Boys
Liverpool fans show full support for Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool fans have thrown their full support behind under-fire Reds boss Jurgen Klopp by hanging a heartfelt banner outside of Anfield The Reds slipped to their third consecutive Premier League defeat on Saturday as Leicester City fought from behind to claim a 3-1 victory at the King Power. And Liverpool have now fallen 13 points behind league leaders Manchester City, who still have a match in hand. Klopp, who has come under increasing pressure as Liverpool’s form has slipped, appeared on the verge of tears as he conceded that the title race is over for the Reds. The 53-year-old German has also dealt with heartbreak off the field after his mother, Elisabeth, passed away and he was unable to travel to Germany for the funeral. Liverpool fans have rallied around Klopp as a banner was spotted...
Super Eagles boss wants Ahmed Musa to sort out his career before Afcon qualifiers
Nigeria national team coach Gernot Rohr hopes to see his captain Ahmed Musa back to action ahead of their 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in March. The three-time African champions will take on the Republic of Benin and Lesotho in their last Afcon qualifying games next month. Musa has been without a club since October when he left Saudi Arabian side Al Nass by mutual agreement. The forward starred for Russian Premier League club CSKA Moscow before moving to England to team up with Leicester City. The Super Eagles winger struggled to establish himself at the King Power Stadium and in an effort to enjoy more playing time, he left for Saudi in 2018. The forward is now looking to returning to Europe and has been heavily linked to Premier League club West Bromwich Albion. Rohr is hopeful ...
Abuja residents: Why we buy ‘second hand’ clothes
Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari Area Council say they patronise the clothes not only because of its affordability but also for the upgraded standard. The buyers spoke in separate interviews with newsmen at the Dutse-Alhaji market on Sunday in Abuja. The buyers were seen patronising the items from their dealers in the market, which was known for the cheap sale of second hand clothing in the district. Ada Micheal, one of the buyers, told newsmen that when it came to especially shoes, school or women bags, she preferred the second hand ones because they were almost new and last longer. ” Not all of these items you see here are fairly used; most of them are new or almost new. ” Some even come with tags from probably the stores they were initially hung for sale or...
Jurgen Klopp: Mo Salah is happy at Liverpool
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp moved to dismiss speculation over Egypt forward Mohamed Salah’s future saying on Thursday he is happy at the Premier League champions. The 28-year-old gave an interview in Spain last week in which he said Barcelona and Real Madrid were top clubs and “who knows what will happen in the future”. This led to speculation over whether he was seeking a new longer-term contract beyond 2023 or he was upset Trent Alexander-Arnold had been given the captain’s armband for the Champions League group match with Midtjylland. “We do not speak about deals — well, not with you (the media). Why should we start now?” said Klopp at his press conference ahead of Sunday’s game with struggling West Brom. “Mo is in a good mood, always a good moment. He is in really good shape and that ...
Tottenham boss ‘angry’ with Dele Alli for creating ‘problems for his own team’
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has hit out at Dele Alli, accusing the midfielder of creating “problems for his own team” in his side’s 3-1 win over Stoke in the Carabao Cup. Alli was handed a rare start at Stoke on Wednesday and looked dangerous on occasions in attack, seeing a goal-bound strike saved by Andy Lonergan in the first half. However, he was at fault for Stoke’s goal when a flick gifted possession to the home side – and it was an action that angered his coach. “For me a player who plays in that position is a player that has to link and create and not create problems for his own team,” Mourinho said in his post-match press conference. “They got us on the counterattack, so yes I was angry. “First half we were solid. They didn’t touch the ball, have a shot, have a corner. Instead of ...
National Assembly raises 2021 budget by N580 billion, approves N13.588 trillion
The two chambers of the National Assembly yesterday passed the 2021 Appropriation Bill, increasing the budget size from N13.08 trillion presented to them by President Muhamnadu Buhari 11 weeks ago to N13.588 trillion. The passage of the 2021 budget followed consideration and adoption of harmonised reports separately submitted to them by their Committees on Appropriation. The two chambers increased the 2021 budget by about N580 billion and pegged daily crude oil production at 1.86 million barrels per day, while oil benchmark price was fixed at $40 per barrel. They approved N379 to dollar as the official exchange rate while GDP growth rate was pegged at 3 per cent. Highlights of the report approved by the Senate showed aggregate expenditure to be N13,588,027,886,175, statutory transfer of N4...
Farm labourer ‘kills’ colleague in hemp plantation
A 23-year-old laborer, Benedict Owalun, has been arrested by the police in Ondo State for allegedly killing his colleague simply identified as Ekong inside an Indian hemp farm in Ipele in Owo Local Government Area of the state. The suspect allegedly beheaded Ekong during a fight between them inside an Indian hemp plantation. Both the suspect and the deceased were said to be working with others on the plantation located at Ipele in Owo Local Government Area of the state when the incident happened. Owalun, an indigene of Cross Rivers State said that he had suspected the deceased to be behind his predicaments, hence his action. He said the deceased had threatened to deal with him spiritually. Owalum said he had noticed that his manhood was no longer functioning and the deceased often threaten...
APC promises conducive environment for Kankara abducted boys
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rendered an unreserved apology to the students abducted from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, promising that President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling party will do all it takes to ensure that they continue to study in a safe environment. The ruling party in a statement signed by the National Chairman, Mai Mala Buni, noted that it received with joy and glad heart the release and return of the students who were abducted by terrorists. The party further noted that the news was not just elating, but it was gladdening and relieving. “We want to congratulate the parents of the children and also apologize on behalf of our party that one of our biggest promises was security and although we are doing our utmost best, such incidenc...
Jose Mourinho drums support for under-fire Steven Bergwijn
Tottenham Hotspur coach Jose Mourinho said the team are supporting Dutchman Steven Bergwijn who missed two clear chances in Wednesday’s top-of-the-table clash at Liverpool and received criticism on social media after the 2-1 defeat. “I don’t know what I can do apart from the player knowing in this club we are all together,” Mourinho told a news conference ahead of Sunday’s game at home to Leicester City. “We lose, we win and we draw all together. So he has us and we have him. In here we don’t feel any individual criticism, we never feel it that way, it is always about us, so no problem. “He’s one of my boys, period. There is no point to boo, to individualise. He’s a good professional, he works hard for the team, he gives everything he can.” Second-placed Spurs slipped three points behind L...
Families of kidnapped Katsina schoolboys fear time running out
Families of more than 300 kidnapped Nigerian schoolboys worried they may be brainwashed or held for years as security forces combed a vast forest on Wednesday for armed captors possibly from the jihadist Boko Haram movement. According to an unverified audio clip, the Islamist group – whose name means “Western education is forbidden” – was responsible for last week’s raid on an all-boys school in the town of Kankara in northwestern Katsina state. Parents fear time may be running out: Boko Haram has a history of turning captives into jihadist fighters. “They will radicalise our children if the government does not act fast to help us rescue them,” said trader Shuaibu Kankara, crying as he spoke from home. His 13-year-old son Annas was among those abducted from the Government Science school on...
Senate summons minister, service chiefs over Kankara kidnapping
The Senate, on Tuesday, invited the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd.), service chiefs and heads of other security agencies to brief it on measure being taken to rescue the abducted students of Government Science School, Kankara Katsina State. This followed a motion by Senator Bello Mandiya (APC, Katsina South), who noted that the abduction is coming on the heels of yet to be resolved abduction of 270 girls at Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in 2014, and abduction of about 100 school girls at Government Girls Science and Technical School, Dapchi, Yobe State in 2018. He expressed concern that like the other incidents of school children abduction that took place in Chibok and Dapchi, if no immediate action was taken to rescue Kankara School boys, their fate...
Jurgen Klopp: I thought VAR was a good idea, but now I’m not so sure
Jurgen Klopp admits he may have changed his mind about the need for VAR in football, after another incident-filled match for his Liverpool side in the Champions League. The Reds’ 1-1 draw with Danish champions FC Midtjylland on Wednesday saw a number of interventions from the video assistant referee. First Midtjylland were awarded a penalty for a foul by Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher on Anders Dreyer. The forward had initially been flagged offside by the assistant referee but replays showed, eventually at least, that he had been onside, though there was a lengthy delay as the referee headed to the pitchside monitor to rule on Kelleher’s subsequent challenge. Andreas Scholz converted from the spot to equalise for the home side after Mohamed Salah had opened the scoring. There was m...
