Sam Torrance: Tasty vintage Lee Westwood is playing as well as ever November 12, 2018 Lee Westwood swung as well as I have seen him swing for a long, long time on his way to a magnificent victory in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City in South Africa on Sunday. The Englishman, 45, hadn’t won for four years but looked oustanding all week and some of the golf produced [...]
Manchester City brush off financial allegations with dominant derby win over Manchester United November 11, 2018 If last week’s Football Leaks reports suggested that Manchester City’s success owes as much to creativity in their accounting as in their attacking play, then the visit of Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday could hardly have been better timed. Because for all of City’s alleged gaming of Financial Fair Play rules by [...]
Trevor Steven: Wayne Rooney’s England recall for USA game is a mystifying own goal by the Football Association November 6, 2018 Gareth Southgate says he supports plans to bring Wayne Rooney out of international retirement for a farewell England appearance in next week’s friendly against the United States. I don’t believe that for a minute. I would like to know who made the mystifying decision to recall Rooney – which is completely at odds with the [...]
Sam Torrance: Justin Rose is a genius, a grandmaster of golf and in the prime of his career November 5, 2018 Justin Rose made a welcome return to the top of the world rankings by defending his Turkish Airlines Open title on Sunday but only after an incredible and fascinating finish to the tournament. Having played magnificent golf all week, Rose gave overnight leader Li Haotong fresh hope by bogeying the 17th and 18th holes – [...]
Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend: Manchester City, Manchester United, West Ham, Wolves and Richarlison November 4, 2018 1. Man City on course ot beat their own records Premier League records tumbled as Manchester City waltzed to the title last season, not least in the goalscoring stakes, with the Blues netting 106 times and finishing with a goal difference of +79 – both new bests. Dauntingly for those teams who aspire to rival [...]
Let’s make sure British sport can compete with the best beyond Brexit November 4, 2018 It is often said the UK is a nation obsessed with sport. But for once sport’s hold on top spot in the public consciousness has been usurped by another national obsession: Brexit. However, the link between Brexit and sport is far more than just a competition for public attention – Brexit poses some fundamental challenges [...]
Arsenal rise to Unai Emery’s challenge and show they are ready to take on Premier League’s big guns again November 4, 2018 Speaking 24 hours before Saturday’s riveting 1-1 draw with Liverpool, Unai Emery was clear about what he wanted to see from his Arsenal team against Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League title hopefuls. “The result tomorrow is very important but first I want to show them, to show you and to show everybody our best mentality in [...]
Overseas matches, disruptive broadcast deals and a global network of delegates: how La Liga is trying to close the gap to the Premier League October 25, 2018 You may have noticed Spanish football in the headlines lately – and not only because this weekend sees the latest instalment of its biggest game, El Clasico, between Barcelona and Real Madrid. La Liga, the organisation that represents Barca, Madrid and the other 40 clubs that make up Spain’s top two divisions, and their straight-talking [...]
Six Day London: Cycling’s most exciting series embarks on biggest season yet and targets 25 events a year by 2023 October 21, 2018 When a Victorian gentleman named David Stanton proposed a £100 bet that he could cycle 1,000 miles around Islington’s Agricultural Hall over six consecutive nights, it’s fair to assume he didn’t intend to spawn a global phenomenon. That, however, is the target for the organisers of the Six Day Series, the modern incarnation of a [...]
Canelo Alvarez: Boxer’s record-breaking $365m deal with DAZN highlights rise to prominence of both October 17, 2018 Every now and then a commercial deal comes along that doesn’t just reflect the shifting sands of the sports landscape, it magnifies them, turning the protagonists into even bigger names in the process. Paris Saint-Germain’s €222m signing of Neymar last year, which didn’t so much break football’s transfer record as smash it to smithereens, was [...]