Super Mario rediscovers touch as City stay on leaders’ heels November 28, 2012 STRIKER Mario Balotelli poached his first Premier League goal of the season as Manchester City kept the heat on leaders Manchester United with a 2-0 win at Wigan. City foundered against a tireless Wigan side until Balotelli pounced on a spill by Ali Al Habsi in the 69th minute and finished at the second attempt. [...]
Clock is ticking for QPR stars to wow Redknapp November 28, 2012 RELEGATION might not be until May, but the fate of many a Queens Park Rangers player will be decided much sooner, as Harry Redknapp weighs up which men he can rely on to drag them off the foot of the Premier League. Redknapp knows exactly the type of character he likes, and come January it [...]
More Blues for Benitez as his attack misfires November 28, 2012 CHELSEA 0 vs FULHAM 0 EMBATTLED Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez bemoaned his side’s lack of cutting edge last night after drawing another blank in his second game in charge, against Fulham at Stamford Bridge. Misfiring striker Fernando Torres, who has gone over 10 hours without a Premier League goal, wasted Chelsea’s best chance after a [...]
Gritty draw lifts Harry’s QPR hopes November 27, 2012 SUNDERLAND 0 vs QUEENS PARK RANGERS 0 QUEENS Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp insists the toughest challenge of his career looks a fraction less trying after inspiring the Premier League’s basement club to a battling draw in his first match in charge last night. Goalkeeper Rob Green’s outstanding reaction save to thwart a Steven Fletcher [...]
Soaring fees make Wenger wary about January spree November 27, 2012 ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger insists it would cost him £60m to bow to mounting pressure from fans and splash out on a world-class player in January. An estimated transfer kitty of £50m has been topped up by the £150m sponsorship deal the club signed with airline Emirates last week. But Wenger has refused to commit [...]
No apology but Chelsea admit ref row regret November 27, 2012 CHELSEA chiefs last night admitted they were hasty in publicly accusing referee Mark Clattenburg of racially abusing John Obi Mikel – but stopped short of issuing an apology to the official. Clattenburg was cleared by the Football Association last week following an investigation that concluded the complaint – that he had called Mikel a “monkey” [...]
Redknapp plots swoop for striker in January November 26, 2012 QUEENS Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp has prioritised bolstering his goal-shy forward line in the January transfer window as he prepares to launch his latest attempt at the great escape tonight at Sunderland. Redknapp, who replaced the sacked Mark Hughes at the Premier League’s basement club on Friday but did not take charge of Saturday’s [...]
Fans will see that they are wrong to boo me – Rafa November 25, 2012 CHELSEA 0 vs MANCHESTER CITY 0 CHELSEA’S Rafael Benitez insisted last night that the fans who gave him a hellish reception will come to see the error of their ways, after the new manager failed to end the Blues’ month-long wait for a Premier League win. A torrent of verbal abuse was aimed by the [...]
Anti-Semitism mustn’t detract from Spurs win, says Villas-Boas November 25, 2012 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3 vs WEST HAM UNITED 1 TOTTENHAM manager Andre Villas-Boas refused to dwell on apparent anti-Semitic chanting from West Ham fans after Jermain Defoe’s brace sunk the striker’s old club at White Hart Lane. Winger Gareth Bale scored in between Defoe’s goals, while a late Andy Carroll header for the visitors could not [...]
Saints out of bottom three November 25, 2012 SOUTHAMPTON climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone with a comfortable 2-0 win over freefalling Newcastle yesterday at St Mary’s. Record £12m signing Gaston Ramirez set up Adam Lallana for the first and added the second himself to condemn the Magpies to a third successive defeat. Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers saw his team held [...]