Swansea City 2, Chelsea 2: Antonio Conte insists Diego Costa was no villain as pumped up Spaniard rescues point for Blues September 11, 2016 Chelsea boss Antonio Conte insisted rivals Swansea should have been reduced to 10 men for the physical battering dished out to striker Diego Costa, who proved his side’s saviour during a hotly-contested clash. A fired-up Costa had given the visitors a first-half lead and salvaged a point with a thumping overhead kick after Gylfi Sigurdsson, with a penalty, [...]
FA vows to investigate after West Ham home match against Watford marred by crowd disturbances September 11, 2016 The Football Association has confirmed it intends to make further enquiries into allegations of fighting among spectators during West Ham’s Premier League match against Watford on Saturday. It is the third time in as many matches that disturbances have been reported at the London Stadium, the former Olympic Stadium and the Hammers’ home since last month. [...]
Football betting tips: Leicester to come unstuck against Liverpool at Anfield September 9, 2016 LEICESTER only lost three times on their march to the title last season. On Saturday they return to the scene of one of those defeats – Anfield – and I think they will leave Merseyside empty-handed again. This view is backed up by the bookies. The Foxes are a best-priced 19/4 with Betway, who offer [...]
Fifa begins formal proceedings against Sepp Blatter, Markus Klattner and Jerome Valcke September 9, 2016 Football's governing body said today it has launched an official investigation into former president Sepp Blatter. In a statement, Fifa said its ethics committee had opened formal proceedings against Blatter and two other former officials, Jerome Valcke, who was secretary general, and Markus Kattner, former acting secretary general and director of finance and corporate services. [...]
Football betting tips: Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola all set for Manchester derby September 9, 2016 YOU DON’T win the league on one result, but a big loss can see the wheels soon fall of a title challenge. It was a 5-0 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona that put the writing on the wall for Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid in 2010/11, and the Special One has been smarting ever since. The [...]
Spanish giants Real and Atletico Madrid fail to overturn transfer bans and cannot field new signings until January 2018 September 8, 2016 Real Madrid and city rivals Atletico are not permitted to field any new signings until January 2018 after both clubs lost their appeals against transfer bans handed out by world governing body Fifa. The Spanish giants were punished by Fifa’s disciplinary committee in January after being found to have breached regulations governing the transfer of [...]
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino plays down Harry Kane’s goalscoring woes September 8, 2016 Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has doused concerns over goal-shy striker Harry Kane and backed the England forward to rejoin the goalscoring trail when his side travel to Stoke on Saturday. Kane has not scored for 10 matches, since England’s pre-European Championship warm-up clash with Turkey at the City of Manchester Stadium in May. The 23-year-old [...]
I love Bournemouth and want to stay as long as possible, says reported Arsenal target Eddie Howe September 8, 2016 Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has played down suggestions he could be headhunted by Arsenal to replace Arsene Wenger, insisting he wants to stay with the south coast club. Howe admits he is pleased that his success in taking the Cherries from the fourth tier to the Premier League has been recognised, but the top flight’s [...]
Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham named worst transfer culprits for wasting millions on the likes of Angel di Maria, Christian Benteke and Roberto Soldado September 7, 2016 Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham have been accused of being the worst offenders for signing big-money flops. The three clubs have been singled out in a new study of transfer trends for signing the likes of £60m winger Angel di Maria, £32.5m forward Christian Benteke and £26m striker Roberto Soldado. The Soccerex Transfer Review by [...]
Jose Mourinho and Manchester United have the edge in derby with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City; and why I think Sam Allardyce was misunderstood about Wayne Rooney’s England role September 6, 2016 Manchester City might have a few factors against them heading into Saturday’s eagerly anticipated derby with Manchester United, but they have a couple of less obvious points in their favour. City are five competitive games into their season, owing to them having to navigate the Champions League play-off round, and they have won them all. [...]