Marc Skinner demands Man Utd focus on their own job in WSL season finale
Marc Skinner wants his Manchester United players to focus on the task at hand while he keeps an ear on results elsewhere as the Women’s Super League title race goes to the final day of the season. United travel to Liverpool on Saturday afternoon trailing league leaders Chelsea by two points, with the Blues at rock-bottom Reading, who need to win to avoid relegation from the top flight. Skinner, whose side are already guaranteed their highest-ever league finish five years after reforming, must win on Merseyside to give themselves any chance of denying Chelsea a fourth straight league crown. “All we can do is try to win the game,” said the United boss. “Should it need different connotations, we’ve got to be ready to adapt to that but we’ve got to try and win the game. “We have to keep tabs on Reading-Chelsea. I don’t think we’re going to listen to it with that much intent but we’ll have an understanding of the scoreline. “It will be more comms in the ear, not watching the game. It will be a tough ask for Reading, Chelsea have been excellent this season, but we can all hope. We need two great swings to go for us.” The title would head to United if they win and Chelsea lose while a Blues draw does not rule out Skinner’s side completely – although it means having to beat Liverpool by at least six goals. United coincidentally defeated Liverpool 6-0 at Leigh Sports Village in January but Skinner feels the result was a one-off and is adamant his side are braced for a tougher challenge at Prenton Park. “(Manager) Matt Beard builds together teams and they fight for each other, and that’s always dangerous because that sometimes goes beyond tactics,” said Skinner. “I’ll be very clear: the 6-0 game at home shouldn’t have been a 6-0 game, we took chances, got a little bit of luck at times but it was never a 6-0 game. (Saturday) will be a lot tighter than that. “We’ve just got to concentrate on us, we’ve got one game left to give all our energy and get it all out before the summer. We’ve got to enjoy it more importantly, not play like it’s an end-of-season game. “I won’t forgive anybody that does that. For us it’s still about trying to win the game but knowing how hard Liverpool at their home ground is.” While United scoring an early goal might put pressure on Chelsea, Skinner is wary of playing into Liverpool’s hands. “The one thing Liverpool are wonderful at is counter-attacking,” added Skinner. “Natasha Dowie knows where every part of the goal is at any point, Shanice van de Sanden is wonderful at the speed in which they break. For us, you’ve got to build the success, they’re not going to give us anything.”
2023-05-26 16:22
Harry Kane taking inspiration from greats as he eyes another decade at top
Tottenham forward Harry Kane will celebrate a milestone birthday this summer but has talked up the possibility of playing until he is 40 after receiving his latest accolade on Thursday. Kane was officially awarded the Freedom of the City of London during a ceremony at Guildhall alongside wife Kate, his three children and various members of his family. Kane was nominated for one of the city’s most ancient traditions due to his outstanding sporting achievements, with the England captain only 50 goals away from becoming the Premier League’s record goalscorer. While it has been a difficult season for club Tottenham, Kane has netted 28 times in the Premier League ahead of his 30th birthday in July. When reflecting on his own potential longevity, the Spurs academy graduate referenced the ages of Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who were all in their mid-thirties when celebrating recent Ballon d’Or wins. “I am someone who always wants to push, always wants to get better, so if I am scoring goals at 39, then for sure I probably will play until I’m 40,” Kane told the PA news agency. “I always said I think it depends how your career has gone and what you’ve achieved, what kind of mindset you are in at that stage. “Sometimes there is a perception when you reach 30 that you’re coming to the end but in recent history some of the players who have been Ballon d’Or winners or Champions League winners have been 35, 36, 37. “I think as long as you stay mentally hungry and physically in a good place, which I am, then I feel like you can play as long as possible. “For sure I want to be playing another seven or eight years at the highest level and hopefully I can do that.” There remains uncertainty over Kane’s future with only one year left on his deal at Tottenham, although the club have no intention of selling their star forward this summer. Kane has repeatedly insisted his focus is on finishing another prolific season strongly as Spurs prepare to visit Leeds on Sunday with Europa Conference League qualification up for grabs. Despite Tottenham’s poor campaign, Kane has closed in on Alan Shearer’s record haul of 260 Premier League goals. He added: “This season has been difficult on a whole as a team. It has had its challenges but I always set myself little targets throughout the season, month by month. “To score 28 goals is something I am proud of with one game to go and hopefully I can score a couple more on Sunday and finish strong. “I just have to keep improving and every year I try to do that, finding different ways to score and that is something I will continue to do for the rest of my career. “As I have said before, with any record you are not focused on the record, you are focused on helping the team and scoring goals to do that, so then when the records come, you take them and you’re extremely proud of them. “Yeah, that could be another couple of years away yet but I am feeling in a good place and hopefully I am playing for many more years so it is definitely a target that can be reached.” After Kane added the Freedom of the City of London to the MBE he received in 2019, he joked it would take a major tournament win with England to earn a knighthood. Whatever the future holds, he is determined to help the next generation through The Harry Kane Foundation, which was launched in October with the aim of changing perception about mental health. “I reckon we’d have to win the Euros or World Cup and then it (knighthood) might be in the conversation but these things are incredible,” Kane said after he received the Freedom of the City of London. On his Foundation, Kane explained: “We have had amazing feedback, (taken) amazing steps so far. “I wanted to start the journey to learn more about mental health and especially with younger boys and younger girls, to see what they are going through and to use some of my experiences to help them. “It has been a great journey and is something I want to build year on year. It is something I want to continue after I am finished, (in) 10 years or so. “We’re on a good journey so far and it is not just London, it is for the whole country and the whole world to try to help as many people as possible.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Michael Duff feels ‘good fella’ Darren Moore ‘deserves loads of credit’ On this day in 2015: England hire Trevor Bayliss as head coach England’s Harry Hall takes three-shot lead in Texas with career-best outing
2023-05-26 16:20
Michael Duff feels ‘good fella’ Darren Moore ‘deserves loads of credit’
Barnsley head coach Michael Duff has expressed admiration for Sheffield Wednesday counterpart Darren Moore before Monday’s Sky Bet League One play-off final. The pair go head-to-head at Wembley on Monday when the two South Yorkshire rivals clash in the third tier’s winner-takes-all season finale. Barnsley edged past Bolton 1-0 on aggregate in their semi-final, while Wednesday overcame the biggest first-leg deficit in play-off history before beating Peterborough on penalties. Moore silenced the Owls fans who had called for him to be sacked after his side’s 4-0 first-leg defeat appeared to have left them dead and buried and Duff paid tribute to his rival manager. Duff said: “Darren deserves loads of credit because one thing he’s done the whole season, when weirdly there’s been a bit of noise about him when they got 96 points this season, is keep his counsel because he’s a good fella. “First and foremost, he’s a good fella. He’s obviously a football man, he’s been around it a long, long time. “I don’t know what he’s like as a manager in terms of day-to-day stuff, but you take people as you find them and we’ve beaten them twice and he’s been humble, he’s taken it. “He says ‘fair play to you’ and shakes your hand. No excuses afterwards that some managers come out with. He said ‘better team won’ and I think that goes a long way just as a human being.” Barnsley completed the league double over the Owls this season for the first time since 2009, winning 2-0 at Hillsborough in September and 4-2 at Oakwell in March. But they finished 10 points adrift of their local rivals in the table, with the Owls’ 96-point tally more than any other side not to finish in the top two of any league in English football’s history. That did not stop the vitriol that came Moore’s way after his side’s 4-0 semi-final first-leg defeat at Peterborough. Was he a terrible manager when they got beaten 4-0? No. And he's become an even better manager now because of the belief he gave them Michael Duff on Darren Moore Some fans called for his head before the return leg, while Wednesday were forced to issue a statement condemning a racist message directed at Moore on social media. “It shows you the emotional state people can get into,” Duff said. “Darren’s a good manager, full stop. “Was he a terrible manager when they got beaten 4-0? No. And he’s become an even better manager now because of the belief he gave them. “Things he said in interviews and in the dressing room, things he showed the players. Good management. He managed to get the best out of it.” Barnsley finished fourth in the table, one place below Wednesday, and their 86-point haul would have been enough for automatic promotion in three of the last 10 seasons. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Harry Kane taking inspiration from greats as he eyes another decade at top On this day in 2015: England hire Trevor Bayliss as head coach England’s Harry Hall takes three-shot lead in Texas with career-best outing
2023-05-26 16:18
Mark Robins vowed to lead Coventry back to the Premier League – Michael Doyle
Mark Robins made a Premier League vow just hours after guiding Coventry out of League Two, former captain Michael Doyle has revealed. The ex-Sky Blues midfielder skippered the club to their first promotion in 51 years in 2018 to kick-start their journey to the brink of a top-flight return. Coventry beat Exeter 3-1 in the play-off final with Doyle lifting the trophy at Wembley and the Sky Blues are now dreaming of a repeat in Saturday’s Championship play-off final against Luton. Robins, who signed a new four-year deal this month, took them out of the fourth tier at the first attempt after returning 14 months earlier for a second spell and, even then, outlined his vision to Doyle. He told the PA news agency: “The night we got promoted from League Two we were chatting away at the bar, something came up and he said: ‘we’re going to take this club back to the Premier League where it belongs’. “You don’t say things like that lightly and it’s not arrogance because he’s not an arrogant man. He wouldn’t say that openly to a lot of people. “I’ve reminded him of that this week because we were a million miles away from it that night and now we’re on the verge of it. I hope he can do it. “I do think eventually the club will get there, even if it’s not Saturday. The club is in good hands with four more years of him there. He is a god to the people of Coventry. “Like any manager, pressure does come with the job and when he’s p****d off at you, you’re going to know about it. He’s not rolling into the training ground jovial. “But at the same time, when you win a game, he’s not jumping to the ceiling like Larry the Lunatic. “He’s always had a great calmness and it shows in his teams, the way they play. Look at that performance at Middlesbrough (the 1-0 play-off semi-final second-leg win) when no-one gave them a chance. That was a reflection of the coaching staff, Adi (Viveash, assistant) as well.” Doyle made 373 appearances, scoring 26 times, for the Sky Blues and featured in a 2-2 draw against Luton in March 2018 when the teams were in League Two. The 41-year-old first joined the club in 2003 from Celtic, just two years after their relegation from the Premier League, and saw the transition from Highfield Road to what was the Ricoh Arena in 2006. Since then, the club have tumbled from the Championship and back again despite playing at Northampton in 2013-14 after a rent dispute and spending two seasons in Birmingham following a failure to agree a deal with then-stadium owners Wasps. “Coventry were one of the longest-serving clubs in the top division and when they lost that status a lot of people around the city were devastated,” said former Republic of Ireland international Doyle. “There was a lot of negativity around the football club for long periods. “In my first spell, we were always just a middle-of-the-table Championship club. “The tough times of getting relegated has brought some success and some great days to the club. It’s just great to see the club now in the biggest game in football. “I remember playing Forest Green at home and getting beaten and having to drag a fan off the pitch. We were losing 1-0 and he ran on with five minutes to go. “The fans weren’t happy Coventry were playing Forest Green in League Two at home on a Tuesday night and losing 1-0. “We had a lot of young players who were in shock and I ran over because he had the ball. I grabbed him and said: ‘what are you doing? Get off’. It was instinct, I ran over and confronted him. “He was saying it was embarrassing and I said ‘listen, you’re not going to be here at the end of the season when we get promoted. Just get yourself in the stand’. “Forest Green did the double on us, no disrespect to them, and it showed what hard times the club had fallen on. It was hard for the fanbase to fathom. “These moments live with you a little because you end up getting success.”
2023-05-26 16:15
Beware Spence vs Crawford, a bout that has burnt boxing fans before
Once again, Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford have agreed to fight. Once again, fans are crossing their fingers. The problem is that other key figures in this deal, of anxious dispositions and with sweaty hands hidden behind their backs, may be doing the same. Spence vs Crawford, or Crawford vs Spence, has proven to be one of the most elusive fights of a generation. Two champions, both alike in stature, in unfair America, where we lay our scene, a pair of star-crossed southpaws take this bout... yet they have done so before, and still the contest eluded the sport’s devotees. It is a bout that was first discussed in 2018, perhaps earlier, and one that seemed to be within grasp last autumn. Terms were agreed, fans were told, over a November meeting between the welterweight champions – both unbeaten and both undeterred by the prospect of losing their gold or records. Because that is the problem. In these situations, it is rarely the fault of the competitors that these bouts fall through; it is never a fear from the fighters that derails negotiations. Pride, perhaps, plays a decisive and often disappointing role, but not fear. That is for the men in suits, not those wearing 8oz gloves. That is why, when news emerged on Wednesday that unified champion Spence (28-0, 22 knockouts) and WBO champion Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) had agreed terms over a 29 July clash in Las Vegas, excitement was premature. It was, and is, understandable, but premature nevertheless. When Spence, 33, and Crawford, 35, agreed terms last year, the latter instead went on to box David Avanesyan, stopping the Armenian in December. Meanwhile, Spence has not fought since a TKO win over Yordenis Ugas 13 months ago. Both Spence and Crawford have struggled for activity in recent times, and both are slowly approaching the end of their primes. There is, of course, reason to hope – a few reasons, in fact. Over the course of the last month, we have seen two match-ups to satisfy boxing purists and suck in casual viewers, and neither fight should be taken for granted. In April, after years of baying from fans and the fighters themselves, lightweights Ryan Garcia and Gervonta “Tank” Davis squared off in a catchweight contest. Last week, Devin Haney defended his undisputed lightweight titles against former unified champion Vasiliy Lomachenko in a dynamic contest with a dramatic conclusion. All the while, the heavyweights are held up, and the obstructive factors in negotiations between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are pointers as to why Spence-Crawford will not be ‘on’ until the first bell rings. In the case of Fury and Usyk, a purse split (unfair as it was on the Ukrainian) was agreed, as was a rematch clause, only for the deal to dissolve due to a different dispute: one around the purse split in the rematch clause​. It would have been funny, had it not been so farcical. Errol Spence Jr Terence Crawford Age 32 35 Record 28-0 (22 KOs) 39-0 (30 KOs) Stance Southpaw Southpaw Titles WBC, WBA, IBF welterweight belts WBO welterweight belt (Formerly WBO lightweight belt; WBC, WBO, WBA [Super], IBF light-welterweight belts) Notable wins Shawn Porter, Mikey Garcia, Carlos Ocampo, Kell Brook Shawn Porter, Jose Benavidez Jr, Kell Brook, Amir Khan So, with reports suggesting that this Spence-Crawford deal contains a rematch clause for both fighters, and that a trilogy is likely in the case of a 1-1 scoreline by the end of 2023, there is reason for hesitancy. Such a deal contains enough moving parts to concern even the most enraptured observer. The prospect of a trilogy also threatens to hold up the division, though if the fights deliver in the way that fans have long hoped, few will mind besides any stranded contenders themselves. The point here is not to suggest that Spence-Crawford will not in fact come to pass; as of this week, it looks likelier than ever that the Americans will share a ring at long last. Last year, Spence shared a cartoon of himself imagined as a shark, knocking on the locker room door of Crawford; on Wednesday, Crawford shared an illustration of himself as a god of the tides, carrying a shark on his trident. An official announcement may even be impending. However, boxing fans have been burnt enough times that they should exercise caution until the moment the bell rings, and one of the most-anticipated fights of a generation finally begins. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith rematch postponed for second time ‘Daylight robbery’: Vasiliy Lomachenko’s team plan to appeal Devin Haney defeat Katie Taylor’s long reign as boxing queen over despite heroic last stand Oleksandr Usyk promoter provides major update on Daniel Dubois fight Deontay Wilder claims Oleksandr Usyk is ‘a lot afraid’ of heavyweight clash Katie Taylor’s long reign as boxing queen over despite heroic last stand
2023-05-26 15:48
Jose Mourinho takes snide dig at Tottenham and Daniel Levy
Jose Mourinho has claimed Tottenham are the only one of his former clubs to which he does not feel any connection. The Portuguese, 60, spent 17 months at Spurs but was sacked by chairman Daniel Levy in April 2021 just a week before they were due to play Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. Mourinho had previously managed Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United, and has subsequently taken charge at Roma, winning the Europa Conference League and leading them to the final of this season’s Europa League, where they play Sevilla next Wednesday. Speaking ahead of that fixture, Mourinho told a press conference: “I hope the Tottenham fans don’t get me wrong but the only club in my career where I don’t have still a deep feeling for is Tottenham. “Probably because the stadium was empty, Covid time. Probably because Mr Levy didn’t let me win a final and win a trophy.” Mourinho, who has been linked with a move to Paris St Germain this summer, was responding to a question about his future with Roma. “We will be connected forever, like I am with all my previous clubs, apart from Mr Levy’s club,” he said. “It’s the only one, so after that – Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, Manchester United – all the clubs I feel a connection. Maybe people (will say) you cannot love every club – yes, I love every club.” Read More Jose Mourinho into another European final as Roma set up Sevilla showdown A look at how Pep Guardiola has fared previously against Inter Milan Back to the future tactics have Inter Milan among the elite once more
2023-05-26 15:45
Jose Mourinho says Spurs the only old club he does not have ‘deep feelings’ for
Jose Mourinho has claimed Tottenham are the only one of his former clubs to which he does not feel any connection. The Portuguese, 60, spent 17 months at Spurs but was sacked by chairman Daniel Levy in April 2021 just a week before they were to play Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. Mourinho had previously managed Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United, and has subsequently taken charge at Roma, winning the Europa Conference League and leading them to the final of this season’s Europa League, where they play Sevilla next Wednesday. Speaking ahead of that fixture, Mourinho told a press conference: “I hope the Tottenham fans don’t get me wrong but the only club in my career where I don’t have still a deep feeling for is Tottenham. “Probably because the stadium was empty, Covid time. Probably because Mr Levy didn’t let me win a final and win a trophy.” Mourinho, who has been linked with a move to Paris St Germain this summer, was responding to a question about his future with Roma. “We will be connected forever, like I am with all my previous clubs, apart from Mr Levy’s club,” he said. “It’s the only one, so after that – Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, Manchester United – all the clubs I feel a connection. Maybe people (will say) you cannot love every club – yes, I love every club.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
2023-05-26 15:22
Everton stare into the relegation abyss – a mess of their own making
If the first 11 have presented a problem, the greater warning came on page 11. Page 11, that is, of Everton’s annual financial report. “Conditions indicate the existence of a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt about the group’s ability to continue as a going concern,” it read. Those conditions, in the curious way Everton phrased it, were “if the assumptions in the relegation scenario were not achieved”. Their assumptions were that a storied club, founder members of the Football League and the club who have played more top-division games than any other in England, would stay up. With one game to go, they are one place above the relegation zone, their fate in their hands but dicing with disaster. A win against Bournemouth will keep Everton up. Anything else would doom them if Leicester win; lose and Leeds would leapfrog Everton with a victory of their own. Clubs in such positions are often imperilled; but not with an existential threat. As it is, Everton’s majority shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, has provided assurances of his intention to fund the club if they go down. But, as was noted in the annual report, they are not legally binding. There is a separate question of whether Moshiri could afford to: certainly both his and Everton’s finances appear slighter since his long-time business partner Alisher Usmanov was sanctioned by the British government amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Uzbek-Russian billionaire’s company, USM, had sponsored Everton’s Finch Farm training ground; he had paid for the first option to the naming rights of their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. And Everton have needed money: even with Premier League revenues, they lost £44m in the last financial year; although that was dramatically better than losing £371m in the previous three years, albeit partly due to Covid. They face a Premier League investigation into alleged Financial Fair Play breaches, though they are adamant all recent deals have been run past the league to ensure they are compliant. But Everton may be staring into the abyss. Manager Sean Dyche said recently that livelihoods were on the line. So is much more. Everton have enjoyed 120 years of top-flight football, the last 69 of them unbroken. But Goodison Park, where Pele and Eusebio scored in the 1966 World Cup, could host its last Premier League game against Bournemouth on Sunday. Everton are due to move to Bramley-Moore Dock in 2024; finishing that requires money and they are in an exclusivity period for negotiations with the American firm MSP Sports Capital to invest in the club. An announcement could be forthcoming in the next weeks if Everton stay up; go down, however, and the context changes dramatically. Such funding, or indeed such a reliance on last-day results, may not be required had Everton not spent so much so badly in the Moshiri years. Their outlay on signings has topped £600m and yet the team was in such a state of disrepair that, for much of last week’s match against Wolves, their team, with the exception of Jordan Pickford, consisted solely of centre-backs, central midfielders and wingers. It was not an innovative tactical ploy. They did not have a fit full-back or, after Dominic Calvert-Lewin went off with his latest injury, a striker trusted to take the field. Which highlights one of the fundamental flaws in Everton’s thinking. Last season, Calvert-Lewin scored the goal that kept them up, but only after Richarlison had struck five others in the run-in. Richarlison had to be sold to bring in £60m before 30 June, the end of the Premier League’s financial year. Since then, Everton have banked on the fitness of an unfit player, who may now miss what could be billed as one of the biggest games in their long history. Meanwhile, Neal Maupay, the summer striking signing, is on a run of 27 games without a goal; he may count as former manager Frank Lampard’s greatest error, although that is a competitive list. Yet Everton have been prisoners of their past. Their summer deals tended to be for players with low up-front fees, signing those who they could get rather than, in some cases, who they ideally wanted. It means they still owe much of the cost of Dwight McNeil and Amadou Onana, who should at least command sizeable fees if they have to be sold, and Maupay, who may join the list of Everton buys who are unsellable. If other clubs can at least compensate for relegation by selling Premier League performers, Everton have fewer who would bring in large amounts – Calvert-Lewin could be a £50m forward if fit, but not otherwise, so that may only leave Pickford, McNeil and Onana – and still owe plenty. Relegation could be attributed to their past financial mismanagement. They were unable to buy in January until Anthony Gordon was sold, seeing targets such as Danny Ings go elsewhere (somewhat farcically, Arnaut Danjuma, who could have been a high-class loanee, got off a train at Crewe when he learned of Tottenham’s interest, switched platforms and hopped on one back down to London). They botched the end of the window and, if they were keen not to repeat past mistakes by overpaying for undistinguished players, the eventual verdict may be that the lack of another forward cost them their Premier League status; they enter the last game of the campaign with a mere four goals from specialist strikers all season. They face Bournemouth, who beat them twice in a week before the World Cup, scoring seven goals. Hindsight suggests Lampard perhaps should have been dismissed then, but he engineered a memorable escape from relegation last season. Perhaps, though, he just delayed it by a year. And if so, Moshiri’s seven years of clueless transfer-market excess might render it the most expensive relegation of all. And, considering the potential consequences to the club, among the most damaging. Read More ‘It is theatre’: Inside the emotional chaos of a final-day Premier League relegation battle Premier League relegation: What do Leeds, Everton and Leicester need to survive?
2023-05-26 14:54
German Football’s Nein to Private Equity Leaves Bundesliga Adrift
German football fans are gearing up for a dramatic showdown this weekend, when the Bundesliga title race will
2023-05-26 14:47
Premier League relegation: What do Leeds, Everton and Leicester need to survive?
Everton, Leeds United and Leicester City are the three clubs heading into the final day of the Premier League season uncertain about being there again next year. Only Southampton have already been confirmed as facing the drop to the Championship, but from only a couple of months ago where at least nine sides were in danger of going down, it’s now just two from three who will end the weekend in despair. Sean Dyche’s side are in the driving seat after earning a late, late point against Wolves last time out, but while survival remains in their own hands, one win in their last ten matches doesn’t exactly offer much of a guarantee that they’ll get the job done. Ahead of the final fixtures, it’s Everton in 17th and safety on 33 points, Leicester on 31 and Leeds also on 31 - but with an inferior goal difference to both of those above them. Perhaps importantly, all three sides are at home for their last outing; of the trio, it’s Leeds who have the best record on their own turf this term - but the Foxes have taken most points from the last three on home soil. Here’s what each of the three clubs need to survive, and what every permutation will mean on the final day of 2022/23. Final day fixtures (Sunday, 4:30pm BST) Everton vs Bournemouth (15th) - live on Sky Sports Leeds vs Tottenham (8th) - live on BT Sport Leicester vs West Ham (14th) - live on Sky Sports If Everton win We’ll start with the obvious and easy one: a victory for Sean Dyche’s side against the Cherries renders everything else irrelevant. Everton can’t finish any higher than 17th, but 36 points would make them uncatchable by either of the other two. So an Everton win means they survive, while Leicester and Leeds go down. If Everton lose Before turning our attention to the potential for finishing level on points, here’s the situation if the Toffees are beaten by Bournemouth. First and foremost, Leicester and Leeds have to win. If either club fail to take three points from their own matches, they are down and Everton stay up. If one of them does win and Everton lose, Everton will be relegated and whichever one of Leeds and Leicester claimed victory will stay up, the other goes down. If both Leeds and Leicester win, Everton are down in 19th and Leeds will be relegated in 18th on goal difference...unless they somehow win by nine goals more than Leicester do. So if the Foxes triumph 1-0, Leeds need to become the first-ever Premier League-era club to secure a 10-0 victory to survive on goals scored. It feels an unlikely combination of events. If Everton draw Here’s where it gets more tricky. One point for Dyche’s side leaves them on 34. Again, if either Leeds or Leicester fail to win, they are relegated regardless of anything else, so only victories there will potentially affect matters. Everton survive if neither of the others win. So, if Everton draw, Leicester win and Leeds do not win: Leeds will be down in 19th, Everton will join them in the Championship finishing 18th. Leicester surive on goal difference. If Everton draw, Leeds win and Leicester do not win: Leicester are 19th and relegated and the last spot will go to goal difference. Everton are on -24 ahead of the weekend and a draw keeps them on the same, so Leeds (currently -27) need to win by three goals to stay up on goals scored. They are well ahead of Everton in that regard (47-33) so if we exclude ridiculous scenarios such as an Everton 18-18 draw, any three-goal win in this permutation will keep Leeds up. If Everton draw and both Leeds and Leicester win: It’s Leicester who stay up here and survive from a three-way goal difference fight. Not that it’ll matter much to either of them since they’ll be down regardless, but the order of Leeds and Everton will depend on if Leeds win by three, as in the previous permutation. What Everton need: To win their own game, or for Leicester and Leeds to both not win. What Leicester need: To win, and for Everton to not win. What Leeds need: To win and Everton lose, or to win by three if Everton draw. Leicester must also not win in either scenario. Odds on avoiding relegation Everton 2/9 Leicester 4/1 Leeds 10/1 *Accurate as of 24 May Read More Relegation permutations: What do Leeds, Everton and Leicester need to survive? Michael van Gerwen creates Premier League history by winning seventh title Erling Haaland aims to cap stunning debut season with Man City by winning treble Manchester United vs Chelsea LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Coventry and Luton are proof the play-off final means more than just money The all-or-nothing transfer dilemma Tottenham face this summer
2023-05-26 14:46
Football rumours: Real Madrid offered chance to sign Harry Kane
What the papers say Real Madrid have reportedly been given an opportunity to sign Tottenham striker Harry Kane. The Daily Mail, citing Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, says the Spanish giants have been offered the chance to pick up the 29-year-old in a player-plus-cash deal. Kane’s contract at Tottenham expires next summer and any transfer would give Spurs the chance to cash in before risking him leaving as a free agent. Staying with Tottenham, The Sun reports the club’s search for a new manager has taken a blow, with Paris St Germain linked with a move for top target Luis Enrique. Citing Marca, the paper says the French powerhouses are likely to sack boss Christophe Galtier and enter the race for the former Spain coach. Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror says 24-year-old France defender Jules Kounde is set to snub a rumoured approach from Chelsea to stay at Barcelona. Social media round-up Players to watch Samuel Umtiti: The Daily Mirror says the Barcelona and France defender, on loan at Italian side Lecce, is eager to find a permanent deal in Italy. Keylor Navas: Chelsea and Tottenham are among the clubs keeping tabs on the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper, according to Foot Mercato. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
2023-05-26 14:28
Taurasi has 23 points, Mercury hit 13 3s to beat Lynx 90-81
Diana Taurasi had 23 points and 10 assists and the Phoenix Mercury hit 11 3-pointers in the first half on the way to a 90-81 win over the Minnesota Lynx
2023-05-26 13:25