Rio coin storm as City lose December 9, 2012 MANCHESTER CITY 2 vs MANCHESTER UNITED 3 MANCHESTER City last night apologised to Rio Ferdinand and condemned the home supporter who marred a thrilling top of the table derby by throwing a coin at the Manchester United defender. Robin van Persie’s stoppage-time free-kick extended United’s Premier League lead to six points after Yaya Toure and [...]
Villas-Boas: we must learn to see off games December 9, 2012 EVERTON 2 vs TOTTENHAM 1 TOTTENHAM boss Andre Villas-Boas admits that his side must stop conceding late goals, having seen Spurs drop another three points during injury time yesterday. A deflected Clint Dempsey effort appeared to send Tottenham on their way to a crucial victory with just a quarter of an hour to go at [...]
England’s top clubs aren’t the force they used to be December 6, 2012 IT WASN’T so long ago that the Premier League had two or three teams in the last four of the Champions League. This season, for the second year in succession, only two have reached the last 16. We can’t ignore that fact that English teams aren’t the dominant force they were just a few years [...]
Clattenburg case finally closed as Mikel gets banned for threat December 6, 2012 CHELSEA midfielder John Obi Mikel has been handed a three-match ban and fined £60,000 by the Football Association for threatening referee Mark Clattenburg. Mikel admitted the charge relating to an incident in the match officials’ changing room following Chelsea’s controversial 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in October. The Nigerian’s ban was reduced as the FA [...]
Manchester giants set to cancel each other out in Sunday’s derby December 6, 2012 MANCHESTER CITY MANCHESTER UNITED Sunday 1.30pm IT has been a poor couple of weeks for Manchester City with Roberto Mancini’s men winning just one of their last five games. To add insult to injury, Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win in midweek ended their participation in Europe altogether for the season. The outcome will have been a [...]
Stadium isn’t yours yet, Boris tells West Ham December 5, 2012 MAYOR Boris Johnson has warned West Ham that he will walk away from talks and reopen a football-free Olympic Stadium next summer if they cannot thrash out their remaining differences. The Hammers were yesterday named first-choice bidders for the centrepiece of the 2012 Games by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), but significant hurdles remain [...]
Lennon joy as Bhoys snatch a last 16 place December 5, 2012 CELTIC 2 SPARTAK MOSCOW 1 CELTIC manager Neil Lennon last night hailed a “monumental achievement” after his side defeated Spartak Moscow with a late penalty to qualify for the Champions League last 16 for the first time in five years. The Bhoys, who progressed as Benfica could only draw 0-0 at Barcelona, went ahead when [...]
Fergie: Rooney needs to play December 4, 2012 MANCHESTER United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed striker Wayne Rooney will start tonight at home to Cluj, despite already qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League. Ferguson believes Rooney could benefit from a run-out to maintain his sharpness ahead of Sunday’s vital Premier League battle against neighbours Manchester City. “It has always [...]
City suffer final indignity of missing Europa League December 4, 2012 BORUSSIA DORTMUND 1 MANCHESTER CITY 0 MANCHESTER City manager Roberto Mancini admits his side have taken a step backwards after defeat to Borussia Dortmund last night saw them fail to even qualify for the Europa League. The lacklustre loss condemned City to a successive Champions League group stage exit, but this time without a single [...]
Roman’s Pep plan dented as PSG set sights on Guardiola December 3, 2012 CHELSEA’S managerial crisis deepened yesterday when it emerged that owner Roman Abramovich’s preferred choice to take charge next season, Pep Guardiola, is in talks with Paris Saint Germain. The Qatari-owned French club are one of the few who possess the financial muscle to compete with billionaire Abramovich, who is desperate to lure the former Barcelona [...]