ROXY is music to my ears. ROXYFET (2.10 Sedgefield, nap) rarely runs a bad race at Sedgie and has two wins from his past three visits. He powered home over fences last time but is equally happy tackling these smaller obstacles. FLOWERY (4.20 Sedgefield, nb) has never finished out of the first two around here and was a close second […]

ASTON VILLA should make the most of new boy Mbwana Samatta — for the man dubbed Samuel Eto’o Mk II might not be staying in the Midlands for too long. Not because he is struggling to settle, nor because he cannot handle the unique demands of the Premier League. Simply because he is such a talent that, even at the […]

Marcos Alonso scored twice as Chelsea came from behind to earn a point against struggling Bournemouth in an entertaining encounter at Vitality Stadium. Wing-back Alonso followed in Olivier Giroud’s shot which had come back off the bar to open the scoring in the 33rd minute and struck again five minutes from time to rescue the Blues, whose top-four aspirations were […]

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his players were still feeling “very down” two days after being knocked out of the Europa League. Greek side Olympiakos scored late in extra time to seal a 2-1 win at the Emirates and go through on away goals. Arteta is attempting to lift his squad before Monday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Portsmouth (kick […]

WILFRIED ZAHA believes he has been set up as the Premier League's pantomime villain and urged fans to stop booing him. The Crystal Palace talisman reckons everyone hates him due to his reputation for diving. It was revealed that the Eagles attacker was the most targeted man for fouls in the Prem. He is also the biggest target for toxic […]

FRANK LAMPARD has revealed that Chelsea contract talks with Willian are "ongoing" – as the Blues try to keep hold of the soon-to-be out-of-contract star. The 31-year-old Brazilian was able to speak to foreign clubs in January, with his Stamford Bridge deal set to end in June. Spurs are reportedly after the winger, who originally snubbed the North Londoners to […]

Media playback is not supported on this device Voting for the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2020 will close at 09:00 GMT on Monday, 2 March – but there’s still time for one last look at the nominees. The five shortlisted for the award are England and Olympique Lyonnais defender Lucy Bronze, USA and Chicago Red Stars midfielder Julie […]

UK ATHLETICS doctors raised concerns about Alberto Salazar’s alleged use of medications with Mo Farah nine years ago. BBC Panorama claim to have obtained emails suggesting there were question marks over Salazar’s practices shortly after Farah joined the Nike Oregon Project in 2011. It is claimed former UKA medical officer Dr John Rogers alerted colleagues that Salazar had put Farah […]

FUMING Arsenal legend Martin Keown has claimed that he "almost ran to Arteta to tell him to put Martinelli on" during the Gunners' 2-1 Europa League defeat to Olympiacos. It had looked like Mikel Arteta's side would squeak through when skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's 113th minute strike put them ahead on aggregate. But the Emirates was stunned when Youssef El Arabi […]

Sometimes it’s good to take money under false pretenses, to allow readers and acquaintances to do my work. Besides, I enjoy sharing. Life’s too short. As the death last week of Sy Sperling reminded us: Hair today, gone tomorrow. Let’s start with Paul Dranow in Pennsylvania. He was watching Kansas-Baylor on ESPN on Saturday when analyst Jay Bilas, always eager […]