Author: Sportsdark
St Johnstone owner Adam Webb has rubbished proposals that the Premiership should be cut from 12 to 10 clubs.The SPFL’s Competitions Working Group (CWG), who comprise representatives from clubs in all four divisions, are currently exploring the possibility of a 10, 14 or 16-team top flight.Reconstruction talks have been partly driven by an increased strain on the fixture schedule, with extra European matches leaving fewer available dates in the domestic calendar. Premiership sides currently play 38 league fixtures per season.Any proposed change would require the backing of 11 out of 12 Premiership clubs, plus 75 per cent of Premiership and…
It is some half-backline: McGrain, Scullion and Roper. And their programme notes make for pretty good reading, too.Jim Scullion, the renowned Lanarkshire artist, with regular appearances as European sports artist of the year. Danny McGrain. Celtic legend, who was once the best right-back in the world. Tony Roper, the marvellously versatile actor, who has given Scotland everything from Jamesie in Rab C to the wonder of The Steamie. They are joined at Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life by a large crowd. It’s a home match for Scullion, a Coatbridge boy presumably from the Left Bank of the town, who became…
Liverpool will be without Alisson for Wednesday’s Merseyside Derby after the Brazil No 1 failed a late concussion test.Caoimhin Kelleher is to deputise in goal again after also playing the Carabao Cup final two and a half weeks ago, Liverpool’s last match.Alisson got a kick in the head on Brazil duty against Colombia on March 21 and flew home to England after withdrawing from that camp. Due to concussion protocols, Alisson had to follow a five-step process with at least 24 hours in between each one: no physical activity, light aerobic exercise, sport-specific exercise, non-contact training drills, full training.He then…
Liverpool fans have been speculating about Mohamed Salah’s future after he was spotted with a camera crew in the city.Salah, 32, is one of Liverpool’s all-time greatest players, with the Egyptian having scored a remarkable 243 goals in 392 games for the club since joining from Roma in 2017 for an initial £36.5million fee.The forward has won eight trophies at Anfield and remains integral to Arne Slot’s side as they close in on the Premier League title. However, Salah’s contract expires in the summer and he is yet to extend his deal, with speculation over his future an ongoing major…
The resurgence of Rangers’ midfielder Tom Lawrence is opening the door to a potential move away from Ibrox this summer.Despite reports of another year’s option in Rangers’ favour, the Wales international will become a free agent in June.And his return to fitness and form could not be timed better. The 31-year-old scored the winning penalty in Rangers’ Europa League triumph over Fenerbahce, was recalled to the Wales squad by Craig Bellamy last month and provided another goal and assist in Rangers’ 4-3 comeback win over Dundee last weekend.Numerous clubs in the UK and abroad are keeping a check on his…
Paul Merson has hit out at Liverpool for allowing the contracts of Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold to expire.All three players can leave Anfield on free transfers this summer unless they sign last-minute deals. Alexander-Arnold, who has been at the Merseyside club since joining the youth academy in 2004, is expected to go to Real Madrid. While the futures of Salah — the club’s all-time Premier League top scorer — and captain Van Dijk remain uncertain. The trio have been key to Liverpool’s ascent to the top of the Premier League table but Merson now thinks it unlikely that any of…
Sky Sports were a key component, arguably the single-most important, in the unprecedented success of the Premier League.In 1992, when Rick Parry, David Dein, Alan Sugar and the Big Five clubs created their breakaway, Sky were the broadcast partner who showed live games behind the paywall in a way that created glamour, excitement and insight.Because of them, the Premier League lured huge wealth, ambition and opportunity, which facilitated the arrival of the world’s best players and managers, and became a global force whose popularity and revenues soared year-on-year. The irony is that after more than three decades of undeniable power…
Alexi Lalas has leapt to Donald Trump’s defense over the ‘administrative error’ that accidentally deported a US citizen to a notorious El Salvador jail last month.Trump’s administration has admitted mistakenly sending a Maryland man with protected legal status to prison in the Central American country, but is arguing against returning him due to his alleged gang ties and their lack of power over El Salvador.Lawyers for Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, 29, maintain he is not affiliated with any street gang while accusing the US government ‘has never produced an iota of evidence’ that he does. Amid the controversy surrounding Garcia and…
For the last 20 years, strange as it sounds, Jose Mourinho has not owned his own name.It has been the property of Chelsea Football Club Limited, trademarked with the UK IPO since April 4, 2005 when he was closing in on his first Premier League title.Chelsea were able to use it to flog whatever they fancied in their megastore, from Mourinho mugs to Mourinho dolls to Mourinho posters to Mourinho mobile phone covers. The Ts and Cs of the original trademark even covered lingerie, in case the club were so inclined. Back in 2016 when the Portuguese was in talks…
Xabi Alonso in CRISIS! Real Madrid still a step too big Analysis © IMAGO Xabi Alonso is in the worst crisis of his still-young coaching career after Bayer Leverkusen were dumped out of the DFB-Pokal semi-final by third-tier Arminia Bielefeld.The Basque tactician is regarded as one of football’s biggest up-and-coming coaching talents after leading Leverkusen to a historic domestic double last season and doing so without losing a single match. Confirmed – Arsenal director Andrea Berta in contact with Nico WilliamsHe notably rejected advances from his former clubs Liverpool and Bayern around this time last year to continue with Bayer…
