Club World Cup is our dream, insists Benitez December 12, 2012 CHELSEA manager Rafael Benitez has vowed to pick his strongest team in this morning’s Club World Cup semi-final against Monterrey, insisting that winning the trophy would make his players’ dreams come true. The Blues jetted out to Japan in the thick of a gruelling fixture schedule featuring nine matches this month alone, raising the temptation [...]
Lowdown: Monterrey December 12, 2012 Reached the semi-finals with a 3-1 win over South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai in the last eight on Sunday, making their second straight appearance at the Club World Cup They are consecutive winners of the CONCACAF Champions League, which is the central American, South American and Caribbean combined equivalent to the European Champions League The Mexicans [...]
Wenger is still right man for job – Keown December 12, 2012 UNDER-FIRE manager Arsene Wenger is still the right man to revive Arsenal, despite mounting criticism, insists former Gunners defender Martin Keown. Tuesday’s shock Capital One Cup defeat to League Two Bradford compounded Wenger’s worst start to a Premier League season and increased calls for him to quit. Suggestions of a souring of relations between the [...]
Shabby Arsenal lack courage and leadership December 12, 2012 ARSENE Wenger will still be Arsenal manager at the end of the season, but the next six months will tell us everything about his remaining ambitions and will determine whether he sticks around beyond May. Supporters have had enough of watching their team decline while the club makes money and directors are handsomely paid. They [...]
All Black demolition should pave way for several English Lions December 12, 2012 BRITISH and Irish Lions coaches Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell hope to persuade head coach Warren Gatland to take a strong nucleus of English players on the 10-match tour of Australia next summer. Gatland announced Rowntree and Farrell alongside Rob Howley as his forwards and defence coaches respectively, and they hope this month’s stunning 38-21 [...]
India captain considers quitting as England look to wrap up win December 12, 2012 INDIA captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has hinted that the fourth and final Test against England could be his last as skipper. Dhoni has faced calls to quit in a harrowing series for the hosts, who won the first match but lost the next two equally emphatically to leave them facing a first home series defeat [...]
Swans into semis for first time December 12, 2012 FOOTBALL: Swansea reached the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup for the first time in their history last night with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough, thanks to Seb Hines’s late own goal.
Watson poised for Ryder role December 12, 2012 GOLF: Veteran Tom Watson is today expected to be named US captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. Watson, 63, would be the oldest man to lead the team.
Bradford handed FA Cup reprieve December 12, 2012 FOOTBALL: Bradford have been reinstated to the FA Cup after successfully appealing their expulsion for fielding an ineligible player in the second round. Arsenal’s Capital One Cup conquerors face a replay against League One Brentford next week.
Former FSA chief joins Barclays as head of compliance December 12, 2012 Barclays has appointed former Financial Services Authority chief Hector Sants as head of compliance and government and regulatory relations. Sants, who will join the executive committee of Barclays, will report directly to chief executive Antony Jenkins. The former City watchdog boss will oversee all compliance activities across Barclays, including all regions in which the bank [...]