Tag Archives: English Premier League

News, Politics, Government

Moyes hopes for good news on Fabregas bid

Leave a comment

Manager David Moyes said Friday he hopes to have some good news about the possibility of Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas joining Manchester United in the “next day or so”.

Moyes is looking to bring some new players into the squad in his first season in charge at Old Trafford and has been linked with the Spanish international midfielder, while Wayne Rooney’s future remains unresolved.

The English Premier League champions are in Sydney as part of their pre-season tour and are taking on the A-League All Stars on Saturday.

But all interest has been on Moyes’ behind-the-scenes transfer manoeuvrings, with the British press reporting the club has lodged a 26-million-pound ($39 million) bid for midfielder Fabregas, which has yet to be rejected by Spanish champions Barcelona.

“I’m in contact with the chief executive who has been dealing with it and hopefully I’ll know a bit more in the next day or so,” Moyes told a press conference when asked how the Fabregas negotiations were progressing.

“It’s the middle of the night back home in England so I might have a bit more info in the next day or so about how it is going.”

Club chief executive Ed Woodward left the pre-season tour earlier this week to attend what he said was “urgent transfer business”.

Moyes, who has been tight-lipped over the Rooney situation this week, gave little away when he said Friday “the club’s position hasn’t changed on Wayne Rooney, there’s no change to that”.

“Besides that… we’re trying very hard to make some additions to the squad and hopefully there will be some good news in the not too distant future,” he added.

Spicing up the Rooney situation is an offer from new Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho for the England international striker for a reported 10 million pounds ($15.1 million).

United has repeatedly said he is not for sale.

With the new English Premier League season fast approaching, former Everton boss Moyes said the enormity of his new job has sunk in since Manchester United have been feted on their pre-season tour in Asia and Austalia.

“It has sunk in because the amount of supporters we have in Australia, in Thailand, where we have been so far, it is incredible,” he said.

“The enormity of the job sunk in even more yesterday when I was fortunate enough to see an incredible video on Manchester United under Matt Busby, followed by Sir Alex Ferguson.

“So if I didn’t know the enormity before I certainly do now after seeing what those two gentlemen did in the job before me.

“It’s a great job, a fantastic football club, a club that every person in the world knows the name of. I’m very fortunate and privileged that I was given the opportunity to manage and I hope I can come as close as I can to the success of the two gentlemen before me.”

Moyes’s reign at Manchester United began with an embarrassing 1-0 defeat against Thailand’s Singha All-Star XI in Bangkok last Saturday. His team have been training hard this week for their next match against the A-League …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Giaccherini completes move to Sunderland – club

Leave a comment

Italy international Emanuele Giaccherini completed his move from Italian champions Juventus to Sunderland, the English Premier League club said Tuesday.

The 28-year-old, a first choice winger under current Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, has signed a four-year deal.

Juve, who have won the last two Serie A titles, said they had received ??6.5 million (7.5 million euros, $10 million).

Giaccherini only made his debut for Italy after joining Juve two years ago from minnows Catania.

But he has since forced his way into the national side and featured at both Euro 2012 and last month’s Confederations Cup.

He can play as a wing-back, winger, deep-lying forward or attacking midfielder.

He is the latest signing in a major overhaul of his squad by Sunderland’s Italian manager Paolo Di Canio, with Valentin Roberge, Modibo Diakite, Cabral, Vito Mannone, Jozy Altidore, Duncan Watmore, David Moberg Karlsson and El-Hadji Ba also joining.

In a busy close season Simon Mignolet, Titus Bramble, Matt Kilgallon and Ahmed Elmohamady have all left the Stadium of Light.

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Arsenal starts historic Vietnam trip

Leave a comment

Hundreds of cheering Vietnamese football fans turned out to greet Arsenal on Monday as they became the first English Premier League club to visit the football-mad communist country.

The team arrived early Monday at Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport and were greeted by Vietnam Football Federation officials, who presented them with traditional Vietnamese conical hats and bunches of lotus flowers.

To the delight of fans and Vietnam’s state-run press, the players and coach Arsene Wenger donned the hats and waved to supporters as their coach sped them through Hanoi.

“We are proud of becoming the first English football club to be in Vietnam, where Arsenal has a big number of fans,” Wenger told reporters. “We will try to do our best for Vietnamese fans,” he said.

Hundreds of fans in Arsenal shirts had been waiting at the airport since Sunday night, desperate to catch a glimpse of the players, state media reported.

Fans sang Arsenal’s song and cheered loudly as the players disembarked from their plane. More fans turned up at their city-centre hotel but tight security kept them away from the team bus, state media said.

Arsenal will play Vietnam’s national team on Wednesday in the 40,000-seat My Dinh Stadium, a game which saw such high demand that fans queued overnight for tickets.

“I hope the match Wednesday evening will be interesting,” Wenger said. Arsenal flew in from Jakarta, where they also received a rapturous reception and thumped the Indonesia Dream Team 7-0 in front of 50,000 fans late on Sunday.

After their three-day stay in Vietnam, they will head to Japan for two more friendlies, including one against Wenger’s former club, Nagoya Grampus.

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Man Utd's Moyes still coming to terms with scrutiny

Leave a comment

Manchester United boss David Moyes said on Sunday he still needs to come to terms with the level of scrutiny he faces as manager of one of the world’s biggest football clubs.

The Scot, who has been in the high-profile job for just two weeks after replacing Alex Ferguson, on Saturday lost his first match with his new side 1-0 against the Thai All Stars in Bangkok.

Moyes, 50, said the pressure of managing at Old Trafford did not compare with his decade in charge at English Premier League rivals Everton.

“I have to put this in perspective and it is completely different,” Moyes told reporters at a news conference after touching down in Australia.

“The amount of support we’ve had, the amount of interest we’ve had from you people (media) … constantly we are watched and scrutinised and it’s something I’ll need to come to terms with.”

Moyes was speaking ahead of next weekend’s sold-out pre-season tour match against the Australian A-League All Stars in Sydney.

“The previous manager, Sir Alex, told me what to expect. He told me especially what the tours were going to be like and I think if you have a football club like Manchester United, you have to make sure you go to your supporters worldwide,” Moyes said.

“I’m following probably the finest football manager that’s ever lived,” he said of Ferguson, who won a string of honours including 13 Premier League titles.

“I’m always saying if I can even win a quarter of what he won, I’ll have done very well.

“But the first thing I’ve got to do is settle into the job, get to know everybody and find my way around.”

United stalwart Ryan Giggs, who made his debut for the club in 1991, said it felt strange working under a new manager, but out on the pitch it wasn’t on players’ minds.

“I’ve only had one manager for 20 years, so it’s strange, but you move on,” he said.

“I’ve really enjoyed it. Just like any other pre-season, you’ve got to work hard, knuckle down and prepare yourself as best you can for the first (EPL) game of the season against Swansea (on August 17).

“This is the start of the journey this season and I hope to be lifting a trophy at the end of it.”

Moyes said he expected the A-League All Stars to prove a stiff test, adding that the trip to Asia and Australia was an important part of his squad’s pre-season.

“It’s a big part of our preparations coming here. We’re actually looking forward to a good week’s training,” Moyes said.

“The way the tour works out, this is our longest stay, so we’ll use your fine facilities to try and pick up the training a little bit and get prepared.”

Moyes confirmed star striker Robin van Persie would link up with the squad in Sydney. Wayne Rooney and captain Nemanja Vidic are out injured.

Moyes did not comment on unsettled Rooney’s future, saying the England international would be out of action for two to three weeks with a hamstring injury.

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Khan agrees to buy Fulham

Leave a comment

Pakistan-born billionaire Shahid Khan agreed a deal to buy English Premier League club Fulham on Friday.

Khan, who owns NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars, has been in talks with Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed for several days and the pair have struck an agreement that will put the west London team under new ownership for the first time in 16 years.

The transaction, reported to have cost Khan around ??150 million, has been approved by the Premier League and the tycoon assumes 100 per cent ownership of the club, with a press conference scheduled for 1200GMT on Saturday to officially introduce the new Cottagers supremo.

“Mr Al Fayed is giving me the privilege and responsibility of serving as the next custodian of Fulham Football Club,” Khan told the club’s website.

“I am extremely honoured to accept and want to thank him, on behalf of everyone who loves Fulham, for 16 years of exceptional service to the Club. He rescued the club in its hour of need and has led it to a sustained place within the Premier League.

“Fulham is the perfect club at the perfect time for me. I want to be clear, I do not view myself so much as the owner of Fulham, but a custodian of the club on behalf of its fans.

“My priority is to ensure the club and Craven Cottage each have a viable and sustainable Premier League future that fans of present and future generations can be proud of.

“We will manage the club’s financial and operational affairs with prudence and care, with youth development and community programs as fundamentally important elements of Fulham’s future.”

Khan, who was born in Lahore but now has American citizenship, is ranked 179th in the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans with an estimated worth of $2.5 billion after making his fortune as a car parts manufacturer.

The 62-year-old, the first non-American to own a NFL franchise, already has ties to London, with the Jaguars scheduled to play one regular season game a season at Wembley for the next four years.

In 1967, at the age of 16, Khan left his native Pakistan for the United States and the opportunity to study engineering at the University of Illinois.

Khan struck it rich when he purchased Flex-N-Gate, a car parts supplier, and built it into a global leader that now employs more than 16,000 people at 52 manufacturing and nine product development and engineering facilities throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Spain.

Al Fayed, the 84-year-old former Harrods owner, had transformed Fulham from a third-tier outfit to an established Premier League side since taking over in 1997.

Off the field, training facilities have improved markedly and Craven Cottage has been revamped, with planning permission in place to redevelop the Riverside Stand and increase the stadium’s capacity to 30,000.

The club is also effectively debt-free after Al Fayed converted previous loans into equity earlier this year.

But the Egyptian was keen to step down and Khan has taken advantage of the chance to expand his sporting portfolio.

“My time of serving as …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

Articles of Interest

Liverpool Soccer Star Sinks Teeth Into Rival

Leave a comment

By Rob Quinn Luis Suarez is the English Premier League‘s top scorer this year—and, as of yesterday, it’s leading biter. The star striker’s future at Liverpool is looking shaky after a bizarre incident during yesterday’s match against Chelsea when he sank his teeth into the arm of defender Branislav Ivanovic, the Guardian…

From: http://www.newser.com/story/166610/liverpool-soccer-star-sinks-teeth-into-rival.html

Baseball

Busch Stadium to host first college football game

Leave a comment

By Zack Meisel Four months after Busch Stadium fields an English Premier League game, the venue will host its first college football game, when rivals Southeast Missouri State University and Southern Illinois University kick off in St. Louis on Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. CT.

From: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130415&content_id=44839268&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Should I Buy BT Group for My ISA?

Leave a comment

By Royston Wild, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON — I believe that BT Group‘s aggressive strategy to build its broadband and television portfolios should underpin solid growth over the long term.

The company operates a lucrative dividend policy, making it a great pick for your tax-efficient stocks and share ISA (just click here for more information on how to maximize returns from ISAs). In my opinion, BT‘s improving earnings potential should enable it to maintain its policy of generous shareholder payouts.

Broadband and television operations ratchet up
BT continues to build market share in the U.K. broadband market, and bolstered its weighty presence further following last month’s 4G services auction. The company forked out 186 million pounds for the license to 2 x 15 MHz at the 2.6 MHz range, a move designed to enhance its wireless broadband services and allow connectivity to more remote parts of the country.

Elsewhere, BT is stepping up the fight with consolidated services heavyweight British Sky Broadcasting by steadily buildings its television portfolio to offer a rival “triple play” package.

BT agreed to buy ESPN’s U.K. and Ireland television channels late last month in a bid to bolster its BT Sport package, which is due for launch this summer. The deal gives BT the broadcasting rights to a host of top-notch football competitions, including the FA Cup and UEFA Europa League, in addition to the 38 English Premier League matches it has already agreed to show over the next three seasons.

A recent survey by broker Liberum Capital suggested that BT is gaining more interest from potential customers, with 37% of respondents in February claiming that they would consider switching from Sky, up from 25% in October and 28% in July.

The broker anticipates new BT Vision subscriptions will jump from around 100,000 per year to 250,000, mainly on the back of BT‘s ability to substantially undercut Sky on a price basis.

Earnings on course to tread higher
City analysts expect earnings per share to maintain a steady ascent in coming years — a 5% forecast increase to 24.9 pence for the year ending March 2013 is anticipated to rise 1% to 25.1 pence in 2014, and 7% to 26.9 pence in 2015.

I reckon that the telecoms giant represents decent value for money at current prices. A P/E reading of 10.8 for this year is forecast to slip to 10.7 in 2014, before sliding to 10 during the following 12 months.

BT also looks a canny pick for income investors seeking to latch on to excellent prospective dividend growth. A projected yield of 3.5% for 2013 — matching the average payout yield for the FTSE 100 — is expected by City experts to accelerate to 4% and 4.5% in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

After slashing its dividend in 2009 due to heavy earnings pressure, the company has rebuilt its progressive dividend policy that is now safeguarded with much better dividend coverage. Meaty forecast coverage of 2.6 times for 2013 is expected to remain high at 2.4 times and 2.2 times for 2014 …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance