Al Ahli to beat Juventus & Tottenham to signing of Franck Kessie
Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie is closing in on a €15m (£13m) move to Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli. He was also wanted by Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus this transfer window.
2023-08-04 03:47
Prosecutors seek pretrial detention without bail in deadly shootout at New Mexico biker rally
Two men from Texas made a court appearance to confront drug-possession and firearms-related charges in connection with a deadly shootout at a motorcycle rally in northern New Mexico that left three people dead
2023-05-31 08:50
Man City make first move in pursuit of Mateo Kovacic transfer
Mateo Kovacic transfer news: Man City make first move in efforts to sign midfielder from Chelsea.
2023-06-01 03:28
Qantas to fight regulator over cancelled flights tickets sale case
(Reuters) -Qantas Airways Ltd on Monday said it will defend itself against Australia's competition regulator's accusations that the flagship carrier
2023-10-30 07:24
International backlash grows after Chinese vessel fires water cannon on Philippine boats
China is facing a growing international backlash after one of its coast guard vessels used a water cannon against a Philippine boat in the South China Sea on Saturday, an incident analysts say escalates an already tense situation and could see the United States and its allies speed up plans for joint patrols in the waterway.
2023-08-07 16:17
Terry Venables: The charismatic manager who so nearly brought football home
Terry Venables will forever be remembered as the manager who oversaw the summer when football came home. The charismatic boss, who has died at the age of 80, enjoyed a colourful and controversial career, the undoubted highlight of which was leading England to within a penalty shoot-out of reaching the final of the European Championship on home soil in 1996. That fixture was his last as the national team’s manager after he left the role to focus on his upcoming court cases, but by the end of the year he was, perhaps typically, combining a new role as Portsmouth chairman with another as Australia coach. That ‘wheeler-dealer’ streak saw Venables court controversy for his dealings outside of football. ‘El Tel’, as he became known during his time in charge of Barcelona, also co-owned and managed Tottenham, and was the subject of allegations of improper business conduct, as well as claims he once paid Brian Clough a bung. The one-time midfielder was born in Dagenham, Essex, on January 6, 1943, and was an only child. Having shown promise as a footballer, he joined Chelsea as an apprentice in 1958 before signing professional terms two years later, and then winning a League Cup winner’s medal in 1965 following a 3-2 victory over Leicester. He had earned his two England caps the previous year in fixtures against Belgium and Holland, having represented his country at schoolboy, youth, amateur and under-23 level. It was his transfer to Tottenham in 1966 that led to his most successful period as a player, during which he won the following year’s FA Cup with a 2-1 victory over his former club. He left Tottenham for QPR in 1969, moving on five years later to Crystal Palace. His talents did not just lie on the pitch, though. During his playing career, Venables co-wrote detective novels, which were later turned into the TV series Hazell about a wise-cracking cockney private eye. It ran for 22 episodes from 1978-79. It proved a significantly bigger hit than one of his early business ideas – the ‘Thingummywig’, a hat with a built-in wig so women could go out without removing their curlers. After one season as a player at Palace he retired and joined the coaching staff and, in 1976, he was promoted into the role that proved his most natural fit – manager. Venables required only one year to lead Palace to promotion from the Third Division and just a further two to secure the Second Division title. In October 1980 he resigned to take over at QPR, leading the second-tier side to the 1982 FA Cup final, which they lost to Tottenham in a replay. The following season he guided them to the Second Division title, while becoming both their major shareholder and managing director. He led QPR to a fifth-placed finish and qualification for the UEFA Cup in the 1983-84 campaign, but in May 1984 he resigned to become manager of Barcelona. He charmed the crowd present at his first match in charge by addressing them in Catalan and, more significantly, in his first season he led the club to their first Spanish league title in 11 years. Venables signed Gary Lineker and Mark Hughes during his time at the Nou Camp, also selling Diego Maradona. However, Barca only finished runners-up in the league during the following two seasons, also losing in the final of the 1986 European Cup as Romanian opponents Steaua Bucharest triumphed on penalties after a goalless draw. His dismissal in September 1987 was followed by his appointment as Tottenham manager in October. He brought Paul Gascoigne to the club and linked up with Lineker again. Venables led Spurs to 1991 FA Cup glory with a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest in the final, although the match was overshadowed by Gascoigne’s cruciate ligament injury. When Venables and Alan Sugar won the takeover battle for the club that June, he was also appointed chief executive, but his relationship with the then chairman gradually broke down. In 1993 Sugar sacked him, and later that year the BBC’s Panorama programme alleged misdealings connected with Venables’ businesses, which he responded to by threatening libel action. Despite any damage to his reputation, in January 1994 he was appointed England manager, and his first fixture in charge came two months later when they defeated Denmark 1-0 at Wembley. That August, police also dropped their inquiry into allegations he paid Clough a £50,000 bung to arrange a player transfer. In January 1996 Venables revealed he would resign as England manager after that year’s European Championship to focus on pending court cases, but the imminent conclusion to his reign could not take the gloss off what so nearly became such a glorious summer for the hosts. With Arsenal’s Tony Adams as his captain at the heart of defence, Alan Shearer in form up front and a rejuvenated Gascoigne pulling the strings in midfield, they progressed to the knockout stages following a 4-1 thumping of Holland that still ranks as one of England’s finest performances. Venables’ use of the ‘Christmas Tree’ formation was considered instrumental to their success, which also included a penalty shoot-out victory over Spain in the quarter-finals. England produced another memorable display in the semi-final, only to lose on penalties to eventual winners Germany. Despite the cruel nature of the defeat and the fact it proved his final match as England manager, he later described that summer as the “best time of my life”. That July, Venables made an unexpected return to the sport as Portsmouth’s director of football and by November he had been appointed Australia manager, also becoming Portsmouth chairman, having bought the club for £1. In January 1998 he stepped down from his role of chairman and also agreed to a High Court order banning him from holding company directorships for seven years. His return to Palace as manager that April was short-lived, but he was recruited again, this time by struggling Middlesbrough, in December 2000. Having left after leading them to Premier League survival, in July 2002 he returned for one last job in club management, this time at financially-troubled Leeds. The sale of key players including Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler and Jonathan Woodgate contributed to their plight and in March, as the threat of relegation loomed, he was sacked again. Venables surprisingly returned to the England set-up as new manager Steve McClaren’s assistant in the summer of 2006. Failure to qualify for Euro 2008 saw them dismissed in November 2007. Having speculated in clubs and property, his final business venture began in 2014 when he opened a boutique hotel and restaurant with wife Yvette in Penaguila, Spain. Venables, who died on Saturday, is survived by his wife and daughters Tracey and Nancy. Read More Jurgen Klopp hails ‘super influential’ Trent Alexander-Arnold after Man City draw On This Day in 2020: Gunners have a good night against Rapid Vienna Erik ten Hag: Schedule has already crossed limits of what players can handle Mikel Arteta hails Aaron Ramsdale despite errors in Arsenal’s win over Brentford Novak Djokovic handed ‘bitter’ end to season as Jannik Sinner stuns Serbia We have to be better – Brendan Rodgers says Celtic’s penalty record must improve
2023-11-26 20:54
Ratings Firms Struggle With Climate Risk in $133 Trillion Market
With 46 straight days of 100-degree heat and coastal waters approaching hot-tub temperatures, Miami can seem like a
2023-08-01 22:47
Towns relishing Basketball World Cup role with perfect Dominicans
Karl-Anthony Towns said "the world is on notice" after the Minnesota Timberwolves star led the Dominican Republic to a perfect first-round record at the...
2023-08-29 19:49
Foxconn expects strong holiday sales in Q4, Sept sales slump
By Ben Blanchard and Sarah Wu TAIPEI Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker and a major
2023-10-05 16:45
Relieved Americans escape and move on at the Women's World Cup
Ana Capeta hit the post
2023-08-01 19:53
Biden hosts Live Nation, SeatGeek and Airbnb execs to showcase push to end hidden 'junk fees'
President Joe Biden is hosting executives from Live Nation, Airbnb and other companies at the White House to highlight his push to end junk fees that surprise consumers
2023-06-16 00:25
Kyogo Furuhashi the hero as Celtic earn Old Firm bragging rights
Kyogo Furuhashi’s late first-half strike gave Celtic a crucial 1-0 Scottish Premiership win over Rangers in the Old Firm derby at Ibrox to heap pressure on Gers boss Michael Beale. The Light Blues had the ball in the net twice in the first half but on both occasions the ‘goals’ were not allowed to stand – offside and a foul picked up by VAR – but Furuhashi could have scored twice before he fired the visitors in front just before the break. There were no travelling supporters – Celtic rejected the offer of around 700 tickets, citing safety concerns – but that seemed to hinder rather than help the home side at times as they tried in vain to get back on level terms. After just four league fixtures, leaders Celtic are already four points ahead of their Old Firm rivals going into the international break and the spotlight will be on Beale, who must have heard the boos ring out at the final whistle. For Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers, who was under some pressure himself after his team lost to Kilmarnock in the Viaplay Cup and then drew at home to St Johnstone, it was a return to the overwhelmingly positive derby results he enjoyed in his first spell as Parkhead boss. Rangers had been knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers by PSV Eindhoven in midweek on a 7-3 aggregate, a result which brought the doom-mongers back to Beale’s door. Dujon Sterling took over from the injured left-back Borna Barisic in Rangers’ line-up while midfielder Ryan Jack and striker Kemar Roofe returned with Jose Cifuentes and John Lundstram dropping out, while winger Liel Abada replaced Yang Hyun-Jun in Celtic’s XI. There were only seconds on the clock when Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers set up Rabbi Matondo to knock the ball into the Celtic net, but the former was offside. An expected Rangers onslaught failed to materialise. Celtic were calmer in possession and in the 16th minute Hoops skipper Callum McGregor sent Abada down the right and his cross could not bring a clean connection from Furuhashi just yards from goal. When home defender John Souttar lost possession, Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley sent Furuhashi clear but his angled drive was blocked by a combination of Ibrox goalkeeper Jack Butland and Light Blues centre-back Connor Goldson. Moments later, Rangers had the ball in the net again. When Celtic defender Gustaf Lagerbielke was challenged by Dessers just inside the Hoops half the ball broke clear for the Rangers attacker and he raced on before squaring the ball for Roofe, who took a touch before firing past Celtic keeper Joe Hart. When referee Don Robertson checked the pitchside monitor at the behest of the VAR, he ruled the goal out for a foul on the Parkhead defender, albeit it looked soft. Furuhashi eventually got on target seconds before the interval when O’Riley returned a Goldson header into the path of the Japan striker who confidently drove the ball past Butland to silence Ibrox. An early second-half mistake by Goldson gifted the ball to Abada and his angled shot was just missed at the back post by Daizen Maeda. Amid some huffing and puffing from Rangers, Butland had to save a decent drive from Holm on a Celtic break. As the Govan side kept pressing, Hart raced out to foil Sam Lammers before denying Danilo twice from close range as Celtic held on for the win. Read More Arsenal vs Man Utd LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Erling Haaland admits Man City’s controversial second goal against Fulham was offside Mason Greenwood can ‘recover his professional status’ in Spain, says Getafe boss Arsenal vs Man Utd LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Erling Haaland admits Man City’s controversial second goal against Fulham was offside Mason Greenwood can ‘recover his professional status’ in Spain, says Getafe boss
2023-09-03 22:19
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