Liverpool’s relegated women underfunded and in disarray

On 5 November 2019 Jürgen Klopp looked down a camera lens and encouraged Liverpool fans to pack out Anfield for the women’s Merseyside derby. It attracted close to a quarter of a million views and followed on from a summer of “one club” propaganda which included mixed team photographs and a joint tour of the US. 

Fast forward and, on the same day that the Premier League fixtures have revealed the likely dates on which Liverpool men will end their 30-year wait for a Premier League title, the relegation of Liverpool women from the Women’s Super League has been confirmed.

It would be easy to blame the management. A single win and three draws in 14 games tells a damning story. Liverpool have played poorly. The…

Rio 2016: Nigeria and Portugal progress, Brazil held again

Nigeria and Portugal became the first teams to qualify for the Olympic men s football tournament quarter-finals, while hosts Brazil were held again. 

The 2008 runners-up Nigeria backed up their thrilling 5-4 win over Japan with a 1-0 victory against Group B opponents Sweden, courtesy of Sadiq Umar s first-half goal. 

Portugal, who defeated Argentina in their Rio 2016 opener, made it two wins from two in Group D on Sunday with a 2-1 come-from-behind triumph against Honduras. 

Neymar s Brazil are still without a goal from their opening two Group A games of the tournament, held to another 0-0 draw, this time by Iraq.

Denmark boosted their chances of progression to the next round with a tense 1-0 win against South Africa, while Argentina got off the mark …

Cannavaro ruled out of Euro 2008

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro was ruled out of the upcoming Euro 2008 championships on Monday after suffering a left ankle injury according to Ansa press agency.

The replacement for the 34-year-old Real Madrid defender capped 116 times will be announced soon, the Italian Football Federation informed Ansa.

Cannavaro who will hold a press conference on Tuesday suffered the injury during a training session at their Austrian base, just hours after Italy arrived in the country.

He underwent scans at a hospital in Modling, 15 kilometres south of Vienna, after colliding with Giorgio Chiellini during the practice match and was subsequently transferred to another hospital in Vienna.

Cannavaro underwent an MRI scan, after which the doctor Franz Maria Kainberge…

Ballon d´Or 2018: The top 30 in full after Modric walks away with the top prize

Luka Modric has ended Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi s 10-year domination of the Ballon d Or by claiming world football s most coveted individual prize.

Modric helped Real Madrid to their third consecutive Champions League trophy before the midfield maestro played a pivotal role in Croatia s surprise run to the World Cup final.

Ronaldo finished second, unable to add a sixth trophy to his collection, while France and Atletico Madrid s Antoine Griezmann completed a Messi-less top three.

Here, we look at how the jury voted to rank the players selected as the 30 best on the planet by France Football.

1) Luka Modric

After a decade dominated by superstar forwards, Modric strikes a blow for the little man. A delightful midfield creator who has operat…

Euro 2016 provides €1.2bn boost to French economy

The French economy was boosted to the tune of more than €1.2billion as the country reaped the benefits of hosting Euro 2016.

Ten venues welcomed 24 countries as part of an expanded European Championship, with Portugal eventually beating Didier Deschamps France in the final at the Stade de France.

And a report undertaken jointly by the Limoges-based Centre for Sports Law and Economy (CDES) and the KENEO agency has found that the impact of officials and participating teams, combined with 613,000 visitors, poured €1.22bn into the French coffers.

There is no doubt that hosting a UEFA Euro is a massive financial benefit to any region, said CEO of UEFA Events SA, Martin Kallen, who was also the tournament director for Euro 2016.

UEFA Euro 2016 showed that…

Fiorentina 2-1 Milan: Gudmundsson seals win after De Gea penalty heroics

David de Gea saved two penalties for Fiorentina, setting the stage for Albert Gudmundsson to score the winner in a 2-1 victory over Milan.

In a pulsating encounter that saw three missed penalties and two red cards, Fiorentina prevailed to halt Paulo Fonseca s Serie A winning run.

The hosts had the first spot-kick of the game, with Moise Kean s tame effort being kept out by Mike Maignan before the forward had a goal disallowed for offside.

Former Milan midfielder Yacine Adli did break the deadlock soon after, ricocheting a low shot in off the far post from the edge of the box, and De Gea kept them ahead at the break, superbly denying Theo Hernandez from the spot.

Kean had a second goal chalked off for offside in the second half and Milan wasted another g…

Mourinho rages at officials after Milan defeat, reveals he turned down Rossoneri job in 2019

Roma boss Jose Mourinho raged at the performance of his side and the officials after a 3-1 loss to Milan at San Siro, before revealing he turned down the opportunity to manage the Rossoneri in 2019.

Roma were 2-0 down inside a dismal opening 15 minutes, while a shambolic end to the match saw their defenders Rick Karsdorp and Gianluca Mancini sent off.

Mourinho, while furious at the nature of Roma s collapse, also sought to apportion blame to the officials, who awarded Milan two penalties. The first was scored by Olivier Giroud, while the latter saw Rui Patricio save from substitute Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The quality of the performance was not good,  Mourinho said. We gave away the ball so easily, our performance level was so low, but we were still in the …

Titans vs Jets Week 4 Picks and Predictions: King Henry Runs All Over New York

Most people are probably confident in who’ll win Sunday’s clash between the Tennessee Titans and New York Jets but don’t let that stop you from reading on, as there are plenty of big betting opportunities in this game.

The Titans are 2-1 through three contests while the Jets are in a crisis already, with an 0-3 record and a rookie quarterback who has created as many problems as he’s solved for the Jets so far.

Before wagering on anything this Sunday be sure to check out our free NFL picks and predictions for Titans vs. Jets on October 3.

Cincinnati Bengals Super Bowl Odds: How They Got Here

If you’re holding a longstanding Super Bowl futures ticket on the Cincinnati Bengals, good on you, and can I “Burrow” the time machine?

Cincinnati was a massive underdog to not only win the AFC Championship (+10,000) but even make the playoffs, with the Yes/No postseason prop pegging the Bengals to be playoff-bound at +400 before the season started.

Yet, here we are. Cincinnati is still an underdog, taking on the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI on February 13, but a live dog at +170 odds. That’s about a 37% chance of winning the Lombardi Trophy, which looks a lot nicer than the 0.50% shot oddsmakers gave the Bengals back in the summer.

We run down the Bengals’ Super Bowl odds during their long and winding road to SoFi St…

49ers vs Eagles Touchdown Props for the NFC Championship

After a long season, we’re finally at the Conference Championship games, and the first one up on Sunday will decide the NFC. The 49ers travel to the Linc to face an Eagles team that has looked like potential champions all season long.

With both teams featuring dynamic play-calling and talented rosters, there are plenty of elite players who could find the end zone. Don’t miss our best anytime touchdown prop picks for the San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles. 

For more, check out our 49ers vs. Eagles picks and predictions, as well as our 49ers vs. Eagles prop picks.