West Ham sink to ninth away league defeat February 10, 2013 ASTON VILLA 2 vs WEST HAM 1 WEST Ham manager Sam Allardyce insisted his team deserved to come away with all three points from Villa Park yesterday, despite succumbing to their ninth Premier League defeat on the road. A penalty from Christian Benteke and a free-kick by Charles N’Zogbia earned Aston Villa their first win [...]
Top football clubs call time on sugar daddies February 7, 2013 THE DAYS of mega-rich individuals, such as Roman Abramovich at Chelsea and Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City, lavishing billions on clubs in pursuit of instant success are over after England’s top teams agreed historic new financial rules. Premier League clubs will face points deductions if they lose more than £105m over a three-year period or [...]
Scrap January window, says Hammers captain February 7, 2013 WEST HAM captain Kevin Nolan has called for the January transfer window to be scrapped, insisting no one in football is in favour of it any more. His comments come after Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp complained of “gang warfare” among agents trying to muscle in on each other’s transactions as last week’s deadline [...]
I’d have gone further, but new rules are a good start February 7, 2013 THIS is something we Premier League clubs have talked about for years and there hasn’t been the appetite. But in the last couple of years there has been a shift of views – probably prompted by the Portsmouth situation, which shook everybody – and now fortunately we’ve agreed to put in some protocols that I [...]
Spurs look to Adebayor as Defoe ruled out February 7, 2013 TOTTENHAM manager Andre Villas-Boas insists centre-forward Emmanuel Adebayor will go straight back into the side tomorrow against Newcastle, despite doubts over his fitness. Jermain Defoe’s ankle injury, suffered in Sunday’s win at West Brom, is set to keep him sidelined for three weeks, leaving Adebayor, who has scored just two Premier League goals this season, [...]
The Debate: Will Premier League financial fair play rules have a positive impact on English football? February 7, 2013 YES David Lampitt Football’s finances have long needed a rethink. Clubs are incredibly valuable assets to supporters and communities. They need sustainable long-term stewardship, not a system of casino economics, rampant insolvency and a dependency on the whims of a super-wealthy elite. This can only be achieved through strong independent regulation that includes financial fair [...]
Spurs and Man United in tough home ties February 7, 2013 HAVING had a frustrating few months with a leaky defence, it’s now in attack that Tottenham find themselves struggling. Spurs are likely to line up tomorrow lunchtime without a recognised striker on the pitch. Jermain Defoe is ruled out through injury and Emmanuel Adebayor has just returned from the Africa Cup of Nations. No one [...]
England locate rhythm in Brazil win February 6, 2013 INTERNATIONAL ENGLAND 2 vs BRAZIL 1 MANAGER Roy Hodgson heaped praise on Jack Wilshere after the midfielder marked his first international start for 20 months with a man-of-the-match performance in last night’s friendly victory over Brazil. Wayne Rooney’s 33rd England goal and what threatens to be Frank Lampard’s last, either side of Fred’s equaliser, earned [...]
Wrangling over sums threatens top clubs’ vote February 6, 2013 ENGLAND’S top football clubs are today expected to take a historic vote on so-called financial fair play (FFP) measures, but agreement could yet be scuppered by differences over exactly how strict they should be. Representatives of all 20 Premier League clubs have discussed two different ways of reining in spending: restricting year-on-year wage bill rises [...]
Goldman’s O’Neill to step down February 5, 2013 THE ECONOMIST who first picked out the BRIC economies will retire from Goldman Sachs later this year. Jim O’Neill, the chairman of Goldman Sachs’ asset management division, coined the term to refer to the four markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which he forecast would lead a shift in the global economy. Earlier this [...]