Injured Hunt out for fourth months September 11, 2013 FOOTBALL: Crystal Palace defender Jack Hunt faces fourth months on the sidelines after breaking his ankle in training on Monday. The 22-year-old right-back, who joined from Huddersfield Town in the summer, is yet to make his Premier League debut. Hunt said on Twitter: “Got to take the positives, clean break and no operation needed.”
October’s too soon for Qatar World Cup decision, say clubs September 10, 2013 EUROPE’S top football teams have urged governing body Fifa not to rush into a decision about switching the 2022 Qatar World Cup to winter. Fifa president Sepp Blatter asked his executive committee to discuss the plan at next month’s meeting, amid speculation that a change is increasingly likely. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, president of the European Club [...]
Forget the English rose, start drinking the English grape September 10, 2013 Bottle.opener@cityam.com LAST Friday the day job took me to visit the vineyards of Chapel Down in Kent. The visit left me with no end of ideas and information and spurred me into action. I have always been a sceptic about English wine. Let’s face it, we live far closer to the Arctic than the Equator [...]
England boss dodges row after FA chief Cup blunder September 5, 2013 ENGLAND manager Roy Hodgson refused to be drawn into a row with Greg Dyke yesterday after the Football Association chairman classed the national team as no-hopers for next summer’s World Cup. Dyke’s assertion that nobody “realistically thinks we are going to win the World Cup in Brazil” threatened to overshadow the team’s preparations for two [...]
Supersub tasked with torpedoing Moldova September 5, 2013 ONE-CAP wonder Rickie Lambert has been handed the task of firing England back to the top of qualifying Group H tonight and breathing new life into the team’s hopes of reaching next summer’s World Cup. The 31-year-old Southampton forward, a former beetroot factory worker who was playing third-tier football little more than two years ago, [...]
Van Persie backs Moyes as Nani gets new deal September 5, 2013 MANCHESTER United striker Robin van Persie has denied claims of a rift with new manager David Moyes just three games into the Scot’s rocky tenure. Doubts had been raised over the Holland star’s willingness to stay at the champions amid suggestions he did not approve of Moyes’s methods. Van Persie cut a frustrated figure as [...]
England’s lofty ambitions to be brought down to earth by Moldova September 5, 2013 BEN CLEMINSON LOOKS AT ENGLAND’S GAME AGAINST MOLDOVA AND WILLIAM CHRIMES PREVIEWS THE AVIVA PREMIERSHIP AND LONDON DOUBLE HEADER IF THE long-term ambition of England, as set out by Greg Dyke, is to lift the World Cup in 2022, their short-term one looks far more achievable. Even with the new Football Association chairman’s dire warnings [...]
Letters to the editor – 05/09 – Merkel and the EU, Sporting success, Best of Twitter September 4, 2013 Merkel and the EU [Re: Merkel must find a bold new vision or Europe will continue towards disaster, yesterday] Lars Christensen is right to argue that the German Chancellor must set out a vision for the future of Europe. Unfortunately, such a vision looks unlikely to materialise. The philosopher Jurgen Harbemas last week published an [...]
Dyke outlines England plan but could face League snub September 4, 2013 FOOTBALL Association chairman Greg Dyke is facing the threat of an embarrassing snub from the Premier League over his blueprint for overhauling the game and making England world champions within a decade. Dyke yesterday set out his vision for improving the fortunes of the national team, and identified the dwindling number of English players starting [...]
More Moyes misery as Herrera plays down lure of United deal September 4, 2013 MANCHESTER United transfer target Ander Herrera insists he was undecided about joining the Premier League champions before his proposed deadline day move from Athletic Bilbao collapsed. Herrera’s doomed transfer was one of a number of summer deals United failed to pull off, prompting fans to raise concerns that the departure of manager Sir Alex Ferguson [...]