By Nick Harris 2 June 2010 HM Revenue & Customs has started legal proceedings against the Premier League in the wake of the financial collapse of Portsmouth to try to have the so-called ‘“football creditors’ rule” (FCR) abolished. Under the rule, if a club enters administration, “football creditors” including other clubs, players and managers owed […]

By Nick Harris 2 June 2010 The Red Knights group of super-rich Manchester United fans who want to take control of the club from the Glazer family have released a statement this morning confirming their ongoing interest, as sportingintelligence reported first yesterday that they would do. In a less than spectacular endorsement of the early […]

By Nick Harris 2 June 2010 The USA’s World Cup squad will share a bonus pot of more than $20m (£13.8m) if they defy the odds to win the tournament in South Africa this summer. The potential payout is the most lucrative confirmed bonus scheme in the history of the tournament and could net the […]

By Nick Harris 2 June 2010 An analysis of the strikers from Europe’s leading nations heading for South Africa – and their records at domestic level in 2009-10 – proves that Darren Bent is uniquely unfortunate in not being selected to be part of England’s 23-man squad. The 26-year-old Sunderland forward is the only footballer […]

By Nick Harris 1 June 2010 The Red Knights group of super-rich Manchester United fans who want buy the club from the Glazer family will react to reports that their plans are “in tatters” or “on ice” by releasing a statement to confirm they still intend to make an offer for the club. Sportingintelligence has […]

By Nick Harris 1 June 2010 NB: 5.20pm UPDATE AT FOOT OF STORY Crystal Palace’s administrator, Brendan Guilfoyle, is still hopeful that a deal can reached today between potential buyers for the financially stricken Championship club and the Bank of Scotland, which is handling the – entirely separate – sale of the club’s ground, Selhurst […]

By Nick Harris 31 May 2010 With the World Cup in South Africa looming and all of Europe’s major nations readying themselves for the competition, new analysis by sportingintelligence of the domestic seasons just ended shows that Germany’s top division attracted more fans overall than England’s top division for the first time in history. It […]

By Nick Harris 28 May 2010 Tom Hicks and George Gillett got off to a bad start as the owners of Liverpool. And then it got worse. Inside their first year they made – and then broke – a string of promises to supporters, as outlined in this piece written for The Independent in January […]

By Nick Harris 28 May 2010 Manchester United’s owners, the Glazer family, have released a statement this morning via the club board – a statement that coincides with the publication of United’s quarterly accounts – that expresses in the clearest terms yet that they do not want to sell the club. “The Board notes recent […]

By Keira Daley 27 May 2010 Two rowing teams – an all-male crew of four and an all-female crew of four – will set off next Tuesday from Tower Bridge in London in an attempt to row non-stop, without assistance, on a 2,010-mile course around mainland Great Britain. The event, sponsored by Virgin, is a precursor […]