Salford centre MacDonald joins Oldham on loan
Salford centre Nene MacDonald has joined Championship side Oldham on a three-match loan deal.The Papua New Guinea international was included in the Super League Dream Team last year but is unable to feature for the beleaguered Red Devils at present because of the sustainability cap the club is working under.Marc Sneyd, Brad Singleton and Tim Lafai have all left the club permanently since the start of the campaign.The 30-year-old joins a Roughyeds side who are second in the second tier and face Barrow in the 1895 Cup on Sunday."To get someone of Nene's quality to come and play rugby league for Oldham just shows that we are heading in the right direction," head coach Sean Long told the club website., external
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The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Scotland have suffered a system malfunction
Losing goalkeeper Angus Gunn early on and having to bring on the uncapped Cieran Slicker to replace him was far from ideal for manager Steve Clarke. Still, Andy Robertson and his team mates could have no complaints about the final scoreline. This was another dire display and a wretched result. Here are five talking points from a bitterly disappointing night for Scotland. Nightmare debut The last thing that Clarke, who had been at pains to point how few goalkeepers Scotland have playing at a decent level when he named his squad for this double header last month, was to see his first choice goalkeeper pick up an injury. But that is exactly what happened. In just the third minute too. Gunn was clattered by Andri Gudjohnsen as he tried to pluck a high ball out of the air and landed awkwardly. He failed to respond to medical attention and hobbled off with the help of a physio. It was a devastating setback for a man who has not had his problems to seek fitness wise this term. Read more: The 15-times capped 29-year-old had not featured in an international since the narrow Nations League loss to Portugal in Lisbon back in September and he was eager to make amends for lost time and stake a claim for a start in World Cup qualifying. It was not to be. Gunn's knock meant an unexpected debut for Slicker of Ipswich Town. The 22-year-old, who is eligible to represent Scotland because of his Glaswegian father, made just one appearance in the season which has just finished. He came on for the final nine minutes of an FA Cup win over Bristol Rovers in January. His lack of game time showed. He played the ball straight to Stefan Poroarson shortly after taking to the field. The Iceland midfielder nodded down to Gudjohnsen who did superbly curl a left foot shot into the top left corner. The son of former Barcelona Chelsea star Eidur is a chip off the old block. It was hard not to feel sympathy for the newcomer. But he settled the nerves he would inevitably have been feeling when he saved a long-range Jon Dagur Porsteinsson attempt. His distribution improved thereafter too. Not that it could have got any worse. Could Slicker have done better at the visitors' second goal on the stroke of half-time? Possibly. But the Albert Gudmundsson corner came off John Souttar, Grant Hanley and finally Lewis Ferguson before it trundled over his line. It was a comedy or errors. The Oldham-born keeper, too, flapped at the header Victor Palsson got on target at a Gudmondsson free-kick and failed to keep it out. There was a lengthy VAR check to see if the scorer had been offside. The defender, though, was on when the ball was played through to him. System malfunction With Kieran Tierney considered fit enough to start once again, Clarke reverted to the five man defence which had served him so well during the opening games of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. He positioned the Celtic full-back on the left of three centre-backs and deployed Robertson at wing back outside him. (Image: Jane Barlow) It did not work, either defensively or offensively. Yes, the hosts created a few chances and levelled when John Souttar held off Mikael Egill Ellertsson and nodded a Max Johnston corner home. But the players looked uncomfortable in the system and there were far, far too many open spaces for their opponents to exploit. Billy Gilmour, Scott McTominay and Lewis Ferguson, who have picked up silverware in Italy with Napoli and Bologna respectively this term, started together in midfield for just the third time. But they proved incapable of turning things around. Clarke needs to have a rethink. Tierney and Robertson and have played in a flat back four together at international level in the past and can do so again in future if required. At this moment, a move to a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 is worth trying. There is no point persevering with a system which functioned effectively in the past if it is not working now. Scotland switched to a back four when Clarke made a triple substitution in the second half and looked better for it. Bright Hirst It may take Scotland supporters a little time to get used to a striker called Hirst playing up front for them even if his surname is spelt differently from a certain former England centre forward. But members of the Tartan Army may have to get used to the Ipswich Town man George, who was preferred to Che Adams, James Wilson, Kieron Bowie and Tommy Conway up front, leading the line for them. Clarke is clearly an admirer of the former England age-group player, who qualifies to play for this country through his paternal grandfather, as this was the third game in a row he has fielded him. He came on in both of the Greece games back in March. Read more: But this was a first start for him. He showed why was given the nod despite failing to find the target during his time on the park. He headed a John McGinn chip over, forced a one-handed save from Elias Rafn Olafsson after meeting a Scott McTominay cutback with a first-time shot and had a goal, correctly, chalked off for offside. He received a warm round of applause when he was replaced by Adams. Rightly so. He showed he has much to offer despite the result. To the Max Johnston, who helped Sturm Graz to retain their Bundesliga title in Austria this season, caught Clarke's eye in training at Lesser Hampden this week and started at right wing-back ahead of both Anthony Ralston of Celtic and the returning Nathan Patterson of Everton. He had some good moments and set up the Scotland goal. It was also nice to see Lennon Miller, the teenage Motherwell midfielder, make his first appearance for his country. He came on for Tierney as Scott McKenna replaced Hanley. Patterson later took over from Johnston and Tommy Conway came on for McTominay. But none of the replacements made a significant difference. Tartan Army boo boys The boos and jeers which rang out at the half-time and full-time whistle told a story. The Scotland supporters were furious with the insipid performance they had witnessed. A vast improvement against Liechtenstein in Vaduz on Monday is now needed to get the fans back onside ahead of the World Cup qualifying opener against Denmark.
Telegraph
20 hours ago
- Telegraph
Sale's secret weapon is their ‘theme' for every match
Pete Richardson is not as recognisable as George Ford or either of the Curry twins. Even die-hard Sale Sharks supporters are unlikely to have heard of him. Even if the stars align for his club over the coming fortnight, he probably will not receive an official Premiership winners' medal. But the 36-year-old has been a significant, if largely unsung, figure in Sale's route to the play-offs. He refines Alex Sanderson's 'brain farts' by creating a visual for the theme of each game. These have encompassed box-office movies, sporting icons and more original ideas. 'Earlier this season we were playing Harlequins, who are known for wanting to put on a show,' Richardson explains, by way of an example. 'Al wanted to twist that with the message we wanted to turn it into a horror show. There was a little bit of back-and-forth about how the tactics could fit that theme and I came up with 'The Sale Sharks Circus of Pain'. 'As you can imagine, the visuals for that were Harlequins players in cages and on the rack. Each of them, we tried to correlate to an aspect of Sale's game.' Coaching hinges upon the capacity to impart information and delivery is critical. This often requires familiar information to be re-emphasised and repackaged. Creativity is an effective way of keeping the audience – the players who must implement a game plan – stimulated and engaged. Born and bred in Salford, Richardson had held a season ticket for six years at Sale when he noticed that they were advertising for a graphic designer in 2023. Although the deadline had passed two weeks previously, he contacted the club. An interview was sorted for the next day. The day after that, he was offered the role and promptly left his post as a creative director at a Liverpool marketing agency. 'My day-to-day here is really varied,' Richardson continues. 'It spans across preparing decks for sponsorship to social media match graphics and kit campaigns. It's a really diverse role.' One senses that brainstorming with Sanderson, which usually takes place on a Sunday before Richardson completes the artwork in time for it to be used in meetings on Mondays and Tuesdays, is a highlight. 'Al is a really open guy,' he adds. 'He likes the close-knit, family feel that we have here and what he's really good at is how clear he is with his ideas during what is essentially the briefing process. He's also open to things I might suggest just to elevate things. It's a collaborative approach, which is the same vibe around the whole building here, really. 'Al will give me a ring, we'll have a chat. I use a lot of artificial intelligence just to speed up the process because the slides have to be turned around for early the next week.' Presentations reference specific strengths and weakness of rival sides, including individuals who can be targeted or need to be contained. Other examples of theming at Sharks include 'Sale-xtric' for the home fixture against Northampton Saints at the end of March. The classic toy racing car sets – and their distinctive trigger controllers – were used to illustrate how it would be essential to 'push and pull' at different junctures. The must-win match against Saracens in April was likened to the action film 300, in which Spartans defend their territory against a vast Persian invasion. Armand Duplantis, the phenomenal pole-vaulter who keeps extending his world record, was the poster boy for last weekend's nervy defeat of Exeter Chiefs as Sale were urged to concentrate on their own performance and redefine what is possible. It is easy to be cynical about this process and tarnish it as gimmicky and tenuous. But theming can ramp up motivation and clarify objectives. Sanderson believes his group is driven by emotion, and often picks at any chips on shoulders by reminding players that, back in November, they were given a nine per cent chance of reaching the top four. With popular team-mates such as Jonny Hill poised to depart, 'earn another Monday' has been a recurring tag-line. Lighter touches are welcome, too. After a 38-0 thrashing of Bristol Bears in December, doughnuts were ordered in to commemorate 'nilling' a dangerous opponent. When the stakes are high and margins are fine, every little helps and Richardson is certainly valued. Byron McGuigan, the Sharks defence coach who has been seconded to England for this summer's tour, enlisted Richardson's expertise to put together an introductory presentation to Steve Borthwick's squad. With Sale's play-off semi-final against Leicester this Saturday, Sanderson felt a fleeting panic when he thought that Richardson was otherwise engaged last weekend. Following a 30-26 victory away to Exeter Chiefs to clinch third place on Saturday, he contacted his artistic colleague at around 2pm the next day. 'I'd watched our game, watched Leicester's game and then I turned my head to this,' Sanderson recalls. 'I sent over some pictures and got the reply back that Pete was on holiday. Honestly, I was like: 'Pete, why now?!' I was pulling my hair out and sent him a text that was really guilt-infused.' Richardson was at a hotel in Bristol, but had attended the Sandy Park win as a fan. 'He was always going to spend a couple of hours on it,' Sanderson adds. 'It's a growing relationship and one I've become increasingly dependent on. I used to send over quite complicated things. Now I'll send a few pictures through with suggestions of what I want each area to be represented by, and I'll trust Pete to use his artistic licence. And it comes back polished. He makes my chaotic brain farts seem like something professional.' Richardson lightens mood for brutal semi-final Sale lost 44-34 to Leicester Tigers last month and, in Sanderson's words, were 'beaten up in the second half'. Blood-and-thunder battles at the set piece and on the gain line will go a long way towards deciding what is likely to be a brutal semi-final. Sanderson will not reveal details of his game plan or its visual theme, but will say that he has 'tried to create some levity'. 'I'm not going to divulge [the theme] yet because it's for us,' he says. 'If I start talking about what we have been doing this week, they can use it as fodder themselves. 'It's a fine line, because if you just talk about set piece and gain line, we'd be seeing red for the whole game. We could overreach and give away too many penalties. It's understanding how we can channel that emotion through the lessons we've learnt.' For Richardson, helping the Sale players to learn those lessons is a thrill. 'You can see the game plan brought to life in matches, which shows that the players have taken it on board,' he says. 'I hope that the visuals have helped to drive home the message. It's a privilege to have the opportunity to do it.'
Leader Live
a day ago
- Leader Live
Mike Fondop played for Wrexham during non-league era
In the build-up to The Latics' thrilling 3-2 win over Southend United that secured the Lancashire club promotion back to the Football League, what was Fondop listening to? "I love Andrea Bocelli, Time to Say Goodbye is one of my favourites," former Wrexham striker Fondop told BBC Radio Manchester "On game-days I listen to gospel and that is what calms me. I love jazz music as well, I don't have one specific type of song, I love a bit of everything. "Usually in my downtime I can listen to opera and jazz. I don't like listening to things that give me headaches." Fondop, who played for Wrexham in the Sam Ricketts era in the 2018/19 season, scored 18 league goals as Oldham made it through to the National League play-offs where they beat Yorkshire duo Halifax and York before coming from behind in extra-time to beat Southend last Sunday. He's been at Boundary Park since 2022 when The Latics became the first former Premier League team to be relegated to non-league. Fondop could have been tempted away with Football League clubs looking to sign him but the 31-year-old Cameroon-born frontman stayed loyal to The Latics. "The manager at the time, John Sheridan, called me after the end of the season and said 'I need you to come back," added Fondop. "You owe me because I signed you and you only played two games, 'I want you to get this club back where it belongs.' "So that has always been an objective because I came and I didn't have a chance to help them stay in League Two. Oldham now have new owners in place with businessman Frank Rothwell taking over from Abdallah Lemsagam. "The club is absolutely different now," said Fondop. "The ownership now is more family orientated. The owners are approachable and want everyone to feel part of a family," he added. "In the past it felt toxic. As a player I was focused on what I was signed to do but the environment at the time felt toxic. Now it is so different. "If a club doesn't treat its players well you might think in the long run you can get away with it, you might for a period of time, but eventually it is going to affect results. Now the treatment is completely different." MORE WREXHAM AFC NEWS Fondop, who lists Halifax, Chesterfield, Burton Albion and Hartlepool as his former clubs, can now look forward to life back in League Two. "It has been 34 years since we experienced promotion. I'm 31 so last time they won promotion I wasn't even born," Fondop added in the build-up to their tremendous win at Wembley. "After the gaffer said that I went home and wrote down 34 years in bold on a piece of paper with my goals for the season and I put it on my kitchen wall. It's always in my mind. "It's in my head every day because I want to be part of history and I want the fans to get back into the feeling of what Oldham deserves."
