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Man Utd will deliver fitting derby celebration in the house that Sir Bobby Charlton built
Alex Stepney was stood in the shadow of the statue of his three most celebrated teammates. Manchester United’s ‘Holy Trinity’ have been separated, with only Denis Law still able to visit the Theatre of Dreams, but they are immortalised in bronze outside it. Yet while the statue of George Best, Bobby Charlton and Law – each of such a stature that he was voted European Footballer of the Year – was placed outside Old Trafford, only one had a stand at one of the iconic stadia named after him. The South Stand is the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand. It has been since 2016 and on Sunday, it will have an added poignancy, in the first Manchester derby since Charlton died. A week of mourning has shown what Charlton meant: to United, to England, to football. “He’d be very humbled and say, ‘I don’t deserve it’,” Stepney said. “That’s Bobby Charlton.” But as both the statue and the stand show, the tributes began long before Charlton’s life ended. His innate modesty meant that the man widely described as England’s greatest footballer retained his humility. He was, though aware of his importance to so many while downplaying his own significance. “He never showed it,” Stepney said. “He didn’t want to show it because that wasn’t him. When they opened the stand, it was the Everton game, I was with him and he had to go on the pitch with [his wife] Norma and he had a tear in his eye. He said, ‘I don’t deserve this’. I said, ‘Bob, you deserve everything, you deserve everything you get, throughout your life for the way you have done the game, played the game and inspired supporters all around the world’.” Decades on, Charlton’s story has, if anything, appeared still more remarkable. Barely out of his teens when he climbed, concussed, from the wreckage of a plane in Munich, a crash claiming the lives of eight of his teammates and destroying a team that felt destined for greatness, he nevertheless became a World Cup and European Cup winner. His tragic past had an intimidatory capacity: certainly to Stepney when he joined from Chelsea in 1966, a month after Charlton’s elegant running and fierce shooting had propelled England to the World Cup. Should he mention Munich? “That was my main concern when Matt Busby signed me,” the goalkeeper said. “I had to come to Manchester and I met the players at the training ground the following day. Matt took me around and directly when I went in he introduced me to each and every player and I knew then: you don’t talk about it. It wasn’t until 50 years later that Bobby actually spoke about it.” If it was a generation when things went unsaid, it framed United’s eventual European Cup victory. But for Munich, Roger Byrne, and not Charlton, may have been the first United captain to lift the trophy; Tommy Taylor, and not him, the goalscoring No 9 to find the net in the final; Duncan Edwards, and not him, the personification of the club. Stepney felt Charlton won it for them, for his friend Eddie Colman, for Geoff Bent, Mark Jones, David Pegg and Liam Whelan, for the fallen eight. “I think when you reach the heights of getting to the European Cup final 10 years after Munich and for him to be captain and score two goals, that was unbelievable,” added Stepney. “I believe he did it for those lads who passed away in ‘58. He always said he thought about them every day and he did: he would go off and have a little think and come back and off we go.” His own part in the 4-1 win at Wembley should not be overlooked: his save from Eusebio ranks among the most celebrated in United’s history. Stepney is a United great in his own right: his total of 539 games as a goalkeeper was a club record until David de Gea passed it a few months ago. He was, remarkably, United’s joint top scorer at Christmas in the 1973-74 season, courtesy of two penalties. He was the only member of the 1968 side who was also part of the 1977 FA Cup-winning team. He has outlasted his friends again. He treasures memories of Charlton, of playing cards and quizzes on tour. He may be the standard bearer for a generation now, just as Charlton long was. At 81, Stepney joined manager Erik ten Hag and Under-19 captain Dan Gore to lay a wreath in the centre circle before Tuesday’s win over FC Copenhagen. Old Trafford, the ground Charlton first graced on his debut 67 years ago, will applaud on Sunday. “Look at the stadium now,” Stepney said. “This is what Bobby envisaged. This is what he wanted. Nobody would have dreamt when he retired that he would become a director. He put the cogs in motion with Sir Alex [Ferguson] right through to get this as it is now.” But if Charlton’s legacy is in bricks and mortar, it is also in image and memories, in Manchester United. Read More Andre Onana’s moment of magic can be catalyst to reverse more than one difficult recent run Sir Bobby Charlton: England’s greatest ever player and the artist of 1966 Sir Bobby Charlton turned tragedy into triumph with unique style and perseverance Kyle Walker says Manchester City will be wary of Marcus Rashford in derby Wolves v Chelsea on Christmas Eve means ‘unhappy wife’ for Mauricio Pochettino Pep Guardiola condemns Man City fans who sang offensive Sir Bobby Charlton chant
2023-10-28 15:31

Twilio CustomerAI Fuels Next Generation Customer Relationships and Competitive Advantage for Businesses Worldwide
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2023-08-24 00:00

Pusheen Has Arrived in Fall Guys
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DeSantis suggests indicting Donald Trump for Jan 6 would be ‘criminalising political differences’
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday suggested that indicting former president Donald Trump for any crime stemming from his attempt to remain in office against the wishes of voters after losing the 2020 election would mean the Department of Justice is “criminalising political differences” and going after Mr Trump because prosecutors dislike him. Mr DeSantis, who currently trails Mr Trump in most polls of 2024 Republican primary voters, was speaking to CNN anchor Jake Tapper when he was asked about Mr Trump’s claim that he has received a letter from prosecutors informing him that he could soon be indicted a second time by a Washington, DC grand jury that has been investigating events leading up to the January 6 attack on the Capitol, when a riotous mob of the ex-president’s supporters tried to stop certification of his loss to Joe Biden. The Florida governor replied: “ So here's the problem. This country is going down the road of criminalising political differences, and I think that’s wrong”. Rather than address the possibility of charges against Mr Trump stemming from the January 6 investigation, Mr DeSantis instead pivoted to attack Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who earlier this year charged Mr Trump with multiple felony counts of having allegedly falsified business records relating to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Mr DeSantis claimed that Mr Bragg “stretched” the statute under which he charged the ex-president in order to “target” him, and said “most people, even people on the left” have agreed that such a case wouldn’t have been brought had Mr Trump been “a normal civilian”. He also invoked the 2016-2018 Justice Department probe into Russia’s 2016 campaign of interference in that year’s presidential election as a “number one example” of both the DOJ and FBI being “weaponised against people they don’t like,” and called that investigation — which found that the Russian government’s efforts on Mr Trump’s behalf had been “sweeping and systematic” — “not a legitimate investigation” and alleged, falsely, that it had been opened to “drive Trump out of office”. Mr DeSantis then claimed his aim as president would be to “restore a single standard of justice” and “end weaponisation of these agencies” by firing FBI Director Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee who has become a conservative hate object for failing to protect Mr Trump while not acting to target the ex-president’s Democratic enemies. Asked whether he was advocating for ignoring evidence of criminality on Mr Trump’s part, he replied that what he was actually saying was that “going after somebody on the other side of the political spectrum” was “wrong”. “I think we've gone down the road in this country of trying to criminalise differences in politics rather than saying, okay, you don't like somebody then defeat them in the election, rather than trying to use the justice system,” he said. Read More Michigan charges 16 fake electors for Donald Trump with election law and forgery felonies DeSantis pushes AI-generated attack ad featuring fake Trump voice Matt Gaetz launches bill to defund Jack Smith probe as Trump asks Capitol allies help
2023-07-19 05:06

Iranians hit by internet curbs in year since protests
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2023-09-13 11:25

Bankers Brace for Bonus Cuts With No Relief Seen Next Year
Bonus season on Wall Street is looking grim for bankers in an industry hobbled by rising interest rates,
2023-11-14 23:40

TikTok Shop launches in the U.S. as the company bets big on e-commerce
After months of testing, TikTok is fully launching its e-commerce product in the U.S., in an effort to translate the app’s cultural relevance among young consumers to sales
2023-09-12 22:01

England and Australia’s old rivalry has new stage as World Cup arrives at its biggest moment
After Sarina Wiegman finished her press conference following the victory over Colombia on Saturday, she was so struck by the number of questions about England’s historic sporting rivalry with Australia that she immediately started asking staff members about the extent of it. The Dutch coach quickly realised she had underestimated how much this meant. Those at the England camp duly filled her in, although, as one staff member laughed, “it’s not like we showed her old clips of the Ashes”. They maybe didn’t need to. A trip to the shop beside England’s otherwise tranquil Terrigal base would have shown how intense it’s all getting, as the front page of The Western Australian - the newspaper that covers Sam Kerr’s home city of Perth- read, “And you thought the Ashes was big!” It is everywhere in the build-up to the game, where the widespread sentiment articulated by the Sydney Morning Herald is, “Now for the Poms”. All of this really shows just how much this Women’s World Cup has captured Australia, with Wednesday’s semi-final set to break all kinds of audience records. And yet, as much as even supporters who previously dismissed “soccer” are now looking forward to this match and trying to get tickets, this still feels like the game this tournament has been waiting for; a deserved crescendo, an event with real cut-through. That applies to England as much as Australia. In terms of pure narrative drama, it has so far almost been the ideal World Cup. The tournament has offered shocks, unpredictability, memorable moments, storylines and - eventually - a high-class semi-final line-up; the real elite separated from those extending themselves. One of those games will involve a rivalry that is among the oldest and most intense in sport, an alluring element that transcends whatever the event is. That event is meanwhile taking place around midday on Wednesday in the United Kingdom, which is almost perfect for passing viewers during the school holidays. Even if England and Australia have not met enough for there to be a true football rivalry - although there is already talk from within the camps that is changing - the point is about something much bigger than any sport now being transposed onto a new sport. This is going to be huge, to go with the stakes. England are a mere match away from the greatest stage in football. So, however, are Australia. The words “Til it’s done”, featuring an abbreviation of Matildas in vintage national style, are now everywhere on social media. Such has been the nationwide surge of enthusiasm that this game could be put on at any time and the country would still stop. “We can see there are a lot of people excited about this game,” Australia manager Tony Gustavsson said, before beckoning to the packed press conference. “Just look at this room here!” All of this is of course noise the players themselves have sought to turn down, and need to shut out. There have been the usual lines about how it’s “just another game”. Even Wiegman went from asking questions to insisting "we don't feel the rivalry that much". The noise is sort of the point, though. It can’t be said that all of this is irrelevant because it will charge the atmosphere around Stadium Australia, bringing this beyond the electricity of a home semi-final. This is where there’s a dynamic that only further fires this game, that adds to the tension. There may not be too much difference between the sides, but it doesn’t feel like they are quite going in on level terms. Australia are at home. Their campaigns have been too different. With England, it has almost flipped. After five successive games conditioned by the suspense of an embarrassing early exit, they are now the team that might undo something bigger - that might “spoil the party”. England have similarly achieved the minimum target of getting to the semi-finals. That might have been a battle, but it could now release them to go for the maximum. There was a sense of a team coming together in some of their best spells of football against Colombia. Georgia Stanway was knitting everything together, taking more responsibility. Australia have come together in a completely different way. Whereas England have ground their way through, gradually solving problem after problem, Gustavsson’s side have been on the rollercoaster that fits the way this World Cup has emotionally seized the country. If the manner of that penalty shoot-out win involved a lot of nerves and doubt, it also served to fortify belief. “I remember coming into the changing rooms after the France game and Sam came in and said ‘I think this is the time now when we can really believe we can go all the way’,” Mackenzie Arnold said of her celebrated teammate on the eve of the England game. It is that sense of resolve that Wiegman’s side have repeatedly enjoyed, and developed with. Those two different paths to the semi-final also bring multiple perspectives on this semi-final. One view of England is that they have fought their way through problem after problem, to the point they can now get through anything. Another view is that letting games become such battles is an indication you might run into real trouble when you face a truly elite side. But are Australia playing like that? The quarter-final against France threw up other concerns. That is the nature of a tournament, mind. They are usually about game-management and forcing your way through. Wiegman has developed that quality in England, especially through a cast-iron defence so well marshalled by Millie Bright. Should Kerr start, as many of the murmurs around the Australia camp are increasingly indicating, she may find the central area she most enjoys is completely covered. On the other side, it will be the first time England’s backline faces a forward who uses space and the ball in the unique way Kerr does. That is of course if she is even fit enough. "Australia is not just Sam Kerr," Wiegman said. "Yes we have a plan but she could start or be on the bench." Those questions persist, but so does this World Cup’s wait for its great star's first big moment. Alessia Russo has finally had hers. England’s forwards might have found something like form at the right time. It’s certainly the right game. Nobody would make the mistake of saying it’s the “real final” but it may well end up the World Cup’s biggest fixture. It’s an old rivalry on a new stage, with new stakes. Neither of these sides have been to a World Cup final before. There can surely be no better game to get there. It's a game the tournament has waited for. It's the moment the teams have waited for. Read More How to watch England vs Australia: TV channel and kick-off time for Women’s World Cup semi-final Australia is having a moment — will Sam Kerr finally get hers against England? The Lionesses will need to beat an entire nation in the grip of World Cup fever Olga Carmona fires Spain into first Women’s World Cup final amid late drama Women’s World Cup LIVE: England vs Australia build-up as Spain reach final How Georgia Stanway found World Cup ‘discipline’ thanks to surprise mentor
2023-08-15 20:13

Tiffany Watson lands new job with Mama Bamboo
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