Clubs back standing in grounds December 11, 2012 FOOTBALL: Thirteen clubs, including Brentford, Crystal Palace and AFC Wimbledon, support the reintroduction of standing in football stadia, says the Football Supporters’ Federation. Standing was outlawed following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 and the Premier League insists that it will not be encouraging a change in the law.
Rodallega earns win but Berbatov display delights Fulham boss December 10, 2012 FULHAM 2 NEWCASTLE UNITED 1 FULHAM manager Martin Jol hailed forward Dimitar Berbatov last night after his side ended a winless run of seven Premier League matches in an enthralling victory over Newcastle. Midfielder Steve Sidwell put Fulham ahead with their first league goal in more than five hours, before Hatem Ben Arfa’s superb looping [...]
Betfair boss to double down on cost cutting as earnings suffer December 9, 2012 BETFAIR boss Breon Corcoran is set to unveil an overhaul of the business on Thursday, in his first results presentation since taking the reins at the online bookie. Corcoran, who joined Betfair in the summer from Paddy Power, is expected to unveil a round of cost cutting, including job losses. The Irishman has already made [...]
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 [...]