English Premier League basement club Portsmouth denied on Thursday reports they were going to enter administration.
Speculation about the south coast club s financial position has been ongoing since the start of the season and intensified last week after it emerged players at Fratton Park had been paid their wages late for the second time this term.
Portsmouth are currently the subject of a Premier League transfer embargo, having undergone two changes of ownership this season.
Sulaiman Al-Fahim s protracted takeover took three months to complete, preventing the club from signing players during the pre-season while the likes of Peter Crouch, Glen Johnson and Niko Kranjcar, all left.
And Al-Fahim s time in charge lasted just six weeks, with the players wag…
No contest, is there?
FIFA have announced the ten nominees for the ‘Golden Ball’ award at the World Cup, otherwise known as the player of the tournament.
Let’s look at each of the players, in alphabetical order:
Andres Iniesta Spain
26 years old 48 caps
Although Iniesta is a technically gifted player who has a telepathic understanding with club and country colleague Xavi, I’m not sure he has quite produced his best at this tournament.
He has only been brilliant whereas his normal level is ‘absolutely’ brilliant. He was a doubt for the tournament with an injury and he hasn’t looked fully fit. He is getting better with each game and I fully expect him to star in the final tomorrow.
Arjen Robben Holland
26 years old 51 caps
Another p…
Best odds: 4/7
Bookmaker:
In a battle for a place in the Euro 2024 semifinals, the Netherlands and Turkey meet at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Saturday evening.
The winning team will face a clash with either Switzerland or England as the penultimate hurdle, and after coming through the previous round in different ways, both teams be hopeful of progressing.
Netherlands
Having gone through a difficult patch at the start of the tournament, the Netherlands reached this stage in relative comfort by beating Romania 3-0 in the round of 16. Cody Gakpo broke the deadlock in the 20th minute, with Donyell Malen twice on target late on.
In the group stage, the team commanded by Ronald Koeman beat Poland, drew with World Cup finalists France, and suffered…
Hector Bellerin has left Barcelona to sign for Primeira Liga side Sporting CP on a permanent deal.
The full-back started his career in Barca s youth ranks before Arsenal brought him to the Premier League in 2011, where he went on to become a first-team regular.
However, after falling out of favour under Mikel Arteta, the London side agreed to terminate his contract with one year left to run and Bellerin returned to Barca on a free transfer.
The 27-year-old has now left the Spanish giants for a second time, though, having made just seven appearances in all competitions since rejoining in September.
While Sporting s Primeira Liga title hopes look over, Bellerin will hope to help his side in the Europa League, with the club due to face Midtjylland in the kno…
Vítor Pereira has attempted to placate Everton fans opposed to his appointment by giving an unusual public interview to defend his managerial record and claim “Pereira Out” graffiti on Goodison Park is evidence of passion rather than a personal attack.
Everton’s latest managerial search strayed into farce on Wednesday when Pereira gave a lengthy interview to Sky Sports News while awaiting a decision from the club on his interview to succeed Rafael Benítez as manager. Within hours of it emerging on Tuesday that the Portuguese coach was Farhad Moshiri’s favoured candidate, graffiti was daubed on a wall at Goodison that read: “Pereira Out, Lampard In”. The former Chelsea and Derby manager Frank Lampard has also been interviewed fo…