Van Persie: We’ll fight out of crisis September 22, 2011 ARSENAL captain Robin van Persie has urged the beleaguered Gunners to come out fighting when they resume their Premier League nightmare against Bolton tomorrow. Last week’s defeat at struggling Blackburn marked another low in an already testing season and prompted fresh questions about manager Arsene Wenger’s future. But Van Persie said: “We realise this is [...]
Carter’s return can help All Blacks edge thriller September 22, 2011 NEW Zealand and France have played out some epic matches over the years, so rugby fans’ eyes everywhere will have lit up when they were drawn together in Pool A. The hosts came into the tournament with successive Tri-Nations defeats, but now look to have found their feet with two wins from two. Pool A [...]
Dream return for Hargreaves capped by his first City goal September 21, 2011 INJURY-JINXED Manchester City midfielder Owen Hargreaves scored on his club debut to help dump holders Birmingham out of the Carling Cup in a convincing 2-0 win. The 30-year-old (below), a surprise summer signing from Manchester United, opened the scoring with his first goal since April 2008, locating the top corner from 25 yards just 17 [...]
Barton was close to Arsenal move September 21, 2011 FOOTBALL: Queens Park Rangers captain Joey Barton has revealed he was close to signing for Arsenal. The midfielder claimed an incident that saw Arsenal’s Gervinho sent off scuppered a deal. Barton was criticised for going to ground too easily as the Ivory Coast forward was red-carded in the Premier League opening day 0-0 draw with [...]
United could be forced to delay its IPO September 20, 2011 MANCHESTER United may be flying on the pitch but its IPO in Singapore appears to have stalled. Sources close to the transaction told City A.M. the club is struggling to convince cornerstone investors to invest at its target price against a backdrop of volatile markets. The club is hoping to raise in the region of £640m [...]
Wenger’s not an idiot and won’t be fired, say Arsenal September 20, 2011 ARSENAL chief executive Ivan Gazidis has strenuously rebuffed talk of a crisis at the Emirates Stadium and insisted there is no chance of embattled manager Arsene Wenger being sacked. The Gunners have endured their worst start to a top-flight season for more than 50 years, with Saturday’s 4-3 defeat to Blackburn leaving them 17th in [...]
Toon heap misery on McClaren September 20, 2011 NEWCASTLE needed an last-ditch, extra-time winner from Fabricio Coloccini to see off Championship Nottingham Forest and reach the fourth round of the Carling Cup. Danny Simpson looked to have won it in the 93rd minute but Marcus Tudgay dragged Steve McClaren’s Forest level for a third time – only for defender Coloccini to have the [...]
United open gap as Torres shows best and worst September 18, 2011 MANCHESTER UTD (3) vs CHELSEA (1) CHELSEA manager Andre Villas-Boas defended embattled striker Fernando Torres after his missed open goal helped condemn them to defeat at rivals and early-season pace-setters Manchester United. Torres squandered a golden chance to reduce the deficit to just one goal in the second half when he sprung the offside trap [...]
Spirited Fulham frustrate Mancini and terminate City’s perfect start September 18, 2011 FULHAM (2) vs MANCHESTER CITY (2) MANCHESTER CITY manager Roberto Mancini accused his players of wastefulness for the second time in four days after seeing Fulham’s spirited second half comeback end his side’s 100 per cent start to the Premier League season. On Wednesday the Italian was displeased with the selfishness exhibited by his forwards [...]
Man Utd given green light for Singapore listing September 16, 2011 Premier League football club Manchester United has received permission from the Singapore Exchange for a planned $1 billion (£633m) listing in a deal that would include non-voting preference shares, two sources told Reuters. The IPO would include stapled securities that bundle with ordinary and preferential shares, one of the sources told Reuters, consistent with expectations [...]