Wayne Rooney now appears overweight and faces a battle to prove he has a future at Manchester United, according to former Red Devils defender Paul Parker. United captain Rooney, 30, started both the Community Shield and Premier League opener, with Jose Mourinho using the England international in a position behind striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, there have been concerns about his form for some time and he could find his place under threat from record signing Paul Pogba, who is now available after suspension, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who has so far been utilised from the bench. “This is a defining season…
Author: David Folami
Former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has opened about his departure from the club for the first time, believing he was portrayed as a “traitor” during his exit. Torres left Anfield in January 2011 in a controversial £50 million move to Premier League rivals Chelsea after it had been made known that the player handed in a transfer request to push the deal through. However, in a new book to be released later this month — “Ring of Fire: Liverpool FC Into the 21st Century — The Players’ Stories” — Torres has given his side of the story. Torres, who is…
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has said a deal for Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas is “not very straightforward” and insisted James Rodriguez will stay at the Bernabeu. Antonio Conte left Fabregas on the bench for Chelsea’s 2-1 win over West Ham on Monday and, while the new Blues boss says the 29-year-old can force his way back into the team, his omission has raised doubts over his future. A number of clubs around Europe have been linked with Fabregas, including Madrid, but Zidane said a deal for the former Barcelona player may not be practical. Speaking to reporters after Madrid’s…
Pep Guardiola has told Raheem Sterling he must remain focused after the Manchester City forward’s impressive start to the season. Sterling was in sparkling form in City’s emphatic 5-0 victory over Steaua Bucharest in their Champions League playoff first leg — setting up the opening two goals and winning an early penalty that Sergio Aguero missed. Guardiola has been full of praise for the England international but insists he can improve even further. “Until now, Raheem is playing really good but he’s only 21-years-old so he has to learn a lot,” Guardiola said. “The best advice is to keep calm…
Former Nigerian coach, Kadiri Ikhana has charged the Dream Team VI to keep tightly to their tactics against Germany. The Nigerian U23 side will confront the European giants in Wednesday’s Rio Olympic football semifinals clash at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Ikhana said though the Germans have a dominant and progressive football culture the nation’s campaigners can still go ahead to upset the bookmakers predictions. “Judging from the Dream Team VI past performances except the last group game against Colombia they have proven to be compact, disciplined, highly tactical and tight side. “The only minus compared with their…
Antonio Conte believes Chelsea can emulate his former club Juventus as he looks to make them title contenders again, but warned that success will take time. Chelsea won the Premier League in 2015 but slumped to a 10th place finish last season, with coach Jose Mourinho replaced by Guus Hiddink in December following an astonishing decline. Conte arrived at Stamford Bridge this summer after leading Italy to the quarter-finals of the European Championship, and thinks his previous experience with Juventus has prepared him to lead Chelsea’s revival. “Juventus hadn’t won the title for many, many years and at the start…
Winning the Champions League last season ensured Real Madrid their status as European football royalty but their focus for the coming campaign is to halt Barcelona’s domination on the domestic scene. President Florentino Perez has thus far resisted the temptation to dig deep into his pockets to sign anther Galactico ahead of the new La Liga season next weekend. Meanwhile, Zinedine Zidane has won over those who doubted his ability to convert his world class playing abilities into those of a competent coach. The European success over cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid on penalties in the Champions League final in May…
Justin Onuorah Abuah, the director of information at the State House is dead. Femi Adesina, the special adviser to the president on media and publicity disclosed this in a statement on Monday, August 15, 2016 in Abuja. According to the statement, Abuah passed on after a brief illness on Sunday. The statement reads: “Born on January 29, 1959, Mr Abuah, fondly called O.J, by all who knew and came in close contact with him, died on Sunday, August 14, in Abuja after a brief illness. “The late Abuah had a long and rich career at the Presidency, where he served…
Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture has said that most Nigerians would soon forget about the missing Chibok schoolgirls as the effects of the newly released video is over. The minister who stated this at the presidential villa on Monday, August 15, 2016 added that the rescue of the girls had been a priority to the current administration. “Most people will forget the issue of these girls as soon as the effect of this video is over but the government is daily working on it,” he said. “Until the release of this video, the effort is not attracting…
Dr Sunday Ola Makinde, a former Prelate of Methodist Church of Nigeria has said that the All Progressive Congress (APC) administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari is not fit to rule the country. The cleric stated this on Monday, August 15, 2016 at the inaugural meeting of retired Christian leaders of major denominations in Nigeria facilitated by El-Rehoboth Global Leadership Foundation, in Abuja. Dr Makinde maintained that the current economic situation may cause the country to explode. “The APC is part of the corruption in the country,” he said. “They are not fit to be there, they must handle the…
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has signed the Lagos State Properties Protection Law, which stipulates a 21 year jail term for land grabbers. Ambode said the law will help those who have fallen victim in the hands of land grabbers to seek rederess. The Governor also said the menace of land grabbing had hindered investors from coming into the state. Ambode added that “The Lagos State Properties Protection Law will give legal backing to the operations of our law enforcement officers. The main objective of this Law is to ensure that our investors, businessmen and the general populace carry on their legitimate…
Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu has said that former president, Goodluck Jonathan is not totally to blame for the corruption of the past. Oba Akiolu also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to be mindful of the fact that he’s no longer a soldier. The monarch made the comments on Monday, August 15, 2016, during the unveiling of SunTrust Bank Limited in Lagos, Punch reports. “All of us just have to support the President and I advise him to know that he is no more a military man. I am not afraid to say that,” Oba Akiolu said. “The measures they…
Some members of the House of Representatives have insisted that Speaker, Yakubu Dogara should resign over the budget padding scandal. The lawmakers, under the umbrella of the Transparency Group also said that they would not negotiate with Dogara on the issue. The comments were made by Honourable Yusuf Bala Ikara on behalf of the other members of the group. “We in the transparency group are saying we won’t negotiate with anybody. We are going to continue with our struggle and that is our position today,” Ikara said. “We insist that Dogara must resign to allow proper investigation to be carried…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigating former Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang over alleged misappropriation of public funds, reports say. Jang is said to be under the EFCC’s spotlight due to his inability to account for billions of naira allocated to the state during his tenure. “Under Jonah Jang as governor of Plateau State, N2 billion was released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for Small and Medium Scale (SME) businesses in Plateau State. The N2 billion was released to Jang in April 2015, a month before the expiration of his administration. The money disappeared. And…
Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is still concerned about the abducted Chibok girls. Kachikwu also dismissed claims that the government is more interested in protecting oil facilities in the Niger Delta than it is in rescuing the missing girls. The minister made the comments while speaking to CNN’s Richard Quest on “Quest Means Business” on Monday, August 15, 2016. “Not quite so, at all. On the contrary, since President Muhammadu Buhari resumed, I think his first steps were targeted at the northeast and the Chibok girls,” Kachikwu said. “If you remember, most…
According to former Head of State, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), Nigeria’s National Assembly should be part-time. Babangida said further that making the Assembly part-time would be a great way to cut down the cost of governance. The former military ruler made the comments on Tuesday, August 16, 2016, while speaking to journalists in Minna, Niger State in preparation for his 75th birthday on August 17. “… In 1989, we proposed that the national assembly should be optional, that is part-time. I still believe that if I had the opportunity, I would make the national assembly part-time. I believe in that…
The Nigerian Military on Tuesday in Abuja said that no fewer than 8000 Boko Haram members had voluntarily surrendered to its “Operation Safe Corridor’’ in the North-East. The Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, disclosed this at a lecture organised by the FCT Correspondents’ Chapel of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ). The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lecture with the theme, “Media-Military Relationship in the Fight against Insurgency’’, was part of the activities marking the 2016 Press Week of the chapel. Abubakar said that the surrendered insurgents were in a camp in Gombe waiting to…
Since the debut of FOX’s hit series “Empire,” Lucious Lyon played by Terrence Howard, has always found a way to entertain viewers with his double-face and manipulative character. In a recent video released via the show’s YouTube channel, the actor shared the most emotional moment for him on second season of “Empire.” “My favourite scene was the scene between Cookie and I. When I had lost everything and the company to my son, and I was in bed,” he said. “She just came and sat in bed with Lucious, and put her arms around him. That was the extent of…
Edge records/LRR rapper Reminisce presents the second ‘cypher session’ featuring known rappers – Seriki, Ola Dips, and Ice Prince. The first session out featured CDQ, Vector, DJ Neptune and Ola Dips. Reminisce who will be dropping his fourth studio album “El Hadj” on August 29, 2016, is using the cypher session to help upcoming rappers find a platform to showcase their artistry and also to promote the Hip hop culture. Enjoy.
Stand-up comedian, Tee A, recently dished on his career success and how the likes of Emmanuel Danjuma and Ali Baba motivated him to venture into comedy. He observed that his professional growth was down to the fact that he was able to reinvent himself, also stating that he has had no regrets as far as his career is concerned. Tee A made this known in an interview with Punch News published on Sunday, August 16, 2016, where he said, “I don’t have any regrets and the biggest lesson I have learnt is that it is always good to reinvent yourself.”…