In a recent interview, Seyi Shay narrates how she met veteran Nigerian singer Seyi Shay who she describes as her ‘father’. “I didn’t grow up with my dad” said Seyi Shay, “I didn’t meet my dad until quite late in my life because I was raised by my mom and siblings pretty much in the UK, but I knew when I met Sound Sultan he was very, very fatherly to me. The very first day I just him, my group had just broken up, I was in a studio in London trying to continue my career with or without any…
Author: David Folami
Shella B, the woman who accused pop star Timaya of rape in July is about to get married. On her Instagram account she has shared several pictures of her fiancé, and has announced that she is engaged and about to do her traditional wedding. In one of the captions of her fiancé’s picture she wrote “#MCM im completely off the market#myafricanprince #myheavensent #mychocolate #mytoothache.” Shella B has also shared pictures of her father’s newly completed house where she would her wince carrying ceremony will take place. Back in July, a series of Instagram posts surfaced allegedly showing exchanged chats between…
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba is a huge fan of the dab. The dab is a new type of dance in American hip-hop culture which involves the move of the hand to the forehead. Pogba did the ‘dab’ after Paulo Dybala scored in Juventus’s win over Verona on Wednesday. The midfielder has taken his love for the ‘dab’ further by incorporating it into a haircut. He revealed the haircut with the word ‘dab’ emblazoned into the side of his head on Wednesday. “Back to work dab team is back,” Pogba captioned a Twitter picture of his hair. Three days earlier, Pogba…
Crystal Palace are interested in signing free agent Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togo International has been without a club since he was released by Tottenham in September. According to recent reports, Crystal Palace have spoken to the 31-year-old about a short term deal as manager Alan Pardew is desperate to add at least one striker to his team following the departure of Patrick Bamford, and injury to Yannick Bolasie. Another Premier League club Watford was interested in the striker but pulled due to fears over his fitness. Adebayor has been working hard to maintain fitness while in his homes in Togo…
Portsmouth, Wigan, Cardiff City, Stoke, Aston Villa and Hull are among the teams that have played in an FA Cup final since Manchester United’s last appearance in 2007, when they lost to Chelsea. Two of those teams, Portsmouth and Wigan, have even won it while United’s last success in the competition came over a decade ago. In the past two seasons, with their back-to-back wins, Arsenal have also replaced United as the most successful team in the FA Cup, lifting the trophy 12 times to United’s 11. When United last featured in the final, while there was the obvious disappointment…
Chelsea interim boss Guus Hiddink appears to be making a reasonable fist of galvanising the Stamford Bridge dressing room and guiding them out of trouble. With three home games in the space of a week to look forward to, Blues supporters will have a clear indication whether last weekend’s resounding 3-0 victory away at Crystal Palace was the turning point in what has been a shocking season. The first of these matches presents Hiddink with a chance to take a step forward in salvaging the campaign by masterminding victory over League One side Scunthorpe United in the FA Cup. Hiddink…
If the tradition prevails, this summer could witness the Chelsea testimonial of John Obi Mikel. The most appropriate way to mark his 10 years of service would be for him to trot on as an 87th-minute substitute at Stamford Bridge, with his own tribute match safely won. However, Chelsea’s human final whistle strongly suggested in the win over Crystal Palace this past weekend — their most comprehensive performance of the season — that he is well worth a final, extended opportunity to prove himself as more than a midfield plan B. Only Mikel, and his immoveable captain John Terry, remain…
In the space of just two weeks, the world’s two outstanding managers made their positions public. First, Jose Mourinho responded to his dismissal at Chelsea by making it plain that he had no need of a sabbatical. He was immediately ready to return to work, according to a statement issued by his agents.. Within a couple of days, Louis van Gaal’s position as Manchester United manager, Rafael Benitez’s post at Real Madrid and Roberto Mancini’s at Internazionale were all under a rather greater degree of threat than they had been previously. Not long after, Pep Guardiola ended months of speculation…
Mathieu Flamini has said Arsenal have the squad depth to compete for both the Premier League and FA Cup this season as the club look to lift the latter for a third time in a row. Arsenal can become the first team in 130 years to win three straight FA Cups, although a long run in the competition could possibly hamper what some see as the team’s best chance in a decade to win the Premier League. But even with a squad hit by injuries, Flamini thinks Arsenal can compete on both fronts as they prepare to play Sunderland in…
Former France manager Raymond Domenech says Zinedine Zidane is like a god and feels the new Real Madrid boss will be the best candidate to succeed Didier Deschamps as coach of Les Bleus. Domenech, 63, was manager of France at the 2006 World Cup, when Zidane drove his team to the final before infamously being sent off for headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi. Speaking to Le Monde, Domenech said Zidane’s talent and quiet nature had made him like a deity in human form. “Zidane is a myth,” he said. “A myth capable of setting off emotions in people and not…
Jurgen Klopp has defended his playing and training methods after claims by Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce that he is to blame for Liverpool’s hamstring crisis. Allardyce — who last week labelled Klopp a “soft German” — was one of a number of voices on Wednesday suggesting that the intensity the Reds boss has demanded of his players since he took over in October may be to blame for the freakish succession of hamstring injuries to hit the club. The 1-0 victory in Tuesday’s Capital One Cup semifinal first leg at Stoke City came at a considerable cost, with Philippe Coutinho…
The scarves may have to be put back into storage for a little longer. Manchester United’s victory against Swansea last week reduced the pressure on manager Louis van Gaal. The prospect of the Dutchman being replaced by his protege Jose Mourinho has receded a bit. The unofficial merchandise that was being sold outside Old Trafford for United’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea, commissioned on the basis the Portuguese was bound to succeed Van Gaal, appears to have been produced both prematurely and badly. The image on the scarves did not look particularly like Mourinho. The creator forgot that, while there is…
Manuel Pellegrini blamed referee Bobby Madley for Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat to Everton by claiming he made an “unbelievable” decision and two “important” mistakes that cost his side. The Chilean thought Everton’s opening goal should have been disallowed for offside, when Romelu Lukaku was in Willy Caballero’s line of vision as the goalkeeper parried Ross Barkley’s shot to Ramiro Funes Mori, who scored. And he believed his side should have had a penalty when the City scorer Jesus Navas was challenged by Everton substitute Kevin Mirallas. Pellegrini said in a news conference: “I am disappointed, especially for two very important…
Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil has been named the best “German abroad” by influential magazine kicker. The “kicker ranking of German football” is published on a biannual basis, and ranks players in all positions, and also those plying their trade abroad. It divides them into four categories: world class, international class, players of note and players in focus. Ozil is the only “German abroad” to be called up into the international class following his impressive displays for the Gunners in 2015-16. All other German players in foreign leagues — including World Cup winners Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, and Bastian Schweinsteiger –…
Luis Suarez called Espanyol players “a waste of space” in an angry confrontation following an ill-tempered Copa del Rey match between Barcelona and their local rivals on Wednesday night. Barcelona won the physical match 4-1, with eight Espanyol players booked during proceedings and two sent off. After the final whistle, a scuffle between the two teams occurred in the tunnel where, according to referee Martinez Munuera’s report, the former Liverpool man taunted his opponents. “At the end of the game, once in the tunnel, Barca’s No. 9, Suarez, Luis, while the Espanyol players were coming up the stairs, waited for…
Watford captain Troy Deeney is adamant his strike partner Odion Ighalo is going nowhere — following a report that the Nigerian said his dream was to join Manchester United. Deeney believes Ighalo will stay at Vicarage Road and is convinced Watford’s manager, Quique Sanchez Flores, and owners, the Pozzo family, would not allow Ighalo to be sold in this window. A report quoted Ighalo, who scored more goals than any other player in England’s top-four divisions in 2015, as saying “playing at Old Trafford has always been a dream.” Deeney said that Ighalo, a boyhood United fan, was talking hypothetically…
Manchester United have confirmed that Adnan Januzaj’s year-long loan at Borussia Dortmund has been cancelled and he will return to the club. Januzaj, 20, who has three years left on his current United deal, struggled to make an impact at Dortmund since joining the German club in the summer transfer window and sources confirmed that talks were underway to end his loan prematurely. The Belgium international made just six appearances for Dortmund, for a total of 165 minutes, and did not establish himself in Thomas Tuchel’s first team, while he was told he will not figure in the plans for…
Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce has blamed Jurgen Klopp’s tactics for Liverpool’s current injury crisis. Liverpool’s 1-0 win in the first leg of their Capital One Cup match at Stoke on Tuesday was marred by injuries to Philippe Coutinho and Dejan Lovren. Reds midfielder Adam Lallana said manager Klopp’s training regime is not to blame for the spate of hamstring problems at the club. But Allardyce, who recently called Klopp a “soft German,” said: “That is him [Klopp] asking his players to play a high-tempo pressing game from the top end. “It’s great that the players have been able to carry…
Liverpool attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho is set to miss Friday’s FA Cup tie at Exeter City and the Premier League games against Manchester United and Arsenal. Coutinho, 23, and Dejan Lovren, 26, both sustained hamstring injuries in Liverpool’s 1-0 Capital One Cup first-leg semifinal win at Stoke City. Centre-back Kolo Toure was also seen hobbling in the final stages of the game at Britannia Stadium, but he should be available to face his former club Arsenal next Wednesday. Liverpool host Arsenal next week and four days later rivals United make the trip to Anfield before a trip to Norwich on…
All eyes will be on new Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane and on how he delivers his brand of attacking football spearheaded by the ‘BBC’ in his first match in charge against Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga on Saturday. So far the quietly-spoken Frenchman has given little indication of the way he plans to breathe new life into a side that boasts plenty of talent but failed to perform in big games under former coach Rafa Benitez. “The idea is to play with the three of them,” Zidane told reporters as he explained the roles of top-notch forwards Gareth…