News

By Alex Miller at Leaders in Football, London 5 October 2011 Uefa’s general secretary Gianni Infantino has admitted ticket prices for last season’s Champions League final at Wembley “slipped through Uefa’s net” and promised that prices “won’t be so high in 2013”. Prices for the 2011 final between Barcelona and Manchester United, not including administration […]

By Nick Harris SJA Internet Sports Writer of the Year 3 October 2011 Manchester United haven’t just made the best actual start to the Premier League season but also the best relative start when the difficulty of their fixtures so far is considered, according to analysis by sportingintelligence. Manchester City have made the second-best start, […]

By Nick Harris SJA Internet Sports Writer of the Year 3 October 2011 Blackburn Rovers’ Indian owners will be told in the coming days by senior executives based in Blackburn that many of the club’s staff and some of the players have lost confidence in Steve Kean’s ability to turn around the crisis at Ewood […]

By Brian Sears 23 September 2011 In the 20-year history of the Premier League, only six teams, including Manchester United this season, have ever accumulated winning sequences as long as five straight matches at the start of a season. But despite United’s five straight wins this term – against West Brom, Tottenham, Arsenal, Bolton and […]

By Brian Sears 14 September 2011 Whether Manchester City can make an impression in their first European Cup campaign since 1968 remains to be seen, as their city rivals United aim for a fourth Champions League final in five seasons. But in no doubt are the storming starts both clubs have made in the Premier […]

By Nick Harris SJA Internet Sports Writer of the Year 13 September 2011 Arsenal were the only team in Europe’s ‘big five’ divisions last season who were rated best in their division by statistical analysis but failed to win their domestic title, according to research just published by the CIES Football Observatory. Barcelona were rated by […]

By Nick Harris SJA Internet Sports Writer of the Year EXCLUSIVE 12 September 2011 Garry O’Connor, a Scotland striker who played for Birmingham City in the Premier League, failed a drugs test for cocaine while at the club and served a secret ban as he sought and received help for drink and drug problems, Sportingintelligence […]

By Sportingintelligence 12 September 2011 The Champions League 2011-12 group stage commences this week involving players from 68 different countries, with world champions Spain contributing more players – 81 of them – than any other nation. France contributes the next most among the 32 teams in the group stage, with 77 players, followed by Brazil […]

By Nick Harris SJA Internet Sports Writer of the Year 9 September 2011 The resumption of the Premier League this weekend after the international break coincides with the release of new predictions for the title races in Europe’s five major leagues. Chelsea are tipped to win England’s top division in 2011-12 after a three-horse race […]

By Brian Sears and Nick Harris SJA Internet Sports Writer of the Year 9 September 2011 Everton’s meeting with Aston Villa on Saturday comes at a time of financial crisis for the Goodison Park club. They’ve sought but cannot find any new investment. (See now notorious transcript of fans’ meeting with Bill Kenwright). They needed […]