Helping the Dons return home: AFC Wimbledon aiming to raise £5m through a bond to keep Plough Lane stadium plans on track February 10, 2020 The club may only be 18 years old, but AFC Wimbledon are no strangers to adversity. Having been founded in 2002 by supporters as a protest against the original Wimbledon’s uprooting to Milton Keynes, the Dons have risen through the divisions, winning six promotions in 13 years to reach League One. While there has been [...]
Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali remind everyone of their worth as England draw South Africa ODI series 1-1 February 9, 2020 The series may have suffered from an after-the-Lord-Mayor’s-show feel but, thanks to their win on Sunday, England did at least extend a proud record. Victory by two wickets over South Africa in Johannesburg meant that England ensured the three-match One-Day International series was drawn 1-1 and their three-year unbeaten record remains intact. England’s domination of [...]
South Africa send England back to earth win a bump in seven-wicket ODI defeat in Cape Town February 4, 2020 After 205 days, it was back to earth with a bump for England in Cape Town on Tuesday. The last time Eoin Morgan’s side had played a One-Day International it was that wonderful sun-soaked July evening at Lord’s when the most unbelievable sequence of events saw them beat New Zealand in a super over and [...]
Agents row in extra-time: Why Fifa is at loggerheads with football’s leading intermediaries over new rule proposals February 4, 2020 A battle which has been rumbling on behind the scenes in football appears set to explode into full public view over the coming months, with the sport’s governing body going head to head with some of its most powerful figures. The issue at the heart of the matter has nothing to do with what occurs [...]
Super Bowl LIV: How Patrick Mahomes turned the tide in the Kansas City Chiefs’ favour to down the San Francisco 49ers February 3, 2020 It was billed as the Patrick Mahomes Super Bowl, and with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter on Sunday night it looked like that prediction would come to pass – just not for the reasons expected. Having not thrown an interception in 164 postseason passes, the Kansas City Chiefs’ star quarterback threw his second [...]
Tottenham 2-0 Manchester City: Spurs win in classic Jose Mourinho style to move fifth in the Premier League February 2, 2020 It has taken some time but Tottenham have now experienced peak Jose Mourinho. A return to his past glories came in the perfect scenario – against his arch foe – and, more importantly, in the most traditional of manners. Tottenham had three shots, spent the majority of the game with every player behind the ball [...]
Super Bowl LIV preview: Kansas City Chiefs v San Francisco 49ers will see contrasting offences go head to head in Miami January 29, 2020 The Super Bowl is a mammoth sporting event, and an occasion of such magnitude is always going to come attached with a great deal of hype. The NFL showpiece is always billed as unmissable – something fans in the UK should stay up for and immerse themselves in. It’s fair to say that last year’s [...]
Football’s data liberator: How smarterscout founder Dan Altman plans to bring stats to the mainstream January 28, 2020 Dan Altman has been many things. Economist. Best-selling author. British government advisor. Columnist. Consultant. Teacher. All of those occupations revolved around the use of data, and “after about 15 years” Altman, in his own words, “got a bit bored and decided to try something a bit different.” That boredom has seen the 46-year-old American turn [...]
Five conclusions from England’s thumping 3-1 series win over South Africa January 27, 2020 England bowled South Africa out for 274 on day four of the fourth Test in Johannesburg on MonsY to complete a 191-run win and wrap up a 3-1 series victory. Having gone 1-0 down at Centurion, the visitors surged back to dominate the next three Tests and earn only their second overseas series win in [...]
Shrewsbury 2-2 Liverpool: League One side’s comeback shows that the FA Cup is alive and well amid renewed questioning January 26, 2020 Teeth gnashing about the death of the FA Cup is nothing new. Every season there are opinions voiced and column inches filled by people mourning the decline of English football’s most historic cup competition. Nobody cares about it anymore, the argument goes. Premier League teams aren’t giving it the respect it deserves. Crowds are too [...]
