Coleman has struggled with injuries in recent years and featured only three times in the Premier League this season – lasting only 10 minutes on his only start because of injury in November.

If he does play some role against the Black Cats at the weekend, he will go ninth in Everton‘s all-time appearances list, above former players Dixie Dean and Leon Osman, with 434 appearances in all competitions.

Coleman has earned his Uefa B License coaching badge, which allows him to coach amateur teams, youth teams up to the age of 16 and serve as an assistant coach.

In early 2025, when ex-Everton boss Sean Dyche was sacked, Coleman took interim charge of the first team alongside former team-mate Leighton Baines for an FA Cup tie against Peterborough United.

Coleman, who has captained the Merseyside club 140 times, continued: “I want to thank the fans for their unbelievable support. You’ve helped me in more ways than you could imagine.

“I live in the city – I see you all daily – and I’ve taken your love of the football club back into the dressing room to explain to the lads how much Everton means to the people.

“I also thank my managers, team-mates and all the staff. They’ve seen me happy, sad, angry, emotional, but the greater cause has always been Everton.

“Thank you for making me a better captain and team-mate. It’s an incredible football club with incredible people.”

Gloria Stephenson, 86, was on a Zebra crossing when e bike rider Billy Stokoe, 19, hit her at high speed. Stokoe couldn’t brake because he held his mobile phone in his left hand.

The family of the devoted grandmother killed by a drugged-up e-biker slammed him for leaving her dead ‘in the gutter’ as he was jailed today.

Gloria Stephenson, 86, a mum-of-four, was on a Zebra crossing near her home when Billy Stokoe, 19, hit her at high speed.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that Stokoe couldn’t brake because he was looking at his mobile phone in his left hand. After spending the day weaving dangerously in and out of traffic, his bike collided with Gloria, killing her instantly. Stokoe then fled the scene on the high-powered e-bike.

Gloria was a widow who had lost three husbands to cancer. She had thirteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren..

Gloria’s family told how she had been out walking her daughter’s dog and was planning an overseas holiday with friends.

In their tribute, they described her as an ‘amazing mum’ who had devoted her life to her family and her local community.

She once managed to make fly tippers drive off when she pretended to take a picture of them – even though she could not use the camera on her phone.

In contrast, Stokoe thought of no one but himself after the horrific crime, asking to change his bail so he could go on holiday and to a football match as his victim’s family planned her funeral.

Gloria’s furious daughters Julie Francis and Janine Murphy told how Stokoe asked to travel to Wembley to see Sunderland 10 days after he caused their mother’s death by dangerous driving.

Advertisement

Julie said: “He is just a coward, thinking about himself. He left her alone to die like she is a bit of rubbish in the gutter. We had to go to Crown Court three times before he admitted his guilt, which I find disgusting.

“Obviously, it is traumatic for us but it wastes public money and police time. There is no consideration for the community or for people suffering.”

She added that Stokoe deserved to go to prison for a “for a very long time.” “They need to set an example,” she added. “We need justice.

“Ten days after he killed my mother, he actually applied to have his bail changed so he could see Sunderland in the play-offs at Wembley. And then he applied to go on holiday as well.

“So this young man showed no remorse whatsoever. And that just adds to our trauma and our anger really.

“We have all seen these bikes on the streets and they are a menace. So the law needs to be changed.”

“They are terrorising people, making you feel unsafe and threatened. I feel that as soon as I see one.

“As a community and as a society, we need to act. It is no good just sitting there moaning. We need to report it. Then they can come and confiscate the bikes.

“We are not going to get over what happened. We are not going to get our mum back.

“Hopefully we will be able to move on. We have not been able to grieve because we have been holding it back for the court case.”

Advertisement

Janine spoke of her mother’s ‘zest for life’ and stressed that ‘it was not her time to go.’ Gloria had a holiday booked in Lanzarote and was due to travel three weeks after the tragedy.

Janine said: “She was an amazing mum. She had such a zest for life. She still had time. People cannot go out on the road, be reckless, drive while high or on the phone and not expect an accident to happen.

“This has been a nightmare. It has been like something you watch on TV. You never think that it is going to happen to your family.”

Julie described he mum as a “clever and aspirational woman” who was devoted to her grandchildren.

“We did not have much money growing up and she got a job as a cleaner at the hospital doing the tea time shift when my mum came in from work,” she added.

“Her boss recognised something in her and they sent her to Newcastle Polytechnic and she became the domestic services manager for Sunderland Health Authority.

“She was a clever woman and really well respected. She loved her children and grandchildren.

“She would treat them all equally and from being young she would take them to a caravan in Hamsterley Forest and build dens with them. She just loved it. She loved being with her family and we just loved being with her.”

Her children and grandchildren spent days with Glenda in Newcastle, shopping and drinking cocktails together. They will ‘never get over’ the loss of such a loving mum and grandmother but hope the end of the court case will bring ‘some kind of closure’.

Gaelic footballer Sean Fitzgerald has been nominated as a potential participant on the popular reality TV programme Love Island.

The 25-year-old has been selected on a shortlist for the hugely successful series, which is set to launch on ITV on 1 June.

He has amassed a significant following on TikTok, where his account Fitzy has attracted an impressive 94,100 followers. He posted a video to the platform in February in which he expressed his ambition to take part in Love Island.

Fitzgerald was absent from Galway’s Connacht Final loss to Roscommon last Sunday, having most recently appeared for Padraic Joyce’s team in the semi-final win over Leitrim.

The footballer made his senior debut for Galway in 2022 and also featured in the 2024 All-Ireland final against Armagh, complementing his haul of four Connacht SFC championship medals.

When asked about the greatest love of his life by RSVP in March of last year, Fitzgerald replied: “Coppers, Boojum and the chicken wings from Seven, in that order.”

During the same interview, the primary school teacher was questioned about which characteristics he finds most disagreeable in others.

The Bearna clubman responded: “It would have to be cockiness or people who are two-faced. There’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness and when people are on the side of cockiness, it’s very off-putting.

“With regard to two-faced people, I can’t stand them. If I find out someone who I’m friendly with is bad mouthing me behind my back, I won’t talk to them again.”

He is represented by the Irish talent and influencer management agency Marvel, whose profile describes him as follows: “Fitzy isn’t afraid to give his opinion on topical subjects in his humorous way on TikTok.

“His content is very much Gen Z in its approach. He loves travelling, music, sport and fashion.”

Click here to sign up to our sport newsletter, bringing you the latest sports news, headlines and top stories

The event is being promoted by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and will be broadcast live on Netflix.

It also features former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou taking on Philipe Lins and fan favourite Nate Diaz facing Mike Perry.

Nakisa Bidarian, who co-founded MVP alongside Paul, compares the event with Paul’s fight with Mike Tyson in 2024, which was the first boxing contest broadcast live on Netflix and laid the foundations for future events on the platform.

Not only is Rousey headlining the card, she has played a key role in shaping it, playing the role of promoter and matchmaker behind the scenes.

This isn’t just a Ronda Rousey fight, it is the Ronda Rousey show.

“Her quote was, ‘I can’t be your Conor [McGregor], but I can be your Dana [White]’,” said Bidarian.

“She has demonstrated an ability to own the promotion, to deliver unbelievable, engaging content, and most importantly, she loves the game.

“She’ll text me 20, 30 times every other day around specific fighters, or specific fights, and why this match-up would be great.”

Rousey has criticised how much the UFC pays its fighters, saying she wants to help “challenge the monolith” it has become.

In the UFC, under 20% of revenue goes to fighter pay while in boxing, fighters can expect to receive as much as 60% of event revenue.

Bidarian says the minimum payment for every fighter on the card will be $40,000 (£28,800), before performance-based bonuses.

In comparison, the UFC pays about $12,000 (£8,960) to $20,000 (£14,900), plus performance-based bonuses, to its entry-level fighters.

“It’s so much more meaningful now because previously it would have just affected our careers but now it’s affecting the sport’s future,” said Rousey.

“It has become bigger than us.

“It’s about giving them their power back and reminding people it’s about the fighters.”

The one thing that is guaranteed is that Hull will be in the final. But the uncertainty over next Saturday’s staging of the game is not helpful for their supporters, many of whom want to book travel and accommodation to get to London.

“We’re basically being told, buy a ticket and you’re taking a gamble,” BBC journalist and Hull supporter Bobbi Huyton told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“It might not even take place next week. Just nothing but frustration and I’m honestly disgusted with how it’s been handled.”

The Hull City Official Supporters’ Club also issued a statement in which they expressed concern at how the play-off final could be moved at short notice.

“This is a situation in which we have had no influence but in which we are, both as a football club and supporters, being penalised,” they said.

“Any decision to move the date of the final will result in many of our supporters not only losing out financially, but then facing the prospect of being unable to attend the re-arranged fixture.

“Given that this is a situation which has largely resulted from the EFL’s own error in failing to publish the sanctions for a breach of the rule regarding ‘spying’ on opposition teams, we feel this is manifestly unfair.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic leaders, desperate to compete in red states where their party brand is toxic, are embracing something new this midterm season: Not backing Democrats.

In states like Nebraska, Idaho and Alaska, Democratic officials are, in some cases, looking past their own party’s candidates while subtly encouraging — or even openly promoting — independent candidates they hope can outperform the Democratic label. The Democratic National Committee and some of its allies in Washington are quietly supporting the new strategy.

Meanwhile, some of the independent candidates are chatting in a group text about their approach as they plot a path that could shake up Congress, which is consumed by partisan gridlock.

Nebraska Democrats this week chose a nominee for U.S. Senate, Cindy Burbank, who said a major campaign priority was to ensure a Democrat wouldn’t be on the fall ballot to pull support from independent Dan Osborn. Shortly after polls closed, Burbank reiterated her plan to drop out in the coming weeks during a private conversation with a party official, according to state Democratic chair Jane Kleeb.

Democratic leaders believe Osborn, who came within 7 points of winning a Senate seat in 2024, has the best chance to defeat Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts.

Democrats’ pivot toward independents is part of an intentional strategy in some places — and something closer to a wink and a nod in others — that covers a handful of high-profile Senate and House and even statehouse contests. Independent Senate candidates are also running in states like Idaho, South Dakota and Montana, where Democratic leadership has so far been unwilling to fully embrace the independents, although many view them as the Democrats’ best chance to stop Republicans this fall.

“For some states, and Nebraska is one of them, where Democrats are 32% of the electorate, this is a long-term strategy for us,” said Kleeb, who also serves as a vice chair to the Democratic National Committee.

Kleeb said her state party is backing independents in at least four state legislative seats in addition to the U.S. Senate: “We have to build a coalition with independents in order to win elections so we can do good work for the people. Period.”

Some of the Democratic Party’s national political machine appears to be on board.

The Democrats’ fundraising site, ActBlue, serves some of the independent candidates, as do popular Democratic-allied website builders. At the same time, some of the party’s campaign committees in Washington quietly provide logistical support in some cases, while avoiding public criticism of the independent candidates even in some races where there is a Democratic nominee.

“The Democratic Party’s brand is awful right now,” said Democratic strategist Josh Schwerin. “The combination of the brand problem and the existential nature of the threat that our country is facing requires us to have a big tent and look for candidates who can win.”

There are risks

for the Democratic Party

Some Democratic donors, strategists and party leaders from other states have privately pushed back, insisting Democrats should not look past their own nominees for short-term political gain. They want Democratic officials, in Washington and on the ground in red states, to work harder to make the Democratic brand more attractive — even if it takes several more years to be competitive.

“What’s the independent going to do for the Democratic Party if they win?” asked Democratic strategist Mike Ceraso, who sees the shift toward independents as an attempt to disguise Democrats in some cases. “We’re the party of truth and honesty and integrity, but we’re playing these stupid political games?”

And there is no guarantee that the independent candidates, if elected, would support all of the Democrats’ policy priorities or even Democratic leadership in Congress.

In Idaho, independent Senate candidate Todd Achilles, an Army veteran and former Democratic state legislator, said he won’t be caucusing with either party if elected. He explained his politics as “straight down the middle,” and said he believes in individual liberties.

“Idahoans should be able to live how they want,” he said. But the Democratic Party was a bad fit because it “has given up on little red states like Idaho.”

On his list of problems with Democrats is that the party made a big mistake by initially running Joe Biden again for president in 2024. But he also said “the shine is coming off” Trump, whom Idaho voters backed by 36 points in 2024.

Achilles said he and other military veterans running for Senate as independents chat in the text chain and are “very much on the same page.” He says the group wants to see “guardrails,” including term and age limits and campaign finance reform.

“The priority is to get Congress functioning again,” he said. “We gotta break the grip of the two-party system.”

‘I’ll never vote for a Democrat’

In South Dakota, Navy and Air Force veteran Brian Bengs has launched an independent bid to defeat Republican incumbent Sen. Mike Rounds, who’s seeking a third term this fall.

Bengs ran as a Democrat against Senate Majority Leader John Thune four years ago and lost by 43 points.

A lifelong independent, he said he got turned down by the party this time when he sought to run with its organizational support but without the label. Still, he insists he can win without the party’s formal backing.

One key lesson from his 2022 campaign, he says, was how hard it was to break through with the Democratic Party label.

Voters would immediately ask, “What are you?” he recalled.

“When you say, ‘I’m a lifelong independent running as a Democrat,’” Bengs said, the response was quick. “‘I’ll never vote for a Democrat.’ And that was it,” he said.

“So that takeaway soured me on running again in any party system, because it was just a soul-sucking experience.”

In Alaska, some Democrats believe that commercial fisherman Bill Hill, a retired school superintendent, may represent their best hope in defeating first-term Republican Rep. Nick Begich for the state’s only House seat.

Hill, a lifelong independent, raised more than $780,000 in the first three months of the year, besting Democrat Matt Schultz, a pastor, who raised $578,000.

The state Democratic Party declined to endorse Schultz at its recent convention, which Hill also attended. The House Democrats’ campaign committee in Washington has also declined so far to promote Schultz’s candidacy. Hill, meanwhile, is racking up local union endorsements.

Hill’s message to voters, he said, is the same for Republicans, Democrats and independents: “You need to be pragmatic about who you choose to support in this election cycle, because at the end of the day, we need a change in the House seat in Alaska.”

A spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee criticized independents like Osborn, Bengs, Achilles and Seth Bodnar, who is running in Montana, as “fake Independents who would push liberal Democratic policies in the Senate.”

Currently, there are two independents in the Senate: Maine Sen. Angus King and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Both caucus with Democrats.

In an interview, Hill said he’s unlikely to caucus with Republicans in Washington if elected, but he’s not committing to joining Democrats either. He was reluctant to criticize the Democratic Party or Trump.

Hill acknowledged the challenge of running for Congress as an independent, but said there are benefits, too.

“There’s freedom,” he said. “I can truly represent the working people of Alaska.”

Manchester City felt like favourites coming into the FA Youth Cup final. The Under-18s have been the best team in the league this season again and had star quality they could bring in for knockout games that have spent the season training and playing up.

In the case of Ryan McAidoo, there was a winger who had scored on his senior debut for City and on the opposite flank Reigan Heskey had also given United Under-21s plenty of problems last week in a semi-final defeat. These were two of the players who everybody in the squad knew would be in the starting XI as soon as Oliver Reiss’s side had booked their place in the final.

However, they were also strong favourites last year when they went to Aston Villa on an obscene run of 27 games won in a row and then proceeded to lose. Shortly after, they lost the league championship match to the same opponents and a phenomenal season had a sour ending.

Click here to find out the latest Manchester United news in our daily newsletter

As good as City were then ahead of facing local rivals United – 40 years on from the first Manchester derby to grace the FA Youth Cup final – there was that nagging doubt in the mind of Reiss and his players: what if they lost again? What if all the high standards of the last nine months led to no silverware again?

Those doubts were enough to make sure that City made full use of the home advantage that they kept despite not having the Etihad available to play at. The players are far more at home with the Joie Stadium than they would have been at Old Trafford, yet still the squad went the extra mile and trained on the pitch ahead of the game rather than their usual spots at the training ground.

And while Reiss wanted to build the game up for the young Blues, he deliberately did not tell any of his players that Pep Guardiola was among the watching crowd on the night. They found out for the first time after the match, meaning they had not had to process that during the game and risk it impacting their performance.

There were nerves out there regardless, and that manifested physically for several players as the celebrations for Heskey’s late winner turned into a mass stretch before Heskey and McAidoo were replaced with cramp. Another player went down at the full-time whistle as the bodies of the players betrayed their state.

“I think the main part of the cramps maybe at the end were of course the energy and the intensity we had in the second half but also again when you are a little bit nervous, everything is a little tougher for your body and that’s why it’s so important to play in these games where we have a little more pressure, there are more supporters around us and things like this,” said Reiss.

“This is also the reason why we are not talking about, ‘Hey guys, stay calm, it’s a normal game.’ It isn’t a normal game, so I like to increase it a little bit, to make it maybe bigger – not bigger than it is, but just to be realistic, it is a big game, and a lot of people are watching, and this is what happens with you here. But next time it’s not the first time again, so this is then development and learning, and they need games like this to develop, especially these things.”

Reiss has known all season of the special talents at his disposal – particularly for this competition – but he also learned from the final defeats last year that such individual skill is not enough. The team were not enough of a collective, and that has been addressed this season.

The spirit in the group has been excellent all year, and Reiss has put more emphasis on the players simply enjoying being in training together with their mates. High standards have always been demanded, but steps were taken consciously to make sure it has been an environment where the players can enjoy their football and being with each other.

If Heskey’s winner took the headlines, the goal was made by left-back Jake Wain pouncing on a loose ball near the centre-circle and first playing McAidoo through in the box and then receiving the ball back and slipping it to his other winger. Wain’s only previous minutes in the competition this season were two minutes against Fulham and six against Everton, yet a player who has not been one of their most regular contributors saved one of his best moments for the biggest occasion.

For all the controversy around not playing the game at a big stadium, Reiss had made clear that winning is an important part of development as well. Especially after losing those finals, getting over the line in whatever fashion possible feels significant to the players.

“I’m over the moon,” said captain Kaden Braithwaite. “Obviously, last year we fell so short, so to do it this year with this group of players is a real good feeling. Obviously I think this year we’re as close as ever, our group is as close as ever. The relationships we have are worth a whole life, so yeah, we’re so good to do with the team we have.

“I feel like football, especially in the academy, you need to be winners – that’s what drives you to the next point of your career. So obviously to win today is a really good feeling and a step forward in the right direction.

“Everyone has different pathways, the next step for all of us is to play professional football at the end of the day, no matter how long it takes us, we all want to be at the top and we’ll all give 100% to be on that top, so yeah I think that’s the next step.”

Before that, two days of celebrating and then another final awaits as City head down to Stamford Bridge next Friday to face Chelsea. That will be another tough test against one of the best academy sides in the country, but once again City will feel ready for it – and now those nagging doubts about winning will have gone away.

Indonesia’s first giant panda cub is thriving and preparing for his public debut later this month, veterinarians have confirmed.

The furry cub, nicknamed “Rio,” was observed squirming during a recent check-up where his hearing and eyesight were assessed, confirming his healthy development.

At 169 days old, Satrio Wiratama, or Rio, now weighs 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and has begun walking independently, climbing on his mother, and sampling bamboo shoots. His growth, particularly his teeth, is noted to be faster than average.

Veterinarians are closely monitoring his progress to ensure he adapts well to crowds ahead of his introduction at the Indonesian Safari Park, located outside the capital, Jakarta.

Bongot Huaso Mulia, a veterinarian overseeing Rio’s development, stated: “What’s important to note is that all of Rio’s senses are active; he has the ability to understand the environment, assess the situation, adapt to more people, and hear sounds, even in certain levels of noise. We will train him gradually.”

Rio was born on 27 November to 15-year-old pandas Hu Chun and Cai Tao. The pair arrived in Indonesia in 2017 as part of a 10-year conservation partnership with China, residing in a specially built enclosure at the park in Cisarua, West Java province, approximately 70 kilometres (43 miles) from the capital.

The two adult pandas have a large fan base in Indonesia. Rio’s birth has drawn many panda enthusiasts, and his public debut has been eagerly anticipated, with numerous requests on social media to see him soon.

The three of them are living in a three-tier temple known as the Panda Palace on a hill surrounded by about 5,000 square meters of land (1.2 acres) and equipped with an elevator, sleeping area, medical facilities and indoor and outdoor play areas.

Rio’s name symbolizes the hope, resilience, and shared commitment of Indonesia and China in protecting endangered species.

Pandas are China’s unofficial mascot and Beijing‘s loans of the animals to overseas zoos have long been seen as soft-power “panda diplomacy.”

Giant pandas have difficulty breeding and births are particularly welcomed. There are less than 1,900 giant pandas in their only wild habitats in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu.

Rio was born through artificial insemination. Besides having a new individual, Rio also provides new genetic data on giant pandas, which can help research in Indonesia and in China, said Aswin Sumampau, president director of the park.

“This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for, a small victory for us, as we’ve managed to breed a species that is extremely difficult to breed.

“Just imagine, for the past two years, no pandas were born at any ex-situ conservation facility worldwide. Taman Safari has managed to do that,” Sumampau said.