S.Korea suspend striker Hwang Ui-jo over sex video investigation
Striker Hwang Ui-jo has been suspended by South Korea seven weeks before the Asian Cup because of a police investigation into allegations...
2023-11-29 11:23
Everton vs Fulham LIVE: Premier League team news, line-ups and more
The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.
2023-08-12 20:20
Damien Comolli says Toulouse’s entire football operation ‘driven by data’
Toulouse president Damien Comolli insists that his club’s use of data is the reason behind their success rather than “football wisdom”. The entire football operation of the Ligue 1 club, who beat Liverpool in the Europa League last week, is entirely driven by data, from player and manager recruitment to which set-pieces to use in a match and when. It is bearing fruit as promotion from Ligue 2 in 2022 was followed by success in last season’s Coupe de France, which earned them their ticket to European football this season. And Comolli, who worked at Tottenham and Liverpool as sporting director, believes all their success comes from their use and understanding of the data. “Our whole football operation is driven by data, whether it his how we recruit a coach or sign a player, the way we play, the way we attack, the way we defend, from where we shoot, from where we cross, where we press,” Comolli said at Web Summit in Lisbon. “We try to optimise the wage bill and transfer budget using data. Data is part of our culture. “Where we gain a competitive advantage is we have decided to stick by data compared to the football wisdom. We are very disciplined at it. “At the moment we are struggling in the league, doing well in Europe. But with underlying data, we don’t look at results. “The day after the game, none of the pages of the match report will contain the result. It will show the underlying data, why we lost or why we won. “We need a bridge between the mathematics and science and the football people. Those individuals that can translate the data that is applicable to coaches and understandable to everyone, that bridge is absolutely key.” The use of data and artificial intelligence is quickly becoming more prominent in today’s game and Comolli believes it will have a big impact in the future of the game. He thinks that it will be particularly important in injury prevention. “In the last four seasons our player availability for per game has been at 95 per cent, the highest in France,” Comolli added. “We are constantly using data to measure player’s loads, we are are using AI to measure in-game data. “In the future it will help coaches make better decisions, when to make a substitution, when to make a tactical adjustment or not make one. “We played at Anfield, we were losing 4-1, our best striker was still on the pitch and we had a game a few days later. I messaged the analyst, ‘Why is he still on the pitch?’. “His data was showing he was in the red, so we brought him off. He went on to score in the next four games, maybe if we played him for longer he would have got injured or fatigued.” Read More No end to pursuit of the world’s best players, Saudi Pro League official says Basketball coach says sport can play big role in developing skills of youngsters Newcastle, Man Utd and West Ham target Leverkusen defender Chelsea ‘robbed’ by ‘embarrassing’ referee in Real Madrid draw, fumes Emma Hayes On this day in 2011: Martin Johnson resigns as England team manager Anthony Joshua sees Otto Wallin as stepping stone on way to title fight
2023-11-16 18:26
Wembanyama has a rough debut at Madison Square Garden as the Knicks rout the Spurs 126-105
Victor Wembanyama’s first game at Madison Square Garden was one of the worst of his young career, as the No. 1 draft pick managed just one basket in the first three quarters of the New York Knicks’ 126-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs
2023-11-09 12:54
8 hottest stars at the World Athletics Championships who are wildly popular on social media
The World Athletics Championships started on August 19 and will continue till August 27
2023-08-22 20:28
NBA scout says Emoni Bates 'too much of a circus' to consider drafting
Emoni Bates was once the highest-rated NBA Draft prospect in his class. Now he might not get selected at all.According to Seth Davis of The Athletic, a scout has said that Emoni Bates is considered "too much of a circus" to end up being drafted. This is a low blow for the player who wa...
2023-06-21 02:00
Ange Postecoglou confirms Harry Kane transfer to Bayern Munich ‘imminent’
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich is “imminent” after the clubs agreed a fee that could rise to £120million. Bayern have tracked the England captain all summer and a number of bids were turned down, but a breakthrough was reached on Wednesday night. It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club and join the Bundesliga champions, who will pay an initial £100m for the forward with add-ons able to potentially take the transfer up to an overall fee of £120m, the PA news agency understands. Reports on Friday morning initially suggested Spurs had refused to give Kane permission to travel to Germany, but they were squashed by Tottenham and he is set to fly out on Friday afternoon and will complete a medical once he lands in Munich. Postecoglou, speaking ahead of Sunday’s trip to Brentford, confirmed: “Fair to say I don’t have a blow by blow account but my understanding is it has progressed to the point where it looks like it will happen. “From that perspective, at least it gives us some clarity and we move forward without Harry. “From my perspective it is just about understanding where we are at and the information I have at the moment is the deal is imminent but like with all these things, you leave yourself some leeway. “But moving forward and training today preparing for Brentford, we are doing it without Harry. “It is best Harry speaks for himself in terms of the decision but no doubt he is one of the greats of this football club and that never changes. “I am only new in the building but fairly evident Harry Kane will always be one of the greats for this football club.” Kane is unlikely to be signed in time to feature in Bayern’s DFL-Super Cup match with RB Leipzig on Saturday night. However, with the clash taking place at Bayern’s Allianz Arena home, England captain Kane could well be unveiled to supporters before kick-off. This is not the first summer where Kane’s future has dominated headlines after Manchester City had a failed pursuit in 2021. Kane sat out the first match of that season – coincidentally against City – but Pep Guardiola’s side never got close to agreeing a fee with Tottenham for the forward. With Kane into the last 12 months of his contract at Spurs this summer, speculation over his future this time always felt more significant. Bayern saw bids reportedly turned down in June and July but made their intentions clear, with club officials in honorary president Uli Hoeness and president Herbert Hainer speaking openly in the media about Kane’s desire to join the Bundesliga champions. A third bid was submitted last Friday and a new twist occurred when Spurs spent all weekend deliberating before chairman Daniel Levy rejected the offer on Monday. With noises coming out that Kane, who scored four goals in a friendly win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday, had enjoyed working with new Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, confidence started to grow that he could spend the season with his boyhood team. Bayern’s latest bid proved enough for an agreement to be reached and, after Kane took his time to weigh up the decision, he decided it was right to end his 19-year stay at Spurs. It means Kane’s pursuit of Alan Shearer’s Premier League goal-scoring record will go on pause, with the Tottenham forward still 47 goals off equalling Shearer’s tally of 260. He will leave N17 as the club’s leading marksman after he surpassed Jimmy Greaves’ 266-goal record in February with the winner against Manchester City. Kane will also get the chance to fulfil his career-long ambition of winning trophies at Bayern, while remaining in the Champions League after spending only one of the last three campaigns in Europe’s elite competition. Back at Spurs, Postecoglou, who only took over in June, will be tasked with filling a huge void. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Hull KR and Leigh Leopards keen to end decades of hurt in Challenge Cup final England ‘want to have a ruthless scrum’ against Wales, says coach Tom Harrison Tottenham’s Harry Kane to undergo medical ahead of move to Bayern Munich
2023-08-11 21:15
Snell sharp, Tatis steals home as the Padres beat the Orioles 5-2 to take 2 of 3
Big league ERA leader Blake Snell pitched six strong innings and Fernando Tatis Jr. stole home in the seventh inning to electrify a sellout crowd at Petco Park as the San Diego Padres beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 to take two of three from the best team in the AL
2023-08-17 11:56
Carlo Ancelotti hopeful Vinicius Junior injury is not serious
Carlo Ancelotti rules Vinicius Junior out of Real Madrid's La Liga clash with Getafe through injury but offers an encouraging update on when he may return.
2023-08-26 16:55
Real Madrid's win percentage with and without Thibaut Courtois
How Real Madrid have fared with and without Thibaut Courtois in their starting lineup following his ACL injury.
2023-08-12 00:50
Rob Page keen to focus on football after clearing air with FAW chief Noel Mooney
Rob Page says he has cleared the air with Football Association of Wales chief Noel Mooney after their public spat last month. Mooney put Page’s future in the spotlight four days before the Euro 2024 qualifier against Croatia by saying the manager’s position would be reviewed if Wales did not qualify for Euro 2024 automatically. Subsequent media reports suggested Mooney had wanted fellow Irishman Roy Keane, the former Sunderland and Ipswich manager and TV pundit, to replace Page following June defeats to Armenia and Turkey. Page is just over 12 months into a four-year contract and promised to “ignore the noise” during the build-up to a game that Wales eventually won 2-1 to move into the second automatic qualifying place in Group D. Captain Ben Davies described Mooney’s comments as “not helpful”, and Page said the issue has since been addressed at a meeting between himself, the chief executive and FAW president Steve Williams. “It was a conversation all three of us needed,” Page said when announcing his squad on Wednesday for this month’s final Euro 2024 qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey. “I’m not going to go into details of what was said. It needed to be done and only positives will come from it. “I’m due to meet him (Mooney) after the press conference and we’ll have a coffee and a chat. It was frustrating, unnecessary. But I don't want to spend any more time thinking about it. We're all on the same page Wales manager Rob Page “Things were said and that was it. We all move forward in the same direction. Full focus is now on the football. “It was frustrating, unnecessary. But I don’t want to spend any more time thinking about it. We’re all on the same page. “We all know what we’ve got to do. It would be disrespectful from me now to the players to keep going on about it.” Tottenham forward Brennan Johnson returns to a 23-man squad after missing the win over Croatia with a hamstring injury. Page maintains stand-in skipper Davies will be fit for both qualifiers, despite the defender missing Spurs’ 4-1 Premier League defeat against Chelsea on Monday and also being in danger of sitting out his club’s weekend game at Wolves. Sunderland defender Niall Huggins has won his first senior call-up and Portsmouth midfielder Joe Morrell returns after a two-match suspension. But Aaron Ramsey is again ruled out with the knee injury he sustained in September, and Page says the Cardiff midfielder has suffered a “setback” in his recovery. He said: “It’s disappointing, I found out on Friday last week. As we all know Aaron was pushing and pushing to be part of this camp. “Unfortunately it’s come a little too soon for him. He’s had a setback. He got up to about 90 per cent. If you’d seen him on the grass, straight lines, everything was fine. “But there was something stopping him from going to that last step. So it’s not great for us, but it gives others an opportunity. “He’ll be a part of it (the squad). I had that conversation with him last camp. He knew he wasn’t going to play any minutes in regards to the changing room, but to have Aaron around the lads is definitely beneficial.” Wales can avoid the play-offs in March by beating Armenia in Yerevan on November 18 and Turkey in Cardiff three days later. Dropped points in either game will leave them relying on other results to join already-qualified Turkey at next summer’s European Championship in Germany. “June was a bump in the road,” Page said of damaging defeats to Armenia and Turkey in the space of four days. “We didn’t like it. We didn’t appreciate it. We didn’t like what we saw, but we put it right in September (by beating Latvia) – and some. “We built on that in October and capped it off with arguably one of the best performances that I’ve seen. “We have to build on that. It will count for nothing if we don’t follow it up.” Read More Ben Stokes century gets England out of trouble against Netherlands Sunderland defender Niall Huggins earns first senior Wales call-up John Stones injury leaves Manchester City ‘in trouble’, says Pep Guardiola Kevin Sinfield to run seven ultramarathons in support of Rob Burrow Never-say-die attitude gives Newcastle Champions League belief – Kieran Trippier On this day in 2004: Jason Robinson named as England’s first black captain
2023-11-08 21:28
Luis Robert Jr. homers in return as Chicago White Sox top Chicago Cubs 5-3
Luis Robert Jr. hit a tiebreaking solo homer in his return to the lineup, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3
2023-08-16 11:29
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