Former Duke coach Mike Elko told Blue Devils players he was leaving for Texas A&M in the worst way possible.

Trials designed to stop players surrounding referees during flashpoint moments could get the green light at a meeting of football’s lawmaking body in London on Tuesday. Tackling poor participant behaviour is a top priority for the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and the PA news agency understands it is set to be the dominant topic at the organisation’s annual business meeting at a Heathrow hotel. Players surrounding referees and assistants after controversial incidents has become a common sight in the modern game, but the IFAB is determined to limit contact in such situations to a respectful dialogue between the referee and the team captain. Precisely how that is achieved is still to be worked out, with the IFAB understood to be keen to run some initial tests in the amateur game to work out the practicalities and iron out the unintended consequences of any new restrictions. One consideration is the creation of a ‘no go zone’ around an official which only a captain can enter, but testing will be required to see how effective and practical this is in reality. Approval of trials in top-level competitions could be granted on Tuesday to follow those initial tests, with lawmakers keen to move quickly on this issue. Sin-bins for bad behaviour, which have been utilised in grassroots youth football, could also be extended into the adult amateur game, while measures to combat mass confrontations between teams, such as cooling down periods, will also be discussed. Guidance could also be issued around stricter application of the existing laws of the game which tackle time-wasting, such as better enforcement of the six-second rule for goalkeepers to release the ball and treatment and assessment of ‘tactical injuries’ designed to break the momentum of the game. In March, the IFAB issued guidance to all competitions on more accurately calculating time lost to stoppages, following on from a concerted effort to do so at last year’s men’s World Cup finals in Qatar. A discussion will also be held on updating the handball law for next season. The law could be changed so that an unintentional handball which denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is only sanctioned with a yellow card rather than a red, and that an unintentional handball which stops a promising attack receives no card at all. The IFAB board is also set to receive a short update on the ongoing permanent concussion substitute trial. World players’ union FIFPRO and the World Leagues Forum have previously called for a trial of temporary concussion substitutes, but there is not even the possibility of such a trial taking place until the ongoing testing of permanent concussion substitutes is complete and data from the trial has been fully analysed. The IFAB announced last month that a group had been established to carry out a review of VAR protocols, and there is also expected to be some time given over to hearing an update on the group’s progress. Read More Bruno Fernandes talks up Alejandro Garnacho after stunning goal at Everton Son Heung-min hurt by defeats but ‘very pleased’ with way Tottenham are playing David Seaman pays tribute to ‘great guy’ Terry Venables Football rumours: Victor Osimhen keen on making Chelsea move On this day in 2007: Christine Ohuruogu wins appeal against Olympic ban The sporting weekend in pictures

Pep Guardiola has hailed Terry Venables as an inspirational and visionary leader following the former England manager’s death at the age of 80. Guardiola, the Manchester City boss, remembers well the impact Venables had at his boyhood club Barcelona in the 1980s. Guardiola was both a ballboy and a youth player at the Nou Camp when Venables coached the Spanish giants, guiding them to the domestic title in 1985 and the European Cup final the following year. A photograph has emerged on social media of a young Guardiola looking on from pitchside as Venables celebrated one particular triumph. “As a Barcelona fan, he gave us La Liga after 11 or 12 years,” said Guardiola, who went on to captain and manage Barcelona himself. “His impact there was incredible. “In that era I was 13 or 14 years old. It was the first time I saw us win La Liga. For many years it was not possible because of other teams. “He introduced something that had never been (done there) before, especially a certain type of pressing and the set-pieces. He introduced many, many things. “A true gentleman for the people. Unfortunately, he could not win the Champions League in that time, with the final against Steaua Bucharest, but it’s a big loss for English football. “I was a ballboy so I wasn’t in contact with him, I just gave the ball to his players, but I remember talking to friends of mine, who did play with him, and their words for him were not just as a manager but as a person – so funny, appearing on programmes, singing Frank Sinatra. “He was a proper, proper man. I am so sorry for his family.” Former England goalkeeper David Seaman has also paid tribute to Venables. Seaman was England’s number one when they reached the semi-finals of Euro 96. The 60-year-old told Good Morning Britain: “First of all it was a really sad day yesterday and when I started seeing the clips and all the tributes coming in, all I could remember was the smile on his face. He always had a smile on his face even when he was angry, if I’m honest. “He was just a great guy, he was brilliant at man-to-man management. “He was just brilliant and with Euro 96 everything just got better and better and I’ll never forget the day before Euro 96 and he came up to me when he just got the job, looked me straight in the eyes and said, ‘You’re my England number one’ and the confidence I gained from that was just brilliant and something I’ll never forget.” Gareth Southgate missed the all-important penalty in the Euro 96 semi-final shoot-out loss to Germany. He was just a great guy, he was brilliant at man to man management David Seaman Seaman recalled memories during his time under Venables and drew comparisons with the current England boss, insisting Southgate has learned a lot from ‘El Tel’. He continued: “You didn’t feel that disappointed because he actually told us that we had achieved something special here. “I know we had gone out in the semi-final but he wanted us to know we had really achieved something. We got England to the semi-final at Wembley and the most important thing he’d done was that the England fans started loving the England team again because of the way we played. He was just a really nice guy. “Gareth will have learned a lot from Terry because Gareth very rarely loses it and that’s what Terry was like. He was always calm and confident and that’s what he’s learned from him that you don’t have to be really loud on the sidelines. You’d just watch and learn. “The way Terry treated Gareth, it just shows you the class of the manager and he was just a really special guy.” Read More They were there like animals – Pep Guardiola wants City team and fans together Bruno Fernandes talks up Alejandro Garnacho after stunning goal at Everton Son Heung-min hurt by defeats but ‘very pleased’ with way Tottenham are playing David Seaman pays tribute to ‘great guy’ Terry Venables Football rumours: Victor Osimhen keen on making Chelsea move On this day in 2007: Christine Ohuruogu wins appeal against Olympic ban

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola believes it is crucial the team and the fans continue to feed off each other’s energy. Guardiola feels that after his players provided the initial spark last season, it was the power of supporters that propelled City towards their treble success. “The stadium is all the time full and we have to play as best as possible and create as much as possible to energise and make our people with us,” said Guardiola at a press conference. “I have the feeling the team is playing really good and these guys – what they have done for many, many years, we love doing it together. “The games last season – semi-finals, quarter-finals, important games like against Arsenal when we played for the Premier League, they were there like animals and we need that. “In my humble opinion, to be successful we need our fans, all the time, being here. Thank you for coming, because without that it is impossible. Together we are stronger. “It is much better for ourselves to feel that they are there. We play better but we have to do the first steps, the first gesture. We have to do it.” City host German side RB Leipzig on Tuesday needing just a draw to wrap up top spot in Champions League Group G. The games last season – semi-finals, quarter-finals, important games like against Arsenal when we played for the Premier League, they were there like animals and we need that Pep Guardiola The holders have won the first four matches of their title defence and have already secured a place in the knockout stages, as have Leipzig – a side they thrashed 7-0 at home last season. Guardiola said: “Of course the first step is done for both sides – so congratulations to Leipzig – to qualify for the next round in February. “But it is important to finish first for prestige, for everything. We believe that when we play the last 16, having the second leg at home is not decisive but is a little bit of an advantage and we have to take it.” Midfielder Jack Grealish is unlikely to return after illness while Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes are nursing knocks. Guardiola said: “I’m not much optimistic about good news about some people coming back but we will see. I think it will be the same people who played against Liverpool.” Defender John Stones was an unused substitute at the weekend but while Guardiola said he was “really, really close” he was “not ready for playing”. Kevin De Bruyne, who has been out since undergoing hamstring surgery in August, said over the weekend he hopes to return to action early in the new year. Guardiola said: “If he said January, it will be January. I would have loved to have him all season but now he has had a tough injury and surgery. He has to recover well. “He’s said end of December, new year, so it will be a happy new year for everyone.” Read More Bruno Fernandes talks up Alejandro Garnacho after stunning goal at Everton Son Heung-min hurt by defeats but ‘very pleased’ with way Tottenham are playing David Seaman pays tribute to ‘great guy’ Terry Venables Football rumours: Victor Osimhen keen on making Chelsea move On this day in 2007: Christine Ohuruogu wins appeal against Olympic ban The sporting weekend in pictures

Erik ten Hag tried to talk about the build-up. There was the switch of play from Victor Lindelof to Marcus Rashford, the underlapping run of Diogo Dalot, the deep cross. And yet, whatever the involvement of others beforehand, strikes of extraordinary, spectacular individual virtuosity don’t tend to be remembered as team goals. “The finish was incredible, fantastic,” Ten Hag said after the 3-0 victory at Everton. “Maybe already the goal of the season.” Perhaps Alejandro Garnacho was still dumbstruck himself, the best part of two hours later, when he described it as “one of the best I have scored”. Maybe it was a teenager trying to express himself in a different language in front of the television cameras. Or maybe he genuinely has scored others of a similar calibre at lower level. If so, the search should be for any footage. But it was astonishing. Facing away from the Everton goal, some 15 yards out, Garnacho connected with such power and precision that there was a temptation to anoint it Manchester United’s finest overhead kick. That mantle may have rested with Wayne Rooney’s 2011 effort against Manchester City, not least because it was a winner in a Manchester derby. The more pedantic could point out the current Birmingham manager actually shinned it. Other comparisons could involve goals United greats scored in other shirts: Mark Hughes’ bicycle kick for Wales against Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo’s overhead kick for Real Madrid against Juventus. And overhead kicks are sufficiently difficult that they can denote a rare talent. They are not solely the domain of the greats, but some of the best have been scored by Gareth Bale, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marco van Basten, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. Admittedly, others came courtesy of Emre Can, Trevor Sinclair, Rory Delap, Christian Benteke and Andy Carroll, who are rarely placed in the same bracket. Nor, at the moment, is Garnacho. But the ability that has been most evident as a high-speed dribbler gives the impression he could end up among the elite. Bruno Fernandes, the captain who was an almost paternalistic presence by his side in a post-match interview, drew an important distinction. “I have big expectations for him,” said the Portuguese. “He is not a great player yet but he has a great future ahead and we expect a lot from him. I am always going to be behind him asking for more but an amazing goal.” The lineage can prompt the question of how good Garnacho could be. United’s teenage wingers over the years have included Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, George Best and Bobby Charlton. There are cautionary tales, too, such as Adnan Januzaj, the revelation of Giggs’ final season but who, at 28, has only played 69 minutes for Sevilla this season. Then there is Garnacho: often an impact substitute, usually strangely ineffectual when he starts, a third-minute goal had a surprise in the timing as well as the execution. Many a young winger is embroiled in a search for consistency and productivity. He is not alone, but he arrived at Goodison Park with one goal in 21 games and departed having scored what the battle-hardened home captain James Tarkowski called one of the best goals he had ever seen and which Sean Dyche, a manager with a similar aversion to getting carried away, branded “an absolute worldie”. Ten Hag has overseen the emergence of young talent at Ajax. He has taken a hardline approach with Garnacho at times, dropping him on the pre-season tour in 2022 for being late. He sees what the Argentinian could achieve, contrasts it with what he has done so far and opted not to liken United’s latest prodigy to Rooney or Ronaldo. “Don’t compare, I don’t think it is right,” he said. “They all have their own identity but for Garnacho to go that way he has a lot to come, he has to work very hard. You have to do it on a consistent basis and so far he has not. But he definitely has high potential to do some amazing things. It's not the first time we saw this, we have already often seen glimpses but if you want to be a player like Rooney or Ronaldo you have to score 20 [or] 25 goals in the Premier League each season. That's not easy to get, you have to work hard, you have to go in areas where it hurts. So [there is] a lot to come. But potential, he has.” Potential can be exciting, tantalising, a promise that produces brilliance or something that goes unfulfilled. Over the last 18 months, it has been clear that Garnacho possesses plenty, but his goal at Everton was still stunning. It was a great goal. The challenge for him is to turn into a great. Read More Ten Hag makes Garnacho claim after stunning bicycle kick goal against Everton Alejandro Garnacho’s astonishing moment of magic inspires Manchester United’s result of the season Gary Neville hails ‘magical’ Alejandro Garnacho bicycle kick for Manchester United against Everton Roy Keane derides ‘absolute rubbish’ from Erik ten Hag after Man United win Bruno Fernandes talks up Alejandro Garnacho after stunning goal at Everton Ten Hag makes Garnacho claim after stunning bicycle kick goal against Everton

Roy Keane has described at Erik ten Hag’s comments praising Bruno Fernandes after Manchester United’s win over Everton as “absolute rubbish”. Fernandes was praised by his manager for allowing Marcus Rashford to take a second-half penalty in the victory at Goodison Park. Rashford, who has been short of form and goals this season, duly converted from 12 yards to put Manchester United 2-0 up, with Anthony Martial later adding a third. The gesture from Fernandes, the regular taker of spot-kicks at the club, was hailed by Ten Hag afterwards. “You see also how great a captain Bruno is to sense that his team-mate needed that goal,” the Dutch manager explained. The win continued a good recent run for the Old Trafford club, who sit sixth in the Prmeier League and are just four points behind the Champions League places. Former Manchester United midfielder Keane believes, though, that Ten Hag’s comments betray the fact that the mentality at his old club has changed, with the Irishman suggesting they are “happy with sixth”. “He’s giving toffee out there to Bruno for passing on the ball for the penalty. Absolute bloody rubbish,” Keane said on Sky Sports. “[That’s] absolute rubbish coming out with that. “Manchester United are sixth now – if you went back a few years, if you were sixth you’d be embarrassed. But obviously they seem happy with sixth. “They have a long way to go. Manchester United have to be competing with the best teams. That’s including Liverpool, [Manchester] City, Arsenal. It’s not been good enough with the talent they’ve got. Look, they’ve got themselves in a nice position but the reason you’re playing for Manchester United is to compete against the top teams.” The win over Everton was the third in a row in the league for Ten Hag’s side. The goal should boost the confidence of Rashford, who has been below his best so far in this campaign but remains a key figure. Fernandes believes his teammate will soon be back to a “world-class” level. “I felt that Marcus needed a bit of confidence, needed goals,” the Portuguese creator told Sky Sports. “Marcus is an excellent penalty-taker too. I’m 100 per cent sure that he could score the penalty. It’s not about who takes it, it’s about scoring the penalty and Marcus did it perfectly. “Obviously strikers, wingers, they want to score goals, they need to score goals, that’s part of their game and it gives you a boost. After the penalty, Marcus was unstoppable – he could take on everyone. I think sometimes you need this chance, this opportunity to get confidence back. “But Marcus has been great for us. Obviously last season he was amazing, so everyone’s expectations for this season were higher. It’s just about getting his goals back and everyone will stay say that he is world-class again.” Read More Bruno Fernandes talks up Alejandro Garnacho after stunning goal at Everton Kai Havertz gives Arsenal the perfect ‘example’ to follow in title race Why Aston Villa should be on Unai Emery’s list of top-four contenders Kai Havertz gives Arsenal the perfect ‘example’ to follow in title race Why Aston Villa should be on Unai Emery’s list of top-four contenders What Alejandro Garnacho needs to achieve Man Utd greatness

Unai Emery had his list prepared. “There are seven contenders to be in the top four,” he declared. “Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Newcastle and Chelsea.” His Aston Villa side were absent. “We are not a contender,” Emery smiled. Which was an interesting claim, given Villa are fourth. They sit two points behind leaders Arsenal, one point behind champions City, level with challengers Liverpool, ahead of the other four sides on Emery’s list. After all, Villa had just beaten one of them, coming from behind to hand Tottenham their third straight defeat and leapfrog Ange Postecoglou’s side. After 13 games and nine wins, they sit four points clear of sixth-placed Manchester United, five ahead of seventh-placed Newcastle, who put five past them on the opening weekend at St James’ Park. Then there is Chelsea in 10th, who are separated from Villa by not just 12 points, but Brighton and West Ham as well as the aforementioned clubs. Emery, though, was keen to avoid signing off a statement win from Villa with a statement of his own. "Of course we can get confidence when we are winning matches like here at Tottenham,” he said. “But still in my mind, it is 38 matches that we have to be consistent.” Perhaps Emery was not aware of the milestone he and Villa had just reached. Perhaps he was. Either way, Sunday’s 2-1 win in north London was the 38th time Emery had taken charge of Villa in the Premier League, the equivalent of a full season. Emery’s record stands at 24 wins, five draws and nine defeats, culminating in 77 points. Only Manchester City and Arsenal have taken more since the Spaniard was appointed last October and it is enough to put Villa third. Theoretically, had the season started then, Villa would have qualified for the Champions League this weekend. Discount Emery’s first few weeks at the helm and Villa’s record improves further still. In 2023, only Pep Guardiola’s treble winners have won more Premier League games than Villa’s 22. Since the turn of the year, Villa have comfortably outperformed Manchester United and Newcastle, who both finished in last season’s top four, taking 11 more points than Eddie Howe’s side, scoring 15 more goals than Erik ten Hag’s men. If it is consistency over a season that Emery wants, Villa have shown that over a 38-match spell where they have taken an average of over two points per game. Premier League table since Unai Emery took charge of Villa After 38 games 1. Man City – 86 points, +54 GD 2. Arsenal – 80 points, +42 GD 3. Aston Villa – 77 points, +27 GD 4. Liverpool – 76 points, +36 GD 5. Man Utd – 76 points, +16 GD 6. Newcastle – 70 points, + 38 GD 7. Brighton – 63 points, +19 GD 8. Tottenham – 60 points, +5 GD Villa’s latest victory came on the road and if that has perhaps been the only area where Emery’s team have not excelled, with nine wins from 19 away trips, then it has been off-set by their outstanding home form: Villa Park has staged 13 home wins in a row in the Premier League, their longest run since 1983. A 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest aside, when Villa were poor and deservedly beaten, Emery’s high defensive line has been their undoing on their travels. It certainly was in the results at Newcastle and Liverpool. It threatened to be at Spurs but Villa were let off the hook by the hosts’ wasteful finishing. It is not an approach that appears best suited to away fixtures, particularly against the big sides and those who Emery considers to be the real contenders for the top four. Yet it is a plan that Emery has refused to compromise on – one that has required Villa to be brave and bold, which in turn helps explain their position. While the win at Tottenham was eye-catching, Villa’s push has until this weekend been built by beating the sides in the bottom half of the table, where Emery’s team can be aggressive, play on the front foot and suffocate their opponents. Sunday’s win at Tottenham was not an example of it, but Villa have an ability to win games comfortably. They have scored at least three goals in each of their last six Premier League matches at Villa Park and in Ollie Watkins, they possess what Manchester United and Chelsea do not appear to have, which is a leading forward who can score 20-plus goals per season. Incidentally, Watkins’ winner at Tottenham was his 20th Premier League goal under Emery. There are signs that Villa can sustain the pace for another 38 games. Certainly, with Tottenham unable to field their starting midfield three or their first-choice centre-back partnership, and Newcastle hit by a similarly severe injury crisis, Villa’s squad also currently looks to be stronger than some of those who have been more vocal in declaring their top-four ambitions. And these are still heady days in Villa’s recent history, at a time when there isn’t expectation, given that when Steven Gerrard was sacked and Emery was appointed 13 months ago the club were only outside of the relegation zone on goal difference. Now, after 38 games, there is a case to be made Villa have been the third-best team in the country since Emery arrived. While a Villa Park double-header against Manchester City and Arsenal looms next week, it appears to be a more daunting task for Guardiola and Mikel Arteta than it does for Emery’s in-form side. Keep this up, and he will be unable to talk Villa down any longer. Read More Son Heung-min hurt by defeats but ‘very pleased’ with way Tottenham are playing Tottenham and Aston Villa’s clash of high lines reveals a new top-four contender Tottenham vs Aston Villa LIVE: Latest Premier League updates What Alejandro Garnacho needs to achieve Man Utd greatness Emotional Darren Anderton pays tribute to ‘second dad’ Terry Venables Bruno Fernandes talks up Alejandro Garnacho after stunning goal at Everton

Bruno Fernandes believes Manchester United teenager Alejandro Garnacho has the potential to become “something special in the world of football”. Acquired from Atletico Madrid in 2020, the 19-year-old forward starred in last year’s FA Youth Cup triumph and has gone on to establish himself as a first-team regular at Old Trafford. Garnacho enjoyed the finest moment of his nascent career at Everton on Sunday, showing outstanding ingenuity and technique to thunder home an outrageous overhead kick just 133 seconds into a 3-0 win. The Argentina international followed his jaw-dropping goal-of-the-season contender by replicating former United great Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration after an effort his idol would have been more than proud of. “It’s amazing – something out of this world, I think,” United captain Fernandes told the PA news agency. “Probably he’s watching too much Cristiano clips! We all know that he’s a big fan. Still a long way for him to be like Cristiano but he’s getting his steps. “He wants to be something special in the world of football and I think he has the capability to do that, but he has to do more than that goal!” Garnacho was not the only impressive teenager at Goodison Park on Sunday, with fellow FA Youth Cup winner Kobbie Mainoo flourishing on his first Premier League start. The 18-year-old midfielder recently recovered from the injury he sustained during United’s pre-season tour and produced a performance that belied his tender years. “I talk always about Kobbie,” Fernandes said. “I think he’s a special player too. “Obviously, people will not talk as much as they will about Garnacho because Garnacho scores goals, does assists and everything. But what he puts on the game, what he gives to the team, it’s known to anyone (in the squad). “I think he has great players in front of him to learn (from) because he plays with one of the best in the world like Casemiro. Also Sofyan (Amrabat) who plays in that position that is really good and he’s getting everything from them. “He wants to learn, is eager to learn and I think that’s probably the best capability he has because he wants to learn every time. He’s eager to listen to everyone to get better and better.” United’s young stars stepped up in the absence of a swathe of injured players, with the likes of Garnacho and Mainoo helping to invigorate the experienced core. Probably he’s watching too much Cristiano clips! We all know that he's a big fan. Still a long way for him to be like Cristiano but he's getting his steps Bruno Fernandes on Alejandro Garnacho Asked what he thought of the young players coming through as one of the older players, 29-year-old Fernandes said with a laugh: “I’m not that old, eh? “Obviously, we are really happy for them. We know that all the young players are eager to play and to get your position, so me as an older one I have to step up and do my job! If not, they’re going to take my space.” Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial goals complemented Garnacho’s stunner in an eye-catching win that Erik ten Hag’s team need to build on against Galatasaray in the Champions League. As for Everton, they travel to Nottingham Forest next weekend looking to bounce back from a heavy home loss after the shock of being deducted 10 points. Toffees boss Sean Dyche said: “We have created a lot of chances this season but not always scored goals. We have to maintain our belief in what we are doing. We are doing that, I think we did through this game.”

Tottenham captain Son Heung-min admits recent defeats hurt but has urged the squad to keep playing the Ange Postecoglou way. Aston Villa produced a comeback win in north London on Sunday to make it a November to forget for Spurs. Premier League leaders at the start of the month, Tottenham have since suffered three consecutive losses and seen their list of absentees move into double figures. Spurs went ahead against Villa, like they had in recent defeats to Chelsea and Wolves, but were wasteful in front of goal and also unable to keep up the relentless attacking style Postecoglou wants for the whole match. “I think especially in this game, when you are 1-0 up, we have to control even more,” Son told SpursPlay. “We have to respect the (opposition) and we made a couple of mistakes this season where we are going up 1-0 and started playing a little bit slowly. “Then conceding goals, offsides, delays in the game, this is losing our game tempo a little bit and we are giving chances to Villa to come into the game. “Before half-time when you concede a goal from a set-piece, I think we have to be more stronger. “The players gave everything, especially in difficult circumstances. It is just tough to take. “It doesn’t matter how well you are playing, obviously in the end you are taking the results and we are talking about the results. “Yeah, we created chances, good, very good. The way we are playing, I am very pleased and happy but it hurts when you lose a game, especially at home. “We had such amazing support again and losing this game hurts.” All the focus at Tottenham now turns to Sunday’s daunting trip to champions Manchester City and Rodrigo Bentancur is an early doubt after he sustained an ankle injury against Villa. Bentancur made his first start since he suffered a serious knee injury in February and impressed before he was caught by a poor challenge from Matty Cash. Spurs will have Yves Bissouma back from suspension and will check on Pape Sarr after he returned from Senegal national team duty with a knock, but Postecoglou knows he will be down to the bare bones for a while. We'll get Biss (Yves Bissouma) back but we might have lost (Rodrigo) Bentancur. Ange Postecoglou on his options for Man City Tottenham boss Postecoglou said: “The reality of it is that we’re not going to get too many back. “We’ll get Biss back but we might have lost Bentancur. We only had six or seven on the bench so everyone who is here at the moment is going to have to play a part.” While Tottenham contemplate another defeat, Villa produced a clinical display to move up to fourth in the Premier League after goals by Pau Torres and Ollie Watkins, but Unai Emery played down the current table. “Enjoy the position and of course the players are aware about where we are, but we will continue being demanding,” Emery said. “In 38 matches, there are still a lot of things to happen. “Now we have to rest and think about Thursday (against Legia Warsaw) and then Sunday against Bournemouth.” Read More David Seaman pays tribute to ‘great guy’ Terry Venables Football rumours: Victor Osimhen keen on making Chelsea move On this day in 2007: Christine Ohuruogu wins appeal against Olympic ban The sporting weekend in pictures Laura Kenny sets her sights on a fourth Olympics Man City boss Pep Guardiola taking safety-first approach with John Stones

Former England goalkeeper David Seaman paid tribute to “great guy” Terry Venables following his death at the age of 80. Seaman was England’s number one goalkeeper when England made the semi-final of Euro 1996 as the side were knocked out on penalties by Germany. The 60-year-old remembered the moment he was made England number one. Seaman told Good Morning Britain: “First of all it was a really sad day yesterday and when I started seeing the clips and all the tributes coming in, all I could remember was the smile on his face. He always had a smile on his face even when he was angry if I’m honest. “He was just a great guy, he was brilliant at man to man management. “He was just brilliant and with Euro 96 everything just got better and better and I’ll never forget the day before Euro 96 and he came up to me when he just got the job, looked me straight in the eyes and said you’re my England number one and the confidence I gained from that was just brilliant and something I’ll never forget.” Gareth Southgate missed the all-important penalty in that semi-final shoot-out loss to Germany, something Southgate would experience as manager in 2022, when England lost on penalties in the final to Italy. He was just a great guy, he was brilliant at man to man management David Seaman Seaman recalled memories during his time under Venables and drew comparisons with the current England boss, insisting Southgate has learned a lot from El Tel. He continued: “You didn’t feel that disappointed because he actually told us that we had achieved something special here. “I know we had gone out in the semi-final but he wanted us to know we had really achieved something. We got England to the semi-final at Wembley and the most important thing he’d done was that the England fans started loving the England team again because of the way we played. He was just a really nice guy. “Gareth will have learned a lot from Terry because Gareth very rarely loses it and that’s what Terry was like. He was always calm and confident and that’s what he’s learned from him that you don’t have to be really loud on the sidelines. You’d just watch and learn. “The way Terry treated Gareth, it just shows you the class of the manager and he was just a really special guy.” Read More Football rumours: Victor Osimhen keen on making Chelsea move On this day in 2007: Christine Ohuruogu wins appeal against Olympic ban The sporting weekend in pictures Laura Kenny sets her sights on a fourth Olympics Man City boss Pep Guardiola taking safety-first approach with John Stones Virgil Van Dijk says Trent Alexander-Arnold is ‘the complete package’

Terry Venables was the lost great England manager and, until Gareth Southgate, the last great England manager. The link between Alf Ramsey, for whom he briefly played, and Southgate, who he plucked from Aston Villa and turned into an assured international with seeming ease, Venables may have fashioned the best England team since 1966. And if that verdict comes from the slender evidence of perhaps two-and-a-half games of playing well on home soil – the second 45 minutes against Scotland, the rout of the Netherlands, the semi-final against Germany – Euro 96 will forever leave a generation with a sense of what might have been. From the wreckage of the doomed campaign to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, Venables seemed to inspire an English enlightenment. From the plodding dullness of long-ball football purveyed by limited players, he allied technical and tactical excellence with attacking intent and a willingness to embrace all the talents at his disposal. It may have been the only time in the last half-century when England were the finest team in a tournament; it is not jingoism to think that, had Germany been worse at penalties, Venables’ team would have beaten Czech Republic in the final. It ought to have been the start of an era; instead, it was an interlude. On Sunday, Venables died aged 80 after a long illness. He managed England for two-and-a-half of those years and it should have been more. If the FA’s reluctance to extend his deal before Euro 96 reflected a sense of disquiet about his business dealings – Venables ended up being banned from being a company director for seven years – it was a mistake. No one else took England to a semi-final for more than two decades; even when Southgate did, no one else brought such adept man-management and tactical nous. If Venables was England’s most charismatic manager, a throwback in that respect to Tommy Docherty, under whom he emerged at Chelsea, and Malcolm Allison, who gave him his first coaching job at Crystal Palace, he was years ahead of his time in other respects. Gary Neville recalled ostensibly playing right-back in three consecutive games at Euro 96, but actually occupying different positions in each. In an age of a lumpen 4-4-2, Venables could switch systems, adopt the Christmas tree or the back three, school the Dutch in Total Football. The managers England later imported at great expense, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, produced less sophisticated football than the boy from Dagenham. The tributes reflected his rare gifts. “The best, most innovative coach that I had the privilege and pleasure of playing for,” said Gary Lineker, who also played for Johan Cruyff. “The most technically gifted coach that I ever played under,” said Neville, who played 602 times for Sir Alex Ferguson. And yet the tragedy of Venables, for him as well as England, was that his eventual achievements placed him in the category of the very good and not the great. Perhaps only penalties kept him out of the pantheon: Southgate’s tame spot-kick in 1996, the four that – ludicrously – Barcelona contrived to miss while scoring none in the 1986 European Cup final shootout. And if there is an Anglocentric focus on the national team, it is worth noting that in the last seven decades, only one English manager has won either the French, German, Italian or Spanish league title: Venables, in his first season at Barcelona, when they had not been champions for a decade, when Diego Maradona had been sold and the man hired from QPR replaced him with Steve Archibald. They won La Liga by 10 points, topping the table from start to finish. He was a game away from a second stunning achievement, winning Barcelona’s maiden European Cup. Steaua Bucharest defended for 120 minutes in the final before what Venables subsequently described as “the worst penalty shootout you’ve ever seen”. Yet there is a picture after the semi-final of a teenager on Barcelona’s books gazing up adoringly at Venables. If a young Pep Guardiola was influenced by Venables, he was not alone. Yet a managerial career can be divided into two halves: before and after Euro 96. He enjoyed success everywhere in the first part of his coaching career, taking Palace to promotion and, briefly, top of the old Division 1, QPR to a fifth-place finish, Tottenham to third and the FA Cup, which he had also won as a Spurs player. But football sometimes seemed insufficient for a man of his ideas, energy and entrepreneurial spirit. Venables was author, crooner, nightclub owner. He had a sharp intellect, a belief in his own ability, but also a willingness to aim for the boardroom when he was at his best on the training pitch and in the dugout. In a way, Venables’ other interests made him suited to international management; the nature of them made the FA uncomfortable. And he left the job that suited him best. He went on to take Australia to the brink of the World Cup, denied only by away goals, and rescue Middlesbrough from relegation, but spells back at Palace, at Leeds and as assistant to Steve McClaren at England represented an underwhelming end to a coaching career that took him to the brink of history. There was, though, a fitting element to finishing with England. Venables played for his country at every level, from schoolboy to youth, amateur, under-23 and the full senior team. He was capped just twice by Ramsey; perhaps it did not help that sons of Dagenham were very different – Ramsey the social climber who took elocution lessons, Venables the brash, wisecracking showman. He was not to be a World Cup winner; he made the provisional 33-man squad for the 1966 tournament, but not the final 22. But the glimpse of glory as a manager was tantalising. Venables brought hope to English football, boosting its self-esteem, forging indelible memories, whether of Paul Gascoigne’s goal against Scotland or the 4-1 evisceration of the Netherlands. He left England – the players and the fans, anyway – wanting more. Nostalgia for Euro 96 is already a cottage industry and, as no Englishman has emerged with his managerial skillset since, there will be reasons to remember Terry Venables fondly for years to come. Read More The sporting weekend in pictures Former England boss Terry Venables remembered as an innovator and inspiration Terry Venables gives important advice to Southgate after Euro 96 in resurfaced clip Gareth Southgate pays tribute to ‘outstanding coach’ Terry Venables How Terry Venables brought football home in England’s greatest summer since 1966 England’s Euro 96 stars including Gary Lineker pay tribute to Terry Venables

Pep Guardiola has claimed that he has not properly trained his Manchester City players in his seven years at the Etihad Stadium – despite winning five Premier League titles, the Champions League and a treble. And the Catalan said it is impossible to work with his players on the training pitch now without risking injuring them, because the fixture list is so packed. Guardiola said City are instead learning from their past after revealing they only did 20 or 25 minutes work on the pitches at the Etihad Campus to prepare for Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, while they had a shorter pre-season than everyone else to give players time off after winning two finals in June. “In seven years I don’t train,” he said. “Maximum 35 minutes. We don’t train. They started pre-season 15 days before… do you know what 15 days is? We played the FA Cup final and the Champions League final. They had 15 days more with the new players. We didn’t do one day [of] tactical [work]. The day before, we train… it is the same for Jurgen [Klopp, the Liverpool manager], I’m pretty sure. We did 10-15 minutes with the ball and 10 minutes defensively.” City face RB Leipzig in the Champions League next and Guardiola is worried that if he tries to work with his players, he will lose others. Midfielders Kevin de Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes are injured while the ill Jack Grealish also missed the Liverpool game, as he only named six outfield substitutes. “Before Tuesday it will be 10 minutes on the pitch, moving in that way,” Guardiola added. “We cannot train. If we train, we don’t have players for the next game. We don’t have them. That’s why we have to learn from the past: just understand what you have to do. The press, who jumps. This is what we absolutely rely on.” Guardiola joked that, instead of time on the training pitch, his players absorbed his message from his good looks. “Because I’m really good. I’m a handsome man, I seduce them,” he smiled. “No, today we have the TV images, we talk individually. I spoke with Ruben [Dias] and Kyle [Walker] about what happened at Chelsea [in the 4-4 draw]. They can make mistakes but just understand it. If they lose the ball, they lose the ball. But it’s about where and when you move, the spaces. Today [Saturday] was so good. I know what I’m talking about.” John Stones was an unused substitute on Saturday and Guardiola said the defender needs more time before he returns to the starting 11 or he may break down again. He explained: “He feels good but we want to give him one or two weeks to have proper strength training sessions. John is so important for us, I like him playing when he’s completely ready. He’s going to train, partially or complete, with us. His legs especially, to be sure that when he comes back he is stronger. And we then use him, we need him.” Read More Man City boss Pep Guardiola taking safety-first approach with John Stones Terry Venables inspired a generation to dream and left England wanting more Opposing managers happy with a point as Manchester City and Liverpool draw