Romelu Lukaku has been told to become more selfish for Manchester United if he is to live up to his goalscoring potential by a man who knows a thing or two about finding the back of the net. Former England striker Alan Shearer believes Lukaku’s run of seven matches without a goal can be put down to his current desire to bag goals himself rather than play in his teammates. United manager Jose Mourinho has refused to criticise Lukaku, and called for fans to get behind the Belgium international after signs of frustrations began to creep into the atmosphere at…
Author: David Folami
Atletico Madrid defender Juanfran has said Antoine Griezmann should remain “relaxed” despite being substituted again on Saturday, although the forward’s brother has questioned Diego Simeone’s tactics on Twitter. “We love him and we trust in him. But any decision the boss makes, with him or anyone else, we accept. The boss does the best for the team. Griezmann should be relaxed. We will support him.” However, Griezmann’s brother, Theo, had posted a series of tweets questioning Simeone’s decision-making during the game. In the posts — since deleted but reproduced in several Spanish publications — he wrote: “We go forward 40…
Jose Mourinho will not be able to bring more players in when the January transfer window unless he offloads some of the fringe players at Old Trafford. United chiefs want to watch the spending when the window reopens and don’t plan on making the squad any bigger than it currently is, according to the BBC. Mourinho has been allowed to spend big since taking over the reins at the start of last season, splashing out £285million on six major signings. Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic, Victor Lindelof, Paul Pogba, Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have all been signed for big sums…
Manchester United are sure that Paul Pogba will be fit enough to feature against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on November 18th. The Frenchman’s missed United’s last 12 matches after sustaining a hamstring injury in his side’s 3-0 win against Basel in September. United had hoped to have Pogba back for Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea but the Frenchman’s recovery has been slow and medical staff felt he couldn’t be risked. The Red Devils now trail leaders Manchester City by eight points but Pogba could take a place on the bench for United’s next game after the international break. Pogba’s…
Jose Mourinho has said Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are closing on a return to first-team action. The Reds have been without the duo, plus injured stars Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Marcos Rojo. But Mourinho says they will be in a “good position” for the Christmas period, following the international break. United midfielders Pogba (hamstring) and Carrick (calf) have been injured since September. While long-term absentees Ibra and Rojo, who sustained knee injuries last season, are yet to recover. Mourinho said: “We have the group of players which are the ones that we hope will recover as soon as…
Italy coach Gian Piero Ventura says a World Cup without the team he manages does not even bear thinking about and remains convinced that the nation will book their place in Russia over the next week. “To be honest, I’ve never even considered that we could not go to the World Cup because I’m absolutely convinced we will be going,” Ventura told a news conference. “Obviously it’s an important moment — it is for me and for my history, but also for the players. “We’ve got great conviction, serenity, determination — we’re convinced we can qualify. All of this is…
Egypt coach Hector Cuper defended his tactics on Monday, saying a different strategy may not have led the Pharaohs to what will be their first World Cup in 28 years. “The team may have the potential to perform better, and we could have changed our tactics, but we may also not have been going to Russia as we are now,” Cuper said through an interpreter. “In football, not everyone can agree on a single set of tactics. Sometimes, even realizing all the set objectives is not enough for the sport’s officials. It’s natural. “Sometimes, I myself make a wrong assessment…
Arsene Wenger will not face any disciplinary action from the Football Association over his claims that Raheem Sterling ”dives well” following Manchester City’s 3-1 Premier League victory on Sunday. England winger Sterling was seen to have been bundled over by Nacho Monreal early in the second half of the match at the Etihad Stadium, with Sergio Aguero converting the penalty to put the home side 2-0 ahead. Wenger did not agree with the decision, and was also pissed by the lack of an offside flag in the build-up to City’s decisive third goal from Gabriel Jesus after Alexandre Lacazette had…
Sergio Ramos and vice-captain Marcelo have supported Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema amid concerns over them both having scored just one La Liga goal each so far this season. “The goals will come for Cristiano and Benzema,” Ramos told reporters. “Cristiano goes home annoyed when he doesn’t score. Over the season he will make the difference.” “They worked hard for the team, I thought they played well,” Marcelo said. “You ask this as they did not score. It is normal. For sure they are upset as they have not helped with goals, but they are happy for the victory.” Marcelo…
Eden Hazard says Antonio Conte had “to shout a bit” in order to spark the response that saw Chelsea earn a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. When asked about the atmosphere at training in recent weeks, Hazard told SFR Sport: “Just as it was last year after the two defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool. Everyone was a bit frustrated with results, and it was a bit the same this week. Sometimes you have to shout a bit to get back to getting good results. It bore fruit, so all the better. “Whether it be the…
Chief Bartho Igwedibia, the Chairman, Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Anambra, has urged security agencies to keep their feet on the ground in tackling rising cases of political misconducts in Anambra. Igwedibia made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Akwa. He said reports of destruction of billboards, posters and hate speeches by political opponents were becoming rampant, ahead of the state’s Nov. 18 governorship election. He added that though the state was currently enjoying relative peace, it would allay some people’s fears if security agencies could take proactive steps to…
Mr Dipo Olorunrinu has begged the National Caretaker Committee of the party to consider informing grassroots members in the preparations for the forthcoming party’s national convention. The lawmaker further urged the Chairman of the party’s Caretaker Committee, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, to ensure grassroots were not left out ”in the scheme of things’’ to ensure success of the national convention. “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Caretaker Committee, led by Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, should consider the grassroots members and carry them along concerning the coming national convention. “There are lots of existing voters in Lagos state already; we cannot continue getting…
Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has said the 2017 Lagos International Trade Fair (LITF) will be an avenue for collaboration toward enhancing economic growth. Ambode noted that the previous edition of the event was held amid economic recession, but now, the economy had not only exited recession, but had received positive global rating. According to him, the rating has shown an improvement in the country’s Ease of Doing Business ranking of the World Bank. “This positive development is the cumulative effect of policies and reforms being implemented diligently to ensure a conducive environment for business growth and development,” he…
Orji Kalu has said that President Buhari will leave his post and hand over power to him in 2023. He said “The future of Ndigbo is brightest today in APC. Once Buhari finishes his second tenure, I am assuring you that either I or any other Igbo man stands a better chance of becoming the President of Nigeria. The right thing to do is to work for the presidency. “We don’t need any other thing than the office of the President. If you see what I have done in our villages as governor, you will know what will happen if…
Nyesom Wike has asked the international community to save Nigeria’s democracy. He also said “There is need for the international community to save the country and its democracy from imminent collapse by putting sufficient pressures on the Federal Government to uphold the rule of law, guarantee the integrity of the electoral system and do socio-economic justice to all segments of the Nigerian society. “The fact cannot be disputed that States bear greater development burden than the Federal Government. However, under the flawed revenue allocation regime, the Federal Government alone retains 53% of national revenue and allocates only 22% to the…
Former Niger Delta militant leader, Tompolo has somewhat freed himself from the Niger Delta Avengers. In a statement signed by his spokesman, Paul Bebenimibo, said “Ordinarily, we would have ignored media statements by these so- called avengers and reformed avengers because it is not a new tactic by these groups in bringing Tompolo’s name to whatever thing that happens in the Niger Delta region because of his legal battle with the government. “Let it be stated at this point that Tompolo is not the only person having legal issues with the present government. Let us also state here that these…
The Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, has said that contrary to beliefs in some quarters, the Legislature and the Executive were not rivals but partners in progress. Dogara said this when he received the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, in his office on Monday in Abuja. He described the appointment of Mr Mustapha as “a round peg in a round hole, or a square peg in a square hole”, stating that the president “hit the nail on the head”. “In those days it was invitations extended to them, then a discussion…
Mr Musa Elayo, the newly appointed Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Gov. Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State, says he will ensure that the rights of journalists practicing in the state are not violated. He promised to ensure that journalists in the state would have a platform to practice without any harassment. “I will not be a party to a situation where journalists will be harassed or detained in the course of discharging their duties in the state.” “Journalism is a noble profession and one of the respected professions all over the world, hence the need for its practitioners to adhere…
As President Muhammadu Buhari stands before lawmakers to pour out figures of the 2018 appropriation bill today, November 7, 2018, he’ll be met with a very angry reception, a few legislators have said. Constituency projects are social intervention projects which lawmakers promise to undertake during electioneering campaigns is one reason. “Why should we clap and welcome Buhari as he reels out details of 2018 budget when he hasn’t implemented even 40 percent of the 2017 budget? Don’t you know that it is this constituency projects that will guarantee if we get re-elected into the national assembly? Buhari is frustrating our…
The Lagos State Government says it has begun work on the channelisation of 30 routes on the waterways as part of efforts to improve transportation in the state. The Commissioner for Water Infrastructure, Mr Ade Adesanya, revealed this today during an inspection tour of the Marina-Ebute -Ojo ferry routes in Lagos. Akinsanya said the channelisation would take place over a four- year period. He said that work had started on four of the channels, explaining that the move was aimed at ensuring smooth journeys on the waterways and ultimately boost the state’s economy. In his remarks, Mr Steve Ayorinde, the…