Marcel Desailly interview: Premier League title is Chelsea’s to lose, while Arsenal must win at Stamford Bridge to remain in race February 2, 2017 Former Chelsea skipper Marcel Desailly is adamant that the Premier League crown is firmly within his former side’s grasp and only a self-inflicted collapse will deny the Stamford Bridge club a sixth top-flight title. The Blues boast a nine-point lead at the top of the table following a draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday, while [...]
Betting: Chelsea to continue title charge with Arsenal win February 2, 2017 When Arsenal comfortably beat Chelsea 3-0 at the Emirates in September, it seemed the sort of result that would spur a side on to a title challenge, and it didn’t look like that side would be the Blues. However, since that humiliation at their rival’s hands, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte implemented a 3-4-3 formation that has [...]
Liverpool top the list as English clubs are paid €38m by Uefa for sending players to Euro 2016 February 2, 2017 Football clubs in England were paid €20m more than any other nation by Uefa for releasing players to play in Euro 2016, new figures reveal. English teams received a collective €38.2m (£33m) for providing players to the Euro 2016 qualifiers and tournament in France last year. Liverpool were the most heavily remunerated of all English clubs, [...]
Chelsea legend Frank Lampard retires from football despite receiving “exciting offers” to keep playing February 2, 2017 Former Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard has retired from professional football after a 21-year-career. The 38-year-old, who was capped for England 106 times and is Chelsea's all-time top scorer with 211 goals, said he had turned down "a number of exciting offers to keep playing". "At 38 I feel now is the time to begin [...]
Jose Mourinho aims further dig at Jurgen Klopp and claims other Premier League bosses receive preferential treatment from officials February 2, 2017 Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho raged that other Premier League managers receive preferential treatment from officials after his side played out a goalless draw with Hull and failed to close the gap on teams currently occupying a Champions League place. United followed the trend of the week which saw the top six, fifth-placed Manchester City [...]
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says Premier League title Chelsea’s to lose despite starring show of Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus in destruction of West Ham February 1, 2017 Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola dismissed his side’s chances of reigning in league leaders Chelsea, despite battering West Ham United at the London Stadium last night. City were the only club in the Premier League’s top six to pick up three points in the midweek fixtures after a commanding 4-0 win over the Hammers, yet [...]
England’s collapse against India was crazy, but there were a number of positives to come out of their one-day tour of India February 1, 2017 Losing eight wickets for as many runs in just 19 deliveries is crazy when you look at it on paper and there is no disguising the fact that England took a hiding in the decisive Twenty20 clash against India in Bangalore. But rather than look too deeply into it, I would put it down to [...]
January transfer window 2017: Premier League clubs record profit for the first time as Manchester United and Chelsea earn over £100m February 1, 2017 Premier League clubs recorded a transfer profit for the first time in last month's transfer window, despite spending more money than ever before in January. A record £215m was spent by top flight teams on new signings in this year's January window, according to Deloitte's Sport Business Group, yet teams still enjoyed a collective £40m [...]
Deadline-day flurry takes Premier League January spending past £200m February 1, 2017 Southampton’s £14m signing of Italy forward Manolo Gabbiadini created the biggest splash on deadline day as Premier League clubs took their January spending to record-threatening levels. Burnley and Crystal Palace also invested heavily, bringing to a close a window in which the top-flight’s middle and lower ranked clubs out-spent their more celebrated peers. Total spend [...]
Tottenham’s Premier League title challenge suffers major blow after goalless draw at Sunderland January 31, 2017 Tottenham's Premier League title challenge suffered a major blow after Mauricio Pochettino’s side could only draw 0-0 with relegation-haunted Sunderland. Despite dominating possession at the Stadium of Light, Spurs were unable to break down a stubborn Sunderland and failed to win for only the second time in eight top-flight matches. The draw was enough to move [...]