World Cup 2018: A guide to England’s opponents Slovenia October 10, 2016 Past meetings England have won all four of their previous meetings with Slovenia. Fabio Capello’s Three Lions defeated the Purples 2-1 in a friendly at Wembley in September 2009 and then 1-0 in Port Elizabeth a year later to reach the knockout stage of the 2010 World Cup. Former Tottenham and West Ham striker Jermain [...]
Three Lions midfielder Jordan Henderson accepts England deserve criticism from fans October 9, 2016 England midfielder Jordan Henderson insists the Three Lions must embark on a charm offensive to win back public support after his side’s unconvincing victory over Malta on Saturday ended with a chorus of boos. Skipper Wayne Rooney was deployed in a deep-lying central midfield role for the World Cup qualifier and was jeered by a [...]
Premier League shirt sponsors quiz: Do you know what these Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Sunderland sponsors do? October 7, 2016 Shirt sponsorships generate Premier League clubs millions in commercial revenue every season. According to industry estimates, last season the Premier League's clubs made a massive £260m from splaying corporate brand names and logos across their sacred sporting tapestries. Read more: Why Chelsea parting ways with Adidas makes financial sense After enough hours in front of Sky [...]
Real Madrid fail to reclaim football’s richest crown from Barcelona despite posting club record breaking revenue October 7, 2016 Real Madrid posted the highest revenue figures in the club's history last season, with income breaking the €600m mark for the first time and reaching €620.1m (£560m). Yet the 7.4 per cent rise in income from €577.7m in the 2013/2014 campaign, the Spanish giants were unable to match the record €679m enjoyed by Barcelona last season. It [...]
Chris Coleman hails fighting spirit as Wales secure precious World Cup qualifying point October 6, 2016 Wales manager Chris Coleman revelled in his side’s fighting spirit as the European Championship semi-finalists emerged from their World Cup qualifier in Vienna with a precious point after drawing 2-2 with Austria. The visitors twice held the lead courtesy of a 20-yard half-volley from Stoke midfielder Joe Allen and unfortunate own goal by Tottenham centre-half [...]
Betting: Back Southgate to have his Three Lions roaring late against Malta October 6, 2016 GARETH Southgate heads into the Three Lions’ den tomorrow in the wake of Sam Allardyce’s sacking, and couldn’t have asked for an easier start. At 176th in the world, Malta are the lowest ranked team in England’s World Cup qualifying group, some 59 places below next worst Lithuania. In the overall FIFA list, they sit between Suriname and Laos. The Maltese were routed 5-1 by [...]
Malta fact file: Everything you need to know about England’s opponents at Wembley on Saturday October 6, 2016 As far as easy starts go, England caretaker boss Gareth Southgate couldn't have hoped for a better opponent than Malta for his first game in charge. The Three Lions' opponents are 50/1 outsiders to cause an upset at Wembley this weekend. Read more: Southgate has chance to stake claim for England manager's job on permanent basis, insists [...]
Giving World Cup to Qatar and Russia may be best thing to happen to football, says Fifa vice-president Victor Montagliani October 5, 2016 One of football governing body Fifa’s leading officials has suggested that the controversial votes to stage the World Cup in Qatar and Russia “may be the best thing” to have happened to the game. Victor Montagliani – a vice-president of Fifa and head of the Concacaf confederation which governs North America, Central America and the [...]
Sports and second screens: How stadium designers and broadcasters are dealing with the smartphone revolution October 5, 2016 Pep Guardiola isn't the only figure in elite sports for whom the prevalence of smartphone use has disrupted business as usual The Manchester City manager has cut off 3g and Wi-Fi connection from the club's training complex in order to pull his players' gaze away from screen and back onto the team. Yet for broadcasters, rights holders, club [...]
