List of All Articles with Tag 'eppersons'

Roy Keane has made an official Manchester United appearance for the first time in 18 years as he launched the club’s 2023-24 third kit. The former captain’s successful stay at Old Trafford memorably ended in 2005 after an explosive interview with the in-house TV channel MUTV, in which he criticised his team-mates. Keane has been back to the club many times over the years as a pundit, but his involvement in the promotional video for their third strip is the first in a formal capacity. The Irishman is seen in the video asking the current crop of players whether they have what it takes to be a true red devil – reference to the return of the fan-favourite red devil emblem on the jersey. “So you’re a devil are you? Well let’s remind you of the terms,” Keane says. “The devil isn’t something you wear. It’s more like a pact, a deal, shall we say. “It’s not for everyone. We expect a lot. And as sure as the sun will rise, we will know if you mean it. So have a good long think. “What do you get in return? What’s on offer? It’s Manchester United. “So there it is. No small print. Sign on the dotted line. But you already signed, didn’t you? Before you were even born.” Keane ends the sequence sitting at a table in front of a plate of prawn sandwiches – a nod to his famous “prawn sandwich brigade” comment, criticising a section of the Old Trafford support. Read More Roy Keane ends Man United feud with intense video to launch club’s third kit Arsenal ‘obviously paid way too much’ for Declan Rice, says Roy Keane Arsenal ‘obviously paid way too much’ for Declan Rice, says Roy Keane

Harry Kane has signed a brand new deal – but not exactly the sort fans might have been expecting. As supporters continue to speculate about the striker’s future at Tottenham, it’s been revealed that Kane has agreed to a new boots deal with Sketchers. Barstool Football reports that Kane has signed a major lifetime deal to help launch the first-ever high-end boots from the US shoe brand. It comes after Kane wore a pair of blacked-out "Mystery Pro Player Test Boot" in Tottenham’s friendly game against Shakhtar Donetsk. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter However, it’s not exactly the kind of deal Kane fans had expected the player to be signing this summer. There’s much speculation about his future in north London, after the England captain reportedly placed a time limit on any potential move to Bayern Munich. It was reported that the German giants’ latest offer was understood to be still at least £10m short of what Tottenham would accept. According to the Telegraph, Kane will abandon his pursuit of a transfer if no deal is agreed by the end of this week, with the German club believed to be preparing one final offer for the 30-year-old. Kane has entered the final 12 months of his contract at Tottenham. He did however manage to put any transfer drama behind him when he scored four goals in a 5-1 friendly win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday (August 6). Meanwhile, Kane was feeling the heat off the pitch recently, after taking part on First We Feast's Hot Ones challenge. 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.

PSG are exploring their options to sell Neymar, with Chelsea, Barcelona and the Saudi Pro League all rumoured destinations.

Charles Oliveira has admitted that he ‘bluffed’ about having an injury in a bid to change the time and place of his title fight with Islam Makhachev. Oliveira will challenge Makhachev for the UFC lightweight belt in Abu Dhabi in October, 12 months after the pair clashed for the title in the same venue: the Etihad Arena. In their first fight, Makhachev submitted former champion Oliveira to win the vacant gold, and now the Brazilian will try to avenge that loss to the Russian. However, it looked at one point like Oliveira might not be fit to compete in October, leading some fans to wonder whether Makhachev would defend his title in Abu Dhabi at all. But now Oliveira has revealed that he was not injured – or, at least, not as badly as he had suggested. “What changed is that I just learned how to play. Now I’m playing,” the 33-year-old said on The MMA Hour on Monday (7 August). “What I knew was that the UFC was planning to maybe have a fight in Brazil in November, so I was trying to push it to November. “I was just playing with them. Obviously it didn’t work, so now I’m fighting in October, but that’s what I was doing: I was bluffing.” Oliveira bounced back from his loss to Makhachev by knocking out Beneil Dariush this June. “Do Bronx” previously held the lightweight title from May 2021 until May 2022, before being stripped of the gold. Oliveira was stripped of the title after narrowly missing weight, the day before his scheduled defence against Justin Gaethje. The Brazilian went on to submit Gaethje and set up his first fight with Makhachev. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Don’t sneer at the boxing crossovers – they’re lucrative, successful and here to stay ‘Boo if you’re a virgin’: Jake Paul mocks crowd after beating Nate Diaz Dillian Whyte vows to prove his innocence after doping test ‘adverse finding’

The stakes are higher for Erik ten Hag in his second season at Manchester United

Prolonging matches to tackle time-wasting is “changing the game we fell in love with”, the Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango has said. Referees in competitions around the world have been instructed this season to more accurately measure time lost to stoppages such as substitutions, goal celebrations, VAR checks and injuries, after the approach was first adopted at last year’s World Cup in Qatar. It has already led to 13 minutes of time being added to the second half of Sunday’s Community Shield between Manchester City and Arsenal, and has sparked criticism from City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester United defender Raphael Varane who say the move, combined with an already congested calendar, is pushing players to breaking point. PFA boss Molango says the focus should be on sanctioning individual players and teams who waste time, and told BBC Radio 5 Live: “This is not basketball, this is football. There’s probably a reason why the game was 90 minutes and not 60, and what we’re trying to do here is change the football that we all fell in love with. That’s not, in my opinion, what the fans want to see. “We all agree we need to deal with time-wasting. Whether the solution is to add more minutes to the game, I’m not sure. I think there are other ways to deal with that. The referee has the power to sanction the people who waste time. “If you look at the game on Sunday, these are two teams that do not waste time. There was no time-wasting whatsoever yet in the second half you end up with eight minutes added with two teams who do not waste time. “So you’re thinking when you see teams who use a different type of tactics, how long will the game be?” Molango says many players have echoed Varane’s concerns over the new approach and player workload generally when he has met with them over the summer. He says football must wake up and address the problems with the calendar, which appear set to get worse with UEFA’s club competitions expanding in the 2024-25 season. That campaign will also end with FIFA’s new 32-team Club World Cup in the United States. “This year’s Champions League final is a good example of how saturated the calendar is,” Molango added. “Watching the game as a fan it’s sad to see Kevin De Bruyne not able to finish the first half or to hear after the game Rodri say that they had cramps after 60 minutes. That’s just not what you want to see. What you want to see is players being able to show their best version. Even for those who just see this as a commercial venture, ultimately they are killing the product. Ultimately it will affect the game and viewership. Maheta Molango on football's crowded calendar “Those type of situations need to be a wake-up call to say you’re just not heading in the right direction and we need to do something about that if we don’t want to kill the product. “I’m using the word ‘product’ on purpose because even for those who just see this as a commercial venture, ultimately they are killing the product. Ultimately it will affect the game and viewership.” It has been reported that broadcasters are in talks with the football authorities over the new approach to added time amid concerns it will affect scheduling.

With his exceptional skills, dominance on the court and impressive collection of accolades, LeBron James has garnered a legion of fans worldwide

Elon Musk is busy preparing for his fight against Mark Zuckerberg, and he might be getting a little helping hand from none other than WWE royalty Triple H. The wrestler who is the CCO and head of creative for WWE has reached out to Musk and offered to help him get ready for the big showdown against the Meta CEO. Musk and Zuckerberg seemingly agreed to a cage match after it was leaked that Zuckerberg's Meta was planning to release a rival to Twitter called Threads. After Musk said he’d be up for a cage match if he is”, Zuckerberg then posted a screenshot of Musk's tweet to his Instagram story saying "send me location". Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Triple H, real name Paul Levesque, has now responded to a post from Musk, where the Tesla CEO described his fighting style as “WWE”. The wrestler referenced Twitter’s recent rebrand to “X” in his reply, offering to help by writing: "Say the word, @elonmusk. I know a thing or two about making an X sign" adding a GIF of him making the infamous 'Suck It' gesture. Wrestling fans will know that Triple H was a co-founder of the D-Generation X (DX) stable, which are a major faction in WWE history. He’s not a bad guy to have in your corner for something like this, we’d say – Triple H is one of the most celebrated wrestlers of all time and retired in 2022 as a 14-time world champion. Triple H is now in charge of the creative team at WWE, and he’s been keeping a close eye on the touted fight between Musk and Zuckerberg. The wrestler hasn’t always been such a big fan of Musk, though. Back in 2021, he appeared on the Good Time show and criticised his business practices in a tongue-in-cheek rant before calling him out for a fight. "So, if you want to disrespect our business, I will anytime, anyplace, anywhere [fight you]. Elon Musk, if you’ve got the guts, if you have what it takes to do this… then you and I will talk about what I really want to talk about, which is taking one of your rockets, launching it from Florida, going up into space, heading to Mars with a team from the Performance Center, where we then put on the largest spectacle the universe has ever seen – WrestleMania Mars," Triple H said. Meanwhile, in a post on August 6 in Meta’s recently launched social media platform Threads, Zuckerberg said he had proposed 26 August for the bout with Musk. “I’m ready today. I suggested Aug 26 when he first challenged, but he hasn’t confirmed. Not holding my breath,” the Meta chief said in response to Musk’s post on Twitter, which has been rebranded as X. 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.

England boss Sarina Wiegman admitted “sweetest person” Lauren James “lost her emotions” as she received a red card that could see the 21-year-old miss the remainder of the World Cup. The Lionesses advanced to the quarter-finals after surviving James’ dismissal late in the second half to beat Nigeria on penalties, with Euro 2022 hero Chloe Kelly scoring the winning spot-kick in a 4-2 shoot-out success. James’ brace and two assists earned her Player of the Match honours against China, but this time she was sent off after it was ruled she had deliberately stepped on the back of Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie with three minutes of normal time remaining.

Fiji head coach Simon Raiwalui named his squad Tuesday for next month's Rugby World Cup, but warned his in-form side they would face a big test of their credentials in...

Pep Guardiola has emulated Sir Alex Ferguson in several ways. Usually, however, that tends to be something to savour. As Manchester City’s most decorated manager became the first coach to lose three consecutive Community Shields since his Manchester United counterpart, he could have taken solace in the bigger picture. Call it the curse of the Community Shield, perhaps, but then, as now, its winners rarely went on to taste Premier League glory. Only one of the previous 12 victors – albeit City themselves in 2018 – have been able to call themselves champions of England 10 months later. Arsenal won the Community Shield in 2020 and only finished eighth that season. Three years on, they were happy to ignore history. The celebrations suggested it was more than just a pre-season trinket to them. “This is what I visioned when I joined,” said Declan Rice and although Arsenal hope their £105m recruit actually imagined something more glorious, the previous time they made a midfielder the most expensive Englishman of all time, Alan Ball won nothing in their colours. Rice had no trophies to show for the first 244 games of his club career: he has two in two now, even if the Europa Conference League and the Community Shield are not the most prestigious prizes in football. The broader question – and a perennial one at this stage – is whether the Community Shield is a marker for the campaign. Arsenal got a first glimpse of what £200m bought them. Rice was disciplined and diligent in midfield but an unspectacular outing may be a deceptive debut: for the majority of matches, he is likely to be a lone defensive midfielder, rather than dovetailing with Thomas Partey, in a team who seem primed to exchange attacking ambition for more mettle. Meanwhile, Kai Havertz was bought to operate in midfield and instead deputised for the injured Gabriel Jesus in attack. Arteta branded the £65m man “superb” but it felt a microcosm of the Chelsea Havertz: intelligent movement, eager pressing, ineffectual finishing. There is a case for saying that Havertz performed too accurate an impression of Jesus: Arsenal prospered last season by sharing the goals around, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard all getting either 14 or 15 in the Premier League. Leandro Trossard provided their Community Shield equaliser, even if it required a huge deflection. Whether Arsenal can afford profligacy in attack, or from Havertz, remains to be seen but the reinvention of the German in midfield may yet be the gamble that shapes Arsenal’s season, one way or another. Jurrien Timber’s bow may have been the most auspicious: quietly assured, the versatile Dutchman slotted in at left-back, though it is perhaps only his third-best position; Kieran Tierney, seemingly on his way out, fared less well when he replaced the Dutchman and Cole Palmer scored. That Arteta bought Timber and is bidding for David Raya is a sign he is willing to create a threat to those who had seemed entrenched in his team. Ben White could be dislodged by Timber, Aaron Ramsdale by Raya. The goalkeeper’s match-winning display showed he had produced the right response and suggested competition could be healthy. Ramsdale’s rhetoric was instructive, too. He argued a mental block against City, forged in three years of defeats, was lifted. That City had returned to training two weeks later than Arsenal and removed Erling Haaland at 0-0 offered the impression that victory meant less to them; the result will nevertheless assume an added importance if it helps shift the balance of power in the Arteta-Guardiola rivalry. A clearer indication may arrive when they meet in October. Perhaps then Arsenal will borrow from their Wembley gameplan, reuniting two defensive midfielders, fielding a back four who – unlike when Oleksandr Zinchenko twice faced City last season – are all specialist defenders, playing deeper to limit space both behind and in front of their rearguard. If last season’s Arsenal was about idealism and excitement, the surprise surge of a youthful team, perhaps this season’s side are charged with showing more physicality, solidity and nous against City, borrowing from a greater strength in depth to alter their style of play. Such wins can feel signs of progress, staging posts on the route to something greater. Arsenal beat Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea last season, taking 19 points from a possible 24 against them, but not City. But such occasions can also be a false dawn. After their triumph in the 2020 Community Shield, they won their first two league games, but only two of the next 12. They sank as low as 15th. A repeat feels implausible. But more than most, Arsenal know it is hard to judge precisely what winning the Community Shield signifies. Read More Kevin De Bruyne ‘way ahead’ of schedule on return from hamstring injury Kevin De Bruyne says new approach to added time ‘doesn’t make any sense’ Cole Palmer shows he can replace Riyad Mahrez — and become Man City’s missing piece Aaron Ramsdale makes his case to remain first choice – as Arsenal make their own one for major trophies

Anthony Edwards and Cameron Johnson each scored 15 points to lead a young United States NBA squad over Puerto Rico 117-74 on Monday and conclude...