List of All Articles with Tag 'f'

The top Fantasy Premier League captain picks for FPL Gameweek 8, including Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah. Powered by Fantasy Football Hub.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have remained mum about their status since the pop superstar began attending the Kansas City Chiefs tight end's football games

The changes and tactical tweaks Erik ten Hag needs to make to his Manchester United side for Saturday's visit of Brentford in the Premier League.

Kyrie Irving challenging his own steadfast commitment to human rights ... The White House Press Corp wants to speak to Commander Biden ... How much would the Ea

Eddie Howe wakes every morning happy with the “life-changing” decision he took to become Newcastle’s head coach. The 45-year-old accepted the Magpies’ offer of employment in November 2021, just weeks after Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium had completed its takeover. Staveley and her partners will celebrate two years at the helm on Saturday with the club having been transformed to the extent that they sent shock waves across Europe on Wednesday evening with a 4-1 Champions League rout of Qatari-funded Paris St Germain. Asked where he would rank his decision to take on the job, Howe said: “I knew when I took the job – the moment came when I was offered the job and I was going to say yes – that it was a life-changing moment for me. “Thankfully it has been a great journey so far. I have loved every second of it. “I said when I arrived I was very proud to be Newcastle manager and I’ve never woken up without that feeling. The feeling that I am doing something very special in my life is always there and it’s never something I take for granted.” Howe’s decision thrust him into the centre of a geopolitical minefield and he has found himself repeatedly facing questions over the Saudi regime and its links to the club through the Gulf state’s Public Investment Fund, which holds an 80 per cent stake, and accusations of ‘sportswashing’. We’ve got to try to work towards that, and these things take time. There is no magic wand Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe PIF governor and Magpies chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has made no secret of his ambition, saying in the Prime Video documentary ‘We Are Newcastle United’ that he ultimately wanted to establish the club as number one in the world. Howe, who met the chairman briefly after the PSG game, has been consistent in taking a measured approach to development despite hefty, if astute, investment in the squad since the takeover. But asked if there was any reason why the Magpies could not be the biggest club in the world, he said: “No, but we’re not the world’s number one club at the moment. “We’ve got to try to work towards that, and these things take time. There is no magic wand. Being smart, making good decisions and working hard every day… “If that is the ultimate aim, then we will try our best to try and get that. “We have to be calm and recognise we are in the early stages of the season. We’ve got a lot to prove before we can say anything about what we’ve done. We’ve just put ourselves in a good position in our Champions League group and we are still formulating our Premier League position.” That process will continue with Sunday’s visit to West Ham, a game for which Anthony Gordon is suspended after reaching five bookings for the campaign, while Callum Wilson and Joelinton remain doubts and Sven Botman is out. Read More Coco Gauff extends winning run to 16 by beating Maria Sakkari in Beijing Newcastle defender Tino Livramento returns to England Under-21s squad George Ford and Owen Farrell reunited – England v Samoa talking points 5 talking points as Wales face Georgia in final World Cup pool match Government pressed for answers on Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour Chicago Bears pay tribute to ‘ultimate Bear’ Dick Butkus after his death aged 80

By Alan Baldwin DOHA Sergio Perez's hopes of winning this year's Formula One title are long gone, even

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Tottenham are monitoring Conor Gallagher's contract talks with Chelsea and believe he would prefer to join them if granted permission to leave. Bayern Munich, Brighton, Newcastle and West Ham are also interested.

Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton has tweeted his apparent support for Kevin Keegan’s assessment that he doesn’t enjoy female footballers talking about men’s football. The former Newcastle, Fulham and England national team boss was talking to an audience in a Bristol event recently and made the comments saying he doesn’t like to “listen to ladies talking about the England men’s team at the match because I don’t think it’s the same experience. I have a problem with that.” Keegan’s comments drew ire from support groups and female fans, but Barton took to X/Twitter to issue a terse few lines of support, seemingly in agreement with Keegan’s sentiment that former Lionesses and their peers shouldn’t be joining in the assessment of men’s action. “Kevin Keegan. Ballon D’or winner 1978. England manager. He’s bang on,” Barton wrote on social media. Keegan had insisted he was a fan of women’s football in general and backed the presenters themselves as being of the highest calibre - Gabby Logan was singled out by Keegan at the time as a top example. “The presenters we have now, some of the girls are so good, they are better than the guys. It’s a great time for the ladies,” he added. “But if I see an England lady footballer saying about England against Scotland at Wembley and she’s saying, ‘If I would have been in that position I would have done this,’ I don’t think it’s quite the same. I don’t think it crosses over that much.” Keegan added he saw it as “a great time for the ladies’ game” in general and that the standard of play when he visited the Lionesses while England manager was higher than he had expected it to be. Barton has his own long history of making headlines, from altercations on the pitch and in dressing rooms as a player to more recent episodes as a manager. Last year he told the FA to “stop rewarding failure” and sack Gareth Southgate from the England national team job, while across 2021 and 2022 he was cleared of assault against both another football league manager and against his wife, the latter after a judge ruled he could not have a fair trial because prosecutors would not call the alleged victim to give evidence. Several years ago Barton, then Fleetwood boss, made a comment saying women’s football was essentially a “different sport” and should be tailored accordingly with smaller balls and goals, to avoid it remaining “an inferior product”. More recently, he was reported this season to have called one of his own players at Bristol Rovers an “idiotic young boy” for contributing to conceding a goal while injured, insisting his team needed to remove such “weak, feeble-minded individuals” to achieve promotion. Read More Kevin Keegan ‘has a problem’ with ‘lady footballers’ as TV pundits Government pressed for answers on Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour Rumours: Brazilian is Liverpool’s January target and City want Haaland renewal

The Government has been asked to reveal what steps it has taken to investigate whether Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour assisted wealthy Russians it has sanctioned in moving their assets to the United Arab Emirates. Lawyers acting on behalf of a Ukrainian activist – who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from Russia – have written to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to ask whether investigations have been carried out to determine whether Mansour, the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister, should be identified as a ‘designated person’ subject to financial sanctions under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. As of last week, the UK Government said more than 1,800 individuals had been sanctioned under the regulations, with more than 1,600 of those sanctioned since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. That number includes former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. His assets, including Chelsea, were frozen, with a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly taking over last summer. The request for an update on Sheikh Mansour follows an initial letter from the lawyers, Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers and Ben Keith from 5, St Andrew’s Hill Chambers, on behalf of their client which was sent to Cleverly in September last year. The Foreign Secretary can only designate a person if he has reasonable grounds to suspect that the individual is “an involved person” in the destabilisation of Ukraine. Involvement is defined as someone who is responsible for, engages in, provides support for, or promotes any policy or action which destabilises Ukraine or undermines or threatens its territorial integrity. If Sheikh Mansour was designated as an individual subject to Government sanctions, it would disqualify him as an owner under the Premier League’s updated rules on its owners’ and directors’ test which were published in March. The new letter, sent to Cleverly on Thursday and seen by the PA news agency, states: “Sheikh Mansour is a particularly high-profile individual and as the owner of one of the United Kingdom’s most celebrated football clubs, is a person who ought to be subject to reasonable scrutiny by the UK Government. “For the avoidance of doubt, we make no allegations as to any particular conduct of Sheikh Mansour. Nevertheless, in light of the wealth of evidence in the public domain tending to link Sheikh Mansour with the accommodation of wealthy Russians in the UAE, we respectfully suggest that there is a prima facie basis for the UK government to conduct an investigation.” The new letter has been sent as the UAE prepares to host the COP28 climate change conference between November 30 and December 12 and notes that Sheikh Mansour is likely to play a “visible role” in the event. “The bloodshed caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues,” the letter stated. “You are asked to note that, as set out in our earlier correspondence, notwithstanding the robust nature of the British response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Russian oligarchs appear to have found a home for their wealth in the United Arab Emirates, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi apparently being particularly attractive to those individuals. “In light of the global attention which will be focused on both the UAE and Sheikh Mansour at the forthcoming COP28 event, we write to you to enquire what steps you have taken further to our request of September 30, 2022 to open an investigation into the conduct of Sheikh Mansour. “You may recollect that we invited the UK government to consider whether or not the conduct of Sheikh Mansour is such that he is a suitable person to be designated, pursuant to the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. “In the circumstances, it is critical that the UK Government takes all necessary steps consistent with its statutory and international obligations.” The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Manchester City have all been contacted for comment. Read More Chicago Bears pay tribute to ‘ultimate Bear’ Dick Butkus after his death aged 80 Chicago Bears defeat Washington Commanders to snap 14-game losing streak Peter O’Mahony targets more Ireland milestones as he reaches 100 caps Jurgen Klopp hails Ryan Gravenberch’s talent in win over Union Saint-Gilloise Respect matters says Unai Emery after late goal gives Villa an important win Nothing’s changed with VAR, says Gareth Southgate

Friday's roundup of transfer rumours includes news on Real Madrid's interest in Erling Haaland, Man Utd make contact with Lois Openda, Liverpool to battle Newcastle for Jarrod Bowen and more.