ERIK TEN HAG said his “dream has come to an end” as he broke his silence after being sacked by Manchester United.
Ten Hag, 54, was dismissed on Monday morning after a dismal start to the season which sees The Red Devils languishing in 14th in the Premier League table.
The Dutchman, who has been replaced by Sporting Lisbon head coach Ruben Amorim, won the League Cup and FA Cup during his two years at Old Trafford.
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And he graciously thanked both the fans and staff at the club in a lengthy farewell statement.
In a letter to the Man Utd fans, he said: “Dear fans, Let me start by thanking you. Thank you for always being there for the club. Whether it was at a game far away or a tough match at Old Trafford, your support has been unshakeable.
“The atmosphere at Old Trafford has always been electrifying, thanks to you. I felt it many times.
“Also in away games, it gave the team and me an incredible feeling to hear the United chants taking over the opponents’ stadiums, whether the game was in England, Europe or during the summer tours.
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“I always enjoyed meeting Manchester United fans throughout the world.
“Walking the streets and being able to chat with fans in England, Europe, Asia, Australia, the USA – you inspired me and radiated a strong sense of unity. That’s what makes United supporters so special.
“I want to thank you for giving me this feeling and for your support.
“I also want to thank the staff in every department of the club for their unwavering support in good times and bad.”
Ten Hag then turned his attention towards the successes and failures on the pitch.
Amorim confirmed by Man Utd but it’s a huge gamble and delay to start is bizarre
He added: “We won two trophies – achievements that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
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“Of course, my dream was to bring more trophies to the cabinet. Unfortunately, that dream has come to an end.
“I wish all Manchester United fans nothing but success, trophies and glory. Your support and the warmth I received from everyone at the club helped me feel at home.
“Thank you for this chapter in my life. Erik.”
Ten Hag arrived in 2022 and won the Carabao Cup in his first season, while he also guided Man Utd to a third-place finish in the Premier League.
He subsequently spent almost £200million in the transfer market to strengthen his squad – only to endure the club’s worst start to a Premier League campaign.
What Man Utd said on hiring EACH of their post-Fergie managers
David Moyes
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“All the skills needed to build on United’s phenomenal legacy.”
Louis van Gaal
“One of the outstanding managers in the game today.”
Jose Mourinho
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“Quite simply the best manager in the game today.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
“A wealth of experience, with a desire to give young players their chance and a deep understanding of the culture of the club.”
Erik ten Hag
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“One of the most exciting and successful coaches in Europe.”
Ruben Amorim
“One of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football.”
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
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Watch highlights as Tamworth shock League One Huddersfield Town after an own goal by goalkeeper Chris Maxwell gives the National League side a 1-0 win to progress to the second round of the FA Cup.
Cody Stamann sees UFC Fight Night 247 as a potential do-or-die situation.
Stamann (21-7-1 MMA, 7-6-1 UFC) will look to snap a two-fight losing skid when he takes on Da’Mon Blackshear (14-7-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC) Nov. 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Heading into the final fight of his UFC contract, 34-year-old Stamann aims to make a big impression against Blackshear.
“Every fight is the most important fight of your life,” Stamann told MMA Junkie Radio. “I approach every fight the same way, but this one has a lot of extra, I guess, pressure connected to it. (It’s the) last fight on my UFC contract. I’m in a situation where I need to win – I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I have to go out and win. My career depends on it, and I know that. I think that motivates me and scares the living crap out of me because I know if I don’t perform on that night, who knows?
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“I may need to look for a job, and I like my job, and I want to keep it. So I’m 100 percent mentally and physically preparing myself to get into a war, and just having that willingness, ability and gas tank to no matter where this fight ends up, just get the job done. I don’t care about my body, I don’t care about my health, I’m going in there with no plans of anything in the future. It’s come back with your shield or on it type of situation for me.”
This isn’t the first time Stamann has had his back against the wall. He was on a three-fight losing skid a few years ago, but says his willingness to fight anyone at anytime is what has contributed to his longevity in the UFC.
“I’ve been in this situation before,” Stamann said. “And I think my saving grace in this situation is the fact that the UFC knows very well – I mean, look at the guys I’ve fought. It’s like killer after killer after killer. They know for a fact that when they ring my line, it doesn’t matter if it’s six weeks, two weeks, one week, four days – it doesn’t matter. The answer is yes, and I just want to know how much I have to weigh.”
Watch highlights as Notts County come back from a goal down to comfortably beat National League North side Alfreton Town 5-1 in the first round of the FA Cup at Meadow Lane.
The FA Cup second round draw is taking place on Sunday, November 3.
The draw will be broadcast during BBC’s first round highlights show on BBC Two, and is expected at 7.45pm.
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Kelly Somers will be hosting, with Emile Heskey and Leon Osman conducting the draw.
How can I watch the FA Cup second round draw?
The FA Cup second round draw will be televised on BBC Two during the BBC’s first round highlights show.
It will also be available to be live streamed for FREE on the FA Cup’s YouTube page and across the FA Cup’s social channels.
What are the ball numbers?
1. Rotherham United or Cheltenham Town 2. Barrow or Doncaster Rovers 3. Worthing or Morecambe 4. Boreham Wood or Leyton Orient 5. Exeter City or Barnet 6. Carlisle United or Wigan Athletic 7. Tamworth or Huddersfield Town 8. Brackley Town or Braintree Town 9. Curzon Ashton or Mansfield Town 10. Wycombe Wanderers or York City 11. Bradford City or Aldershot Town 12. Hednesford Town or Gainsborough Trinity 13. Burton Albion or Scarborough Athletic 14. Tranmere Rovers or Oldham Athletic 15. Rochdale or Bromley 16. Walsall or Bolton Wanderers 17. Grimsby Town or Wealdstone 18. Bristol Rovers or Weston Super Mare 19. Milton Keynes Dons or AFC Wimbledon 20. Solihull Moors or Maidstone United 21. Stockport County or Forest Green Rovers 22. Reading or Fleetwood Town 23. Stevenage or Guiseley 24. Northampton Town or Kettering Town 25. Rushall Olympic or Accrington Stanley 26. Swindon Town or Colchester United 27. Salford City or Shrewsbury Town 28. Crewe Alexandra or Dagenham & Redbridge 29. Port Vale or Barnsley 30. Chesham United or Lincoln City 31. Chesterfield or Horsham 32. Southend United or Charlton Athletic 33. Notts County or Alfreton Town 34. Maidenhead United or Crawley Town 35. Harrogate Town or Wrexham 36. Woking or Cambridge United 37. Gillingham or Blackpool 38. Tonbridge Angels or Harborough Town 39. Sutton United or Birmingham City 40. Newport County or Peterborough United
Fresh on the heels of UFC 308, UFC Edmonton takes place this Saturday with a double-header of 125-pound action. In the co-main event, Erin Blanchfield takes on Rose Namajunas in a five-round women’s flyweight contest, while in the main event former men’s flyweight champion Brandon Moreno returns to action against Amir Albazi.
On top of those matchups, there are 12 more fights on Saturday night, so let’s dive right into the breakdowns.
Money has been coming in on Moreno all week and frankly, I see why. Though Moreno is currently on a two-fight losing streak, both were split decisions that many people believe he got a bad deal on. In a different universe, Moreno could easily still be the flyweight champion.
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On the other side of things, Albazi has been out of action for nearly 18 months and Moreno is by far the best opponent he’s ever faced. Moreno is going to keep a high work rate, scramble out of takedowns, and put Albazi to a test he’s never seen. Ultimately, I think Albazi is a good but not great fighter, and so I like a bet on Moreno.
Erin Blanchfield (-140)
It’s no secret that I’ve been extremely high on Blanchfield since she joined the UFC, and even after suffering her first UFC defeat earlier this year, I’m still high on her.
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Simply put, Blanchfield is very young and very raw, but she’s climbed as high as she has do to sheer physicality. Against a hoss like Manon Fiorot, Blanchfield finally found the limits of that physicality, but Namajunas is another kettle of fish. The former strawweight champion is obviously extremely skilled, but she’s undersized in this weight class and has never been a strong wrestler. I expect Blanchfield to have an easy time of things.
There are bets I like and then there are bets I like. This is the latter.
Munhoz takes on Aiemann Zahabi on the prelims this weekend and I think this is a y’all must’ve forgot moment. Sure Munhoz has only won two of his past nine fights, but look at the level of competition? Almost everyone Munhoz lost to is an elite fighter who either held a belt or fought for one. And while Munhoz lost, he was very competitive in those losses.
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Now Munhoz gets Zahabi who is a big step back in competition, and who, frankly, I’ve never been sold on. Munhoz is going to outwork Zahabi in every phase on Saturday and so I love this action.
Speaking of y’all must’ve forgot, where did the Jack Shore love go? Shore faces Youssef Zalal on the prelims and he’s one of the bigger underdogs on the card?
Sure, Shore lost two of his previous three fights, but the most recent one was not his fault; a cavernous gash opened up on his leg and the doctor called the fight. And Shore was competitive with Joanderson Brito before that happened.
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Meanwhile, Zalal has already been cut from the UFC once and while he’s been lights out since returning, I’m still not sold on a big ceiling for the kid. His defensive wrestling is too poor and Shore can take advantage.
Lewis takes on former Glory kickboxer Jhonata Diniz on the main card Saturday and who really knows what to expect from this one. If it stays standing, Diniz certainly has the advantage but the UFC’s all-time leader in knockouts isn’t a pushover on the feet by any means. Moreover, Lewis also has a clear edge if he can get Diniz to the ground, where “The Black Beast” has nasty ground and pound. If this loses I won’t be surprised, but feels worth a stab given the price.
The last time we saw Malott he was well on his way to a UFC ranking until suffering one of the most stunning collapses I’ve ever witness. After putting the boots to Neil Magny for nearly 14 minutes, Malott simply imploded in the final minute of the bout and Magny pulled off a miracle comeback. Will Malott learn from that disaster? We’re about to find out.
Trevin Giles is a good-but-not-great fighter who is game enough to test Malott but defensively liable enough to get got. In fact, all six of his career losses have been by finish, which lines up nicely against Malott, who has only ever won via finish.
Wrap Up
We broke even at UFC 308 as our belief in the uncrackable chin of Max Holloway proved to be misguided. Hopefully we can do a little better this week as I feel really good about these bets and the lines are pretty tight. I guess we’ll see.
Until next week, enjoy the fights, good luck, and gamble responsibly!
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Formula 1 drivers have been caught up by the bumpiness of Interlagos’ new track surface, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri joking “seeing the end of the straight is the first objective” in Saturday’s sprint.
The historic Brazilian Grand Prix venue in Sao Paulo has been completely resurfaced for 2024, and while drivers agreed the new asphalt delivered more grip, they also felt it made the 4.3km loop a lot bumpier than it used to be
“I think everybody was thrown off a bit by just how bumpy the track was,” Piastri said after claiming a sprint pole ahead of McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.
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“Seeing the end of the straight is the first objective. It’s bad, it’s really, really bumpy. And I think everyone’s had to change a lot of things on the car to make them somewhat comfortable.
“The grip is actually quite good, it’s just trying to keep all four wheels on the ground at once is not that easy.”
Piastri was not alone in his observations, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen also suffering aboard his Red Bull, which has been historically weaker over bumpy circuits.
“The car was a bit difficult on the bumps,” the world champion said after taking fourth on the sprint grid.
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
“They did the resurfacing, but they actually made it worse to drive. It’s extremely bumpy everywhere, so that’s not good for our cars.
“All the bumpy areas, the car is jumping around a lot, and it’s costing me quite a bit of lap time.”
The Mercedes drivers had a similar experience, with George Russell wondering “what happened” when they repaved it and Lewis Hamilton getting flashbacks to Mercedes’ bouncing-affected 2022 season.
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“Yeah, the ride is pretty bad on the track, I think for everyone,” Hamilton said. “The track has been resurfaced, and they’ve not done a particularly great job. It’s bumpy for everyone.
“FP1 was like Baku 2022. It was a little bit better, in terms of it wasn’t hitting the deck so badly, so I wasn’t in pain or anything like that. But the thing is hopping through the corners, so it’s very hard to drive.”
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