Champions League: Pellegrini blames FFP for City exit as English fail in Europe March 18, 2015 BARCELONA 1 MANCHESTER CITY 0 (Barcelona won 3-1 on aggregate) Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini pointed an accusatory finger at Financial Fair Play (FFP) sanctions after his side crashed out of the Champions League following defeat at Barcelona’s Camp Nou last night – leaving no English teams remaining in the competition. For all [...]
Champions League: Wenger: Arsenal were so unlucky March 17, 2015 Gunners crash out at last-16 stage for fifth year running MONACO 0 ARSENAL 2 (3-3 on aggregate. Monaco won on away goals) DEJECTED Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted his side paid for their tactical naivety in the first leg after falling agonisingly short of a historic and heroic comeback in their improbable Champions League assignment [...]
Tireless Advocaat backed to deliver on survival task March 17, 2015 SUNDERLAND can expect obsessive dedication from the man tasked with saving them from relegation, veteran Dutch coach Dick Advocaat, according to one of the players who knows him best. Advocaat, 67, was yesterday confirmed as the Premier League strugglers’ new boss, following the sacking of Gus Poyet on Monday. Arthur Numan, who played under Advocaat [...]
Chilean Pellegrini refuses to accept his players have lost faith in him and his methods March 17, 2015 DEFIANT Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini last night denied claims his players have lost faith in him on the eve of their make-or-break Champions League last-16 clash in Barcelona. Pellegrini also reiterated that he expects to see out a contract that runs until the end of next season, regardless of whether his team pull off [...]
KP: Harmonious dressing room is not essential March 17, 2015 ENGLAND exile Kevin Pietersen insists a harmonious dressing room is not a pre-requisite for success as the maverick batsman continues his bid to make an unlikely return to the international realm. The 34-year-old’s central contract was cancelled in February 2014 in the wake of a disastrous Ashes whitewash Down Under, where Pietersen was cited as [...]
Ex-star plotting England demise March 17, 2015 FORMER Hampshire skipper Dimitri Mascarenhas intends to use insider knowledge to the detriment of England after being appointed New Zealand bowling coach for their summer tour. The 37-year-old played 20 one-day internationals (ODIs) for England and replaces Shane Bond, who will leave his post for a role with the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier [...]
Advocaat in the frame to replace dismissed Poyet March 16, 2015 FORMER Rangers boss Dick Advocaat has emerged as the leading candidate to manage Sunderland on a temporary basis until the end of the season after the relegation-threatened Black Cats sacked incumbent Gus Poyet yesterday. Poyet assumed the Black Cats’ managerial reins from Paolo Di Canio in October 2013 before instigating a near-miraculous escape from relegation [...]
Premier League: Rodgers: Let’s reel in City March 16, 2015 SWANSEA CITY 0 LIVERPOOL 1 LIVERPOOL boss Brendan Rodgers insisted his side can finish as high as second after moving to within touching distance of Champions League qualification with victory over Swansea at the Liberty Stadium last night. A fortuitous Jordan Henderson clincher has left the fifth-placed Reds just two points adrift of Louis van Gaal’s Manchester [...]
Gunners face Reading after Bradford felled March 16, 2015 HOLDERS Arsenal face a semi-final showdown with Reading after the Royals last night ended 10-man Bradford City’s FA Cup fairytale with a 3-0 victory at the Madejski Stadium. Strikes from Hal Robson-Kanu, Garath McCleary and Jamie Mackie burst the Bradford bubble as former Chelsea midfielder Filipe Morais was shown a second-half red card for a [...]
Is Ellis Short the problem? Sunderland’s massive transfer spend since takeover suggests Paulo Di Canio may be right March 16, 2015 Gus Poyet has been sacked as manager of Sunderland, a development that will surprise no one who has paid the slightest attention to the team’s fortunes this season. The club sit just one place above the Premier League relegation zone, have won just once in their last 12 league games, and have been [...]