Mourinho questions the foreign manager invasion of England
January 6 – The debate over the number of foreign managers in the Premier League has been given fresh impetus – by none other than Chelsea’s own Portuguese boss Jose Mourinho.
Brazil has left World Cup preparations too late, says Blatter
By Andrew Warshaw
January 6 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has revealed the full extent of Brazil’s lack of World Cup preparations with an unprecedented blast at this year’s hosts. As FIFA’s December 31 deadline for the 12 World Cup stadiums to be ready came and went with half of them still behind schedule, Blatter criticised the organisers by declaring no host had ever been as far behind at this stage in his 38 years with football’s world governing body.
Clattenburg clanger as Saints aim to throw off nice guy (read doormat) label
By Andrew Warshaw
January 3 – Players are frequently seen to verbally abuse officials on the pitch but rarely does it happen the other way – not publicly at least. English Premier League team Southampton have made an official complaint, however, after accusing referee Mark Clattenburg of insulting their captain Adam Lallana in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Everton.
Blatter takes plunge by dropping a bomb on ‘preposterous’ divers
By Andrew Warshaw
January 3 – In his first public pronouncement of 2014 on the game’s ills, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has denounced the “deeply irritating” practice of diving and has urged referees to take stronger action. In his latest column in FIFA Weekly magazine, Blatter doesn’t hold back on the subject of simulation which continues to infuriate fans and which he clearly would like to stamp out ahead of this year’s World Cup.
Tan lands Solskjaer to lead the Cardiff challenge
January 34 – Former Norwegian international striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, known in his playing days as the “baby-faced assassin”, has taken on the challenge of trying to manage Premier League newcomers Cardiff City following the controversial sacking of Malky Mackay by the club’s Malaysian owner Vincent Tan.
Barca top Facebook fan league breaking the 50m mark
January 3 – The debate over which club is the biggest in the world and what actually constitutes the word “biggest” – success on the field, stadium size or fan base – is one that never ceases to prompt detailed analysis. Real Madrid? Manchester United? Barcelona?
FFA steps in as Aussie clubs blame each other over fan violence
January 3 – Violence between fans of Australia’s Melbourne Victory and Western Sydney Wanderers has triggered the Football Federation Australia (FFA) into action, with both clubs being charged with bringing the game into disrepute.
Bayern head for Doha training camp as Real Madrid and PSG return to Europe
By Paul Nicholson
January 3 – Europe’s giant clubs aren’t heading for the alpine ski slopes for their winter break but to the warmer climate of the Middle East for preparation for the second half of their seasons. French champions and league leaders Paris St Germain are already in Doha, Qatar, and last night played a friendly against Spain’s Real Madrid (Madrid won 1-0) in front of a 45,000 capacity crowd at Aspire’s Khalfa Stadium. Bayern leave for Qatar at the weekend.
ADIB renews UAE Pro League sponsorship and plans ‘affinity’ launch
By Paul Nicholson
January 3 – The UAE Pro League Committee has renewed its sponsorship with the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. ADIB will be its exclusive and official bank of the league and UAW Pro League’s other competitions.
Hosts suffer setback as Kaiser Chiefs refuse to release players for Chan start
By Paul Nicholson
January 3 – South Africa, hosts of the African Nations Championship (Chan) that kicks off January 11, face the embarrassment of not being able to get all their own first choice players on to the pitch for Bafana Bafana as leading club Kaiser Chiefs are refusing to release five players.
Bernstein honoured but no New Year knighthood for ‘King David’
January 2 – Reports that David Beckham could receive a knighthood proved completely unfounded when the former England captain and global footballing icon was omitted from the traditional New Year royal awards list.
Chelsea rack up £49m loss but point to future and staying within FFP
By Andrew Warshaw
January 2 – UEFA’s financial fair play rules have been brought into sharp focus with the news that Chelsea, one of the world’s most affluent foreign-owned clubs, made a loss of £49.4 million for the year ended 30 June 2013.
No room at the Premier League inns during a bumper holiday period
By Paul Nicholson
January 2 – Attendance for the three fixtures of the holiday period for the Premier League in England averaged over 95% of stadium capacity for the matches December 26, December 28-29 and 1 January 2014. Of a total of 1,147,696 available seats in stadia, just 30,802 seats were unfilled.
Lee Wellings: Twitter World Cup Year – LOL!
Brazil 2014 will be the first World Cup dominated by twitter.
Not the first World Cup of the twitter age, but the first since twitter became an unstoppable juggernaut thundering through every town and city on earth.
For those who despair of the idiocy and indiscretion that drag down the positive side of this social phenomenon, a World Cup consumed by twitter commentary could be a depressing thought. It could be yes,
Anelka’s defense fails to quell raging racism debate in France and beyond
By Andrew Warshaw
January 2 – The ‘quennelle’ Nazi sign made by former French international striker Nicolas Anelka has prompted fierce reaction in both sporting and political circles that is showing no sign of abating – even though the player has promised not to repeat it.