Leicester’s Claudio Ranieri challenges Premier League title contenders to turn big wallets into trophies August 10, 2016 Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri has thrown down the gauntlet to fellow Premier League contenders and challenged them to turn their big-spending summers into a title charge. Defending champions Leicester have not been shy in bolstering their squad with the signing of six players, including a club-record outlay of £16m for forward Ahmed Musa from CSKA [...]
Perform kicks off live sports streaming service in three European countries August 10, 2016 UK-based media company Perform has launched its live sports video streaming service in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. DAZN – inexplicably pronounced Da Zone – is described by Perform as the world’s first dedicated live sports streaming service and allows subscribers to watch games on demand. Football is expected to be the services' top draw with the English Premier League, Italy's Serie A, Frances' Ligue [...]
Transfer window catches fires as Manchester United sign Paul Pogba, Manchester City capture John Stones and more than £150m spent in 24 hours August 9, 2016 The Premier League’s anticipated summer of record-breaking spending has finally caught fire after a flurry of deals saw more than £150m spent by top-flight clubs within 48 hours. Contrary to projections, spending by the end of July was down £40m on the £515m invested at the same time last year, significantly short of a predicted [...]
Premier League preview part one: Pep Guardiola factor gives Manchester City the edge over Manchester United and Chelsea in fascinating battle of top bosses August 9, 2016 Only six clubs can win the Premier League title this season – and there are three obvious choices in Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City – but there is no runaway favourite in my eyes. United may have signed four players who will walk straight into their first XI, yet they still need a pattern [...]
Southampton sponsor Virgin Media to subsidise tickets for away fans at St Mary’s August 9, 2016 Tickets for football fans visiting Southampton this season will cost no more than £20, after the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) collaborated with Saints sponsor Virgin Media to subsidise tickets. Virgin Media, who believe that "football fans should be at the heart of the game", are supporting the FSF's 'Twenty's Plenty' campaign, an attempt to counteract the increasingly expensive ticket [...]
Premier League preview part two: Leicester will be rivalling West Ham not the title challengers, and Hull look doomed to be whipping boys August 9, 2016 The Premier League has stepped up a level this year and the beauty of it is that the extra broadcast millions have helped raise the standard from the bottom up. There are still divides though, and I see the top-flight as three mini-leagues: the top six, teams just behind them with an eye on snatching fifth [...]
West Ham complete signing of Swansea forward Andre Ayew for £20.5m August 8, 2016 West Ham have completed the signing of forward Andre Ayew from fellow Premier League side Swansea City for £20.5m on a four-year deal. The 26-year-old joined Swansea on a free transfer from Marseille in June 2015 and scored 12 goals during his debut Premier League season with the Welsh side. “The club have a lot [...]
A probe into Premier League broadcast rights has been dropped August 8, 2016 A major probe into the rights to air Premier League football on UK television has been dropped by the regulator. The two-year probe has been drawn to a close after Ofcom decided there was enough progress being made on making more games available to watch while football fans seemed largely happy. The investigation was first launched [...]
Friendly round-up: Arsenal and Chelsea both suffer defensive injuries a week before start of Premier League season August 7, 2016 Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger’s defensive crisis deepened a week before his side’s opening Premier League fixture as centre-half Gabriel was stretchered off during today's 3-2 friendly victory over Manchester City in Gothenburg. Wenger is short of defensive reserves after a knee injury ruled World Cup winner Per Mertesacker out for up to five months and Laurent [...]
Leicester City 1, Manchester United 2: Jose Mourinho backs Paul Pogba to complete his Old Trafford jigsaw after green light given for world record transfer August 7, 2016 Conundrum-solving Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has backed midfielder Paul Pogba to prove the final piece of his Old Trafford jigsaw after the Old Trafford club beat Leicester to lift the FA Community Shield yesterday. Summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic emerged as the match-winner inside the final 10 minutes, handing Mourinho his first piece of United [...]