Antonio Conte available for Chelsea after announcing “I’ve got to go back to being a club manager” March 15, 2016 Antonio Conte will be free to join Chelsea next season after announcing his intention to step down as Italy manager. The Italy manager, favourite to be named the next permanent boss at Stamford Bridge, has told the Italian Football Federation he will not be seeking to renew his contract with the national team after Euro [...]
Leicester City 1, Newcastle United 0: Foxes’ title bandwagon keeps rolling March 14, 2016 Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri continued to shield his players from the glare of expectancy despite the Foxes re-asserting their authority at the Premier League summit with a narrow victory over Newcastle. Striker Shinji Okazaki scored the only goal of the game with a stunning overhead kick — the home side’s solitary shot on target — [...]
Aston Villa 0, Tottenham Hotspur 2: Pochettino turns up heat on leaders Leicester March 13, 2016 Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino threw down the gauntlet to Premier League title rivals Leicester after his side closed the gap on the leaders by dispatching bottom of the table Aston Villa. Prolific hitman Harry Kane netted twice to take his Premier League tally for the season to 19 and move level with Leicester’s Jamie Vardy [...]
Manchester United 1, West Ham United 1: Dimitri Payet wondergoal not enough for Hammers but Slaven Bilic backs them to win FA Cup quarter-final replay March 13, 2016 Manchester United 1, West Ham United 1 West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has warned Manchester United to expect an FA Cup replay defeat in east London after Anthony Martial’s late equaliser denied the Hammers a famous victory at Old Trafford on Sunday. Playmaker Dimitri Payet set the visitors on course for a spot in the [...]
Arsenal 1, Watford 2: Arsene Wenger fears for home form after Odion Ighalo and Adlene Guedioura dump Gunners out of FA Cup March 13, 2016 Arsenal 1, Watford 2 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits he is worried by his faltering team’s home form after Watford sent the FA Cup holders crashing out of the quarter-finals. Substitute Danny Welbeck gave the Gunners hope with a late strike, after Odion Oghalo and Adlene Guedioura had given the Hornets a shock lead, but [...]
These two graphs sum up why Manchester City have failed to mount a serious Premier League title challenge March 12, 2016 Manchester City missed out on the opportunity to leapfrog Arsenal in the Premier League table on Saturday, after once again failing to record a back-to-back win at Norwich. Following a goalless draw at Carrow Road, Manuel Pellegrini's side has now failed to win in consecutive league matches since October – a run of 21 games. [...]
Stan Kroenke lifts lid on why Arsenal prioritise business foundations over spending big on transfers March 12, 2016 Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke has lifted the lid on his approach to ownership – but risked invoking the wrath of fans by claiming "if you want to win Championships then you would never get involved". The American real estate magnate discussed his belief in prioritising the building of a sports team's business foundations in [...]
Borussia Dortmund 3, Tottenham Hotspur 0: Pochettino blasts showing as much-changed Spurs outclassed March 10, 2016 Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino lamented his side’s performance after they were outclassed by German side Borussia Dortmund to leave their Europa League hopes dangling by a thread. A Spurs side containing seven changes struggled to contain a rampant Dortmund and their misery was compounded by a Marco Reus double in the second period after striker Pierre-Emerick [...]
Pardew urges Crystal Palace to seize chance of winning club’s first major honour in FA Cup March 10, 2016 Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew has urged his players to write themselves into club folklore by going full throttle in pursuit of the first major honour in the Eagles’ history. Although their Premier League form has taken a nosedive in recent months, Palace face Championship side Reading at the Madejski Stadium on Friday for a [...]
Aston Villa finances: Relegation-threatened club reveal £27.3m loss as Randy Lerner and directors share £1.5m March 10, 2016 Aston Villa’s miserable season took another turn for the worse after the Premier League’s basement club announced a £27.3m loss. The Birmingham club – currently nine points from safety – are facing a financially devastating relegation to the Championship following a costly campaign last season. In 2014-15 Villa generated £115.7m in revenue, down from £116.9m last [...]