By Nick Harris 19 March 2010 With Manchester United set to host their fierce traditional rivals Liverpool this weekend amid disharmony among fans at both clubs because of American owners and their debts, new research shows fans at both clubs want control, with researchers claiming such control is affordable. The detail of the survey also […]

By Nick Harris 19 March 2010 The Ukrainian referee banned from football for life last night for being “in breach of the principles of loyalty and integrity” of Uefa’s rules was part of a hand-picked elite that the European governing body used to pioneer the new, “fairer”, six-person teams of officials at Europa League matches […]

By Nick Harris 17 March 2010 The men behind the private equity firm bidding for a stake in Liverpool are rich but not intending to invest their own fortunes in the deal Sportingintelligence can reveal. The Rhone Group, an international company with offices in New York, London and Paris, tabled a bid at the weekend for […]

By Nick Harris 17 March 2010 Portsmouth have this morning been docked nine points for entering administration, formalising a procedure that was inevitable after their financial meltdown. A statement just released by the Premier League says: “Following the High Court’s decision that Portsmouth FC’s administration is valid the Premier League Board convened today to apply the […]

By Nick Harris 16 March 2010 Fifa has launched a preemptive strike against those who might seek to corrupt the bidding process to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments with bribes by writing to remind all the bidding nations “that they have signed regulations to respect fair play in this contest”. The World […]

15 March 2010 David Beckham will miss the World Cup this summer after tearing his Achilles tendon playing for Milan against Chievo last night. The BBC report here provides details, plus Ian Dennis’s assessment that Beckham’s England career is also now over. Beckham is on loan at Milan only because of his fierce desire to […]

By Nick Harris 14 March 2010 Liverpool’s co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are not interested in selling 40 per cent of Liverpool for as little as £120m at the moment, sportingintelligence has been told by a well-placed source today, and this suggests that no quick deal is on the cards following interest from a […]

By Nick Harris 10 March As least two potential investors in Liverpool are stalling on making offers for a share in the club in the expectation that Rafael Benitez’s team will fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League, forcing the current owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to make a cut-price deal in the […]

By Brian Sears 9 March 2010 English football crowds outside the Premier League are on course to defy the worst recession in decades and hit a 50-year high, with large credit due to the Championship table-toppers, Newcastle United, and their League One counterparts, Norwich City. According to statistical projections by sportingintelligence, crowds in the Football […]

By Nick Harris 8 March 2010 EXCLUSIVE The Indian Premier League’s bungled auction yesterday of two new franchises, on sale for at least $225m each (£149m), was not the total failure it initially appeared, sportingintelligence can reveal, with the IPL’s chairman, Lalit Modi, telling this website today that the IPL received three “valid” bids for […]