NARCIS PELACH can name-drop for fun when he talks about some of the great managers he has learnt from.

Top of the list is Pep Guardiola. There was also Marcelo Bielsa.

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As a coach at Girona he was assistant to Juan Carlos Unzue, who spent six years working under Guardiola at Barcelona.

And in the same breath there is . . . Neil Warnock, forever known as The Warlock thanks to his reputation for being a master of the dark arts of football.

For many, the old-timer’s in-yer-face philosophy is about as far from the Beautiful Game and cerebral thinkers like Pep and Bielsa as it gets.

But Pelach – known affectionately as Chicho – will not hear a word said against Warnock when he describes how important he was in furthering the higher education that won him his first job as a boss with Stoke City.

The 36-year-old said: “For me to work under Neil Warnock and Ronnie Jepson, I cannot explain how grateful I am. It was a brilliant experience to have.

“Neil told me, ‘You’re going to see some tricks here — you will see some things you have never seen’. He was right.”

Thanks to his friendship with Unzue, Pelach was also granted a week to shadow Guardiola at the Etihad.

And he became mates with fellow Spaniard Carlos Corberan, who was one of Bielsa’s coaches at Leeds during the first two years of the maverick Argentinian’s wild ride at Elland Road.

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Corberan allowed him a deep dive into Bielsa’s ways before becoming manager of Huddersfield and making Pelach a coach.

It was there, too, that Warnock made such a huge impression on him.

At the age of 74, he came out of retirement to keep the Terriers in the Championship after taking over when they were seven points from safety in the 2022-23 campaign.

Pelach talks about his days watching and talking to Guardiola with reverence, and he knows he owes Unzue, as well as Corberan for showing him Bielsa’s magic.

But Warnock was just as special to him through the five years he studied and worked his way up in English football.

Pelach said: “It was such an enjoyable time for me and I think he is a manager that all English people should be proud of.

“The training methods are different, of course, but he is not so much a coach as a man–management manager.

Who are these famous footballers?

“In four months I saw lots of things that you can do with one squad to make them successful – and I was never going to see that anywhere else.

“Was that experience as valuable in its way as spending a week shadowing Pep?

“Of course, yes – even if Pep is the best manager in the world, the best in history and he has a power about him.

“I will never forget when he was talking to me the first time. I never wanted that conversation to end.

“I have spoken to some players who were under him and they all said, ‘When Pep comes into the dressing room and talks, you just want him to stay there’.

“It is not just his knowledge. It is his pure love for football — the charisma, the aura, the certainty of sticking to what you believe in and what you want to do.

Pep Guardiola set for final Man City season

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By Martin Blackburn

AFTER eight glorious years of stability, Manchester City now head into an uncertain 12 months.

And Saturday’s FA Cup final defeat to neighbours United was a reminder that this glittering and unforgettable era will not go on for ever.

Around this time in 2025, City will be preparing for the highly-lucrative Fifa Club World Cup in the US.

Yet in all likelihood they will also be getting ready to say their goodbyes to manager Pep Guardiola, who has brought so much success to the east side of Manchester.

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Meanwhile, there could be a verdict on 115 charges of financial irregularity which have been levelled at the club by Premier League chiefs.

The suggestion is the hearing could start later this year but is likely to take several months to reach a conclusion.

City continue to deny any wrongdoing and are confident they will be cleared by the independent commission.

Read Martin Blackburn’s full column here.

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“That week was a fantastic experience but it was the same with Neil.

“I value all of those I have worked for or learnt from Pep, Bielsa, Carlos Corberan, David Wagner at Norwich City.

“Juan Carlos Unzue, too, who taught me so much and worked not only with Pep but with  Frank Rijkaard, Luis Enrique. He was a player under Johan Cruyff.

“The months I was there with him at Girona I learnt the Barcelona philosophy and he said I had to go on this journey.

“I value them all of them just the same – and Neil Warnock as much as any of them.”

Pelach, who is ten games into his new job after coaching at the Canaries, is likely to need to be more Warnock than Guardiola to restore the soul the Potters lost after relegation from the Prem in 2018.

He is the sixth full-time manager since they dropped into the Championship.

And ahead of Saturday’s home game against Millwall, he added: “History says in these last years that no one has been capable to change that mood.

“But I come with energy and belief and all the knowledge I have been so fortunate to gain in these five years – my coaching dissertation was based on 1,000 games.

“I want to be the man who changes the mood, who gets Stoke back up to where it belongs. That is my dream.”

Welcome to the latest edition of Missed Fists where we shine a light on fights from across the globe that may have been overlooked in these hectic times where it seems like there’s an MMA show every other day.

Apologies, but I’m going to need all of you to put your UFC Vegas 100 party planning aside for a moment so you can check out this week’s latest randomness from the fighting world, namely Yatcha Club being at it again.

(Big thanks as always to @Barrelelapierna for their weekly lists of the best KOs and submissions, and to @Grabaka_Hitman for uploading many of the clips you see here. Give them a follow and chip in on Patreon if you can.)

If you’re not familiar with Yatcha Club, its whole gimmick is putting on fights in the most off-beat places you can imagine. Children’s play areas, underground tunnels, parking garages, you name it, the club has probably thrown two dudes in it to punch and kick each other.

In their latest experiment, fighters Chung Soo Lee and Kris Kirsch made their way over to a wading pool to do battle and the results are just about what you’d expect.

Going for a takedown in this setting is incredibly smart. If you’re the one being taken down, doing anything besides immediately trying to get up off your back is incredibly not smart. Because of, you know, the whole being submerged in water thing.

Once Kirsch is down, Lee doesn’t even have to do much other than sloppily grapple as his opponent tries not to swallow a gallon of water. The only strategy to even consider in this fight is making sure you’re on top and then pushing the other guy down until they tap or drown. Like, bro, why are you even going for ground-and-pound there?

Let’s toss this concept in the “never again” pile.

Watch the whole fight below and more from Yatcha Club on their YouTube channel.

Damien Anderson vs. Gabriel Wanderley
Richard Mayol vs. Dallas Dodd
Artur Minev vs. Cristobal Ibanez

With whatever that was out of the way, let’s retreat to the comfy confines of UFC Fight Pass, where human beings were KO’ing and submitting each other the old-fashioned way.

At Fury FC 98 in Houston, Damien Anderson scored a heel hook submission that would make Ryan Hall proud, winning a tangle of limbs to force the tap from Gabriel Wanderley.

Not going to lie, this may have just been an excuse to mention Ryan Hall. Get well and fight again soon, sir.

Richard Mayol (not to be confused with British comedy legend and Drop Dead Fred star Rik Mayall, may he rest in peace) kicks off a cavalcade of right hand knockouts with this precision shot to the temple of Dallas Dodd.

You can pinpoint the exact moment where Dodd’s body shuts down and were it not for the cage wall stopping him, he would have fallen flat back into a nice nap instead of having to absorb that extra shot.

Earlier on the card, Artur Minev needed just 28 seconds to queue up his right hand to blister Cristobal Ibanez.

Stuffs the shot, immediately corners his opponent, and then ends him. Cold efficiency from the Ukrainian lightweight, who improves to 4-0 as a pro.

Stefano Paterno vs. Jorge Bueno
Konstantinos Ntelis vs. Simone Patrizi

Over at Cage Warriors 179 in Rome, the top 2 fights of the night delivered with-you guessed it-a pair of powerful right hand knockouts.

Stefano Paterno continued his recent hot streak, cracking Jorge Bueno for a stylish walk-off finish.

That’s six straight wins for Paterno, including three wins inside the distance since returning to Cage Warriors. At 29, the Italian’s best days are still ahead of him.

Greece’s Konstantinos Ntelis made sure it was a short night at the office as he caught an advancing Simone Patrizi with an absolute hammer that Patrizi stepped directly into.

There’s your “When Your Legs Don’t Work Like They Used To Before” KO of the Week.

Mauricio Partida vs. Brandon Uruchurtu

Zipping over to Lux Fight League 47 in Mexico City, we go from lower limb shutdown to total body shutdown.

Mauricio Partida refused to let Brandon Uruchurtu just chill against the fence, so when he saw an opening to strike, he took it and then some. That’s a monster knee up the middle and Uruchurtu doesn’t just go down in pain, he appears to freeze up completely. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if he cracked a rib there.

Emily Ducote vs. Yulia Ostroverkhova
Victoria Leonardo vs. Amanda Torres
Shanna Young vs. Pamela Boveda
Magdalena Czaban vs. Jessica Hope Holmes

Hopefully you tuned in live on CBS, but in case you didn’t, Invicta FC has you covered with all the highlights from its latest show in Kansas City, Kan. It was a big night for recently released UFC vets, with Emily Ducote, Victoria Leonardo, and Shanna Young all picking up impressive finishes.

Of the three, I’m happiest for Leonardo, who was coming off of two rough knockout losses to Wang Cong and Natalia Silva. During her UFC run, Leonardo developed a reputation for being on the wrong end of spectacular highlights, so for her to get back in the win column and score her first finish since 2020, that’s got to be sweet.

Just two fights into her pro career, atomweight Magdalena Czaban has a submission win she can crow about after locking in this nasty guillotine.

If the UFC ever gets serious about implementing the 115-pound division, Czaban is one to keep an eye on.

Emin Huseynov vs. Olzhas Zhakypbekuly

Let’s end today’s globe-trotting in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where Olzhas Zhakypbekuly ended up with his face in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Whatever Emin Huseynov had done prior to this, he had Zhakypbekuly biting hard on a fake before launching into his spin kick. Zhakypbekuly gets low, gets his hands up, and still ends up eating all of that one. That can’t feel good.

Full Alash Pride fights are available to watch for free on their YouTube channel.

If you know of a recent fight or event that you think may have been overlooked, or a promotion that could use some attention, please let us know on X — @AlexanderKLee — using the hashtag #MissedFists.

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the club do not need a “reset” despite only picking up one point from their past three Premier League matches.

The Gunners were beaten by Newcastle United last weekend, which followed a draw against Liverpool and defeat by Bournemouth.

The run of form has left the club seven points behind league leaders Liverpool, while a 1-0 defeat by Inter Milan on Wednesday means they are currently 12th in the 36-team Champions League table.

“I don’t think about [needing a reset],” said Arteta. “Nobody works harder than me, I guarantee you that.

“We don’t need a reset. In one particular aspect we need to go from 95 (effort) to 100. I will not tell you what that is.”

Arsenal travel to London rivals Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.

Martin Odegaard, who returned from an injury absence during the loss at the San Siro on Wednesday, will be in the squad to face the Blues.

However, Declan Rice, who missed the match in Italy, remains a doubt.

“I have to be very vague on [Rice] because there is no clarity on if he is going to be fit or not for the weekend,” said Arteta.

“He hasn’t trained yet and it is not clear yet whether he is going to be available.”

Arteta says while Odegaard is available a decision has not yet been made on whether he is fit to start.

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones loves 12-6 elbows, despite the technique being the reason he has a loss on his professional record.

The 12-6 elbow will be fair game as New York has adopted the new MMA Unified Rules, which allows the previously barred strike. Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) puts his UFC heavyweight title on the line against former champ Stipe Miocic in the main event at Madison Square Garden, and will have another tool at his disposal.

Jones was infamously disqualified in the first round without warning by referee Steve Mazzagatti in December 2009 for using multiple 12-6 elbows against Matt Hamill. “Bones” was otherwise dominating the fight up to that point. The DQ loss is the lone blemish on Jones’ professional record.

At UFC 309, everything will change as Jones revealed he has been preparing to unleash the now-legal technique against Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC)

“It just makes me wish that that disqualification was overturned,” Jones told Kevin Iole. “That’s the biggest feeling that I have once I learned that the rule is no more. On the other hand, I accept the move more than ever now, and I’ve been training extensively on different 12-6 elbow attacks.

“It’s funny because it’s been such a big no-no move, and so you train yourself not to go there. Now, to be able to use that strike – I mean, it’s a very devastating strike. It just opens up so many more options, both on the feet and in the top position. I’m excited to hopefully be one of the first UFC athletes to legally display it at Madison Square Garden.”

The 12-6 elbow ban was lifted by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports in July. UFC Fight Night 246 on Nov. 2 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, was the first event to implement the new MMA Unified Rules, and a couple of fighters took advantage.

Jones intends to ensure he can land a straight up-and-down elbow or two at UFC 309.

“In this next fight, I feel like I will be putting myself in some really great positions to land the technique, and I’m really looking forward to it,” Jones said.

City Of Troy was named Horse Of The Year at the annual Timeform Awards, despite his abysmal flop in the Breeders’ Cup Classic earlier this month. 

The form-boffins at the sport analytics company had Aidan O’Brien’s star ahead of stayer Kyprios and Roger Varian’s unstoppable miler Charyn. 

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City Of Troy disappointed the racing world when, after months of hype, he finished eighth in the Del Mar showpiece.

O’Brien later blamed himself for the disappointment, citing a poor start for the colt’s sub-par performance.

The Derby, Eclipse and Juddmonte International winner also flopped in the 2,000 Guineas in May, finishing a whopping 17 lengths behind Charlie Appleby’s Notable Speech. 

Charyn, named Champion Miler and coming third in the Horse Of The Year Award, lost only two of his seven starts.

And picked up the Queen Anne Stakes, the Pix Jacques le Marois and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in the process.

Bluestocking, who was named Champion Filly and Mare, did not even get on the podium for the Horse Of The Year Award despite her win in the Arc de Triomphe after a late £100,000 supplementary entry. 

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She instead won the Champion Filly and Mare prize.

Timeform’s Flat editor David Johnson said: “While City Of Troy’s reputation at home arguably outweighed what he showed on the track.

“He retires to stud at the end of his three-year-old season with the feeling that he could perhaps have raised his game further granted more suitable opportunities.

“Kyprios and Charyn may have finished behind City Of Troy in the Horse of the Year vote, but they also enjoyed superb seasons and are winners of the Champion Stayer and Champion Miler categories.”

City Of Troy also claimed the Champion Middle Distance award, ahead of Francis-Henri Graffard’s pair Calandagan and Goliath.

Archie Watson’s dual Group 1 winning sprinter Bradsell was Timeform’s Champion Sprinter.

While Charlie Appleby’s Dewhurst winner Shadow Of Light topped the list of juvenile colts.

Johnson said: “Compared to previous years they look a below-average crop, while the opposite looks the case with the fillies with Lake Victoria narrowly getting the verdict over Desert Flower.

“A meeting between them in the Guineas next spring is something that will give Flat fans something to look forward to over the winter.”

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