When, in 2012, Liverpool’s then-new manager Brendan Rodgers presented the board with his vision for the future, it’s fair to assume the 180-page dossier did not conclude with his own dismissal three years later. The Premier League club sacked Rodgers after a 1-1 draw with rivals Everton extended Liverpool’s run of one win in nine matches; former Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp was made favourite for the job. Sunderland were also left managerless after Dick Advocaat resigned following a 2-2 draw with West Ham. Elsewhere, Chelsea’s miserable start to the season continued with a 3-1 home defeat by Southampton, while Arsenal bolstered their own manager-at-risk, Arsène Wenger, by beating Manchester United 3-0.
Aussies back off Bangladesh
World cricket suffered a setback when Australia’s tour of Bangladesh was called off at the last-minute following threats of militant attacks. “We have worked tirelessly to try to find a way for the tour to proceed, but in the end it was simply not possible,” said Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, despite Bangladesh having hosted Test cricket since 2000 without any major security incidents. A bad week for Bangladesh was completed when their fast bowler Shahadat Hossain was held in jail after being charged with torturing an 11-year-old housemaid. He has been suspended by the Bangladesh Cricket Board until the matter is resolved. Meanwhile, England arrived in the UAE for a three-Test series against Pakistan, who remain exiled from playing at home six years after a terror attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore.
Jets overcome London jetlag
American football’s latest excursion to the UK touched down at Wembley, where a 90,000 sell-out crowd saw the New York Jets beat the Miami Dolphins 27-14, piling pressure on Dolphins coach Joe Philbin after a poor start to the AFC East. Quite what the players make of what is becoming an increasingly common transatlantic jaunt is not clear, but they may soon have to deal with more jetlag; at an excruciating publicity opportunity with legendary Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, the UK finance minister, George Osborne, said he hoped for an NFL franchise based in London within five years.
Blue Jays make Toronto sing
Scenes of incredulity engulfed Toronto, where the Blue Jays – for so long a byword for baseballing mediocrity – won the AL East championship with a 15-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. The Blue Jays’ first appearance in the Major League playoffs for 22 years followed a two-month hot streak in which they won 42 of 56 games. They join NL East winners New York Mets and NL Central winners St Louis Cardinals among postseason contenders.
