Trevor Steven: Gareth Southgate tops my football roll of honour for 2018 December 18, 2018 It has been a year when quality coaching came to the fore in football. The World Cup and the Premier League is full of top bosses who are getting the best out of their players. Here are my highlights. Southgate shines in Russia Where else to start but with England’s efforts at the World Cup? [...]
Jose Mourinho’s fall from grace signifies the end of an era as his time in English football comes to a bitter end December 18, 2018 Jose Mourinho's fall from grace has been played out in the public eye over a torturous period that feels as though it began from the moment he took charge at Old Trafford, if not before. Mourinho has had a tendency to bounce from job to job and his decision to live out of the Lowry [...]
Jose Mourinho leaves Manchester United after worst season start in three decades December 18, 2018 Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has left his job amid the club's worst start to the season in almost three decades. The Premier League team, which is currently languishing in sixth place, said the Portuguese manager was leaving with immediate effect after two and a half years in the job. The club was beaten 3-1 [...]
Imperium Investments supports St George’s Hospital charity children’s appeal December 18, 2018 | Sponsored On Thursday 29 November an event was held at the Palace of Westminster in aid of St George's Hospital Charity Children's Appeal. The event was hosted by Colonel Bob Stewart MP and supported by Imperium Investments, represented by their director Dmitry Leus. The fundraising gathering was attended by both supporters of the charity and medical [...]
Champions League and Europa League draws: A guide to English teams’ ties in the knockout rounds December 17, 2018 Monday’s draws for football’s European club competitions conjured some mouth-watering ties involving British sides, including a Premier League versus Bundesliga triple bill. In the Champions League last 16, Liverpool take on Bayern Munich, Manchester City meet Schalke, Tottenham face Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United play Paris Saint-Germain. Meanwhile the Europa League draw for the last [...]
Sam Torrance: Europe’s Ryder Cup success tops the bill in my golfing highlights of 2018 December 17, 2018 From Europe's Ryder Cup glory to Francesco Molinari's breakthrough and a British Major winner in Georgia Hall, it has been a vintage year for golf. Here, Sam Torrance picks his highlights from 2018. 1. Pulverised in Paris Europe didn’t just beat the United States at this year’s Ryder Cup; they outclassed, out-thought and comprehensively out-played a [...]
The Merry Wives of Windsor review: The RSC’s bubbly production at the Barbican is Shakespeare for the TOWIE generation December 17, 2018 If you don’t think Shakespeare comedies are, well, a laugh, then this version of The Merry Wives of Windsor is for you. Derided by critics as the time Shakespeare phoned it in, this production by the Royal Shakespeare Company takes those toffee noses and rubs them in smut. And it’s delicious. It begins with a [...]
Five things we learned from Liverpool 3, Manchester United 1: Reds pass another test; Jose Mourinho’s men losing touch with top five; Xherdan Shaqiri proves his worth December 16, 2018 The tests keep on coming for this Liverpool team and, with a new-found composure and a growing sense of destiny, Jurgen Klopp’s side keep on batting them away. On Sunday the challenge was to translate their momentum into a first Premier League win over Manchester United since 2014 and return to the top of the [...]
Weekend football talking points: Ralph Hasenhuttl makes Southampton mark; Tottenham super-subs; Leroy Sane shines in Benjamin Mendy’s absence; Rangers make Celtic sweat December 16, 2018 Southampton’s first home Premier League win since April, a harum-scarum 3-2 victory that ended Arsenal’s 22-game unbeaten run in all competitions, was a day to remember for new manager Ralph Hasenhuttl. The impact of the Austrian, known as a task-master who favours a high-intensity approach, was evident on Sunday as the Saints gave the Gunners [...]
Boxing’s heavyweight division has failed to live up to expectations in 2018… Next year the best must face each other December 16, 2018 As the year draws to a close, it's hard to look back on boxing's heavyweight division without a tinge of scepticism as to why some of the big fights that could have been did not happen. We were promised fireworks and told that Anthony Joshua would be fighting to become the undisputed, unified, heavyweight champion [...]