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

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Donald Trump appeared virtually in Manhattan criminal court on 23 May for the first time since he was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Judge Juan Merchan disclosed the terms of a protective order that prohibits the former president from publicly discussing evidence in the case after prosecutors with the New York District Attorney’s office share information with Mr Trump’s legal team in a case stemming from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign. A trial is set to begin on 25 March 2024, days after voting begins in Republican presidential primaries as Mr Trump once again seeks the GOP nomination. He has pleaded not guilty. Mr Trump grew agitated with the announcement of the trial date, waved his hands and shook his head in disapproval, then folded his arms in frustration as he begins to stare down what could be a weeks-long trial in a critical period in the middle of his 2024 campaign. Prosecutors have argued that a protective order was necessary to keep Mr Trump – who already has repeatedly lashed out against Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Merchan – from broadcasting information about the case before a jury has been selected and a trial begins. Mr Trump will be allowed to publicly discuss the case and defend himself in the public sphere, as he continues to adamantly reject the charges as a “witch hunt” against him, but he risks being held in contempt of court if he uses any evidence handed to his team in an attempt to target witnesses, court staff or others involved with the case. On Tuesday, the former president appeared on a video screen in front of two American flags with golden fringes, seated next to his attorney Todd Blanche. A six-page order on 8 May prohibits the presumptive frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president, who has used his online bully pulpit with an audience of obedient followers to broadcast veiled threats and insults at his perceived enemies, from disseminating “covered materials” on social media platforms “including, but not limited, to Truth Social, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat, or YouTube, without prior approval from the court.” Mr Trump also cannot disclose the names and identifying information of any personnel from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, “other than sworn members of law enforcement, assistant district attorneys, and expert or fact witnesses (other than summary witnesses)” until a jury has been selected, according to the order. Mr Bagg’s office can also redact identifying information from discovery materials, the judge has said. The former president is “very concerned that his First Amendment rights are being violated by this protective order,” Mr Blanche told the judge on Tuesday. “It’s certainly not a gag order,” Judge Merchan said. “It’s certainly not my intention in any way to impede Mr Trump’s ability to campaign ... He’s certainly free to deny the charges,” he added. “He’s free to do just about anything that doesn’t violate the specific terms of this protective order.” Mr Trump, his former attorney Michael Cohen and the former owner of the National Enquirer David Pecker allegedly worked in concert to“identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects” leading up to the 2016 presidential election, according to prosecutors. The alleged payments were used to cover up sex scandals as part of a “conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election,” according to prosecutors. Hours after he first appeared in criminal court on 4 April, after the judge warned him against making any incendiary remarks or personal attacks, Mr Trump immediately flew back to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he went on to do just that. “I have a Trump-hating judge, with a Trump-hating wife and family,” he said that night. He called Mr Bragg “a local failed district attorney” and a “criminal” who should resign. The former president is at the centre of several other civil and criminal investigations, including a $250m lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James, special counsel probes from the US Department of Justice into January 6 and mishandling of classified White House documents at Mar-a-Lago, and a criminal case in Georgia stemming from his attempts to pressure officials to overturn that state’s election results in 2020. Earlier this month, a federal jury found Mr Trump liable for for battery and defamation in a lawsuit from the writer E Jean Carroll, who said the former president raped her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. Jurors agreed that Mr Trump “sexually abused” her and then defamed her when he denied her allegations. She was awarded $5m in damages for both claims. Read More Trump news - live: Trump jealously complains about Dominion payout ahead of hush money court appearance

The Premier League leaders Arsenal take on Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend. Here's everything you need to know to watch.

SHANGHAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 8, 2023--

The defenders have got more Premier League assists than the midfielders and the forwards have between them. The defensive midfielders have three times as many league goals as the many forwards have mustered. Welcome to Manchester United, where few things go quite as planned, where Saturday’s spectacular salvage job from a fan who has been on the books for two decades involved a brace from Scott McTominay, not Marcus Rashford. They trailed for an hour against Crystal Palace. It is the sort of scenario in which managers rarely replace their top scorer. Yet as their leading marksman is another defensive midfielder, Casemiro, that was not the most notable element of his half-time removal. Nor, even, was it Erik ten Hag’s somewhat brutal explanation for introducing Christian Eriksen. “I wanted more football,” the United manager said. “Someone who brings passing and link-up play.” The Brazilian had brought passing: he passed the ball to Bryan Mbuemo to set Brentford on their way to an opener, a goal for which he arguably made three mistakes. And yet the pertinent part was simply the fact he was taken off. Ten Hag’s talismen are no longer untouchables. Rashford has been taken off in the last three games, each at a point when United needed a goal. And if suggests that neither status nor last season’s excellence can protect them forever, it is also an indication that each ranks among this season’s disappointments. All of which meant Casemiro’s status as an award winner was revealing of a wider malaise at Old Trafford. He had won September’s player-of-the-month prize with a whopping 70 percent of the vote. Perhaps a tour de force in the Carabao Cup victory over Crystal Palace, along with some recency bias, helped. Maybe a brace against Bayern Munich did, too, though it came too late to be relevant. Yet it pointed to a lack of alternatives: by Casemiro’s standards, he did not play well in September. It will be still more damning if he retains the award for October. Casemiro’s two appearances this month have ended early: sent off against Galatasaray, hauled off against Brentford, there were two warning signs. The first came from the officials, the second from the manager. If his red card in the Champions League owed much to Andre Onana, with Casemiro’s desperate slide at Dries Mertens coming after the goalkeeper had coughed up possession, it nevertheless felt symbolic. Casemiro’s tackling technique means he goes to ground too often. As he is getting slower, he is likelier to foul. The naked eye suggests he has been exposed, isolated and bypassed too often, in part when Ten Hag’s tactics have left him stranded behind Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount. The statistics show the supposed ball-winner is regaining it less often. In turn, that may mean he is sent off more often. Casemiro is making fewer interceptions: 0.69 per 90 minutes, compared to 1.43 last season and 2.17 for Real in 2020-21. His 2.91 tackles per 90 minutes is down from 3.77. He is winning fewer than half of his duels, according to Soccerment statistics. To put it another way, the defensive midfielder is not protecting the defence. The goals and assists that he, Scott McTominay and the back four have got are welcome but the defensively-minded personnel have failed to do their day job too often. If Onana is the most obvious culprit, he is not the only one. The intriguing element was that, arguably, Brentford was the first time where Casemiro began in midfield but not as the holding player. With Sofyan Amrabat starting in his preferred position, ending the unsuccessful experiment of deploying the Moroccan at left-back, Casemiro was often found in more advanced areas. As Ten Hag indicated, Eriksen is more of a playmaker and was then granted those duties instead. Yet as Casemiro’s United career shows, he can be both scorer and creator. He has the talent to contribute as each. Perhaps his future could lie as a constructive presence. Yet he was bought as a destructive one. His growing immobility provides a concern that this is not just a loss of form or an issue with United’s tactics. There is the opportunity to look for more solidity by pairing Casemiro and Amrabat in front of the back four. But there is the ticking timebomb that came with his transfer. Real Madrid pensioned Casemiro off, taking £63m for a player in his thirties. He has almost three years left on one of the biggest contracts in United’s history. He would not be the first player to be paid to decline at Old Trafford; perhaps now Ten Hag has signalled to Casemiro that he has to prove he is not a fading force, that his past and his Champions Leagues are no guarantee of a place when Amrabat could play instead. “In football it is eat or get eaten,” the United manager said. If Casemiro polished off the partnership of McFred, Saturday was one of the finest days of McTominay’s United career, and among the worst of his. Read More Arsenal deal substantial blow to Manchester City, but the significance will only be felt in May Erik ten Hag wants Man Utd late show to be ‘a turning point’ Erik ten Hag reveals how close Manchester United came to selling Scott McTominay Rasmus Hojlund says Manchester United must ‘stick together’ in ‘tough period’ Erik ten Hag vows to fight on ‘together’ with Manchester United Jude Bellingham helps Real Madrid to victory and Bayern Munich hit back to win

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