By Andy Cole 17 December 2009 England’s bid to stage the 2018 World Cup will ultimately succeed or fail on the basis of 24 votes cast by Fifa’s Executive Committee (ExCo), so it was heartening to visit Nigeria this week and witness the enthusiasm for English football of one of those 24 voters, Dr Amos […]

By Andy Cole 10 December 2009 Without consulting any tables, can you name the team that had the best record in the group stage of the Champions League? The answer is Bordeaux, who won five of their six matches and drew the other in a tough section (Group A) that also included Bayern Munich and […]

22 December 2009 Yes, it’s true. There is another SI.com out there, slightly better known and slightly longer established, and just a teeny, weeny bit better resourced. Its 20 best this, that and t’other of the decade makes for an interesting – if predictably USA-centred – read. That said, a perusal of SI’s top 20 […]

22 December 2009 It wasn’t so many decades ago (about five) that teams in the English football league would routinely play matches on Christmas Day, and then play the reverse match on Boxing Day. Whatever one thinks of packed modern schedules, they’re not like that now, although elsewhere in the world, the festive day has […]

21 December 2009 Stan Kroenke has bought another 25 shares in Arsenal at £8,500 each. That takes him within 17 shares of the “trigger” holding that would make a bid for the whole club mandatory. The American made the purchase on 17 December but it was only made public today in a statement to the […]

EXCLUSIVE By Nick Harris and Hugh Godwin 20 December 2009 Britain’s foremost PR advisor, Max Clifford, toldThe Independent on Sunday last night that he has represented two high-profile gay Premier League footballers in the past five years and has advised them to stay in the closet because football “remains in the dark ages, steeped in […]

7 December 2009 South African police have this evening complained that they are unhappy with reports that ex-SAS soldiers will help protect some top teams at the World Cup next summer. Police spokesperson Sally de Beer described the media reports as “absurd”. Yet some Fifa officials and sponsors will also use private security, according to sources, although […]

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