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.
Swansea City balls: Gary Monk sacked and Brendan Rodgers returns
Farewell, Gary Monk, manager of Swansea City, soon to be the Swans’ ex-manager. The papers all agree that the affable young Englishman is to be replaced by former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.
The Daily Express says Rodgers return to Swansea is a sure thing. The Guardian says Monk, 36, will be given his P45 when Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins returns from collecting his OBE in London.
But let’s not shed a tear for Monk. The Sun says he’s in line for a£3m payoff to Monk., That’s not too shabby.
Posted: 8th, December 2015 | In: Back pages, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Manchester United go for Ancelotti (who fishes for Arsenal and Chelsea)
CAROLO Ancelotti is vying with Pep Guardiola for the Manchester United job. The Sun leads with “CARLO SEES RED – I’d love to be boss of United.”
The Sun shows Ancelotti looking huge and vibrant, massive, hulking presence over Louis Van Gaal, the current Man United manager, who appears tiny, looking down and rubbing his nose.
This scoop is based on what Ancelotti told the Independent:
“I will continue to wait. If I don’t find a club with a good project, I can wait. What will I do? Watching games, fishing, all these things. But let us see next summer. I will not take a job in mid-season, but I would like to work again next summer.”
The Sun suggests Man United.
“Of course, for every manager, they would all think of managing Manchester United.”
Ancelotti has been on the media rounds. He’s looking for a top job, letting everyone know he’s available. Just get a load of these stories in the Daily Mail:
Ancelotti to Arsenal would be perfect. Why have the wheels not already been set in motion?!’ – Daily Mail, March 2015.
‘Liverpool make contact with Carlo Ancelotti as pressure mounts on Brendan Rodgers’ – Daily Mail, September 2015.
‘Chelsea plan for Jose Mourinho exit with Carlo Ancelotti waiting in the wings’ – Daily Mail, October 2015.
‘Carlo Ancelotti has now set his sights on his next coaching role. He wants the Bayern Munich job if Pep Guardiola decides to leave’ – Daily Mail, December 2015.
Via: MediaWatch
Posted: 8th, December 2015 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Manchester United: Ferguson fears Liverpool boss Klopp and forgets himself
Sir Alex Ferguson says he’s worried at the impact Jurgen Klopp will have at Liverpool. The former Manchester United manager says of Klopp:
“I’m worried about him because the one thing United don’t want is Liverpool to get above us. He’s a fantastic personality, with those big white teeth always showing…”
And then Ferguson spoke about working with the media:
“You have to win twice on a Saturday. You have to win the game and you have to win the press conference. Some managers fail, simply because they lack experience or they’re emotional. You have to gather yourself. I used to wash my face before a press conference…. You have to give a message to your fans because they’re watching. They want to see their manager come out with a positive attitude and not a beaten man… You’ve got to handle the press. It’s a very difficult part of it.”
That would be the Alex Ferguson who for seven years refused to speak to the BBC after they dissed his son.
Posted: 7th, December 2015 | In: Back pages, Liverpool, manchester united, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Chelsea lose to Bournemouth in Russian billionaire battle
Yesterday Bournemouth beat Chelsea 0-1 at Stamford Bridge. It was cracking result for the south coast club playing for the first time in the Premier League.
But in the Times, Rory Smith has a word to the wise:
Bah, humbug!
Posted: 7th, December 2015 | In: Back pages, Broadsheets, Chelsea, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Liverpool balls: Skrtel aims for the own-goal record
Martin Skrtel’s own-goal for Liverpool in their 2-0 defeat 1t Newcastle takes the player’s tally of shots-in-the-wrong-goal to 7, leaving him level with fellow Red Jamie Carragaher in the most top-division own goals table.
Skrtel is now only three hits behind the Premier League’s leading own-goal getter, Richard Dunne, who scored 10 times between 1997 and 2015.
Posted: 7th, December 2015 | In: Back pages, Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Chelsea balls: Jose Mourinho sacked by Leicester (maybe)
More Jose Mourinho sacking news now. The Times leads with a story that the Chelsea boss is “in last chance” to save his job.
Matt Hughes says José Mourinho has been told that “he must guide Chelsea into the knockout stages of the Champions League this week to safeguard his position as manager”.
Win a single point against Porto on Wednesday and Chelsea qualify for the round of 16 – “Defeat, though, could bring the end of Mourinho’s second spell as manager at Stamford Bridge.”
From a headline stating Mourinho has one chance, to a story beneath it that the Portuguese could be given more last chances. The Times has no idea.
And neither does the Daily Mirror, which reports that Chelsea “could sack manager Jose Mourinho whether or not they beat Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday”.
The Sun hedges its bets, giving Mourinho two games to save his job. It sticks a wet finger in the air and discovers that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich “may act if the Blues lose to Porto and then against leaders Leicester in the Premier League next weekend”.
Or else, he may not.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 7th, December 2015 | In: Broadsheets, Chelsea, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
‘On the brink’ at Chelsea: Jose Mourinho sacked by teatime
When does ‘the brink’ become ‘the fall’? The Telegraph says Jose Mourinho is “on the brink” of leaving Chelsea following the Blues’ 0-1 defeat to the mighty Bournemouth.
Mourinho may well scoff at the report. After all, he has been ‘on the brink’ of getting the sack for much of this season.
After defeat at Stoke City, Eurosport wrote: “Chelsea slump to Stoke defeat as Arnautovic puts Mourinho on the brink”
The Express agreed:
ITV said Mourinho was ‘on the brink’ after defeat to Liverpool.
After defeat to West Ham United, the Mail said Jose was “on the brink”:
The Mirror agreed.
According to the Press, Mourinho has been a dead man walking for weeks:
To which Jose says:
Such are the facts.
Posted: 6th, December 2015 | In: Chelsea, Reviews, Sports | Comment
How Neville Neville got his name (and what it means for Gary)
In a very good article on former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville’s move to a top coaching role at Valencia, David Walsh shares an anecdote that shines a light on the former player’s stubborn will.
His late dad went by the name Neville Neville. You will have wondered at some point, “How could anyone do this?” Just after Neville was born the midwife walked into the room where mum and baby were bonding, picked up the chart and said, “Neville, that’s a nice name for a boy.” A great aunt of Gary’s was visiting and she immediately corrected the midwife’s mistake. “Oh, no, it’s not Neville. That’s his surname. Neville Neville? We can’t be having that.” But her niece, Gary’s grandmother, was affronted at the unintended slight. “Why not Neville Neville? I’ll call him what I want.” And so there you had it, Neville Neville.
Can Gary Neville’s defy the odds and succeed at Valenia? If he fails, you know it won’t be for want of effort…
Manchester United transfers: Harry Kane for £50m, Neymar and Guardiola
Manchester United transfer balls time.
The Sunday Times leads with news that Louis Van Gaal will remain in charge at Old Trafford even if United crash out of the Champions’ League.
But the paper’s Jonathan Northcroft adds that the club are looking for Van Gaal’s successor – and Pep Guardiola wants the job. Northcroft says Pep is “likely” to leave Bayern Munich when his contract expires next summer, and would prefer a move to Manchester United over Manchester City.
The Guardian says United are not interested in Pep. They will “leave the way open for Manchester City to pursue the 44-year-old former Barcelona coach”.
So Van Gaal stays for a while longer. And next summer he’ll get another £200m to splurge on players, says the Sun.
The Sunday Mirror says United will opt for one of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Neymar. Whether one of them will opt for United is a moot point.
The Metro (yes, we know) says United will bid £50m to lure Harry Kane from Tottenham. There he can link up with former Spurs stars Bale and Michael Carrick, causing Spurs fans and their club’s manager Mauricio Roberto Pochettino to question their clubs ambitions.
Pochettino to United, anyone?
Posted: 6th, December 2015 | In: manchester united, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Arsenal: Joel Campbell has a huge hissy fit, slams doors and hates everyone
We love a good goal celebration. But we’re a tad worried for Joel Campbell, Arsenal’s Costa Rican striker.
Having scored for Arsenal against Sunderland in yesterday’s Premier Leaaue match, Campbell retrieved a baby’s dummy from somewhere inside his shorts and sucked it.
This was a tribute to his 10-month-old daughter Brianna,
At the 2014 World Cup, he also hailed his child, scoring a goal against Uruguay and popping the ball up his shirt to mimic his pregnant girlfriend Maria Fernanda Cascante.
If every stage of young Brianna Campbell’s life is to be marked in one of dad’s goal celebrations, we expect to see Campbell pull a bowl of jelly and ice cream from his jock-strap, hold his ears and scowl (the recorder playing phase) and finally storm off the pitch, slamming every door as he leaves and screaming “I hate you!”
Injury balls: Sanchez and Cazorla defy the media experts and get well soon
The media loves to talk up an injury – and few places in football do injuries with more regularity than Arsenal. The Gunners’ midfielder Santi Cazorla is now injured. We have not been told how badly.
At his Friday press conference, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he didn’t know how long Cazorla will be out for. A journalist asks if he “could” be out til Mach. Wenger replies: “It is possible.”
In the Guardian that becomes: “Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla to miss at least three months with knee injury”
The paper fails to add “possibly”.
The Indy goes better: “… the Gunners now face up to life without Santi Cazorla until March while Alexis Sanchez could miss the rest of 2015.”
He could. But Wenger said: “Alexis is a hamstring [injury] but I don’t know how long it will take, it is usually a quick one to recover.”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 5th, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Cavani ‘joins’ Manchester United for £13m less than Arsenal paid
How much is PSG’s Edinson Cavani worth?
According to L’Equipe,Manchester United “have been told” they can sign the Paris St-Germain forward for £32m.
This odd story also appears in the Metro. It’s the newspaper that said Cavani had agreed to play for Arsenal.
How much did Cavani join Arsenal for way back in September? The Daily Star knew:
The Metro‘s story of Cavani now being worth £13m less than he was just three months ago contains not a single named source. It’s just an apparent fact that Cavani is worth £32m.
And why didn’t Arsenal sign the Uruguayan? The Daily Mirror says the Gunners decided the 28-year-old has ‘no sell-on value’. They should have consulted that anonymous source – although Cavani’s value is falling faster than the Star and Metro’s credibility.
Posted: 5th, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, manchester united, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Chelsea balls: Costa in London nightclub rage as Jose seethes in total silence
When is a riotous night out not a riotous night out? The Mail leads with news that “Chelsea stars Diego Costa, Ramires and Kenedy risked incurring the wrath of Jose Mourinho by partying into the early hours on Thursday morning at a London nightclub”.
The Chelsea hell raisers were “spotted leaving top London nightclub Libertine at 3.15am”. Ashley Clements has more on these rebels:
Chelsea boss Mourinho may not be best pleased to see Costa out until 3am after seeing his struggling striker throw a touchline tantrum last weekend. Mourinho’s golden rule for the first-team squad is that they are not allowed to drink alcohol or have late nights out in the 48 hours before Chelsea games – a rule the Blues trio were certainly testing by partying late into the night on Wednesday.
Jose must be doing his pieces. Those Brazilian-born party animals.
Here’s Darren Lewis in the Mirror:
Chelsea’s underachieving squad enjoyed a team-bonding evening out on Wednesday night – with full permission from Jose Mourinho.
Diego Costa and Ramires were among the Blues allowed to paint the town red and were spotted leaving a London nightclub in the early hours of Thursday morning with recent addition Kenedy.
They were joined by the entire first team squad ahead of Saturday’s Premier League home game against Bournemouth.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 4th, December 2015 | In: Chelsea, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Transfer balls: Manchester United swoop for West Ham’s Reece Oxford
Transfer news: Manchester Untied are making a £8m bid for West ham United’s 16-year-old defender Reece Oxford.
The Times says Oxford is scheduled to sign a news contract at West Ham as early as this month, but only for two years – FA rules prevent any player under 18 from signing a longer deal.
The Times then adds that Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool are also keen on the player, but it’s Man United who are “likely” to make a move.
Posted: 4th, December 2015 | In: manchester united, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Paul Pogba Wings in to Manchester United
FACT! Paul Pogba is going to play for Manchester United or Manchester City. This we know because the Juventus and France midfielder has been spotted eating in Manchester with pals.
Do these pals live in Manchester, where Pogba lived for two years while waiting to be loved by United? Do he and his French and Italian pals salivate for Manchester food, jetting in for gastronomic delights?
As ever, the player was at the Wing’s Chinese restaurant, a place so attractive to footballers that the city’s lap-dancers and reality telly starlets have taken to smearing themselves in Peking duck.
“I love Manchester,” said the midfielder, reportedly, as he left the diner.
He loves Manchester on a drab December night. What do they out in that special sauce?
Posted: 3rd, December 2015 | In: manchester united, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal get Isco, Bender, Navas and a Chelsea ‘sensation’
Arsenal transfer committee
Arsenal are being linked to a host of players. If it goes to form, Arsenal will buy one player at most this January, play him until he can barely walk, talk about his being in the “red zone”, before watching him hobble through the revolving doors at the crowded injury centre.
The Star says Arsenal are favourites to land Real Madrid’s Isco. The Star links to the Metro, which says Spain’s AS says Arsenal are on course to hire the 23-year-old. Maybe.
The Indy says Arsenal are in for …TEN players! They are: Mauro Incardi; Alex Pato; Grzegorz Krychowiak; Ruben Neves; Edinson Cavani; Alvaro Morata; Michy Batshuayi; Jese Rodriguez; Rico Henry; Daniele Rugani; Karim Benzema; Gonzalo Higuain; and William Carvalho.
The Telegraph also has Arsenal’s ‘Top 10 Targets’. They are (not including names previously mentioned above): Ilkay Gundogan; Adrien Rabiot; Riechedly Bazoer; Lars Bender; Vincent Koziello; and Andrija Zivkovic.
The Metro say Arsenal want Jesus Navas and James McArthur.
The Mirror says Arsenal’s top target is Charly Musonda. Who? Why, he’s the “Chelsea sensation”. Yeah, really.
Tally: 20 players.
Posted: 3rd, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Gary Neville named next Manchester United and England boss
Gary Neville, aka Gary the Red, self-styled Robert De Niro look-alike, and the former Manchester United and England defender, has taken a management job at Valencia. The tabloids all lead with the news.
The Mirror calls him “One EL of a boss”. He will “REIGN in Spain”.
The paper’s David Kidd says the “temptation is the regard Gary Neville’s appointment at Valencia as merely an audition for the England or Manchester United job”. Well, consider that temptation accepted.
The back page of the, er, Mirror declares: “First stop Valencia then next stop..England.”
The Express says Gary Neville will be the next England boss:
The Mail says England could be next to Neville. And the Sun says The Valencia role is “audition for the Three Lions job”.
Now…if he can just win some matches…
Posted: 3rd, December 2015 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez performs hokey cokey to prove his fitness
How injured is Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez?
He’s IN!
The Mirror: “Sanchez has handed Arsenal a huge boost ahead of Christmas the New Year.”
He’s OUT!
The Sun: “Arsene Wenger fears Alexis Sanchez may miss the festive programme.”
He’s SHAKING IT ALL ABOUT!
The Mail: “Arsenal are still assessing star forward Alexis Sanchez.”
In other words: he’s injured but the tabloids have no idea how badly.
Posted: 2nd, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal balls: the media crisis that isn’t
Arsenal have a lot of players injured. But some how they’ve managed to give themselves a fighting chance of progressing in the Champions’ League and sit just two points from the Premier League summit.
No disaster, then.
But to the Mirror Arsenal are in a “Greek tragedy”. Needing to beat an ordinary Olympiakos side by two clear goals or score three and win, the paper says the Gunners’ chances are reduced by injury. They are in “crisis”.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 1st, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Chelsea in for Manchester United’s Thomas Muller
The Mirror says Chelsea have joined the hunt for Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller. In “Muller In.. Mauler Out”, the paper says the German will replace Diego Costa, the Blues’ charmless striker.
According to Darren Lewis, Chelsea face a challenge from Manchester United for the superb Bayern star.
Why Muller should want to leave the German champions nicknamed FC Hollywood for life with Mourinho’s vanity project or Louis Van Gaal’s dullards is something former Germany captain Lothar Matthaus can’t work out.
“He does not need United or Xhelsea,” says Matthaus. “Barcelona perhaps could use him, but I don’t know whether he can deal with their game. He started his career at Bayern and I think he should end his career there.”
The Premier League is a bubble. The tabloids pretend it’s better than it is, talking up the money-bloated PL, linking the world’s top players to English teams more in hope than reality.
For instance, this drivel remain on the Daily Express site:
Such are the facts.
Posted: 1st, December 2015 | In: Chelsea, manchester united, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Clickbait football: Manchester United and the ‘Jamie Vardy’ reject
In Clickbait Football, the Metro has news on the Manchester United “reject” who could have been Louis Van Gaal’s Jamie Vardy.
The paper’s headline declares:
Stats: Man United reject proving he could’ve been LvG’s Vardy, he’s smashing records in Europe
Is it Lee Chadwick?
No. It’s Javier Hernandez. And the record he’s setting is:
Chicharito’s six Bundesliga goals immediately make him the highest scoring Mexican in German top division.
Wow!
Posted: 30th, November 2015 | In: manchester united, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy gets the Hollywood movie treatment
Jamie Vardy, Leicester City’s can’t-stop-scoring striker, is to star in a Hollywood film, says the Sun. Well, not him, but an actor playing the 28-year-old footballer.
And who might that actor be? Well, the Sun lines up Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield and Zac Efron.
To which the first question is: has anyone in Hollywood seen Jamie Vardy?
And then the season question: is Vardy’s catchphrase ‘Chat Shit Get Banged’ a working title?
Posted: 30th, November 2015 | In: Celebrities, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Liverpool in for 7 Dortmund players (and one plays for Manchester United)
The Metro reports Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp as having said “nothing stopping Liverpool grabbing Marco Reus and Mats Hummels”.
Is that really what he said? Because last January the Metro reported that Reus had agreed to join Real Madrid – which he hadn’t done:
That balls was written by Jamie Sanderson, who is also the author of this latest news:
Sanderson adds:
Klopp has revealed he could sign the pair, because there’s no clause in his exit contract from Dortmund preventing him.
He could buy any Dortmund player for Liverpool, then. Indeed, in another article the Metro says Klopp wants to bring Neven Subotic to Liverpool.
That’s three Dortmund players. The Express spots Klopp’s shopping cart and adds Mats Hummels, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Sven Bender and Ilkay Gundogan.
Can it be that Klopp will buy seven Dortmund players? We soon learn that the manager said:
…there could be a possibility – if we need a player then we could try. At this moment there is nothing to talk about. But there is no agreement that we can’t do business with Dortmund. There’s also no agreement that we can’t sell players to Dortmund!
One problem is that Hummels plays for Manchester United. He doesn’t? But we heard that he signed for them. We read that news in the Metro:
Such are the facts…
Posted: 29th, November 2015 | In: Liverpool, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Transfer balls: rubbish Leicester City’s Vardy passes Manchester United and Chelsea test
Vardy passes his United audition
Transfer balls: Leicester City have “slapped” a £30 million price tag on Jamie Vardy to “ward off interest from Chelsea and Manchester United”.
Because nothing wards off interest from two mega-rich clubs better than by offering them a price tag to consider.
The Telegraph continues its “exclusive” by stating that Vardy’s incredible goalscoring streak – he’s now scored in 11 consecutive Premier League matches – “has attracted the attention of Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo, while United manager Louis van Gaal has not ruled out a move for the 28-year-old.”
He’s some talent spotter that Emenalo, noticing that Vardy is playing superbly. And good of Van Gaal to patronise another side’s player.
We then get some facts:
…with two-and-a-half years remaining on his £40,000-a-week contract, Leicester are in a strong position to hold out for huge money for Vardy, particularly with the shortage of in-form strikers who qualify as home-grown and are free to play in the Champions League.
Read the rest of this entry »
Transfer balls: Ronaldo in the ‘clear’ for Manchester United
Manchester United have been “ion red alert” for Cristiano Ronaldo ever since the player they bought from Lisbon said he dreamt of playing for Real Madrid and duly left the club.
Today the Metro delivers yet another Ronald-to-United story:
Utter balls, of course. Tom Olver writes:
Manchester United transfer target Cristiano Ronaldo is ‘clear’ that he will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season…
Clear. No doubt.
Ronaldo’s countdown at Madrid began long ago and the legendary Portugal international is now considering his options away from the Bernabeu, according to Spanish news outlet El Confidencial.
Olver ends his report:
United may face stiff competition from Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain if Ronaldo does decide to move on next summer.
From being “clear” to leave, Ronaldo’s departure becomes an ‘if’.
Over on El Confidential, we read:
The fate of Cristiano Ronaldo, today, seems clear. His countdown as Real Madrid player launched himself long ago. Something privately repeated more than once, considering that the time has come to begin a new stage elsewhere.
Number of quotes from Ronaldo: nil.
Posted: 28th, November 2015 | In: manchester united, Reviews, Sports | Comment
