Why Roman Abramovich and Chelsea will not be able to spend their way out of trouble December 17, 2015 There was a period when Chelsea had an obvious solution to the kind of loss in form which has so blighted them this season – Roman Abramovich's cheque book. Not so anymore. Chelsea will not be able to simply spend their way to salvation following a catastrophic start to the season which sees them teetering [...]
Countdown to Christmas 2015: Best meltdowns of the year December 17, 2015 Big, important news events often engenders spectacular meltdowns in response and 2015 certainly saw its fair share of strops. From politicians' car-crash interviews, political parties descending into civil war, the collapse of champions or assaults over a steak, there were plenty of run-for-the-hills type moments. And more than a few where we enjoyed the show. Here are some [...]
Carlo Ancelotti adds to Chelsea managerial uncertainty as Italian appears ready to replace Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich December 16, 2015 Chelsea look set to spare manager Jose Mourinho the axe before Saturday’s match against Sunderland as the list of potential replacements for the under-fire Portuguese appears to dwindle. Mourinho took training as usual yesterday despite growing uncertainty over his position following Monday’s 2-1 defeat at Leicester, a result that left the struggling champions one point [...]
Over 70m tickets sold to UK sport events in 2015 thanks to Rugby World Cup boost December 16, 2015 More than 70m tickets to sports events in the UK were sold in 2015, representing a five per cent increase on last year, according to research from Deloitte's Sports Business Group. Only in 2012, when 75m tickets were sold as London hosted the Olympic Games, has the UK recorded higher sports attendances in a calendar [...]
Jose Mourinho is not the only one to blame for Chelsea’s crisis but looks to be on borrowed time December 15, 2015 It's surreal – possibly the most surreal fall from grace I can remember witnessing in football – but the aim for Chelsea and their under-fire manager Jose Mourinho now has to be survival. They have gone from champions to relegation candidates in a matter of months and their performance level is unrecognisable from last season’s [...]
Leicester City will have to be historically bad to finish outside the top four…and Chelsea would have to be historically good to make it December 15, 2015 Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri joked that he was still focused on discovering the final five points that would take the Foxes to the magical 40 mark said to guarantee Premier League survival following a 2-0 win over Chelsea, yet his team would now have to be historically bad not to make the top four. In [...]
Leicester City 2, Chelsea 1: Defeat to Foxes cranks up pressure on forlorn Mourinho December 14, 2015 Under-pressure Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho accused his players of betraying him after the club’s season of crisis plunged to new depths with defeat at fearless table-toppers Leicester last night. England forward Jamie Vardy ended his one-game goal drought to take his season’s tally to 15 before Riyad Mahrez added a second to leave Chelsea staring [...]
Tottenham Hotspur 1, Newcastle United 2: Magpies snatch points and end Tottenham’s unbeaten run December 13, 2015 Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino blamed a series of basic errors for the demise of his side’s 14-match unbeaten Premier League run but refused to scapegoat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris for yesterday’s defeat to Newcastle. Substitute Aleksandar Mitrovic cancelled out Eric Dier’s first-half headed opener before fellow replacement Ayoze Perez, just as he did in this fixture [...]
Arsene Wenger says Olivier Giroud is at the top of his game as in-form striker fires Arsenal to top of Premier League December 13, 2015 ASTON VILLA 0, ARSENAL 2 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger backed Olivier Giroud to keep confounding his critics after the striker capped a fine week by firing the Gunners to the top of the Premier League. Giroud’s first-half penalty and a breakaway second by midfielder Aaron Ramsey saw Wenger’s men overtake Manchester City and Leicester – until [...]
Euro 2016: Uefa to consider introducing goal-line technology to tournament and Champions League December 12, 2015 Uefa are considering introducing goal-line technology at Euro 2016 and next season's Champions League and Europa League. European football's governing body admitted it had debated the issue and would make a decision on Friday. Suspended president Michel Platini has previously opposed using technology but in his absence Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino told a press conference it [...]