Jose Mourinho has revealed he apologised to Henrikh Mkhitaryan after substituting the midfielder at half-time during the FA Cup victory over Derby County. Mkhitaryan, 28, was handed just his second start in two months against the Championship side at Old Trafford on Friday. However, Mourinho said afterwards his decision had been “unfair.” He told a news conference: “I didn’t like what I did, unfair, he didn’t deserve. “He was playing well, he was not playing bad, he had a couple of mis-possessions, but he was giving a good dynamic to the team and my feeling was that [Marcus] Rashford is…
Author: David Folami
Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that he will make changes for Tottenham’s “magic” FA Cup tie against Wimbledon on Sunday. “We need to assess the players,” said Pochettino. “A lot of players played 90 minutes against Swansea and again tonight [a 1-1 draw with West Ham]. We have three days to recover but it is tough for some players to play again. We will make some changes.” “The FA Cup is special, a special game and special competition,” he said. “They are in League One, but they will be tough to play against. When we played Wycombe [in last season’s competition], it…
Zinedine Zidane has said he does not want to sign new players this month, instead urging his current squad to return to their best form now that they have “no room left for error” this season. He said that he would not be looking to the market for a quick fix. “As we all know, until Jan. 31, someone can come in — this is the market — but I do not want anyone as I am happy with my squad,” Zidane said. “I remember last year there were no problems like this, as Madrid was doing well, playing well,…
Jose Mourinho wasted no minutes in replying criticism from Antonio Conte, reminding the Chelsea manager he was previously accused in a match-fixing scandal. Conte earlier on Friday said that a certain manager was showing signs of “senile dementia” in forgetting incidents of high emotion in his own past, the Manchester United boss made his feelings on the matter known. Asked whether he wanted to respond to Conte’s jab, Mourinho told a news conference: “I don’t blame him. Honestly. I don’t blame him, I think the press should apologise to me and him. “Because the question that comes to him is…
Mauricio Pellegrino has confirmed Southampton hope to sign Arsenal’s Theo Walcott in January after watching his team progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 1-0 defeat of Fulham. The club’s fans on Tuesday chanted for his dismissal when they fell to 17th in the Premier League by losing 2-1 to Crystal Palace. They remain uncertain about their hopes of re-signing Walcott, who left in 2006, but the manager said: “I have been talking about him. “He is a good player, but I don’t know with the negotiations, with the market. I imagine that this type of…
Harry Winks is certain about how important the FA Cup is for Tottenham this season as the club look to end their 10-year wait for a major trophy. “For me it’s very important,” Winks said. “As a young English player growing up watching the FA Cup, it’s a magical trophy and it’s something everyone wants to win in their career. “The FA Cup is something we take very seriously and we did last year as well. The thing is with the cup, you can never be too sure. “The magic of the cup has been proven so many times and…
Arsene Wenger has expressed his thoughts that the personality of Nottingham Forest favourite Brian Clough is permanently stamped on the English game. Clough was in charge at Forest for 18 years until 1993 and the two met after a match once he had retired. “We didn’t speak a lot after the game because he was already fatigued,” the Gunners boss said. “He was very lean and you could see he was no longer at full power. But of course I had huge respect for him. “When I was young I looked at the big managers who were successful. For me…
Antonio Conte has called Jose Mourinho a “little man” with a “very low profile” and a “fake” as he continued his extraordinary public war of words with the Manchester United manager after Chelsea were held to a goalless draw by Norwich City in the FA Cup on Saturday. After already calling Mourinho “a little, little man” in his postgame TV interview, Conte explained in his news conference: “I think when there are these types of comments, before [making them] you have to know very well the truth. “The truth is that I was banned for four months from the sporting…
Barcelona have reached an agreement with Liverpool to sign midfielder Philippe Coutinho, the clubs confirmed on Saturday. The amount would make Coutinho, 25, the second-most expensive player in world football behind Neymar, who left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain last summer in a deal worth €222m (£200m, $263m). However, Kylian Mbappe will pass him for second on the list this summer when his €180m (£166m) permanent move from Monaco to PSG comes into effect after this year’s loan. Barcelona said Coutinho would sign a five-and-a-half year contract with a buyout clause of €400m. The deal is still subject to formalities including…
Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the “reprehensible and unacceptable” killings that spoilt New Year’s Day celebrations in Rivers State and Kaduna State. His statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed shock and outrage at reports of killings of innocent persons in Omoku, Rivers State and the traditional ruler, the Etum Numana, Dr Gambo Makama, and his wife in Sango Local Government Area of Kaduna State in the New Year. “The President, who described the incidents as “reprehensible and unacceptable”, directed law enforcement agencies in both states to intensify their current efforts in order to speedily bring the perpetrators to face the…
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has ordered the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, to resign from his position amid reports that he has been appointed as President Muhammadu Buhari’s national campaign coordinator for his 2019 reelection bid. The statement read, “If APC has any strand of dignity, then Amaechi must resign as the Minister of Transportation having been appointed and already functioning as the DG of President Buhari’s Campaign. “Under the constitution of Nigeria, Mr. Amaechi cannot combine the job of a minister of the Federal Republic with another responsibility such as the DG of a campaign organisation. “Amaechi’s action…
Muhammadu Buhari has come under intense scrutiny from the pan Yoruba socio-political group,Afenifere, over his views on restructuring. Buhari said Nigeria’s problems have more to do with process than structure. “In respect of political developments, I have kept a close watch on the on-going debate about “Restructuring”, Buhari said before the full glare of TV cameras. “No human law or edifice is perfect. Whatever structure we develop must periodically be perfected according to changing circumstances and the country’s socio-economic developments. “We Nigerians can be very impatient and want to improve our conditions faster than may be possible considering our resources…
Dr. Oby Ezekwesili has promised to campaign against the ruling All Progressives’ Congress (APC) and the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2019 general elections. She said, “I have a political agenda for 2019 elections. It is that neither APC nor its twin brother (yes, how does 6 differ from half a dozen?) PDP should win the 2019 state and federal legislative and executive elections. I am totally committed to this agenda. “I am committed to this political agenda because we must disrupt and end the political and governance stagnation & retrogression that our cyclical low equilibrium political Russian…
Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has blasted Senator Ben Murray-Bruce over the rail line that traverses Abuja and Kaduna. President Muhammadu Buhari recently commissioned 10 new coaches and two additional locomotives at Rigasa Train Station in Kaduna State. Photos were seen of President Buhari and Governor El-Rufai sharing a laugh and then some, as they embarked on the train ride on the new coaches; while basking in the Kaduna sunshine. Senator Bruce was not amused and sent out a tweet that read; “I hope President Muhammadu Buhari remembers to say thank you to former President Goodluck Jonathan for the train…
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has told police officers of Sokoto origin who recently graduated from training. “By agreeing to dedicate your lives to protect us, you have continued in the tradition of your forefathers from this state who have served this nation diligently. “I urge you to refuse to be infected by anything denting the image of the Police. The entire Police structure is undergoing rebranding as such, I want you to play your part well in enhancing the image,” he added. Speaking on behalf of their colleagues, ASP Abubakar Shehu and Inspector Yusuf Adam commended Tambuwal for his care…
Feyisetan Fayose has threatened ‘enemies’ in her husband’s government with God’s wrath if they do not stop plotting his downfall. “Every enemy pretending to be a friend close to the government of Ayo Fayose and working against the government, the Lord will expose them with shame this year. Enough is enough,” her spokesman, Gbenga Ariyibi, quoted her as saying. “I want to plead with everyone, don’t hunt for the downfall of this government, don’t even try it. “God is looking at you, and God is watching. Don’t hunt for the failure of continuity. Why? Because our God is God of…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Katsina State Government of misusing over N400 billion generated by the state in the last 31 months. Alhaji Salisu Majigiri, the State Chairman of PDP said that the over N400 billion was “misused by top government officials”. He said, “In spite of collecting four Tranches of debt refunds amounting to over N30 billion, the government has borrowed various sums of monies from commercial banks with double digit interest rates to the tune of N70 billion. “The receipts, loans, internal revenue and more than N14.5 billion left in the various accounts by the…
Godwin Obaseki of Edo recently met with the state’s civil servants of directorate cadre, promising to build their capacities and provide health insurance scheme for them. Obaseki said the meeting was to share thoughts towards ensuring a more efficient and result oriented civil service. “We will emphasis training and re-training for our civil servants; we need to create an environment where we should enjoy coming to work,” he said. “I am tired of medical request to travel abroad for medical care,” the governor said. “The era of automatic promotion is gone because people must earn their promotion. “Promotion will not…
Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is trapped in a horrible bondage. “Change or you will be changed – God said that Buhari is in trouble. Buhari is hypnotised. Buhari is in a horrible bondage. Buhari’s mantra has been cannibalised,” Mbaka was quoted as saying. “The Lord says captive Nigerians, you will be speedily rescued. Things are very very difficult, hard and tough nowadays. The hardship is not from God, they are man-made. “The wicked cabal and satanic agents in this country have wickedly kidnapped the goodwill and good intentions of Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari. His…
Daddy Freeze has started the year stating that giving first fruit in the church is foolishness. Also, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, has apparently never heard of first fruits and was shocked to see the Cool FM OAP’s post. The controversial OAP shared the statement via an Instagram post, which comes as no surprise, seeing as he has been leading a movement that seems to abhor giving in churches. Responding to Daddy Freeze’s post, Omotola revealed that she is hearing of it for the first time. The conversation quickly dissolved into a free for all.