England footballer

Rafa Benitez has demanded Newcastle United make an improved bid for Norwich City winger Jacob Murphy as he grows increasingly irritated by managing director Lee Charnley’s failure to sign his transfer targets. Norwich are reluctant to sell the England Under-21 international and have already turned down a bid of around £8m from the Magpies, but an exasperated Benitez wants to test their resolve with a larger offer. Murphy is understood to be keen on making the move and a second bid from Newcastle would encourage the 22-year-old, who played for the Under-21 squad that reached the semi-finals of the European Championships in Poland last month, to push to leave Carrow Road. Murphy caught the eye of Benitez when Newcastle played Norwich in the Championship last season and he was also scouted by the club’s new head of recruitment, Steve Nickson, in Poland. Benitez wants the Newcastle hierarchy to start backing up the promises made to him earlier this summer with deeds … [Read more...] about Rafa Benitez demands Newcastle improve offer for England U21 international Jacob Murphy

A first goal in a Chelsea shirt against Manchester City from Beth England and her assist for a Maren Mjelde second, helped the Blues come from behind to earn their first Women’s Super League win against their title rivals in five years. The Women’s Super League may be increasingly competitive but Arsenal, City and Chelsea are still stretching their legs at the top. As a result, the head-to-heads between the two teams matter more. With Chelsea the last remaining undefeated team in the league, and a unbeaten run stretching back 11 months, a win for the visiting team would have meant that by the end of play each of the trio would have chalked up one loss to a title rival. The home side have already beaten Arsenal at Kingsmeadow, but Manchester City were a more solid beast, one that has haunted manager Emma Hayes. Since their first WSL game against City on the 20 July 2014, Chelsea had gone 1,967 days without a league win against Nick Cushing’s team – with five … [Read more...] about Beth England’s goal helps unbeaten Chelsea overcome Manchester City

Brexit might be good for English footballers, but would be a disaster for the country, football legend John Barnes has said. The Liverpool and England winger said that changes to immigration rules which follow Brexit might see foreign players forced to get "work permits". "That could give young British players a chance to get into the top teams, which further down the line could see them getting the experience that could help the national team," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. But asked if he thought Brexit would be good for the country, Mr Barnes, who was quoted as supporting leaving the EU by Michael Gove during the 2016 referendum campaign, hit back. He said: "Is it good for the country? No I don't think it so. "And I wouldn't back the Leave campaign at all because I think that we've gone past that situation of nationalism and that kind of rhetoric of every man for himself. "You've got in America Donald Trump and 'America First', now it's 'Britain First'. So I'm not in … [Read more...] about John Barnes calls out Michael Gove as he spells out what Brexit means for football

IT will be like holding a World Cup inside the M25. For all eight air-conditioned stadiums rising from the Qatari sands are within 31 miles of the chrome and glass skyscrapers in capital Doha’s centre. The shortest journey between stadiums in Qatar is just over three miles — closer than north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham. Nasser Al Khater, the assistant secretary general at the supreme committee for delivery and legacy, told SunSport: “If fans are really hardcore and they make a run for it, they could potentially see three group games in a day.” In Russia, visiting the most distant stadiums — Kaliningrad and Yekaterinburg — meant a 1,550-mile flight. The longest distance between the Gulf state’s 2022 World Cup arenas is just 35 miles.The compact nature of 2022 — Qatar is smaller than Yorkshire — may offer solace for fans of British and Irish international teams still coming to terms with the idea of a winter World Cup in the … [Read more...] about Qatar World Cup: Fans could go to three games in a day as tournament held in country smaller than Yorkshire

MARCO VAN BASTEN has been pulled from all FIFA 20 platforms after he was recorded saying "Sieg Heil" during a live TV broadcast. The three-time Ballon D'or winner was working for Fox Sport at the time of the incident and was suspended for a week by the American network. The term sieg heil was frequently used at Nazi rallies and translates to "Hail Victory". EA have now taken their own action against the Dutch legend, confirming Van Basten will no longer appear on FIFA 20 across all platforms. EA said: "We are aware of recent comments made by Marco Van Basten. We have an expectation that our commitment to equality and diversity is upheld across our game. "As such we will suspend the Marco Van Basten ICON items from being available in packs, SBC's and FUT draft until further notice."Van Basten, 55, is among a number of legends who players can use in the Ultimate Team (FUT) format of the game. He is joined by the likes of Pele, George Best, Zinedine Zidane and Paolo Maldini as former … [Read more...] about FIFA 20 removes Dutch legend Marco van Basten from ALL platforms ‘until further notice’ after Nazi ‘Sieg Heil’ shame