Crystal Palace came back to win a Premier League game from a two-goal deficit for the first time as new manager Alan Pardew’s restorative powers worked wonders for them again on Saturday. . In his first league game in charge last week, Palace trailed 1-0 against Tottenham Hotspur before winning 2-1 and last weekend they were two goals down at Burnley but won 3-2 with Dwight Gayle’s late strike securing three vital points. . Having started against Tottenham in the relegation zone, the south Londoners are now up to the relative safety of 12th, four points above third from bottom…
Author: David Folami
Southampton have a golden touch in the transfer market and they appear to have struck the jackpot again after loanee Eljero Elia scored both goals in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Newcastle United. . The experienced Dutch striker, signed on loan from Werder Bremen this month, drilled in a low shot after 14 minutes to put Southampton ahead and his deflected shot on the hour sealed a fifth win in six Premier League games for the Saints. . Despite losing a batch of top players in the summer, and their manager Mauricio Pochettino, Southampton have thrived under Ronald Koeman. . The…
Harry Redknapp will be staying as Queens Park Rangers manager despite widespread media speculation he is about to be sacked with the Premier League club facing an immediate return to the Championship (second tier). . QPR chairman Tony Fernandes said on Monday that he wanted to set the record straight over the 67-year-old’s future after Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat by Manchester United left them second-bottom, one point from the safety zone. . “There’s been a lot of rumours about Harry’s position being under threat, so I thought it was time to end all the speculation so everyone can focus on…
It will take a “phenomenal” offer to prise Chelsea forward Andre Schuerrle away from the club, manager Jose Mourinho said on Friday. . The Portuguese claimed he had no plans to sell or buy in the January transfer window but did not rule out Germany’s Schuerrle exiting Stamford Bridge, while Egypt winger Mohamed Salah has also been linked with a switch. . With both players said to be growing frustrated with a lack of first team opportunities, media reports said Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg have made an offer for Schuerrle, while Salah is said to have piqued the interest of…
More managers will be sacked in the Premier League and Football League than ever before if current trends continue, according to the League Managers Association’s (LMA) quarterly report. . As of the end of December, 27 managers – more than a quarter of the Premier League and Football league’s 92 clubs – had been dismissed from their clubs. The tally is three more than at the same stage last season. . A further seven managers resigned or departed by mutual consent. . “If the trend continues we are on course to exceed the total dismissal record of 46 set in…
Mali coach Henryk Kasperczak believes CAF should find a better way to separate teams with identical records for future Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, but it prepared to accept his team’s fate when they draw lots later on Thursday. . The Eagles and Syli Nationale of Guinea played to a 1-1 draw in their final Group D Match on Wednesday, meaning they ended in second and third place (behind group winners and quarterfinal qualifiers Ivory Coast) and have identical records. . A drawing of lots will be conducted later today to determine which of the two progresses into the last…
Billionaire Klaus-Michael Kuehne has acquired a 7.5 percent stake at former European champions Hamburg SV after pumping in 18.75 million euros in investment and also bagged the stadium naming rights, the club said on Thursday. . Hamburg, struggling to avoid relegation in the past few seasons, has been dogged by financial problems and a string of expensive but unsuccessful transfers. . Kuehne’s investment is not only a much-needed shot in the arm for Hamburg but a major hope for the long-term future of the only Bundesliga club to never have played in the second division since the top league’s creation…
Young Nigerian midfield talent, Sad’eeq Yusuf, is being monitored by English club, Liverpool and Italian giants, Juventus, supersport.com can report. . The two European clubs have been monitoring the situation of the teenage midfielder who has been a target of Dutch Eredivisie side, Ajax. . Yusuf is supposed to have travelled to Amsterdam but has encountered delays in obtaining permit to enter The Netherlands following an invitation from Ajax director Marc Overmars. . The 18-year-old has been unable to secure necessary paperwork from the Dutch embassy which has now left the trip to Amsterdam in doubt. . With the trip…
Algeria captain Abdel Madjid Bougherra is expected to be ready for their Afcon quarterfinal clash against Ivory Coast on Sunday. . Bougherra suffered a broken nose in Algeria’s last match against Senegal in Group C of the Africa Cup of Nations. . The medical staff of the Desert Foxes have now assured that Bougherra’s injury does not look serious and will not stop him from leading Algeria against the Elephants of Ivory Coast in Malabo. . According to Algerian TV, FC Porto playmaker, Yacine Brahimi, will also be ready for the quarterfinal clash after he suffered a knock in the…
At least one of the leading contenders for the Africa Cup of Nations title will be eliminated at the weekend when Algeria meet the Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals. . Sunday’s clash in Malabo between two teams who took part in last year’s World Cup is the headline game of the last eight as the three-week tournament enters the knockout stage. . Ghana, another of the African sides who featured in Brazil six months ago, play Guinea in Malabo earlier on Sunday. . On Saturday, hosts Equatorial Guinea seek to continue their fairytale run when they face Tunisia in Bata…
Former Manchester United striker Diego Forlan has sympathy for Radamel Falcao over his problems at Old Trafford. . Forlan believes Falcao has been put under too much pressure to perform since returning from his knee injury. . “There was pressure on him to make it back for the World Cup last summer with Colombia,” Forlan said in his column in The Nation. “Maybe too much, it was unrealistic. . “Falcao had played very little football when he signed for Manchester United, the world’s greatest football club. . “Because Falcao had built this huge reputation and because he was earning a…
MANCHESTER UNITED are to step up their pursuit of Barcelona star Dani Alves. . Any movement for the player appeared to have ended in recently weeks with rumours of Alves signing a new deal but now United have been handed a boost. . On-going talks over a contract extension at the Nou Camp have stalled with the club and player failing to make progress. . United are now looking to swoop for the defender. . Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City are also keeping tabs on the 31-year-old but, according to the Metro, United boss Louis van Gaal is ‘confident’ to…
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been learning Spanish fuelling rumours he could be on his way to La Liga in the summer. . The 21-year-old has been linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, though his agent Mino Raiola has denied he will be moving in January. . The Daily Express reports that the 21-year-old Frenchman has been getting help with his Spanish from Juventus teammate Fernando Llorente. . The ex-Manchester United midfielder has been rumoured to be going back to Old Trafford, while cross-city rivals Manchester City are considering a bid, along with Premier League title challengers…
As speculation of an audacious bid for Manchester City’s Yaya Toure mounts, Inter coach Roberto Mancini refuses to be drawn on the issue. . Roberto Mancini was coy when quizzed on reports linking Inter with a close-season swoop for Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure. . Speculation in the Italian media has suggested that Mancini is keen on a reunion with the Ivory Coast captain, who he brought to the Etihad Stadium during his time as City manager. . Toure’s future with the Premier League champions was called into question earlier this month when he hinted he would consider his future…
Kaka has claimed former Brazil star Ronaldo is the best player he has ever seen due to the speed with which he could play. . Kaka played alongside Ronaldo for the Selecao and briefly during the latter’s stint at AC Milan, which was blighted by injury problems. . Although the 32-year-old has featured in the same Real Madrid side as Cristiano Ronaldo and faced Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, he maintains his compatriot could execute a move with greater speed and finesse than any other player. . “For me, the best players are those who are able to think of a play…
Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill has defended team-mate Diego Costa’s physical approach to the game. . The striker, 26, contests a Football Association violent conduct charge for an alleged stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can in their League Cup semi-final tie. . Cahill told the BBC’s Football Focus: “It’s his character. It’s the way he plays. He’s a handful for a defender. . “One of his attributes, as well as his skills and scoring fantastic goals, is that he puts his foot in.” Cahill added: “He makes it difficult and uncomfortable for defenders. . “Would you change him? Probably not, and I…
Former Super Eagles attacking midfielder, Mutiu Adepoju has described as unfortunate the death of teammate, Wilfred Agbonavbare. . The former Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper and 1994 Afcon hero died on Tuesday in a hospital in Alcala after a hard fought battle with cancer. . Adepoju said Nigeria has actually lost a great ambassador and hero in the person of the former Super Eagles magnet, Agbonavbare. . “Oh my God, I know he is battling with cancer but it never crossed my mind that death is very much around the corner. . “It’s really sad, shocking and unfortunate, may his ever gentle…
Qatari club Al Arabi have tabled a bid for Inter Milan’s Nigerian midfielder Joel Obi. . The offer has, however, been rejected by the 18-time Italian champions on the grounds that it does not match their valuation of the player. . Obi has found first team opportunities difficult to come by this season and has only made just six starts for the Nerazzuri this season. . Inter’s owner, Erick Thohir, however insists Obi will not leave for anything less than the club’s valuation of the 23-year-old. . SkySports Italia, however, reports that Inter are still open to further discussions with…
Villarreal won 1-0 at Getafe to advance to a Copa del Rey semifinal against Barcelona on a 2-0 aggregate score on Thursday. . Villarreal entered with a 1-0 lead from the opening leg and held Getafe in check until striker Gerard Moreno sealed their place among the final four teams with a goal in the 78th minute. . Barcelona knocked out Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Chelsea reached the League Cup final after Branislav Ivanovic’s towering extra-time header secured a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in a rip-roaring semifinal second leg at an electric Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. . The Serbian defender powered a header past Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet four minutes into the extra period to secure a 2-1 aggregate win for the four-times winners days after their humiliating FA Cup exit to third-tier Bradford City. . Both sides had good chances in normal time and were grateful to their keepers – Thibaut Courtois and Mignolet – for keeping the scores level in a blood-and-thunder encounter…