Tuesday 29 July 2014

Lewis Hamilton shocked at Mercedes team orders in Hungary

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton was "very, very shocked" to be asked to let team-mate Nico Rosberg by in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The two drivers were on different strategies when Mercedes asked Hamilton to move over with just over 20 laps left.
Hamilton said: "If I let him past, then he could pull away and come back at me later. I was very, very shocked the team would ask me to do that."
Rosberg refused to discuss the incident publicly after the race.
"We have to discuss that internally and it would not make sense for me to speak about it now," he said.
lewis hamilton
Hamilton ended up finishing third, one place ahead of Rosberg, after fending off the German on the final lap, following a sensational fightback that began from the pitlane, and included contact with the barrier on the first lap, as well as a brave pass around the outside of Jean-Eric Vergne on a wet track.
The result means Hamilton has reduced his deficit to his team-mate in the championship to 11 points.
Mercedes made the decision to ask Hamilton to move aside because Rosberg still had one pit stop to make, whereas Hamilton was racing to the end and they wanted to ensure Rosberg could score as many points as possible by getting back to the pits more quickly.
The Englishman was at the time in a battle with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso for second place behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo
Ricciardo wins classic Hungarian GP
Hamilton said of his decision to ignore team orders: "Obviously I am aware that I was in the same race as him. Just because he had one more stop than me doesn't mean I am not in same race.
"He didn't get close enough to overtake, I was not going to lift off and lose ground to Fernando or Daniel, so it was a bit strange.
"I don't know really if I was right or wrong. As far as I am aware I was racing him, and of course he had to do one more stop.
"If I had let him past, I am sure he would have finished ahead of me which would have been quite significant in the title race. But I am sure they will explain it to me."
Hamilton had fought up to battle for the lead after starting from the pitlane following a fire in qualifying.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo
Ricciardo savours second F1 win
The wet-dry race was punctuated by two safety car periods.
"This is damage limitation," said Hamilton, who also had to fight up from the back in Germany the week before after a brake failure in qualifying.
"I cannot explain the pain you feel when you have issues such as I have had in last couple of races.
"It is difficult to swallow, and to come back the next day and attack. You are pushing way beyond what you would do if you were on pole position. It feels satisfying coming through [and] to be ahead and still in the fight is still encouraging."
Rosberg said he had not asked the team to order Hamilton out of the way.
Nico  Rosberg
After securing his third successive pole position, Nico Rosberg only managed to finish fourth
"It was the team who informed me he was going to let me past. I don't know what happened then; it's better to discuss internally.
"I am going to sit down with the team and of course Lewis will be there also and discuss how much we can learn from today."
Mercedes co-team boss Toto Wolff said: "We need to analyse how we ended up there and we need to again discuss the racing between the two. It is getting intense.
"Emotionally as a racer, on the track, I can absolutely understand why he would do it."

Formula1; Nico Rosberg: Safety car was used at wrong time in Hungary

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg believes the deployment of the first safety car at Sunday's wet Hungarian Grand Prix affected his chances of victory.
Rosberg led from pole before a crash on lap eight involving Caterham's Marcus Ericsson saw the introduction of the safety car.
The slower medical car was also deployed and Rosberg, who went on to finish fourth, got stuck behind both.
"It was just the safety car. They sent it out at the wrong time," he said.
hungarian grand prix
Despite starting on pole position Rosberg finished the race in fourth - a place behind Hamilton, who began last and from the pitlane
"I got stuck behind it and it was so slow that all those guys who managed to pit first got by me then - and that is not supposed to be the case."
The safety car had been introduced just after the leading quartet of Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso had passed the pit entry, meaning they had to complete an extra lap while the drivers behind them were able to pit before them and switch to slicks.
By the time the quartet were able to pit, Daniel Ricciardo - who went on to win the race - led from Jenson Button and Felipe Massa.
Rosberg salvaged 12 points from the race but saw his championship lead over Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton - who recovered from starting in the pit lane to finish third - reduced to 11 points.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton adamant after team orders row
Hamilton had ignored team orders to let Rosberg pass during the race, an action the German described as "not good".
He added: "Lewis did not let me by, although he was ordered to do so. That is obviously not good and we need to discuss that internally.
"But the thing I am most annoyed about is the last lap. I had a little opportunity [to overtake Hamilton] and was so close but did not manage to use it.
"The way he defended was OK. For the guy on the inside, it is his corner - so the guy on the outside needs to make it far enough in front so he can't be pushed out. I did not manage to do that."
Formula 1 has started a summer break, with the next race, the Belgian Grand Prix, taking place on 24 August.
"I am still in front in the championship," said Rosberg.
"There is a long summer break now and it is onwards and upwards until the next race."

Glasgow 2014 day-by-day guide: Commonwealth Games highlights

Chris Hoy Commonwealth Games
This is your comprehensive day-by-day guide to the main events, big names and best stories at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Here, BBC Sport looks ahead to where and when we might expect some of each day's key moments.
You can access the action across the BBC on television, radio, online, red button, connected TVs, mobiles and tablets.
Scheduled start times are in BST.

Tuesday, 29 July

David Calvert
David Calvert will be attending his 10th Commonwealth Games, having first competed at Edmonton 1978
Day in a sentence: Mountain bikers take to the trails as Britain's leading gymnasts clash.
Gold medals won today: Athletics (men's 110m hurdles, hammer throw and decathlon, women's 400m, 1500m, 10,000m and triple jump), Cycling (men's and women's mountain bike events), Gymnastics (men's and women's artistic team events), Shooting (men's trap, 25m rapid fire pistol and 50m rifle three positions, women's 50m rifle three positions, Queen's Prize), Swimming (men's 50m free, 1500m free, 200m medley, 4x100m medley relay, women's 400m free, 50m back, 4x100m medley relay and Para-sport 200m SM10 medley), Weightlifting (women's 75kg, men's 94kg), Wrestling (men's 57kg, 94kg and 125kg, women's 48kg and 75kg).
Highlights include:
12:45 - Shooting: The shooting events end with the individual Queen's Prize, a full-bore target rifle event unique to the Commonwealth Games: competitors fire at targets across a range of distances in an event supposedly inaugurated by Queen Victoria who, in 1860, offered a £250 purse to the winner of the first such tournament.
Northern Ireland's David Calvert makes his 10th Games appearance, having won four gold and four bronze medals since his debut at the 1978 Edmonton Games.
11:30 - Mountain bike: Canada's Catharine Pendrel is a former world champion and will start among the favourites in the women's cross-country event on the new Cathkin Braes trails, to the south of Glasgow.
Mountain biking returns to the Games having been dropped in Delhi four years ago. Since its debut on the programme in 2002, Canadians have won three of the four available gold medals.
This year, the Western Isles' Kerry MacPhee will race for Scotland in the women's event having transferred from triathlon in a scheme designed to maximise Scottish medal potential, while Kenta Gallagher is one to watch for the hosts in the men's race.
Kristian Thomas
Kristian Thomas is part of the England team which is confident of winning the men's team competition
Gallagher elected to ride for Scotland  despite having the option of competing for England. "I've lived in Scotland all my life and all my friends are Scottish. I don't think they'd approve if I turn up for a Commonwealth Games in Scotland wearing a St George's cross on my back," he explained a couple of years ago.
16:30 - Artistic gymnastics: Both team finals promise to deliver one of the biggest home-nations battles of the Games, particularly a men's event which splits Great Britain - one of the world's leading teams - into England and Scotland.
London 2012 silver medallist Louis Smith, overlooked by GB for this year's European Championships, has nevertheless secured selection to the English team for Glasgow 2014 having mounted a high-profile nine-month comeback. While Smith is a pommel horse specialist, team-mates Kristian Thomas, Sam Oldham, Nile Wilson and Max Whitlock will be England's big hitters on all six apparatus in the team event.
For Scotland, Dan Purvis and Daniel Keatings are the stars of the show: both have won world medals in the past and the former was part of GB's bronze medal-winning team at London 2012. They are joined by Frank Baines, a former European junior all-around champion who represents Scotland's next generation at the age of 19.
In the women's team event, England can call on the considerable world-class experience of Rebecca Downie and Hannah Whelan, alongside exciting younger talents such as Ruby Harrold and Claudia Fragapane. Raer Theaker leads a young Welsh team while India McPeak, who competed in her first World Championships for Ireland last year, is on the Northern Ireland team. Canada and Australia will both field strong women's squads led by Victoria Moors and Lauren Mitchell respectively.
19:00 - Swimming: The last night of swimming action features the two 4x100m medley relays alongside the women's 400m freestyle, which may be another chance for Wales' Jazz Carlin to impress. Australia's Bronte Barratt has been Carlin's closest rival over this distance so far in 2014.
Jazz Carlin
Can Wales' Jazz Carlin add relay gold to her 800m freestyle crown?
The longest men's event on the programme, the 1500m freestyle, is a chance to see 18-year-old Mack Horton , billed as the leading light of Australia's next generation of swimming talent. England's Daniel Fogg is tasked with stopping him, while London 2012 silver medallist Ryan Cochrane will be defending the Commonwealth title he won for Canada at Delhi 2010.
19:30 - Weightlifting: The men's 94kg category pits England's Sonny Webster and Owen Boxall against Scotland's Peter Kirkbride. Kirkbride, 26, competed at London 2012 despite suffering a torn biceps muscle mid-event, while Boxall is the British champion. Faavae Faauliuli, the Samoan who narrowly beat Kirkbride to Commonwealth gold in India four years ago, will be back to defend his title in Glasgow.
The women's 75kg class features England's Mercy Brown, who broke eight British records when she earned her qualification for Glasgow 2014 at the British Student Championships in March. Brown faces tough competition from Canada's top female weightlifter, Marie-Eve Beauchemin-Nadeau, who won silver in the event at Delhi 2010.
Nigeria will be the nation to watch in the weightlifting tournament as a whole - their lifters picked up four gold medals at the Delhi Games and the team's coach has vowed to double that figure  in Glasgow.
Also: Badminton (singles and doubles preliminaries), Boxing (men's quarter-finals), Hockey (09:00 New Zealand men v England, 16:00 Wales men v South Africa, and other group stage matches), Lawn Bowls (preliminary rounds), Netball (09:30 England v Trinidad and Tobago, 17:00 South Africa v Wales, 19:00 Malawi v Scotland, and other group stage matches), Squash (doubles pools), Table Tennis (singles qualifying round).
BBC Coverage details:
06:00-01:00 BBC Radio 5 live
09:00-13:00, 13:45-18:00 & 19:00-22:00 BBC One
09:00-22:00 BBC Three
13:00-13:45, 18:00-19:00 & 22:00-22:30 BBC Two
22:40-23:40 Tonight At The Games, BBC One
23:40-23:55 Sports News, BBC One
BBC Red Button & BBC Red Button HD / Freeview & BT Vision 301 / Sky & Freesat 980 / Virgin Media 990 (Only on air from 19:00)
19:00 - 20:30 Netball: Scotland v Malawi
20:30 - 22:00 Weightlifting - Men's 94kg
BBC Red Button 1 / Freeview & BT Vision 302 / Sky & Freesat 981 / Virgin Media 991
09:20 - 11:00 Netball: England v Trinidad & Tobago
11:00 - 14:00 Gymnastics
14:00 - 17:30 Boxing QFs
17:30 - 18:30 Netball: South Africa v Wales
18:30 - 22:45 Boxing QFs
BBC Red Button 2 / Sky & Freesat 982 / Virgin Media 992
08:50 - 10:50 Men's Hockey: England v New Zealand
10:50 - 12:30 Men's Hockey: Trinidad & Tobago v Malaysia
12:30 - 13:00 Squash replay
13:00 - 14:00 Boxing: Quarter-finals
14:00 - 15:50 Men's Hockey: India v Australia
15:50 - 17:30 Men's Hockey: Wales v South Africa
17:30 - 22:30 Badminton
BBC Red Button 3 / Sky & Freesat 983 / Virgin Media 993
11:00 - 11:55 Weightlifting
11:55 - 14:00 Lawn Bowls
14:00 - 14:50 Shooting: Men's Trap
14:50 - 15:45 Squash
15:45 - 20:45 Lawn Bowls
20:45 - 23:30 Replay: Wrestling finals
BBC Red Button 4 / Sky & Freesat 984 / Virgin Media 994
08:55 - 15:00 Badminton
15:00 - 15:30 Commonwealth Games replay
15:30 - 18:00 Weightlifting - Women's 75kg
18:00 - 21:00 Table Tennis
21:00 - 22:30 Badminton
BBC Red Button 5 / Sky & Freesat 985 / Virgin Media 995
09:25 - 14:30 Table Tennis
14:30 - 15:15 Commonwealth Games replay
15:15 - 16:15 Shooting: 50m Rifle 3 positions men's finals
16:15 - 17:30 Table Tennis
17:30 - 21:00 Squash Doubles preliminaries
See the full day's schedule here

Wednesday, 30 July

Sarah Barrow and Tonia Couch
Sarah Barrow and Tonia Couch are England's leading contenders in the 10m synchro diving
Gold medals won today: 19. Athletics (men's 400m, high jump and long jump, women's 3,000m steeplechase, shot put, javelin and heptathlon), diving (women's 3m synchro and 10m synchro, men's 1m), gymnastics (men's and women's artistic all-around events), weightlifting (women's +75k, men's 105kg), wrestling (men's 61kg and 97kg, women's 53kg, 58kg and 69kg).
Day in a sentence: Hockey hots up and Delhi divers defend their titles.
Highlights include:
09:00 - Hockey: A clash between Scotland's women and England starts the day, and much could potentially ride on the outcome: this is the final group game for both teams, who to finish in the top two of a section which also includes an in-form Australian team. Wales play Malaysia in the following game.
Scotland and England have been kept apart in the men's tournament, where the group stage finishes a day later with the Commonwealth hosts against Australia and England against Canada. Scotland's men will need to get past Australia and India to reach the semi-finals, but Scotland captain Chris Grassick has been drawing inspiration  from the World Cup run of the Costa Rican football team.
10:00 - Diving: The opening final of the 2014 diving programme is the women's 10m platform synchro, closely followed by the women's 3m springboard synchro. Canada's divers lead the world rankings among Commonwealth nations in each discipline, but Australia's Melissa Wu will look to defend her 10m synchro title from Delhi 2010 with new partner Rachel Bugg, who replaces Alex Croak.
Canadian chef de mission Chantal Petitclerc has billed the nation's divers as "the team to beat" in Glasgow  - they feature double 2010 champion Jennifer Abel in the 3m synchro alongside Pamela Ware.
Malaysia's coach, meanwhile, believes his divers can better their Delhi medal total of four  - their best ever - and reach the podium in even greater numbers this year.
Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow , who finished fourth at Delhi 2010 and fifth at London 2012, are England's (and the home nations') leading contenders in the 10m synchro event, with Rebecca Gallantree and Alicia Blagg challenging in the 3m. Victoria Vincent, the 13-year-old late addition to the England diving team after rules over the Games' lower age limit were clarified, is set to compete in Thursday's 10m individual event.
16:30 - Wrestling: Five gold medals can be won on the second of three days of wrestling at Glasgow 2014, featuring three women's weight categories - 51kg, 59kg and 67kg - alongside two for men, 60kg and 97kg.
Wrestling at Glasgow 2014 is freestyle, one of the two Olympic disciplines (the other being Greco-Roman, which is not being held here). Indian wrestlers won 10 of the 21 available titles at Delhi 2010 and will hope to be similarly dominant in Glasgow. India have reportedly set an ambitious overall target of 125 medals at these Games.
Leon Rattigan, who won bronze in the men's 97kg category in 2010, returns to the English team alongside wife Yana and competes on Wednesday.
19:00 - Athletics: The men's 400m sees Grenada's Kirani James - the Olympic champion - set to face bronze medallist Lalonde Gordon of Trinidad and Tobago. Martyn Rooney races for England.
Also: Badminton (singles and doubles preliminaries), boxing (quarter-finals), hockey (09:00 Scotland women v England, 11:00 Malaysia women v Wales, and other group stage matches), lawn bowls (Para-sport open triples B6/B7/B8 semi-finals), netball (17:00 Scotland v Northern Ireland, 19:00 Barbados v England, and other group stage matches), squash (doubles pools), table tennis (singles and doubles preliminaries).

Thursday, 31 July

Aled Davies
Paralympic and world champion Aled Davies will skipper Wales at the Games
Gold medals won today: 25. Athletics (men's 200m, 800m, 400m hurdles, discus and Para-sport 1500m T54, women's 200m, 400m hurdles, long jump and Para-sport 1500m T54), cycling - road (men's and women's time trials), diving (men's 3m, women's 10m), gymnastics (artistic apparatus - men's floor, pommel horse and rings, women's vault and uneven bars), lawn bowls (Para-sport open triples B6/B7/B8, women's triples), weightlifting (men's +105kg), wrestling (men's 65kg and 86kg, women's 55kg and 63kg).
Day in a sentence: Louis Smith gets back on the horse as the Commonwealth's cyclists tackle the time trials.
Highlights include:
10:00 - Cycling time trials: The Commonwealth's fastest road cyclists hit the time trial circuit  - 40km for men, 30km for women - taking in Glasgow's East End as well as the countryside of East Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire.
Sir Bradley Wiggins will be considered favourite for men's time trial gold, with English team-mate Alex Dowsett winning silver in the same event at Delhi 2010. Australia's strong road team includes national time trial champion Michael Hepburn, while defending Commonwealth champion David Millar is included in the Scotland line-up. Svein Tuft, a world silver medallist in 2006, was a late call-up to the Canadian team.
In the women's time trial, New Zealand's Linda Villumsen looks a strong prospect, having won silver in Delhi and medals at world level for each of the past five years, though time trial success depends on how the Glasgow course suits each individual rider.
Northern Ireland's Wendy Houvenaghel, three times a world champion on the track and now back working as a dentist at the age of 39, will be on the time trial start line alongside England's Emma Pooley , who is one of the pre-race favourites and the new British national champion. Scotland will be represented by rising talent Katie Archibald.
15:00 - Artistic gymnastics: Thursday sees the start of gymnastics' individual apparatus finals, the day's highlight being the men's pommel horse, expected to star England's Louis Smith. The 25-year-old won Britain's first individual Olympic gymnastics medal in a century on the pommel horse at Beijing 2008, upgrading that bronze to silver at London 2012. Having initially stepped away from the sport to focus on a TV career after the Games, Smith announced a comeback in late 2013 and is now in the England team for Glasgow.
Team-mate Max Whitlock, the world silver medallist, is likely to form his strongest rival, while Scotland's Dan Keatings has twice won the European pommel horse title. Australia's Prashanth Sellathurai, the Delhi Commonwealth champion and a finalist alongside Whitlock at last year's Worlds, has not been selected.
19:00 - Athletics: Dai Greene defends his 400m hurdles titles on behalf of Wales, with Trinidad and Tobago's world champion Jehue Gordon also set to feature. Greene, 28, defeated Gordon in early July having spent most of the past year on the sidelines following a succession of hernia operations.
Six-time Paralympic champion David Weir leads an eight-strong Para-sport squad within the English athletics team and will compete in Thursday's 1500m T54 with team-mate Will Smith. Shelly Woods, Jade Jones and Lauren Rowles represent England in the women's 1500m T54, alongside Meggan Dawson-Farrell and Samantha Kinghorn for Scotland.
Jamaica look set to dominate the men's 200m with Rasheed Dwyer and Warren Weir in form, though the presence of Anguilla's Zharnel Hughes will be of interest to British spectators: the 18-year-old will be eligible to run for Great Britain at Rio 2016 should he choose to do so and meet the selection criteria. An exciting talent, Hughes hit the radar with a victory over 100m at this year's Jamaican Championships, but will only feature in the 200m in Glasgow.
Nigerian superstar Blessing Okagbare , already a Diamond League champion this year as well as a 2013 world bronze medallist on the track, is a leading contender in the women's 200m. Also a successful long-jump competitor, the 25-year-old has suggested she will prioritise the sprints over her jumping in Glasgow. The Bahamas' Anthonique Strachan could be a challenger, while Jodie Williams is set to feature for England.
Also: Badminton (singles and doubles preliminaries), hockey (09:00 England men v Canada, 14:00 Australia men v Scotland, and other group stage matches plus women's classification matches), netball (classification matches), squash (women's doubles quarter-finals), table tennis (quarter-finals).

Friday, 1 August

Charlotte Carey
Table tennis star Charlotte Carey represented Wales in the 2010 Commonwealth Games as a 14-year-old
Gold medals won today: 20. Athletics (men's 3,000m steeplechase, 10,000m and pole vault, women's 800m, 100m hurdles, high jump and discus), diving (men's 3m synchro and 10m synchro, women's 1m), gymnastics (artistic apparatus - men's vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar, women's beam and floor), lawn bowls (men's singles and fours, women's pairs), table tennis (men's doubles and women's singles).
Day in a sentence: Sally Pearson and Singapore seek success.
Highlights include:
14:00 - Artistic gymnastics: The last day of gymnastics concludes with more apparatus finals, including the women's floor event, where two Canadians will hope to take a title won by England's Imogen Cairns in Delhi four years ago.
Ellie Black reached the world final for Canada in Antwerp last year, but team-mate Victoria Moors could shine with a unique "double double" - a double twisting double layout move now named after her in the sport's scoring system. Australia's Lauren Mitchell won silver in Delhi and could win another medal this year while, in the absence of Cairns, England will look to the likes of Hannah Whelan and Claudia Fragapane.
16:00 - Table tennis: Defending champion Feng Tianwei, of Singapore, is the favourite to win Friday's women's singles final. However, Singapore team officials have cautioned that India, Australia and Canada have all strengthened their squads in the intervening four years.
Among the home nations' hopes is Tin-Tin Ho, the youngest member of the England table tennis squad at 15 years of age, who was named after her sport (TT equates to "table tennis") by her ping pong-obsessed father, Charles. Along similar lines, her brother is named Ping. The Welsh squad for the women's singles includes 20-year-old twins Angharad and Megan Phillips.
On the men's side, a strong England squad includes Liam Pitchford and Paul Drinkhall alongside the experienced Andrew Baggaley, who won two gold medals in Manchester on the Commonwealth debut of table tennis in 2002. Drinkhall's wife, Joanna, will play in the women's tournament - they won mixed doubles bronze together in Delhi.
17:45 - Lawn bowls: The men's singles final caps the bowls tournament at Glasgow 2014 - an event won by Wales in 2010 courtesy of Rob Weale, who returns to the Commonwealth Games this year as part of a squad in which ages range from the mid-20s to early 70s.
Sam Tolchard , who topped his group in Delhi only to miss out in the semi-finals and lose the bronze medal play-off to Northern Ireland's Gary Kelly, is back in the England team for Glasgow. Kelly, meanwhile, has been replaced for 2014 by Martin McHugh.
19:00 - Athletics: Australian Olympic champion Sally Pearson says she will make a late decision on pairing up the 100m sprint with the hurdles at Glasgow 2014, but Friday's 100m hurdles is her speciality: the 27-year-old won gold in this race in both London and Delhi.
Fitness will be Pearson's issue. She has been nursing a sore hamstring this season and has yet to hit her best form, but she told  Australia's ABC: "I know I have that competitive drive still in me to become a better athlete, a faster athlete and become Commonwealth Games champion."
Few in the Commonwealth are capable of matching Pearson even on a bad day. One of her closest rivals is England's Tiffany Porter, whose best time of the year - 12.71 seconds - is within range of Pearson's 12.59, set back in February.
In the absence of Mo Farah, Kenya look set for success in the men's 10,000m, with Canada's Cameron Levins the fastest in the world this year from any other Commonwealth nation.
Also: Badminton (singles and doubles quarter-finals), boxing (semi-finals), hockey (women's semi-finals), netball (classification matches), squash (women's doubles semi-finals).

Saturday, 2 August

Tom Daley
England's Tom Daley will fight to defend his 2010 Commonwealth title in the individual 10m platform event
Gold medals won today: 33. Athletics (men's 4x100m, 4x400m, 1500m, triple jump and javelin, women's 4x100m, 4x400m, 5000m and pole vault), boxing (13 finals), diving (women's 3m, men's 10m), hockey (women's final), squash (women's doubles), table tennis (men's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles), Para-sport powerlifting (four disciplines).
Day in a sentence: Powerlifting and powerful punches ahead of Daley's dives and a night of relay racing.
Highlights include:
10:00 - Powerlifting: The entire Para-sport event of powerlifting takes place on Saturday, with four gold medals available. A formula which multiplies a competitor's bench press by a figure representing their bodyweight is used to decide the champions.
Natalie Blake and Ali Jawad will compete for England, while Afghanistan war veteran Micky Yule  - injured by an improvised explosive device while serving in 2010 - represents Scotland. Yule, 35, has had more than 40 operations on his long path to recovery. He said: "It can be a bit daunting going through this rollercoaster with all the different operations. Having something like the Commonwealth Games to look forward to helps me get on with my life."
14:00 - Boxing: All 13 boxing titles are decided in two marathon Saturday sessions, including 10 men's events and - for the first time - three women's events. Only two of 10 finals went ahead without British participation in 2010 - resulting in gold medals for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - so expect some success here.
A strong Welsh squad for the men's events includes European champion Andrew Selby and defending Commonwealth bantamweight champion Sean McGoldrick. England's male squad features middleweight world bronze medallist Antony Fowler and two European bronze medallists in Charlie Edwards (flyweight) and Joe Joyce (super-heavyweight). Scottish fighters include Delhi lightweight silver medallist Josh Taylor and Lewis Benson, who came through a selection box-off for his welterweight place.
Northern Ireland's Paddy Barnes is one of his team's biggest medal hopes having won the light-flyweight title in 2010, alongside two Olympic bronze medals and a European gold. "Anything else than gold would be a massive disappointment," the Belfast 27-year-old said in early July.  India's Devendro Singh should be among Barnes' challengers - Barnes beat the 22-year-old in the London 2012 quarter-finals.
Paddy Barnes
Can Paddy Barnes retain his Commonwealth title for Northern Ireland?
Pakistan's nine-man team for the Commonwealth Games have been training at British boxing star Amir Khan's facilities ahead of their contests. Their team, appropriately, includes another boxer named Amir Khan, fighting at light-welterweight. Australia's squad includes heavyweight Jai Opetaia, a cousin of Everton and Australia footballer Tim Cahill.
18:00 - Diving: Saturday's individual 10m platform contest is Tom Daley's signature event, and one he won at Delhi 2010 alongside the synchro gold. Then, he was the world champion with a home Olympic dream ahead of him; now he is the Olympic bronze medallist pushing on to Rio 2016.
In the absence of the sport's dominant Chinese competitors, England's Daley - now 20 - is the favourite. He must watch out for Australia's Matthew Mitcham, New Zealand's Li Feng Yang (who switched nationality when injury brought an early end to his career in China) and Canada's Maxim Bouchard. Bouchard, 23, suffered serious internal injuries when a platform collapsed underneath him  at an event four years ago, but has recovered to make his first Commonwealth Games appearance.
Canada's Pamela Ware and Jennifer Abel lead the rankings in the day's other diving event, the women's 3m springboard, with Australia's Anabelle Smith and England's Hannah Starling also contenders. Grace Reid, who finished sixth aged just 14  in Delhi, competes for Scotland.
19:00 - Athletics: The final night of Commonwealth Games athletics includes the men's and women's 4x100m and 4x400m relays. England won the men's 4x100m gold in Delhi four years ago - Mark Lewis-Francis is the sole member of that team to reach Glasgow and he could be joined by Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Richard Kilty, members of GB's bronze medal-winning team at this year's inaugural World Relays event.
Jason Smyth heads up the Northern Ireland 4x100m team, but Jamaica will start as favourites ahead of Trinidad and Tobago. This is set to be Usain Bolt's night at the Glasgow Games.
Jamaica are again the world-leading women's 100m relay quartet this year, with Veronica Campbell-Brown and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce among the athletes eligible to form their Glasgow team. England, though, won in Delhi with both Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria on form at the World Relays in May. Wales will also be on the start line.
The Bahamas will have been buoyed by the way they ran the United States close for men's 4x400m gold at the World Relays, with Australia the defending Commonwealth champions ahead of Kenya in the men's race. India seem unlikely to keep the women's 4x400m title they won on home soil, leaving England in the reckoning along with Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria. Scottish teams are entered in both races.
Also: Badminton (semi-finals and bronze medal play-offs), netball (semi-finals).

Sunday, 3 August

Linda Clement celebrates scoring against Korea at Glasgow Green
Scotland women's hockey team aim to beat their seventh-place finish at the 2010 Games in Delhi
Gold medals won today: 11. Badminton (men's singles and doubles, women's singles and doubles, mixed doubles), cycling (men's and women's road races), hockey (men's final), netball, squash (men's doubles and mixed doubles).
Day in a sentence: The last remaining sports reach their climax ahead of the closing ceremony.
Highlights include:
08:30 - Cycling road race: If you go shopping in Glasgow on Sunday, be prepared for your day out to involve cyclists: the shops of Argyle Street and Buchanan Street will form the backdrop for parts of the men's and women's road races, which take on a 14km circuit  starting at Glasgow Green.
Mark Cavendish had been a leading contender for men's road race gold, but a crash on the opening day of the Tour de France has ruled the Manxman out. That could leave Scotland's David Millar in the hunt for gold, given that he finished close behind Cavendish in last year's British Championships, held on a similar Glasgow course. Despite Cavendish's absence, the Isle of Man will still have British national road race champion in contention, while Team Sky's Geraint Thomas will sport his Welsh colours.
Many riders are unavailable for selection as a result of pro cycling commitments; for example, Australia will be lacking Cadel Evans, Richie Porte and Mick Rogers, but the likes of Mark Renshaw will still ride in Glasgow despite participating in the Tour de France.
England's Lizzie Armitstead won the women's equivalent of that race and will have riders such as Laura Trott riding in support of her at the Commonwealth Games. Scotland's Claire Thomas , meanwhile, broke her hip in June when her bike slipped on spilled diesel, but is determined to reach the Glasgow road race start line.
10:00 - Badminton: All five individual badminton events come to a close with the men's singles and doubles followed by the women's equivalent and, lastly, the mixed doubles.
England's Rajiv Ouseph lost to Lee Chong Wei in the Delhi 2010 men's singles final, but the Malaysian superstar is missing through injury this year. Will that open the door for Ouseph? He may have to get past India's Parupalli Kashyap and another Malaysian, Chong Wei Feng, both of whom are ahead in the world rankings. India's Saina Nehwal, a gold medallist on home soil at Delhi 2010, remains the women's singles favourite in Glasgow.
Mixed doubles could be the scene of a high-stakes clash between the home nations. English couple Chris and Gabby Adcock are the top-ranked pair in the event, but Scotland's Robert Blair and Imogen Bankier will be hot on their heels for the host nation.
12:30 - Hockey: The men's gold medal should, on paper, belong to Australia - the team ranked first in the world and winners of June's Hockey World Cup. However, highly regarded coach Ric Charlesworth has decided to step down before the Commonwealth Games with his team on top, and Australia's opponents will have to hope that has an impact on their form.
India's men have something to prove. Having lost to Australia in the 2010 Commonwealth final in front of a home crowd, the Indian team went to London 2012 but lost all five of their pool matches, finishing last in the tournament. New Zealand and England, who reached the World Cup semi-finals last month, will also have designs on getting to the final.
13:00 - Netball: Australia should, again, be a fixture in the netball final having won five of the past six world titles. Yet at Delhi 2010, an otherwise-unbeaten Australian team were upset 66-64 by New Zealand in the final.
Going by the world rankings, New Zealand may again reach the final in 2014 but Delhi bronze medallists England will want to get in the way, despite the absence of captain Pamela Cookey. Outsiders for medals on the final day will be Jamaica and Malawi, fourth and fifth respectively four years ago, a result that equalled the best world or Commonwealth performance in Malawi's history.

Glasgow 2014: Andrew Osagie criticises Joe Thomas after protest

England's Andrew Osagie argues with Welshman Joe Thomas
England's Andrew Osagie has criticised Joe Thomas after being disqualified for tangling with his Welsh rival in the heats of the Commonwealth Games 800m.
The world indoor bronze medallist, 26, seemed to block Thomas, 26, as he tried to burst past in the final few metres.
Wales appealed and the Essex athlete was ejected from the competition. A counter appeal confirmed the decision.
"Unbelievable actions to get someone punished despite them not starting the whole thing," Osagie tweeted. 
"Unbelievable decision to allow things to stand.
"Good luck to the rest of Team England in Glasgow... on to Zurich and the European Championships for me."

Andrew Osagie on his disqualification

"Unbelievable actions to get someone punished despite them not starting the whole thing. Unbelievable decision to allow things to stand."
Thomas, though, had a different view.
"I was waiting for a gap to open up and Osagie came across and held his elbows up to try to slow me down," he said.
"Just before the line, there was a fall when he lost his balance. I think he ran out of legs but it's hard to tell."
Thomas will run in the semi-finals, for which he had qualified even before Osagie's disqualification. Initially, Osagie and Thomas would both have gone through, with the Cardiff athlete first confirmed as a fastest loser before being upgraded to an automatic qualifier.
Kenyan Olympic gold medallist and world record holder David Rudisha won the heat, with England's Mukhtar Mohammed and Scotland's Guy Learmouth also going though.

Muller exceptionally valuable to Bayern & Germany, says Magath

Muller exceptionally valuable to Bayern & Germany, says Magath
Former Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath believes Goal 50 star Thomas Muller is one of the Bundesliga champions’ most valuable players and a key man in the recent rejuvenation of both his club and the Germany national sides.
Muller, who finished fifth in Goal’s annual list charting the 50 greatest footballers in the world, became a world champion with Germany in the summer to follow a season in which Bayern won the Bundesliga, the Club World Cup, the DFB-Pokal and the Uefa Super Cup.
And Magath, who is now manager at English Championship side Fulham, insists that Muller continues to prove his incredible worth to any team.
“Thomas Muller is extremely important and exceptionally valuable for a team,” Magath told Sportmasta. “He is very strong without the ball and makes it very difficult to predict what he is going to do next.
The 24-year-old netted 26 goals in 51 games for Bayern last term before bagging five more at the World Cup, including a hat-trick against Portugal. But even beyond his goalscoring exploits, Magath says Muller has so much more to his game that helps his team-mates to succeed.
“Muller does not necessarily orient himself to tactics and that is his big strength. The way he moves is clever and helps the team.
“I like players who sacrifice themselves for the team, and Thomas Muller is a fantastic team player and a great footballer.”

Ronaldo, Messi, Robben - who will win the 2013-14 Goal 50?

Ronaldo, Messi, Robben - who will win the 2013-14 Goal 50? There are many worthy contenders for the accolade after a season in which the prizes were shared around, making this the closest race for the award yet Real Madrid finally clinched la Decima and that will likely stand out as the most enduring of last season's title wins. The 10th Champions League triumph had sealed mythical status long before Iker Casillas lifted the trophy in Lisbon and many of Real's stars are deserving of the title.

So too, however, are those in the ranks of the beaten finalists, Atletico Madrid. Diego Simeone shocked the world in assembling a team good enough to win the Liga title ahead of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Their success was forged on collective strength, much like Bayern Munich's domestic double, meaning selecting only one player worthy of individual praise might be a difficult process.

Germany captain Philipp Lahm is bidding farewell to the national team after 10 years of service and is doing so as a World Cup winner. For a long portion of his career it seemed certain that Lahm would be cursed as a nearly-man on the biggest stages. He was adept at hoovering up the domestic prizes but glory on the European and world platforms - for club and country - eluded him. Yet the last two years have, perhaps, been the most effective of Lahm's career as Bayern clinched a treble and a double and Germany took top honours in Brazil.

No one player better encapsulates the calculated rationality of both teams' successes than the inimitable Lahm. As a right-back, or even a central midfielder, he is virtually unsurpassed. He was flawless as Bayern swept the board with a domestic double and a Club World Cup to boot and played some of the best football of his international career in the latter stages of the World Cup when his experience and know-how came in useful for a youthful squad.


GOING OUT ON A HIGH | Lahm departs a World Cup-winning captain

Thomas Muller was the best player in the best team at the World Cup. He added five goals to his finals tally to take it to 10 and was the prominent player in all Germany's matches up to and including the final. He is a favourite of Joachim Low for good reason. In truth, there were better individuals in Bayern Munich's season and Muller even had trouble convincing Pep Guardiola that he was the man to start in some of the bigger matches during the season. There is no doubt, however, that Muller proved his worth in Brazil.

Club-mate Arjen Robben did what a lot of other high-profile players could not - a strong club season followed by a decisive showing in Brazil at the World Cup. Louis van Gaal set up his Netherlands team to extract maximum effectiveness from Robin van Persie and fellow Dutch veteran Robben and the duo responded spectacularly. From the opening-day demolition of Spain to the final nail in the Luiz Felipe Scolari regime's coffin, Robben was relentless and deserving of the title of the World Cup's best player.

He had been Bayern's best player, too, all season long as they won another double. He was instrumental in their Bundesliga title win - secured by March - as well as their DFB-Pokal victory over Borussia Dortmund in Berlin. This is a player who, two years ago, looked to be on the way out and destined for the scrapheap but he has emerged as one of the world's most influential stars for club and country. This was his best season yet.

Lionel Messi boasts a goal-scoring record that is still beyond reproach but there is little doubt that he's slowing. It would be a safe bet to suggest that his three most productive seasons are behind rather than in front of him. Last season, Messi missed lots of football through injury as 10 relentless years without a notable break began to betray the strain. His numbers were down on the season before, both in terms of goals scored and matches played, as Barcelona and Tato Martino conjured ways to win without him. Alexis Sanchez and Neymar deputised capably to the extent that in certain matches Messi was shunted back out to the right wing. The World Cup, however, put the Argentina captain back in the conversation for the individual awards. His campaign was littered with moments of era-defining magic although he and his team-mates ultimately came up short. Goals against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria might not be enough to see Messi emerge on top.


BEST OF THE BEST? | Messi was crowned with the World Cup Golden Ball

Conversely, Messi's great rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, boasted an outstanding club campaign before stalling at the World Cup. Ronaldo struggled with injury for much of his Real Madrid season, despite his exemplary play, and carrying a modest Portugal team proved beyond even his capabilities. There was even talk at one stage of Ronaldo sitting out the World Cup such were the effects of his thigh and knee injuries and now, aged 29, he needs care and attention to be 100 per cent ready for the season ahead.

Real Madrid cannot do without him and even accounting for the presence of many other great talents in the ranks at the Bernabeu, no one player bore more responsibility for their Decima triumph than the great Ronaldo. He scored a Champions League record number of goals - 17 - en route to the title in Lisbon, including Real's crowning glory in the final. The celebration was criticised as being overblown but for the manner in which Ronaldo, sometimes beneath full fitness, carried Real to the title, he deserved it.

The one player, however, who commanded more headlines than any other last season was Luis Suarez. He began the campaign for Liverpool on the sidelines serving a suspension for biting and ended it the same way but as Barcelona's new superstar. It has, like everything with Suarez, been an explosive journey.

On the field, he was the catalyst in Liverpool's title challenge and return to the Champions League. His goals came in all forms, from all angles, and he deservedly picked up England's individual awards at the end of the season. A knee injury threatened to drain his World Cup impact but he was fit enough to make a significant contribution for Uruguay against England. His entire season, not unlike his career to this point, has been overshadowed by controversy. The latest incident, a bite on Giorgio Chiellini, was deemed one step too far for Fifa, but should not obscure the fact that Suarez was close to the perfect player last season.

Neymar the only Brazilian in Goal 50

Neymar the only Brazilian in Goal 50

The Barcelona star has made the prestigious 2014 list, which will be announced later on Monday, but he is the only player from his country to be included
Barcelona forward Neymar has been named in the 2014 Goal 50, which will be revealed in full at 1430CET on Monday.

The 22-year-old takes his place following his exploits for Brazil at the World Cup. The attacker scored four goals to take the Selecao to the semi-finals, but was sorely missed after suffering a fractured vertebra in the quarter-final victory over Colombia.

Neymar is the only Brazilian to make the 2014 list, as football's most successful nation pays the price for its spectacular 7-1 thrashing by Germany.
GOAL 50 PAST WINNERS
2008 CRISTIANO RONALDO
2009 LIONEL MESSI
2010 WESLEY SNEIJDER
2011 LIONEL MESSI
2012 CRISTIANO RONALDO
2013 LIONEL MESSI

The Goal 50 is our prestigious annual award that recognises and ranks the world's 50 best footballers of the season.

Previous winners include Cristiano Ronaldo, Wesley Sneijder and the current title holder Lionel Messi.

Voted for by editors from Goal’s 35 editions representing more than 600 journalists, the Goal 50 provides an unparalleled insight into the highest achievers in all positions and across all continents, unearthing many of the future stars of the game.

The 2014 Goal 50 will be revealed in full at 1430CET, followed by reaction, features, interviews, video and much, much more.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Who do you believe should win the Goal 50 for 2014?

'Football and competition are in my blood' - Cristiano Ronaldo talks Goal 50,

'Football and competition are in my blood' - Cristiano Ronaldo talks Goal 50, Real Madrid & his hopes for new season
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: The Real Madrid star is honoured to top Goal's list for the third time, but says team glory is what really motivates him and he wants more silverware in 2014-15
By David Atana & Ben Hayward

For the second time in three years and third time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed the Goal 50 award for the finest footballer over a single season.

The prestigious prize, chosen by Goal's 600 editors, is the final accolade in a crowning campaign that will live long in the memory.

When Ronaldo inaugurated his own personal museum in Madeira last December, some mocked the Portuguese for the scarce amount of silverware he had claimed in his first four seasons at Real Madrid, while others pointed to the long list of titles won by Lionel Messi. As has been the case so often in his career, however, Ronaldo silenced the critics.
Sportmasta was present as he cut the tape to unveil his collection in Funchal, presenting him with an updated version of the 2012 trophy which is currently on display. Now he has another one to sit alongside it.

"It’s a very big honour for me to have been chosen as the best player," Ronaldo told Goal after his latest triumph.

"I’m sincerely grateful for this award. I also want to thank the fans for their support and for their passion for the game, which is what makes this sport so fascinating throughout the world."
The year began with his second Ballon d'Or. He added a second Pichichi prize to his collection by topping the goal charts in La Liga and another Golden Shoe for Europe's leading scorer after he netted 31 times in the Primera Division to tie with former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez. He has now become only the second player - alongside Messi - to win the Goal 50 award for a third time.

"Over and above individual prizes, I have always maintained that it’s the teams, your team-mates and the fans that make each of us better as footballers," Ronaldo added. "Therefore, I’m convinced that I wouldn’t have been able to win this award without the constant support from all the people at Real Madrid."

Without his goals, however, Madrid almost certainly would not have enjoyed such spectacular success in 2013-14. Even though Cristiano missed the final of the Copa del Rey as Real beat Barcelona, he had hit three goals en route to the Mestalla showpiece, while his 17 strikes in the Champions League represents a new record, surpassing the mark of 14 in a single edition of the continental competition set by Jose Altafini in 1962-63 and Messi in 2011-12.

Remarkably, those 17 goals came in just 11 games as Ronaldo became the first player to score in eight consecutive Champions League matches. He also netted in every round of the knockout phase, including two in the 4-0 win at Bayern Munich in the semi-finals and a penalty in the 4-1 extra-time victory against Atletico that sealed the trophy in Lisbon.

"Was there room in his museum for La Decima?" a Spanish journalist had asked Ronaldo in December. "There's always room for La Decima," he replied.
  Winner | Ronaldo receives the Goal 50 trophy from Editorial Director Graham Shaw in Los Angeles
In 2013-14, Ronaldo fired Portugal past Sweden in their World Cup play-off with all four of his side's goals in the two-legged tie to seal a place at Brazil 2014. He also became the nation's all-time top goalscorer by surpassing former team-mate Pauleta (47 international goals) and reached 50 strikes for his country at the World Cup, where he was some way short of full fitness and ultimately unable to help his team avoid an early exit from the competition - the only low point in what is his most memorable year to date.

Now, he's back in full training with Madrid and after collecting the Goal 50 trophy from Editorial Director Graham Shaw at the club's summer base in Los Angeles, he's raring to go again. The club will compete for six titles in 2014-15 and Ronaldo wants them all.

"My aims for the coming season are the same as always: to fight from the start of every training session to the last minute of every match," he said.

"My wish is for Real Madrid to lift all of the trophies possible. Our club, our coaching staff, my great team-mates and myself, we will do everything we possibly can - day in, day out and week in, week out - to bring as much joy as possible to our magnificent fans.

"Football and competition are in my blood."

Man Utd's defensive worries grow as Rafael leaves US tour

Man Utd's defensive worries grow as Rafael leaves US tour
The Brazilian right-back is expected to play as a right wing-back in Louis van Gaal's 3-4-1-2 system next season, but has been forced to return to Carrington with a groin problem
Manchester United defender Rafael will miss the remaining games of the club's tour of the United States after suffering a groin injury.
The Brazilian full-back, 24, picked up the injury in the lead-up to United's 3-2 win over Roma in the International Champions Cup on Saturday.
Though the extent of the problem remains unknown, it will come as a blow to manager Louis van Gaal, who will implement a wing-back system at Old Trafford next season and is short on defensive options.
The Dutchman is in the market for reinforcements following the departures of Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra, as well as the necessity of playing three central defenders in his 3-4-1-2 formation.
Rafael had been expected to take a right-sided wing-back role, with Antonio Valencia providing competition for places given the lack of a second-choice right-back.
Phil Jones and Chris Smalling had provided cover for the Brazilian last season, but they are currently two of the club's only three senior centre-backs.
Rafael will undergo treatment at the club's training base with a view to rejoining his team mates later in the summer.
"Rafael has returned to Manchester to continue treatment on the groin injury sustained in training in Denver," a statement published on the club's official website read.
"As he was unlikely to participate in the remaining tour games, returning to the Aon Training Complex affords the best overall option for his recovery in time to continue pre-season preparation when the team returns."
United have scheduled matches against Inter and Real Madrid at the ICC before a clash against Valencia at Old Trafford on August 12.
Louis van Gaal's men open their Premier League campaign at home to Swansea City four days later.

No mind games with Mourinho, says Van Gaal

No mind games with Mourinho, says Van Gaal
The newly appointed Red Devils manager calls his Blues counterpart a "friend" and insists that he will not be "falling out" with any Premier League opponents this season
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal insists that there will be no risk of confrontation between him and his "friend", Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.

The Dutchman, newly installed at Old Trafford, indicated on Saturday that he would talk to his Blues counterpart about his comments on the Red Devils' signing of Luke Shaw.

Mourinho is well known for playing mind-games with his rivals, while Van Gaal himself is an outspoken figure, but the 62-year-old does not expect any wars of words with the Portuguese or anyone else.

"I don't think I will fall out with him. Mourinho is my friend," he told reporters. "I don't think I will fall out with all the other managers. I have full respect for all my colleagues.

"For me mind games are not so interesting. I have to manage my club. That is already difficult enough. I am not concerned with other clubs or other managers."

United and Chelsea will meet for the first time in 2014-15 at Old Trafford on October 26.

Drogba targets fourth Premier League title with Chelsea



The striker has penned a one-year deal to return to Stamford Bridge and hopes to help the club win their first league win since 2010 after linking up with Jose Mourinho once again
Didier Drogba has set his sights on winning the Premier League for a fourth time after rejoining Chelsea.

The veteran striker is back at Stamford Bridge after leaving in 2012, penning a one-year deal, and is hoping to help the London outfit claim their first league title in over four years.

"I'm not coming here to break records, I just want to win trophies," Drogba told the club's official website.

"Five years is a long time not to win the Premier League, so I want to win it. To lift the Premier League trophy is a fantastic feeling and we haven't experienced it for a few years - it's too long for a club like ours."

Drogba initially joined Chelsea in 2004 as one of Jose Mourinho's first signings during the Portuguese's first stint at the Chelsea helm.

He went on to score 157 goals for the London club and the winning penalty as Chelsea defeated Bayern Munich in a shootout to win the 2011-12 Champions League.

"It's amazing to be back, a great feeling," Drogba added. "It was an easy decision to make; it's very difficult to say no to Jose and to Chelsea.

"He's the one who gave me a chance to play in the Premier League. We won so many trophies together and so many matches on the pitch.

"His relationship is not only with me, it's with all the players who were here from the beginning of the story. It's quite emotional but the most important thing is that we want to win, win, win."

Liverpool sign Dejan Lovren from Southampton for £20m

Dejan Lovren
Liverpool have made Southampton defender Dejan Lovren their fifth summer signing in a deal worth £20m.
The 25-year-old Croatia centre-back joins on a four-year contract and is the third Saints player to move to Anfield during this transfer window.
He had spoken publicly about his wish to make the switch and follows former team-mates Rickie Lambert, 32, and Adam Lallana, 25.
Reds boss Brendan Rodgers said: "This is a very important signing for us."
Lovren will join up with the squad on their US tour.
He said: "After I played at Anfield last season, I said to myself: 'One day I hope I'll be able to play here for Liverpool'."
Rodgers told Liverpool's official website:  "He is a commanding and powerful presence and clearly has leadership skills, which is important - he fits the profile of player we are looking for.
"He is still relatively young, so his peak years are ahead of him and I believe he will improve and progress even further with us."
Saints boss Ronald Koeman says the club are "close" to signing a replacement.

Liverpool's summer signings so far

Striker Rickie Lambert, 32, was signed for £4m from Southampton
Midfielder Adam Lallana, 25, was signed for £25m from Southampton
Midfielder Emre Can, 20, was signed for £10m from Bayer Leverkusen
Winger Lazar Markovic, 20, was signed for £20m from Benfica
Defender Dejan Lovren, 25, was signed for £20m from Southampton
Liverpool have already bought striker Lambert and midfielder Lallana from Southampton this summer and Lovren's addition means they have paid the South Coast club £49m in transfer fees in the last three months.
However, Lallana will miss the start of the new Premier League season with a knee injury.
Lovren, who joined Southampton from Lyon for £8.5m last summer, leaves St Mary's 12 months into a four-year contract.
With Luke Shaw joining Manchester United for £27m and Calum Chambers set to sign for Arsenal in a deal in the region of £16m, Southampton will have sold five players for a total of approximately £92m.
Koeman has also confirmed the club are looking to offload £15m striker Dani Osvaldo, while Arsenal have enquired about midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, 24, and Tottenham are interested in striker Jay Rodriguez, also 24.

Mourinho: It feels like Drogba never left Chelsea

Mourinho: It feels like Drogba never left Chelsea
The 36-year-old has returned to Stamford Bridge one a one-year deal after leaving in 2012 and the manager, who brought him to the club 10 years ago, is thrilled with his comeback
Jose Mourinho has hailed Didier Drogba's return to Chelsea and expects the striker to have a big impact this season.

The Cote d'Ivoire international penned a one-year deal last Friday following the expiry of his Galatasaray contract, after originally enjoying an eight-year spell at Stamford Bridge between 2004 and 2012.

Drogba hit 157 goals in 341 appearances during his first stint and is a firm fans' favourite, having scored a late equaliser followed by the winning spot-kick as Chelsea won the Champions League in his last match.

The 36-year-old joined Chelsea's squad on Sunday as they defeated Olimpija 2-1 in a pre-season friendly, but did not play a role in the match and Mourinho is thrilled to be able to call upon Drogba again.

"First of all when he came, it looks like he never left the club," Mourinho told reporters. "It was so normal, nothing new at all because he knows everybody and everybody knows him.

"He was ever present even when he wasn't here. Chelsea belonged to him, even in the last two years when he was away playing in a Galatasaray and Shanghai [Shenhua] shirt.

"So it looks like he just went for a short holiday and came back, so everything is normal. But yes, I think we need him. We need him as a player for our squad to be the way I like.

"I like a squad with different qualities, not just as football players but also in terms of personalities. I like to have players with different personalities. As a player and person, Didier is somebody we need to be strong."

Chelsea confirmed on Monday that Drogba will wear the No.15 shirt, the same as during his first spell, with Mohamed Salah taking No.17 after Eden Hazard opted to take the No.10 shirt for the new season.

Mourinho: Modric rejected Chelsea move

Mourinho: Modric rejected Chelsea move
The Portuguese worked with the midfielder during his time at Real Madrid and was keen to lure the 28-year-old to Stamford Bridge
Jose Mourinho has revealed he approached Luka Modric about a possible move to Chelsea but the Croatia international rejected him to stay at Real Madrid.

The 28-year-old midfielder joined the Spanish club from Tottenham in 2012 and worked under Mourinho for a season before the Portuguese left for Chelsea.

Reports have suggested that the pair could be reunited at Stamford Bridge this summer but Mourinho claims Modric will remain at Madrid.

"I called Modric only privately but he doesn't want [to join] Chelsea,” Mourinho told Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti.

"You know I really appreciate Luka Modric and his qualities. But he stays in Real Madrid.”

Modric made 49 appearances in all competitions for Madrid last season, scoring two goals and providing eight assists, while Manchester United have also been linked with a bid for the 28-year-old.

Everton agree TWO Lukaku deals

Everton agree TWO Lukaku deals
 The Toffees could land the striker permanently or on a loan deal, while Southampton pull out all the stops to try to keep Morgan Schneiderlin EVERTON AGREE TWO LUKAKU DEALS

Everton have agreed two different deals with Chelsea for the potential signing of Romelu Lukaku, Sportmasta understands.

Lukaku is keen to return to Goodison Park on a permanent basis after a successful loan spell and the Toffees have prepared a deal worth around €25 million to sign the Belgium international.

But Chelsea and Blues boss Jose Mourinho are yet to decide whether or not to let Lukaku leave Stamford Bridge permanently this summer.

The striker could instead find himself on loan to Everton for a second season - his third consecutive campaign with another club since moving to Stamford Bridge after spending 2012-13 with West Brom.

Despite Lukaku scoring more than 25 goals over the last two seasons, Mourinho has made two significant signings to bolster his attacking options this summer.

Diego Costa has moved to Chelsea from La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, while Didier Drogba has returned to the club to reunite with Mourinho.
FOOT INJURY COULD LEAVE 'THE BEAST' MARGINALISED

Alvaro Negredo could find himself out in the cold from Manchester City's Champions League squad list following his broken foot.

The Spain striker is out for three months after recent scans confirmed the severity of the injury he picked up in a friendly against Dundee.

Negredo, 28, hopes to be back quicker but City boss Manuel Pellegrini is now considering all his options, including not registering 'The Beast' for Europe.

City's imminent €37.5m capture of Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala will mean the club have to leave some foreign players out of their Champions League squad to comply with Uefa's quota of 16.

Negredo has been targeted by both Madrid clubs this summer and they could be back in January if he is not cup tied in Europe.

City also have the knowledge of being able to register the forward in January, should they progress further in Europe.

SAINTS MAKE LAST DITCH BID TO KEEP SCHNEIDERLIN


Southampton will offer Morgan Schneiderlin the captaincy and a pay rise in a last ditch bid to prevent him joining the club's exodus of star players.

The Saints are playing hardball over a fee for the midfielder despite strong interest from Arsenal and Tottenham, who value him at around €19m.

New manager Ronald Koeman will tell Schneiderlin he is central to his plans for next season when the France international reports for pre-season training on Monday.

Southampton are prepared to offer the 24-year-old several inducements, including the captaincy and better financial terms in an attempt to keep him for at least one more season. Schneiderlin is contracted to the south coast club for three more years.

Arsenal and Spurs have both held talks with Southampton regarding Schneiderlin and could look for the player to force a move if his club continue to block any deal.

The Saints have already cashed in on Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and Rickie Lambert, and have agreed to sell Dejan Lovren and Calum Chambers to Liverpool and Arsenal respectively.

Signing €20m Chambers is a gamble for Arsenal, admits Wenger

Signing €20m Chambers is a gamble for Arsenal, admits Wenger
The Gunners are set to announce the Southampton defender’s signature imminently and the French boss has lauded the Englishman's ability to play in a variety of positions
Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Arsenal are set to sign Southampton youngster Calum Chambers, thought admits the deal is a “gamble”.

The Gunners are set to announce the 19-year-old’s transfer imminently after he agreed terms on a €20 million move to the Emirates Stadium.

And while Wenger lauded his soon-to-be-announced recruit’s versatility, he was keen to play down expectations and stressed that he had the long-term in mind when signing the England Under-19 international.

“He can play at centre-back, right-back and central midfield,” the French boss told reporters. “I hope he will give us competition for the players in these three positions.

“He hasn't played many games, no, but the English players on the market in England are very expensive and at the end of the day I was ready to take a gamble because he is a player for the future.”

Chambers is likely to act as cover and competition for Mathieu Debuchy, who joined the FA Cup winners from Newcastle earlier this summer, and his arrival could allow Carl Jenkinson to leave the club.

The Southampton youth product will follow in the footsteps of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain by moving to Arsenal, and he could yet be joined in north London by Saints team-mate Morgan Schneiderlin.

The Gunners have redoubled their efforts to sign the France international in a bid to beat off stiff competition for the midfielder’s signature from Tottenham.