Sky has already seen off challenges from rivals Setanta and ITV Digital August 9, 2010 BT SAYS its sports offering is the first step in an aggressive expansion into pay-TV it hopes will eat away at Sky’s dominance of the market (at last count Sky was tantalisingly close to 10m subscribers, while BT is languishing with less than 500,000). But BT would do well to bear in mind the cautionary [...]
Milner deal the final straw as O’Neill quits Villa helm August 9, 2010 FRUSTRATED Martin O’Neill finally lost patience with Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner yesterday and quit as manager just five days before the start of the new Premier League season. The Northern Irishman brought an abrupt end to his four-year tenure at Villa Park amid speculation the club were about to let midfielder James Milner join [...]
It’s the first trophy of many, says Vidic August 8, 2010 CHELSEA (1) vs MANCHESTER UTD (3) CAPTAIN Nemanja Vidic predicts the Community Shield will not be the only piece of silverware to take pride of place in Manchester United’s trophy cabinet this season. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men earned pre-season bragging rights over Premier League rivals Chelsea by claiming a third victory in four years. A [...]
Chelsea to win back-to-back titles August 5, 2010 THERE is no doubt that CHELSEA were comfortably the best team in the league last year and thoroughly deserved to be crowned champions. Carlo Ancelotti did a tremendous job to do the double in his first year in charge and although the Champions League will be a major target this time around, a second Premier [...]
Gunners convinced that Cesc will stay August 5, 2010 ARSENAL goalkeeping legend Bob Wilson has labelled Barcelona’s offer for Cesc Fabregas as a “joke” and remains convinced the Gunners skipper will stay in north London. World Cup winner Fabregas joined up with his Arsenal team-mates yesterday for the first time this summer and took his place in the line up for the official team [...]
Competition probe hits Sky Movies August 4, 2010 SKY will face an investigation by the Competition Commission into the dominance of its pay-TV movie service. Ofcom has requested the probe after raising concerns over the prices Sky is able to charge for new releases and the lack of consumer choice. The Competition Commission will have a maximum of two years to investigate the [...]
Buyers pull their weight in Liverpool tug-of-war August 4, 2010 THE battle to take over the keys of Liverpool FC was thrown into confusion last night after a contrasting day of counter claims and denials from potential buyers. Chinese businessman Kenny Huang began the day in pole position after admitting on Monday he had been locked in talks with the club’s major creditors, Royal Bank [...]
We’ll go bust if we lose in court, say Portsmouth August 4, 2010 PORTSMOUTH say they could go out of business if they lose their court case against the tax authorities today. HM Revenue & Customs are challenging a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) to allow the club to come out of administration, claiming it is owed £13m more than the £24m stated by the club’s administrators. And Portsmouth’s [...]
Blackburn hold talks of takeover August 4, 2010 BLACKBURN ROVERS are the latest Premier League to hold talks over a possible takeover. Chairman John Williams revealed yesterday the club are in discussions with a number of interested parties about taking charge at Ewood Park. Rovers currently owned by the trustees of the late Jack Walker and has debts of around £20m, but Indian [...]
It’s the most open race for many a year August 4, 2010 MANAGERS will have one just word embedded in their minds when they open their Championship campaigns this weekend: Blackpool. Ian Holloway’s achievement in taking the Seasiders to the promised land on a shoestring budget and a team of grafters will certainly not have gone unnoticed among bosses of the so-called smaller sides in the second [...]