Jose Mourinho and Manchester United have the edge in derby with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City; and why I think Sam Allardyce was misunderstood about Wayne Rooney’s England role September 6, 2016 Manchester City might have a few factors against them heading into Saturday’s eagerly anticipated derby with Manchester United, but they have a couple of less obvious points in their favour. City are five competitive games into their season, owing to them having to navigate the Champions League play-off round, and they have won them all. [...]
Former Premier League ref claims he was told to say he hadn’t seen incidents by authorities September 3, 2016 A former Premier League referee has claimed he was instructed by the refereeing body to say he had not seen particular incidents. Retired ref Mark Halsey wrote on Twitter that the Professional Games Match Official Limited (PGMOL) had told him to claim he had not seen incidents when they were making a decision on retrospective [...]
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: I’m cool enough to stay away from £80m transfer fees September 3, 2016 Jurgen Klopp has lamented football's focus on the transfer market but believes he is cool enough to avoid its excesses. The Liverpool manager claims he would never spend as much as £80m on a single player, as rivals Manchester United did on £89m summer signing Paul Pogba, unless he was convinced it was in the club's long-term interests. Premier League [...]
Txiki Berigistain: Manchester City director says club remains committed to developing young players despite summer spending spree September 3, 2016 Manchester City's director of football Txiki Begiristain says the Premier League club remain committed to developing and blooding youth despite a record-breaking summer spending spree. City gave new manager Pep Guardiola the ultimate show of support by bankrolling a £181m transfer window splurge on new players including £47m centre-back John Stones, £15m Spanish winger Nolito and £23m German international Ilkay Gundogan. [...]
Yaya Toure left out of Manchester City’s Champions League squad by new manager Pep Guardiola September 2, 2016 Yaya Toure's diminished status at Manchester City was brought into stark focus after the midfielder was left out of the club's Champions League squad for the upcoming season. With teams limited to 17 overseas players in their squad for Uefa competition, City opted to leave out the 33-year-old midfielder. Toure has starred for City in recent [...]
England boss Sam Allardyce has style as well as substance, says midfielder Adam Lallana September 1, 2016 England midfielder Adam Lallana has dismissed concerns over new boss Sam Allardyce’s reputation as a long-ball merchant as the Three Lions prepare for their opening World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on Sunday. Allardyce was handed the reins following England’s disastrous showing at Euro 2016 which culminated in a shock defeat to European minnows Iceland [...]
Sergio Aguero opts to fight violent conduct charge in bid to be available for Manchester derby September 1, 2016 Prolific striker Sergio Aguero has opted to contest a charge of violent conduct in a bid to avoid a potential three-match suspension – and be available for Pep Guardiola’s maiden Manchester derby. Aguero was slapped with the charge by the Football Association (FA) after allegedly elbowing West Ham defender Winston Reid during Manchester City’s Premier [...]
Summer transfer window 2016: What does the Premier League’s spending extravaganza mean for the wider European game? September 1, 2016 Just over two months after its national team were humiliated in front of Europe at the hands of Iceland, English football has reminded the world, when it comes to the transfer market, it remains king. The Premier League flexed its financial muscles this summer by spending a record-breaking £1.165bn on new players, crushing the outlay of Europe's biggest leagues. Europe's [...]
Bournemouth can shoot for the stars after signing Jack Wilshere, insists Cherries boss Eddie Howe September 1, 2016 Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe insists loan signing Jack Wilshere will propel his side to new levels after the midfielder joined the Cherries on a temporary basis from Arsenal on transfer deadline day. Wilshere only managed three appearances for Arsenal last season after fracturing his left fibula, while a string of injuries have limited the 24-year-old [...]
Six charts that sum up the Premier League’s record-breaking summer transfer window spending spree September 1, 2016 Premier League clubs have taken football into a new billion pound era this summer by spending more money than ever before in this transfer window. The division's stratospheric spending broke the £1bn mark for the first time with a day remaining and a record-breaking deadline day, in which clubs spent £155m in 24 hours, pushed its [...]