Manchester still holds edge September 1, 2011 United and City’s title rivals are now stronger, but are they strong enough? TRANSFER deadline day was even more frenzied than usual this year as Premier League managers scrambled to reinforce their squads for a campaign that already looks like being hugely competitive. Particularly busy in the final days were those clubs initially billed as [...]
Terry: United novices are ready September 1, 2011 BULGARIA vs ENGLAND MANCHESTER UNITED youngsters Chris Smalling, Tom Cleverley and Phil Jones are ready to make their international debuts in tonight’s crunch European Championship qualifier in Bulgaria, according to England skipper John Terry. The trio have played a significant part in United’s barnstorming start to the defence of their Premier League crown and have [...]
Spending rises spark concerns clubs ignoring fair play rules September 1, 2011 CLUBS across Europe are jeopardising their participation in continental competitions by continuing to ignore new rules on spending, football finance experts fear. The summer transfer window, which closed on Wednesday night, saw a £125m rise in gross outlay by Premier League sides, who splashed £485m on signings. Spanish and Italian leagues witnessed even bigger relative [...]
Man U posts record profit ahead of IPO September 1, 2011 Manchester United yesterday moved one step closer to its bumper $1bn (£618m) Singapore IPO after unveiling record profits and revenues. It swung to a pre-tax gain of £29.7m, compared with a loss of £79.2m last year. Its total revenue also soared 16 per cent to £331.4m – the first time it has surpassed the £300m [...]
Deadline day drama August 31, 2011 Chelsea swoop to sign Meireles from Liverpool in £12m deal with just minutes to spare after failing to persuade Tottenham to let Modric join Crouch and host of others in leaving the Lane £10m Arteta finally leaves Everton for Arsenal after a day of haggling as Gunners move to replace Fabregas and Nasri with Spaniard [...]
Benayoun and Arteta arrive at Arsenal August 31, 2011 London clubs leave it late to buy ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger underlined his new-found appreciation of experience when he finally completed late deadline day swoops for midfielders Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun last night. Neither are the superstars that some fans might have hoped for after seeing captain Cesc Fabregas and midfield starlet Samir Nasri [...]
INDIAN CITY OASIS SEEKS WINE-LOVING RESIDENTS August 31, 2011 BENGALARU is becoming one of the most important global centres for technology and India’s most developed city. So the IT capital formerly known as Bangalore was the obvious choice for the latest multimillion-pound scheme from Vinay Kapoor, the president and chief executive of Westcourt UK, who contributed to the design and development of the World [...]
Hargreaves in shock switch as deadline chaos looms August 30, 2011 • Mertesacker jets in for Arsenal medical • Spurs to conclude signing of Parker MEGA wealthy Manchester City caused the biggest stir on the penultimate day of the transfer window without even spending a penny after they agreed a deal to bring free agent Owen Hargreaves to the Etihad Stadium. The England international midfielder joined [...]
What’s gone wrong for Arsenal and Wenger? An insider gives his view August 30, 2011 ARSENAL’S sharp decline is down to Arsene Wenger wielding too much control over matters both on the field and off it – and the manager must be challenged if the freefall is to be arrested. That is the view of football guru and Wenger confidant Alex Fynn, who believes the long-serving boss has been allowed [...]
Top flight transfer spend hits £360m – and counting August 30, 2011 PREMIER LEAGUE clubs have already eclipsed their winter transfer window spending by around £150m, but they will have to pull out all the stops today to match the record deadline day outlay of 31 January. That day saw Chelsea lavish more than £70m on striker Fernando Torres and defender David Luiz while Liverpool paid a [...]