiming their new stadium would be "the only place to watch the Champions League in London". The watchdog have sent Tottenham an advice notice, warning them to "avoid making claims in future advertising that they cannot fulfil". The north London club [...]