Mauricio Pochettino has accused Tottenham’s Premier League rivals of lacking professionalism for publicly saying they wanted Leicester to beat Spurs to the title. Chelsea ended Spurs’ title hopes by snatching a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on Monday and before the game Blues pair Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard said they wanted Leicester to be champions — even though the Foxes visit Stamford Bridge on the final day of the season. West Brom boss Tony Pulis, whose side earned a significant 1-1 draw at Tottenham a fortnight ago, and Franceso Guidolin, whose Swansea team meekly lost 3-0 to the Foxes…
Author: David Folami
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal accepts he “cannot afford” to lose any of the club’s four remaining fixtures this season. It has been another rocky campaign at Old Trafford but there remains the outside shot at redemption if they can put together a flawless run-in. Maximum points against Norwich, West Ham and Bournemouth could give the Red Devils a chance of leapfrogging neighbours Manchester City into the Premier League’s top four, with Crystal Palace waiting in the FA Cup final after that. A Champions League spot and a first piece of major silverware since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in…
When Barcelona host local rivals Espanyol on Saturday hoping to edge closer to the La Liga title, many may be haunted by Raul Tamudo’s 89th minute equaliser which wrecked their title bid in 2006/07. Just as they will do on Saturday, Espanyol visited the Nou Camp in the penultimate weekend. Barcelona were on course to go into the final game of the season on top after taking a 2-1 lead. But Tamudo struck what is now infamously known as the ‘Tamudazo’, handing the title to Real Madrid. Barca are top of La Liga on 85 points due to their superior…
Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha will miss Saturday’s Premier League clash against Stoke City with a muscular strain and is racing against time to be fit for the FA Cup final against Manchester United, manager Alan Pardew has said. Palace are 16th in the Premier League table on 39 points and are looking to avoid a third consecutive league defeat when Stoke visit, while a win will ensure Pardew’s team are mathematically safe from relegation with a game to spare. Pardew said forward Yannick Bolasie and midfielder Mile Jedinak are also likely to miss the Stoke game. “Wilf still has…
Defensive trio Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov and midfielder David Silva will miss Manchester City’s home game with Arsenal on Sunday because of injury. City are fourth in the Premier League and face a fight to qualify for next season’s Champions League with Manchester United having a game in hand and four points behind in fifth position. “Pablo, Vincent, Silva and Kolarov are all out,” manager Manuel Pellegrini told reporters on Friday. Captain Kompany has been plagued by injuries this season and Pellegrini said his fitness concerns may continue to be an issue for Pep Guardiola who takes…
Leicester will hold their Premier League title parade on May 16, the newly crowned champions announced on Friday. Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri and his players will travel on an open-top bus through the city before finishing at Victoria Park, where the squad will take to a stage in front of thousands of their adoring fans. The team will be on stage at around 1800 GMT for an hour before the celebrations carry on around the city. Leicester, one of the most unlikely champions in the history of English football, clinched the first top-flight title in their 132-year history on Monday…
Uefa has dismissed complaints that the Europa League final venue in Basle is too small, after fans of finalists Liverpool complained that “a large number” of supporters would miss out. European soccer’s governing body said on Friday that “at least” 9 000 tickets would be reserved each for Liverpool and opponents Sevilla at the 35 000-capacity St Jakob Park. “We hope that in future years, Uefa will…stage the final at a ground that allows more genuine supporters of the final clubs to attend,” said the Liverpool supporters’ club Spirit of Shankly. “It is crystal clear that this amount of tickets…
Leicester winger Demarai Gray has called on the Premier League champions to mark their coronation with a dazzling display against Everton on Saturday. Claudio Ranieri’s side were crowned the most unlikely champions in the history of English football on Monday after being 5 000-1 outsiders at the start of the season. The Foxes’ title celebrations began once the final whistle sounded at Stamford Bridge following second placed Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea and the party reaches a crescendo this weekend. A 32 000 capacity crowd will pack the King Power Stadium to salute their fairytale champions, with the club’s Thai…
In-form Real Madrid star Gareth Bale is set to miss the Spanish giants’ crucial La Liga clash with Valencia on Sunday after the club confirmed on Friday he has suffered a knee sprain. “Bale has been diagnosed with a sprained right knee joint,” Madrid said in a statement. “His recovery will continue to be assessed.” The Welsh star reportedly picked up the injury as Madrid progressed to the Champions League final against Manchester City on Wednesday. Various Spanish media sources reported he will miss Valencia’s visit to the Bernabeu, but he is expected to fully recover well before Real’s final…
Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool have not given more to their efforts in Europe than they have in the Premier League as he prepares to send out another below-strength side against Watford on Sunday. Klopp has guided Liverpool to the final of the Europa League against holders Sevilla after they saw off Villarreal 3-0 in Thursday’s semifinal second leg at Anfield to go through 3-1 on aggregate. Inevitably, that leaves Klopp’s focus on the final in Basle on May 18, when Liverpool will be looking to win their first European trophy since 2005 and also secure a place in the Champions…
The United States Government on Friday announced its selection of 100 Nigerians to participate in this year’s Mandela Fellowship. The U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria said in a statement that the beneficiaries were selected from among other 10,000 Nigerian applicants and tens of thousands of other applicants from across Africa. The statement said the applicants, who were selected from across Nigeria, would undergo six-week studies in civic leadership, business and entrepreneurship and public management in various universities in the United States. According to it, since 2014, 86 Nigerians have participated in the Mandela Washington Fellowship. The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria,…
Armed militants attacked a major Chevron oil and gas facility off Nigeria’s southern coast, the military said Friday, and the U.S.-based multinational said it was forced to shut production there but its exports will continue. A new group called the Niger Delta Avengers said it bombed Chevron’s Okan platform on Wednesday and warned international companies that “the Nigerian military can’t protect your facilities.” “This is what we promised the Nigeria government. Since they have refused to listen to us, we are going to bring the country’s economy to zero,” a statement said, threatening more attacks including in Abuja, the capital,…
Soldiers of the Nigerian Army have rescued 34 women and 28 children from Boko Haram. This was disclosed by the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Lucky Irabor, who presented the abducted women to journalists in Maiduguri. According to Channels TV, the rescued captives are currently being interrogated and profiled at the 7 Division headquarters in the Borno State capital. The victims were reportedly held hostage by the terrorists in a village called Walasa. “They took us from home and married us off forcefully. Today I am very happy the soldiers have rescued us,” one victim, Aisha Walasa,…
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he understands the struggles that Nigerians are going through. Buhari made the comments today, May 6, 2016, after signing the 2016 budget. “Living in the State House does not alienate me from your daily struggles. I hear your cries, I share your pains. I commend the sacrifice, resilience, toughness of all Nigerians, who have continued to have hope and confidence of a great future,” Buhari said according to his media aide, Femi Adesina. “This government is like no other. We are absolutely committed to changing the structure of the Nigerian economy once and for…
Senate President Bukola Saraki on Friday, May 6, expressed relief over the 2016 Budget which was finally signed by President Muhammad Buhari. Saraki said the next course of action is the implementation of the document, which he assured will be monitored by the National Assembly. Controversy and bickering had trailed the 2016 Budget since it was submitted to the National Assembly by the Presidency in December 2015. From allegations of padding, faking, omissions to dodging its passage. After Buhari signed the budget, Saraki thanked those who worked to make the budget a reality, adding that some the officials lost some…
After an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, operatives of the agency has surrounded the politician’s residence. In an earlier statement on Friday, May 6, Fani-Kayode had said he would honour the invitation and cooperate with investigators. But shortly after, the former minister raised alarm in another statement over the presence of EFCC operatives at his home. “Today the EFCC invited me to come their office on Monday. I have their letter. I agreed to be there. Now they have surrounded my house,” Fani-Kayode wrote. “The letter of invitation…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, May 6, flew to his hometown, Daura in Katsina State on a four-day visit to the state. The President’s plane was said to have arrived the Katsina airport at about 4.25 p.m. Before he was flown in a chopper to Daura, he received at the airport by the State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Masari, and top federal and state government functionaries. Buhari is expected to begin his official assignment in the state on Monday, as he would be back in Katsina that day. He is scheduled to declare open and participate in the Katsina State Economic…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday. May 6, said that his administration budgeted N200 billion to road construction unlike former president Goodluck Jonathan, who allocated “paltry” N18 billion to it in 2015. He stated this shortly before signing the 2016 budget into law. “To illustrate our renewed commitment to infrastructural development, the 2016 budget allocates over N200 billion to road construction as against a paltry N18 billion allocated for same purpose in the 2015 budget,” Buhari said. He said his government reserved N350 billion for capital construction projects to stimulate the country’s ailing economy. “The signing of the budget today will…
The House of Assembly in Kwara State has refuted media reports that the picture of President Muhammadu Buhari, which was displayed inside the Assembly complex has been taken down. In a statement released by the Assembly’s Director of Information, Sunday Adeleke on Friday, it said last week, the assembly still commended Buhari’s intervention on the Ilorin-Jebba road. “The publication is false, malicious and a fragment of the writers’ imagination as each offices in the House of Assembly complex and the two entry points to the complex have the portraits of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Senate President, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, the…
The feud between Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and his predecessor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, may be put to rest soon as the All Progressives Congress (APC) has waded into the matter. The APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, who spoke to newsmen after a meeting, said that the party has made progress in the reconciliation of the two politicians. “Gentlemen of the press, we have been holding a meeting, dealing with the crisis we have in our party in Kano State and this is not the first meeting we are holding in respect of that,” Odigie-Oyegun said. “We discussed the issue of…