You will respect his authority. Did you hear that Jonjo, Jack, Georginio and Papiss? You will respect Rafa Benitez’s authority. The former Liverpool and Real Madrid manager claimed his first point as Newcastle manager on Sunday when the Magpies shared the Tyne-Wear spoils with Sunderland. The result leaves both clubs mired in the relegation zone […]

10 years ago

A terror threat to the Galatasaray vs Fenerbahce derby has forced authorities to call the game off little over an hour before kick-off. The Turkish giants were set to clash and fans were already arriving at the stadium for the fierce derby when the decision was made. Organisers said a ‘serious security threat’ at the Turk Telekom Arena […]

10 years ago

It’s the hope that kills you. Liverpool were beginning to enjoy a nice little spell this season. They’d turfed Manchester United out of European football, Jon Flanagan has signed a brand new contract and the team was making a late push for European football. Things were on the up. There was even a match against […]

10 years ago

Claims

10 years ago

There’s local bragging rights and a potential Champions League spot up for grabs in today’s Manchester Derby. It’s been a strange season for both Manchester sides, with both City and United failing to fire on all cylinders this campaign. But with West Ham slipping up against Chelsea on Saturday, both clubs are going all guns […]

10 years ago

And she’s wearing a Gunners jersey, too. He spent his Arsenal career trying to prevent anyone scoring, but Johan Djourou has done exactly the opposite in making his acting debut. The Swiss defender left north London in 2014 after ten years at Arsenal, joining German side Hamburg, where is currently club captain. But, as any footballer […]

10 years ago

Scouse Cafu is back. Liverpool are on a high right now, having put Manchester United to the sword in the Europa League in mid-week. Up next is a potentially tricky game against Southampton at Anfield but it’s alright, because Jon Flanagan’s back. At captain. Born and bred Scouser. #LFC’s captain this afternoon is Jon Flanagan […]

10 years ago

It would’ve been so easy to mess these up. Just ask Neymar who is current ambassador of the ugliest football boots of all time. Cristiano Ronaldo’s new Mercurial Natural Diamond boots have hit the stores and they aren’t half bad. Nice colour, nice design, nice shape. Wonder would you get any odds on him scoring […]

10 years ago

Want. FC Bayern: Lovely stadium, lovely football team, lovely kit. The leaked new jersey that the German champions – and soon-to-be Germany champions – will wear next season is another wet dream. Pep Guardiola and his tiki-taka football might be taking off for pastures new but Muller and the guys are going to look as […]

10 years ago

Merciless

10 years ago

Joe’s “honoured” to be involved with the Ireland team

10 years ago

This ain’t WWE

10 years ago

The return of George St-Pierre to the octagon has long been discussed. After UFC 196 Dana White confirmed that talks were underway with the man regarded as the greatest welterweight of all time, but he was unsure if they ultimately would lead to a comeback. GSP was in the crowd that night in the MGM […]

10 years ago

Neymar has been ordered to pay over €46 million after being found guilty of tax evasion. The Barcelona star was ruled to have failed to pay tax on earnings from his contracts between 2011 and 2013. Those contracts included former club Santos, Barcelona and Nike. The federal court in Rio de Janeiro ordered him to pay 188.8 million Brazilian […]

10 years ago

It’s hard to think of a player who has given more to a club than Ryan Giggs has to Manchester United. The current assistant manager picked up 13 league titles, four FA Cup winners’ medals and two Champions League crowns during his 24-year playing career at Old Trafford. In short, his legacy can never be questioned. […]

10 years ago

When he’s not busy comparing himself to God, Portuguese captain and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo is usually found doing good deeds. Not so arrogant after all. A five-year-old Palestinian boy who narrowly survived a devastating Israeli fire-bomb attack last year, and who subsequently lost all of his family, has been flown to Madrid to […]

10 years ago

What about the champ? You can understand how it would be easy for Rafael dos Anjos to feel like he’s being ignored. The UFC lightweight champion is exactly that, the champion. And yet one injury in his build-up to UFC 196 and the rest of the promotion has seemingly moved on and, dare say it, […]

10 years ago

The thunder down under

10 years ago

Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds landed in Argentina this week ahead of a weekend gig in the country’s capital, Buenos Aires. While in town, the ex-Oasis man took time out to visit La Bombonera – the legendary home ground of Boca Juniors. As shown by Boca’s official Twitter page, Gallagher was greeted by former […]

10 years ago

To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. At least that’s what we were told before heading into a training session with UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold at the EA SPORTS UFC 2 ‘Finish the Fight’ launch event in London. Rockhold is currently getting ready for a championship re-match against Chris Weidman at UFC 199 in […]

10 years ago

Nike have spent the last few days unveiling their much-hyped new international kits to fans all over the world, but there is something a bit suspect about the designs. It appears that Nike have adapted their iconic mantra to ‘Just Copy It’, as each shirt seems to follow a near-identical template. Soooo basically Australia can expect […]

10 years ago

After riding Don Cossack to victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the adrenaline must have been pumping for Tralee man Bryan Cooper. As Channel 4 approached the breathless Cooper for his reaction to the triumph, the jockey turned the Cheltenham air blue with his sweary response. “F**king unbelieveable,” he replied, prompting Channel 4 to later apologise […]

10 years ago

As well as GAA, rugby and golf

10 years ago

United fans the most relieved on the planet

10 years ago

What a tie

10 years ago

This is what it’s all about. It sometimes feels like it takes until the quarter-final stage for the Champions League to begin in earnest, but it’s kicked into full gear now with an exciting last eight draw. Manchester City are the only British team remaining and they face a tough task in their first ever […]

10 years ago

By Hayley O’Connor. I’ve had a good few days and the punters have cleaned up this week. On the final day of the Festival day, can Ruby land the opener three days in a row? The money this morning for Footpad in the Triumph Hurdle at 1.30pm suggests he can. I fancied Apples Jade for […]

10 years ago

A sad state of affairs. Renowned kickboxer Tiffany van Soest has resorted to selling her world championship belt online in order to pay bills. The Lion Fight featherweight champion has claimed that she has not been paid by the promotion and has debt accumulated from her preparations that went into winning the belt. The 26-year-old […]

10 years ago

Those World Cup scars will not fade in a hurry, but there’s no better tonic for Brazil fans than feasting their eyes on a brand spanking new kit. Nike’s kit, which will be worn at the 2016 Copa America, has a strikingly minimalist design, complemented by the green trim on the collar and stripes down […]

10 years ago

Since dispatching Conor McGregor at UFC 196, we’ve all been wondering what’s next for Nate Diaz. You’d think that such a high-profile victory would give Diaz his pick of whatever fight he wanted, but the trash-talking Californian isn’t getting too carried away with who he wants to face next. Diaz’s brutal submission of The Notorious came […]

10 years ago

Explains why he left Liverpool

10 years ago

This wasn’t your average European tie, this was personal. It might not have been the Champions League, but Liverpool and Manchester United meeting in the Europa League still represented a European first for the two. Liverpool carried a 2-0 advantage going into Thursday’s game having dominated the first leg at Anfield, but United fans still believed […]

10 years ago

For sale?

10 years ago

Italy: home of the Renaissance, football, style and Andrea Pirlo. Unfortunately, we can’t crowbar the first into a story about Italy’s new training gear for Euros this summer the but the last three certainly apply – and how. We already knew the Euro 2016 away kit in particular was something of a work of art (much like a Renaissance painting…No? […]

10 years ago

Well that escalated quickly. Nike and the FA proudly unveiled the new home and away England kits on Thursday, and it’s fair to say that the reaction was…passionate. The subtle two-tone shirts – and the not-so-subtle inverted sock colours – certainly stirred an emotional response amongst the fans. Unfortunately for those responsible, it was less than […]

10 years ago

After a miserable evening at Anfield last week, Manchester United face an uphill battle if they are to overcome Liverpool in their Europa League second leg on Thursday. Speaking ahead of the game, Louis van Gaal indicated that Bastian Schweinsteiger was not fit enough to start the match, leaving many United supporters expecting their side’s midfield to be […]

10 years ago

By Hayley O’Connor. After a brilliant day yesterday, I’m glad I got my head in front because today’s card will be hugely hard to navigate. The opener, the JLT Novices Chase, sees two very good English horses at the head of the market. The favourite, Garde La Victoire has done a lot right, is 3/3 over […]

10 years ago

It’s over fellas. Let it go. Yet again, Arsenal’s season has imploded in a matter of weeks. Understandably, it’s difficult for many of those connected with the club to accept that a season that promised so much is set to yield nothing in the way of silverware. Judging by this, the club’s Twitter feed simply […]

10 years ago

Mohamed Elneny had raised the slimmest of hopes that Arsenal could salvage their Champions League tie with Barcelona. The Egyptian bagged a memorable first goal for the club, leaving them in sight of an unlikely comeback. All of a sudden, Arsenal were creating chances and their tails were up. But, much like their title […]

10 years ago

As his ‘sweeper-keeper’ nickname suggests, Manuel Neuer has made a bit of a habit of vacating his goal line. Most of the time, the German international times it to perfection, but as his Bayern Munich side hosted Juventus, Neuer made a right old mess of things. Although some of the blame can be shared with […]

10 years ago

It’s all hype, this UFC business. So before you start the training or get down to the serious business of fighting, it it best to start selling your fight. Harry Kane’s unlikely campaign to be Conor McGregor’s opponent for UFC 200 began with his unlikely promoter Delle Alli pushing the fight on Tuesday. The Spurs and […]

10 years ago

Spare a thought for the poor people who work at Sky. If you’ve ever wasted a day watching Sky Sports News HQ, then you’ve probably wondered what it would be like to work at one of the desks you see in the background of every shot. At any given moment you kind find yourself unwittingly […]

10 years ago

Some 18 years have passed since Arsene Wenger clinched his first trophies as Arsenal manager. But with the club in danger of missing out on the Premier League title for the 12th successive year, one member of that all-conquering squad thinks it’s time for the manager to move on. Emmanuel Petit moved to Highbury for […]

10 years ago

Fit in 5

10 years ago

By Hayley O’Connor. I spent the day trying to oppose favourites yesterday, as if I was going to be brave, I’d do it on day one to when I have three days to play it safe, and plan to be more sensible today. The first race, the Neptune Novices Hurdle looks a bit of a match between […]

10 years ago

Careful now

10 years ago

Selfies. Everywhere

10 years ago

It didn’t start the way they wanted but Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh had a spectacular day to remember at Cheltenham, claiming three big prizes on day one of the Festival. 5:30 Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase 1 Ballyalton (IRE) 12/1 15 Bouvreuil (FR) 14/1 14 Double Shuffle (IRE) 8/1 3 Bridgets Pet (IRE) 33/1 The […]

10 years ago

The revolution will not be televised (at least not the first 25 minutes anyway). We’ve all done it. You’re sure you’re playing at home, positive. No need to check the fixture list, you just know. But then you turn up to the ground and the gates are locked. You were playing away. And now your […]

10 years ago

By Hayley O’Connor It has arrived. The waiting, the debating – it’s over. Now it’s time to nail your colours to the mast and put your money on your picks for the first day of the AWESOME Cheltenham festival. All the chat at the track this morning is about Vautour running in the Ryanair Chase […]

10 years ago