List of All Articles with Tag 'eppersons'

Southampton boss Russell Martin says James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia will be involved in Friday night’s Sky Bet Championship opener at Sheffield Wednesday “as it stands”. Both players have been linked with an exit from St Mary’s this summer following last season’s relegation from the Premier League, with Ward-Prowse linked with Fulham and West Ham and Lavia attracting bids from Liverpool. But a transfer for either men have yet to materialise and Martin will utilise them at Hillsborough. “Both will be involved tomorrow night, as it stands, I dont know what will change between now and then,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “Do I think they will be Southampton players at the end of the window? I have not got a clue. What I hope, what I think, is probably very different. “It would be pointless for me to come out and say, ‘I think they will be here, I don’t think they’ll be here’, because ultimately I have no control over that. “If they are both not here, or one is not here it is because the club and the player think they have something which is beneficial for everyone. “That will be the case, that is why it has dragged on and why it will probably continue to drag on. But while they have been here, both have been great and both will be involved tomorrow night. As it stands.” Kamaldeen Sulemana is injured and will miss the trip to South Yorkshire, while Sekou Mara is a doubt. Read More Football rumours: Harry Kane will not sign new Tottenham deal Women’s World Cup LIVE: Scores, updates and latest news Josko Gvardiol close to making £77.5m move to Manchester City

Jurgen Klopp has lamented Liverpool's defence's lack of 'awareness' during their 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Diana Taurasi is on the cusp of another milestone in her illustrious WNBA career as she closes in on becoming the first player in league history to score 10,000 points in the regular season

NFL great Tom Brady said he "couldn't be more excited" after becoming a minority owner in English second-tier...

The Atlanta Braves have baseball’s best record

Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino expects Lionel Messi to face plenty of physical battles in MLS after being Orlando City.

The pictures & talking points from Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund in pre-season.

Goals from Moise Kean, Timothy Weah and Dusan Vlahovic earned Juventus a pre-season win over Real Madrid on Wednesday night in Orlando, Florida.

Nate Diaz has said he knows the ‘secret’ to Jake Paul’s success as a boxer, while warning the YouTube star: ‘I’m in on it, too.’ UFC icon Diaz, 38, will make his professional boxing debut on Saturday, facing Paul in Dallas, Texas. The bout will mark Diaz’s first fight since leaving the UFC in September, when he submitted Tony Ferguson. Meanwhile, 26-year-old Paul last fought in February, suffering his first loss as he was beaten on points by Tommy Fury. Prior to that result, American Paul was unbeaten with wins over ex-UFC champions Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley, as well as mixed martial arts star Ben Askren. Paul knocked out Askren, beat Woodley on points then via knockout in a rematch, before defeating Silva via decision. Addressing his compatriot’s boxing career ahead of their fight this weekend, Diaz said on Wednesday (2 August): “The thing about him is, he knows that MMA fighters can’t box and they’re in over their heads trying to box, because he went in there and worked a bunch over in training and in fights. “MMA fighters don’t know this, but the only thing about that is: I’m in on the same secret, and I’ve been in on that since I was 15. I’m not your average wrestler, MMA fighter. “I didn’t wrestle. When these guys he fought were in the wrestling room at five, six, seven, 10, 15 years old, I was boxing the whole neighbourhood, boxing every pro I could find. I was boxing the highest level I could find, my whole career.” As a mixed martial artist, Diaz is best known for his jiu-jitsu skills, although his volume striking and cardio also characterised his UFC run. In contrast, Woodley and Askren were predominantly wrestlers, although Silva is seen by many as the greatest striker in MMA history. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Jake Paul vs Nate Diaz live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV this weekend The hidden side of Jake Paul Amanda Serrano announces surprise return to MMA with PFL

There is a strange twist of fate about the fact it was a trip to New York that saw Mark Bonner recharge after another rollercoaster season with Cambridge. If events last September had gone differently, Bonner would have called Rotherham’s New York Stadium home but after he turned down their approach, the 37-year-old embarked on the latest dramatic chapter in his story with boyhood club Cambridge. Seven points from safety ahead of an April Fools’ Day trip to Port Vale, no one was laughing but the U’s won five of their last nine League One matches to pull off a great escape despite having one of the lowest budgets in the division. So, ahead of his fifth season in charge of Cambridge, would League One’s longest-serving head coach accept a drama-free upcoming campaign? Bonner told the PA news agency: “We don’t want it to be dull! We want drama because that is what it is all about. We want our support base to keep growing and people to keep engaging with the club. We’ve done a great job with that over the last three-and-a-half years. “We have created some unbelievable moments and we want to try create that again this season. We certainly want a smooth and successful season, but I don’t want it to be a dull one, that’s for sure.” Whether it is Bonner or the Cambridge way, they don’t do straightforward. Bonner first coached at the club in 2002 and 18 years later – after nine seasons in non-league – he took over the first-team on an interim basis with relegation out of the English Football League a possibility. Four straight wins allayed those fears and he was handed the job permanently in March 2020, but within a week the coronavirus outbreak had turned into a pandemic and he waited six months to take charge of his first official match. No one is human if they say they have no doubts because that is a natural thing when it is going against you, but we had good players and brilliant togetherness and spirit within the team Mark Bonner What followed was drama of the best kind with promotion secured on the final day after a 3-0 win over Grimsby with supporters gathered outside the Abbey Stadium to celebrate due to it being the behind-closed-doors era. More than 6,000 turned up to watch Cambridge host rivals Oxford in their first match back in the third tier since 2002 and the U’s finished in 14th along with producing an FA Cup giant-killing with a 1-0 win at Eddie Howe’s Newcastle. Last season produced more challenges and despite good performances, a run of one win in 15 league matches saw Bonner’s men destined for relegation. Cambridge bucked the trend to keep faith with their manager, who responded with 13 points from 24 before a final-day victory over Forest Green, coupled with Morecambe and MK Dons’ failure to win, secured survival in the most dramatic of circumstances. “If you could write how you stay up, if that is what you’re fighting for, you would do it like that,” Bonner reflected. “The game itself was fairly comfortable. Atmosphere first half was amazing, all four sides of the stadium full of Cambridge fans, unbelievable support. But second half no one is singing or watching our game, they are watching their phones seeing what is happening elsewhere. That includes the whole of our dugout. “It is completely out of your hands and a horrible situation to be in. Our game finished and there was a long time left in one of the other games, but once that finished and it went for us, it was a nice moment of relief. “It was the end of a cycle because a lot of our players moved on, but the majority of them played their part in an incredible era in our club’s history and I think their story deserved to end like that.” Bonner’s own journey with Cambridge shows no sign of stopping soon. The former U’s season-ticket holder admitted doubts crept in last season, but he retained belief in the squad and repaid the backing of owner Paul Barry and sporting director Ben Strang. And the trio alongside other key local figures involved at Cambridge are keen to build a lasting legacy, with the Abbey Stadium bought back while work has started on a new training base alongside desires to become a top-half team. “No one is human if they say they have no doubts because that’s a natural thing when it is going against you, but we had good players and brilliant togetherness and spirit within the team,” Bonner insisted. “So, that (belief) was shook but never broken. The wheels would have fallen off quite a few other clubs in the sense of not being able to recover from those results or just huge change, managerial changes, staff changes, you see all that every season at clubs. “But the stability we’ve built and togetherness we’ve built just shone through in that period. “I would like to hope we get some respect for setting a bit of a different precedent and if more clubs were like that, maybe the ability to build something over time would become more common. “There is a perception in football that one person is responsible for everything, one person builds a team, but we’re a bit different. “Three seasons at this level for the first time in decades, most successful team we’ve had for decades, that is not a fluke firstly but it is also not down to one person, it is down to a whole host of people. We have a lot of Cambridge people driving the club and hopefully that pays off for us. “It has certainly been really unique and a big contributor to us in the last three years, but we want it to be that way for another three years. We know how tough that is but that’s the motivation we have all got.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Boss John Eustace accepts success will take time at Birmingham 2026 Rugby League World Cup to be hosted in southern hemisphere Marcus Stewart thinks former clubs Sunderland and Ipswich can push for promotion

Manchester City are closing in on a £77.5 million (€90m) deal for RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol. Leipzig were said to be holding out for a fee of 100m euros (£86m) for the Croatia international. But City have broken through and are now closing in on the transfer, with Gvardiol expected to have a medical later this week. Gvardiol would add competition on the left side of City’s defence, having helped Croatia reach the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup and then the final of the Nations League, where they were beaten by Spain. Midfielder Mateo Kovacic is so far City’s only summer signing, with the Croatian having moved from Chelsea during June. City saw captain Ilkay Gundogan leave for Barcelona on a free transfer and Riyad Mahrez last week completed a switch to Saudi Arabia club Al-Ahli in a £30m deal. The Premier League champions will take on Arsenal in the FA Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday. Read More Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus to miss start of season after knee surgery All the talking points ahead of new Premier League season On this day in 2020: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads Arsenal to FA Cup glory

NFL great Tom Brady has become a minority owner of English second-tier soccer team Birmingham and wants to bring a winning mentality to an underperforming club