List of All Articles with Tag 'eppersons'

Chelsea’s owners insist they remain committed and optimistic about the future having appointed Mauricio Pochettino to turn things around following a terrible Premier League season. The consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital has endured a torrid first 13 months in charge at Stamford Bridge after sacking Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter and failing to get any improvement from interim manager Frank Lampard in the final 11 matches of the campaign. Chelsea’s 12th-place finish was their worst since 1994 and, after spending more than £600million on transfers in their first two windows, the owners have come in for significant criticism But they are hopeful the appointment of former Tottenham and Paris St Germain boss Pochettino will get things back on track. “It’s been just over a year since we completed our purchase of Chelsea. It was and remains a privilege for us to be custodians of our wonderful club,” said the owners in an open letter. “We remain completely committed to the long term and sustainable success of our club and fulfilling that promise we made to you. “We know the huge potential we must grow to develop Chelsea FC and it is a role we take seriously. Everybody working here is relentlessly focused on driving us forward. “Clearly, for our men’s team, it has been a disappointing season and there is a lot we can and will do better. “For all the challenges of the past year, we are optimistic about the future. We are looking forward to welcoming Mauricio Pochettino as the head coach of our men’s team in July. “We are building a modern scouting, talent identification, and recruiting infrastructure within our sporting department, led by Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, which will help us to identify and transform the squad around elite talent, a squad capable of consistently competing to win the Premier League, raise domestic cups and compete and win at the highest level in European football. “We have also appointed Chris Jurasek as CEO to drive our business forward off the pitch, which in turn will make us more sustainable on the pitch.” While Chelsea men’s team have struggled this season, their women’s team continues to excel and the owners were full of praise for manager Emma Hayes. “Our women’s team has celebrated another astonishing season, winning the double with an unprecedented fourth successive WSL title and third successive FA Cup,” the letter continued. “There are not enough positive things to say about Emma Hayes, her backroom staff, and squad who have dealt with adversity, injury and Emma’s period of absence. “Their character and hunger to win is second to none.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live West Ham hero Jarrod Bowen says last-minute winner ‘best moment of my career’ Tony Cottee: West Ham face big decisions over Declan Rice and David Moyes future Football rumours: Newcastle join Manchester United in bid to sign Kim Min-jae

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Jarrod Bowen admitted scoring the winning goal in a European final was beyond his wildest dreams. Bowen’s last-minute strike secured a dramatic 2-1 victory for West Ham over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final and ended their 43-year wait for a trophy. The 26-year-old winger raced on to Lucas Paqueta’s through-ball and slotted home to spark wild celebrations on the pitch, the touchline and in the stands. “I can’t sum it up, it’s the best feeling I’ve had in my career,” said Bowen. “When I went through I had a lot of time and it was just about making sure you put it in. “The keeper came out and I think I fell over, I looked up and the ball was going in and I thought ‘no, this isn’t happening’. “I spoke to my family before and said ‘imagine scoring a goal in the last minute’. To bring a trophy to this club is the best moment of my career. “The fans as well, seeing them after the game I was a bit lost for words. It’s the best feeling of my life, never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d win a European trophy. “I’m so buzzing, all of us are just going to go mad I think. You have to celebrate. “When the final whistle went I just thought’ this party is going to be crazy. I’m just a little boy from Leominster who never thought I’d be talking like this. My family are crying and it just shows me how far I’ve come.” West Ham led through a Said Benrahma penalty on the hour but were immediately pegged back by Giacomo Bonaventura’s strike. But when Bowen raced through with a minute to go, boss David Moyes almost found himself going full Jose Mourinho. “The moment he went through I was edging down the touchline,” he said. “If it was going to be anyone, I thought ‘this is the moment’. “But I couldn’t do a full Mourinho knee slide as the grass was a bit dry and I’d have ended up on my belly.” The victorious team return home on Thursday for a parade through East London, starting at 7pm on Barking Road and ending in front of Stratford Town Hall. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Tony Cottee: West Ham face big decisions over Declan Rice and David Moyes future Football rumours: Newcastle join Manchester United in bid to sign Kim Min-jae On this day 2011: England’s Matt Prior reprimanded over smashed window at Lord’s

The 2022 World Cup will possibly go down as the most controversial in history. Hosts Qatar have an appalling human rights record and more than 6,000 migrant workers have died during construction on the stadiums due to the country's extreme heat - which is why the tournament is being held in the winter as opposed to the summer. Given the gigantic elephant in the room and the very awkward political situation surrounding the tournament it's going to be very hard to try and enjoy the tournament but we'll try our best. Rather than dwell on what's to come we've instead decided to have a trip down memory lane and revel in some true football nostalgia because after all, that's kinda what the World Cup is all about. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter Every four years we are greeted with images of Pele, Maradona, Zidane, Moore, Beckenbauer and other greats who all achieved immortality thanks to their exploits at the Word Cup and a few of them scored some decent goals too. Brazilian screamers, mazy Argentine dribbles, well-worked German team goals and the odd sprinkling of Italian audacity is what we watch the World Cup for, so it now seems like no better time to rank, in our opinion, the 100 greatest World Cup goals ever. We'll be releasing the list slowly - 10 a day until the tournament starts on November 20th so naturally we're starting at the bottom with numbers 100-90. 100. Maicon, Brazil vs North Korea 2010 The classic 'did or didn't he mean it' goal. Maicon, perhaps best known beyond this goal for being given the run around by a young Gareth Bale, struck this seemingly impossible strike to break the deadlock against a very stubborn North Korean team in one of the better games of the 2010 group stages. Maicon Amazing goal vs North Korea - HD www.youtube.com 99. Kieran Trippier, England vs Croatia 2018 Before he was the talismanic Newcastle captain causing the Toon Army to have dreams beyond their wildest reckoning, Kieran Trippier briefly had the entirety of England dreaming of a first World Cup final since 1966 when he scored this sumptuous free kick against Croatia in the opening minutes of the 2018 semi-final against Croatia. Kieran Trippier Goal In The World Cup Semi Finals!!! www.youtube.com 98. Andreas Ogris, Austria vs USA 1990 Austria had a pretty miserable Italia 90 and had already been eliminated by the time they played the United States in their final group game. Thankfully for them they did have something to cheer about when striker Andreas Ogris found a burst of energy to score sublime solo counterattack goal as part of a 2-1 win. Ogris austria 1990.avi www.youtube.com 97. Philippe Albert, Belgium vs Germany 1994 Newcastle fans will remember Albert, the great Belgian defender capable of scoring some gorgeous goals, and wouldn't you know it? He could score them for Belgium too. This neat little give-and-go was just a consolation though in an otherwise excellent second-round game against Germany which ended 3-2. 02/07/1994 Belgium v Germany youtu.be 96. Zinedine Zidane, France vs Italy 2006 You won't see many penalties on this list mostly because few of them are panenkas that rattle off the bar in a World Cup final. This is Zidane we are talking about who had the arrogance and confidence to pull this off in his last ever match as a player which ended in disgrace following his infamous head butt on Marco Materazzi. Zinedine Zidane Penalty Kick France V Italy FIFA World Cup Final 2006 www.youtube.com 95. Jared Borgetti, Mexico v Italy 2002 Headers are usually straightforward affairs with little flamboyance. That wasn't the case when journeyman Mexican striker Jared Borgetti got his bonnet on the end of this cross and seemingly defied the laws of physics and the English language we're not quite sure how to describe this goal so you'll just have to watch it. Jared Borgetti Mexico vs Italy 1-0 First Round World Cup 2002 Dutch commentary www.youtube.com 94. Keisuke Honda, Japan vs Denmark 2010 Ahh, the Jabulani. One of the most unpredictable and derided World Cup balls ever created which seemingly had a mind of its own. A perfect example of this would be the free kick that Japan legend Keisuke Honda scored against Denmark in 2010 which dipped and swerved all over the place. Keisuke Honda 'Magical Goal' Vs Denmark www.youtube.com 93. Eric Wynalda, USA vs Switzerland 1994 USA's first goal of the first World Cup that they ever hosted (they'll return as co-hosts in 2026 along with Mexico and Canada) was one to remember as one of their most celebrated players Eric Wynalda scored a textbook curling free-kick in the opening game against Switzerland which ended 1-1. The kits weren't bad either. Eric Wynalda Goal - World Cup 1994 - Group A | USA - Switzerland 1:1 | 45' www.youtube.com 92. Hwangbo Kwan, South Korea v Spain 1990 This South Korean thunderbolt from Kwan was one of the few things the Koreans could celebrate as it was the only goal they scored. The strike was so ferocious that it reportedly registered at 114 km/h. It didn't bother Spain's Michel too much who scored a hat-trick in this game, with all three strikes deserving a shoutout too. 1990 (June 17) Spain 3-South Korea 1 (World Cup).mpg www.youtube.com 91. Ilie Dumitrescu, Romania vs Argentina 1994 Romania's 1994 squad were a wonderful team full of mercurial players capable of divine pieces of individual brilliance. One of them was former Tottenham star Ilie Dumistrescu who scored this brilliantly simple goal as Romania knocked Argentina out of the USA 94. DUMITRESCU - against argentina 1994 www.youtube.com 90. Robbie Keane, Ireland vs Germany 2002 Not the prettiest goal this and is as route one as they come but there was something special about this Ireland team who really punched above their weight in 2002, with this strike by the great Robbie Keane summing up the dogged determination from Mick McCarthy's team. Just a shame the other Keane wasn't there to see it. (HQ) Robbie Keane Last Minute Goal Republic of Ireland v Germany 2002 World Cup www.youtube.com Click for goals 89-80 Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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There were two men running free in the Fiorentina half. First Jarrod Bowen, en route to winning West Ham United their first trophy in 43 years. And then David Moyes, sprinting on to the Prague pitch in celebration, arms stretched out wide. It was a run that was 25 years in the making, a journey that took him from the Auto Windscreens Shield to the Europa Conference League. Few clubs have waited longer for the emotional release of securing silverware. Few managers, either. It began in a derided knockout competition for Moyes, the Auto Windscreens where Preston North End, newly under a 34-year-old centre-back, faced Macclesfield in January 1998. A quarter of a century later and, in game No.1,097 of a marathon managerial career, Moyes had a major honour he could call his own. He had said credited Sir Alex Ferguson with the Community Shield his Manchester United claimed, perhaps thinking there would be further glory for him at Old Trafford. There wasn’t. But if Moyes has long been destined to be remembered as the man miscast as Ferguson’s successor, he has other places in footballing history. The best Everton manager since Howard Kendall is in select company. Like Ron Greenwood, like John Lyall but like no one else, Moyes has won something with, and for, West Ham. The ungainly, unglamorous figure bouncing up and down in front of their fans finally has the crowning glory he has long lacked. It may be ‘only’ the Conference League and West Ham’s resources perhaps dictate they ought to triumph, but Moyes had been the manager whose considerable achievements lacked that defining feat. He has ten top-eight finishes in the Premier League with either West Ham or Everton and if taking the Merseysiders to fourth in 2005 involved greater alchemy, the reality is that two clubs who used to have more hope of silverware now operate in an environment where the superpowers sweep up the prizes, even those they scarcely want. Successive European runs have shown what the medals mean to West Ham: for Moyes, sent off in the semi-final last year for rather ignominiously booting the ball at a ball-boy, there is a happier ending. The Scot had called this the biggest game of his career and, before the night finished, he was placing his medal around the neck of his 87-year-old father, David senior. He saw names being etched into West Ham folklore. Only Alan Sealey had scored the goal to win West Ham a European trophy until Bowen burst clear. Only Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds, their greatest player and record appearance maker, had captained them to silverware until Declan Rice, almost certainly in his valedictory act, joined an elite band. Rice will probably leave. For much of the season, there has been a debate if Moyes should, and for other reasons. West Ham underachieved in the Premier League, spending the best part of £200m, finishing 14th. The 60-year-old was taken aback last season when Jurgen Klopp informed him he was the oldest manager in the division and grateful when Roy Hodgson relieved him of that mantle; the more pertinent issue is whether he is deemed yesterday’s manager now. Certainly Fiorentina out-passed West Ham for swathes of the final. They looked the team with the more progressive ethos, the side with the manager, in Vincenzo Italiano, bound for better things. But Moyes’ management has always been based in part on grit and grind, on putting in hard work in hard times. It hasn’t always reaped a reward but West Ham stayed in the game. There weren’t VAR penalties or the Europa Conference League when Moyes started out in the Auto Windscreens Shield but Said Benrahma scored from the spot. Moyes had led in a final before – Louis Saha’s goal after 25 seconds in the 2009 FA Cup was a record until Saturday – and, when Giacomo Bonaventura cancelled out the opener, he could have been forgiven for having flashbacks to Chelsea’s comeback against Everton 14 years ago. But not this time. The Conference League was not actually created for Premier League or Serie A clubs but for Fiorentina and West Ham, starved of honours for two and four decades respectively, it had a purpose, a chance to create memories and Bowen did. And so on a night when a section of West Ham’s fans disgraced themselves, pelting Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi with missiles, leaving him with blood running down his head and neck, their manager got the reward that had long eluded him. For much of Moyes’ quarter of a century, he has seen the major prizes go to the coaching Galacticos. He had been earned his peers’ approval, being voted the LMA’s manager of the year three times, but as he stood on the podium, tugging at the gold medal Aleksander Ceferin had placed around his neck, Moyes had something he had been searching for since over a thousand games ago. Read More West Ham fans leave Fiorentina player bleeding after being hit by objects thrown from crowd West Ham end trophy drought in most dramatic style as Jarrod Bowen plays the hero Violent clashes between West Ham and Fiorentina fans lead to arrests ahead of European final Carlton Cole on West Ham’s final, a coaching career and his surprise ‘love’ of the world’s most sustainable sport David Moyes hands over medal to his father after West Ham end wait for trophy West Ham end trophy drought in most dramatic style as Jarrod Bowen plays the hero West Ham vs Fiorentina LIVE: Europa Conference League final latest updates

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