Forget cups, top four spot is our goal, says Bassong November 30, 2009 TOTTENHAM defender Sebastien Bassong admits he would be happy to be knocked out of the Carling Cup tonight as long as Spurs finish the season in the top four. Harry Redknapp’s men travel to Old Trafford for a last-eight clash against Manchester United, who defeated them on penalties in last season’s final. And Bassong says [...]
City spend eight times as much as United on agents November 30, 2009 MANCHESTER CITY’S lavish recruitment policy saw them splash out almost £13m in agents’ fees alone last year – more than eight times as much as champions Manchester United. City, who have spent close to £120m on signing a host of big-name players in the last 12 months, paid agents £12.9m for transfers and contract negotiations. [...]
Wenger slammed for ‘sour grapes’ as Drogba runs riot November 29, 2009 CHELSEA manager Carlo Ancelotti accused opposite number Arsene Wenger of sour grapes after a vintage performance from Blues striker Didier Drogba torpedoed Arsenal’s Premier League title aspirations. Drogba demonstrated his taste for running the Gunners ragged with a fine brace while unlucky Thomas Vermaelen put into his own net as the Blues reasserted their five-point [...]
Braving choppy waters: World Cup bids and marketing in a downturn November 29, 2009 ENTREPRENEUR extraordinaire Sir Keith Mills does seem to relish a stiff challenge. Having led the successful bid to bring the Olympic Games to London in 2012, the business brains behind Air Miles and Nectar’s latest goal is to see his sailing team win the America’s Cup – something no British crew has managed. And if [...]
Benitez: Derby win could turn round our season November 29, 2009 UNDER-FIRE Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez says yesterday’s Merseyside derby victory over Everton could help turn around his side’s ailing season. A first-half own goal from Joseph Yobo and a late strike from Dirk Kuyt saw the Reds register back-to-back wins for the first time since September and move back up to fifth in the Premier [...]
Gunners to start strong but beware of the Drog November 26, 2009 ARSENAL VS CHELSEA SUNDAY, 4.00PM SKY SPORTS 1 ARSENAL will be smarting after last weekend’s defeat at Sunderland and the loss of Robin van Persie is obviously a major blow to Arsene Wenger. A win against Chelsea would put them right back in the title race, but they lost 4-1 against the Blues here last [...]
Gallas in fresh injury blow for Gunners November 26, 2009 ARSENAL have been hit with a major injury blow ahead of Sunday’s derby visit of table-topping Chelsea with the news that William Gallas is still struggling with a swollen eye. The French defender suffered a nasty clash of heads with team-mate Andrey Arshavin during Tuesday night’s 2-0 Champions League victory over Standard Liege, before eventually [...]
Avram’s on a revenge mission November 26, 2009 AVRAM GRANT will be looking to exact revenge on Manchester United this weekend when he returns to management as the new boss of Portsmouth. The former Chelsea chief was announced yesterday as the successor to Paul Hart, who was sacked by the Fratton Park club earlier this week. And the Israeli opens his account with [...]
Aurelio baffled by Liverpool’s collapse November 25, 2009 LIVERPOOL defender Fabio Aurelio admits he is at a loss to explain how their season has unravelled so spectacularly. The Reds crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday night after Fiorentina’s defeat of Lyon rendered their own win over Debrecen futile. It was the latest blow in a dire run of form, which has [...]
Infighting is undermining our World Cup bid, admits Brady November 25, 2009 KARREN BRADY last night revealed the acrimony surrounding England’s 2018 World Cup campaign, insisting the country’s hopes of staging the event is being undermined by “bickering and infighting” at board level. The former Birmingham City director was one of six board members to stand down a fortnight ago, while influential Premier League chairman Sir Dave [...]