Mourinho questions the foreign manager invasion of England
January 6 – The debate over the number of foreign managers in the Premier League has been given fresh impetus – by none other than Chelsea’s own Portuguese boss Jose Mourinho.
Premier League
Clattenburg clanger as Saints aim to throw off nice guy (read doormat) label
By Andrew Warshaw
January 3 – Players are frequently seen to verbally abuse officials on the pitch but rarely does it happen the other way – not publicly at least. English Premier League team Southampton have made an official complaint, however, after accusing referee Mark Clattenburg of insulting their captain Adam Lallana in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Everton.
Tan lands Solskjaer to lead the Cardiff challenge
January 34 – Former Norwegian international striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, known in his playing days as the “baby-faced assassin”, has taken on the challenge of trying to manage Premier League newcomers Cardiff City following the controversial sacking of Malky Mackay by the club’s Malaysian owner Vincent Tan.
Chelsea rack up £49m loss but point to future and staying within FFP
By Andrew Warshaw
January 2 – UEFA’s financial fair play rules have been brought into sharp focus with the news that Chelsea, one of the world’s most affluent foreign-owned clubs, made a loss of £49.4 million for the year ended 30 June 2013.
No room at the Premier League inns during a bumper holiday period
By Paul Nicholson
January 2 – Attendance for the three fixtures of the holiday period for the Premier League in England averaged over 95% of stadium capacity for the matches December 26, December 28-29 and 1 January 2014. Of a total of 1,147,696 available seats in stadia, just 30,802 seats were unfilled.
Festive cheer as Premier League fans pack stadia for Boxing Day feast
By Paul Nicholson
December 27 – Proof that the English love their Christmas football was shown on Boxing Day in the Premier League with eight out of 10 clubs filling their stadiums to more than 97% of capacity, two stadiums being more than 99% full and only one stadium being below 90% in occupancy.
QPR set to leave Loftus Road after 100 years for 40,000 seater new stadium
By Paul Nicholson
December 13 – English Championship club Queens Park Rangers have announced plans to move to a new 40,000 seater stadium as part of the £10 billion regeneration of the Old Oak area in West London.
Claws out in Hull as Allam formally requests Tigers name change
By Andrew Warshaw
December 12 – The acrimonius dispute over the name of English Premier League club Hull City has been further fuelled by a formal application to the Football Association to call the club Hull Tigers from next season.
United in league of their own around Old Trafford pitch, if not yet on it
By David Owen
December 11 – Not that there is any connection, but Manchester United’s latest Premier League woes have coincided with the installation of new display boards – “the largest, brightest and clearest pitch-side electronic boards in football,” the club says – at its Old Trafford base.
English crackdown on rapid increase in flares at Premier League games
By Andrew Warshaw
December 3 – English football is clamping down on the use of flares and smoke bombs, widely used by supporters across much of Europe but, until recently, all but absent from the English game. According to new statistics, in the first three months of this season alone, there were 96 pyrotechnic incidents across the Premier League, Football League, non-league games and domestic cup competitions – compared to just eight throughout the entire campaign in 2010-11.
Ranking puts Manchester clubs way ahead in the naming rights league
By Paul Nicholson
December 2 – Manchester United are missing out on an estimated £16.93 million a year for stadium naming rights, according to analysis by American Appraisal, a specialist valuation firm and consultancy. The English Premier League champions, who have said they will never rebrand Old Trafford, come second in a list of Premier League stadium rights valuations – to near neighbour Manchester City who are valued at £18.23 million.
Tigers for sale? Dispute turns nasty as Allam says he would walk away
By Andrew Warshaw
December 2 – The acrimonius dispute over the name of English Premier League club Hull City has turned even uglier with owner Assem Allam telling his critics they “can die as soon as they want” and describing some of them as “hooligans”, in response to the Hull fans chant ‘City till we die’.
Cole hammers his own club on twitter after training game massacre
By Tom Parsons
November 19 – West Ham forward Carlton Cole has become involved in an unusual twitter rant… against his own club!
Hull fan group wants name change plan put to season ticket holder vote
By Paul Nicholson
November 19 – Hull City AFC supporters are not giving up their fight to retain their name in the face insistent owner Assem Allam’s (pictured) repeated statements that he will change the club’s name to Hull Tigers.
Exclusive: Six years on, London’s Olympic stadium shambles over Premiership football bites deep into UK taxpayers
By Mihir Bose
November 15 – The decision to lease the Olympic stadium to West Ham still generates huge controversy with Barry Hearn owner of Leyton Orient vowing to fight it all the way to Europe. Hearn is awaiting a report on Olympic Legacy by a select committee of the House of Lord’s due on Monday.