Arsene Wenger has probably never had a better chance of finally beating a Jose Mourinho side than when Arsenal visit Old Trafford on Saturday to face a Manchester United team in underwhelming form and ravaged by injuries and suspensions. The Frenchman has never trumped Mourinho in 13 competitive games since they first clashed in 2004 and he has often been the loser off the pitch as well, with Mourinho taunting him about Arsenal’s lack of title success over the past decade. But Arsenal have a good opportunity to register their first Premier League win at Old Trafford since 2006 when…
Author: David Folami
As the mannequin challenge continue to take over the internet, England and Spain national team players do not want to be left out. The England players did their challenge during the game when they doubled their lead in the second half through Jamie Vardy. After scoring with a header, the striker stood still for a few seconds while his teammates followed his lead. Vardy after the game admitted that he and his teammates planned the mannequin challenge for their goal celebration. “We had a little idea and I just thought it was the perfect timing to get it started and…
China, Japan and England Monday signed on for an innovative team athletics event in Melbourne in which sprint superstar Usain Bolt will make his first Australian appearance. Nine-time Olympic champion Bolt launched the inaugural Nitro Athletics and will captain the ‘Bolt All-Stars’ in the February competition, which will feature six teams. “Both the Chinese and Japanese fans love their athletics and both have a lot of emerging young athletes who love to entertain and will be well suited to Nitro Athletics,” said event ambassador John Steffensen. “Having one team in Asia is good, but having two really strong Asian-based teams…
Gareth Southgate intends to review how England’s players spend their free time if he secures the manager’s job permanently after newspaper photographs showed captain Wayne Rooney allegedly drunk. British tabloid The Sun published pictures of Manchester United skipper Rooney, 31, supposedly looking the worse for wear after “gatecrashing” a wedding last weekend. Southgate believes the claims merit investigation, but he is still waiting to hear from the Football Association about whether he has landed the role full-time following a four-game caretaker stint. “Over the last few years, the players have been allowed to go home during a period of time,”…
Cote d’Ivoire veteran midfielder Yaya Toure has revealed that Nigerian football legends Austin Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo are his African idols. Known for his insane skills and trickery, Okocha who played for the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Bolton Wanderers is known as one of the most talented football players of his time. Kanu won African Player of the Year twice and won the Champions League, UEFA Cup, league titles and other trophies. Speaking in a Q & A session, Toure who is nominated for the 2016 BBC African Player of the Year said he idolised the Nigerian greats. “Nwankwo…
Jose Mourinho was fined by the Football Association for pre-match comments about Anthony Taylor after his remarks were found to have brought “an additional layer of pressure” upon the referee, it was revealed Wednesday. Manchester United manager Mourinho spoke about Taylor ahead of last month’s goalless draw away to arch-rivals Liverpool in the Premier League. Taylor’s suitability to take charge of the game was widely questioned in the build-up, mainly on account of the fact he lives in Altrincham, near Manchester. Mourinho, asked for his view, said: “I don’t want to say anything about it, but I think Mr Taylor…
The Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr has revealed what Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told him about Alex Iwobi during his visit. As Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles, Rohr made trips around Europe to visit Super Eagles players at their respective clubs and also meet their managers to discuss their development. During this trip, the German coach met with Wenger at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground where they discuss Iwobi. “When I met Arsene Wenger last month, we talked about Iwobi and he told me there’s more to his game than what we are seeing at the…
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu is convinced Lionel Messi will sign a new contract and end his career at the club. Messi, whose current Barca deal expires in the summer of 2018, has yet to agree new terms, sparking speculation he could leave the Catalan side. A club source told ESPN FC on Tuesday that Barcelona are confident the Argentina international will extend his contract, and Bartomeu said the same on Wednesday. “I believe we’ve got a team with incredible players, all of them,” Bartomeu said at the announcement of a lucrative four-year sponsorship deal with Japanese technology company Rakuten.…
The Premier League has been conducting trials over the use of video technology this season, referees’ chief Mike Riley has told the Daily Telegraph. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) approved in-game trials with video assistance for referees during its annual meeting in March and competitions in six countries — including Germany’s Bundesliga and the United States’ Major League Soccer — were subsequently approved to run experiments with video assistant referees (VARs). The Premier League was not among those trialling the new technology but Riley confirmed unofficial tests have taken place in 12 games, with VARs watching live feeds of…
Barcelona have announced a new four-year sponsorship deal with Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten, which will replace Qatar Airways as the club’s shirt sponsor from the start of next season. The agreement could be worth as much as €61.5 million per season if the club win La Liga and the Champions League, which would top Manchester United’s £52m-a-season deal with Chevrolet, which was the most lucrative in Europe last season, based on current exchange rates. Barca’s current Qatar Airways arrangement brings in €33.5m. Tokyo-based Rakuten is the largest e-commerce site in Japan and among the world’s largest by sales. Its chief…
Under-pressure Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho needs “time to put his ideas in place” at Old Trafford, Mauricio Pochettino has told ESPN Argentina. Mourinho has had a difficult start at United, who are sixth in the table and eight points behind leaders Liverpool ahead of Saturday’s match against Arsenal. The outspoken Portuguese, who has also suffered embarrassing defeats in the Europa League and EFL Cup, has already publicly criticised his players and fallen foul of the Football Association (FA) — signs suggesting his tenure at United is already unravelling. But Tottenham manager Pochettino, who endured a transitional maiden season in…
England captain Wayne Rooney has “unreservedly” apologised to interim manager Gareth Southgate and Football Association technical director Dan Ashworth, admitting images taken of him over the weekend were “inappropriate for someone in his position.” The 31-year-old started the Three Lions’ World Cup qualifying win against Scotland on Friday, but a minor knee injury saw him withdraw from the squad to face Spain. Interim England boss Southgate was forced to deny after Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Spain that Rooney’s absence was anything to do with images that emerged from The Grove hotel on Saturday night. The Sun alleged that Rooney dropped…
Mario Balotelli has vowed to “fly a helicopter over Nice” if the club pull off a shock Ligue 1 title triumph this season. Nice surprisingly lead the French top flight by three points and Balotelli, 26, has contributed six goals in as many league games since his summer arrival from Liverpool. Paris Saint-Germain have won the Ligue 1 crown in each of the last four seasons, and with Unai Emery’s men just three points back in third place, they remain favourites. However, should Nice upset the odds as Leicester City did in the Premier League last season, Balotelli already has…
2face’s babaymama, who has two kids for the pop star, was spotted at Annie Idibia’s Lagos event. Sumbo, who celebrated her third wedding anniversary with hubby, Tunde Adeoye, on July 22, 2015, was one of the speakers at the empowerment occasion for women and the youth. Other celebrities present include singer Omawumi, Ubi Franklin, Joe El, and Sound Sultan who stepped out with his wife.
Remember Leo Mezie? Well, he is back and healthy according to Ani Amatosero‘s post on her Instagram page. The Nollywood actor has returned to Nigeria after a successful surgery in London. The actor was diagnosed with kidney related problems in July, for which he solicited for N10m from well meaning Nigerians to help him undergo the kidney transplant surgery. Here’s hoping he makes a full recovery from the surgery.
Nigerian pop star, D’banj‘s highly publicised tour of the United Kingdom, earlier scheduled for Manchester on November 11, Birmingham on November 12 and London on November 13, 2016, has failed to hold. The tour was to be his first performance in UK in almost four years and was meant to be hosted by Capital Xtra’s DJ Abrantee with support performance from Tekno. In an exclusive chat with Thenetng, D’banj confirmed and explained why the tour didn’t hold. In his words, ‘The promoters promised to secure the work permit and apparently didn’t and wanted me to perform without one and I…
Veteran Yoruba actress, Kudirat Ajimati, is dead. She reportedly passed on Tuesday morning, November 15, 2016, in Ogun State. Ajimati has since been buried according to the Islamic rites and customs. She is survived by an aged mother. Naij reports that the news of her death was shared on social media by the Theatre Arts and Movie Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN),Ogun State chapter of which she was a member. The post read: “It saddens our association, Theatre Arts and Movie Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN),Ogun State Chapter, to announce the untimely death of our beloved sister/colleague Kudirat…
Nollywood actor, producer and singer, Saint Obi, is also today’s birthday boy. Well loved by many, he was once tagged the ‘James Bond’ of Nollywood for his macho man roles and stunts. He stepped into the film scene in the 90s and graced our screens from then up until the early 2000s. The actor created a lot of buzz when he starred in Zeb Ejiro’s “Sakobi – The Snake Girl”. He has starred in over 60 Nollywood films including “Take Me to Maama”, “Festival Of Fire”, “Just A Mission”, “State Of Emergency” and “Final Whistle”.
“Pulp Fiction” star Samuel L. Jackson is to join the cast of Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson’s directorial debut “Unicorn Store,” producer Rhea Films announced on Monday. Jackson, nominated for an Academy Award and four Golden Globes over a 44-year acting career, will play opposite Joan Cusack (“Working Girl,” “School of Rock”) and Bradley Whitford, star of Amazon’s “Transparent.” Based on an original script by Samantha McIntyre, “Unicorn Store” centers on a woman who moves back in with her parents and receives an invitation to a store that will test her ideas of what it really means to grow up. The…
Oge Okoye turns 36-years-old today, November 16, 2016. Okoye is from Nnewi in Anambra State. The actress landed her first acting role in “One Dollar”, where she played a supporting role. Since then, she has stared in over 100 Nigerian films including “Blackberry Babes”, “Forbidden Choice”, “Black Bra” and “Blood Sister”. She is also a titled chief – Igolo Nwanyi 1 of Amoli kingdom in Awgu local government area of Enugu State. Okoye is a graduate of Theatre Arts from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.