No place for Three Lions among world elite October 28, 2014 ENGLAND’S lowly standing in world football was underlined yesterday when Three Lions players again failed to make the 23-man longlist for the Ballon d’Or award for the year’s best player. It is the second successive year in which no Englishman has been nominated – a far cry from heady 2009, when Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, [...]
Balotelli inspires late Reds win as Fulham collapse October 28, 2014 MUCH-MALIGNED striker Mario Balotelli inspired a late salvage operation as Liverpool kept alive their Capital One Cup hopes with a last-gasp 2-1 victory against Swansea at Anfield last night. Liverpool, who are off the pace in the Premier League and struggling to reach the knockout phase on their Champions League return, found themselves a goal [...]
Pochettino seeking remedy to Spurs slump October 28, 2014 IF AUGUST bank holiday weekend already feels like a lifetime ago then spare a thought for the managers in opposing White Hart Lane dugouts for tonight’s Capital One Cup fixture. Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino, having won his first two Premier League games in charge, has tasted top-flight victory just once in seven attempts since [...]
Ex-Manchester United player Louis Saha creates Axis Stars, a social network for professional sports stars October 28, 2014 The retired French football star and former Manchester United player Louis Saha isn’t taking his retirement lightly. In the vein of celebs-turned-tech aficionados, Saha has launched a social network, although its not a million miles away from his previous life on the pitch. Axis Stars is aimed at professional athletes and sports stars as well [...]
Premier League: Redknapp: A fit Taarabt can still have QPR future October 27, 2014 QUEENS PARK RANGERS 2 ASTON VILLA 0 QPR manager Harry Redknapp pledged to recall out-of-favour Adel Taarabt after an agricultural yet vital win wrenched them off the foot of the Premier League last night. Clinical finishes in each half from Charlie Austin inflicted Aston Villa’s fifth straight defeat, earned only Rangers’ second win of the [...]
Optimism reigns for Solanke and Chelsea’s new golden generation October 27, 2014 IT IS perhaps the standout failing of Chelsea’s billion-pound transformation from also-rans to European superpower since Roman Abramovich snapped up the club more than 11 years ago. Despite the Russian’s lavish investment – or maybe, in some respects, because of it – the Blues’ academy has not produced the conveyor belt of talent expected of [...]
American billionaire closes in on Palace deal October 27, 2014 AMERICAN tycoon Josh Harris is poised to enter a period of due diligence as his proposed takeover of Crystal Palace gathers pace. A deal in the region of £70m with the Premier League club appears close after progressive talks between billionaire Harris and Palace co-chairman Steve Parish accelerated the chances of an imminent agreement. Should [...]
Ex-Liverpool boss Christian Purslow joins Chelsea in new commercial role October 27, 2014 Chelsea have hired former Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow to run the club's global commercial activities Purslow is not a direct replacement for chief executive Ron Gourlay who departed Stamford Bridge last week, with chairman Bruce Buck and director Marina Granovskaia assuming his responsibilities. “The club has ambitious plans to build the Premier [...]
Premier League: Mourinho riled by ref Dowd as late RVP strike denies Chelsea October 26, 2014 MANCHESTER UNITED 1 CHELSEA 1 CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho made clear his displeasure with referee Phil Dowd after Robin van Persie’s 94th-minute equaliser denied his 10 men victory at Old Trafford yesterday. Manchester United’s late equaliser came seconds after the Blues had been weakened defensively by the sending off of right-back Branislav Ivanovic for a [...]
Ferguson: Dutch tactician correct choice to lead United October 26, 2014 FORMER Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says this season has been case of “one step forward and two steps back” but insists Louis van Gaal is the right man for the Old Trafford hot-seat. United snatched a last-gasp draw against Premier League leaders Chelsea yesterday but it has been a difficult first few months [...]