For an illustration of the sort of double-think that has pervaded football this campaign, consider the actions of one prominent figure. They have effusively praised Manchester City in public, but constantly asked when the Premier League investigation is going to be concluded in private. This could actually refer to a few people, and might well be necessary realpolitik. It’s also the reality of the game in the 2022-23 season, one that has gone on so long that two contrasting perspectives on the same subject could both be entirely fair at different times. This was a campaign that was deeply predictable at one end and wondrously open below that. City may make history by winning a treble but also made history in becoming the first champions to have been charged with breaches that could yet see them expelled from the Premier League. Manchester United were often a shambles in some record defeats but also sensibly getting things together under the astute Erik ten Hag. On it goes, just like the season itself. There’s still almost a month left. Much of this comes from an event that remains more influential than even that seismic day in February when the Premier League quietly announced that City had been charged. That was of course a Qatar World Cup that is still having a considerable effect on the campaign. Summing this up is that it’s hard to get your head around the idea that a tournament actually happened this season. No, seriously. Qatar was more recent than Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte clashing over a handshake. It might even be more recent than Darwin Nunez being charitably described as “an agent of chaos” but, like one of his touches, that's lost in the mire. Yet it is all of a line, as are some of the other facts of the campaign. It is symbolic that the season of the Qatar World Cup also saw Abu Dhabi’s City come to the brink of a treble and Saudi Arabia’s Newcastle United get to the Champions League. There is actually a direct cause-and-effect here, since every major football decision these states have taken has seen their Gulf blockade rivals respond. The move to host the 2022 World Cup is still seen as setting off much of this. One senior figure privately quipped that this is “the year that sportswashing won”. It is certainly one where a number of different strands defining the modern game came together. There may yet be more. If the Sheikh Jassim bid does win the Manchester United sale, to conclude another of the season’s major themes, it would mean three of England’s Champions League clubs for next season are respectively owned by Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. And yet there is another contrast there, even if you have to go a little deeper. For all that the top end of the sport has become the preserve of Western billionaires and – increasingly – autocratic states, there has been a joyous unpredictability below that. The Europa League and Europa Conference League have been alive with opportunity and more captivating than ever, just as the Champions League top end – and its group of potential winners – has become so small. There is an enriching vitality in the two lesser competitions that are no longer seen at the elite level. One has the same teams and stories. The other two have revitalising runs at rare glory. The wildness of the Premier League’s bottom two-thirds meanwhile showed what the entire division could and should be like. The EFL play-offs were captivating, and featured two uplifting stories in Sheffield Wednesday’s historic comeback against Peterborough United and Luton Town’s rise. Rob Edwards’s side will join Brighton and Brentford in the Premier League now, both of whom have continued to defy the wider realities of the game. Leicester City’s relegation at the same time showed how difficult and fleeting that can be, how it can evaporate. Any success from outside the elite is therefore to be relished, in the manner that Napoli did in Serie A and Feyenoord in Eredivisie. Such feats stand as uplifting sporting stories in contrast to what the Qatar World Cup represented. Some were ironically influenced by that tournament, since an unprecedented disruption to the regular club season inevitably had a profound effect. It played havoc with physical conditioning programmes. All had to adapt, some did better than others. It was undeniably a factor in Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea having such poor seasons, if obviously not the main reason. The issue is more that, if things go as normal, the wealthiest tend to succeed. This season was anything but normal as it continues to stretch on for so long. None of that is to excuse many flaws of course, not least in Chelsea’s excessive spending. There is a moral lesson there that money can only bring so much, at least in the short term. There was also classic pantomime underneath the most serious discussions. Todd Boehly made himself one of the game’s modern characters, reminiscent of some of the larger-than-life figures of the 1970s. Frank Lampard’s return was an almost comical cameo, that only left bemusement. Conte put on a theatrical performance before ultimately leaving Spurs. Pep Guardiola had a display of his own in dismissing his players as “happy flowers”. The coaches demand focus in another way. There's a fair argument that every Premier League manager who wasn’t sacked has a claim to be the best of the season. All of Roberto De Zerbi, Gary O’Neill, Thomas Frank, Mikel Arteta, Guardiola and Eddie Howe overperformed to varying degrees. David Moyes has got West Ham United to a European final, and the brink of a first trophy in 44 years. The only exception to this is arguably Jurgen Klopp, but his excellence is beyond question. The uncertainty is just about whether he can rebuild Liverpool to the same degree. There was much more causing their Champions League failure than the mid-season disruption. The effects of that break only went so far, too. The most lavish football project was naturally best equipped to adapt. Guardiola primed his City team to come good in the same way he did during that Covid season. The Catalan is clearly a genius but fitting a goalscorer like Erling Haaland to a team like City is one of the less challenging problems. A young Arsenal actually did remarkably to set the pace for so long. If you stand back, it was really an inevitability they were going to be overtaken, regardless of how it ended up happening. Qatar disrupted things but only to a certain degree. City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and a hugely criticised Barcelona still won domestic titles. It all points to how the game is actually at a strange point in its historic evolution, split in a few ways. The most questionable interests are seeking to purchase this glorious unpredictability and pantomime, a dynamic at once eroding such theatricality but also ensuring the defiant displays are all the more joyous. There will come a point, however, where the game reaches a line it can’t go past. We’re not there yet but there are signposts. In 2021-22, Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine forced football to confront realities it wouldn’t otherwise have faced, and take decisions it would otherwise have ignored. It was arguably the season the mask slipped. The 2022-23 campaign was one where football had two faces. Read More Premier League 2022/23 season awards: Best player, manager, transfer flop and breakthrough act Man City’s quest for legitimacy is a battle they may never win Easy in the end for Manchester City – same again next season? Football rumours: Tottenham and Newcastle after James Maddison and Harvey Barnes Pep Guardiola takes top honours at LMA Awards Manchester United’s Anthony Martial ruled out of FA Cup final through injury

Quincy Cross was convicted of raping and killing a young woman named Jessica Currin. Her father says they have the wrong man in prison.

Robin Roberts also received heartwarming birthday wishes from her 'GMA' co-stars

Food prices increased at the slowest pace in at least nine months as the cost of cooking oil

Watch live as Britain hosts the latest Ukraine Recovery Conference. The international event, which runs in London on 21 and 22 June, is focused on the recovery and reconstruction of the war-torn nation and will be attended by governments, international organisations and the private sector. Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will open the session, before a speech from Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s prime minister. “As we’ve seen in Bakhmut and Mariupol, what Russia cannot take it will seek to destroy. They want to do the same to Ukraine’s economy,” Mr Sunak will say. “President Zelensky’s government is determined to drive reforms to become more open, more transparent and ready for investment. This is a vibrant, dynamic, creative, European country that refuses to be subdued.” Other speeches throughout the conference will focus on the scale of recovery, investment in Ukraine’s capital recovery and “building back better” in the energy sector. Read More Budget 2022: Hunt says UK in recession as he announces huge tax rises Jeremy Hunt increases energy windfall tax in budget Jeremy Hunt freezes tax allowances and hits 45p rate payers

Unlike the prized WFH office chairs we know and love, the best dining chairs must cater to a wide range of butts (not just our own), coexist under one table, and look just as good as they feel. Depending on the eaters in your home, it's also good to consider if the dining chairs can handle the occasional food stain or are able to be doused in Scotchgard. All in all, each living space has different dining chair needs, and we've found a hoard of unique seats that measure up, according to rave reviews.

A key Federal Reserve official said he is “increasingly confident” that the Fed’s interest rate policies will succeed in bringing inflation back to the central bank’s 2% target level

Officials in Pakistan say the death toll from two weeks of monsoon rains rose to at least 55 on Thursday after at least 12 people, including eight children, died in weather-related incidents in Pakistan

Caesars, FanDuel and DraftKings are giving new Wyoming users a guaranteed $650 bonus on any NFL Week game! Find out how to claim these offers here.

Liverpool winger Luis Diaz enjoyed an emotional reunion with his parents after flying home to Colombia for the first time since their kidnapping earlier this month. Diaz arrived in Bogota before flying to Barranquilla – the national team base for Thursday’s World Cup qualifier against Brazil – on Tuesday where he was greeted by his father Luis Manuel and mother Cilenis Marulanda. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Colombia Football Federation published pictures of the family’s reunion alongside a short statement which read: “This was Lucho’s exciting meeting with his father Mane Diaz and his family. “We love you and we are more united than ever! @LuisFDiaz19. We are all Colombians.” Diaz’s parents were snatched off the street just over a fortnight ago and, while his mum was freed almost immediately, his dad was held for 12 days before being released on Thursday. The 58-year-old said of his experience: “It was a lot of horseback riding, really hard, a lot of mountains, a lot of rain, too many insects.” A weak Díaz, who was helped to and from a chair by his family, told journalists in his home town of Barrancas in Colombia: “I couldn’t sleep peacefully, it was very difficult, almost 12 days without sleep.” Read More LaLiga president says Jude Bellingham ‘like he’s from a different planet’ Rory McIlroy aware ‘loose lips sink ships’ as progress made towards golf future ‘Drained and stressed’ Ronnie O’Sullivan withdraws from Champion of Champions

Asian equities look set for mixed start Wednesday while US contracts posted muted gains after leaders in Washington

Ahead of a pivotal Game 3 against the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum said the team has had no choice but to play well on the road.The Boston Celtics have had a rough time against the Miami Heat. Well, Jimmy Butler, specifically.In the first two games of the Eastern Conference F...