New Yorker Lampard open to Hodgson’s call July 24, 2014 CHELSEA’S record goalscorer Frank Lampard has left the door open to continuing his England career after confirming his free transfer to New York City FC, Manchester City’s North American franchise. Lampard has a two-year contract with New York City, who will not play their first matches until next year, when they join the expanded ranks [...]
Lamela double is Spurs reminder July 24, 2014 FORGOTTEN man Erik Lamela scored twice as Tottenham enjoyed their first win under manager Mauricio Pochettino, a 3-2 victory at Toronto. Lamela, who failed to impress after a £30m move from Roma last summer and was sidelined entirely by the end of the campaign, put Spurs two up before half-time. Toronto, coached by former Tottenham [...]
Labour considers fresh taxes on Premier League clubs and the betting industry July 24, 2014 The Labour party is considering extending the levy on horseracing profits to all sports, as well as bets placed online. Furthermore, the party may place new taxes on Premier League football clubs to pay for more grassroots football, should it win the general election in 2015. The current levy on gross profits made by betting firms on [...]
Sky’s European merger to start in coming days July 23, 2014 BSKYB is expected to announce a multi-billion pound deal tomorrow to take over its sister companies in Italy and Germany, creating a new pay-TV empire in Europe. The so-called Sky Europe deal will see BSkyB, Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia combined to create one of Europe’s largest pay-TV operators, with over 19m subscribers across the [...]
Vorm happy to vie with Lloris after joining Davies at Spurs July 23, 2014 HOLLAND goalkeeper Michel Vorm insists he is not worried about playing second fiddle to established No1 Hugo Lloris after completing his move to Tottenham last night. Vorm joined Spurs along with Swansea team-mate Ben Davies, the Wales defender, in a deal that sees Iceland midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson travel in the opposite direction. “Every club has [...]
BSkyB built its empire on live football – ignoring that could cost it dear July 23, 2014 WHEN BSkyB reports its results tomorrow, most expect them to be well received. The fast-moving satellite group will likely report strong profits and growth prospects, and will have much to say about innovative new products like Sky Go, Sky Store and Now TV, all intended to make it easier to consume its broadening content. However, [...]
Mourinho issues title challenges July 22, 2014 CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho says his team have matured from last season’s “little horse” and are ready to mount serious challenges for the Premier League and Champions League. Mourinho memorably used the equine analogy last term to depict the Blues as outsiders in the hunt for silverware, saying in February that they still “need milk [...]
Bottom Line: Not such a funny old game if Sky take eyes off the ball July 21, 2014 Football can be damn expensive, these days. As a season ticket holder at one of London’s clubs (clue: the one with more league titles than the rest put together) I am well aware of how costs have escalated during the Premier League era. For fans like myself, the price of following top flight football is now [...]
Sport Comment: Commonwealth Games is a feast of variety and purity July 20, 2014 WHY DO you watch sport, play sport, talk sport, love sport? For 12 days, starting Wednesday, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow offers another chance to question our commitment to something that is inherently, in a world of surface-to-air missiles and global conflict, just a glorious triviality. On Thursday you’ll surprise yourself, telling children and dogs [...]
Manchester United drop to third in Forbes’ world’s most valuable sports teams list July 18, 2014 They may be signing up sponsors like they're going out of fashion this week, but Manchester United have dropped one place to third in the annual Forbes list of the world's most valuable sports teams. The Premier League club have endured their worst season for over two decades, finishing seventh and missing out on a [...]