
World champs Lyles and Kerley face 200m New York showdown
Reigning world 200m champion Noah Lyles and world 100m champion Fred Kerley will race at 200 meters in next month's New York Grand...
2023-05-13 02:52

No swag, but Ronaldo puts swagger in Saudi football
Cristiano Ronaldo's first season in Saudi Arabia ended with a whimper, but with hundreds of millions in wages and unprecedented attention on Saudi football he may not be the last...
2023-06-01 19:17

Tsegay shatters 5,000m world record in Eugene
Ethiopia's 10,000m world champion Gudaf Tsegay shattered the women's 5,000m world record on Sunday, winning the Diamond League finals at Eugene...
2023-09-18 04:16

Amber Barrett scores twice as Republic of Ireland hit back to beat Zambia
Amber Barrett struck twice as Republic of Ireland came from behind to beat Zambia 3-2 at the Tallaght Stadium. Zambia hit the front 18 minutes in when Courtney Brosnan put through her own net and held the lead at half-time. The home side levelled things up from the penalty spot just after half-time through Barrett after Susan Katongo handled inside the area. Ireland’s second-half fightback was complete just after the hour mark when Claire O’Riordan nodded in Megan Connolly’s delivery and they made it three with 20 minutes to go through Barrett’s second of the night. Racheal Kundananji replied for the visitors late on but Ireland held firm to secure the victory as their preparations for the World Cup continue.
2023-06-23 05:23

Turkey’s Fenerbahce Signs Manchester United Football Star `Fred’
Turkish football club Fenerbahce confirmed the signing of midfielder Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos, famously known as Fred,
2023-08-13 22:46

‘How has it come to this?’: Leicester’s downfall must teach other clubs a vital lesson
On the day that one of the most sensational spells in any club’s history ended, many of the Leicester City squad and staff inevitably discussed “how it had come to this”. There was a general feeling that a wider malaise had afflicted the team, affecting “confidence and belief”. Some were more direct. “Brendan.” Questions can be asked of Brendan Rodgers but it still feels wrong to put so much on a manager who lifted the club to the first FA Cup win in their history and successive fifth-place finishes. That really just illustrates how thin the margins can end up being for those outside the mega elite, and how even “model clubs” can quickly become examples of something else entirely. There is even a lesson here for a club as brilliantly run as Brighton. Both of Leicester’s fifth-place finishes came in Covid seasons, as the wider game itself lost so much money, and the club’s owners suffered huge losses from the immense impact on their duty-free business. Had either of those campaigns brought Champions League football, and the greater prize money it produces, they might well have had enough to prevent the deep drop-off that has now seen them drop down to the Championship. Many with knowledge of the club ultimately put it down to a lack of investment to build on the fine team they had. Uefa’s new financial sustainability regulations actually meant they had to go in the opposite direction, to bring down a huge expenditure-to-revenue ratio. Others from the industry argue that it goes even deeper, and beyond the money spent. It was how it was spent. The recruitment that had served them so well for half a decade has actually been “woefully inadequate” for at least five windows. As an example of that, Rodgers badly needed a ball-playing centre-half after winning the FA Cup, in order to pin his tactical idea together but also bring the team on. Leicester instead signed Jannik Vestergaard for a fee understood to be around £16m, even though he had one year left on his Southampton contract. The Dane was just never a fit, and it meant that Leicester couldn’t go back into the market in the same way. It was quite a difference from so seamlessly replacing Harry Maguire and shows why Leicester have now fallen so far. It also proves something else, separate from the club. The idea of buying low and selling high is the obvious model for so many of those outside the elite due to the economic stratification of the game, but it is still asking so much to get it right continuously. In some cases, one slip can cause you to fall much more quickly. Leicester were wealthy enough to be insulated from that but not from the reality that it is statistically impossible to keep that going indefinitely. It was this that deepened the concerning mood within the club in the summer, even if there is a fair argument that the Rodgers era was already going “stale”. That does happen, but what happened here was that the effect got worse. Leicester needed a change. The club instead hung on, in part due to the finances. Rodgers himself didn’t have the same brightness about him. It all got rather dull, and began to cascade. The brutal truth for the players is that none of this is a sufficient excuse for where they are. Their starting line-up was stronger than half the teams in the Premier League. That will be emphasised by so many top-six clubs coming in for their players. James Maddison is expected to go to Newcastle United. Aston Villa look favourites for Harvey Barnes, but they will now have considerable competition. Youri Tielemans has been looked at by almost every one of the wealthiest seven clubs. None of these players should have been in this situation, no matter how bad it was getting. That is summed up by the fact that, before you even get to the fees that will be paid this summer, this is one of the best-paid squads to ever be relegated. The wage bill was one of the highest in the Premier League. In going down, Leicester have actually defied the economic realities of the sport in the same way they did in enjoying one of the sport’s greatest peaks. The dream they have lived has had the most abrupt wake-up. Appropriately, there remains the sense they just “sleepwalked” into this situation, “too good to go down”, all of that. In some ways, the speed with which it all unravelled ensured no one really grasped what was actually happening until it was too late. If an era has now been consigned to history, though, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is entirely negative for the future. Leicester have to sell but still have so many advantages over the rest of the Championship. They did use the sensational Premier League success of 2016 to build a new infrastructure, landmarked in their hugely impressive Seagrave training ground. They could well come straight back up. There is also something else to be recognised here. Over the last seven years, Leicester have enjoyed more glory and deeper emotion than most clubs have in their entire history. They had the most sensational title win of all. They then won the FA Cup at last, having previously lost four finals and had that heavy weight over the club. And that’s only when you consider the successes. This is also a club that had that great escape, the nature of Nigel Pearson’s departure, Claudio Ranieri’s surprise appointment and shock sacking and their club legend’s wife getting involved in a media circus. Tragically in the true sense of the word, and in something that really warrants a solemn separate recognition, there was the death of the owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and those who were travelling with him. That is almost too much to even register. It is little wonder that Dean Smith said after this game he couldn’t explain how this happened. And yet it is traceable. It’s also something other clubs can look at. One of the most remarkable Premier League stories of all naturally has a few lessons. Read More Leicester’s unexpected twist provides reminder of football’s new reality How the final day played out as Everton survive and Leicester relegated with Leeds Gary Lineker congratulates Everton but ‘gutted’ as Leicester suffer relegation Doucoure the saviour, Spurs at a crossroads: 6 final day talking points Leicester’s unexpected twist provides reminder of football’s new reality How the final day played out with Everton surviving relegation fight
2023-05-29 18:24

Rubbish-clearing divers come to rescue of 'pearl of Kyrgyzstan'
On the shores of Lake Issyk Kul in mountainous Kyrgyzstan, a group of divers show off their haul for the day -- a boat engine, car...
2023-07-06 16:26

Orioles clinch the AL East title with their 100th win of the season, 2-0 over Red Sox
Anthony Santander homered in the first, DL Hall worked out of a sixth-inning jam and the Baltimore Orioles clinched the AL East title with a 2-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox
2023-09-29 09:54

Alonso riding wave of enthusiasm for long-denied win 'No. 33' at Spanish GP
Fernando Alonso is riding a wave of enthusiasm that this Spanish Grand Prix can finally end his decade-long wait for a Formula One victory
2023-06-02 17:28

3 Packers who earned a roster spot in final preseason game, 1 who should be cut
After the Packers preseason finale, these three players locked up a spot on the 53-man roster, but one player stayed on the wrong side of the cut line.
2023-08-28 00:23

Jaguars, Ravens risk NFL win streaks in key home contests
NFL division leaders Jacksonville and Baltimore risk the NFL's longest win streaks on Sunday in...
2023-11-10 05:19

Germany coach vows to fight on after shock World Cup exit
Germany coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said Saturday she has no intention of quitting despite their shock early exit from the Women's World Cup and denied reports...
2023-08-05 12:16
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