Arsene Wenger tells Arsenal players to remember how good they are as AC Milan lie in wait March 7, 2018 Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has urged his players to remember how good they are as they prepare for their season-saving Europa League clash with AC Milan on Thursday. The Gunners head into their last-16 first leg showdown at a sold-out San Siro in disastrous form, having lost four successive matches and eight from 13 all [...]
Premier League TV rights packages booted into long grass amid “cut-price” concerns March 7, 2018 The Premier League has booted a decision on unsold TV rights packages into next month, as it faces being forced to accept a “cut-price deal” for the remaining 40 games. Sky and BT Sport snapped up five of seven packages on offer for a total of £4.5bn in mid-February. But the remaining two sets of [...]
Liverpool 0, Porto 0 (agg: 5-0): Jurgen Klopp revels in Reds reaching Champions League quarter-finals for first time since 2009 March 6, 2018 Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp declared himself satisfied after his side cruised into the Champions League quarter-finals following an uninspiring stalemate against a wounded Porto outfit. The damage had already been done in the first leg, from which the Reds emerged with an all but unassailable 5-0 lead, and there was little chance of even the [...]
Paris Saint-Germain’s Financial Fair Play gamble? Possible repercussions of an early Champions League exit for Europe’s big spenders March 5, 2018 When football’s most expensive player Neymar was debuted in front of the world’s media at Paris Saint-Germain this summer following his world record £200m move to France from Barcelona, there was only one competition up for discussion. Neymar’s arrival was seen as the Qatari-owned club’s big play in their search for the one major trophy [...]
Manchester City 1, Chelsea 0: Antonio Conte hits out at television pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp over game-plan slur March 4, 2018 Chelsea manager Antonio Conte hit back at television pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp, branding them “stupid”, after they were critical of his side’s game-plan during Sunday’s Premier League defeat to runaway leaders Manchester City. Conte adopted ultra-defensive tactics which resulted in Chelsea having just 29 per cent possession and failing to register a shot [...]
Bundesliga faces identity crisis as it debates the abolition of its fan ownership model in favour of increased investment March 1, 2018 For as long as football fans in England have complained about sanitised atmospheres, expensive tickets and disastrous owners, Germany has been held up as the exemplar of how much more supporter-friendly our national game could be. Affordable entry prices, safe standing areas and an ingrained respect for fan culture are all cited as examples of [...]
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish: VAR is “incredibly dangerous” for Premier League February 28, 2018 Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has described the potential adoption of video assistant referee (VAR) technology as an “incredibly dangerous road” for football to go down. The Palace part-owner warned that football’s hold on TV audiences could be broken by adding breaks to a game at a time when attention spans are dwindling. “I’m very [...]
Arsenal suffer £23.4m fall in football revenue as Gunners count cost of Champions League exile February 28, 2018 Arsenal have revealed that missing out on Champions League participation for the first time in 21 years led to a £23.4m drop in football revenue in their half-year results. Turnover from football for June to November fell to £167.7m from the 2016 figure of £191.1m, while operating profits from football plummeted to £15.6m from £54.2m. [...]
Manchester United 2, Chelsea 1: Antonio Conte slams players for allowing United comeback and putting club’s Champions League hopes at risk February 25, 2018 Chelsea boss Antonio Conte slated his players for surrendering a lead at top-four rivals Manchester United and warned his side that their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League is at risk. Substitute Jesse Lingard was the United match-winner with a quarter of an hour remaining after striker Romelu Lukaku registered a quick-fire leveller [...]
BT share price rises as regulators raise wholesale price caps February 23, 2018 BT investors were buoyed this morning by a regulatory announcement on the price it can charge its rivals to use its network. With shares rising almost four per cent, BT was one of the FTSE 100’s biggest gainers. Ofcom said it would not regulate the prices charged by infrastructure arm Openreach on its fastest broadband [...]