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.
Transfer balls: Arsenal buy wonderkids, Elneny sleeps with a football
Arsenal have signed Nigerian “wonder kids” (see all papers) Kelechi Nwakali, 17, and Samuel Chukwueze, 16. They will pay the Diamond Football Academy £3m, says the Daily Mirror.
The paper adds that the Gunners will today complete the signing of Mohamed Elneny from Basle for £5m. They will then lose him for a year as he completes national service in the Egyptian armed forces. Unless he gets a note from Arsene Wenger that he’s busy or – gulp! – injured.
The Telegraph says Arsenal are set to bid £12m for Dinamo Zagreb’s Marcelo Brozovic.
The Metro says Arsenal are keen on Inter Milan pair Mauro Icardi and Marcelo Brozovic.
With Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and others approaching full fitness, why would Arsenal want so many new faces?
After the speculation, the last word is with Elneny. He tells the Guardian:
“I remember that my father demanded that I went to bed with the ball. He said: ‘You have to connect with the ball.’ He started coaching me when I was three years old. His biggest wish was that I became a professional footballer… As a kid, I often played for 10 hours on the street. I think that’s when I learned to run and run without a break.”
He’s tough and full of running. He’s just what Arsenal need.
Posted: 14th, January 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Spurs and Stoke in for Berahino as West Brom seek a winger
The Times says Stoke City are aiming to beat Spurs to West Bromwich Albion’s wantaway striker Saido Berahino.
West Brom have agreed to let Berahino leave the club. They hope to raise funds to sign a winger.
Tottenham’ manager, Mauricio Pochettino, says he is keen to hire a new striker – but on if the player is of the right characters. Does that count Berahino out? He threw a hissy fit when West Brom blocked his move to Spurs over the summer. Do spurs need the aggravation?
Posted: 14th, January 2016 | In: Back pages, Sports, Spurs | Comment
Transfer balls: Manchester United want Guardiola, Messi, Kroos, Niguez, Cavani and Gomes
Manchester United will seek to make Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola their manager. To help him settle in at Old Trafford, United will sign Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, who Pep used to manage.
This we know because we read it in the Daily Star. The paper adds that Manchester United can afford both Pep and Messi because they have lots and lots of cash from Adidas. Will Messi will want to play for Manchester United – following a path trod by Argentine players Juan Veron and Angela Di Maria, both who flopped at Old Trafford after big money moves? Question asked, question answered. It’s not going to happen.
Next up is Toni Kroos. Fichajes says the Real Madrid player is going to either Chelsea or Man United. The Express says both clubs have approached the players agent with £40m in their hands.
Can we trust the Express to be right? Let’s look at the paper’s past reporting on Kroos:
The Express later declared:
MANCHESTER UNITED have agreed a deal with Bayern Munich for attacker Toni Kroos
Sticking with the Daily Express we learn that United want Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez, 21, who wants to remain in Spain.
The Independent says United want Valencia play-maker Andre Gomes, 22, because Niguez won’t return their calls.
Lastly, the Manchester Evening News says Edinson Cavani could be of interest, as could Mats Hummels, who in January 2015 caused the Daily Star to scream: “Borussia Dortmund star Mats Hummels AGREES £37m Manchester United deal.” He didn’t. He went nowhere – much like reporting on Manchester United targets.
Posted: 13th, January 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Chelsea move for Vardy, consider Adebayor
The Times says Chelsea are considering a bid for Leicester City’s striker Jamie Vardy.
Gary Jacob says Chelsea’s occasional manager Gus Hiddink has expressed a need to sign a striker. He’s worried at the Blues’ lack of cover for Diego Costa.
The Chelsea wish list runs: Jamie Vardy, Saido Berahino, Jackson Martinez and…Emmanuel Adebayor.
Chelsea fans, who do you want – and who do you think you’ll get?
Posted: 13th, January 2016 | In: Back pages, Chelsea, Sports | Comment (1)
Spurs make Alli the cut-priced Pogba
Can Tottenham hang on to Dele Alli, the 19-year-old midfielder signed from MK Dons for £6m? Alli has signed a new deal to keep him at Spurs for the next five seasons. His pay rises from £12, 500 to £25,000 a week, says the Sun.
So good is Alli that the Sun, which leads with news of his new contract deal, hails him as “the English Paul Pogba”. That’s Paul Pogba, 22, the languid, purposeful, imaginative, gifted Frenchman who ended last season playing for Italian double-winners Juventus in the Champions’ League final.
Pogba finished 15th in the Ballon d’Or list. On Monday, he was named in the FIFPro World XI for 2015. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he was named best young player of the tournament. Gifs and Vines of Pogba’s skills are all over the web.
Pogba makes and scores goals. He bosses games.
If Alli is the English equivalent of the shining Pogba why is he on the kind of wages that surely make every team bigger than Spurs confident of securing his signature? Gazzetta dello Sport says Pogba earns €4.5m (£3.3m) a season.
The Mail says PSG are watching Alli. The player, we learn, “is keen to play abroad in the future”.
So why don’t Spurs put him on higher wages?
In December 2012, Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere, then 20, signed a new contract. The Mail said his wage was £80,000-a-week.
If Spurs think Alli can be one of the best, why don’t they pay him a wage that will stop him looking elsewhere?
Posted: 13th, January 2016 | In: Back pages, Sports, Spurs | Comment
Transfer balls: Saido Berahino will only play for Spurs – unless Liverpool buy him
The Sun says West Bromwich Albion’s occasional striker Saido Berahino wants to join Tottenham this January. The paper says Berahino is ready to reject other all offers in favour of Spurs.
Reportedly, Stoke and Newcastle are also after the 22-year-old but he’ll only joins Spurs – “he is ready to snub any other offers to make sure he becomes a Spurs player.” His “heart is set on White Hart Lane”.
Well, given the option of Spurs, Stoke or Newcastle, who would you chose to play for? Which city would you want to live in?
The Independent has a new option. It says Berahino has been earmarked to replace Daniel Sturridge at Liverpool. The Mirror agrees.
As for Berahino, the player who arrived in the UK as a 10-year-old fleeing for his life from the Burundian civil war, well, he’s managed to look every bit as doltish as the next hungry ‘I am’. He wanted to leave West Brom in the summer, handing in a transfer request that the club refused to agree to.
In December 2015, we read:
The Times has learnt that the 22-year-old became increasingly isolated after he angered the club in late autumn. Berahino is understood to have upset his fellow players with his reaction to being substituted at half-time in the 2-0 defeat away to Crystal Palace in October, when he listened to music through his headphones after learning of the decision to replace him.
He also upset the West Brom hierarchy by returning a day late from an agreed trip to Dubai.
One question: why do Spurs want him? He’s a good player. He’s ambitious But he also comes across as trouble. Why disrupt a tight dressing room?
Posted: 12th, January 2016 | In: Back pages, Sports, Spurs | Comment (1)
Transfer balls: Pep agrees Man City move but wants Arsenal says clueless tabloid source
The Metro brings news that Pep Guardiola “is interested in succeeding Arsene Wenger”.
Newspaper have been on a mind that Pep is heading to Manchester City at the end of this season.
See the Metro stories: “Pep Guardiola has already agreed to take over at Manchester City next season”; and “Pep Guardiola agrees deal to become Manchester City manager next season”.
Can it now be that the Spaniard is to become the next Arsenal boss, replacing Wenger, who has expressed no desire to leave in the summer?
Reading on we learn that the story is attached to the explainer ” claims Guillem Balague”.
The story is utter balls:
“I agree that Pep would be perfect for Arsenal but, despite the interest of Pep in the London team, I feel he might be going somewhere else,’ Balague told SkySports. “As it stands, he has not signed anything and both City and Chelsea think they have a good chance to get him.”
In other words: he hasn’t the foggiest.
Lots more on what Guillem feels here.
Posted: 12th, January 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal to sign wonderkids and Nolito, Arteta to West Ham,
The Times brings news that Arsenal are on the verge of sining Nigerian “wonderkids” Kelechi Nwakali and Samuel Chukwueze for a combined fee of £3m.
Nwakali rose to the fore thanks to his captaining of Nigeria in their successful pursuit of the U17 World Cup. His older bother plays for Manchester City – so look out for them getting involved.
Both players are with the ASJ Football Academy.
In other news:
Arsenal have the £13.4m to give Celta Vigo for 29-year-old Spain forward Nolito, says Mundo Deportivo.
Metro says Mohamed Elneny will join Arsenal in time for their game at Stoke City. The paper says Arteta could be on his way to West Ham United. It also notes that Borussia Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be a Gunner as soon as Arsenal hand over £60m. Which they won’t do.
The Mirror says Arsenal have “joined the hunt” for Chelsea youngster Ola Aina.
Right-back Aina’s current Blues deal expires in the summer. And having refused to sign a new deal so far the 19 year-old has been demoted from Chelsea’s first-team set-up to the under-21s, edging him closer to the exit.
Because with Debuchy, Bellerin and Jenkinson on the books, Arsenal really need a right-back.
Posted: 12th, January 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal defender leaves, commits future to Gunners
Other than politics and Her Majesty, only the ending of footballers’ carers occupy the Press. Today the Mirror and other sources tell readers that Arsenal’s Spanish left-back Nacho Monreal is set to sign a new contract. This deal ties him to the Gunners for a further three years.
But before this, those same sources have been full of Monreal’s Arsenal demise.
Daily Star: “Arsenal rocked as Spanish international edges closer to shock exit”
Spanish newspaper Marca claim the 29-year-old, who joined the Gunners in 2013, has agreed a two-year contract with Athletic Bilbao.
Evening Standard: “Arsenal transfer news: Nacho Monreal’s £7m exit looms”
The Metro: “Arsenal’s Nacho Monreal follows Athletic Bilbao on Twitter amid transfer speculation”
The Independent: “Nacho Monreal to Athletic Bilbao”
GiveMeSport.com: “Arsenal agree to sell Nacho Monreal to Athletic Bilbao”
All complete and utter tosh.
Posted: 11th, January 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: Petr Cech catches the Thames Turbo
Last week Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech took the Thames Turbo home to Surrey.
The best bit about this is that Cech didn’t tweet the picture himself.
Arsenal transfer news: Aubameyang £44m balls, Krychowiak hears, Oxlade-Chamberlain to Chelsea
Arsenal transfer news in today’s newspapers:
The Daily Mail says Arsenal don’t only want Watford’s Troy Deeney – they’re bidding for his Watford strike partner Odion Ighalo. Ighalo endears himself to Gunners fans by telling the Sun that he’s always loved Manchester United. “I don’t think I will be moving,” he says, “but I’m not sure I’d say no if United called.”
The Mirror ignores that and says Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger “has put Watford striker Odion Ighalo on his transfer hit-list”.
Wenger’s hit-list has long been a mystery to everyone. Is he really looking to replicate Watford at The Emirates?
Over in the Mirror, readers learn “Arsenal make Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang transfer offer”. The paper says the Gunners have offered £44.6million transfer offer to sign Aubameyang. They have?
Well, the Metro says “top Spanish journalist” Kike Marin says Arsenal have made a £44.6m offer for the Dortmund star.
How reliable is Marin?
Answer: not very.
The Mirror says Seville’s Grzegorz Krychowiak has heard of Arsenal.
“The Premier League? Some say it’s the best in the world, other people think that’s La Liga,” he tells FourFourTwo magazine. “I’ve heard about Arsenal, but I leave it to my agent. I trust him and he’s the one who deals with that kind of the stuff. I can’t think about things like that. I have to keep my mind free of any distraction and just focus on doing my job for Sevilla.”
The Daily Telegraph twists that into:
No. He did not “confirm interest”.
The Sun says Chelsea will attempt to sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain if Eden Hazard leaves.
Chelsea are desperate for English players. Would the Ox leave? Probably not.
Posted: 9th, January 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Manchester United transfer news: Pep sniffs, Blanc in, £40m for Lukaku, Ronaldo dead
Transfer balls: A look at players being linked to Manchester United in today’s Press.
Manchester United are interested in Paris St-Germain manager Laurent Blanc. They want him now or in the summer, reports the Le10 Sport via Daily Star.
The Star also reports, that Manchester United are interested in recruiting Pep Guardiola, the Spanish coach who wants to manager a Premier League team next season. Current United coach Louis Van Gaal says Pep “wants to sniff the culture of England.” Does the Premier League have a perfume? It should do. HYPE, by PL: base notes of used bank notes and crude oil overlaid with top notes of phlegm, lager and yoga mat. All served in a satellite-dish shaped bottle which when opens plays Search for the Hero, by M People.
The Star says Van Gaal is not fazed by talk of Pep to Old Trafford. He shouldn’t worry, says talkSport. The radio station thunders: ” Man United are not pursuing Pep Guardiola because he lacks Premier League experience, claims Spanish football expert.”
Which is why, er, United went for PL rookie Van Gaal.
Sky Sports says “Watford forward Odion Ighalo admits it would be hard to reject Man Utd.”
“There has been speculation from Spain and Italy but I’ve played there and now want to play in England,” Ighalo told the Sun. “I don’t think I will be moving but I’m not sure I’d say no if United called.”
United have not called.
The MEN says United are not going to win the race to sign Brazil striker Alexandre Pato: “Tutto Mercato claims that bitter rivals Liverpool are set to win the race for Corinthians star, with the club eager to offload him because of his massive wages.”
Ronaldo won’t be rejoining United. New Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane tells everyone:
“Cristiano Ronaldo is non-transferable. He’s the soul of this team. While he’s here, he won’t leave. Cristiano will play on the wings, how he’s most comfortable. I won’t tell him much. I want him to be happy.”
Cue lost more news on Ronaldo to United.
One signing that should excite United fans is that of Romelu Lukaku, the talented Everton striker. The Metro reports United have £40m for the Belgian.
Why Everton would sell their £28m star to a rival mid way through the season is a moot point. Surely they won’t.
Posted: 9th, January 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment (1)
Paul Tisdale giving Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp a present is just one one of the nicest things ever
Paul Tisdale giving Jurgen Klopp a present before the start of FA Cup match between Exeter City and Liverpool “is just one one of the nicest things ever”, says George Caulkin.
And it is.
Paul Tisdale giving Jurgen Klopp a present before the start of this game is just one one of the nicest things ever. pic.twitter.com/OBXsSIa09z
— George Caulkin (@CaulkinTheTimes) January 8, 2016
Transfer balls: Hazard £65m To Manchester United Or £100m to Real Madrid
Transfer balls: Is Chelsea’s Eden Hazard heading to Manchester United? The Daily Star seems to think he might be. The fee? £65m.
Of course, not so long ago (it was yesterday), Manchester United were buying Gareth Bale from Real Madrid. The Star explains the sudden shift in targets: “New target as Bale deal is off.”
Was it ever on?
The Star says United will “battle” PSG and Bayern Munich for Hazard. The Daily Mail says Real Madrid want him. But the Star is sticking with Hazard to United, saying the club’s owners have approved a bid and £250,000-a-week wages for the Belgian.
But hold on a moment. The Express leads with news that Chelsea are “banking on Didier Drogba’s arrival as coach being the key to keeping Eden Hazard”.
Why? Well, Drogba “persuaded” Hazard to join a winning Chelsea side from lowly Lille for £35m and a massive pay hike in 2012. Drogba is some negotiator.
The Express reasons that Drogba will now persuade Hazard to remain at Chelsea and turn down a massive signing on fee and more wages at a bigger club.
The Mail quotes a Chelsea “insider” saying of Hazard: “In his head he has already left. It would take some U-turn to keep him.”
Champions’ League football would help – which makes you wonder why Hazard would join a struggling Manchester United when he’s good enough to play at Madrid or Barcelona.
Finally, the Independent has a few words on Hazard’s worth.
The Belgian, 24, is ranked ahead of current Balon d’Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo, who is fourth, with a current market value of €130.5million (£95.77m), according to football think-tank the CIES Football Observatory.
Adding:
The value means that Hazard, who has been linked with a £100m move to Real Madrid in the January window, trails only Barcelona pair Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 8th, January 2016 | In: Back pages, Chelsea, Sports | Comment
Chelsea shock: Oscar tackles player, Costa hurts hair, players exchange handbags
Chelsea players have been in a “row” says the Daily Mail. Diego Costa and Oscar squared up in a “fracas” during training.
In the great pantheon of sporting fights this one is in the bargain basement, tossed in a bin below compilation tapes of Audley Harrison’s best bouts.
The Mail says Oscar and Costa fought after two “hefty” tackles. The mind’s eyes sees Oscar shouting ‘boo!’ and tickling Costa with a feather duster, followed by Costa pinching his attacker on the legs and tumbling to the floor clutching his face, heart and hair.
The Mirror says the pair “clashed furiously” after “X-rated tackles”. Over two pages we read of “Fear and Loathing in SW6”. That’s the London postcode for Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge.
The Sun calls it a “dust up”. It says the players had to be pulled apart. No punches were thrown, says the Mirror. The Sun says they might have been.
Oscar did go in with a knee-high challenge on his teammate, says the Sun. Chelsea players were “shocked by the ferosity of the challenge”. Well, they’ve seen Oscar play. Any challenge from him is a bit of a surprise. The Times says the players “clashed repeatedly” during the session.
And then? Well, the Sun quotes Oscar, who says he and Costa are “very good friends” and have “no issues whatsoever”.
And that’s the story of “fear and loathing” at the modern, sanitised version of Chelsea FC.
Posted: 8th, January 2016 | In: Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Ezequiel Lavezzi beats Arsenal, wants Spurs, joins Barcelona
Transfer balls: a look at terrible football reporting. The Daily Telegraph has news for Arsenal and Spurs fans:
In case you thought the bitter north London rivalry needed anything else to ramp it up, it has been reported that both Arsenal and Tottenham are after the same man – and the team in white are going to win.
They are? Who is this player? And who picks Spurs over the Gunners?
Arsenal have long shown an interest in Ezequeil Lavezzi, reportedly failing to agree a fee for the Paris Saint-Germain winger last summer.
The piece ends:
The former Napoli man is out of contract in the summer and Spurs will be able to seal the deal for a knock-down price.
Number of sources linked to: nil.
Number of people quoted: nil.
But we can quote a source who seems to know all about Lavezzi.
Chelsea ready to pursue deal for PSG’s Ezequiel Lavezzi – May 2014
Arsenal transfer news and rumours: Gunners suffer blow in bid to sign PSG’s Ezequiel Lavezzi -PSG winger Ezequiel Lavezzi is unlikely join either Arsenal in January, according to his agent. – Dec 31, 2015
You can read those stories in the Daily Telegraph.
In other Lavezzi news:
And Gazzetta dello Sport says that Tottenham are not fighting Arsenal for the player – it’s Barcelona and Internazionale they need to beat. Best of luck with that.
Posted: 7th, January 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports, Spurs | Comment
Transfer Balls: Ronaldo and Bale to Man United, Messi to Man City, Pep to Chelsea
Transfer balls: The British Press is obsessed with Real Madrid. The latest news is that Cristiano Ronaldo will definitely leave Real Madrid in the summer, with Manchester United and Paris St-Germain keen to sign the 30-year-old Portugal forward. So says the Telegraph.
This will trigger a new wave of spending by Real Madrid, who will fight PSG for Chelsea’s Eden Hazard. The 24-year-old Belgium forward is certain to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer, says the Daily Mail.
And there is Gareth Bale, the 26-year-old Real Madrid player who will follow Ronaldo out of the Spanish capital, heading to join Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Manchester United or PSG. Unless he elects to stay in Spain, says the Sun.
Should Bale head to Manchester United he will hook up with that club’s next manager. Yeah, it’s 56-year-old Carlo Ancelotti, who was approached by United’s king maker’s last November. Back then the Italian rejected the chance to replace Louis van Gaal because he wants to manage Bayern Munich, says the Daily Mail. But he’s yet to be offered that job. So it might be United for him.
Bayern, of course, are waving goodbye to their manager, Pep Guardiola. The Manchester Evening News wonders if Pep, 44, is to be United’s next boss. News is that he won’t be. Apparently United feel he’s already set his mind on bossing Manchester City, where, says the Sun, he will attempt to buy Lionel Messi from Barcelona. The Catalans will then attempt to buy Hazard.
Unless the London Evening Standard is right and Pep is going to receive an offer from Chelsea he cannot refuse. In which case, Hazard will stay at Chelsea, Bale will stay at Real and Ronaldo will cancel his flight to Old Trafford.
Meanwhile…at Arsenal….
Posted: 7th, January 2016 | In: Back pages, Chelsea, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Gareth Bale to Chelsea, Hazard to Real, tabloids to guessing
Transfer balls: It’s going to be a month of Gareth Bale this and Gareth Bale that.
The Daily Mail says Bale will head to Manchester United for £75m.
The Guardiansays Bale is not leaving Real. He’s going to see if he can make a fist of it.
But if Real do sell Bale this January – which they won’t do – who will replace him in Spain? The Daily Star knows. The paper says Real will invest £100m in ‘tired’ Eden Hazard.
The Daily Mirror, speculates, that could mean Bale heading to Chelsea in a swap deal.
Maybe.
Posted: 6th, January 2016 | In: Back pages, Chelsea, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer news: Newcastle fan tosses his shirt in Jamie Vardy’s garden
Transfer news now, and with it the story of the Newcastle United fan baiting Leicester City wonder striker Jamie Vardy. The Magpies fan has attempted to seduce Vardy from high-flying Leicester to struggling Newcastle by tossing his replica shit into the player’s back garden.
Vardy’s bemused girlfriend tweeted a photo of the shirt draped in the shrubbery.
If you see a topless Newcastle United fan, ask him why he did it? On second thoughts, don’t bother. Going topless is the default Newcastle fan’s look.
Transfer balls: Liverpool ‘get’ Grujic, chase Gundogan, Sane and Aubameyang
Liverpool manger Jurgen Klopp “may be forced into the transfer market”, reports the BBC. During Liverpool’s 1-0 League Cup semi-final first-leg win at Stoke, Philippe Coutinho and Dejan Lovren were forced from the field with hamstring injuries. At the final whistle, Kolo Toure looked to be struggling.
With Martin Skrtel already injured, Liverpool have no fit central defenders.
“This is something we have to think about,” said Klopp after the match when asked if he was now looking for new players. Two weeks ago we had three centre-backs, which is a good situation, and the season started with five – but now it is zero. It is a strange feeling because on one side it is very, very good then we have these injuries.”
BBC Radio 5 live pundit Kevin Kilbane, blames Klopp for the injuries:
“I’ve seen it at some clubs before. Perhaps it’s down to the change in training methods. Under Jurgen Klopp they’ll train much harder day in, day out. The amount of medical attention footballers get at football clubs now – and also the physical work which is put in – this shouldn’t be happening. I put down the various hamstring injuries down to Klopp’s change in style.”
Does Klopp agree? “Maybe I could look at our training methods but we don’t train – we only recover. There is no training,” he says. “I’m responsible for these things and if you want to make me responsible for our hamstring strains, then OK.”
On the matter of what players Liverpool should buy, the Press is full of guessing.
The Liverpool Echo links Liverpool to Ilkay Gundogan yesterday ,Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Joel Matip and Leroy Sane.
The Express says “Marko Grujic looks set to be unveiled as Jurgen Klopp’s first signing as Liverpool boss today”.
The Star says Toni Kroos is on his way to Anfield – maybe.
The Metro declares: “Liverpool transfer news: Kamil Grabara deal, Max Meyer eyed, Kylian Mbappe targeted.”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 6th, January 2016 | In: Back pages, Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal ‘targets’ Elneny and Aubameyang are ‘missing’
Transfer balls: For Arsenal the news is about who is missing. Mohamed Elneny has been missing from Basle training. The 23-year-old Egyptian midfielder has passed his Arsenal medial, which he took in Paris last month.
Rumours abound that a fee of £7.4 million has been agreed.
The other missing player is Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, of Borussia Dortmund. He missed training at the German club for “personal reasons”.
He’s been linked with a £42m move to Arsenal. Surely that’s too high for the Gunners in January.
Manchester United: Bentley for losers
The car’s the star in the tabloids. Manchester United players love a Bentley.
Daily Mail: “Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal arrives at favourite restaurant in a Bentley”
The car’s value is not stated.
Daily Mail, December 21: “Defender Chris Smalling rolls into Carrington in his sporty Bentley following United’s 2-1 defeat by Norwich on Saturday”
Not before the defeat. After it.
Daily Mirror, January 3: “Memphis Depay spotted in £250,000 Rolls Royce – hours after being slammed by Ruud Gullit”
Make the link. Can you? The Mirror seems to be suggesting that Depay is so upset at what Gullit said about him he’s downgraded his car. Depay risks being mocked by his Manchester United teammates for looking cheap. Right?
In other team news:
Daily Mail, January 5: “Like many of the most gifted players, Arnautovic is a mixture of raw ability, eccentricity and insecurity. He arrives at Stoke’s training ground from his Cheshire home every day in a personalised Bentley.”
A Bentley has very secure locks.
If it’s craptastic cars you want…
Posted: 5th, January 2016 | In: Money, Sports, Technology | Comment
Chelsea v Dr Eva Carneiro kicks off soon
“Has he gone yet?”
After the Premier League has wound down for the summer – and Chelsea are calling Avram Grant to manage the team- Dr Eva Carneiro will give testimony in her constructive dismissal case against Chelsea.
The case will begin tomorrow at the London South Employment Tribunal in Croydon. The judge will set a timetable for the case.
The Guardian says the date for a full hearing “could be fixed for some time in June but there may be another preliminary hearing arranged before that takes place. The parties may also agree to a settlement before the case is heard.”
The good doctor is also taking a personal legal action against Chelsea’s former manager José Mourinho for alleged victimisation and discrimination.
The 42-year-old doctor was dropped from first-team duties after Mourinho criticised her and the first-team physio Jon Fearn for going on to the pitch to treat Eden Hazard on the opening day of the season.
The action meant Chelsea were temporarily down to nine men against Swansea and Mourinho called Carneiro and Fearn ”impulsive and naive”. Carneiro did not appear on the bench again for first-team duties and later parted company with the club.
Only Fearn remains at the club. Come June, and judging by the way Roman Abramovich goes through staff, he could be managing it…
Arsenal join Man City, Chelsea and Man United in chase for Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola will manage Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal. He’s leaving Bayern Munich in the close season so he can manage in England.
He told the Press:
“I need a new challenge and I want to use that chance to be a manager in England. I want to experience the atmosphere in England and I look forward to the stadiums there. I am 44 and it is the right time. There are offers but I haven’t signed for anyone yet. When I have a new club I will let everyone know.”
So where for Guardiola? Well, when at Barcelona he worked with Ferran Soriano, now Manchester City’s chief executive, and Txiki Begiristain, City’s sporting director
But United and Chelsea both want him. Blues’ owner Roman Abramovich loves Pep.
But surely the best fit is for Pep to join Arsenal. Pep to replace Wenger… It makes sense.
Posted: 5th, January 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment (1)
Chris Gayle fined for asking weak, pathetic woman out on a date
Jamaican Chris Gayle plays cricket. He’s pretty good at it. He’s a big wham-bam thank you, ma’am sort of player. He attempts to obliterate the ball in the Big Bash T20. During a match in Hobart, Tasmania, on Monday, Gayle asked sports reporter Mel McLaughlin out. That he did this during a live interview shows us that Gayle is brave. But, then, he is man who wears brightly coloured pyjamas to work. He is always bed ready.
“To see your eyes for the first time is nice. Hopefully we can win this game and we can have a drink afterwards. Don’t blush, baby,” said Chris. McLaughlin moved on. Gayle tried again. The interview ended.
Poor Chris struck out. He did not – ouch! – bowl the maiden over.
Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland was aghast. He said Gayle’s actions were a form of harassment. Stuart Coventry, chief executive of Gayle’s team the Melbourne Renegades, called the player’s words “completely inappropriate and disrespectful”.
Oh, gawd. ‘Inappropriate’ is the dread word of our age. It smacks of prudes and censors. We are living the Mary Whitehouse experience. Purse your lips. Breathe in. Never exhale.
Gayle was fined AU$10,000. The cash will be donated to a breast-cancer charity – why?. McLaughlin’s bosses at Network Ten say Gayle will no longer be given an on-field microphone or helmet-cam during live broadcasts.
Gayle says it was all a “joke”, a form of “entertainment”.
You might laugh at this. “What really disappoints me,” says Fox Sports journalist Neroli Meadows, “is the fact that people still laugh and the fact that when somebody like myself or Mel says it’s not okay… It happens, situations likes that, 10 times a day when you’re a female in this sports industry and that’s just a fact.”
She called it “the sports industry”. We’ve heard enough from her.
Over to McLaughlin, then, who says she feels “nothing but respect” for Gayle. Yeah, she took it in her stride. She did not cry foul. It turns out that – get this – an adult woman can take being asked out by a cricketer on the telly and not call in lawyers and therapists.
Who knew?
Posted: 5th, January 2016 | In: Sports | Comment (1)
