Two Champions League winning managers, a wealth of ambitious foreign owners and exciting England prospects – whether you support Leeds or Newcastle, the Championship can be relied on for entertainment August 3, 2016 Tomorrow a football competition starts in London featuring ambitious and enigmatic billionaire owners from across the globe, a cosmopolitan array of managers — including two Champions League winners — and some of the most exciting young players in England. But this isn't the Premier League. It is, of course, the Championship. English football’s second tier [...]
From an Aston Villa troublemaker to a Newcastle forward and a Chelsea loanee – here’s five players to look out for in the Championship this season August 3, 2016 The Championship. A league full of 30+ cloggers and clumpers adept at the dark arts and averse to pretty passing football, right? Not quite. English football's second tier certainly still boasts those of the agricultural persuasion, but there are just as many players who will have you scratching your head and wondering why no Premier League club [...]
Premier League transfer spending down on last year as clubs hesitate in spending TV windfall August 2, 2016 An anticipated record-breaking close-season transfer splurge by Premier League clubs has yet to materialise, with spending slower than last summer, according to Deloitte. English top-flight teams shelled out £475m in July, £40m down on the £515m they spent 12 months earlier and significantly short of a predicted £1bn total gross outlay for the transfer window. Buoyed [...]
Pep Guardiola will make me the complete player, insists Manchester City’s £37m new boy Leroy Sane August 2, 2016 Newly-acquired Manchester City winger Leroy Sane believes he will become the complete player under Pep Guardiola’s tutelage after completing his move from Schalke for an initial £37m. The 20-year-old has signed a five-year deal at the Etihad Stadium and continues Guardiola’s rebuilding job at the two-time Premier League champions, taking the club’s spending this transfer window [...]
Football Association of Wales reject Hull City’s approach for national team boss Chris Coleman August 2, 2016 Hull City’s search for a new manager has suffered a blow after the Football Association of Wales rejected an approach from the Tigers to speak with national team boss Chris Coleman. The Premier League side have been hunting a replacement for Steve Bruce after the former Manchester United skipper quit last month following a breakdown in [...]
Why Barcelona settled for Qatar Airways as shirt sponsor and will always struggle to match Manchester United’s commercial clout August 2, 2016 Despite being one of the largest football clubs on the planet, Barcelona were compelled to ignore calls from within their own fan base to cut ties with Gulf state Qatar, which included a petition signed by over 60,000 people, and sign a one-year extension to their Qatar Airways shirt sponsorship deal earlier this month after struggling to [...]
Lyon manager admits Arsenal target Alexandre Lacazette could still be sold at the right price August 2, 2016 Arsenal may still be able to prise transfer target Alexandre Lacazette away from Lyon according to the manager of the French club. The Gunners were unsuccessful with a £29m bid for the striker earlier this summer, but Lyon boss Bruno Genesio has conceded that "there are some offers you cannot refuse". Lyon believe Lacazette, who has scored over 20 goals in each of the [...]
Sunderland boss David Moyes keen to raid former club Manchester United for duo August 1, 2016 Sunderland boss David Moyes has confirmed that he hopes to lure Manchester United duo Marouane Fellaini and Adnan Januzaj to the Stadium of Light as the Black Caps embark upon a recruitment drive. Former Everton and United manager Moyes was handed the Sunderland reins on 23 July after incumbent Sam Allardyce was appointed England boss [...]
Manchester City to take spending past £70m mark with Leroy Sane signing August 1, 2016 Manchester City are closing in on the signing of 20-year-old Germany winger Leroy Sane from Schalke for a fee that could rise to £42m. Sane’s club confirmed on Monday that he was in Manchester, rather than joining them on a pre-season training camp, where he was expected to undergo a routine medical examination. City are [...]
Revealed: How West Ham owners are free to cash in on Olympic Stadium deal July 31, 2016 West Ham United’s complex deal for the Olympic Stadium, the full details of which are laid bare for the first time today, could make the football club’s wealthy owners even richer than previously thought – at the expense of the taxpayer. As the Hammers prepare to play their first match at the largely public-funded £700m [...]