The Amazon Echo is an artificially intelligent speaker and virtual assistant that can play music, order curries and hail an Uber September 14, 2016 The Amazon Echo is a hands-free speaker that you operate using voice commands. Inside it (well, somewhere in the cloud to be precise) lives Alexa, an artificial intelligence and essentially Amazon’s version of Siri. Alexa’s machine-learning algorithms and rapidly expanding skillset make her smarter as time goes on: so while today she can play music, [...]
Counties vote for domestic cricket shake-up and new city-based Twenty20 competition September 14, 2016 Domestic cricket is set for one of the biggest shake-ups in its history after counties voted to introduce a new eight-team city-based Twenty20 competition. First-class counties, along with law-making body the MCC, voted 16-3 in favour of the creation of the new tournament which will take place in addition to the existing 18-team T20 Blast. [...]
Manchester United: Are the football finance kings in danger of becoming a busted flush with an ageing business model? September 14, 2016 Earlier this week, Manchester United announced a staggering £515m in revenues. I tip my hat to their commercial team, because whilst the TV money flowing through from the Premier League represents a significant chunk of this you have to admire how they have built competitive advantage on others. When you consider that their EBITDA figure is [...]
Why Tottenham and West Ham’s stadium experiments could count against them – and what decided the Manchester derby September 13, 2016 It would be a very different mood at Tottenham going into their opening Champions League game against Monaco on Wednesday if they had not beaten Stoke so soundly on Saturday. A draw or defeat would have compounded concerns about a hangover from last season’s failed Premier League title challenge and a slow start this term, [...]
Sunderland 0, Everton 3: I need to be a serial killer, insists hat-trick hero Romelu Lukaku September 12, 2016 Everton striker Romelu Lukaku insists he needs to develop into a penalty box serial killer after ending his goal drought with a destructive hat-trick as his side hammered winless Sunderland. Lukaku brought a 13-match barren spell to a close as the Toffees recorded a third straight Premier League victory and their best start to a top-flight [...]
Arsene Wenger tips Arsenal for Champions League challenge September 12, 2016 Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insists the added maturity within his squad gives him increasing confidence that the Gunners can break free from the shackles of knockout stage obscurity and mount a sustained Champions League challenge this season. The north London club begin their European campaign with a showdown against big-spending Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc [...]
Crystal Palace full-back Pape Souare airlifted to hospital after car crash on M4 September 12, 2016 Crystal Palace full-back Pape Souare is set for a sustained spell on the sidelines after being airlifted to hospital having been involved in a car crash on the M4 on Sunday. The Selhurst Park club have confirmed that the 26-year-old, who joined Palace from French side Lille in January 2015, suffered thigh and jaw injuries and [...]
Pep Guardiola doubts Manchester City’s ability to launch successful Premier League and Champions League assaults this season September 12, 2016 Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admits he is unconvinced whether his side can successfully launch a dual Premier League and European assault this season despite their unblemished start. City host German side Borussia Monchengladbach in their opening Champions League group stage clash on Tuesday after winning all six matches so far this term and topping the [...]
Gatwick boss slams commission conclusions as out of date and hails long haul growth September 12, 2016 The conclusions drawn by the Airports Commission are "fundamentally flawed" and 14 years out of date, according to Gatwick Airport. Boss Stewart Wingate said that the fact that Gatwick had flown 42m passengers in the last 12 months completely undermined the commission's credibility and findings. “Our performance proves beyond any doubt that the Airports Commission’s report is fundamentally flawed. [...]
Manchester United net half a billion pounds of revenue, breaking Premier League records and expectations along the way September 12, 2016 Manchester United reached a new financial high by revealing today it was the first Premier League club to generate more than £500m in revenue. Annual revenues for the year to 30 June were £515m, beating expectations of between £500m and £510m – but still trailing the global record set by Spanish giants Barcelona at £570m, reported this July. The commercial side [...]