Manchester United forward Memphis Depay should not be blamed for the misplaced pass that allowed Chelsea’s Diego Costa to score a late equaliser in the Premier League on Sunday, skipper Wayne Rooney has said. United were leading 1-0 in stoppage-time when Memphis misplaced a pass to Morgan Schneiderlin, allowing Chelsea a phase of possession from which Costa scored. Memphis, who joined United last year from PSV Eindhoven, has found it hard to settle in England, scoring twice in 19 league games, but Rooney defended the 21-year-old. “I think we’re all disappointed,” Rooney told the Manchester Evening News. “Memphis is a…
Author: David Folami
Manchester United have shown they are capable of playing an attractive and attacking brand of football in their recent games, midfielder Juan Mata said after Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at his former club, Chelsea. United’s style of play has come under heavy scrutiny this campaign and has been labelled ‘dull’ and ‘boring’ by former players Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand. With pressure mounting on manager Louis van Gaal, United have showed more intent to break down the opposition’s defence in recent weeks, resulting in just one loss in their last nine matches in all competitions. Despite their upturn in…
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal said it is unlikely that the club have spoken to Jose Mourinho about replacing him. Mourinho, who was sacked by Chelsea in December, has been heavily tipped to take over from Van Gaal by British media in recent weeks but the Dutch coach said he had heard nothing of the sort from United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and the Old Trafford board. “I can only say that I have spoken with Ed Woodward and I cannot imagine that they have spoken with each other. I think that if they speak with another manager, they…
Louis van Gaal does not know if he will still be managing Manchester United next season if the club fail to qualify for the Champions League. United are fifth in the Premier League, trailing fourth-placed Manchester City by six points going into Saturday’s trip to relegation-threatened Sunderland. “It is not a question for me I think,” the Dutchman told reporters on Friday when asked if a failure to finish in the top four would cost him his job. “It is a question of the board of Manchester United, you have to put that question to them. I have a contract…
Premier League leaders Leicester City can win the title but their players must prove they can cope with the pressure of expectation, says Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal. “They are the favourites because they are five points away from the rest, but the moment that they have to win it is different,” Van Gaal told Friday’s Independent newspaper. “They are more or less in that place now because they want to continue with this lead. Is it possible? Why not? Maybe their players can cope, but that you do not know and that is a question that both Leicester…
Leicester City must ensure they maintain their rapid progress beyond the current campaign, manager Claudio Ranieri said ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash against third-placed Arsenal. Leicester, who were on the brink of relegation last season, continue to defy the odds this term and have opened up a five-point lead at the top of the table with a thumping 3-1 win over fellow title contenders Manchester City last Saturday. “We’re doing well because the big teams haven’t found their rhythm, but our plans won’t change next year,” Ranieri told the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport. “We must continue to build…
Jamie Vardy is adamant Leicester City remain unfazed by the mounting pressure of the Premier League title race as the shock leaders prepare for a summit meeting with Arsenal on Sunday. For the first time this season, Claudio Ranieri’s side find themselves the bookmakers’ favourites to be crowned champions after their fairytale rise reached a new high with last weekend’s stunning 3-1 win at title rivals Manchester City. The Foxes sit five points clear of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur and third-placed Arsenal with just 13 games remaining and the previously unthinkable prospect of the unfashionable outfit winning a first ever top-flight…
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has asked Arsenal not to give him a rude awakening when the Premier League leaders visit the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. Leicester’s amazing tilt at a first league title is turning doubters into believers and their convincing 3-1 defeat of Manchester City in their last league outing led to them being installed as title favourites by the bookmakers. The question now hanging over Leicester’s season is whether they have the experience to handle the pressure of a title run-in, but Ranieri insists their rivals have more to worry about. “This time I hope the bookmakers…
Arsenal’s long-term injury absentees Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla are only weeks away from returning to first-team action, manager Arsene Wenger said ahead of Sunday’s top-of-the-table Premier League clash against leaders Leicester City. Cazorla hurt his knee during Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Norwich City on November 29, while fellow midfielder Wilshere is yet to feature this campaign, having broken his calf bone in pre-season and had surgery in September. “They (Cazorla and Wilshere) are back running, they are on a fitness programme now so it means it is not a question of months anymore, it is a question of weeks…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger appealed for fans not to stage protests during Sunday’s top-of-the table clash against Leicester City as new supporter anger erupted. Wenger defended clubs and their prices after West Ham United’s Slaven Bilic led calls by English Premier League managers to stop stadiums becoming the exclusive preserve of the “caviar” class. A walkout by 10 000 Liverpool fans and subsequent about-turn by the club on price rises, put the spotlight on the super-rich league where a single ticket at Arsenal can cost close to £100. Leicester fans are now furious that Sunday’s game at Arsenal has been…
Striker Danny Welbeck could make the Arsenal squad for the first time this season against Leicester City on Sunday, but manager Arsene Wenger hinted on Friday that defender Per Mertesacker would not start against the league leaders. Welbeck has been sidelined since April with a knee injury while Mertesacker last played for the Gunners in the 1-0 loss to Chelsea on January 24. Leicester have great pace on the break and Wenger said he was likely to continue with his two quickest centre backs, Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel Paulista. “I think sometimes I use a different formula,” Wenger told reporters.…
Nigeria’s Senators have vowed to stand by Senate President, Bukola Saraki in spite of the corruption charges levelled against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). The legislators’ sentiment was conveyed via a statement released by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Sabi Abdullahi on Monday, February 8, 2016. The statement reads in part: “Following a meeting held in Abuja yesterday (Sunday) by some senators and the wide consultations with our colleagues in which we reviewed last Friday’s decision of the Supreme Court in the appeal on the preliminary matters filed by the Senate President,…
Yahaya Bello has reportedly appointed a deputy governor. Bello is said to have chosen Honourable Simon Achuba as his deputy, according to Daily Post. The governor reportedly sent a letter to the state’s House of Assembly asking that Achuba be confirmed for the position. The letter reads: “In line with the provision of Section 186 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended, I have the pleasure to forward herewith, the name of Hon. Simon Achuba for approval of appointment as the deputy governor of Kogi State.” “Hon. Achuba (JP) hails from Ibaji Local Government Area…
Nyesom Wike has reportedly urged All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, Dakuku Peterside to see him as a father. Peterside had said, during a recent meeting with APC Chairman, John Oyegun, that members of the party in Rivers had begun to feel like orphans after Wike’s election victory was upheld by the Supreme Court. “Dakuku said they are now like orphans when they went to visit him (Oyegun). Dakuku, you are not an orphan. I am your father. I am here,” Wike said at a recent event in Port Harcourt, according to Daily Post. “How can you…
The Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, has said that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, will not resign from his position unless he is convicted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). Ndume stated this on Tuesday, February 9, at the President Villa, Abuja, after a meeting with the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo. He noted that the constitution is clear on a person being innocent until proven guilty, describing the call for Saraki’s resignation as hasty. “It is not new for people to read meaning. Are you saying that the Senate President should be convicted before the trial?”, he asked rhetorically. When…
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to withdraw the 2016 budget he presented to the National Assembly and represent it, describing the budget as the height of national embarrasment. In a statement issued on Tuesday, February 9, by Lere Olayinka, the Governor’s Special Assistant on Pubic Communications and New Media, he said there were errors that could have been avoided in the budge. “The President should admit that there were avoidable errors in the budget and since he is human and not immune to errors, he should simply do the needful by presenting a new…
The Rivers state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have issued a stern warning to the All Progressives Congress (APC) Guber candidate in the state, Dakuku Peterside. The party accused Peterside of insulting the Governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, and warned him to stop calling the Governor names. An excerpt of the statement signed by Jerry Needam, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the PDP Chairman in the state, Bro Felix Obuah reads: “Dakuku Peterside, perhaps, yet to recover from the nightmare of occupying an office he has no capacity to direct, an illusion placed on him by no other…
Nyesom Wike has described All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside as a “pathological liar.” Wike made the remark after Peterside alleged that he had influenced justices of the Supreme Court to rule in his favour in the recent judgment upholding his April 11, 2015, electoral victory. “The late foremost Nationalist Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe is noted to have warned that if you do not answer false allegations made against you by your opponents, those allegations soon gain currency and belief,” Wike said via a statement. “It is with this admonition in mind that we are constrained to reply to…
Ayo Fayose has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will soon take back its inheritance from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Fayose made the comment today, February 10, 2016, during a thanksgiving service organized by Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel to celebrate the Supreme Court’s confirmation of his victory in the April 11, 2015 elections, The Cable reports. “If we put our house together, if we stay together, if we put the past behind us, we will take back our inheritance, it is our inheritance taken by deception, taken by propaganda, taken by hidden agenda,” Fayose said.…
The Director General of the National Task Force (NATFORCE), Dr Emmanuel Osita has accused former President, Olusegun Obasanjo of promoting crime and corruption during his tenure. Osita also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call Obasanjo to order and warn him to stop heating up the country with his comments, The Tribune reports. The NATFORCE DG reportedly made the statements on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, during a briefing in Abuja. “His [Obasanjo’s] eight years rule never created jobs, but rather promoted crime and corruption,” Osita said according to The Tribune. Osita also said that all persons found guilty of corruption should…