Football

This month, the Mill’s divining rod suggests Jürgen Klopp might have twisted the hierarchy’s arm to do violent things to the club’s transfer record, with well over £100m being fanned in an attempt to woo playmaker Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen. The 20-year-old German, heavily and somewhat inevitably linked to Bayern Munich, has been dubbed “a special player” by his manager Peter Bosz, and was 86th in our recent Top 100 Male Footballer’s list, so lord only knows how much 74th-placed Jordan Henderson might be valued in today’s market. … [Read more...] about Football transfer rumours: Liverpool to break club record for Kai Havertz?

“There are questions about the age limit and speculation suggests this will be 12 years. This infers that a child of 13 years is safe to head the ball. How do we know this to be the case? The difficulty we face, in the absence of meaningful research relating to the modern game, is where we draw the line in terms of acceptable risk versus the rewards we know healthy exercise can bring.” … [Read more...] about Children in Scotland could be banned from heading footballs over dementia link

Share your experiences Whether you are a parent of a child who plays football, play football yourself or are a former player, we would like to hear from you. How do you feel about the proposed ban? Do you have concerns about your child who plays football? Balls have got lighter over the years but we’re also interested in hearing from older players – do you think you have been affected by heading? … [Read more...] about Share your experiences of heading footballs

Saint-Pierroise play in the Réunion Premier League, a level comparable to the sixth tier of France’s regionally divided football pyramid. They gained entry to this season’s Coupe de France by winning the Coupe Régionale de France (thereby completing a treble, having also won their local cup and league). That earned them an away tie in November against Jura Sud, a fourth-tier club in eastern France. The Storks – as Saint-Pierroise are nicknamed – won 1-0 thanks to a magnificent volleyed goal by Jean-Michel Fontaine, who fans of Fleetwood Town may or may not remember as a forward released after making three appearances for them in 2013. … [Read more...] about ‘I felt tears in my eyes’ – how tiny Réunion team stunned French football

Derby are 17th in the Championship, 10 points above the relegation zone. “The club will now be referred to an independent disciplinary commission, which will hear representations from both the EFL and Derby County,” said an EFL statement. … [Read more...] about Derby charged by Football League with breaching financial fair play rules