Manchester United post record profits

Manchester United posted record operating profits of £110.9million for the past financial year.

The club have also recorded a record revenue of £331.4million - an increase of £45million from last year and passing £300million for the first time - according to figures for the year ended June 30, 2011.

United, who won the Barclays Premier League title and reached the Champions League final during the period, have also recorded a commercial turnover of £103.4million.

The latest results come as the club consider a plan to raise up to £614million by floating on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

The figures contrast with those of last year when losses hit a record £83.3million, largely due to the costs of a bond issue.

The 15.7% rise in commercial revenues is hugely encouraging for the club and does not include a new £10million-a-year training kit sponsorship deal with DHL.

The Singapore floatation is being considered by the Glazer family, the club's owners, as a means of addressing debts.

Net debt is down to £308.3million from £376.9million according to the new figures.

It is thought the floatation could be completed by the end of the year.

United, having struggled to sell corporate boxes last year, have also enjoyed an increase in matchday turnover from £100.2million to £108.6million.

Read more

Match report: Eng v Ind, 4th Test – Day 3

London, Aug 20: England’s No. 3 batsman Ian Bell completed a classy double-century as the hosts piled on 591 for the loss six wickets before declaring their first innings on Day 3 of the fourth Test match at the Oval.

Asked to bat, the Indian top-order, with the exception of Rahul Dravid, once again put up a dismal performance. With Dravid and MS Dhoni at the crease, the visitors trailed by 488 runs with five wickets in hand at stumps on the rain-marred third day of the match.  Graeme Swann did the bulk of the damage, grabbing three wickets in the final session.

Earlier, resuming on the overnight score of 457 for three, England scored 134 runs in the first session of the day for the loss of another three wickets.

S Sreesanth got the first breakthrough of the day, dismissing night watchman James Anderson.  In his next over, the Kerala pacer got Eoin Morgan to edge a ball to MS Dhoni behind the stumps bringing Ravi Bopara to the crease.  

Meanwhile, Bell continued to hit the ball all over the park to reach 235 runs, his highest score in Test cricket. The 29-year-old Warwickshire batsman reached the 200-run landmark with a four off Ishant Sharma. But it was Suresh Raina who did the job for India once again, trapping Bell leg-before.

Soon after the wicket of Bell, India missed a chance of running Bopara out. Bowler Amit Mishra failed to collect the throw from fielder Virender Sehwag and displace the bails that would have found Bopara stranded far from his crease.  At lunch, Bopara was batting on 44 and Prior on 18 runs.

As was the case on Day 1 of the Test, rain made an appearance as the teams walked into the pavilion for lunch; this time, rain halted play for almost four hours. When the skies cleared and play resumed, England chose to declare their first innings on 591 runs for the loss of six wickets. Bopara was left stranded six runs short of his half-century.

Gautam Gambhir, who suffered a concussion in a fielding mishap on Day 2, did not take the field today; in his absence, Dravid opened the innings with Sehwag for India.

Although Sehwag hit two boundaries off James Anderson, the bowler once again got the better of Sehwag in the first over he bowled at him. Sehwag’s dismissal, out lbw, left India on eight runs for the loss of one wicket at the end of the first over of their first innings.

VVS Laxman returned to the dressing room a couple of overs later signaling an all too familiar batting collapse for the visitors. Sachin Tendulkar, joined Dravid at the crease, bringing with him some hope of a fightback.

But the England pacers continued to hit the deck hard; a bouncer from Stuart Broad even hit Tendulkar’s helmet. But Tendulkar replied by sending the next ball racing to the fence to open his account. Dravid-Tendulkar went on to surpass Gordan Greenidge and Desmond Haynes’ partnership record (6,482 runs in 148 innings) and now hold the world record for the all time highest partnerships with 6520 runs in 134 innings at an average of 50.93.

However, the veterans could not extend their latest partnership beyond 55 runs. Tendulkar’s attempt to sweep a Graeme Swann delivery saw the ball pop high in the air only to land safely in the hands of Anderson in the slips; Tendulkar’s departed on 23.

With just a few overs of play left, Suresh Raina followed Tendulkar back to the hut, out for a duck having faced 29 deliveries. The left-hander was sent back stumped by Matt Prior off Swann, already responsible for two Raina dismissals this series before this one. In his next over, Swann followed up with the wicket of night watchman Ishant Sharma, an inside edge resulting in a simple catch by Alastair Cook at short-leg.

The last over of the day saw a noisy appeal for Dhoni’s wicket being turned down; the batsmen, in reply, ended the day’s proceedings with a four off Swann. In the midst of the ruins, Dravid predictably put together a superb half-century, holding the innings together with little help from the top order.

Brief Score (At end of Day 3): England 1st innings 591/6 in 153.0 overs (Ian Bell 235, Ravi Bopara 44*, S Sreesanth 3/123, S Raina 2/58), India 1^st innings 103/5 in 33 overs (R Dravid 57*, MS Dhoni 5*, G Swann 3/27)

Read more

Kapil slams seniors for not motivating youngsters

Chennai: Former captain Kapil Dev on Tuesday lashed out at the Indian players for lacking team spirit in the ongoing Test series against England and also criticised senior cricketers, including captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, for not motivating the youngsters in the team.

The former all-rounder, who led India to its maiden World Cup title in 1983, slammed Dhoni`s men for "going through the motion more than their love for the game" during the ongoing four-match series which England have already pocketed 3-0.

"Indian players did not play as a team. I am not trying to blame anybody but I think they played too much cricket. Within four days of winning the World Cup you play IPL. They then travel to West Indies for a tour and then from there to England. I think our players were going through the motion more than their love for the game", Kapil said in an interview.

Asked whether there were any other reason for the humiliating defeat against England which has dislodged India from the number one position, Kapil said the seniors have not played a role in guiding the youngsters during the tour.

"No cricketer walked up to young bowlers to advise them on what line to bowl. Dhoni could go up to Ishant and tell this. Media termed him as `Captain Cool`. He says everybody should know their job.

"In Indian sports, we have not reached that level where all the players know what they should do. We still look up to captain and senior players. We need somebody with aggression. All the senior players have become so senior that they do not want to be aggressive", he said.

Following are the excerpts from Kapil Dev`s interview.

Q: What is your take on Dhoni and team spirit? 

Kapil: Everybody go ga ga about Sachin Tendulkar that `I learn from him and so on`. If you ask Virender Sehwag who is your guru he will say Sachin. If you ask Yuvraj, he will say Sachin. But I have never seen Sehwag or Sachin or Laxman, with their bundle of experience in batting, walking up to the bowlers to advise them the correct line to bowl. I do not know whether I am making sense or not.

But in my opinion, the new theory in Indian cricket is that bowlers have to work themselves and batsmen need to do everything by themselves. The required guidance is not there. May be I cannot see that what they talk about. I was not on the ground or in the dressing room. My observations are totally based on what I see on television.

Q: Are the Indian cricketers too tired now ?

Kapil: No. Not tiredness. When you play well there is nothing like you are tired. When you don`t play well then all those negative thinking sets in your mind. England played very good cricket, perhaps it is after 15 or 20 years that England looks like an English team in every sense. The difference between England and India is that England has great all-rounders, who can bat in between and bowl well. They have two or three such cricketers in their team. They are the trump cards in their team and they are the strength. From 80 for eight they were good enough to make 250 or 270. Unfortunately our team looked totally lost because we do not have a single all-rounder.


Q: Do you think the selectors should have given rest to some of the players by picking youngsters who had played for India earlier?

Kapil: If players are injured, what can you do. All such questions are raised when we fail to perform. If youngsters are given chances and still we lose, you would ask why Sachin or Rahul are not played and why all youngsters to England. Such arguments will become endless. It is easy to talk all these things from outside. Easiest thing in this world is to do post-mortem.

Q: Do you think the conditions in England were to the disadvantage of India?

Kapil: The bottomline for the series loss is that the English bowlers were attuned to their job and they bowled together and did not give up their goals. We have five cricketers who have on average played more than 15 Tests in English conditions and they have not delivered.

Q: Any other reason for India`s poor performance?

Kapil: The sad part throughout the series was that on the second day of a Test, Dhoni was bowling. I am not saying whether should he bowl or not. But, the situation when he bowled was different when you are having four bowlers. You are not playing in the sub-continent where after 70 or 80 overs you can say light is bad and match could be called off. We have to play 90 overs and all the main bowlers have to bowl minimum 20 overs each. Are they used to bowl 20-overs each? Unfortunately, they are not used to. If one bowler is injured then other main bowlers should bowl at least 25 overs each. Then the captain has to call the all-rounder to bowl for a brief period. In the past, Sehwag or Ganguly used to bowl when the pressure was less. Neither them nor Sachin could bowl 20 overs on the trot.


Q: Why India did not cash in on the chances they got?

Kapil: We did get our chances. In the second Test also, we had a chance but we did not avail those chances. We were totally lost and England outplayed us in every department.

Q: The blame game has started and who do you think is responsible for the debacle?

Kapil: I do not want to get in to that. Only thing is that these boys are good enough and they are still doing well. As long as they can play, we should support them. I think that that call has to be taken by the Board and the selectors.

Q: What is your advise to the players?
Kapil: Ten years ago, I said to Sachin to enjoy his game. He has said to newspapers that he is enjoying his game. But according to me he is enjoying his game only during the last two years. I think Sachin played his best cricket during the last two years. His knocks were unparallelled in the manner in which he set new records. Had he not been enjoying his game, there would have been few runs but his approach to the game would have been different. Now I can see that he is enjoying. So, it is entirely up to him to decide as to what to do and achieve it too.

Q: What do you think is needed in order to reduce the
number of matches played by India in a season?

Kapil: The fixture of four years is already set. I had talked to Rajiv Shukla on this and he says that the players are at liberty to take rest whenever they require to. But, nobody would like to take rest because they are unsure of their place in the team if they opt out as the next player would seal his berth. It is for the Board to decide as to how much cricket that they want to give to players.

Q: What is your view on setting norms for becoming Selection Panel members that he should have played for India?

Kapil: I think it is not a bad idea to set some qualification norms for such posts. It always gives you better results. People who have played for the country also deserve to be in the other posts in the Board.

Read more

Request for proposals to manage ICC World Twenty20 2012

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is requesting proposals from companies interested in becoming the official marketing, communications, advertising and media agency for the ICC World Twenty20 2012 which will take place in Sri Lanka next September.

The successful company will be granted the rights and responsibilities in managing all such aspects of the tournament. This will be the fourth edition of the tournament since its inception in 2007, first to be staged in Asia and taking place at the back of a highly successful ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 which was also co-hosted by Bangladesh and India.

A proven track record in running these programmes for world-class sporting events is essential as well as sufficient resources and experience to provide all the necessary services, a state-of-the-art information technology infrastructure and suitably skilled and experienced personnel.

The successful company will also have either a substantial network of relevant contacts throughout the host country and other territories represented by the teams competing at the event or a proven ability to establish local contacts in each of such countries in order to provide the services to the required standard and within the required timeframes.

The full request for proposals with an in-depth description of the required services and levels of experience can be found by clicking here.

Proposals should be submitted to Kunika Puri Viegas, ICC Marketing Manager, at Kunika.viegas@icc-cricket.comand Ajit Jayasekera, Acting Chief Executive, Sri Lanka Cricket, at ceo@srilankacricket.lk.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 19 August 2011.

Read more

United seize initiative, Chelsea stumble

Goalkeeper David de Gea's error failed to unsettle Manchester United as they started their Premier League title defence with a 2-1 win at West Brom.

The Spaniard handed the Baggies a foothold when he allowed Shane Long's shot to squirm under his hands and cancel out Wayne Rooney's opener, but his blushes were spared when Steven Reid turned the ball into his own net.

United started with the swagger of champions and were in front after just 13 minutes as Rooney flicked the ball to Ashley Young and then strode onto the return pass before burying a shot in the far corner.

The visitors were cutting holes in the Baggies backline and Nani twice blazed over from good positions only for de Gea to gift West Brom a leveller when Long's low shot evaded his grasp and slipped into the far corner.

Roy Hodgson's men looked far more resolute after the break and United were restricted to fleeting sights of goal as Rooney nodded wide before Young curled over.

But the Baggies endured a cruel late blow when Young's low cross was inadvertently turned in by Reid on 81 minutes and de Gea gratefully held onto the ball when Chris Brunt fired in a late shot.

In Sunday's other game, new Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas' introduction to the Premier League proved to be a testing and frustrating affair as they drew 0-0 at Stoke.

The Portuguese may have raced to the league title with Porto and also won the Europa League last season, but nothing could have prepared him for the challenge he met at the Britannia Stadium in front of a vocal home crowd.

The Blues had the better chances in a game they controlled after the break but despite an encouraging display from striker Fernando Torres, neither he nor his team-mates could crack the Potters' notorious resistance.

Early on Chelsea 'keeper Petr Cech faced an uncomfortable barrage of balls in the box and Jon Walters might have seen one delivery count had John Terry not been alert.

Chelsea, too, had chances but Jose Bosingwa's cross-cum-shot rolled wide before Florent Malouda was denied by a diving Robert Huth to keep the contest in the balance.

The Blues re-emerged with fresh vigour but penalty appeals from Torres and then Frank Lampard were rebuffed before Jon Obi Mikel capped a frantic period with a dipping volley that Asmir Begovic pushed over the bar.

Matty Etherington departed injured and Rory Delap followed suit to further boost the visitors' hopes of a late winner but substitute Nicolas Anelka curled against the crossbar and Didier Drogba's free-kick failed to clear the wall.

Read more

Fabregas finally lands Barca dream

While the Gunners were always determined to keep Fabregas, who joined them from the Spanish club in 2003 as a raw teenager, it became clear this summer the player was no longer committed to the Arsenal cause.

The European champions had seen a £27million offer rebuffed earlier in the summer as Arsenal remained steadfast in their demands over a £40million fee for their midfielder.

However, with Barcelona not willing to significantly up their cash bid, and Gunners manager Arsene Wenger admitting the player was unsettled, Arsenal reluctantly have allowed a cut-price deal to go through.

The package is widely reported to include a down payment of 30 million euros (£27million), with an additional 6m euros (£5.2m) in performance-based add-ons at a later stage.

There are also suggestions Fabregas is prepared to waive the £4million compensation he would be entitled to for the remainder of his long-term Arsenal contract, as technically the player never asked for a transfer.

In a statement on Arsenal's club's official website, Wenger expressed his disappointment at Fabregas' departure.

"We have been clear that we didn't want Cesc to leave and that remains the case," he said.

"However, we understand Cesc's desire to move to his home town club and have now accepted an offer from Barcelona.

"We thank Cesc for his contribution at Arsenal and wish him future success."

Fabregas had, officially at least, been struggling for match fitness because of a hamstring injury which saw him miss the club's Asia Tour and other pre-season games.

Wenger consciously omitted his captain from the Emirates Cup and the World Cup winner was not selected for Saturday's opening Barclays Premier League fixture at Newcastle, which ended goalless and saw summer signing Gervinho sent off.

Fabregas joined Arsenal for nothing from Barcelona in 2003, and has made more than 300 appearances, scoring 57 goals.

However, despite winning both the European Championships and World Cup with Spain, club success has not followed for the midfielder, who missed the Gunners' shock Carling Cup final defeat at Wembley through injury.

Fabregas is now set to agree personal terms and undergo a medical on Monday before sealing his return to the Nou Camp.

Wenger, meanwhile, will face the media ahead of Arsenal's crunch Champions League play-off against Udinese, which were Fabregas to have played would have made him ineligible for any other club later in the competition.

The Gunners boss will now be under more pressure to spend the proceeds of Fabregas sale - and indeed the Emirates Stadium coffers could yet be swelled further should contract rebel Samir Nasri also move on before the transfer window closes, with Manchester City said to be ready to bid £22million for the France midfielder.

Wenger, though, has already ruled out a swoop for Juan Mata from Valencia, but could yet look to push through a £15million deal for Shakhtar Donetsk's Brazilian midfielder Jadson.

Nasri will not be available for the first leg of the Udinese tie because of UEFA disciplinary sanctions, which also mean Wenger must serve a touch-line ban following the fall-out from their Champions League exit in Barcelona last season.

Striker Robin van Persie, likely to be the new permanent Arsenal captain, will also be suspended after his red card in the Nou Camp.

Midfielder Alex Song, meanwhile, could yet find himself on a charge from the Football Association for appearing to stamp on Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton, an incident which was missed by referee Peter Walton during Saturday's ill-tempered game at St James' Park.

Barcelona anticipate no late hitches and have announced details of how Fabregas will seal his return to the club.

They stated, on their official website, that Fabregas will have a medical test at Barcelona Hospital at 8am (7amBST) before undergoing a further test at Barcelona's medical centre at 10.30am (9.30amBST).

At 12.30pm (11.30amBST) he is due to sign his contract, which will be followed by photo opportunities and, at 2pm (1pmBST), a press conference with Fabregas.

Fabregas Factfile

1987: May 4 - Born in Arenys de Mar, Catalonia.

1997: Joins Barcelona youth set-up.

2003: August - Top goalscorer and wins adidas Golden Shoe for being best player at the FIFA Under-17 World Championship.

September - Signs for Arsenal.

October 28 - Becomes the youngest player in Arsenal's history when he plays against Rotherham in League Cup.

2005: May - Helps Arsenal win FA Cup.

2006: March 1 - Wins first cap for Spain, featuring against the Ivory Coast.

March 28 - Scores in first-leg win over Juventus in Champions League quarter-final.

May 17 - Plays as Arsenal are defeated by Barca in the Champions League final.

June 14 - Became youngest player in Spanish history to participate in a World Cup when he features against Ukraine.

October 19 - Agrees new eight-year deal with Arsenal.

2007: July 13 - Admits to having met with Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon and sporting director Predrag Mijatovic about a move to the Spanish club, but following Thierry Henry's move to Barcelona says he could not leave Arsenal "in the lurch".

2008: May - Voted the PFA's Young Player of the Year.

June 29 - Starts as Spain win Euro 2008 final 1-0 against Germany.

October 7 - Reveals it would be a "dream to return to Barcelona some day".

November 24 - Named Arsenal skipper after William Gallas is stripped of captaincy.

December 23 - Ruled out of action for four months after sustaining a knee injury.

2009: March 17 - Denies an allegation of spitting at Hull assistant manager Brian Horton after Arsenal's 2-1 FA Cup semi-final win, although he is later charged and then cleared.

2010: April 26 - Included in the PFA Team of of the Year.

May 20 - Named in Spain's 2010 World Cup squad.

June 1 - Barcelona submit a written offer for Fabregas and enter "formal" discussions.

June 2 - Arsenal release a statement saying they have rejected the offer and have no intention of selling.

June/July - Makes four substitute appearances in seven games in Spain's triumphant World Cup campaign, setting up winning goal for Andres Iniesta in the final.

August 6 - Vows to respect Gunners' decision not to sell him and insists he will be "100% focused on playing for Arsenal" this season.

2011: March 8 - Apologises to Gunners fans after making mistake in the build-up to Barca's first goal in a 3-1 Champions League win over Arsenal at the Nou Camp.

June 20 - Barca president Sandro Rosell admits Catalan club are unwilling to meet Arsenal's £35million valuation of Fabregas.

August 9 - Included in Arsenal's Champions League squad for play-off round tie with Udinese.

August 14 - A deal is agreed in principle between Arsenal and Barcelona for Fabregas to return to the Nou Camp.

Read more

Real Madrid 2-2 Barcelona

Real Madrid and Barcelona shared four goals in a thrilling first leg of the Spanish Supercopa.

Having hogged the headlines for a number of bad-tempered clashes last season, the two played out a game refreshingly void of late challenges and mass-brawls.

Another surprise saw Real adopt the role of the cultivated passing side out of the two, opening the scoring through Mesut Ozil and then levelling through Xabi Alonso.

In between times, Barcelona occupied the smash-and-grab style often used by Madrid last season, with David Villa and Lionel Messi netting.

Real's shift in style could well be traced back to the accusations thrown at them last season when, after they were crushed in the league and the Champions League by Barcelona, they were accused of being unable to live with their Catalan rivals.

Thet was not the case here.

Karim Benzema, their most impressive performer throughout pre-season, saw an effort deflected wide off Eric Abidal, while the same player was denied once more when Victor Valdes clawed his header, which flew up off the turf, away to safety.

Sergo Ramos then saw a drive hit Javier Mascherano and the pressure was so intense it was only a matter of time before Madrid scored.

That time was the 12th minute.

Benzema was again involved, bustling his way through before laying on a ball which Ozil hit across Valdes and into the bottom right-hand corner.

Not to be left out, Cristiano Ronaldo had a strike smothered by Valdes, but that effort signalled the end of Real's wave of attacks as Barca grew.

They did not create any chances of note and, when Villa left Iker Casillas grasping at the air with a 35th-minute screamer, it came out of the blue.

Real were wondering what they had done wrong but, rather than ponder themselves, Barcelona scored again just before the break, with Messi slotting home after Sami Khedira inadvertently bundled the ball into his path.

Their lead only lasted until the 53rd minute, though, with Alonso afforded the time and space he needed to roll home into the corner from the edge of the box.

Ronaldo then forced Valdes to punch away his shot, while Messi whipped a free-kick over the bar.

The spirit of the game was sorely tested when both Ronaldo and Pedro appealed for penalties, but tempers cooled enough for the game to end level heading into Wednesday's second leg.

Read more