Mauricio Pochettino has said that he “never doubted” midfielder Dele Alli. “He’s got enormous quality and I’ve never doubted him,” Pochettino said. “You’ve got to be patient with players and sometimes they need a rest, while you’ve got to expect one or two mistakes too.” “I thought ‘at last, I’m going to go see my roots,'” he said. “I’ve been to Italy many times, but never to Piedmont. Given there won’t be much time, I’m not going to be able to visit the area where my great-grandfather’s from, but I will get to breathe the Turin air. “I never had…
Author: David Folami
Arsene Wenger has insisted that Arsenal can survive without Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil and says the club will look to bring in “top-quality” signings if they cannot persuade the duo to sign new contracts. Both are out of contract in the summer, with Sanchez widely expected to leave on a free transfer if he is not sold this month. “How do we cope with that? First of all we have not lost them yet, and secondly we will respond to that by bringing in players of top quality,” Wenger told a news conference on Tuesday. “This club has lost…
Mauricio Pochettino has said that Son Heung-Min does not get the praise he deserves for his performances for Tottenham Hotspur. “He is so important for us,” Pochettino said of Son. “He is scoring a lot of goals and he is very consistent in training and in his performances. I think he is a very good player for us. “It is true that maybe he doesn’t get the headlines of Harry and other players but it is good to recognise him. He is a great guy and a very good professional. He is always there and he scores a lot of…
Arsene Wenger has blurted out another attack on Premier League refereeing, calling Mike Dean’s penalty decision against West Brom “a farce” and saying match officials should be demoted to the Championship after making big mistakes. “This one is a bit of a farce, honestly, because that is not serious,” Wenger said about Dean’s decision. “You do not give in the last minute of a game a penalty like that. When you see how he [Dean] shows his arm, it has nothing to do with what happened. So he sees what he wants to see.” Wenger insisted such decisions must become…
Cristiano Ronaldo has reflected on an “incredible” 2017 amid continuing uncertainty over his long-term future at the Bernabeu. “2017 was an incredible year on many levels,” Ronaldo said. “It is a tremendous feeling to look back and see what I achieved, from starting out kicking a ball on Madeira’s streets. “I was blessed with talent, and I have worked very, very hard to get the most out of it, but I would not have achieved that without the collaboration of many people who have helped me professionally. “I want to dedicate this moment to my family, who are always there…
Ander Herrera has encouraged Manchester United teammate Jesse Lingard to adopt a shoot-on-sight policy while his great form continues. His unstoppable attempt against the Toffees, which was blasted beyond Jordan Pickford, was indicative of a man brimming with confidence and colleague Herrera wants Lingard to carry on trying his luck. “It’s fantastic — when you are like that he has to keep trying to shoot, shoot, shoot,” the Spaniard said. “I am not in that moment! I shot three times and I didn’t score but I will keep looking for that moment. “Jesse has it now. He has to keep…
Antonio Conte has said that he will not be the one who choose which players Chelsea sign in the January transfer window and beyond. “When I [say] that I give my opinion to the club, I try to tell where are the [positions] we can improve, also in the numerical aspect because in some roles we don’t have a couple of players or there is a young player that is not ready to play with the first team,” Conte explained. “If the club ask me some names [of players to sign] I try to do this, but then it’s the…
Ousmane Dembele is set to return to action for Barcelona in Thursday’s Copa del Rey match against Celta Vigo. Dembele, 20, has been out of action for four months but the Catalan club confirmed on Tuesday that he’s finally available for selection again. The France winger ruptured a tendon against Getafe in September and only returned to full training in December, just days before Barca’s 3-0 win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Barcelona’s medical staff have now deemed him fit to make his return to competitive football against Celta. Barca travel to Vigo on Thursday for the first…
Sergio Aguero has insisted he is happy at Manchester City and wants to see out his contract, but says it is up to the club if they want to sell him. “I have until 2020, I think. The truth is that I hope to see out my contract and I’ll try to do my best from here until the end of the season, and after that we will see what happens with me,” Aguero told reporters following City’s 3-1 win over Watford on Tuesday. “Obviously my plan is not to change clubs. The truth is I’m very happy here, but…
Massimiliano Allegri is not interested in signing AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with Wojciech Szczesny already in line to replace Gianluigi Buffon. “Szczesny is Buffon’s heir, I’ve already said that and I repeat it,” Allegri said of the former Arsenal and Roma man. “Juventus did good business in getting such a good player and bringing him in a year before Gigi stops at Juventus. “I’m very happy, there’s a good relationship between the two of them, they respect each other both as professionals and as men, so I don’t see any problem. “Donnarumma is a young lad who has to…
Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has begged Nigerians to give the party’s ‘change’ agenda time as it took over a ‘totally collapsed country’ in 2015. He said, “Change is not bridges. Change is not electricity. Change is not roads. Change is my perception as to what is right and what is wrong, what needs to be done and being faithful in getting it done. “For as long as we, Nigerians, have the wrong type of morality, the wrong type of ethics, not all the roads in this world will get us out of the economic morass we have plunged ourselves into. “Change…
Senator Ahmed Makarfi has asked the APC-led Federal government to work the talk because “the suffering in the land is too much.” About how far the APC government has fulfilled its promises, he responded: “The APC government should walk the talk. They came with policies that sounded sweet on the face of it but no implementation. The suffering in the land is too much.” He added that “the division in the land is alarming”, with “high level of insecurity and unprecedented kidnapping” Speaking about micro-zoning, he said it was “unfortunate”, but members were only “exercising their fundamental right to aspire…
Kanye West hasn’t always been the internationally-known superstar he is today. As a matter of fact, there were times early on when a Kanye track would elicit crickets and boos. Fellow producer 9th Wonder recently took a trip down memory lane on Twitter and recalled some of the rough patches artists like ‘Ye and John Legend endured during the early years. Prompted by a FakeShoreDrive tweet about how far West has come, the North Carolina producer went in on his own memories of the Chi-town beat maker. Recalling a show he performed in 2004, 9th tweeted, “Order of show…Kanye went…
Drake could be closing out the year with Snapchat. The 6 God has reportedly been tapped as a shock performer at the tech giant’s lavish New Year’s Eve party in Los Angeles, according to reports. Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel has reportedly shut down major parts of L.A. Live for a reported $4 million, renting out several venues in Microsoft Square, including Microsoft Theater, Katsuya, Lucky Strike, Tom’s Urban, Conga Room, and Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill. Insiders claim that the event will be a global celebration of the company, with employees flying in from all over the world. Snapchat’s permit…
Bow Wow has been mocked online after claiming he slept with Kim Kardashian – but kept it quiet because he’d never “dated outside [his] race before”. The 30-year-old hip hop star, who rose to fame as Lil’ Bow Wow, claims he “kicked it hard” with the reality TV star before she met Kanye West – but fans are having a hard time taking him seriously considering his two previous internet gaffes. This year the rap star has already been relentlessly mocked for pasting his face on to an image of urban music legends – and for claiming he was flying…
Tavon Kaiseen Alleyne was shot to death in Barbados on Tuesday. And the next day the We Found Love singer was toasting the 21-year-old with what appeared to be a tequila shot in a private home in Barbados as she held her niece Majesty on her hip. The 29-year-old Grammy winner was surrounded by family as toasts included ‘Rest easy blood’ and ‘this one is for you bro.’ There was no sign of billionaire Saudi businessman Hassan Jameel, who she has been spotted with in recent months. The superstar wore a black top with no shoes on and her hair…
OC Ukeje has dropped his two cents on the existence of sexual harassment in Nollywood. He said both men and women are victims of sexual harassment in the Nigerian film industry. He advised that while the career [acting] can be a desperate one, getting a specific job which entails granting sexual favours shouldn’t be. The actor also shared that while he has been in the industry for 16 years, he only started getting recognition six years ago. “I have been here for sometime and I have heard all kinds of things in terms of women’s experiences. And believe it or…
They went straight to the top of the UK charts with their romantic tune Perfect, earning the coveted Christmas number one. And now musician Jools Holland revealed that singer Beyonce, 36, was so impressed after watching Perfect partner Ed Sheeran, 26, perform on Jools’ Annual Hotenanny in 2014. The songwriter belted out Stevie Wonder’s Master Blaster for the popular New Year musical show, and Beyonce caught the performance on YouTube before calling Ed up for the winning collaboration. Jools recently said The Lemonade singer wasn’t the only one to be won over by the Shape of You songwriter. Ed was…
Richard Mofe Damijo has chosen to remain true to himself on social media. He recently revealed that he was initially told to buy followers after joining Instagram but he refused. Now, one million followers later, RMD is proving to us that indeed things can still prosper when they are done the right way. He went on to recount the countless offers and advice he received on how he would benefit from falsely growing his account. “When I was told to open an Instagram account and reactivate my other social media accounts, I didn’t want to but because I also wanted…
Odunlade Adekola is a year older today, December 31. He took to social media to share photos from his birthday celebrations. “I am so much happy. As you celebrate me, the whole world will celebrate your glory with you in JESUS name. Happy birthday to your boy!” Odunlade made his debut into acting in 1996, the same year he joined the Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts practitioners.