SIR DAVID BRAILSFORD appeared to confirm that Manchester United have agreed to bring in Ruben Amorim as their new manager last night.
Ineos’ director of sport told fans outside Old Trafford that “It’s done”, ahead of United’s Carabao Cup fixture against Leicester City.
Interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy occupied the dugout at the Theatre of Dreams as United thrashed the Foxes 5-2 to book their spot in the quarter-finals of the cup.
But it appears the Man Utd legend’s time as boss will be fleeting, after Brailsford’s comments outside the ground.
Brailsford, 60, has long acted as the right-hand-man to United’s minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and is known to have a hand in negotiations for the club.
When stopping to take some photos with the Old Trafford faithful, Brailsford was probed for an update on the Amorim saga.
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To which he simply replied: “Yeah, It’s done. It’s done”, before walking straight into the ground.
No official announcement has been made by either Man Utd or Sporting Lisbon at this time.
“Everything I say will only create more noise. There is nothing to say about the matter. There is the statement, everyone knows. It was said by the club.
“Besides, we don’t know the details for sure. We’ll see. It will go through my decision as the statement said. But saying half things now doesn’t seem best to me.”
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Ruben Amorim responds to questions about Man Utd job after Sporting match
The Portuguese giants want extra cash to release three trusted members of Amorim’s backroom staff
The tactician wants to take Sporting’s assistant manager Adelio Candido, assistant coach Carlos Fernandes and goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital with him to Old Trafford.
Portuguese outlet Record have suggested that Amorim will remain as the Sporting boss until the next international break.
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That would mean that he is still in charge of the Lisbon club for another three games – including a Champions League clash with Manchester City.
While it would mean his first game as United boss wouldn’t come until November 24, when the Red Devils travel to face Ipswich Town.
Ruben Amorim is ‘Mourinho 2.0’ who turned Sporting from ‘walking dead’ into Portuguese champs… he can revive Man Utd
WHEN Ruben Amorim took charge of Sporting Lisbon in March 2020, one club official compared their situation to the “walking dead”, writes Jordan Davies.
Optimism and hope was at an all-time low.
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But the Amorim-effect was almost instantaneous, guiding the Portuguese sleeping giants to their first league title for 19 years in 2020/21, losing just once and only conceding 20 goals.
Since then, Sporting have lifted another league title in 2023/24 – as well as two League Cups – and currently sit top with nine wins from nine this term.
He may be young, but Amorim already has an eye for rebuilding and revitalising fallen super powers with his infectious charisma and intense tactical philosophy that hardly ever wavers.
The “walking dead” at Manchester United must be praying for a similar sort of revival.
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And they may just get it from one of the most talented young coaches on the continent – a man accustomed to breathing new life back into crumbling institutions such as Old Trafford.
Amorim has spent the last decade dreaming of one day gracing England’s Premier League, such was his admiration for an ex-United boss in Jose Mourinho growing up.
Often nicknamed ‘Mourinho 2.0’, Amorim spent a week with his coaching idol in an internship capacity at United’s Carrington training base in 2018, going on to cite him as his “reference point”.
United should not be expecting a mini-Mourinho, as Amorim said himself: “Mourinho is one of a kind. There won’t be another Mourinho. Mourinho is unique.”
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And yet, you cannot help but compare the two.
For all the mismanagement in the Old Trafford hot seats over the years, this would be a real get – finally a slap in the face United’s Prem rivals have no answer for.
The FIA Rally Star programme will provide extra support to rising star Romet Jurgenson and has opted to retain Taylor Gill and Max Smart to contest the 2025 FIA Junior WRC.
The three drivers have impressed after earning selection into the FIA’s fully-funded programme that aims to unearth future WRC talent.
Jose Caparo (Peru), Gill (Australia), Jurgenson (Estonia) and Smart (South Africa) impressed judges to earn fully funded drives in this year’s Junior WRC.
This year was intended to be a learning year although Jurgenson and Gill found themselves locked in a fight for the Junior WRC title with the former coming out on top.
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As a result, the 24-year-old will receive a fully-funded drive in the WRC’s second tier WRC2 class. FIA rally Star has now confirmed it will extend its support from four events to six next year. Jurgenson will pilot an M-Sport-build Ford Fiesta Rally2 although his event schedule is yet to be announced.
“We were already looking forward to doing four WRC2 events with M-Sport as our prize for winning the Junior WRC title but to get two extra events thanks to the support of FIA Rally Star is really great and I can’t thank the FIA enough,” said Jurgenson.
“As in 2024, I am trying my best to add some events with my own sponsors, but the overall target is to get the maximum out of the year in terms of experience and developing as a Rally2 driver. It’s a new category for me, new car, new speeds, new events…
“Everything is different, but I still want to show my potential at some point in the year so it’s not all about gaining experience, but also to show my speed, which is really important for continuing my career.”
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Romet Jurgenson, Oja Siim, Ford Fiesta R3
Photo by: Jaanus Ree – Red Bull Content Pool
After analysing extensive data and considering the recommendations of the FIA Rally Star team of experts, the FIA Rally Star Committee agreed that Gill and Smart will embark on their second seasons in the Junior WRC in 2025. Caparo and co-driver Esther Gutierrez will no longer be part of the programme.
“Since they were selected for the FIA Rally Star programme, Max, Romet and Taylor have not only demonstrated their talent but also their determination and it’s only right they have been rewarded with further opportunities to learn and progress in 2025, said FIA Deputy President for Sport Robert Reid.
“At the same time, it’s a further demonstration of the success of FIA Rally Star that young hopefuls with limited experience who came through from grassroots level via selection events organised by FIA Member Clubs are preparing to embark on their second seasons in the FIA World Rally Championship.
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“This will incentivise other aspiring WRC champions to start their motorsport adventures by joining their FIA Member Club and discovering the possibilities that exist.
“I’d also like to thank Abito and Esther for their contributions to FIA Rally Star and I look forward to seeing how the learnings and experience from this programme help them in their future motor sport journeys.”
A BRITISH boxer has been found dead in a Thai hotel room reportedly next to drug paraphernalia.
The 21-year-old was found next to unconscious Australian star Jayson Tonkin in a room on the fourth floor of a hotel in the coastal resort city of Pattaya.
Cops said the two men were found just after midnight Wednesday with “drug paraphernalia” on the table after staff heard a commotion in the room.
On arriving they found Jayson panicking “in a state of severe intoxication” about why his friend was “lying still”, local media reported.
The Brit was found shirtless, wearing just black shorts and a waist bag.
A police spokesman said: “We have taken photos of the scene and collected all evidence.
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“We believe he may have died from a drug overdose based on what we found in the room.
“We will question his friend further when he is conscious.”
Jayson was later taken to hospital and is currently in the ICU unconscious.
Despite that, Thai cops, who take a hard line on drugs, could charge him with consumption or possession leading to up to five years in prison, the Daily Mail reports.
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Jayson, originally from Manly in Sydney, moved to Thailand as a teen and had begun fight in Muay Thai bouts.
A middleweight Muay Thai fighter nicknamed The Dingo, Jayson opened up about his struggles with drugs – and in particular methamphetamine – in a podcast about mental health made earlier this year.
One fight planned for October 20 against WBC Muay Thai world number one middleweight champion, Tengnueng Sitjaesairoong had been cancelled after Monsoon rains had hit the area.
The Foreign Office has been approached for comment.
Derrick Lewis shared the octagon with Francis Ngannou in a fight both have admitted they’d like to forget at UFC 226 in July 2018, but Lewis said Ngannou—without even knowing—helped him out years later.
Lewis is set to face Jhonata Diniz at UFC Edmonton this Saturday. Following his memorable knockout win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 291 in July 2023, Lewis re-signed with the promotion. With Ngannou signing with PFL and negotiating guaranteed big paydays for his opponent, Lewis saw that as a negotiating tool.
“Francis played the role of helping me get this contract that I got right now,” Lewis told MMA Fighting. “Because, you know, the negotiations, I said, ‘Man, look what they’re doing over there, I could be over there getting that. It’s so weird. I would like to stay here.’
“So, you know, I ain’t gonna say too much.”
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“The Black Beast” stopped Rodrigo Nascimento in the main event of UFC St. Louis in his most recent outing in May. Lewis was originally slated to face Alexandr Romanov, but the promotion shifted him to Diniz for what will likely be a striking battle.
Now that Lewis has a lucrative contract, he hopes to continue fighting as frequently as he did in the past. He can’t complain about the money he’s getting, even with the potential of getting millions to face Ngannou in PFL during his brief free agency period.
“Yes, because it was there, so now I’m here,” Lewis said. “So, you know, now they’re trying to space my fights out. I said, ‘No, don’t space them out. Come on, give me them three, or four fights that I wanted to give them before.’”
Ngannou recently made his MMA return at PFL Battle of the Giants earlier this month and knocked out Renan Ferreira in the first round. Ngannou battled with a heavy heart following the passing of his 15-month-old son Kobe. As a father, himself, Lewis couldn’t help but feel for his past foe.
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“I heard, I read an article about what happened,” Lewis said. “It’s pretty sad his son passed away like being one-year-old at that too, because at one they are already responsive, like talking and moving around, walking and stuff like that. So to lose a son that early, like at that age, I’m sure it’s very traumatic.”
While Lewis doesn’t watch a lot of MMA in his free time, his coach showed him Ngannou’s big finish of Ferreira.
“Oh, it was good,” Lewis said of Ngannou’s performance. “It was good, I didn’t watch the fight [live]. I don’t think nobody did, I heard they only got 10,000 pay-per-view buys, but it’s good [for Francis].”
Beauden Barrett has been picked ahead of Damian McKenzie at fly-half for New Zealand’s meeting with England on Saturday.
Barrett started at 10 only once in the Rugby Championship earlier this year, with McKenzie steering the side from stand-off for the first five games.
Barrett, a former two-time World Player of the Year, spent the early part of this year playing for Japanese side Toyota Verblitz as part of a sabbatical agreed with New Zealand Rugby.
Elsewhere, Beauden’s brother Jordie Barrett is back from injury and comes into midfield at the expense of Anton Lienert-Brown, while loose-head prop Tamaiti Williams is one of only three players to keep their places from the warm-up win over Japan.
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Cortez Ratima starts at scrum-half with Cam Roigard on the bench alongside McKenzie.
Second row Scott Barrett captains his two brothers and the rest of the side, with Sam Cane and Ardie Savea joined in the back row by Wallace Sititi, who wins his seventh cap.
With Election Day less than one week away, all eyes and ears are on the political discourse happening in the U.S.
One debate that took place Wednesday night in front of a national television audience was between UFC CEO Dana White and prominent businessman and television personality Mark Cuban.
The two men appeared on a News Nation town hall hosted by Chris Cuomo in front of a live studio audience. While guests Bill O’Reilly and Stephen A. Smith were featured in studio, White and Cuban joined the discussion via video call.
A staunch supporter of former U.S. president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump, White called into question the record of current vice president and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, and criticized the exit of President Joe Biden from the race.
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Cuban rebutted White’s praise of Trump, mentioning the economy under his administration, the implementation of tariffs, and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Watch the exchange between Cuban and White in the video above.
For more news and coverage on Election 2024, visit USA TODAY.
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That gallus approach is attracting attention. Even in a 3-0 defeat by Celtic last Sunday, Miller’s all-round game stood out, striking the woodwork twice.
A clip then circulated of veteran broadcaster Martin Tyler waxing lyrical about the teenager, while former Scotland striker Kris Boyd suggested the midfielder is now out of reach for both Old Firm clubs.
Experienced Motherwell duo Andy Halliday and Paul McGinn have also said Miller, who ended Wednesday’s win at Tannadice with the captain’s armband, is the best youngster they have ever played with.
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When you consider Halliday trained with a teenage Billy Gilmour at Rangers, plus McGinn’s younger brother is Aston Villa captain John, the comments are “obviously a huge honour” for Miller.
But with the help of dad Lee – now a barber and a good one at that, according to his son – the youngster is able to keep a lid on things by putting plaudits and speculation to one side.
A Scotland Under-21 international, much of the chat surrounding the teenager has been whether he is capable of making the step up to the senior squad.
His dad believes he is “good enough” now, while Miller says “I’ll be ready” whenever the call comes.
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Regardless, it feels somewhat poignant that his first appearance at the national stadium is set to come for the club he has dedicated more than half his life to.
The Fir Park club travel to Hampden knowing victory against a troubled Rangers side would take them to within a win of their first major honour in 33 years.
Miller recognises Motherwell will still be “massive underdogs” in the tie, but the teenager is eyeing an opportunity to make himself, along with his team-mates, a club legend.
“We just need to go out there and enjoy it,” he says. “That’s all we can do, we know it’s a massive game for everybody involved.
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“And we know we have a chance to make history – that’s the main aim.”
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