As we already know, no target is too big for Anonymous. Fresh from taking on ISIS, the hacktivist group has a new mission in its sights – attempting to help out the subject of Netflix show ‘Making a Murderer’. Steven Avery served 18 years in prison for rape, a crime of which he was later exonerated, but was convicted […]

11 years ago

We’re not sure where the talk of Alan Pardew joining Real Madrid first came from, but it seems Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish is taking it seriously. Parish admitted the club “wouldn’t stand in his way” if the Spanish giants moved for their manager as a replacement for under-fire Rafa Benitez. Palace currently sit fifth […]

11 years ago

Jurgen Klopp may need to put his powers of persuasion to the test early on in his Liverpool tenure, with teenage star Jerome Sinclair linked with a move away. The forward, who became Liverpool’s youngest ever player at 16 years and 6 days when he made his debut in 2012, has emerged as a target […]

11 years ago

Anyone who spent their youth hanging around after football matches waiting for their favourite players will know there’s no greater pain than losing an autograph book. To have it stolen, robbing you of those memories of meeting the stars, adds insult to injury. Manchester United are well aware of the damage caused to 8-year-old Zayaan […]

11 years ago

Arsene Wenger usually spends the entire Christmas period with a smile on his face. No, he’s not a turkey enthusiast (well he might be) – he just somehow knows what it takes to win matches between Boxing Day and the FA Cup third round. His Arsenal team have won seven of their last 10 festive […]

11 years ago

The festive period always produces some bizarre results, but Southampton beating Arsenal 4-0 was never part of the script. Ronald Koeman’s team had lost four of their last five games, but a combination of fine finishing and a touch of luck helped them stop the Gunners going top of the league. Arsenal named an unchanged […]

11 years ago

The Force Awakens is such a fitting title for the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise that it’s impossible to imagine it being called anything else. But it has now emerged that episode VII was very nearly titled ‘Shadow of the Force’. The revelation was made by Pablo Hidalgo, a creative executive with LucasFilm […]

11 years ago

The festive period always throws up some unlikely goalscorers, as squads are stretched and fringe players look to take their chance. Southampton right-back Cuco Martina did just that, scoring what might feasibly be the best goal of his career on his first Premier League start. Cuco Martina: Has scored his first ever Premier League goal […]

11 years ago

Football can be an emotional game at the best of times, and a last-gasp defeat is one of the most painful things a fan can suffer. It’s even worse when the loss comes as a result of an individual error, but Newcastle fans have shown plenty of class in their treatment of goalkeeper Rob Elliot. […]

11 years ago

Arsenal will fancy their chances at Southampton, who will take on Arsene Wenger’s side without talisman Graziano Pelle. The Italian misses out through injury, while defender Cedric is also sidelined. Shane Long and Cuco Martina start in place of the duo. Arsenal, meanwhile, are unchanged from the team that beat Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium. […]

11 years ago

It didn’t take a genius to predict that Stoke City were playing Manchester United at a good time. Backing the Potters to win doesn’t seem like much of a stretch, as shown by the fact that many fans of the visitors weren’t exactly surprised. A 2-0 win was a bold prediction, but given United’s leaky […]

11 years ago

The characters in The Force Awakens aren’t the only ones searching for Luke Skywalker this Christmas. An American mother surprised her offspring with an action figure of the iconic character – some three decades after buying it. Her son, now an adult himself, still appreciated the gift, whose arrival was timed perfectly to coincide with the […]

11 years ago

Normally, when you’re relying on Leicester City to beat Liverpool for your accumulator to come in, you’re being bold. However, as we’ve established, nothing about the current Premier League season makes any sense. Claudio Ranieri’s team went to Anfield top of the table and on a 10-game unbeaten run, while their hosts had just one […]

11 years ago

Growing up in a Jewish home, the Christmas period has always been a uniquely surreal time of year. No two families are the same, so my experience undoubtedly differs from many others in a similar boat. It’s not quite at Kyle Broflovski levels, but there’s definitely a disassociation from a lot of the staples that […]

11 years ago

Football is a game of fine lines, and they don’t get much finer than this. Louis van Gaal has outstayed his welcome at Manchester United according to a lot of the club’s fans, but few anticipated the comparisons to predecessor David Moyes to be quite so prescient. The pair’s points-per-game record with the Old Trafford club is […]

11 years ago

Going nowhere… for now.

11 years ago

Celtic manager Ronny Deila hasn’t set the world alight in Scotland. The Norwegian might be on course for a second league title with the Bhoys, but an early European exit has some calling for his head. So much so that some fans have launched a petition, but it doesn’t seem to have much support. Fewer […]

11 years ago

Didier Drogba could make another return to Chelsea as the club looks to salvage their season. The Ivorian striker played 40 games for the club last season in his second stint at Stamford Bridge, before scoring 12 goals in as many games for MLS outfit Montreal Impact. And now he could be tempted back under Guus […]

11 years ago

Marko Grujic’s move to Liverpool had looked like a done deal, but it may have hit a snag for the strangest of reasons. Serbian star Grujic was expected to come to England for a medical ahead of joining the Reds in the summer, but his dad has reportedly confiscated his passport. Grujic senior seems convinced […]

11 years ago

Mesut Özil might have the most assists in the Premier League this season, but another familiar face has actually created more clear-cut chances. Özil has set up 15 goals for his Arsenal team-mates, but has only created 16 clear-cut chances. That means either his team-mates have been on fire, or he’s been putting the ball on […]

11 years ago

Morgan Schneiderlin knows exactly how to endear himself to the Manchester United faithful. The Frenchman arrived from Southampton for £24m, and has channeled another of the club’s Gallic stars. Schneiderlin recalls watching  Eric Cantona playing at Old Trafford in an interview with United’s programme, making reference to the title-winner’s memorable chip against Sunderland in 1996. “He’s a […]

11 years ago

If you’ve seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens, you doubtless left the cinema with a lot to unpack. For some of us it might take a while before we can piece together all our conclusions, but this Brazilian dad has gone all out with a theory that could blow the whole film universe to smithereens. […]

11 years ago

Manchester United may have saved themselves a ton of money by waiting for Lucas Moura. The Brazilian international joined Paris Saint-Germain for more than £40m in 2012, with then-United manager Sir Alex Ferguson describing the fee as “quite amazing”. But things haven’t quite gone according to plan for Lucas in Paris, and United are waiting […]

11 years ago

Mesut Özil has been so impressive this season that a match-winning two assists against Manchester City was barely even surprising. But Arsene Wenger has revealed that we should definitely be impressed by the German’s performance, given the week he’s had. A few eyebrows were raised when Özil was withdrawn with 15 minutes remaining, but it seems […]

11 years ago

Arsenal made a big statement in the race for the Premier League title with victory over Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners opened up a two-goal first-half lead through Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud, with assist king Mesut Özil laying on both goals. And despite Yaya Touré pulling one back late on, it was Arsenal’s […]

11 years ago

Plenty of the teams involved in Euro 2016 have already unveiled their kits for the tournament, but England have kept us waiting. Until now, it seems, as Spanish kit supplier Camis Bilbao has released photos of what it claims are the home and away kit that Roy Hodgson’s squad will wear at the tournament in […]

11 years ago

Being nutmegged is something that will happen to every goalkeeper at some point in their career. The only response is to brush it off, pick yourself up and shake off the criticism. And in the case of Joe Hart, who let Olivier Giroud’s shot through his legs as Manchester City went into half-time 2-0 down […]

11 years ago

Anyone who’s been paying any attention to the Premier League this season will know that Mesut Özil has been taking over every statistician’s assists column. The German international has been remarkably creative ever since joining Arsenal, but this is the year that the chances he’s creating are being tucked away at an alarming rate. We already […]

11 years ago

Manchester City welcome back Sergio Aguero for the crucial Premier League meeting with Arsenal. Kevin de Bruyne is another to return as Manuel Pellegrini makes four changes from the team which beat Swansea last time out, with Raheem Sterling among those to drop to the bench. Arsenal, meanwhile, are unchanged from the side that won […]

11 years ago

It’s one thing to have predicted some of this weekend’s unlikely Premier League results, but it’s another to have trusted your gut and put money on the line. But it’s paid off for one punter, who has pocketed a cool £10,000 for some Nostradamus-like predictions. Coral shared this bet – a fourfold result and both-teams-to-score […]

11 years ago

It’s not like the old days

11 years ago

When it comes to the Manchester United manager’s job, it looks like a case of whether Louis van Gaal stays or Jose Mourinho replaces him. One name that has not been mentioned is Lucas Alcaraz, and on the surface that doesn’t seem all that strange. Alcaraz has been out of work since leaving Levante in […]

11 years ago

They claim it was fixed…

11 years ago

When Jose Mourinho lifted the Premier League trophy in May, few expected him to be looking for a new job by Christmas. But there’s one reason why the Portuguese coach could look at his Chelsea exit as a fitting opportunity, rather than a disappointment. Back in 1984, the Mourinho family saw its Christmas disrupted when […]

11 years ago

The pressure is increasing on Louis van Gaal after Manchester United suffered a third successive defeat. And unfortunately for him, there just so happens to be a popular, successful and charismatic alternative on the market. Jose Mourinho is thought to have already opened talks with the 2012/13 champions, less than a week after leaving his post at […]

11 years ago

Plenty of us couldn’t believe Manchester United had lost at home to Norwich, but this might be taking it too far. Sky Sports – or at least the person responsible for their captions – thought United’s home league defeat of the season must have been a mistake. While an interview with goalscorer Cameron Jerome was […]

11 years ago

He’s barely out the door at Chelsea and Jose Mourinho has already started cosying up to other English clubs. The Portuguese boss spent the early afternoon on the south coast, watching Middlesbrough beat Brighton 3-0 to go top of the Championship, before personally congratulating the Boro players. Cristhian Stuani, who scored the third goal, posted […]

11 years ago

Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat at home to Norwich was bad enough in its own right, but it also served to show how dire things have been of late. Louis van Gaal’s team have now gone six games in all competitions without a win, forcing statisticians to look further and further back for a comparable run. […]

11 years ago

Sometimes, nothing tugs on the heartstrings quite like football. It can reduce grown men to tears, both in success and in failure, and this is no exception. Leicester City have embarked upon a remarkable turnaround, sitting top of the league at Christmas just 12 months after propping up the table. And it clearly means a […]

11 years ago

Manchester United fans will wish Wolfsburg had been as profligate as this when the teams met in the Champions League. The Bundesliga team scored three times on that night, but this miss from Sebastian Jung is one we imagine he’ll never be able to forget. The saying ‘easier to score than to miss’ is overused, […]

11 years ago

Plenty of Manchester United fans are of the opinion that Louis van Gaal’s time at Old Trafford is up. The club have dropped out of the Champions League despite an easy group draw, and defeat at home to Norwich leaves United with just one home league win since September. The Dutchman’s playing style has also […]

11 years ago

Guus Hiddink had a watching brief at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea breezed past Sunderland for their first league win in nearly a month. The Blues won 3-1 in the first game since Jose Mourinho’s dismissal, and the Dutch coach will have been happy with what he saw. Hiddink took charge of Chelsea for the last few months […]

11 years ago

Victory at Everton has ensured that Leicester City will be top of the Premier League table at Christmas. It’s a stark contrast from this time last year, when a 2-0 defeat at West Ham saw the Foxes rooted to the bottom of the table heading into the festive period. While we can obviously forgive people […]

11 years ago

How Manchester United could do with Javier Hernandez this season. Their strikers have been notably blunt in front of goal, with Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial scoring just one apiece since the start of October. But in the meantime Chicharito, on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, has been thriving. The Mexican forward scored his 17th goal […]

11 years ago

Time could be running out for Louis van Gaal, with Norwich winning 2-1 at Old Trafford to leave Man United staring a fourth winless game in the face. After Chelsea and Swansea both opted for managerial changes in an attempt to arrest their respective slides, a handful of United fans think they should try the same […]

11 years ago

The line-up of The Graham Norton Show was as star-studded as they get. If David Beckham and Kylie Minogue weren’t A-list enough, they were joined by Star Wars stars John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Carrie Fisher. Boyega posted a teaser ahead of time, suggesting we’d be in for a one-of-a-kind lightsaber fight. https://www.instagram.com/p/_cuy8aMCmq/?taken-by=john_boyega And when […]

11 years ago

It had looked like James McClean had turned a corner. After dropping out of the Premier League, the Irish international had clutched his second chance with both hands for Tony Pulis’ West Brom. McClean scored his first goal for the club against Tottenham, and has looked like one of Albion’s biggest attacking threats. So he […]

11 years ago

It’s no secret that plenty of Chelsea fans blame the players, rather than recently-departed manager Jose Mourinho, for this season’s struggles. They displayed banners in support of the title-winning boss and booed Cesc Fabregas when his name was announced before kick-off, and things didn’t change as the game got underway. Mourinho thanked the fans in […]

11 years ago

The FIFA film United Passions was one of those things we couldn’t get our heads around. Many people were convinced it was little more than a propaganda piece for under-fire Sepp Blatter, and it was a box office flop to end all box office flops. The one thing we couldn’t work out was why Tim […]

11 years ago

Jose Mourinho is wasting no time lining up his next job, if reports are to be believed. The former Chelsea manager left Stamford Bridge less than 48 hours ago, but seemingly has his sights set on the Manchester United job…sooner rather than later. Representatives of the manager have already begun assessing their options over a move […]

11 years ago