Review of 2019: Stokes has been England’s inspiration and Archer has broken through December 18, 2019 This year has been a memorable one for English cricket, with the World Cup and the Ashes getting people talking about the sport. My end-of-year review could not overlook that impact. Player of the year I can’t pick anyone other than Ben Stokes, who became the first cricketer since Andrew Flintoff in 2005 to win [...]
Everton target Duncan Ferguson’s polar opposite in Carlo Ancelotti December 17, 2019 For all the emotion and passion that Duncan Ferguson has instilled in Everton during the last two games, tonight’s EFL Cup quarter-final with Leicester looks set to be his last in charge. Ferguson has worn his heart on his sleeve as interim boss and a win against Chelsea and draw away to Manchester United certainly [...]
Raheem Sterling and Jurgen Klopp top my 2019 football roll of honour December 17, 2019 This year has seen some superb football on show and it will be of little surprise that Liverpool and Manchester City are at the fore of my 2019 honour’s list. Player of the year Virgil van Dijk has been absolutely magnificent for Liverpool this year and was voted in 2nd place for the Ballon D’or, [...]
Bank of England governor vacancy gets 650 applications on Linkedin December 17, 2019 The role of the governor of the Bank of England has piqued the interest of Linkedin users as one of the most viewed jobs in 2019. Current incumbent Mark Carney is leaving the role on 31 January, with big names like Financial Conduct Authority boss Andrew Bailey and City grandee Helena Morrissey in the running [...]
Champions League draw reaction: English clubs face daunting ties in the last 16 December 16, 2019 In a change to the usual reaction of despair at familiar match-ups, today’s Champions League last 16 draw was met with a widespread reaction of excitement. In recent years the random draw has far too often thrown up repeat fixtures, with Europe’s best club sides getting used to lining up against each other every season. [...]
EFL Cup and Club World Cup: How Liverpool are planning to fight on two fronts this week December 16, 2019 Liverpool will play Aston Villa tomorrow night in the EFL Cup quarter-final less than 24 hours before they are due to play in the Club World Cup semi-final half-way across the world in Qatar. It means Jurgen Klopp’s side will have played three games in the space of five days, following Saturday’s 2-0 win over [...]
WPP offloads stake in sports marketing agency Two Circles December 16, 2019 WPP today announced it has sold a majority stake in sports marketing agency Two Circles to New York-based private equity firm Bruin Sports Capital. Two Circles, which sat in WPP’s Group M division, analyses data on sports fans across the world to create marketing campaigns. It counts the Premier League, UEFA, Formula 1, and Wimbledon [...]
Arsenal 0-3 Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne masterclass leads City to comfortable win at the Emirates December 15, 2019 Being torn apart by a player as brilliant as Kevin De Bruyne is not in itself embarrassing. But the ease and speed with which the Belgian playmaker ended Manchester City’s trip to Arsenal as a contest was dispiriting. As the popular refrain goes, Gunners fans arriving at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon expected little and [...]
Sports business in 2019: Industry insiders pick the trends that defined the year December 15, 2019 Izzy Wray, consultant in Deloitte’s Sport Business Group Women’s football The growing popularity of women’s football has been one of the defining sports trends of 2019. The Women’s World Cup smashed TV audience records, with a reported 1bn people watching it worldwide and over 28m people tuning in to the tournament on the BBC. Numerous [...]
Premier League appoints Richard Masters as chief executive after embarrassing saga December 12, 2019 The Premier League today approved the appointment of interim chief executive Richard Masters to the role on a permanent basis. Masters’ appointment follows an embarrassing saga for the football body, which gave the job to two previous candidates, neither of whom took up the role. Read more: The Premier League’s incoming CEO has quit before [...]