Manchester City welcome being drawn with Barcelona in Champions League as fate smiles on debutants Leicester August 25, 2016 Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain has welcomed a blockbusting Champions League draw that paired the club with his and new manager Pep Guardiola’s former team, Barcelona. Borussia Moenchengladbach and Celtic join City and Barca in a fiercely competitive group, but it is the return of Guardiola – and to a lesser extend Begiristain and [...]
Manchester City and Manchester United account for nearly 40 per cent of all Premier League transfer spend following Claudio Bravo arrival August 25, 2016 Manchester has accounted for well over a third of all Premier League transfer expenditure this summer as City and United have engaged in a transfer arms race for their new managers. With Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho taking the reins at the Etihad Stadium and Old Trafford respectively, the two clubs have spent more money than ever [...]
Premier League clubs break spending record for fourth year running August 25, 2016 Premier League clubs have broken their spending record for a summer transfer window for a fourth year in a row, with almost a week to spare. England’s top-flight teams have already shelled out £880m on new players, including £89m man Paul Pogba, during the current close season – £10m more than they did last summer. [...]
Football betting: Blunt Hammers can hold up Manchester City – but not for long August 25, 2016 Pep Guardiola couldn’t have asked for a much better start to life at Manchester City. His four games have seen four wins, 12 goals scored and only two conceded. The Spaniard has taken to English football like a duck to water. West Ham, City’s opponents on Sunday, haven’t had quite as smooth a start to the [...]
Football betting: History repeating with Spurs and Liverpool set to share spoils August 25, 2016 For both Tottenham and Liverpool fans, the wait for a league title is long overdue. It’s been 55 years since Spurs were champions, and the most recent of Liverpool’s 18 wins came in 1990. Neither have won since the formation of the Premier League. Both have come close in recent years – Liverpool narrowly missing out [...]
Accrington Stanley handed West Ham tie after stunning Burnley in EFL Cup August 25, 2016 Fourth tier side Accrington Stanley, who sit 86th out of England’s 92 league clubs, stunned top-flight Burnley 1-0 on Wednesday night to set up an EFL Cup third-round trip to West Ham. A Matty Pearson strike in the last minute of extra-time snatched Stanley’s first win over a Premier League club and ensured they will visit [...]
Watford’s £7.5m signing of Daryl Janmaat paves the way for DeAndre Yedlin’s escape from Tottenham to Newcastle August 24, 2016 Watford have reinforced their defence with the £7.5m signing of Daryl Janmaat from relegated Newcastle, as Rafael Benitez’s Tyneside shake-up continues apace. Holland international Janmaat, who joined the Magpies from Feyenoord in 2014, is the 12th player to leave St James’ Park either permanently or on loan this summer, with more expected to follow. The [...]
Watford and West Brom dumped out by League One opposition as Liverpool hit five and Hull maintain perfect start in EFL Cup August 23, 2016 Watford manager Walter Mazzarri suffered an embarrassing early blow to his tenure as third-tier side Gillingham caused an upset in the second round of the EFL Cup. Hornets striker Odion Ighalo looked to have put the hosts on track for victory but Mark Byrne equalised in the 82nd minute and Bradley Dack made it 2-1 in the [...]
Recalling John Terry for England should be a non-starter – for lots of reason August 23, 2016 It's understandable that Sam Allardyce doesn’t want to rule anybody out as he settles into life as England’s new manager but he ought to think twice before talking up the possibility of recalling John Terry. I’m surprised that it is even being discussed. Bringing back former captain Terry after four years in the international wilderness [...]
Firing on all fronts. Leicester is voted Britain’s greatest sporting city August 23, 2016 Leicester City may be making a stuttering start to their defence of the Premier League title but last season's heroics helped them jump to the top of the UK's greatest sporting cities of 2016. Leaping 17 places and pushing Manchester down to second place, Leicester's success wasn't just down to its football team. Leicester Tigers made the Aviva Premiership rugby [...]