They’re the pick of the bunch! See YNaija’s EPL Team of the Year

by ‘Ifreke Inyang Last Sunday, at an exclusive event, professional footballers in England voted Robin Van Persie and Kyle Walker as their Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year respectively. The FA also unveiled their Team of the Year, dominated by Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspurs players. We do not completely agree... Read More

alex ferguson, arsenal, arsene wenger, chelsea, everton, manchester united

March 15, 2012

“We no dey carry last for stupidity!”: Check out the top ten tweets from yesterday

by Lekan Olanrewaju From thoughts on Chelsea FC’s win yesterday to jabs at the US war in Afghanistan, check out what everyone was discussing on twitter yesterday. @ogundamisi: On a day we paraded 3 teenagers, we anounce D ‘death’ of main man behind D killing, Abu Mohammed. Nigeria we no dey carry last 4 stupidity!... Read More

chelsea, DIG, GEJ, police

March 5, 2012

Roman’s Revenge? – Andre Villas-Boas ‘parts company’ with Chelsea

by Seyi Lawal In case you haven’t heard the news yet, Roberto Di Matteo has been appointed first team coach of Chelsea FC, as Andre Villas-Boas, 34, was sacked after just eight months with the club. A statement on Chelsea’s website Sunday said: “The board would like to record our gratitude for his work and express our... Read More

Andre Villa-Boas, AVB, chelsea, Lampard, Robert Di Matteo

March 5, 2012

‘Ifreke talks Sports: Both Villas-Boas and Abramovich Blue it!

by ‘Ifreke Inyang 257 days ago, he was the hottest ‘wunderkid’ in football management. On the back of an astonishing season with FC Porto, Roman Abramovich paid out a cheque of about 13.3 million pounds to acquire the services of the 34-year-old. Perhaps that gave Andre Villas-Boas all that confidence. Don’t misunderstand me. The former... Read More

andre villas boas, chelsea, fc porto, Jose Mourinho, roman abramovich

February 11, 2012

EPL Preview: The battle continues

by ‘Ifreke Inyang The biggest game this week sees Manchester United renew their age-long rivalry with Liverpool. The match which will be played at Old Trafford will see the Patrice Evra come face to face with Uruguayan striker, Luis Suarez, who is back after serving an eight-game ban for racially abusing the United defender. Six games... Read More

abramovich, andre villas boas, arsenal, barcelona, chelsea, epl, manchester city, premiership, the blues

January 31, 2012

Yomi Kazeem: Barcelona – Angels or Demons?

by Yomi Kazeem It’s a perfect picture; Barcelona FC are football purists, great custodians of the beautiful game as we have come to know it. Year after year, they churn out champions off a seemingly endless conveyor belt of talents, while winning trophies with incredible regularity. The players are angels who can do no wrong,... Read More

Avram Grant, Barcelona FC, chelsea, Jose Mourinho, real madrid

January 20, 2012

African Cup of Nations! English Premier League clubs hold their breath as African players return home

by ‘Ifreke Inyang Africa’s biggest football competition starts this weekend. It is going to be 28 days of soccer fiesta played with typical African passion, power and skill. The absence of powerhouses like Nigeria, Cameroun, South Africa, etc will not be in action as the minnows who have shocked many football pundits hug the limelight.... Read More

african cup of nations, arsenal, chamakh, chelsea, gervinho, manchester city, yaya and kolo toure

December 17, 2011

#IncaseYouMissedIt: EPL teams face Italian jobs in Champions League!

by ‘Ifreke Inyang In other fixtures, defending champions, Barcelona have been drawn against German side Bayer Leverkusen, who finished second in Chelsea’s group The draws for the next stages of the UEFA Champions League were made on Friday afternoon in Nyon. The EPL duo of Arsenal and Chelsea were handed tough Italian jobs – they will play... Read More

ac milan, arsenal, chelsea, uefa champions league

December 13, 2011

Top 10 Sporting moments of 2011

by ‘Ifreke Inyang It is not always an easy task to pick the top ten phenomena in a year. But here we go. Here’s a quick warning: Our list is dominated by football, but we have chipped in a few moments from other sports that we absolutely enjoyed this year. And it is in no particular... Read More

arsenal, arsene wenger, balotelli, basketball, chelsea, el clasico, english premiership, Golf, guardiola, italian serie a, manchester city, manchester united, messi, Mourinho, real madrid, ronaldo, Tiger Woods

December 3, 2011

Ifreke talks Sports: Andre Villas-Boas might need to consider a career in the film industry instead

by ‘Ifreke Inyang Nine years ago, Andre Villas-Boas was FC Porto’s DVD guy. He worked closely with compatriot, Jose Mourinho, scouting the opposition and providing important information about them. Villas-Boas’ pre-match duties included making personalised DVDs for each of the players, highlighting their direct opponent with emphasis on their strengths and weaknesses. And his contribution, though... Read More

abramovich, andre villas boas, arsenal, barcelona, chelsea, epl, manchester city, premiership, the blues

November 29, 2011

DATED: What happened last week? (21 – 25 November)

Compiled by ‘Ifreke Inyang MONDAY HITV was put under lock and key after staff of GT Bank, their lawyers and some police officers stormed the Lagos premises of Toyin Subair’s satelite TV. HITV workers didn’t have a clue on what was going on and were given a few minutes to vacate the office building. The State... Read More

andre villas boas, chelsea, english fa, gtbank, hitv

November 19, 2011

Ifreke talks Sports: Is it still party Tyne?

by ‘Ifreke Inyang Let’s take a quick look at the EPL table. The money bags from the Eastlands, Manchester City lead the pack with 31 points. City rivals, United are second with 26. Newcastle sit elegantly in third position with 25 and Chelsea occupy the fourth spot. Yes, we have not reached the half way... Read More

alan pardew, arsenal, chelsea, demba ba, epl, manchester city, manchester united, newcastle united, old trafford, saint james park

November 1, 2011

Champions League Preview: Early qualification up for grabs!

by ‘Ifreke Inyang Tonight in the Champions League, several teams have the chance to sail into the next round with two games to spare. In Group H, AC Milan and Barcelona will both confirm their places in the next round if they pick up away wins against BATE Borislov and Viktoria Plzen respectively. Really, they... Read More

ac milan, arsenal, arsene wenger, barcelona, champions league, chelsea, emirates stadium, marseille, ucl

October 31, 2011

EPL Review: The goal fest continues

By ‘Ifreke Inyang The London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal ended 5-3 in favour of the Gunners. With matches like this every other weekend in the English Premiership, there is no chance of me moving to La Liga, Serie A or even Belgium’s Jupiler League. Absolutely no chance. From the 14th minute when Frank Lampard... Read More

arsenal, arsene wenger, chelsea, epl, gunners, john terry, manchester city, manchester united, old trafford, robin van persie

October 24, 2011

EPL Review: A match to remember, Wenger speaks on the Manchester derby

by Ifreke Inyang After 90 minutes, the giant electronic scoreboard at Old Trafford read 6-1. And you can be forgiven for thinking that it was yet another outstanding display of attacking football by the home side, Manchester United. It wasn’t. It’s not as if Wayne Rooney and co are no longer capable of such. It... Read More

alex ferguson, arsenal, chelsea, epl, manchester city, manchester united, mario balotelli

October 19, 2011

UCL Preview: The London teams take on Europe!

by Ifreke Inyang Yesterday’s round of UEFA Champions League matches were worth our while. End to end action, late goals, surprise results and generally a new level of drama altogether to set the stage perfectly for today’s games. All eyes will be in France when a certain Frenchman leads Arsenal out against Marseille. The Gunners... Read More

ac milan, arsenal, barcelona, bate, chelsea, fc porto, marseille, ucl

September 30, 2011

EPL Watch: A weekend of rivalry!

Ifreke Inyang The story of Carlos Tevez refusing to come on as a second half substitute in Munich didn’t interest me. Not one bit. I smiled knowingly as football writers milked everything they could from the story, tilting it in a this-and-that direction. As they filled up their columns with every angle, rival coaches,... Read More

arsenal, chelsea, derby, epl, liverpool, manchester united, spurs

September 17, 2011

Big Sunday! Manchester United vs Chelsea FC preview

Ifreke Inyang Andre Villas-Boas faces the first true test of his Chelsea career at Old Trafford tomorrow. Manchester United have started the season on a roll and have already scored 18 goals, with Wayne Rooney grabbing back to back hatricks against Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers. In the recent past, with the fading annual challenge of... Read More

alex ferguson, andre villas boas, arsenal, chelsea, epl, liverpool, man utd

September 13, 2011

UEFA Champions League: Match day 1 Preview

Ifreke Inyang Later this evening, the 57th installment of the UEFA Champions League kicks off all around Europe. The excitement, suspense and drama returns to the stadia and our homes. The first round of matches may notl decide which team of the 32 will make it to the next elimination round, but... Read More

ac milan, arsenal, barcelona, chelsea, uefa champions league, valencia

September 8, 2011

Are the new signings Gunner bring the change?

Ifreke Inyang I have been an Arsenal supporter for more than eight years. Before then, I followed Real Madrid from a distance. I was completely enamoured by the Galacticos and the sparkling football they produced game after game. My Arsenal love affair started from the middle of their unbeaten season. For some reason, I... Read More

arsenal, arsene wenger, barcelona, benayou, chelsea, epl, fabregas, mikel arteta

June 30, 2011

Soundbites: Some unforgettable quotes from last week!

by Ifreke Inyang “I have officially terminated my contract with BadBeat Records. Firstly, I wanna advice any upcoming artist to be careful before signing any record deal. Promises BadBeat Records gave to me were not fulfilled. After building my career to a certain level, I expected any partnership with a record label to take me... Read More

central bank, chelsea, falcao, falvournabania, gbenga adeyinka, hilary clinton, jill scott

June 23, 2011

Introducing Andre Villas-Boas, the new Mourinho

by Ifreke Inyang Portuguese? Check. Moved from FC Porto to Chelsea? Check. Young, ambitious and charismatic? Double check! And no, it’s not the imperious Jose Mourinho. Just yesterday, Chelsea Football Club unveiled Andre Villas-Boas as their new coach. There are very few managers in the professional game that can claim to have had an upward... Read More

abramovic, Boas, chelsea, Mourinho, sports

June 20, 2011

DATED: The moments that stood out last week

by Ifreke Inyang What happened last week? 13, June 2011. Jenson Button won a chaotic and rain-affected Canadian GP on the last lap from Sebastian Vettel as Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso failed to finish. 14, June 2011. GTBank Managing Director Tayo Aderinokun died from a brain tumour. Mr Aderinokun (fondly called ‘Uncle T’), who... Read More

chelsea, frank lampard, gtb, osama bin laden, tayo aderinokun