Arsenal and Chelsea face Boxing Day fixture chaos December 19, 2011 THE PROSPECT of industrial action has forced Arsenal and Chelsea to consider moving their Boxing Day fixtures to 27 December, potentially providing a major inconvenience to over 100,000 fans. The mooted 24-hour Tube strike would impact on the safety of supporters planning to attend the game at Emirates Stadium, as well those fans travelling to [...]
Olympic spotlight won’t daunt British star Halsall December 19, 2011 WERE medals being handed out for enthusiasm alone, Fran Halsall would surely threaten Michael Phelps’s record eight-gold haul in Beijing at next summer’s London Olympics. As an exceptionally talented 21-year-old athlete, of whom much is expected, the Southport-born swimmer could be forgiven were she to feel a sense of trepidation ahead of the biggest eight [...]
Bumper attendances lift Fulham to record profits December 19, 2011 REGULAR full houses at Craven Cottage last season helped Fulham achieve best ever revenues and a record net profit of £4.8m for the year ending 30 June. Attendances rose 4.9 per cent, with the stadium on average 98 per cent full, as the west Londoners finished eighth in the Premier League. Pre-tax profit was £5.4m, [...]
Dow stadium branding scrapped December 19, 2011 OLYMPICS: London 2012 sponsor Dow Chemicals has confirmed it will not have branding on the Olympic Stadium’s fabric wrap, which they have sponsored for £7m, either before or during the Games. Plans for it to be branded pre-Games were dropped in the summer, Dow said. Organisers are facing calls to drop Dow as a sponsor [...]
Premier League to remain seated December 19, 2011 FOOTBALL: Premier League chiefs have ruled out the possibility of following their Scottish counterparts by planning to re-introduce safe standing areas to top-flight football grounds. “Standing at matches is illegal under the legislation that was brought in after Hillsborough,” said a Premier League spokesman.
Coyle and Kean face six-pointer December 19, 2011 FOOTBALL: Under-fire managers Steve Kean and Owen Coyle insist they are refusing to contemplate the repercussions of defeat ahead of Blackburn and Bolton’s relegation six-pointer at Ewood Park tonight. Kean, whose side are a point and a place ahead of bottom of the table Bolton, maintains the club’s owners still trust him to steer Blackburn [...]
Cleverly focuses on beaten Froch December 19, 2011 BOXING: WBO light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly is open to the possibility of facing fellow Brit Carl Froch. The unbeaten Cleverly watched Froch lose his WBC super-middleweight title to Andre Ward on Saturday night. He said: “It’s a fight that would make sense and would be great for the British public.”
EU MISSES TARGET FOR BAILOUT FUND December 19, 2011 EUROPE’S latest rescue attempt stumbled yesterday as finance ministers failed to agree a plan to put as much money as hoped into the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) bailout pot. British representatives stood up to Eurozone leaders who demanded an extra €31bn (£26bn) contribution from the UK, instead favouring a possible global deal in January. Finance [...]
MPs’ fury at £25bn tax owed December 19, 2011 THE TAXMAN is chasing more than £25bn from Britain’s top businesses, according to a damning report from MPs published today. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) also appears to be “too cosy” with large companies and has refused to give “straight answers” to questions, claims the Public Accounts Committee, which has produced the study on tax [...]
When toughened Code doesn’t apply December 19, 2011 WHILE the Eurozone crisis is still dominating the agenda in the City, there are signs of returning interest in mergers and acquisitions, with some saying a mega deal on the scale of Kraft and Cadbury is not that far away. Opinions might vary about the benefits of bids and deals but they are the meat [...]