WENGER’S £40M WORRY August 23, 2011 UDINESE (0) vs ARSENAL (1) Arsenal boss fears high-profile departures could derail his team ahead of match that will define his budget and campaign EMBATTLED Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger goes into tonight’s £40m Champions League play-off with Udinese admitting he fears the departures of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas could inflict psychological wounds on his [...]
QPR crash on bad night for big guns August 23, 2011 QPR lost 2-0 at home to Rochdale as all three Premier League newcomers crashed out of the Carling Cup at the first hurdle last night. Norwich were thumped 4-0 at home by MK Dons and Swansea lost 3-1 at Shrewsbury, while Sunderland were the other top-flight casualties in the second round, going down 1-0 at [...]
United DHL contract to trigger copycat deals August 23, 2011 MANCHESTER UNITED’S groundbreaking £40m training kit sponsorship with logistics company DHL will spark a stampede among their rivals to secure copycat deals, experts predicted last night. But they warned most will struggle to rake in anything like the £10m a season attracted by United, who can boast truly global reach and have developed the “blueprint” [...]
Redknapp promises to keep Modric after United defeat August 22, 2011 TOTTENHAM manager Harry Redknapp insists unsettled midfielder Luka Modric will definitely not be sold after Spurs lost their opening Premier League fixture 3-0 to a youthful Manchester United. Modric was left out of the side amid interest from Chelsea as second-half goals from Danny Welbeck, Anderson and Wayne Rooney downed the north Londoners and swept [...]
Welbeck the star as green United leave Spurs blue August 22, 2011 MANCHESTER UTD (3) vs TOTTENHAM (0) MANCHESTER UNITED manager Sir Alex Ferguson has long since obliterated the notion that, to paraphrase pundit Alan Hansen, kids don’t win trophies. However, he seems determined to prove that point all over again, having assembled a young team that swept Tottenham aside last night and who should not fear [...]
Banned Wenger set to miss Udinese showdown August 22, 2011 EMBATTLED Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s miserable start to the season continued yesterday when he was handed a further two-match touchline ban by European chiefs. Uefa found Wenger guilty of breaking the rules of his original suspension, which applied to last week’s Champions League clash with Udinese. The Frenchman communicated with the bench via coach Boro [...]
Mancini lays down law to Arsenal over Nasri deal August 21, 2011 BOLTON (2) vs MANCHESTER CITY (3) MANCHESTER CITY manager Roberto Mancini has warned Arsenal he could pull the plug on a £25m move for Samir Nasri if Arsene Wenger plays him in the Champions League against Udinese this week. Mancini saw his team go top of the Premier League with a 3-2 win at Bolton [...]
Wenger obituaries are being penned prematurely August 21, 2011 ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger is a man on the brink. Saturday’s home defeat to Liverpool has detonated the myth that the Gunners were ever likely to finish in the top four and Wenger would be advised to consider jumping before he is pushed. Or so some would have us believe. But it’s hard to escape [...]
Fulham pay for Euro tie August 21, 2011 FULHAM boss Martin Jol admits a Europa League campaign is hampering his team’s competitiveness in the Premier League after losing 2-0 at Wolves. Kevin Doyle and Matt Jarvis scored as Jol’s men succumbed less than 72 hours after beating Dnipro on Thursday night. He said: “We can do well in Europe, but it is probably [...]
Fernandes: I won’t be QPR Abramovich August 18, 2011 AirAsia boss vows to fund signings but insists club will be profit-making in long-term QPR’S new majority shareholder Tony Fernandes has vowed to breathe life into a club he calls a “raw diamond” but warned he will not adopt a Roman Abramovich approach and flood Rangers with cash. AirAsia chief Fernandes, who yesterday completed his [...]