“It’s gonna be a blockbuster! I don’t think Roy’s gonna come out too well in this film to be honest.”

Jason McAteer is looking forward to seeing Saipan at the cinema. After all, the former Liverpool midfielder is set to be portrayed in it.

However, the tale of the infamous bust-up between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy at the 2002 World Cup is not a great memory for him.

Steve Coogan has been cast as Republic of Ireland manager McCarthy, with Éanna Hardwicke taking on the Keane role as they depict the fallout, which took place on the small Japanese island of Saipan and resulted in the captain leaving the camp.

McAteer, 53, first got wind of the project via a text from an actor friend in Ireland.

“It was a picture of this kid and he asked ‘do you think this guy can play you in a movie?” he told the BBC podcast, Sacked in the Morning. “Obviously it was Brad Pitt – I’m joking.

“He said they’re making a film about Saipan and I was like ‘shut up’. I asked was it a documentary and he went ‘no, it’s a big movie’.”

Manchester United midfielder Keane had angered the FA of Ireland by giving a newspaper interview in which he criticised training facilities, including a “rock hard” pitch and missing equipment.

McCarthy’s decision to send Keane home triggered a media frenzy and divided supporters.

“There was always tension between Roy and Mick,” McAteer remembered. “It went back from when they played together.

“When Mick was (Republic of Ireland) captain and Roy was a young kid, they clashed a number of times.

“Then Mick got the manager’s job and Roy became one of the best midfielders in the world, so it was always a difficult relationship.”

Week 9 is in the books, which means that the halfway point of the 2024 NFL season has arrived. 

To mark the occasion, “The Facility” and the “NFL on FOX Podcast” each handed out awards and superlatives for the first nine weeks of the season. Let’s take a look at who they picked as the winners for each of the major awards!

MVP

LeSean McCoy: Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
Chase Daniel: Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
James Jones: Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
Emmanuel Acho: Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff
NFL on FOX pod: Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson

McCoy: “This was a tough one because Pat is undefeated and Josh Allen’s playing elite. I’m going with Lamar Jackson. Winning those two MVPs was really hard to do, but [he’s] playing better than them MVP [seasons].”

Daniel: “This guy [Mahomes], he’s had his best two games the last two games. The Chiefs are heating up.”

Jones: “[Lamar] is the best player on the planet right now playing in the National Football League. The vote’s been in weeks ago.”

Acho: “This one, for me, was difficult. Jared Goff leads the league in completion percentage. Jared Goff has the best offense in football. Jared Goff has the best team in the NFC, one of the best teams in the NFL.”

David Helman: “Lamar Jackson, absolutely incredible start to this season. It’s easy for me to believe he repeats as MVP if he keeps this up.” 

Coach of the Year

LeSean McCoy: Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid
Chase Daniel: Washington Commanders HC Dan Quinn
James Jones: Minnesota Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell
Emmanuel Acho: Washington Commanders HC Dan Quinn

McCoy: “Every year [Reid] wins over and over again, and we give him no acknowledgment because he’s a good coach? Well, that’s what the award’s for. He’s on pace for a three-peat.”

Daniel: “[Quinn] has given them hope. He’s the leader of that franchise. In just nine games, you have turned in the complete opposite direction of where your franchise was headed. It helps when you have Jayden Daniels.”

Jones: “Nobody in the world thought the Minnesota Vikings would look like the way the Minnesota Vikings look, especially with Sam Darnold. And kudos to Sam Darnold, because you are playing really good football. But that has a lot to do with the coach and the game he is calling for you.”

Acho: “For me, it’s simple. I trust this person to lead — not just a country, but an organization. I trust this person to galvanize troops. I trust this person, though they lagged as a head coach before … now they’re showing me they’re ready to take over: Dan Quinn.” 

Midseason surprise team

LeSean McCoy: Washington Commanders
Chase Daniel: Minnesota Vikings
James Jones: Arizona Cardinals
Emmanuel Acho: Washington Commanders

McCoy: “I didn’t expect a rookie quarterback to do all of this. You trade all these players last year and you still have a good season.”

Daniel: “I like the Vikings. Sam Darnold, Kevin O’Connell, the most important hire Kevin O’Connell made was Brian Flores. And that defense, that’s the reason why they only have two losses right now.”

Jones: “Where did we expect [the Cardinals] to be right now? Not first! They’re not really good on defense. Kyler Murray’s just making plays at the end of the games to win football games. They are 5-4 right now, No. 1 in the West. Put respect on the little man, Kyler Murray.”

Acho: “The Washington Commanders, they are the oldest team in football. How are they 7-2? Their division was supposed to be the toughest and they were supposed to be at the bottom of it.”

Patrick Mahomes, Jayden Daniels & Bears headline NFL midseason awards

Offensive Rookie of the Year

LeSean McCoy: Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels
Chase Daniel: Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels
James Jones: Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels
Emmanuel Acho: Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels
NFL on FOX Pod: Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels

Acho: “Jayden Daniels is the only thing that can bring us all four together.”

Helman: “It really feels like it’s what can Jayden do from here because it feels like Offensive Rookie of the Year is in the bag.” 

Biggest disappointment

LeSean McCoy: San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys
Chase Daniel: Chicago Bears
James Jones: New York Jets
Emmanuel Acho: Las Vegas Raiders HC Antonio Pierce

Daniel: “C’mon Bears, what are we doing? Even though they’re 4-4, the coaching has not been up to par. We need to get better. Everything they’ve done to build up this team and to surround Caleb Williams with stuff has been a disappointment.”

Acho: “Nobody has broken more hearts, nobody has made more incompetent decisions on a week-in and week-out basis: Antonio Pierce.”

Other awards

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Los Angeles Rams EDGE Jared Verse

Helman: “It feels like the obvious winner of this award so far is Jared Verse.”

Comeback Player of the Year: Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins

Helman: “If the Jets pull it together, not saying they will, but Aaron Rodgers is not playing poorly considering that he’s coming off the same injury.”

Defensive Player of the Year: New York Giants DL Dexter Lawrence

Helman: “If you’re asking me to predict the winner, that’s not the point of this. Lawrence is a deserving midseason Defensive Player of the Year. If he keeps this up, he is a deserving winner and I hope people can look past that Giants’ record to recognize that.”

Offensive Player of the Year: Baltimore Ravens RB Derrick Henry

Helman: “I think Derrick Henry is one of the defining stories in the NFL this year. I’d be really surprised if he tapers off. Passing game production can be finicky. Handing the ball off to Derrick Henry isn’t finicky.”

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A thrilling Week 9 of the NFL season is in the books, and several stars showed out! Now, it’s time for FOX Sports lead NFL analyst Tom Brady to name his latest 3 Stars of The Week. 

At the end of each week throughout the regular season, Brady will choose three players whose performances stood out to him the most. This week includes a familiar star running back still turning heads in new colors, and an under-the-radar AFC North pass-rusher. Brady also selects his power rankings of the Top 5 teams in the NFL every week and chooses one player from each game he broadcasts this season as his LFG Player of the Game. Here’s his latest 3 Stars of The Week:

Tom Brady’s 3 Stars of Week 9: Saquon Barkley, Trey Hendrickson, Lamar Jackson | DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE

Check out how Brady’s 3 Stars of Week 9 performed, with the GOAT’s full analysis below!

Week 9 stats: 159 yards on 27 attempts (5.9 yards per carry), one rushing touchdown, three catches, 40 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown — and one reverse hurdle(1!) — in 28-23 win over Jacksonville Jaguars

Brady’s thoughts: “Wow! He is having a career year in Philly right now. I’m sure everyone saw that ridiculous reverse hurdle. Are you kidding me!?!? Saquon went for 199 yards from scrimmage. He had another 100-yard rush game. I’m excited to see what moves he’s got going against the Cowboys [on] Sunday — I’ll be watching that one closely.”

[More from Tom Brady]

Week 9 stats: Four sacks, seven QB hits, one pass defensed, one forced fumble in 41-24 win over Las Vegas Raiders

Brady’s thoughts: “He had a career day going against the Raiders on Sunday. He had four sacks! He sacked me a few times and I didn’t like it at all. But he was pressuring the QB all day. Trey leads the league with 11 sacks in nine games. What a year he’s having.

“He’s got a huge game Thursday night against the Ravens. Lamar [Jackson], watch out, man. You better know where No. 91 is lined up on every snap.”

Week 9 stats: 84.2% completion rate, 280 pass yards, three touchdown passes, no interceptions, 158.3 (perfect) passer rating in 41-10 win over Denver Broncos

Brady’s thoughts: “Speaking of Lamar, he makes another appearance as one of my stars of the week. He had 280 yards passing, three tuddies, a perfect quarterback rating against a really good Broncos defense. 

“Lamar is making a case for that second straight MVP. That performance makes it 20 touchdowns and two picks on the year. Let’s see if he can keep it rolling against the Bengals on Thursday.”

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Saquon Barkley

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After opening with a thumping success over Slovan Bratislava, a sobering shellacking by Borussia Dortmund, and a doughty draw with Atalanta, this victory leaves Celtic on seven points at the midway point of their campaign.

Next, they host Club Brugge, before travelling to face Dinamo Zagreb, welcoming Young Boys and concluding on the road against Aston Villa.

They currently sit 13th in the 36-team table – level on points with Manchester City in sixth – with a top-eight finish securing an automatic last-16 place, and a spot between ninth and 24th ensuring they would be in the play-off round.

According to analysis by Opta, 16 points would almost certainly secure a top-eight place and 10 would be good enough for a play-off spot.

“We have to stay humble in our work, we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” Rodgers said.

“It gives us a real nice confidence. We’ve discovered in the last two games we can be really competitive.

“If you told us after the Dortmund game we’d have four points from the next two games, I don’t think too many people would have said we would have done that.

“It’s a great next step and gives us great encouragement to go and make the play-off stage, but there is still so much to do.”