Nigerian striker Shola Ameobi is in talks with Barclays English Premier League club Crystal Palace. . Ameobi, currently a free agent, shocked more than a few when he joined Turkish 1 Lig (second division) club Gaziantepspor BB on August 11, 2014. . Four goals and 11 league matches later, Ameobi appears set for a return to the Premier League where he had previously turned out for Newcastle United and Stoke City (on loan). . He left Gaziantepspor in December and Sky Sports is now reporting that following talks with Palace, the 33-year-old is set to be reunited with his former…
Author: David F.
Former England striker Peter Crouch has settled his immediate future by signing a two-year contract extension with Stoke City, the Premier League club said on Thursday. . The news ends speculation that Crouch, who has scored 37 goals in 140 appearance for Stoke, would leave when his current deal expires at the end of the season. . Crouch, who will be 34 on Friday, joined the Midlands club from Tottenham Hotspur in a club record £10 million deal in 2011. . “People will stop talking about my future now hopefully, and I can just concentrate on doing well for this…
Manager Mauricio Pochettino faces a tough decision if goalkeepers Hugo Lloris and Michel Vorm are both fit to play for Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley on March 1. . He must decide whether to keep faith with number two Vorm, who has played every minute of the campaign, or give a Wembley spot to Lloris, one of the best keepers in the world and his regular first choice. . Spurs reached the final with a 3-2 aggregate win over third-tier Sheffield United on Wednesday after a late goal from Christian Eriksen gave them a…
Guinea described their progress, by the drawing of lots, to Sunday’s African Nations Cup quarterfinal against Ghana in Malabo as the “gods of football fortune” smiling down on them. . The country, devastated by the Ebola virus in the last year, was thrilled to see its national team qualify on Thursday at the expense of Mali after the two sides finished Group D level. . Chants of ‘Ebola, Ebola’ from rival fans had a sizeable impact on the players but they still ended up in the finals after winding up second in their preliminary group section behind Ghana and ahead…
Guinea will play in the African Nations Cup quarterfinals after qualifying instead of Mali by the drawing of lots at a ceremony in Malabo on Thursday. . Lots were drawn to determine second place in Group D after both countries finished level after their three opening round matches. Ivory Coast won the group. . Three successive 1-1 draws for both teams meant they could not be separated by points, their head-to-head result, goal difference or goals scored. . Guinea will now play Ghana in Sunday’s quarterfinal in Malabo at 6pm SA time. . “The gods of football fortune smiled on…
Tottenham Hotspur’s Michel Vorm is set to retain his place in goal for their Capital One Cup semifinal second leg with Sheffield United on Wednesday despite his howler in their FA Cup exit on Saturday. . Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino gave Vorm his full backing on Tuesday ahead of the last-four clash after his mistake gifted Leicester City a surprise 2-1 away win in the FA Cup. . The Dutchman let a tame effort from Jeffrey Schlupp squirm past him and into the net in the 90th minute. . “This is football. He made two big saves against Leicester. His…
Former Nigerian captain Stephen Keshi has told supersport.com that the death of his ex-teammate Wilfred Agbonavbare has left him in shock. . Keshi explained that the passing away of the former Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper is a bitter pill to swallow despite knowing he has been battling cancer for sometime. . “Wilfred is dead? No! This is a bitter pill to swallow,” began Keshi while speaking to supersport.com. “What do I say about him now? I still remember our time together as teammates while at NNB many years back. Wilfred was one goalkeeper who was good at what he did.” .…
Bayern Munich have accused senior Fifa member Theo Zwanziger of double standards after the former German soccer chief criticised the Bundesliga champions over last week’s visit to Saudi Arabia. . The team from Bavaria, a leading global football brand, played a friendly against Al-Hilal in Riyadh on Saturday in a one-day trip organised by a club sponsor. . It coincided with an uproar over the flogging in Saudi Arabia of activist and blogger Raif Badawi and Zwanziger accused Bayern of being driven by “commercial ethics”. . “If Dr Theo Zwanziger has indeed forgotten what he once said (about Bayern) then…
German champions Bayern Munich have repeatedly signalled their desire for a contract extension with coach Pep Guardiola but the Spaniard seems in no rush to sign a deal past 2016. . Guardiola led Bayern to the domestic league and Cup double in his first season in charge last year but any talk of a contract extension past his original three years will happen later in the year. . Despite their runaway lead in the Bundesliga again this season, any possible deal extension seems to largely hinge on Guardiola’s ability to land the Champions League title this season. . Last season’s…
Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp has said that he is optimistic regarding his side’s survival chances as they head into the second half of the Bundesliga season. . The Westphalians occupied the penultimate position in the Bundesliga at the turn of the year after a dramatic fall from grace and, rather than challenging for a place in Europe next season, their focus is on avoiding relegation. Klopp, who has presided over the worst half a season in his coaching career, remains convinced they will pull away from danger and soon be able to forget about the first half of the…
Germany midfielder Ilkay Guendogan could be sidelined with a thigh muscle injury when ailing Borussia Dortmund start the second half of the Bundesliga season on Saturday at Bayer Leverkusen. . Guendogan sustained the injury in a tune-up match in Dusseldorf last week and has not been in team training since. . Also uncertain, although back from Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations duty are Shinji Kagawa and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. But Japan’s Kagawa resumed team training on Wednesday. . The 2011 and 2012 champions Dortmund are second bottom after a terrible first half of the season. They now hope for…
Guinea and Mali will have to wait for the drawing of lots to take place to find out who will qualify for quarterfinals. . CAF Article 74 has come into play to be the tiebreaker as the teams are level in every category. . The rule is also used by the world governing football body Fifa. . It is not everyone’s preferred manner and most fans have actually called for penalty shootout, which is more thrilling and entertaining than a draw that basically amounts to a lottery. . This is what the Confederation of African Football (CAF) stated after the…
Didier Drogba has paid tribute to the inspirational way Chelsea teammates Frank Lampard and John Terry helped turn his career around after suffering some difficult times in his early days at Stamford Bridge. . The powerful Ivorian striker, signed in a big-money deal from Olympique de Marseille 11 years ago, was frequently criticised by reporters for the theatrical way he would go to ground but he said Lampard and Terry made him clean up his act. . “I’m very proud because I managed to push things and also that I learned from my mistakes,” Drogba told Reuters in an interview,…
Stoke City forward Bojan Krkic will miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee ligament injury against Rochdale in their FA Cup fourth round win on Monday, the Premier League club said. . The 24-year-old Spanish forward opened the scoring after four minutes in a 4-1 victory but limped off in the 32nd minute after collapsing while challenging for the ball. . “Scans have revealed he suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in his left knee and will have to undergo surgery,” Stoke said on their website (www.stokecityfc.com). . The Midlands club signed the one-cap Spain international forward from…
Mali and Guinea face a long night as they await a rare drawing of lots to decide which team goes through to the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals. . A 1-1 draw between the teams in Mongomo on Wednesday left them tied in second place in Group D behind the Ivory Coast, who finished top after beating Cameroon 1-0 in Malabo. . Max Gradel’s first-half goal means the Ivorians will take on Algeria in the last eight in Malabo on Sunday. . But Group C winners Ghana are still awaiting the identity of the last team through from the group…
Sunning themselves in Abu Dhabi and arriving home 19 hours before their FA Cup fourth-round tie against Middlesbrough was not the reason for Manchester City’s shock 2-0 home defeat on Saturday, manager Manuel Pellegrini said. . Arab-owned City jetted out to Abu Dhabi following last Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by Arsenal for a week’s warm-weather training before arriving back in Manchester at around 2000 GMT on Friday. . After a goalless first half at the Etihad Stadium, City midfielder Fernando’s defensive error allowed on-loan Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford to put Middlesbrough in front on 53 minutes. . City continued to be…
A bemused Jose Mourinho described Chelsea’s performance as unacceptable and a disgrace after the Premier League leaders slumped to a 4-2 home defeat against third-tier Bradford City in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday. . It was an old-fashioned Cup tie, full of noise, tension, rip-roaring goals and a thrilling comeback victory for the brave underdogs on a chilly afternoon in west London. . Mourinho, twice a Champions League winner, who has led teams to titles in his native Portugal, Italy and Spain as well as at Chelsea, said the defeat was one of the worst of his career.…
Middlesbrough were rewarded for beating Manchester City with a trip to FA Cup holders Arsenal while Chelsea’s conquerors Bradford City host Sunderland or Fulham after the fifth round draw on Monday. . Third tier Bradford and Championship (second tier) Middlesbrough overcame the odds to register two of the biggest FA Cup shocks in recent memory. . Bradford trailed 2-0 against Premier League leaders Chelsea before mounting a stunning fightback to win 4-2 while Middlesbrough outplayed City to claim a 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium. . “I’d prefer (to play) Sunderland to be fair,” Bradford co-chairman Mark Lawn told Sky…
Real Madrid released a statement late on Monday saying it complies fully with Fifa’s rules on transfers involving minors, after acknowledging that football’s governing body is looking into previous deals. . Earlier, during Lucas Silva’s presentation, club director Emilio Butragueno said he knew Fifa had asked the Spanish federation for documents relating to the transfers of minors to Madrid over the past five years. . Butragueno said “we are in agreement with Fifa in this matter,” and that we will continue collaborating with them in everything that is asked of us. We are absolutely calm about how Real Madrid has…
The president of Barcelona says the Spanish club is considering ending its lucrative shirt sponsorship deal with Qatar because of concerns over social issues in the Gulf state. . Josep Maria Bartomeu said in an interview on Catalan radio Tuesday that Barcelona was “looking at alternatives to Qatar,” pointing out that the contract ends in 2016. . Bartomeu said “four years ago, we signed for economic reasons,” adding that now “other social issues” needed to be taken into consideration. . Barcelona made headlines in December 2010 when it ended its long-standing refusal to wear sponsorship logos on its jerseys by…