London (AFP) – Out of favour with Arsenal and exiled by England, Theo Walcott reached a crossroads at the end of last season and his emphatic response looks to have saved a career in danger of imploding. Walcott started only one of Arsenal's final 14 matches last term and lost his place in Roy Hodgson's […]

London (AFP) – In Celtic's Champions League clash with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City on Wednesday, Brendan Rodgers will pit his wits against a man who has had a defining influence on his career. Whether with Swansea City, Liverpool or Celtic, Rodgers has sought to emulate the kind of passing football with which Guardiola took first […]

London (AFP) – England manager Sam Allardyce has been secretly filmed giving advice on how to circumnavigate transfer rules and mocking his predecessor Roy Hodgson's voice, the Daily Telegraph reported on Monday. Allardyce, 61, was filmed telling what he thought was a group of Far East investors it was possible to "get around" Football Association […]

Burnley (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Record-signing Jeff Hendrick scored his first goal for Burnley as they beat Watford 2-0 in the Premier League at Turf Moor on Monday. Irish midfielder Hendrick signed from second-tier Derby County last month for a reported 10 million pounds ($13.1 million, 11.8 million euros) on a three-year contract. And the […]

London (AFP) – Former Rangers manager Graeme Souness wants the Scottish giants to patch up their differences with Joey Barton. Barton has been on the sidelines following a heated row with manager Mark Warburton and team-mate Andy Halliday after their 5-1 defeat by Celtic in the Glasgow derby. Last weekend's 2-1 loss to Aberdeen meant […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier was sentenced to two months in jail by a court in Paris on Monday for assaulting a police officer. But the 23-year-old will not serve any time in prison as he is appealing his sentence which was less than one year. The Ivory Coast international was later […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Four months on from their astonishing 5,000-1 Premier League triumph, the stardust returns to Leicester City's King Power Stadium in Tuesday's first ever Champions League home game against Porto. Leicester have made a faltering start to their title defence and after Saturday's 4-1 loss at Manchester United, they have now […]

Moscow (AFP) – Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino said he hoped his side could overcome an avalanche of injuries to claim a first Champions League win this season against CSKA Moscow on Tuesday. The Argentinian coach is already without England striker Harry Kane and will now also see Mousa Dembele, Eric Dier, Danny Rose and Moussa […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has brushed off Cristiano Ronaldo's sideline snub at the weekend and dismissed his team's minor dip in form ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund. The Real coach replaced Ronaldo, a three-time World Player of the Year, in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Las Palmas […]

Seville (Spain) (AFP) – Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli believes Manchester City loanee Samir Nasri has the talent to help his side to the latter stages of the Champions League ahead of Tuesday's clash against Lyon. The Spanish side have won the Europa League for the past three seasons, but have struggled to establish themselves amongst […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Thomas Tuchel is relishing the prospect of Borussia Dortmund's showdown with Cristiano Ronaldo-led Real Madrid in Tuesday's Champions League group stage clash. Dortmund have never lost at home to Real, who have won just four times in 29 away games against German clubs. The hosts' Signal Iduna Park stadium has particularly […]

Moscow (AFP) – CSKA Moscow coach Leonid Slutsky insisted there would be no repeat of the Euro 2016 fan violence when the Russian champions host Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League. CSKA take on the Londoners in Moscow on Tuesday in the first visit by an English side to the country since fans from the […]

This past summer, I finally bought a Roku. Now that I have one, I'm not sure why I waited so long to take the plunge. After all, it's only $42. Plus, it's become so ubiquitous in my family, that it's now the go-to device for most members of my family over the Xbox, Chromecast, Tivo […]

Berlin (AFP) – New Hamburg coach Markus Gisdol said he will try to take the pressure off his struggling players, during his official presentation on Monday. The 47-year-old ex-Hoffenheim coach has replaced Bruno Labbadia, who was sacked on Sunday in the wake of Hamburg's 1-0 defeat at home to German league leaders Bayern Munich on […]

Libreville (AFP) – Gabon president Ali Bongo has insisted that the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) will go ahead in his crisis-ridden country. The CAN is due to take place from January 14 to February 5 next year but was thrown into doubt after violence broke out following Bongo's controversial re-election in August. "As […]