English Football League clubs reject proposals to incorporate Premier League B teams and Old Firm in overhaul of competition September 22, 2016 Premier League B teams and Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers have been ruled out of a revamped English Football League (EFL) structure following opposition from clubs to the proposals. It means that the extra eight clubs needed to make up a fifth tier of 20 teams – with the working title of League Three – [...]
Manchester City form is no surprise but Leicester can still catch them, says Claudio Ranieri September 22, 2016 Bullish Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri insists it is too soon to declare Manchester City as the Premier League’s champions-elect and is adamant the Foxes will defend their title to the bitter end. Leicester, who made a mockery of their status as 5,000-1 outsiders last term, have made a modest start to the campaign having won [...]
Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote wants to buy Arsenal FC and “turn it around” September 22, 2016 Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote wants to buy Arsenal within three to four years and turn the club's fortunes around. The Nigerian cement magnate, worth an estimated £8.4bn, says he has no doubt he has the capital to complete a full takeover of the Premier League. And the Arsenal fan believes he has the business [...]
Northampton Town 1, Manchester United 3: Jose Mourinho fumes despite Reds navigating banana skin to set up clash with rivals Manchester City September 21, 2016 Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho took aim at referee Stuart Attwell for failing to reduce League One Northampton to 10 men after his side ended a three-match losing streak to set up an EFL Cup fourth round tie with rivals Manchester City. United powered through in the second period with goals from Ander Herrera [...]
EFL Cup round-up: Slaven Bilic urges West Ham to use last-gasp win as leverage to escape wretched start to season September 21, 2016 West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has urged his side to use their last-gasp 1-0 victory over League Two Accrington Stanley in the EFL Cup third round as leverage to escape their wretched start to the campaign. The clash looked certain to end goalless and head into extra-time before substitute Dimitri Payet curled home a sumptuous 25-yard [...]
Football Association chief Martin Glenn vows to spend big on upgrading Wembley for 2020 European Championship September 21, 2016 Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn has pledged to plough money into upgrading Wembley Stadium to ensure it is among the top one per cent of world stadia for the 2020 European Championship. The national stadium, which reopened in 2007 after a £800m rebuild, is set to host the semi-finals and final of the tournament, [...]
From virtual reality to socks to the “Netflix of sports” — these nine companies are changing football through technology and innovation September 21, 2016 Modern football has become a magnet for cutting-edge technology and innovative ideas. The ever-increasing sums of money sloshing around in the sport have raised the stakes, forcing clubs to seek out the next marginal gain through state of the art software and brilliant minds, as well as providing ample business opportunities for enterprising fans. These [...]
EFL Cup: Leicester City 2, Chelsea 4: Cesc Fabregas hits back at critics after double strike September 21, 2016 Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas hit back at his critics after scoring twice in extra-time to complete his side’s comeback and fire the Blues into the EFL Cup fourth round at the expense of 10-man Leicester. Fabregas, making only his second start of the campaign, proved the match-winner after Shinji Okazaki had given Leicester, who had [...]
EFL Cup round up: Arsene Wenger praises Lucas Perez as forward finds goalscoring boots in Arsenal romp at Nottingham Forest September 20, 2016 Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger hailed the contribution of Lucas Perez after the £17.1m forward netted his first goals in English football as the Gunners romped into the EFL Cup fourth round with a 4-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest last night. Perez’s goals, the first a penalty, were the standout contribution although midfielder Granit Xhaka cracked [...]
Jose Mourinho is in a crisis at Manchester United and he has brought it on himself September 20, 2016 Let’s be brutally honest: three defeats in a row mean that Jose Mourinho is already in crisis just a few weeks into his reign as manager of Manchester United. I know what it’s like at a team where you’re expected to win every game. When I played at Rangers one defeat was a crisis; two was a [...]