List of All Articles with Tag 'f'

Several factors (social media, increasing access to film and stats, League Pass, and more) have contributed to the rise of groupthink in MVP voting.

Bayern's predicted lineup for their Champions League clash against Galatasaray on Tuesday night.

Sir Bobby Charlton stood for everything that was good about Manchester United, according to former manager David Moyes, who will never forget the personal support he was shown during a testing spell at the club. Fans flocked to Old Trafford on Sunday to pay tribute to former United and England great Charlton following his death aged 86. A book of condolence was opened at 10am in the International Suite and supporters laid flowers and scarves and left messages for one of the club’s most famous sons. A key member of England’s victorious 1966 World Cup team, Charlton also enjoyed great success at club level with United, who became the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968. Charlton won three league titles and one FA Cup at Old Trafford and, after leaving United in 1973 and becoming Preston manager, he returned to Old Trafford 11 years later as a club director. Moyes took over from Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager in the summer of 2013, but the former Everton boss left the club after just 10 months, with the team seventh in the Premier League table. Now in charge at West Ham, Moyes reflected on the support shown by Charlton during what was one of the most testing spells of his managerial career. “I’m deeply saddened and I send my condolences to all his family. The biggest thing everybody remembers, more than anything, is how great a man he was. He was such a good man,” Moyes said, quoted on West Ham’s club website. “For me, it was difficult at times at Manchester United and he was incredibly supportive and always had something to say to me. “He had a great wife in Lady Norma and even when I lost my job she phoned my wife up, which was really important at the time. “For me, he carried off all the things that Manchester United were good for. He showed the traditions, he showed exactly how it should be, he showed great humility wherever he went, but not only that at Manchester United, he was ultimately one of the main people in English football over the years. “When you think of the greats who have come through English football, Bobby Charlton would definitely be in there.” Charlton made his debut for United in 1956 and went on to play 758 matches for the Red Devils, scoring 249 goals. Both were long-standing club records until they were overtaken by Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney, respectively. He was knighted for services to football in 1994. It was announced on Saturday afternoon that he had died peacefully in the early hours of the morning surrounded by his family. Former team-mate Denis Law said on manutd.com: “Another sad day. What can I say. Sir Bobby was an unbelievable player and a gentleman. Manchester United meant everything to him. “We had many special and successful years together and he was a joy to play with. He knew where every player was on the pitch and for me that was a dream. I knew, if Bobby had the ball, it would find me, and it did. “What a striker of the ball he was. He could hit the ball so hard that I knew most keepers didn’t stand a chance. On the rare occasion they did manage to deflect it, it would drop nicely to me to finish it off. “Along with George (Best), our partnership was sealed. The great part of playing with Bobby and George was that if one of us was having a bad day, the other two knew and that’s what made our relationship special. I am saddened by the news, like all football fans today.” Charlton’s European Cup success at United came 10 years after the Munich air disaster, which he and team manager Sir Matt Busby survived but which claimed the lives of eight of Charlton’s team-mates. Tributes were left at Old Trafford this weekend, one which read: “Thank you Sir Bobby, a hero to the worldwide football family,” while a message from fan group The 1958 said: “History, dignity and integrity is what you gave to our great club. Our promise to you is to make sure it stays.” Manchester United women’s manager Marc Skinner dedicated Sunday’s 5-0 win at Everton to Charlton. “He changed football in my opinion, especially at my club, so that was for him and for his family,” Skinner said. Born in Ashington on October 11 1937, Charlton played in the World Cup final alongside his brother Jack, who died aged 85 in 2020, and won 106 caps for England, scoring 49 goals. Charlton was diagnosed with dementia and the announcement of his condition made public in November 2020, two days after his United and England team-mate Nobby Stiles died following his own battle with the illness. John Stiles, son of Nobby, told BBC Radio Five Live that Charlton was “uncle Bobby” to the family as they were growing up. “He was just a beautiful man,” Stiles said. “When he used to come around as kids, he would bring Christmas presents and anytime I saw him, he would always ask me how I was doing. “(He was) just one of those great people and just a pleasure to have somebody like that in your life. “Bobby would never brag about his achievements. Every time you saw him, the first thing he asked you was about yourself. “There was no edge on him. He was just a totally humble man.” Read More Jonny May backs ‘genius’ Steve Borthwick to crack the code of rugby with England Erik ten Hag wants Man Utd to channel emotions after Sir Bobby Charlton death Muddled selection, ageing squad and no new blood – England’s World Cup problems The sporting weekend in pictures Pep Guardiola admits winning treble has taken toll on Manchester City Gary O’Neil determined to repay Wolves for their faith after Bournemouth sacking

Three running backs headline the top fantasy football pickups to make ahead of Week 8.

Man Utd manager Erik ten hag expects big things from Rasmus Hojlund in the Champions League against Copenhagen.

Week 3 of EuroLeague action brought the first double-game week and helped give some more space in the standings. Here’s a breakdown of week three’s winners and losers.

First came the crack in Alexander Volkanovski‘s defence. Then, the crack in his voice. If the first crack was consequential, allowing Islam Makhachev to skim his shin off the Australian’s head, the latter was a consequence in itself – a consequence of one of the best fighters alive staying silent on his struggles with mental health. That is, until now. Volkanovski would have emerged from UFC 294 with credit anyway; he stepped in on 11 days’ notice and moved up in weight to challenge a man who had beaten him eight months prior. Even in this surprising, first-round defeat by Makhachev, Volkanovski lost very little. His featherweight title still rests firmly on his shoulder, and he will soon return to that weight class where he has been unbeatable. But soon may be too soon. In his post-fight press conference, Volkanovski began the dissection of this defeat – his second this year, but just his third as a professional mixed martial artist, with his first having occurred a long decade ago. The 35-year-old started to dissect the technical reasons for this knockout loss, but it soon became apparent what was of greater importance: the psychological reasons for his presence in Abu Dhabi. “He’s not somebody you should be taking a short-notice [fight] with, but I needed it,” Volkanovski began. “Obviously a lot of people will say it’s for the money and all that, but it was much more than that. It is hard, it is really hard for athletes... Sorry, um... I never thought I would struggle with it,” he continued, ignoring the blood over his eye, instead wiping a tear from beneath it. “But for some reason when I wasn’t fighting or in camp... F***, sorry,” he said, attempting a laugh, looking away and to the ceiling, then gently rapping his hand on the table to bring himself back into the room. “I was just doing my head in,” he continued, tears floating at the bottom of his eyes. “I needed a fight, and this opportunity came up. I’ll be honest: I wasn’t training as much as I should have, but I thought I had to do it. I had to take it. I’m telling myself, ‘It’s meant to be.’ I was struggling a little bit not fighting, doing my head in. I don’t know how; everything’s fine, I’ve got a beautiful family. But, I don’t know... I think you just need to keep busy. I need to be in camp, otherwise, I’m going to do my head in. “It’s weird, [it’s not that I] never ‘believed in that stuff’, but I never got it. It was something that – I don’t know – maybe the more and more I learn about myself, the more I understand. I talked about us having a smile on my face, me and my wife. My wife could see it does get hard, I don’t know why.” Volkanovski pointed to the birth of his third child, in August, and surgery on an injury this summer as reasons why he had not been training. Clearly, the knock-on effect of those moments – as joyous as the former seemed to be – has led Volkanovski’s mental health to suffer. Last week, all the talk was of how brave the Australian was to face Makhachev on short notice; braver was this admission that he is struggling, which simultaneously offers a different lens through which to view his choice to fight. Keeping himself engaged and busy is healthy, but that is complicated by the inherent risk in his profession. “Maybe it was just a silly decision under the circumstances,” he admitted. Perhaps it was, though it was also understandable. Volkanovski’s next challenge, however, will come outside of the ring. It must. He naturally sees the antidote to his current struggles as a quick turnaround to fight again, likely against the dangerous Ilia Topuria in January. Yet, that fight could go the same way as Saturday’s against Makhachev, if the Australian does not first tackle these thoughts and feelings, and find the right balance for him. We knew Alexander Volkanovski was brave. That is even clearer now than it was last week. Now, however, he must be sensible, and get to work outside the ring before he can return to work in it. Read More Islam Makhachev stuns Alexander Volkanovski with head-kick KO in first round at UFC 294 Conor McGregor reacts to ‘illegal’ strikes in Islam Makhachev win at UFC 294 Khabib explains why he wasn’t in Islam Makhachev’s corner at UFC 294

Tottenham can return to the top of the Premier League when they host Fulham tonight. Spurs have made their best-ever start to a Premier League season and have won six and drawn two of their opening eight games so far under Ange Postecoglou. Victory over Fulham would see Tottenham go two points clear of Manchester City and Arsenal in the early standings, ahead of Friday night’s trip to Crystal Palace. Fulham are 13th having three wins and three defeats from their first eight league games, but Marco Silva’s side are the only team to have beaten Spurs this season after their victory in the second round of the Carabao Cup. Fulham have not beaten Tottenham in the Premier League since 2013, however. Here’s everything you need to know before tonight’s London derby clash. When is Tottenham vs Fulham? The match will kick off at 8pm BST on Monday 23 October at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. How can I watch it? It will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage starting from 6:30pm. Sky Sports subscribers can also stream the match on Sky Go or Now TV. If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help: get great deals on the best VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider. What is the team news? Tottenham midfielder Yves Bissouma will serve a one-match suspension after his sending off in the 1-0 win against Luton and is expected to be replaced by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Son Heung-min and Cristian Romero are expected to be fit following international duty. Marco Silva confirmed that there are no fresh injuries from the international break, but Issa Diop is now sidelined along with Adama Traore, Kenny Tete and Tosin Adarabioyo. Predicted line-ups Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Hojbjerg; Kulusevski, Maddison, Richarlison; Son Fulham: Leno; Castagne, Ream, Bassey, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha, Perreira; Iwobi, Vinicius, Willian Prediction Tottenham 3-0 Fulham Read More Tottenham reveal Rodrigo Bentancur injury update as key midfielder nears return Can Tottenham’s best-ever Premier League start really go the distance? Baltimore boss John Harbaugh thrilled to end ‘heck of a week’ in London on high James Maddison says timing of international break is ‘annoying’ for Tottenham A closer look at the UK and Ireland’s host venues for Euro 2028 A closer look at the UK and Ireland’s host venues for Euro 2028

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has joked that he was left with no choice but to start Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo in Saturday's draw with Arsenal despite the pair being tired as he feared the owners would kill him otherwise.

The world wants to master the process of corralling carbon, and Occidental Petroleum Corp. is building a futuristic

Previewing Real Madrid's Champions League group stage game against Braga on Tuesday night, including how to watch on TV, live stream, predicted lineups and score prediction.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has clarified why he missed childhood friend and UFC protege Islam Makhachev’s stunning victory over Alexander Volkanovski. The former UFC champion, who finished his career with an unbeaten 29-0 record, said it was not unusual for him to not be in the corner in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night. Nurmagomedov became Makhachev’s coach following his retirement in 2020, but the ‘Eagle’ announced earlier this year that he had taken a step back from the UFC. Makhachev stunned Volkanovski with a first-round knockout at UFC 294, retaining the lightweight title in their rematch. In February, Makhachev outpointed Volkanovski – who holds the featherweight belt – in the latter’s native Australia, in a competitive clash that left many fans desiring a rematch. Nurmagomedov congratulated Makhachev on his victory before responding to fans who had questioned his absence from ringside. “If you guys ask me where have I been? Why wasn’t I in the corner, I already answered this question,” he posted on Instagram. “I don’t go to fights, I don’t go to the corner and I completely left everything related to MMA. I ask you to accept my decision the same way as my brothers, friends and sparring partners did. What our team achieved will forever be in the history of MMA.” Makhachev had already addressed the fact that Nurmagomedov would not be in his corner before UFC 294, telling reporters that he understood and supported his mentor’s decision. “Here is my explanation: We have a very big team,” Makhachev said. “What if Khabib is there for one of us? We’re all equal. “No matter if somebody’s a champion and the other guy is still on his way up, we all support each other. If he is there for my fight, he will need to be there for every single one from our team to not let anyone feel abandoned. “He has already said that he will not attend the fights and he will not corner anyone. And we all support him in this decision.” Midway through the first round of the main event, southpaw Makhachev skimmed his left shin off Volkanovski’s head, wobbling and dropping the featherweight king. Makhachev, 31, followed up with a fierce flurry of hammer fists to the grounded Aussie, whose brow split open amid the onslaught. Referee Marc Goddard stepped in, confirming an emphatic victory and title defence for Makhachev, the mentee and childhood friend of UFC lightweight great Khabib Nurmagomedov. The result extended Makhachev’s win streak to 13 fights, dating back to 2015, when he suffered the sole loss of his professional career. Meanwhile, Volkanovski was beaten for the third time as a pro, though he remains undefeated at his preferred weight of 145lbs. Read More Alexander Volkanovski’s bravest move yet? Talking about his mental health Conor McGregor reacts to ‘illegal’ strikes in Islam Makhachev win at UFC 294 Makhachev stuns Volkanovski with head-kick KO in first round at UFC 294 UFC 294 LIVE: Volkanovski vs Makhachev fight results after shock KO Islam Makhachev demands two words from Alexander Volkanovski ahead of UFC 294 Volkanovski vs Makhachev gamble shows the best and worst of the UFC