Saudis eye bid for Manchester United in attempt to beat Abu Dhabi’s Manchester City on the pitch October 15, 2018 Manchester United’s New-York listed shares have surged amid talks Saudi Arabia’s crown prince could launch a multi-billion pound bid for the footballing powerhouse. Mohammad bin Salman, the leader under fire over the death of a Saudi journalist, is reportedly considering a £3bn takeover of the club from the American Glazer family. Read more: Manchester United [...]
Champions Cup: Have reports of English clubs’ struggles in Europe been greatly exaggerated? October 15, 2018 Last season was not England’s best in European rugby. After Saracens’ dominant successive Champions Cup wins, the Premiership endured something of a coming back to earth moment in 2017-18. While Saracens reached the quarter-finals for the sixth consecutive campaign, they were not joined by any of their domestic rivals. Exeter Chiefs – 2016-17 Premiership champions [...]
Sam Torrance: Eddie Pepperell has arrived and I’m expecting big things from the Englishman October 15, 2018 What a year it has been for English golf. Eddie Pepperell’s victory at the British Masters at Walton Heath on Sunday made it 11 English wins on the European Tour in 2018 and four from the last six events. It’s also turning out to be a landmark season for Pepperell himself. The 27-year-old from Oxfordshire [...]
Day in the life: Long-distance runner Jo Pavey on her dreams competing at a sixth Olympics and training as a busy mum October 15, 2018 I’m training very hard at the moment. My next race is the Great South Run on 21 October and I’m looking forward to getting back racing because I had a bit of time out in the summer due to an injury. My long-term plan is to reach a sixth Olympics. It might seem unrealistic because [...]
Can elite-level footballers like Thierry Henry and Steven Gerrard dominate the managerial landscape again? October 15, 2018 When Kevin Keegan signed for Liverpool from Fourth Division side Scunthorpe in May 1971, he reportedly agreed a contract worth £45 per week. Inflation-adjusted, one of the brightest prospects in English football accepted a salary of little more than £30,000 a year to play for a top-level club, an offer comparable to a mid-ranking human [...]
Spain v England: Gareth Southgate could use a Nations League win to revive World Cup feel-good factor October 14, 2018 Three months ago, as England sweltered in its endless summer, the nation was giddy at the prospect of a World Cup semi-final and Gareth Southgate was enjoying his unlikely ascension to the status of national treasure. Five matches on, the Three Lions have mustered just one more win and are in real danger of being [...]
othellomacbeth at Lyric Hammersmith review: A fascinating but not entirely successful Shakespearian experiment October 12, 2018 Until 3 November Shakespeare’s major works are so familiar that theatremakers are almost expected to be bold and innovative. What audience would choose to sit through a traditional staging of Hamlet, when it could be performed in Farsi, on tricycles, in a shoe shop? In a world of flamboyant reinventions, the Lyric Hammersmith’s othellomacbeth is, [...]
The power of partnerships October 12, 2018 Maggie’s is a charity that prides itself on how we treat the people who come through our doors after a cancer diagnosis as individuals with different needs, which we listen to and support. In the same way we tailor our programme of support to each person we also work with businesses to ensure we can [...]
Editor’s Notes: The joy of Scan-dining, coming down to earth and never mind the Banksys October 12, 2018 The City’s restaurant scene has changed enormously even in the last few years. There’s more life in the Square Mile at weekends and more choice for City lunches than ever before. These are exciting times. A good way to get a sense of this is to embark, as I did yesterday, on a lunch safari. [...]
Ollie Phillips: Hard to look past pedigree of Leinster and Saracens for Champions Cup glory October 11, 2018 Exeter have been consistently challenging Saracens for top honours in the Premiership over the last few years, but they have yet to really translate their domestic form into European competition. The Chiefs’ game-plan has been undermined in the Champions Cup and coach Rob Baxter will need to add new strings to their bow this season. [...]