By Nick Harris SJA Internet Sports Writer of the Year 18 December 2011 The former vice-president of Barcelona has revealed how the club’s previous shirt deal with UNICEF was a ‘strategic decision’ underpinned by a desire for long-term profit rather than any altruism implied by the Spanish giants’ ‘More than a club’ motto. Ferran […]

By Brian Sears and Nick Harris SJA Internet Sports Writer of the Year 16 December 2011 Manchester City are in their 15th season of Premier League football, having missed five seasons elsewhere, and they are, of course, a very different club from when they were founder members of the Prem in August 1992. This weekend they […]

Brian Sears 15 December 2011 If Fulham have a Premier League “bunny” it is surely Saturday’s opponents Bolton. In their 10 completed Premier League seasons, Fulham have gained more points from Bolton (37 points) than from anyone else. They have also gained more points per game (1.85) than against any side they have played in […]

By Sportingintelligence 15 December 2011 Blackburn Rovers fans opposed to the ownership of the club by Venky’s and to the ongoing management of the club by Steve Kean have called a temporary ‘truce’ in public protests against the regime for the next two home games. Rovers play relegation rivals West Brom this weekend and Bolton […]

By Sportingintelligence 14 December 2011 Barclays, the sponsors of the Premier League, will give a £20,000 prize to the scorer of the 20,000th Premier League goal for that player to donate to a charity of his choice, the bank will confirm on Thursday. It is highly likely that the 20,000th Premier League goal will be […]

By Sportingintelligence 12 December 2011 Tickets for Euro 2012 have gone on general sale this morning via the Uefa website, with demand from fans of some nations so high – especially England – that the site has periodically flashed up messages saying it cannot handle the volume. The message asks supporters to try later. The […]

By Nick Harris SJA Internet Sports Writer of the Year 11 December 2011 Blackburn Rovers’ owners have been asked by their bankers Barclays to make a £10m deposit into the club bank account by 31 December or else risk that they will burst their overdraft limit in the near future. One possible outcome in this […]

By Sportingintelligence  10 December 2011 With 21 goals scored in seven Premier League games in England on Saturday, the total number of Premier League goals to date is now 19,955 – or 45 goals away from the 20,000th goal milestone. Manchester United scored four on Saturday to beat Wolves 4-1 while Norwich also scored four […]

By Alex Miller 10 December 2011 Elite football is not totally immune from the recession after all: the six national teams in Europe with the most lucrative headline sponsorships will go to Euro 2012 with combined deals worth less money than they had at the 2010 World Cup. While top club wages, bonuses, endorsement deals […]

By Brian Sears 10 December 2011 The form book would seem to favour Martin O’Neill as his new club, Sunderland, have their first fixture under him against Blackburn on Sunday. Not only are Blackburn one of three clubs awaiting their first away win of this season but Sunderland haven’t been defeated by Blackburn in the last three seasons. […]