Former Cardiff City captain Sean Morrison’s exclusive WalesOnline column

Pre-season is a funny one. From the outside, people see footballers jetting off to Portugal or Spain and assume it’s all sunshine and easy living. The reality? Sometimes it can be absolute chaos.

First things first, the off-season is crucial.

As soon as the season finishes, the lads are told to have two or three weeks of complete rest – and I mean complete. Don’t lift a finger.

Even if you haven’t played much, you’ve still trained non-stop for 10 months, so your body needs that reset.

After that, you’re back into it with an individual programme. Everyone’s is different – gym work, running, body fat targets. The staff keep a close eye on it all.

These days, most lads are so professional you don’t really see anyone coming back in terrible shape anymore. If you do, you’re instantly chasing it and it shows.

I always liked to tick over a bit, especially with leg weights, just to keep everything around my knees strong. But generally, by the time you report back, you should be ready to hit the ground running – literally.

Now, pre-seasons themselves… they’ve changed massively.

When I first started, it was brutal. Eight to 10 days of just running – 400s, 800s, mile runs – getting absolutely beasted. Football in the morning, running again in the evening. Proper old-school.

The best one I ever did was under Nigel Adkins at Reading.

Everything was ball-based from day one. You were still working hard, still getting your fitness in, but it was all through football. I loved that. And to be fair, that’s the direction the game has gone in now.

But not every pre-season is smooth.

I remember one Cardiff City pre-season in Germany under Paul Trollope and Ryland Morgans – the pitches we played on were a disgrace. Rock hard, massive divots everywhere, genuinely dangerous.

I remember Lennie Lawrence saying, “We can’t play here, this is ridiculous!”

One game got called off, so we went back to the training ground to play another game and it was abandoned half way through because of a storm!

The gym wasn’t great, the hotel was poor… those little details matter more than people think. The boys were then chasing minutes right into the start of the season and we started terribly. Paul lost his job after just 12 games that season. Brutal.

Then you’ve got the random stuff.

Under Neil Warnock we went to Champneys in Leicestershire during a heatwave. No air-con.

It was so hot that lads were dragging their mattresses into corridors and even bathrooms just to try and sleep.

Me and Joe Ralls were roommates and we would to sit in the lobby playing cards until late because we didn’t want to go back to the room.

Trying to train properly after a night like that? No chance.

And then there was America, the summer immediately after relegation from the Premier League.

We turned up to one pitch and it wasn’t even grass — it was sand. They’d spray-painted it green to make it look like a football pitch! You could literally put your finger straight through it. It was baking hot as well. You couldn’t make it up.

After that we went to New Mexico, about 1,500 metres above sea level. The altitude was a killer.

We had to train at the crack of dawn, couldn’t do double sessions, and again the pitches weren’t great. It’s a bit of pot luck sometimes – you just don’t know what you’re going to get.

There were also the “team bonding” ideas, which weren’t always popular to say the least.

I remember being sent into a forest in Germany with a compass and coordinates. We were split into five teams and had to rendezvous back at a certain point.

Lads had never read a map in their lives. Kagisho Dikgacoi was still with Cardiff then and, bless him, I remember the look on his face. He was devastated!

It was pouring down with rain – an absolute shambles. The boys were fuming. They gave us a golf day afterwards to calm things down!

It’s a different world now, though.

When I was 17 at Swindon, the bonding session was going out into the nearest town after the last game and being on it until 4am. I loved it at the time, trying to prove myself with the older lads. That doesn’t really happen anymore.

These days it’s more golf, maybe a quiet beer, a bit of fishing. I remember doing clay pigeon shooting one pre-season. The professionalism has gone through the roof.

And to be fair, clubs are smarter with pre-season planning now.

I read that Cardiff are going to Cork this summer – that sounds ideal. Close to home, fans can travel, and importantly the staff will have checked everything out beforehand.

Brian Barry-Murphy, returning to his hometown, will know exactly what he’s getting – pitches, facilities, all of it.

Because trust me, if you get that wrong, it can make a long few weeks feel even longer.

And, needless to say, this pre-season is important. There is a real buzz and momentum around Cardiff and there will be positive press and a little spotlight on them when that Championship season hurtles around in August. And rightly so.

They are an exciting team, group of players and staff. With supporters on their side, I cannot wait to see what they do this summer and am already excited to see this team test themselves back in the Championship.

First, though, it’s time for them to rest. They’ve certainly earned it.

The world economy is at a crossroads. International trade is slowing, economic uncertainty is rising, and trade between the US and China – the world’s two largest economies – risks pulling apart. And it is not just trade: the two countries also invest less in each other than they did just a few years ago.

What is driving this reconfiguration of trade? For some large economies, including the US under President Donald Trump, a desire for greater self-reliance is central. Between 2017 and 2023, American imports fell most sharply in the very products where the US had been most reliant on China – including industrial machinery, computers and computer parts, and other electronic equipment such as monitors.

This has important implications for global value chains (GVCs). GVCs are the backbone of international trade – production activities from research and product design to assembly are distributed across various locations, with “value” being added at each stage. This redistribution can take place across several countries, co-ordinated by multinational firms.

The reconfiguration of GVCs is accelerating, and so industrialised economies now have two main options. They can reshore production, bringing manufacturing back to their own countries (a stated priority for the current US administration).

Or they can “friendshore”, shifting imports and investments towards economies that are either geographically closer, or with which they have long-standing relationships.

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For developing countries, the balance between these two strategies is crucial. If advanced economies reshore a substantial share of production, developing countries could suffer as investment and jobs are lost.

And automation and digitisation now make it more convenient for advanced countries to produce goods at home, making this a greater risk to these poorer countries than it was a decade ago.

For consumers though, this reshoring could mean higher prices for everyday goods, at least in the short term, because of the higher costs of manufacturing in more advanced economies. It should be said, however, that the empirical evidence for this remains limited.

Risks and opportunities

But friendshoring offers an alternative. Early signals from countries like Mexico and Vietnam – which have recently seen an increase in investment and factory expansions from multinational firms – suggest that friendshoring can create opportunities. When paired with supportive government policies such as investment incentives or help to upgrade technology, these shifts can ensure that more production takes place domestically. This can lead to greater technology spillovers and learning.

To understand the risks and opportunities, we examined the specific products where US-China decoupling is most pronounced (that is, where trade is reducing). From this analysis, two broad clusters emerged, each with different implications for developing economies.

The first group mainly includes relatively complex goods – things like consumer electronics, vehicle components, chemicals and machinery. Here, the US is both diversifying its imports quickly and is already producing these goods competitively.

The products and sectors at the heart of the reconfiguration of GVCs

These products can easily be reshored, particularly if automation lowers costs. Semiconductors, for instance, are already the focus of major US reshoring efforts. Yet the risk to current producers of the US reshoring appears limited for now. While the US has reduced imports from China of these products, other developing regions have not experienced a similar trend.

In the second group, the US is diversifying but is not competitive enough to bring production home. This group accounted for just over 6% of finished products that the US imported in 2023 – roughly US$181 billion (£134 billion). This is a small share overall, but economically significant.

Within this group, two types of opportunity emerge. Technologically complex goods, such as electrical equipment, computers and car parts, offer the greatest potential for middle-income economies with strong manufacturing experience to win contracts and investments. Lower-tech goods like textiles and furniture are better suited to lower-income countries. In both cases, governments need to negotiate carefully to ensure investments add value locally, support skills development and avoid social or environmental harm.

For consumers worldwide, friendshoring offers a more benign outlook than reshoring or tariffs. Goods may simply be made in different countries, with prices remaining broadly stable.

Who could gain?

So far, east and south-eastern Asia – including Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia – have captured the largest share of these friendshoring opportunities, particularly in high-tech sectors like computers. Their exports to China have also risen, reinforcing their central role in Asian manufacturing networks. But whether this momentum continues will depend on tariffs, production costs and the pace of automation.

Other beneficiaries could include Latin America and Caribbean nations, led by Mexico. Here, the automotive sector dominates export growth. South Asia could also benefit, with India expanding in both high- and low-tech products, and Bangladesh at the lower-tech end. In contrast, Africa and western Asia remain largely absent from the emerging friendshoring landscape.

The risk to these countries of large-scale reshoring remains limited for now but cannot be ignored amid shifting global trade and investment patterns. But friendshoring could offset or even exceed potential losses, offering new pathways for industrialisation.

As economic uncertainty and technology reshape global value chains, developing economies that invest in production capabilities – and implement smart industrial policies – will be best placed to harness opportunities. In some cases, friendshoring may even allow them to leapfrog into more sophisticated activities faster than traditional development paths would allow.

For consumers, there are benefits too. The label on our next laptop, charger or T-shirt might change, but prices will remain broadly stable – at least before tariffs kick in. In this sense, globalisation will not disappear. But it will take on a different geographical shape.

Clive Michael Hartley took advantage of an underage girl then less than half his age and twice raped her, Judge Simon Hickey told York Crown Court.

She told the judge how the rapes had affected her life ever since and as a result she had become addicted to alcohol, depressed and at times suicidal.

“He has gone on to live his life, recognised as a local businessman and not taken responsibility for what he did,” she said in a personal statement.

“I don’t think he has given any thought about it from the day when it happened.”

Louise Reevell, prosecuting, said the girl, now a woman, finally broke her silence in 2024 and told police what had happened to her when she was a child.

Earlier this year, a York jury convicted Hartley, 68, of Troutsdale Avenue, Rawcliffe, of two charges of rape. He had denied the charges.

The victim said his denial had increased her trauma because she had had to give evidence against him.

“The two years between reporting him and it coming to trial very nearly broke me entirely,” the girl now a woman said in her personal statement.

“What he did to me as a child did not end then. It has affected every part of my life for decades. I am still dealing with the consequences today.

“He not only stole my childhood but a large chunk of my life ever since.”

The judge told Hartley: “You have taken clear advantage of her.”

His crimes had affected both the victim, those close to her and those close to Hartley, said the judge. Hartley is not related to the victim.

As he jailed Hartley for 14 years and put him on the sex offenders’ register for life, a supporter of Hartley was clearly distressed in the public gallery.

The victim said ever since the rapes happened the psychological effects had affected her in ways that she found difficult to put into words and were still affecting her today. They had also affected her relationships with other people.

“With justice served, I am hoping I can finally move on and live the life I was supposed to have,” she said.

Sarah Barlow, defending, said Hartley had not offended before or during the “very long period” after the rapes and handed in character references.

The said he was of “positive good character” and had succeeded as a businessman.

With visitors heading to York Racecourse for the first race meeting of the season later this month, North Yorkshire Police are urging the public to plan ahead and expect significant traffic and parking pressures on race days.

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Officers are also encouraging racegoers to use official racecourse car parks and to be considerate of residents in nearby streets.

The Dante Festival is the fisrt race meeting of 2026 and takes place from Wednesday, May 13 to Friday, May 15 this year.

North Yorkshire Police said: “Avoid obstructive parking – please do not block driveways, junctions, or emergency access routes.

“Officers and traffic teams will be out on key dates to monitor parking and ensure road safety, and enforcement action may be taken where necessary.”

Visitors are advised that delays are likely before and after events, and alternative travel options should be considered where possible.

The force is reminding the public to plan their journeys in advance and to follow parking guidance to help keep race days safe and disruption to a minimum.

“It is disgusting, disgraceful and it is an insult to the innocent civil rights protesters who were murdered in Derry in January 1972”

The use of Bloody Sunday footage in a video posted online by Kemi Badenoch is “disgusting” and “disgraceful”, a Northern Irish MP has said.

The Conservative leader posted a video to her social media channels on Tuesday, in which she criticised the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.

The video, which has now been removed from X and Facebook, featured footage of Mrs Badenoch speaking and was overlaid, in part, with archive clips of British soldiers.

At least one of the clips was identified by Foyle MP Colum Eastwood as having been filmed on Bloody Sunday.

Thirteen unarmed civilians were shot dead when members of the Army’s Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in the Bogside area of Londonderry on January 30 1972, which became known as Bloody Sunday.

The SDLP MP said in a statement: “I am shocked, frankly, that Kemi Badenoch has posted a video trumpeting the service of British soldiers in Northern Ireland using footage from Bloody Sunday.

“It is disgusting, disgraceful and it is an insult to the innocent civil rights protesters who were murdered in Derry in January 1972.”

In the video, Mrs Badenoch said Labour’s Bill will “drag” Troubles veterans back to court.

“It will put elderly veterans through fresh legal battles at the end of their lives,” she said.

Mrs Badenoch said her party will “vote to block” the legislation and “a future Conservative government will repeal it” and posted a link to a petition to stop the Bill.

The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill was designed to repeal and replace the controversial Legacy Act introduced by the previous Conservative government, ending the immunity scheme brought in under the law, which was ruled unlawful in the courts.

Mr Eastwood said the video is “entirely about elevating the interests of British soldiers over the needs of victims and survivors who have been forced to fight against the power and might of the British state for decades seeking truth, justice and accountability for their loved ones”.

In 2010, then Conservative prime minister David Cameron apologised to the families of the civil rights marchers killed on Bloody Sunday after the Saville Inquiry found all were innocent.

Mr Eastwood said: “We’re a long way away from former prime minister David Cameron’s powerful apology for the actions of soldiers on that day.”

The Conservative Party has been approached for comment.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Pop star Dua Lipa is not expected to perform at the heavyweight bout between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury later this year.

Britons Joshua, 36, and Fury, 37, have agreed terms for a long-awaited all-British contest targeted for the end of 2026.

However, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh had suggested the fight could be jeopardised if Dua Lipa did not agree to perform as part of the event’s promotion.

It is unclear whether the remark was made in earnest or in jest, but BBC Sport understands the 30-year-old singer was approached about performing but declined the offer, and is not expected to be involved in the event.

Dua Lipa is one of the world’s most successful pop artists, with global hits including New Rules, Don’t Start Now and Levitating.

A venue for Fury v Joshua has yet to be finalised, although Wembley Stadium in October is understood to be the preferred option for organisers.

The World Championship semi-final between John Higgins and Shaun Murphy is delicately poised at 8-8 after a captivating second session at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

In contrast to the opening to their match on Wednesday, Higgins appeared the stronger of the two players in their early exchanges.

The four-time world champion, who turns 51 on 18 May, ruthlessly punished a missed black from Murphy to take the opening frame with a break of 72.

Englishman Murphy, who is looking to end a 21-year wait for his second Crucible crown, delivered the perfect riposte with an 88 as he took two of the next three frames to draw level at 6-6.

When Murphy failed to convert a plant to the right middle, his error was again exploited, with Higgins enjoying a run of 57 to edge back in front.

The Scot then knocked in a wonderful break of 86 off the back of a brave long red to open up a two-frame advantage.

However, Murphy took a scrappy 15th frame and turned the tables on his opponent to restore parity when Higgins missed a tricky red with the rest down the left cushion.

Their best-of-33-frames encounter will resume on Friday at 19:00 BST, with another eight frames to be played in the third of four sessions.

China’s Wu Yize takes a 6-2 lead into the second session of his last-four meeting with Mark Allen, which gets under way at 14:30 BST.

Dwayne Johnson’s showbiz celebrations came to a sour end yesterday when, shortly after attending Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, he was pulled over by cops.

Still, he was every inch his cool, calm, collected self, turning a run-in with law enforcement into somewhat of a red carpet moment.

The Rock joined the Devil Wears Prada 2 stars as they were honoured with stars on the landmark walkway, joining major A-list names from Marilyn Monroe to Martin Scorsese.

Johnson, 53, is a long-time co-star of Blunt’s, having worked with the actress on Jungle Cruise (2021) and The Smashing Machine (2025), so it’s no surprise he was there to give a speech.

The real drama came afterwards, however, when the film icon was stopped by police for overly tinted windows, as reported by TMZ. California window tint law requires front windows to allow more than 70% of light to pass through, while windshield tinting is only permitted on the top four inches.

A fine is typically given for non-compliance, and removal or modification of the tinting is required.

Johnson was pulled over on his way home by Los Angeles Police Department; thankfully, the exchange was calm, and the Jumanji star even shared a friendly handshake with the officer who ticketed him.

Still sporting his crisp white shirt and cream trousers, the dapper actor stepped out of his vehicle to cooperate.

Pictures and video footage show Johnson chatting calmly to the cop, signing paperwork before heading on his way, keeping things professional.

Just hours earlier, the Baywatch star had been surrounded by fellow celebs for a huge milestone in Blunt’s and Tucci’s careers.

The wrestler-turned-actor shared some heartfelt words, as did Meryl Streep, Robert Downey Jr, and Matt Damon.

‘Every single day, knowing Emily, as many of us do, that is one grateful woman who will wake up feet on the ground, being grateful about every moment,’ he said, joking that ‘it’s about time’ she was given a Walk of Fame star.

‘I feel like when you’re grateful about every moment, that then leads to the thing I think we all look for, which is joy and peace of mind, and those are all the things I think that make up Emily and so much more.’

Johnson already has his own star on the Walk of Fame, and it sits proudly beside those of Vince McMahon and Kermit the Frog, as you do.

Blunt, 43, was accompanied by her supportive husband, John Krasinski, and her sister Felicity Blunt, who has also been married to Tucci, 65, since 2012, making the whole thing a sweet family affair.

In her own speech, the A Quiet Place star said: ‘It’s very difficult to sum up how meaningful this is to me, and the juggernaut that showed up to speak about me has just blown my hair back.’

She added, according to People: ‘You guys and the great loves of my life, who are all here, have made life such a deep privilege.’

Meanwhile, Damon, 55, said he ‘just can’t think of two people more deserving to be added to this cultural landmark, to be giving young artists hope’.

He told Blunt and Tucci: ‘You guys have just been doing consistently stellar work for decades, and it is such a joy to watch you guys.

‘But beyond that, you’re two of my favourite humans that I’ve ever met on this planet.’

‘You’ve been able to navigate and thrive in an incredibly difficult business with such grace, and you’ve been able to navigate personally and thrive so beautifully in a very, very tricky world. We love you so much,’ he added.

Following the speeches, Tucci was equally as moved, having been declared a ‘national treasure’ by Streep.

‘I never thought that I would be, first of all, working with her, but to be here today and have her say those things about me is probably the greatest honour I’ve ever had,’ he said of Streep, whom he appears opposite as Nigel in the Devil Wears Prada sequel, which lands in cinemas today.

‘At any rate, it has been an honour and absolutely exhausting to be a part of Hollywood for 45 years,’ stated the award-winning actor.

‘But I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.’

Reps for Dwayne Johnson have been contacted for comment.

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They include proposals for hundreds of homes, a spine road, and a new lido swimming pool

Outline plans for the major redevelopment of the Porthcawl seafront have been submitted after years of talks between the local authority and the town’s residents.

The hybrid plans which were submitted in April of 2026, will look for permission to build up to 980 new homes on Porthcawl’s waterfront along with the creation of a new spine road from the Eastern Promenade to Sandy Bay.

Documents say the site covers an area of 43.6 hectares and consists of a “mix of existing commercial and leisure brownfield (such as a fairground) with undeveloped green spaces to the east of Sandy Bay Bowl.” Stay in the know by making sure you’re receiving our daily newsletter

This includes Griffin Park, the former Coney Beach Pleasure Park, Monster Park, and the Hillsboro Car Park, and is bound by Trecco Bay Caravan Park to the east and the Portway road to the west.

If given the green light by Bridgend County Borough Council the new homes would be situated in the Salt Lake, Coney Beach, and Sandy Bay areas, with ambitions for 50% to be set aside as affordable housing that would “prioritise local people”.

Along with the new housing sites, these proposals would include plans to build a new lido swimming pool and gym, green spaces, shops, coastal defence works, and a number of other leisure attractions.

They could also see the alteration and expansion of the town’s Griffin Park if approved, along with proposed new facilities such as a MUGA sports area.

Additionally, part of the application requests permission to build a new 420m long single carriageway road, which would cut through a section of Griffin Park near the current tennis courts.

It says: “To the west, the spine road will connect to the Eastern Promenade in the form of a three-arm roundabout to the north of the existing ALDI foodstore.

“The spine road scheme will incorporate Mackworth Road, the southern arm of which will be provided as a simple priority junction.

“Its northern arm will be stopped up, forming part of the wider development parcels.”

The long-term and potentially transformative plans for Porthcawl have been met with a great deal of opposition from some locals over the years, with protests and a number of public events held by both the council and residents who are against the contentious scheme.

Critics have raised concerns about the potential pressures that the hundreds of new homes could put on local infrastructure as well as to local medical services and parking capacity.

Others have shared fears over a potential loss of the town’s identity in the wake of the regeneration with many preferring to see a new plan that focuses on tourism and leisure opportunities, as opposed to residential development.

Council bosses previously said they had addressed some of the issues within the plans with a number of changes after feedback from the public consultation process.

These included providing more public open space, reducing the number of proposed homes from an initial 1,100, and reducing building heights so that structures would be no taller than three or four storeys high.

They also say parking issues would be addressed with a refurbished open air car park at Hillsboro and a new public car park at Coney Beach.

The proposed changes for the town come less than a year after the closure of the iconic Coney Beach Pleasure Park in October 2025, which shut for the final time after more than 100 years.

It also comes amid the multi-million refurbishment of the town’s iconic Grand Pavilion and work at the Hillsboro South Car Park which is set to become a civic space for community events.

The submitted plans will now be considered for approval by Bridgend County Borough Council’s planning department in the coming months – with potential for the work to begin in 2027 if they are taken forward.

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