Tag: Sunderland

Leicester back Ranieri despite relegation threat

Image result for claudio ranieri

 With their recent defeat at home to Manchester United leaving them just a point above the relegation zone, manager Claudio Ranieri is coming under severe pressure from supporters as the Foxes look to rediscover their form of last season. However, despite their recent struggles, the Italian boss has received the backing from the club, with the club set to fight in both the Champions League and Premier League over the coming weeks.

Just over six months ago, Leicester were celebrating the biggest day in their history, with Captain Wes Morgan lifting the Premier League trophy for the first time after a remarkable campaign. However, with the likes of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez failing to rediscover their form from last year, as well as N’Golo Kante continuing to show just how much of an asset he is with league leaders Chelsea, the Foxes are now among the favourites for relegation. For those of you wishing to back Ranieri’s men to steer clear of the drop zone, you can find all football competitions at one place including UK, International, European and other Leagues.

 Wins for fellow strugglers Hull City and Sunderland last time around only compounded Leicester’s misery, with just two points separating the bottom six in the Premier League table. Relegation for the Foxes would make them the first club to drop down to the Championship having won the title the previous year, with Rainieri keen to justify his winning of the FIFA Coach of the Year Award in 2016.

With a Champions League Round of 16 tie against Spanish La Liga side Sevilla to look forward to, Claudio Ranieri would likely trade wins against Swansea City and Liverpool in the coming weeks with European progression. Leicester’s players have been criticised widely in the press, with Arsenal’s legendary striker Ian Wright calling them “lazy”. Other reports suggest that the Italian boss has lost the support of his dressing room, with a reported ban on chicken burgers upsetting some of the players.

The former Chelsea boss, previously known as the “tinkerman”, will be hoping that his latest idea will get the players motivated, with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr set to meet the Leicester squad during his time in the UK. With just five wins from their 24 Premier League fixtures to date, the presence of the unbeaten American can certainly not have a negative effect on the team.

Adam Johnson’s court hearing live

Photo courtesy of the BBC.

Today Adam Johnson appears at Bradford Crown Court for two child sex offences and Josh Halliday, a journalist who is in court, has been tweeting some pretty intriguing stuff from throughout the hearing.

Here they are, starting from the very first:

So he took advantage of the fact she was a big fan of his. Disgusting.

Black Cats sack Adam Johnson

28-year-old winger Adam Johnson has today been sacked by Sunderland AFC after the footballer pleaded guilty to one charge of grooming and one count of participating in sexual activity with a child under the age of 16 years.

The Black Cats had announced earlier in the day that Johnson would be unavailable for their Premier League match on Saturday with Manchester United.

There could still be parts of the story to unfold as the midfielder will face two further counts of sexual activity with a child on Friday – but this is something he currently denies.

Sunderland released a club statement 7:35pm which read as follows:

“In light of Adam Johnson’s guilty pleas, the club has today terminated his contract with immediate effect.

The club will make no further comment.”

The Sunderland born player has also had his boot sponsorship deal with Nike severed today too, as many of those who were closely linked to him look to distance themselves from association quickly.

“Adidas can confirm that it has terminated its contract with footballer Adam Johnson with immediate effect.

“This follows his guilty pleas entered earlier this week.” A statement read.

Johnson had enjoyed his final game in Sunderland’s red and white having been a major part of the club’s fight back from 2-0 down at Liverpool, as he scored direct from a free kick to make the scores 2-1 – before Jermaine Defoe equalised seven minutes later to finish the game at 2-2.

Let’s take a look at how Twitter reacted (Including an old one from another Adam Johnson from around the time the story first unfolded):

(The views in the tweets do not necessarily match mine. Just thought they were share worthy.)

Which Premier League team travels the most this season?

The Premier League is the most watched football league around the world. Watched across the globe by millions and loyal fans, it also is the highest paid league with footballers paid wages that we can only dream of.

The Premier League season 2015/2016 has been a turbulent one so far, with Leicester surprising us all. It has been great to see the underdog lead the pack, but could this be because they don’t travel far to matches on average? Compared to teams like Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United?

Harrison and Rowley have done the number crunching figures and bring to you an infographic showing how much each Premier League travels over the course of the 2015/2016 season and the results we found were surprising. Newcastle, Sunderland and Swansea lead the top 3 positions as the most travelling teams. As they are situated far in the North it is understandable that they have to travel more then central teams. The teams in the bottom 3 that travel the least are Aston Villa, Leicester and West Brom, the Midlands teams.

Could travelling less be the reason why Leicester City are top of the league? With Newcastle the most travelling team could this be the reason why they are at the bottom of the league? Well we shall let you decide for yourself, in the meantime how does you team rank? Let us know!

Premier_league_table

Hiddink is the man to replace Mourinho

Guus Hiddink is all set to become the interim manager at Chelsea following Jose Mourinho’s dismissal on Wednesday evening.

The former-Netherlands coach was in London on Friday to hold talks with the hierarchy at the Blues, as the two parties look to iron out a deal.

Saturday’s visit to Sunderland will be a game too soon for Hiddink, with the Chelsea players looking to bounce back from Monday nights 2-1 loss to unlikely Premier League leaders Leicester City.

Hiddink, who has hosted a host of clubs, had managed Chelsea before as the interim coach back in 2009. He won the FA Cup with the club that year.

Mourinho endured jubilation at the end of last season as he led his Blues to the Premier League title, but his joy was short-lived, as seven months later he is now without a job having led Chelsea to one of their worst first halves of the season in recent times.

Chelsea sit in 16th place, one point above the relegation zone going into Saturday’s game.

Rumours of the dressing room being against Mourinho may have been quashed by club captain John Terry, who described Wednesday as a sad day for Chelsea on his personal Instagram.

“Going to miss you boss,

“The very best I have ever worked with, unbelievable memories together. Thank you doesn’t seem enough.”

Terry was not alone in thanking his former boss, as Cesar Azpilicueta also claimed it to be a sad day.

“I would publicly like to thank Jose Mourinho for his contribution to this club and for everything he has taught me over the years.

“He will always be remembered. Thank you mister.”

Hiddink’s challenge for the remainder of the season will be to try and lead his team up the table and into the European places – whether that be the Europa League or Champions League, at a push.