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 Nick Harris 27 May 2010 Under proposals for ‘Financial Fair Play’ in European football, approved by Uefa’s executive committee today, clubs aspiring to play in European club events will apparently need to start balancing their books from next year, the 2011-12 season. The word “apparently” is appropriate because it is not yet clear when […]

By Nick Harris 26 May 2010 A leading law firm that has advised a number of potential buyers of Premier League clubs this season has called for the scrapping of the nine-point penalty for entering administration, arguing that it encourages bad business practice. Points penalties are now the norm in English football for clubs entering […]

By Nick Harris 24 May 2010 The latest failed attempt to kick-start a high-stakes auction for Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith’s 15.9 per cent stake in Arsenal ended in a whimper this afternoon when a Nigerian billionaire emphatically denied any interest in buying the shares, effectively rubbishing earlier reports to the contrary. Aliko Dangote, 53, is Nigeria’s […]