Sports Category
Sports news, commentary and scores with wit and added value. We compare and contrast the best and worst sports reporting in the mainstream press, blogs, TV and online. We love the English Premier League (Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Manchester United and Manchester City) and all things football but we cover cricket, rugby, the Olympics, tennis, golf, F1 and highlights of the sporting year.
Manchester United Balls: More Expertise From Liverpool’s Souness
HAVING dealt with Arsenal being the inferior of Spurs, Liverpool legend and football expert head Graeme Souness turned his attention to Manchester United’s Champions’ League match against Bayer Leverkusen:
“They will go to Germany with the mindset of not getting beat – and that’s a strange attitude for Manchester United because their approach under Sir Alex Ferguson was to try to win every game. I expect them to be cute and cagey against a Leverkusen team who are second in the Bundesliga after beating Hertha Berlin at the weekend. This will not be an easy game for Man United and I am very interested to see their mental approach.”
Manchester Untied won 5-0.
Posted: 28th, November 2013 | In: manchester united, Sports | Comment (1)
Spurs Balls: Selling Gareth Bale Sees Spurs Earn More Points Than Last Season
SPURS Balls: Helping us to decided which team is better than another are goals and league tables. Mindful of that we read Oliver Holt in the Daily Mirror:
“WHEN Gareth Bale was sold to Real Madrid for £86million, most people said it was a no-brainer. Tottenham had to take the money, they said. A few, including Gary Lineker, suggested it was never a good thing to sell your best player. Spurs’ current woes seem to be proving him right.”
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Posted: 27th, November 2013 | In: Sports, Spurs | Comment (1)
Spurs Balls: Daily Mail Ignores The Facts To Slam AVB For Not Being Harry Redknapp
SPURS Watch, with Andre Villas-Boas. Today the Daily Mail’s Martin Samuel castigates the Tottenham manager: “What’s the beauty of being Villas-Boas? It’s always someone else’s fault”:
Andre Villas-Boas used to watch the game by crouching down on his haunches near the touchline. And then he stopped doing it. Isn’t that strange? People were making fun of him, but even so. If he thought it was the way to get the greatest insight, why would he change?
Sciatica? Getting older? Dunno. You, Martin?
Unless it was an affectation. A quirk, a gimmick to make him look brighter than he is.
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Posted: 27th, November 2013 | In: Sports, Spurs | Comments (5)
When Joanna Lumley Met The Australian Ashes Team In Her BIkini
IN 1972, Joanna Lumley made the Australian touring Ashes team feel right at home by wearing a bikini in a meet ‘n’ greet. Tim Blair says it’s a “promo” picture but not what it’s promoting. It might be cigarettes or Zoro.
Arsenal Balls: Liverpool Legend Says Spurs Show Wenger The Right Way Forward
ON August 31, Graeme Souness told Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that football is “not rocket science”. The Gunners need not shoot for the moon. The former Liverpool tough nut wrote in the Sunday Times:
Once again, Arsenal have neglected to bolster the spine of their faltering team as rivals Spurs stock up on talent
And:
Spurs raise stakes and shame Wenger
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Spurs Balls: Paulinho’s Ace And The Nightmare Maths
WHAT facts do we have about Spurs boss Andrew Villas-Boas, whose biggest crime is not being Harry Redknapp? Tottenham lost 6-0 to Manchester City. But it’s not the end of the world. The season is not over – it’s not even half-way through. But the media experts deal in facts. So. Let’s hear some from today’s experts:
“£111m down the drain!” – The Sun
“Tottenham’s total spend surpassed a whopping £110 million this summer” – GiveMeSport
“AVB told to spend AGAIN! After £108m summer spree” – Daily Mail
“Tottenham’s expensively assembled dream team is fast turning into a nightmare at White Hart Lane. This was supposed to be the season that Spurs challenged for the title after re-investing the world record transfer fee they received for Gareth Bale on a £107 million summer spending spree“- The Daily Mail
“Spurs spend close to £100 million” – Telegraph
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Posted: 26th, November 2013 | In: Sports, Spurs | Comment (1)
Liverpool Balls: Sturridge Says England More Important Than Reds And Vice-Versa
LIVERPOOL’S Daniel Sturridge only made it onto Everton’s pitch in the 79th minute of last weekend’s derby match. The reason was that he’d been less than sparkling in training. Brendan Rodgers says: “If you want to be a champions, you have to be ready. For this game, I just felt Daniel wasn’t ready.” Daniel went on to score in the 88th minute.
Sturridge had spent the week before the match playing 90 minutes for England against Germany. He said:
“For me, regardless of what condition you are in, if you are selected by the manager of England you go out there and do the best you can, regardless of whether you are injured or not. The manager gave me that opportunity and it was a pleasure to put the England shirt on. Fit or not fit, you go out and do your best.”
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Posted: 26th, November 2013 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment (1)
Chelsea: Mourinho Cuts His Own Hair – One Man Went To Mow
JOSE Mourinho cuts his own hair. He used Fernando Torres’ Remington clippers. With the tune One Man Went To Mow on his lips, Jose went to work.
Speaking at his pre-Basel press conference, Mourinho responded:
“Some people can’t do what I did. In a couple of months I’ll have hair again. Some other people cannot do it. I decided to do it. I asked Fernando to give me his machine and I did it myself in front of the mirror. It’s nice and cheap. Mrs Mourinho? I sent her a picture before I arrived at home to see if I could go in the house… Yes, no problem.”
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The World’s Most Hardcore Manchester United Fan
AND the world’s most hardcore Manchester United fan is…
Posted: 25th, November 2013 | In: manchester united, Sports | Comment
Spurs Balls: Redknapp Is Confused Over Soldado And Doesn’t Read His Own Newspaper
COMPARE and contrast: Jamie Redknapp on Spurs’s new recruits:
JAMIE Redknapp in the Daily Mail: “Who chose the targets for the Bale money to be spent on? Roberto Soldado is another Jermain Defoe, Etienne Capoue is another Sandro, and do you need Lamela when you have Andros Townsend? Was it Andre Villas-Boas or was it director of football Franco Baldini?” – November 25, 2013
Maybe Jamie should read his own paper:
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Posted: 25th, November 2013 | In: Sports, Spurs | Comment (1)
Arsenal Balls: Giroud Goes From Critics’ Zero To Know-All Hacks’ Hero
HOW well are Arsenal doing with Olivier Giroud in attack? John Cross knows. He writes in the Mirror:
Giroud may not be Suarez but he is a key reason why Arsenal are top of the Premier League.
No “may” about it. He isn’t. He’s Olivier Giroud. He “leaves the critics on their knees”.
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Olympic Torchbearer Rehearsed With Frozen Humpback Salmon
IN readiness for a spot of Olympic torch carrying for the Sochi Winter Games, Alexander Kaptarenko, 101, has been carrying around a frozen humpback salmon.
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Posted: 25th, November 2013 | In: Sports, Strange But True | Comment
Football Photos: Mancheater City Fans Do The Gareth Bale Heart To The Spurs End
FOOTBALL fans can be funny bunch. Today, Manchester City fans enjoyed their team thrashing Spurs 6-0. They rubbed salt into the open sore by doing Gareth Bale hearts to the Spurs fans.
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Great Ads: Mike’s Golf Clubs
MIKE buys Golf for Mike Mixson’s shop in Chattanooga, Tenn:
Posted: 24th, November 2013 | In: Sports, The Consumer | Comment
Arsenal Balls: Reasons Why Spurs Will Finish Above Arsenal (According To Experts)
THE Daily Arsenal: Spurs have been thrashed 6-0 by Manchester City. Arsenal are top of the Premier League. Let’s review what the experts said:
Gary Lineker: “I think they’ll probably finish above Arsenal. Well, the interesting thing is that normally clubs… if they sell a huge player, they always say, oh, we’ll spend the money, we’ll put it back in the team but they invariably don’t, whereas at least you can say for Spurs they’ve had a plan and they’ve spent that money – and they’ve spent it actually before they got it really – so I think actually they’ve bought pretty well on the whole.”
Harry Redknapp: “I wouldn’t compare the two squads. Tottenham are much stronger, no doubt. There’s no reason they can’t challenge to win the league. They can be bang there. They’ll finish top four and who knows where they could finish after that?”
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Posted: 24th, November 2013 | In: Arsenal, Sports, Spurs | Comment
Barcelona’s Neymar Used To Sell Finest Cocaine In Brazil
NEYMAR has reason to feel very proud today after learning that his face is being used by Brazilian drug sealers as a kind of ‘stamp of excellence’ which they proudly display on their very finest cocaine.
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Daily Arsenal: Jack Wilshere’s Non-Injury Injury Row
ON Thursday, the Daily Mail led its sports coverage with the news that Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere was crocked and in another “contentious” episode:
Jack Wilshere is involved in another club versus country row after suffering an ankle injury against Germany.
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Stuart Broad’s Ashes: Aussie Aussie Aussie – Out, Out, Out, Out, Out
LAST summer, England bowler Stuart Broad showed he’d been watching Australian batsmen when he declined to walk. The Ashe are now back on. And the Australian cowed are not letting Broad forget.
Brisbane’s Courier-Mail urged fans to give “the medium pace Pom the silent treatment”.
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Posted: 21st, November 2013 | In: Sports | Comment (1)
Transfer Balls: Paul Pogba Will Go To Manchester United When No-one Else Wants Him
TRANSFER Balls: Are Manchester United all set to give Paul Pogba a run in the first team? Of course, Pogba left United for Juventus on a free. So. Is he on the way back to Old Trafford?
Daily Express: “Paul Pogba set to stay at Juventus amid interest from United”
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Posted: 21st, November 2013 | In: Sports | Comments (2)
Cristiano Ronaldo Poses In The Post Manchester United Years
CRISTIANO Ronaldo is brilliant at football. He dragged Portugal into the World Cup finals with a thrilling hat-trick in Sweden. He was brilliant at Manchester United. He’s been brilliant at Real Madrid. But Ian Ladyman says he’s changed since leaving England. He writes in the Daily Mail:
In short, vanity – selfishness even – was a recurring theme of Ronaldo’s time in England and perhaps during his early time in Spain. That has gone now.
Here’s Ronaldo celebrating one of his goals:
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Transfer Balls: The 15 Players Arsenal Are Buying In January
TRANSFER Balls: A look at Arsenal speculation presented as fact in the nation’s Press. Last summer, the media reported that no fewer than 38 players were heading to Arsenal. Can they better that number in the January transfer window? These from today:
Daily Star: Julian Draxler
Football.co.uk: Diego Costa
GiveMeSport: Stephan el Shaarawy
Tribal Football: Carles Alenà, Carles Pérez and Ayoub Abiu Oulam.
GiveMeSport: Abdisalam Ibrahim
SoccerLens: Zakaria Bakkali
GiveMeSport: Pirlo
GivMeSport: Angel Di Maria
Ten more names for the pot.
This comes after other names were introduced this week: Cesc Fabregas, Robert Lewandowski, Toni Sanabria, Halilovic and Alessio Cerci.
Fifteen names so far heading to Arsenal. Any more we’ve missed?
It’s Soft Down Under: Australians Ban Aggression In Sport
THE Australian Olympic Committee has not hung up its woggles and decided they can no longer compete with the Poms, who scored 29 golds at the London Games to Australia’s 7 (a tally bettered by mighty Hungary and matched by sports mad Kazakhstan).
Once upon a time, the Aussies ruled the world at sports that very few countries play (cricket and rugby) or understand (Aussie rules football), as our Ed Barrett wrote.
They still love to beat the Poms, relishing the old humiliation over the English cricket team dragged over a long hot summer. But now even the ritual slaughter of the Gabba accompanied of the sound of delirious, blood-crazed Aussie mobs is thing of the past.
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Posted: 21st, November 2013 | In: Key Posts, Sports | Comment
Fulham: When Ex-Manchester United Coach Rene Meulensteen Picked An Elephant To Play For Brondby
FULHAM’s new Head Coach, Rene Meulensteen gets a mention in Per Nielsen’s autobiography 4 Per Nielsen – Brøndby for evigt?. Rene coachjed Per at Danish club Brøndby IF.
Meulensteen immediately changed the daily routines around the squad. At first, a lot of small things like when the club had to train and when they had to leave for matches. Later he decided to change the colour of the hallway leading to the team’s locker room at the stadium from yellow (which is Brøndby’s shirt colour) to green. This was intended to give the player’s hope and calm them down when they went from the pitch to the locker room after the first half. He explained to the squad that since they were excited after the first half they needed to calm down a bit. Nielsen, and the rest of the squad, were wondering why this was important because they needed to be ready and excited for the second half a moment later anyway.
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Transfer Balls: Fabregas, Lewandowski, Sanabria, Draxler, Halilovic and Cerci To Arsenal
TRANSFER Balls: Anorak’s look at the movers and non-movers in the January transfer window. Let’s begin with a look at Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas. These headlines are all from this month:
Fabregas joins Arsenal!
IB Times: “Fabregas Hints That Heart Remains At Arsenal”
Fabregas stays at Barcelona!
Daily Star: “Arsenal and Man Utd handed Fabregas setback as Spaniard rules out transfer from Barcelona”
Fabregas leaves!
CaughtOffside: “C Barcelona midfield player Cesc Fabregas has dropped a massive hint that he is not happy with his current playing situation at Camp Nou”
Any other players heading to The Gunners?
GiveMeSport: “One man who Arsenal have been linked with is Borussia Dortmund star Robert Lewandowski.”
And there are more.
Daily Star: “Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City set to poach starlet Toni Sanabria from Barcelona”
Daily Express: “Julian Draxler entertains ‘dream’ move to Arsenal or Manchester United”
The Hard Tackle: “Arsenal FC Look To Snatch Halilovic Under The Nose of Tottenham Hotspur”
Talk Sport: “The January transfer window is just around the corner and Arsenal, Man United, Liverpool and Spurs are all thought to be vying for the signature of 26-year-old Italian, Alessio Cerci.”
Add it to the 38 players Arsenal ‘bought’ over the summer.
Such are the facts…
The Best Players Who Might Not Be At The 2014 World Cup
AS some of you will know, it is the playoffs for the World Cup tonight and it is all very exciting. However, there’s some huge teams in the playoffs, meaning that we will certainly be denied some amazing players.
Of course, some talented footballers play for countries that aren’t too great at the moment, but it seems a shame that such skill won’t grace the tournament. Just think – George Best never played in a World Cup!
And so, to the players that won’t be in Brazil in 2014, and some that, should the matches go a certain way this evening, will be joining everyone else on the sofa.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
If Sweden lose their play-off match, the World Cup will be denied one of the greatest players… and one of the most unpredictable men… the game has ever seen.
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