“I built the club”: Wenger issues staunch defence of Arsenal record as Barcelona lie in wait March 15, 2016 Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger issued a staunch defence of his 20-year reign at the club as his side prepare for their daunting Champions League last-16 second leg against defending champions Barcelona at Camp Nou. The Gunners’ season is in meltdown after the one-time Premier League title favourites won just four of 12 matches to slip [...]
Cheltenham Festival 2016: Rich Ricci’s £20,000 gamble pays off as Annie Power banishes bad memories with Champion Hurdle win March 15, 2016 Jockey Ruby Walsh toasted Rich Ricci’s five-figure gamble after Annie Power put last year’s heartache behind her with a dominant win in the Champion Hurdle on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival. The mare was only entered into the race last week at a cost of £20,000 to former Barclays investment banking chief Ricci [...]
Arsenal without Arsene Wenger is hard to imagine and I don’t like saying it but the Gunners have gone stale. Now Frenchman has four games to save the Gunners’ season – and his job March 15, 2016 Their team had just followed an odds-defying qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League by going top of the Premier League, so Arsenal fans had more cause than most to celebrate over the Christmas period. They must have started to believe that this was indeed their year. And there is no question that [...]
England will be different proposition in this World Twenty20, insists skipper Morgan March 15, 2016 England skipper Eoin Morgan believes his World Twenty20 squad will prove a more combative proposition than previous incarnations which have suffered ignominious tournament exits. Morgan will lead his side during their opening Super 10 clash against the West Indies in Mumbai on Wednesday as England bid to initiate a repeat of 2010 when they were crowned [...]
Antonio Conte available for Chelsea after announcing “I’ve got to go back to being a club manager” March 15, 2016 Antonio Conte will be free to join Chelsea next season after announcing his intention to step down as Italy manager. The Italy manager, favourite to be named the next permanent boss at Stamford Bridge, has told the Italian Football Federation he will not be seeking to renew his contract with the national team after Euro [...]
Indian Wells 2016: Andy Murray misses out on potential $1m prize money with third round defeat to Federico Delbonis March 15, 2016 Andy Murray suffered a shock defeat in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open to Federico Delbonis, costing him almost $1m in potential prize money. The Scot lost 6-4 4-6 7-6 to world No53 Delbonis in his first singles tournament since his fourth Australian Open final loss to Novak Djokovic in February. Murray, who has [...]
Leicester City 1, Newcastle United 0: Foxes’ title bandwagon keeps rolling March 14, 2016 Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri continued to shield his players from the glare of expectancy despite the Foxes re-asserting their authority at the Premier League summit with a narrow victory over Newcastle. Striker Shinji Okazaki scored the only goal of the game with a stunning overhead kick — the home side’s solitary shot on target — [...]
Seamer David Willey takes hat-trick against England to press World Twenty20 claims March 14, 2016 Left-arm seamer David Willey pressed his claims for a place in England’s starting XI at the World Twenty20 by snaring a hat-trick against his own team-mates in their final warm-up clash in Mumbai. Willey was one of four England players to be thrust into action for a Mumbai Cricket Association side as all 15 members [...]
Jordan Spieth shows human side with reaction to Twitter critic but pre-Masters form is a concern March 14, 2016 As hard as it is to get to No1 in the world rankings, it’s even more difficult to stay there, and that’s something that Jordan Spieth appears to be learning first-hand at the moment. The prolific 22-year-old’s difficult spell continued at the weekend when he only just made the cut at the Valspar Championship and [...]
Aston Villa 0, Tottenham Hotspur 2: Pochettino turns up heat on leaders Leicester March 13, 2016 Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino threw down the gauntlet to Premier League title rivals Leicester after his side closed the gap on the leaders by dispatching bottom of the table Aston Villa. Prolific hitman Harry Kane netted twice to take his Premier League tally for the season to 19 and move level with Leicester’s Jamie Vardy [...]