Football
Erik ten Hag: Has Manchester United manager ‘had his time’?
Chris Sutton, Rory Smith and Conor Coady join Mark Chapman on the Monday Night Club to discuss manager Erik ten Hag’s future at Manchester United following Sunday’s 3-0 defeat by Tottenham in the Premier League.
WATCH MORE: How ‘worrying’ Man Utd fell apart against Spurs
Listen to the best bits of the Monday Night Club in the Football Daily podcast.
Football
Nations League ‘pain’ can help get Scotland to World Cup – Carver
Scotland “might have to suffer” in a difficult Nations League group but assistant manager John Carver is adamant there will be long-term gains as he looks to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Scotland visit Croatia on Saturday and host Portugal next Tuesday, having lost their opening matches at home to Poland and away to the Portuguese.
Those September defeats leave Steve Clarke’s side without a competitive victory in over a year and on a run of just one win in 14 matches.
“I think you can see what we’re trying to do,” said Carver. “There’s a clear identity, how we are going to play in and out of possession.
“We continue with that and you’d like to think results will come.”
Two calamitous penalties contributed to a 3-2 loss to Poland at Hampden, while Scotland led at the interval before going down 2-1 in Lisbon.
“We can take so much encouragement from our last two performances,” added Carver. “Nobody expected us to perform the way we did in Lisbon. We should have got at least a draw.
“People thought we were in for a drubbing but we were in the game. We didn’t sit back, we had a go at them.”
Football
Andres Iniesta retires: Barcelona, Japan & the coaches who influenced him
The gifted kid from the outskirts of Albacete grew up following Michael Laudrup and Pep Guardiola, and was given the chance to hone his raw talent in their shadows when he was exposed to Barcelona’s revered La Masia youth academy at the age of 12, even if he did “cry buckets” on arrival.
He did not know then the influence the latter would have on his career.
Guardiola admired the understated up-and-coming playmaker when captain of the Catalan giants, famously suggesting fellow midfielder Xavi would retire him and “this lad Iniesta is going to retire us all”, before as coach making Iniesta a pivotal part of his all-conquering side.
“Barcelona was like an exam every game and you had to pass that,” says Iniesta. “That’s the base and each time you have to adapt to the environment, mould yourself to the style that is required of you – but always keeping the essence.
“I’ve had different coaches. I started with Louis van Gaal and then there was Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde. All coaches teach you something and you can learn something from all coaches. Maybe there are times I played less, but that experience enriched me too.
“It would be hard to point out a coach who has influenced me the most and that’s the same with the players I have played with and learned from. I have been in Barca and Spanish national teams in very good moments and I have been with the world’s best players and I have learned from all of them.”
Iniesta pauses for a moment to consider his answer and then continues: “It’s not only what you have immediately around you, but an opponent, an opponent’s system or style of play. I’ve always thought this motivation to learn is the motor to keep improving.
“You can learn from everything, not only from your immediate surroundings but from everything surrounding your football.”
He highlights the relentless energy of Marcelo Bielsa’s sides and the challenge of breaking down Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid in El Clasico fixtures.
“I have been lucky to have played a lot of games in my career and you encounter a lot of teams, a lot of proponents,” says Iniesta.
“It is not the same in the different competitions that you play like the Champions League or La Liga or for the national team. English teams or Italian teams are very different. When you played against Marcelo Bielsa’s Chile, that was a particular team.
“Playing against Real Madrid when Mourinho was coaching – or Carlo Ancelotti – are experiences which really enrich you.”
It was Barcelona, though, who inspired coaches around the world to adopt the principles that made them so successful – the tiki-taka, the suffocating press, the focus on technically gifted players at a time when others were scouting for strong, powerful athletes.
“Barca has always been characterised by being a team that wants the ball and wants to keep the ball,” says Iniesta. “In the time of Guardiola, the football itself didn’t change but it was a time where teams were really looking at us and trying to learn.”
Football
Inverness Caley Thistle board says administration ‘likely’
Inverness Caledonian Thistle board members have warned fans the club is likely to go into administration next week.
ICT is in financial crisis and sitting second bottom of League 1.
The aim of the administrative process would be to rescue the club by finding a new buyer but Inverness risks a 15 league points deduction and potential relegation.
ICT’s board told a meeting of about 200 supporters on Monday night the club was facing a difficult future.
After the meeting, interim chairman Scott Young told BBC Scotland News: “The hope is that by doing the administrative process we can market the club for someone to come in and takeover.
“Going forward it would be a great club for someone to own.
“It’s in a fantastic city and got a great history even though we are only 30 years old.”
He said administration offered an opportunity for the club to start again and move forward.
ICT launched a Go Fund Me page last week in the hope of raising £200,000 in 14 days to avoid administration this month.
It has raised more than £70,000 so far.
Team manager Duncan Ferguson is also temporarily working for free to help ease pressures on the club’s finances.
Even if it successfully avoids going into administration this month, ICT said it would need further injections of funds to survive the rest of the season.
Losses ran to £1.2m last season and the club has forecast a similar loss this year, but warned that figure would not include money spent on restructuring following relegation.
ICT Supporters Trust has urged major shareholders and former directors to help prevent the club from going into administration.
Last week it said it was “hugely concerned” about the club’s future after previous assurances it was safe.
The club was formed in 1994 following a controversial merger of two historic Inverness Highland League clubs – Caledonian and Inverness Thistle, which were both formed in 1885.
The news club climbed through the leagues and has been managed by some famous names, including former England manager Terry Butcher, Hearts legend John Robertson and current boss Duncan Ferguson, who played for Rangers and Everton.
Inverness has enjoyed cup glory, including winning the Scottish Cup in 2015.
Football
Troy Parrott: Republic of Ireland striker says trying to live up to hype ‘got to me’
Parrott was signed by AZ Alkmaar in July after a season-long loan stint at Excelsior, who were relegated from the Eredivisie in June despite the Dubliner’s goalscoring exploits.
He quickly made an impression for AZ, netting four in a 9-1 demolition of Heerenveen last month before scoring a match-winning penalty against Elfsborg in the Europa League.
“To be away, it’s not necessarily being out of the spotlight, it’s just a new experience for me that I’m really enjoying,” said Parrott.
“For me to be enjoying my football is the most important thing and it’s one of the reasons why I’ve managed to do well up to now.”
Parrott, who made his senior international debut in 2019, scored a late winner in the Republic of Ireland’s friendly against Hungary in June.
And while that came hot on the heels of a prolific end to last season with Excelsior, he was left on the bench by new boss Heimir Hallgrimsson during last month’s defeats by England and Greece.
Parrott admits that was “disappointing” but added he is not going to “sit around and cry about” it as he looks to make an impact against Finland and Greece over the next week.
“If I get the chance to play I’m going to feel like I’m ready and like I can make an impact on the game,” he said.
“I can see why the team feels low on form because of the previous results but it’s on all of us to turn that around.”
Football
Rob Holding: Why has Crystal Palace defender been frozen out
Just over a year ago Rob Holding made a £4m deadline day switch from Arsenal to bolster Crystal Palace’s defence.
But a little more than 12 months on, when Palace issued a joint photo, external of the men’s and women’s squads to mark a club anniversary, the 29-year-old was nowhere to be seen.
Why has the two-time FA Cup winner’s career come to a standstill?
Holding, who made 162 appearances for Arsenal over seven years, is currently training with the Eagles’ under-21 team following a disagreement with manager Oliver Glasner.
“Rob is training individually at the moment,” Glasner said on 1 September, when asked about the centre-back.
“We will talk together – he knows the reason. But it is something that stays between Rob and me. Nothing public.”
Sources with knowledge of the dispute have told BBC Sport that there was a disagreement about a post-match running session following Holding’s last involvement in the first team. He was an unused substitute in a 2-0 home defeat by West Ham on 24 August.
Holding has only made one appearance for the club since he joined on a three-year deal, in the EFL Cup last season against Manchester United, and has not featured at all in the Premier League.
The U21s train at the club’s academy, a separate location to the first team’s base, and sources on both sides say that the situation for Holding is unlikely to change.
Sources close to the player say Holding is accepting of that and intends to keep training professionally and being the best he can in the circumstances.
Palace signed three centre-backs this summer, with Maxence Lacroix coming in from Wolfsburg in a deal worth £18m, Chadi Riad joining from Real Betis in a deal worth up to £14m and Trevoh Chalobah arriving on loan from Chelsea.
The Eagles also kept hold of £70m-rated England centre-back Marc Guehi and have Chris Richards, Jefferson Lerma, Joel Ward and Nathaniel Clyne as options in defence. That means that if Holding did patch things up with Glasner, he would still potentially only be the club’s eighth or ninth-choice centre-back.
Holding has deleted all references to Crystal Palace from his Instagram page and has unfollowed the club on the platform. He is still listed as a first-team player on the Palace website.
He played the full 90 minutes for the under-21s in their 3-1 victory over Gillingham in the EFL Trophy two weeks ago.
Holding is reported to have been an excellent role model at the academy, with one source describing his impact around the U21 team as “brilliant”.
But the road to first-team favour seems like a long way back for the former Arsenal player, even with Palace in the relegation zone and winless from their opening seven Premier League games.
Football
Aberdeen’s Jack MacKenzie set for Scotland call-up – gossip
Aberdeen left-back Jack MacKenzie, 24, is set to be called up to the Scotland squad. (Press and Journal – subscription), external
Torino striker Che Adams says he has still to hit the heights for Scotland that he has delivered at club level. (Daily Record), external
Dundee United defender Declan Gallagher will never give up on a Scotland recall but reckons team-mate Ross Graham could beat him to it. (Courier – subscription), external
Rangers should have had a penalty against St Johnstone for a shirt pull on Cyriel Dessers, believes former referee Des Roache. (Daily Record), external
Ross County striker Ronan Hale was happy to block out shouts from Kasper Schmeichel about which corner to aim for as he beat the Celtic goalkeeper with a retaken penalty on Sunday. (Daily Record), external
Former Hearts coach Gordon Forrest has joined Chinese club Shenzhen Peng City until the end of the year. (Edinburgh Evening News), external
Another ex-Hearts employee, Joe Savage, has set up a consultancy that will help broker deals between agents, clubs and players, after leaving the sporting director post at Tynecastle. (Edinburgh Evening News), external
A contract extension for in-form Aberdeen full-back Nicky Devlin is a no-brainer, says former Pittodrie favourite Duncan Shearer. (Press & Journal – subscription), external
The “character and drive” of Kieron Bowie will bring the Hibernian forward back stronger after successful surgery to address a hamstring issue, says head coach David Gray. (Edinburgh Evening News), external
Ianis Hagi will miss Rangers’ next three games after his red card against St Johnstone since he is suspended for two Scottish Premiership games, which are followed by a Europa League match he is ineligible for. (Daily Record), external
Ianis Hagi sent an Instagram message to fans thanking them for the warm welcome back after his long absence from the first team at Rangers. (Football Scotland), external
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks ago
3 Day Full Body Women’s Dumbbell Only Workout
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
How to unsnarl a tangle of threads, according to physics
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Hyperelastic gel is one of the stretchiest materials known to science
-
Technology3 weeks ago
Would-be reality TV contestants ‘not looking real’
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
‘Running of the bulls’ festival crowds move like charged particles
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Maxwell’s demon charges quantum batteries inside of a quantum computer
-
News2 weeks ago
Our millionaire neighbour blocks us from using public footpath & screams at us in street.. it’s like living in a WARZONE – WordupNews
-
News3 weeks ago
the pick of new debut fiction
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
How to wrap your mind around the real multiverse
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Quantum ‘supersolid’ matter stirred using magnets
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Sunlight-trapping device can generate temperatures over 1000°C
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Liquid crystals could improve quantum communication devices
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
ITER: Is the world’s biggest fusion experiment dead after new delay to 2035?
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Quantum forces used to automatically assemble tiny device
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Physicists are grappling with their own reproducibility crisis
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Why this is a golden age for life to thrive across the universe
-
News3 weeks ago
You’re a Hypocrite, And So Am I
-
Sport3 weeks ago
Joshua vs Dubois: Chris Eubank Jr says ‘AJ’ could beat Tyson Fury and any other heavyweight in the world
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Time travel sci-fi novel is a rip-roaringly good thought experiment
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Laser helps turn an electron into a coil of mass and charge
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Caroline Ellison aims to duck prison sentence for role in FTX collapse
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Nuclear fusion experiment overcomes two key operating hurdles
-
Business1 week ago
Eurosceptic Andrej Babiš eyes return to power in Czech Republic
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Nerve fibres in the brain could generate quantum entanglement
-
Technology1 week ago
‘From a toaster to a server’: UK startup promises 5x ‘speed up without changing a line of code’ as it plans to take on Nvidia, AMD in the generative AI battlefield
-
Football1 week ago
Football Focus: Martin Keown on Liverpool’s Alisson Becker
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Rethinking space and time could let us do away with dark matter
-
News3 weeks ago
▶️ Hamas in the West Bank: Rising Support and Deadly Attacks You Might Not Know About
-
Science & Environment2 weeks ago
X-rays reveal half-billion-year-old insect ancestor
-
MMA1 week ago
Conor McGregor challenges ‘woeful’ Belal Muhammad, tells Ilia Topuria it’s ‘on sight’
-
Business1 week ago
Should London’s tax exiles head for Spain, Italy . . . or Wales?
-
News3 weeks ago
▶️ Media Bias: How They Spin Attack on Hezbollah and Ignore the Reality
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
A slight curve helps rocks make the biggest splash
-
News3 weeks ago
New investigation ordered into ‘doorstep murder’ of Alistair Wilson
-
News3 weeks ago
Israel strikes Lebanese targets as Hizbollah chief warns of ‘red lines’ crossed
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Future of fusion: How the UK’s JET reactor paved the way for ITER
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
A new kind of experiment at the Large Hadron Collider could unravel quantum reality
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
UK spurns European invitation to join ITER nuclear fusion project
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Cardano founder to meet Argentina president Javier Milei
-
News2 weeks ago
Why Is Everyone Excited About These Smart Insoles?
-
Science & Environment2 weeks ago
Meet the world's first female male model | 7.30
-
Technology2 weeks ago
Get ready for Meta Connect
-
Health & fitness1 week ago
The 7 lifestyle habits you can stop now for a slimmer face by next week
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Why we need to invoke philosophy to judge bizarre concepts in science
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Low users, sex predators kill Korean metaverses, 3AC sues Terra: Asia Express
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks ago
Best Exercises if You Want to Build a Great Physique
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks ago
Everything a Beginner Needs to Know About Squatting
-
News2 weeks ago
Four dead & 18 injured in horror mass shooting with victims ‘caught in crossfire’ as cops hunt multiple gunmen
-
Technology2 weeks ago
Robo-tuna reveals how foldable fins help the speedy fish manoeuvre
-
Technology1 week ago
Quantum computers may work better when they ignore causality
-
Sport1 week ago
Watch UFC star deliver ‘one of the most brutal knockouts ever’ that left opponent laid spark out on the canvas
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Ethereum is a 'contrarian bet' into 2025, says Bitwise exec
-
Health & fitness3 weeks ago
The secret to a six pack – and how to keep your washboard abs in 2022
-
Business3 weeks ago
JPMorgan in talks to take over Apple credit card from Goldman Sachs
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Quantum time travel: The experiment to ‘send a particle into the past’
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Being in two places at once could make a quantum battery charge faster
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
A tale of two mysteries: ghostly neutrinos and the proton decay puzzle
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Bitcoin miners steamrolled after electricity thefts, exchange ‘closure’ scam: Asia Express
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Dorsey’s ‘marketplace of algorithms’ could fix social media… so why hasn’t it?
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
DZ Bank partners with Boerse Stuttgart for crypto trading
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Bitcoin bulls target $64K BTC price hurdle as US stocks eye new record
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Blockdaemon mulls 2026 IPO: Report
-
News3 weeks ago
The Project Censored Newsletter – May 2024
-
Politics3 weeks ago
UK consumer confidence falls sharply amid fears of ‘painful’ budget | Economics
-
TV2 weeks ago
CNN TÜRK – 🔴 Canlı Yayın ᴴᴰ – Canlı TV izle
-
Science & Environment2 weeks ago
CNN TÜRK – 🔴 Canlı Yayın ᴴᴰ – Canlı TV izle
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks ago
3 Day Full Body Toning Workout for Women
-
Servers computers2 weeks ago
What are the benefits of Blade servers compared to rack servers?
-
News2 weeks ago
US Newspapers Diluting Democratic Discourse with Political Bias
-
Technology1 week ago
The best robot vacuum cleaners of 2024
-
Politics3 weeks ago
Trump says he will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week
-
Sport3 weeks ago
UFC Edmonton fight card revealed, including Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi headliner
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
How one theory ties together everything we know about the universe
-
News3 weeks ago
Brian Tyree Henry on voicing young Megatron, his love for villain roles
-
Technology3 weeks ago
The ‘superfood’ taking over fields in northern India
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Tiny magnet could help measure gravity on the quantum scale
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
How do you recycle a nuclear fusion reactor? We’re about to find out
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Decentraland X account hacked, phishing scam targets MANA airdrop
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
RedStone integrates first oracle price feeds on TON blockchain
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
‘No matter how bad it gets, there’s a lot going on with NFTs’: 24 Hours of Art, NFT Creator
-
Business3 weeks ago
Thames Water seeks extension on debt terms to avoid renationalisation
-
Business3 weeks ago
How Labour donor’s largesse tarnished government’s squeaky clean image
-
Politics3 weeks ago
‘Appalling’ rows over Sue Gray must stop, senior ministers say | Sue Gray
-
News3 weeks ago
Brian Tyree Henry on voicing young Megatron, his love for villain roles
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Coinbase’s cbBTC surges to third-largest wrapped BTC token in just one week
-
MMA2 weeks ago
Rankings Show: Is Umar Nurmagomedov a lock to become UFC champion?
-
Travel2 weeks ago
Delta signs codeshare agreement with SAS
-
Politics2 weeks ago
Hope, finally? Keir Starmer’s first conference in power – podcast | News
-
Business1 week ago
Ukraine faces its darkest hour
-
News3 weeks ago
Church same-sex split affecting bishop appointments
-
Technology3 weeks ago
iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera Review: Depth and Reach
-
Health & fitness3 weeks ago
The maps that could hold the secret to curing cancer
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Crypto scammers orchestrate massive hack on X but barely made $8K
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
SEC asks court for four months to produce documents for Coinbase
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
‘Silly’ to shade Ethereum, the ‘Microsoft of blockchains’ — Bitwise exec
-
Womens Workouts3 weeks ago
How Heat Affects Your Body During Exercise
-
Womens Workouts3 weeks ago
Keep Your Goals on Track This Season
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Single atoms captured morphing into quantum waves in startling image
-
News3 weeks ago
How FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam Is Adapting to a Post-Pandemic Economy
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Telegram bot Banana Gun’s users drained of over $1.9M
You must be logged in to post a comment Login