Author: Admin

Categories
football Sports News

“THIS LEAGUE IS UNFORGIVING” : TIM KRUL BITTERED AFTER BURNLEY LOSS.

Norwich City goalkeeper, Tim Krul has provided an honest assessment of the Burnley game on Saturday, after a 2-0 defeat to the Clarets.


Speaking to the club website, he said: “It’s difficult to find words if I’m honest. I think we’ve let ourselves down a little bit over the last few weeks, I’ve said it before. At the start of the season I definitely thought we had enough in this squad to be staying up.


“There’s obviously been more reasons, I don’t want to chuck too many excuses on it but with injuries, seeing Zimbo [Christoph Zimmermann] back today is the only positive. We’ve definitely missed him this year, he’s a rock.
“All centre-halves have been injured in some way this season and I think there’s been a big doubt. To analyse today, you nearly can’t.


“I’m really proud of the effort in the second-half, the way we defended with nine men, Ben [Godfrey] in particular blocking and heading everything with Zimbo. It’s hard that he scored an own goal. If you go with nine men in the second-half, the game is over.”


“Zimbo is a massive player for us, he’s shown it for years now and he’s a leader we’ve been missing. I’m pleased to see him back, he’s been working extremely hard in the background, but at the end of the day the season is over and that’s the hardest thing to take.”


Speaking on performances since the restart, Krul says although the right intentions were in place, the quality simply hasn’t been present.
“We’ve been in some games; we just haven’t been able to nick a draw and it’s frustrating. This league is unforgiving, and you can see that today. It’s hard enough with eleven men and to go down with nine is highly disappointing.


“Fans are not here; we haven’t been able to give them anything after the break. It’s been very disappointing since we have returned. 
“We haven’t been able to turn things around, the intentions were there, we’ve worked hard. The quality just hasn’t been there the last few months.”

Categories
football Sports News

ARSENAL DEFEAT MAN CITY

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta outmanoeuvred his mentor Pep Guardiola as the Gunners reached the FA Cup final with victory at Wembley.

Arteta, who left his job as Manchester City assistant manager to succeed Unai Emery at Arsenal in December, now has a chance to mark his first season in charge with major silverware when they face Chelsea or Manchester United in the final on 1 August.

The match-winner was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the world-class striker Arsenal are desperate to secure on a new long-term contract, as he ruthlessly exposed City’s defensive deficiencies.

Aubameyang had already shot straight at Ederson with one clear chance but there was no escape for City after 19 minutes when he showed great technique to steer home Nicolas Pepe’s cross with the outside of his foot at the far post.

City dominated possession after the break but squandered their opportunities and Aubameyang made them pay once more in the 71st minute when he raced away on the angle to slide a composed finish under the keeper.

Categories
football Sports News

Bielsa has street named after him in leeds

Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa is set to have a street named after him after he led the club to Premier League promotion.

The Yorkshire side have endured a 16-year long exodus from the English topflight after suffering relegation back in 2004.

Bielsa’s side secured promotion and the Championship title without kicking a ball as West Brom’s shock defeat to Huddersfield and Brentford loss to Stoke City left them at the summit of the second division and crowned champions of the league.

According to the Athletic, the Argentinian manager will be honoured in Leeds by having a street named after him.

A street close to Leeds’ Trinity centre in the heart of the city is now set to be named ‘Marcelo Bielsa Way’ and a mock-up sign has been doing the rounds on social media.

There was more good news for Bielsa, as it was revealed that their promotion to the topflight will earn them a £200million windfall.

That influx of cash will allow him to spend enough to attract some big names to Elland Road as they prepare to rub shoulders with the countries best.

Dr Rob Wilson, a football finance expert, told reporters that promotion ‘should bring up to £140m in the first season for the club’.

If Leeds are then immediately relegated, they will still be set to receive £70million in ‘parachute payments’, guaranteeing the club over £200m.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

Norwich go out on a whimper

Norwich boss Daniel Farke said the two first-half red cards which played a crucial role in his side’s defeat by Burnley were “naive, inexperienced, stupid and not professional”.

Emiliano Buendia was shown a straight red for elbowing Ashley Westwood, after referee Kevin Friend watched a replay on the pitchside monitor.

Nine minutes later, Josip Drmic’s high-studded tackle on Erik Pieters received the same punishment, before Chris Wood’s scuffed overhead kick put Burnley in front on the stroke of half-time.

“Burnley reacted in a way that an experienced, established, smart Premier League side should react. They wanted to break up our rhythm. They tried to null ourselves a little bit, bring hectic into the game, tried to provoke a little bit,” Farke told BBC Sport.

“I’m not accusing them because that’s exactly what you have to do if you’re an experienced team. My players walked into this trap and there were two red cards which of course was crucial to the game.

“You have to call this situation naive, inexperienced, stupid and not professional – all the words fit. The players know what they have done for this team. The red cards are not a doubt.”

It had been an uneventful opening half an hour before Norwich’s capitulation, with just one shot on target from either side.

The hosts defended well at times in the second half to keep the score down but Burnley’s victory was confirmed when Ben Godfrey poked the ball into the back of his own net with 10 minutes remaining.

Norwich become only the third club in the Premier League to lose five in a row at home without scoring, while Burnley move above Arsenal into ninth place.

Categories
football Sports News

Bale left out of squad for Madrid last game

Gareth Bale has been omitted from Real Madrid’s 22-man squad for their final La Liga game of the season against Leganes on Sunday.

Bale was an unused substitute in the game which secured Real’s 34th Spanish league triumph, a 2-1 win over Villarreal on Thursday night.

The Welshman has made two appearances in Madrid’s 10 matches since the season restarted after lockdown in June.

Eden Hazard also misses out on Zinedine Zidane’s squad.

Bale has made headlines in recent weeks for his actions while sitting alongside fellow substitutes during matches, and he appeared to be on the fringes once more as Zidane’s team celebrated the title.

The forward, who turned 31 on the day his side won the league, was pictured standing at a distance with arms folded as manager Zidane was thrown in the air by some of the Real players.

Bale has made only 16 La Liga appearances all season, starting 12 matches.

Hosts Leganes are 18th in the table, a point behind Celta Vigo, and must beat the newly crowned champions to avoid relegation from the Spanish top flight.

Categories
football Sports News

Ole defends his players

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says his Manchester United players are not divers and “none of them try to con the referee at all”.

Before Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final Chelsea boss Frank Lampard suggested that United have “got a few decisions in their favour” in recent weeks.

Solskjaer said: “I’ll defend my players 100%.

“Some ankles could have been broken this season. I just want them to be protected.”

United are unbeaten in 19 games in all competitions and opponents have been angered by some recent decisions.

In midweek Crystal Palace were furious that they were denied a penalty when Wilfried Zaha tangled with Victor Lindelof, and then had a potential equaliser from Jordan Ayew ruled out by VAR for a very marginal offside.

And Bruno Fernandes won a penalty at Villa Park earlier this month which Villa boss Dean Smith called a “disgraceful decision”.

Referring to that decision, Lampard said this week: “Fernandes is very clever in his movement. We saw that at Aston Villa to make something feel like a penalty where maybe it even isn’t.

“As a player we can talk about VAR decisions and whether they’re right or wrong. But if a player is going to dangle a leg and not move their feet then you obviously do leave yourself open to penalties, VAR or no VAR.’

Solskjaer, speaking before his side meet Chelsea at Wembley, said: “If you’ve got quick feet like Dan James, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood you’ll get tackled outside and inside the box,” said Solskjaer.

“We’ve earned our right to any decision this season. We’ve had decisions overturned from being against us to being for us which means the initial decision was against us.

“It’s up to the referee but there’s too many people talking and trying to influence people, I don’t want to. VAR is there to help get more correct decisions.

“I’ve always said a factual decision is a fact so 1cm or 1m offside you’re offside that’s just how it is in football now.”

United are aiming to win the FA Cup for a record-equalling 13th time this season and Solskjaer – who won the trophy twice as a player for the club – knows the importance of adding more silverware to the Old Trafford cabinets.

“When you are at United, yes, you need to win trophies,” he said.

“That’s what we’ve done in our history, and we want to win trophies playing the right way.

Categories
football Sports News

QUIQUE SETIEN WON’T RESIGN DESPITE MESSI OUTBURST.

Beleaguered Barcelona coach Quique Setien has said he did not feel criticised by Lionel Messi’s outburst after Thursday’s shock 2-1 defeat to Osasuna and insists he has not thought about resigning.


Messi branded Barca “inconsistent” and “weak” in an angry postmatch interview after Real Madrid were crowned La Liga champions for the first time since 2017.


The forward also said performances since January had been especially bad. That comment was interpreted by many as a dig at Setien, who replaced former coach Ernesto Valverde in the Camp Nou dugout at the turn of the year with the team top of the table at the time.


“No, not at all,” Setien said in a news conference on Saturday when asked if he felt singled out by Messi. “I think in certain moments we all say things that are interpreted badly. It’s the fruit of a moment of frustration.”


Messi went on to say that if drastic changes are not made then Barca would lose to Napoli in the Champions League next month as the club face the prospect of a first trophy-less season since 2007-08.


“Some things we agree on and other things we don’t,” Setien added. “[Messi] is right to say that if we play as badly as we have done in some games, we won’t win anything.


“But we have also played well in other games and, playing like that, we could win things. We have to be more consistent. If we manage to play as we did against Villarreal, we could win the Champions League.”


Sources close to the club say after Barca’s draw with Celta Vigo in June that Setien’s relationship with his players was strained. He admits it has been challenging to control a dressing room that has enjoyed so much success.
“The players here have been winning everything for the last 15 years and the management of these players is totally different to other teams,” he said. “There have been some situations that have been difficult to resolve, but I don’t think anything out of the ordinary in a dressing room like this one.”

Categories
football Sports News

Andre schurrle retires from Football

World Cup winner Andre Schurrle says he doesn’t “need the applause any more” after announcing his retirement at 29.

The Germany forward had a year left on his deal with Borussia Dortmund but the two parties agreed to cancel it.

Schurrle, who helped his country win the 2014 World Cup, had a spell at Chelsea and was on loan at Fulham.

“The decision matured in me for a long time,” he told German newspaper Der Speigel. “The depths became deeper and the highlights less and less.”

Schurrle played for Chelsea from 2013-15 and won a Premier League winners medal in 2015 despite leaving the club for Wolfsburg part-way through the season.

“I want to let you know that I’m stepping away from playing professional football,” added on social media.

“On behalf of myself and my family I want to thank everybody who was a part of these phenomenal years.

“The support and love you shared with me was unbelievable and more I could have ever asked for. Now I’m ready and open for all the beautiful possibilities that are coming towards me.”

Categories
F1

Hamilton Fastest in practice

HUNGARORING, HUNGARY - AUGUST 04: Race winner Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W10 crosses the finish line with the checkered flag being waved by Simon Pagenaud during the Hungarian GP at Hungaroring on August 04, 2019 in Hungaroring, Hungary. (Photo by Zak Mauger / LAT Images)

Lewis Hamilton headed team-mate Valtteri Bottas to a Mercedes one-two in first practice at the Hungarian GP.

Hamilton was 0.086 seconds quicker than the Finn despite running harder tyres as Mercedes looked dominant.

Racing Point’s Sergio Perez was third, 0.527secs adrift, and 0.437secs ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll.

Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo took fifth, from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Red Bull, who came to Hungary expected to pose a bigger challenge to Mercedes on this track than at the previous two races in Austria, appeared to be struggling.

Verstappen, who became involved in an on-track confrontation with Williams driver Nicholas Latifi after the Canadian blocked him, was 1.4secs off Hamilton’s pace, despite the Dutchman using the softest possible tyre and Hamilton the hardest.

Red Bull’s pace was so far off its usual level that the assumption must be that they were running in a different specification than the others.

Bottas’ fastest time was set on the medium tyre, as Mercedes split the tyres on their cars for the second runs.

Underlining Mercedes’ pace, Hamilton was quicker than any other driver subsequently managed when using the softest tyre in the first part of the session when the track was dirty and slower. That time was just 0.123secs slower than the world champion’s ultimate quickest time.

Hamilton has a chance this weekend to equal the record for most wins at a single circuit, held at the moment by Michael Schumacher, who won the French Grand Prix eight times. Hamilton has won seven times in Hungary and Canada.

Racing Point enter the weekend still without a resolution to the protest Renault lodged against their car after the last race in Austria.

Renault are arguing that Racing Point – whose car has been dubbed the ‘Pink Mercedes’ for its likeness to the 2019 world championship-winning car – have copied the designs of the brake ducts of last year’s Mercedes, which would be forbidden under the regulations.

The session was affected by intermittent light rain but it was not enough to stop the drivers being able to use dry-weather ‘slick’ tyres.

Categories
football Sports News

Fans will soon be allowed in Stadiums

Fans could be able to return to stadiums in England from October, says Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Pilots will take place from 1 August but any stadium reopenings would be subject to coronavirus guidelines.

Some sports, including football and cricket, have resumed behind closed doors after the Covid-19 lockdown.

“We will pilot larger gatherings in venues like sports stadiums with a view to a wider reopening in the autumn,” said Johnson on Friday.

“From October, we intend to bring back audiences in stadiums.

“Again, these changes must be done in a Covid-secure way, subject to the successful outcome of pilots.”

The pilot projects will be held at:

  • Two men’s county cricket friendly matches – including Surrey v Middlesex at The Oval on 26-27 July;
  • The World Snooker Championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre from 31 July;
  • The Goodwood horse racing festival – known as Glorious Goodwood – on 1 August.

The Racecourse Association said the Goodwood event has been designed for up to 5,000 people, plus participants.

“For months, millions of us have felt the void of being unable to go to the match to support our team or attend a top-class sporting event,” said Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston.

“So I am pleased that we are now able to move forward with a plan to help venues safely reopen their doors to fans.

“I recognise that not every sport, team or club has the benefit of huge commercial revenue, and it is often their dedicated fans that are the lifeblood which helps keep them going. By working closely with sports and medical experts, these pilots will help ensure the safe return of fans to stadiums.

“Although it will remain some time before venues are full to capacity, this is a major step in the right direction for the resumption of live spectator sport across the country.”

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport also said further pilot events are likely to be held in other sports.

In order for fans to return to stadiums, the government has outlined operating guidelines that state: