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The Dutch coach is refusing to entertain any more questions about the Manchester United captain after his side fired blanks once again, this time in the Manchester derby Manchester United  manager  Louis van Gaal  lashed out at critics for constantly discussing  Wayne Rooney , saying he would not answer more questions about the striker because he is "sick of it". The Old Trafford side missed the opportunity to go top of the Premier League with a dull 0-0 draw against neighbours Manchester City, with an attack led by captain Rooney guilty of firing blanks. However, his boss Van Gaal has had enough of the scrutiny being placed on the 30-year-old, and struck out at the England forward's critics following the result. "I have to talk every week about Rooney, why?" the Dutchman said to reporters. "Write it down, it's your opinion. I don't give any more answers about Rooney because I'm sick of it." The striker has endured a underwhelming sta

The former Real Madrid boss was sent to the stands as his side were beaten by West Ham after Nemanja Matic was dismissed in the first half by referee Jon Moss Chelsea  manager  Jose Mourinho  swerved his media duties after being sent to the stands during his side's  2-1  defeat to  West Ham . Andy Carroll's header secured the three points for Slaven Bilic's side after Nemanja Matic was sent off for the Blues in the first half, with Mourinho visibly unhappy at referee Jon Moss. Mourinho was subsequently sent off himself after an incident in the tunnel at half-time, and watched the second-half from the stands at Upton Park.  And the former Real Madrid boss then chose not to fulfill his post-match media duties as no member of Chelsea's staff spoke to the press at the Boleyn Ground. Unverified reports suggested that Mourinho headed for the team bus immediately after full-time, with pressure beginning to mount over the Blues's poor start to the 2015-16 season.  Che

The Blues' defeat to West Ham means they have picked up just 11 points from 10 games, while the Hammers are enjoying their best ever start to a campaign Chelsea lost their fifth league game of the season as they went down 2-1 to West Ham on Saturday and in doing so set a new record for their worst ever start to a Premier League season. The Blues - who won the title last term - are sat in 15th place having picked up just 11 points from their first 10 games. Jose Mourinho's side have already conceded 21 goals, having let in just 32 in the whole of last season. Their plight is in stark contrast to the Hammers, whose haul of 20 points represents their finest start to a campaign since the division was formed in 1992. Slaven Bilic's men have struggled at home but bucked that trend to pick up their sixth win this term, which leaves them in second place in the table.

Eden Hazard  has kept his place in the  Chelsea  starting XI after  Jose Mourinho  named an unchanged team against  West Ham . The Belgium international was left out of the Blues' win over Aston Villa in their last Premier League outing, but having been recalled against Dynamo Kiev in midweek he retains his place for the trip to the Boleyn Ground. Mourinho's side remain unchanged from the draw in Kiev, with the Portuguese manager indicating on Friday that he was unsure whether Hazard would continue in his role on the left of Chelsea's attack.  Nemanja Matic, who has been relegated to the bench at times this season, also keeps his place in the starting line-up, with the Blues manager speaking positively about the Serbian's man-of-the-match performance against Dynamo.  West Ham, meanwhile, continue with a largely consistent first-team, though James Collins deputises for the injured Winston Reid at centre-back, while captain Mark Noble continues to marshall the midfiel

Jose Mourinho  says  Chelsea  should not be judged until December, when every club has played each other at least once. The Blues defence of their Premier League title has got off to a disappointing start and they go into this weekend’s game against West Ham in 12th position with just 11 points from nine matches. Slaven Bilic's side sit fourth with 17 points after an impressive run of form which has seen them win away at Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, but Mourinho believes it is pointless to get too carried away with the table at this stage of the season. “We used to say that half of the championship, end of December, you get a better picture,” the Portuguese coach said. “Everybody will have played 19 matches. Half way is a good moment to look at the table, but every moment means something. At this moment [West Ham] are where they are, not because someone gave them something, but because they played for it. “I like my team to win the next match. I don't want to spe

The Dutch international opened the scoring as Pep Guardiola's side continued their 100 percent start to the Bundesliga season with a comfortable four-goal win at the Allianz Arena Arjen Robben opened the scoring and played a starring role on his return from injury as Bayern Munich eased to a 4-0 Bundesliga win over Cologne.  The Dutch winger was a surprise inclusion in Pep Guardiola's starting XI for a first appearance since suffering a thigh injury while playing for his country last month.  Having earlier tested Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn, Robben put the defending champions in front in the 35th minute and Arturo Vidal made it 2-0 at half-time.  Robert Lewandowski continued his rich vein of goalscoring form by heading a third just after the hour, and a Thomas Muller penalty ensured Guardiola's team bounced back from the midweek Champions League defeat to Arsenal by emphatically keeping their 100 per cent league record intact.  Cologne crafted an early chance on t

Manuel Pellegrini's side sit two points clear at the top of the Premier League heading into Sunday's clash at Old Trafford, and the Red Devils boss feels his team are underdogs Manchester United  manager  Louis van Gaal  believes  Manchester City  are the favourites heading into Sunday's derby clash. Manuel Pellegrini's side sit two points clear at the top of the Premier League table with United in third, and the Red Devils boss feels his side are underdogs at Old Trafford. “You have to ask the fans who are the favourites. It’s not so important who is the favourite. If you look at the facts, they are first. They are the favourites I think," he told reporters. "We are second or third, there is a goal difference and a point difference, so I think they are the favourites." United travelled to Moscow to face CSKA in the Champions League on Wednesday - eventually drawing 1-1 - while City faced Sevilla at home, winning 2-1 thanks to a late Kevin De Bruyne

The forward has been handed a lifeline by the Black Cats after been shipped out of by Die Königsblauen owing to injury woes Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce has confirmed the club have handed a trial to Nigeria international Chinedu Obasi. The 29-year-old was released from German side Schalke 04 in the summer owing incessant injury woes, and the Black Cats who are aiming to revive their stuttering start in the English topflight are keen to sign him should he impress during his probationary stay at the Stadium of Light. "There's a triallist in at the moment. He used to play for Schalke but he's been injured," Allardyce was quoted by  Skysports.com. "He's a Nigerian international and we are just seeing because he's got a reasonably good CV, in terms of where he's played before. "He has been fraught with a bad injury, which is why he's not been fixed up with a club yet, but we'd like to see him for this week and perhaps next week.

Everton head to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday in search of their first away Premier League victory over Arsenal in 19 years. The Blues’ last league win over the Gunners in North London came in a 2-1 victory at Highbury in 1996, with Graham Stuart and Andrei Kanchelskis on the score sheet. Since then, 19 league visits have passed at both Highbury and the Emirates and the Toffees have headed back to Merseyside winless. Roberto Martinez is hoping his side show an instant response from their poor display against United last weekend, and put an end to Everton’s dismal record over Arsenal in North London. The Toffees could welcome back Tom Cleverley to the first team squad after his cameo for the U21s in the week. The midfielder made his first appearance in almost three months – returning from ankle ligament damage suffered in the Blues goalless draw at Tottenham in August. Steven Pienaar and Bryan Oviedo also featured in the U21 game as the pair stepped up their recovery

Arsene Wenger says he’d cry if Christmas football in England was scrapped, after Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal called the festive schedule ‘evil’. Speaking this week the Dutchman said, “I think you should change, players are exhausted at the end of the season’, and he called the lack of a winter break ‘the most evil thing of this culture.'” Strong words from van Gaal, and while Wenger agrees there should be a winter break, he believes the tradition of football around Christmas time in England has to be protected. “I had his ideas when I arrived here but today I would cry if you changed that because it’s part of English tradition and English football,” he said. “To suppress the game on Boxing Day, the whole of Europe comes to England to watch the game. “It’s a very important part of us being popular in the world, that nobody works at Christmas and everybody watches the Premier League. “I want to go on with it, yes. I always pleaded for a break after Janu

Louis van Gaal could dip into the January transfer window to bring his United squad up to full fighting strength for the campaign run in in 2016. The Reds boss has overseen a wholesale rebuild of the United squad he inherited from sacked boss David Moyes. The 64-year-old has trimmed the numbers down and the huge operation of comings and goings has seen £250m spent over two summers since his arrival in July 2013 but now believes he’s still one player short of the ideal squad size. Martial was United's biggest signing this summer Van Gaal’s masterplan to develop a new look United side saw a host players leave Old Trafford either permanently or on loan including the likes of Danny Welbeck, Darren Fletcher, Tom Cleverley, Nani and Shinji Kagawa in his first season in charge. He brought in six new faces. This season more have departed including last summer’s new faces Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao plus Robin van Persie, Javier Hernandez and Adnan Januzaj on loan

Manchester United are looking to sign Ayoze Perez from Newcastle United in the January transfer window. According to reports by Metro, Louis van Gaal is keen add in a forward player as Memphis Depay and Wayne Rooney haven’t impressed the United boss in the opening nine games of the Premier League. The Red Devils are currently at the third spot on the table with majority of goals coming from Juan Mata and the 19-year-old Frenchman Anthony Martial. United are keen to bring more players to Old Trafford, who may give United’s Dutch master more options in the attack. The 22-year-old Spaniard joined Newcastle last summer for £1.5m from Tenerife. Last season, he netted seven goals in the league and has attracted attention of the big clubs in the English league. According to Newcastle Chronicle, Van Gaal sent scouts in the summer to monitor Ayoze’s progress. Ayoze has been one of the best players at Newcastle, who are currently struggling in the relegation zone. Tottenham are a

Demonstrating just how far Manchester United have fallen, Louis van Gaal has been touting Chris Smalling as a future United captain. That's in the Guardian, and, well, what a sorry state of affairs. Mark Ogden correctly appraises why Wayne Rooney will never be truly loved by Manchester United fans - because he decided he wanted to join Manchester City. His reasons - that United were a fading force - were ultimately proved correct, but joining your closest rivals is unacceptable behaviour. That's in the Telegraph. The Mirror's transfer round-up says that United are interested in Athletic Bilbao's Aymeric Laporte. United have been interested in him for two seasons now, so it would be no surprise if something gets sorted eventually. They certainly need a new central defender - probably two. Matching that story is one in the Manchester Evening News that says that Van Gaal and United could keep spending in the winter transfer window. They could certainly do with

Far from being the swansong to his marvellous career,  Petr Cech 's move to  Arsenal  after 11 success-laden years at Chelsea looks set to be another great chapter.  The Czech goalkeeper already has four Premier League titles to his name, as well as a Champions League title thanks to his sterling service at Stamford Bridge.  And still in form after moving across London, he is now looking to set a new milestone. A clean sheet at home to Everton on Sunday would see him move within 90 minutes of matching the current holder of the record for blanks in the Premier League. 

Barcelona  forward  Lionel Messi  is no longer among the top 10 most valuable athletes in the world, according to American finance publication Forbes. Messi previously occupied ninth position in 2014 with an estimated worth of $12 million - a drop of one million from the previous year - but does not feature at all in the athletes' top 10 for 2015. Rory McIlroy and Floyd Mayweather Jr instead enter the top 10 with the undefeated boxing champion having signed several lucrative endorsements before his July fight with Manny Pacquiao. Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, who was seventh a year ago, has also suffered a drop in the rankings and has now moved down to eighth despite releasing a new clothing range. La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona had occupied second and third spot in 2014 but have slipped to fifth and seventh respectively, with Manchester United and Bayern Munich also making the top 10. The New York Yankees lead the way in the team stakes once again, having boosted th