Terry England KO helps Pearce avoid dilemma February 21, 2012 CHELSEA captain John Terry has been ruled out of next week’s England friendly against Holland – sparing caretaker manager Stuart Pearce and the Football Association an awkward decision. Terry had hoped to return from injury in last night’s Champions League clash against Napoli, but woke with pain in his knee and will have surgery today [...]
CSR spree is music to the ears of the City February 20, 2012 SHARES in wireless technology firm CSR, which makes chips for use in the Beats headphones loved by Premier League footballers, soared yesterday after it pledged a stock buyback of up to $50m (£31.5m), raised its dividend and said it would cut costs quickly. CSR shares closed up 20.77 per cent at 275p last night, making [...]
Big guns kept apart as Spurs held by Stevenage February 19, 2012 A HIGH-PROFILE FA Cup final line-up moved a step closer yesterday when the competition’s biggest hitters were kept apart and handed home ties in the quarter-final draw. Chelsea, who were held at home by Birmingham on Saturday, will host more Championship opposition in Leicester City, who beat Norwich at the weekend, if they win their [...]
Stevenage bring Spurs down to earth February 19, 2012 STEVENAGE (0) vs TOTTENHAM (0) TOTTENHAM manager Harry Redknapp blamed an unpredictable League One pitch after his top-flight high-fliers were forced to a replay by Stevenage in the FA Cup fifth round. January signing Louis Saha had the ball in the net for Spurs but his second-half tap-in was disallowed because it ricocheted in via [...]
Chelsea will bounce back at Napoli, says Villas-Boas February 19, 2012 CHELSEA manager Andre Villas-Boas insists his side’s struggle to salvage an FA Cup replay against Birmingham will not dent morale ahead of tomorrow’s Champions League trip to Napoli. The west Londoners needed a second-half equaliser from Daniel Sturridge to avoid a major fifth-round shock against the Championship promotion hopefuls at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. That [...]
Stoke avoid Crawley slip-up February 19, 2012 Stoke recovered from an early red card to end Crawley Town’s FA Cup run and book their own quarter-final place against Liverpool. Rory Delap was dismissed in the 17th minute for a tackle on David Hunt, but goals either side of half-time from Jon Walters, a penalty, and Peter Crouch prevented the League Two side [...]
Chelsea at odds over Villas-Boas February 16, 2012 Manager admits squad is divided over his approach as Blues battle to finish in top four UNDER-FIRE Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas admits he is battling a divided dressing room – but insists owner Roman Abramovich still has faith in him. Villas-Boas is under increasing pressure, with the Blues on course to miss out on Champions [...]
Valencia out for a month as injury sours United march towards last 16 February 16, 2012 AJAX 0 vs MAN UNITED 2 MANCHESTER UNITED boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted to mixed feelings last night after taking a huge step towards the Europa League last 16 but losing winger Antonio Valencia to injury. Ferguson was “delighted” at a comfortable win, earned by second-half goals from winger Ashley Young and striker Javier Hernandez, [...]
City in racism complaint as Aguero grabs late winner February 16, 2012 PORTO 1 vs MANCHESTER CITY 2 MANCHESTER CITY are set to complain to European chiefs that Yaya Toure and Mario Balotelli suffered racial abuse as the Premier League leaders earned a valuable comeback win last night. Striker Sergio Aguero’s late winner capped a second-half recovery from the visitors, aided by an own goal by Alvaro [...]
Ladbrokes beats the stakes February 16, 2012 BRITAIN’S second-biggest bookmaker Ladbrokes reported a better-than-expected full year operating profit yesterday as strong growth in revenue from gambling machines helped its retail business to perform strongly despite tough market conditions. The company, which has around 2,100 shops in Britain, said yesterday group operating profit fell by 0.4 per cent to £193.5m. The average forecast [...]