Duff strike eases relegation fears February 2, 2011 FULHAM 1 vs NEWCASTLE 0 FULHAM winger Damien Duff’s first Premier League goal of the season lifted Mark Hughes’ side five points clear of the drop zone. Duff, relegated as a Newcastle player two years ago, struck in the 67th minute to extend Fulham’s unbeaten home run to five matches. Defeat capped a turbulent few [...]
Gardner dents City title hopes February 2, 2011 BIRMINGHAM 2 vs MANCHESTER CITY 2 BIRMINGHAM midfielder Craig Gardner struck a late penalty to deny Manchester City three precious points in the Premier League title race. An opportunistic strike from Carlos Tevez put the visitors ahead in the fourth minute, but Nikola Zigic restored parity 20 minutes later when he got the slightest of [...]
Arsenal show appetite for a title fight February 1, 2011 ARSENAL 2 vs EVERTON 1 And Wenger slams Abramovich spending spree ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger poured scorn on big-spending Chelsea’s disregard for looming financial fair play rules after seeing his team give the strongest indication yet that they have the stomach for a title challenge. Andrey Arshavin and Laurent Koscielny both scored in five second-half [...]
SUPERSTAR TRADESMEN AND WINDOW PAINS February 1, 2011 THE Premier League is still catching its breath following the hysteria of Monday’s record-breaking £135m deadline day. But as the dust settles on a historic end to the January window, we look at the winners and losers. Who has injected fresh impetus into their flagging squad, and who looks likely to rue the business they [...]
Europe may prove Blues’ best chance February 1, 2011 NEVER mind their worries about qualifying for next season’s Champions League – Chelsea’s transfer window business has made them strong contenders to finally win the trophy in this campaign. The arrival of Fernando Torres in particular, and David Luiz, will rejuvenate Carlo Ancelotti’s squad at a time when they were also starting to show signs [...]
DEADLINE DAY DRAMA January 31, 2011 Chelsea land Torres and Luiz for £71m CHELSEA’S newest recruit Fernando Torres toasted his arrival at “one of the top clubs in the world” after completing a £50m move from Liverpool to become the most expensive signing ever by a British club. Torres last night clinched a five-and-a-half-year contract thought to be worth £175,000-a-week as [...]
Deadline day drama January 31, 2011 Reds tie up shock deal for £35m Carroll Liverpool make striker most expensive British footballer of all time and he’s joined by Suarez LIVERPOOL last night made Andy Carroll the most expensive British footballer of all time after they paid Newcastle an astonishing £35m for the services of the England striker. The St James’ Park [...]
Have European financial fair play rules gone out of the window? January 31, 2011 EUROPEAN chiefs may want clubs to start breaking even, but that did not stop a huge Premier League spree yesterday. With so-called Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules on the horizon, City A.M. asked Dan Jones, of Deloitte’s Sport Business Group, to explain. Q: Are clubs ignoring FFP rules? A: Liverpool are shipping out a high-wage earner [...]
Football clubs in record £215m transfer frenzy January 31, 2011 ENGLAND’S top football clubs last night defied the downturn by embarking on a record-breaking £215m transfer spending spree. Chelsea’s £50m signing of Fernando Torres and Liverpool’s £35m purchase of Andy Carroll were the day’s biggest deals as sides raced to recruit before the 11pm cut-off – their last chance to do business until the summer. [...]
Blues lose £68m – and that’s without yesterday January 31, 2011 CHELSEA’S £71m deadline-day splurge came as the club announced losses of more than £68m for last year. The Blues yesterday released their results, which had been expected last month, for the financial year ending June 2010, the season in which they won the Double. Despite their success they made an operating loss of £68.6m, slightly [...]