Barnsley midfielder Bland signs new deal
Barnsley midfielder Jonathan Bland has signed a new deal until the summer of 2028.The 19-year-old made his league debut for the League One side against Cambridge on 22 March and featured in their final nine games of the season.Bland is the second Tykes player to sign a new deal this week after goalkeeper Kieren Flavell, 21, did so on Thursday."It is fantastic to see 'Blandy' extend his stay here after working with him closely towards the back end of last season," boss Conor Hourihane told the club website., external"He delivered strong performances despite being a young player and showed fantastic maturity throughout."Barnsley finished 12th in the third tier this season, 17 points off the play-off places.
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BBC News
15 minutes ago
- BBC News
NI have "got to get better" in possession
Northern Ireland's Isaac Price wants his side to "show more quality" on the ball against Iceland on Tuesday night than they managed in defeat by visitors to Copenhagen defended well throughout the 2-1 reverse on Saturday but spent large passages of the friendly having to soak up pressure while the Danes dominated possession. "We want to see more of the ball and show a little bit more quality when we have the ball," said the West Bromwich Albion midfielder."It's at home and I think all the team knows how well we do at home and it gives the team a little bit of an extra boost."The 21-year-old has scored eight goals in 21 internationals but chances were few and far between for Michael O'Neill's side on Saturday after they took an early lead thanks to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's own goal. The friendly against Iceland, who arrive in Belfast after beating Scotland at Hampden Park on Friday night, is Northern Ireland's last fixture before they begin their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign in September with trips to Luxembourg and Germany."I think when you work so hard off the ball, when you're chasing the game a lot, when you finally [get] the ball, you've got to be good enough to keep it," added Price. "That's definitely something we've got to work on, especially when we know we're going into World Cup qualifiers where we're going to play top opposition like Germany. "We've got to get better at keeping the ball and that'll be something we work on."
BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
'International football gives belief you belong in Premier League'
Former Northern Ireland and Leeds United wide man Stuart Dallas is part of BBC Sport NI's coverage of Tuesday's friendly with the Premier League is a dream for any player.I know how Trai Hume and Daniel Ballard feel after they won promotion with Sunderland, it's an incredible feeling and achieving it with Leeds was one of the highlights of my a big step up from the Championship, not only on the pitch but with everything that comes with it. There's more spotlight and every game you play is a big event that is shown all over the world. It's literally a different ball the pitch, you can see the difference between the top two divisions by how the promoted teams have struggled to bridge the gap after going up, but Trai and Daniel are more than capable of adapting and they've shown it at international level. That's always what gave me the belief I could perform well in the Premier League. I wasn't playing all the time with my club, but with Northern Ireland I was playing against some of the best players in the world and I always felt I held my on some of the best players from Germany or the Netherlands, it only added to the belief that I belonged at that level, and I'm sure Trai and Daniel will feel the could say the same for Conor Bradley at Liverpool and Justin Devenny at Crystal Palace too, as they were both playing international football before playing week in, week out for their great for belief, and having more players at the top level can only benefit the national team as a whole. I can relate a lot to Trai's journey to the Premier League. Like me, he started off in the Irish League and had a lot of senior games under his belt before he moved across to England.I had played between 150 and 200 games of senior football for Coagh United and Crusaders, and I can't speak enough about how much that prepares you to step up to professional football in England. I still had a lot of developing to do when I moved to Brentford, but it set me up so can be in an academy in England from the age of eight, and in a pre-academy even younger. I look at some players who haven't played a senior game by the age of 20 or 21 because they are stuck in youth football, and when they get their chance they struggle to adapt because it's hard to bridge that gap.I look back at my career now and I wouldn't have done it any other way, and I can see that Trai is reaping the rewards of that too. 'It's a new era for Northern Ireland' While the result in Denmark was disappointing, there are still positives to take from the game. Denmark deserved to win, and they are a level above where Northern Ireland currently it is where Michael O'Neill wants his team to be, and it was another good learning experience for his young particularly in the first half, they were very good against a strong and creative attack but they will want to improve going forward. They needed to be more brave on the ball. They made a great start with the goal but didn't really threaten after scoring, and I'm sure that will have disappointed that regard, I think Iceland in the perfect game to follow it up on Tuesday. As the home team, the onus is on you to take it to the opposition and play with the energy and desire to win the game. The crowd will play a role in that too, and we know how important Windsor Park can be.I know Michael likes to play with a back three, but I think he will set the team up a little bit different to get his key players on the ball to try and make something got a fantastic result in Scotland but they aren't of the same calibre as Denmark. They are probably in and around where Northern Ireland are and that presents an opportunity to be more of a goal threat. It's a new era for Northern Ireland, and that is highlighted by the fact that George Saville was the only player in the 26-strong squad over the age of 30. Paddy McNair would have been in there too if he wasn't injured, but it just shows how young this team Iceland game is the final chance to prepare for World Cup qualifying in September, and it's hard because these players are effectively learning on the job. The only way to prepare for big games is to keep playing strong teams and learn from any aren't any shortcuts in international football, and that is why Michael is keen to take on higher-level friendlies. The leadership group in the squad is young, but I'm seeing good qualities on the pitch. The turnaround for Tuesday will be a big test for them, but it's a great opportunity to end the camp on a high and take some momentum into World Cup qualifying. Stuart Dallas was speaking to BBC Sport NI's Andy Northern Ireland v Iceland on Tuesday, 10 June at 19:30 BST on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two NI; listen on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Ulster and follow live text and in-play clips on BBC Sport website and app.
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Uriah Rennie, the Premier League's first Black referee, dies at 65
Uriah Rennie, the first Black referee in the Premier League, has died. He was 65. 'We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our former chair and trailblazing referee, Uriah Rennie," the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Football Association posted Sunday on X. 'Uriah made history as the Premier League's first Black referee, officiating over 300 top-flight matches between 1997 and 2008," the statement said. "He broke down barriers, shaped our football community and inspired generations to come." The Jamaica-born official grew up in Sheffield, northern England, and oversaw hundreds of matches starting with his breakthrough appointment when Derby hosted Wimbledon in August 1997. That game was abandoned, however, because the stadium lighting failed. Rennie told BBC News in April how, while on holiday in Turkey last year, he felt severe pain in his back and doctors discovered he had an inoperable neurological condition that confined him to a wheelchair. ___
