'Wimmer departure understandable and he is always welcome back'
I think that I speak on behalf of every Motherwell fan who opened social media or the BBC Sports app on Friday evening that the news of Michael Wimmer leaving was on no one's bingo card for how the end to the season could go.The news blindsided fans, and with preseason weeks away, it is a vulnerable time to be looking for a manager.That being said, after reading the statement and realising Wimmer had to leave due to a sudden family emergency, it makes total sense, and I respect his decision as I know I would do the same thing if I were in his shoes.He has made the right decision for his family, and that's what matters more than any career, be it in football or even in civilian life as fans.Wimmer's reign brought us many good things, such as three points at Ibrox, Du Hast by Rammstein as pre-match music, and the most stylish manager in the top flight. It may have been short-lived, but they say good things never last.We thank you for your efforts, Mr Wimmer, and please know that if the stars align, we would happily accept you back into our club with open arms.
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The Sun
17 minutes ago
- The Sun
Man City hit Club World Cup with three rapid signings but how will ‘new KDB' and star who poses ‘Grealish dilemma' fare?
MANCHESTER CITY are in dire need of a fresh start. While finishing third in the Premier League is not a total disaster, the way their title defence collapsed sent a signal that the force that had dominated English football for half a decade was no longer infallible. 12 12 Watch EVERY match of the Club World Cup 2025 live on DAZN We can, of course, point to the long-term injury to the Ballon d'Or winner Rodri as one of the driving points behind their struggles, but even then, you would expect Pep Guardiola 's side to have the depth to deal with his loss more effectively. In the end, rather than a tactical change, City splashed more than £170million on new signings Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Victor Reis to get their season back on track. However, out of these four, only Marmoush has had a significant impact thus far. Gonzalez was relegated to a reserve team spot early on, Khusanov had a shaky start, and Reis has played just one league minute since his arrival. Losing talisman Kevin De Bruyne is doubtless a loss for the squad after the club allowed his contract to run down, but City requires fresh blood if they are to close the gap to champions Liverpool. And they have moved swiftly by adding three new players in Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rayan Cherki, while a fourth signing in Marcus Bettinelli is expected to fill the Scott Carson role of third-choice goalkeeper and squad cheerleader. Below, we look in depth at the three new signings and show how they will have an impact on this City squad going into next season and going into the Club World Cup. Rayan Ait-Nouri, 24-years-old, Left-Back The first player we will discuss is 24-year-old Algerian international, Rayan Ait-Nouri, signed in a £31m deal from Wolves. The signing of Ait-Nouri ticks two big boxes for Guardiola and his staff. First of all, he has extensive Premier League experience with 135 appearances in the competition since joining Wolves from Angers in France in 2021. The second important tick is he fills a position of a real specialist at left-back, rather than a player being shoehorned in like Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Ake or Rico Lewis have been previously. Ait-Nouri should come in immediately and make that position his own. Ait-Nouri was one of the standout players for Wolves last season in the context of a team that were struggling towards the bottom of the table for most of the season. He is a balanced defender who will provide real quality for City in all phases of the game. When defending he is comfortable defending when he is isolated wide and he generates turnovers with tackles, blocks or interceptions, as well as being able to come inside to help his central defenders. He is also very capable of contributing a lot in the attacking phase, creating threat for his team by staying wide and stretching the width of the pitch. In the middle third, when he takes the ball, he finds creative passing angles to find the striker on the last line or to break the last line with through balls that can release runners behind the defensive line. And in the final third he gets on the ball and can cross with quality from deep or when bursting towards the by-line. City appear to have moved very quickly in order to secure the signature of their first choice left-back for the foreseeable future. Tijjani Reijnders, 26-years-old, Central Midfielder From an age perspective, it is interesting City have moved against the general trend by signing a player that is already 26 years old in Reijnders, signed from AC Milan for £46m. The Dutch international has 23 caps and four goals at senior international level and last season he ended with 10 goals and five assists in the Serie A alone. Is Reijnders seen as the replacement for De Bruyne in the City midfield? Well, maybe at least partly. The two are similar in that they are at their best in the attacking phase of the game. Reijnders is a ball carrier who can take possession in tight spaces and help to break down a deep block by dribbling or finding creative passing angles. This was an area of the game where City struggled last season with teams sitting deep and City trying to attack in the wide areas to break them down with little quality in the middle. While Reijnders does contribute defensively, he is especially strong when pressing and counterpressing when his team lose possession in higher areas. He can play deeper, almost beside the 6, and receive and play the ball to dictate the tempo of the attack for his team but he is also very impressive in more advanced positions when the game is really tight. His ability to take the ball and beat a man 1v1 centrally can really open up games for his team by creating space for others, but he also uses this in the final third to create an angle for shots around the edge of the area. Reijnders can play more as a box-crashing midfielder but also poses a threat with his ability to shoot from distance. In this instance, he does have some similarities to De Bruyne, and he will provide a goal threat from the midfield City would otherwise be missing. With De Bruyne having left the club and with Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic all entering the end of their peak years, it was important City strengthened the position. And Reijnders should go a long way to helping them break down opposition defensive blocks. Rayan Cherki, 21-years-old, Attacking Midfielder City have already pulled off one of the most intriguing transfers of the summer with the £35m deal to sign 21-year-old Rayan Cherki from Lyon in France. Cherki has long been discussed as one of the most naturally gifted and technically talented players of his generation. The Frenchman, however, was seen as a player who was difficult to deal with and who had a very close connection to his home city in Lyon. But last season Cherki matured as a player as he had a more central role for his team which really saw him emerge as one of the best young players in Europe. He has now made his full international debut for France and he looks set to become a key attacking player for the national team. His decision to leave Lyon triggered interest from top teams in England, but it was City who moved quickest to secure his signature. There are two big questions around the signing of Cherki by City. The first is whether Guardiola will allow Cherki to retain his unique creativity and dribbling style. When Jack Grealish arrived at City for a club-record £100m from Aston Villa he was a strong ball carrier. But that dynamic ability to take on his man has been coached out of his game, and is part of the reason he is now deemed surplus to requirements at the Etihad after being left out of their Club World Cup squad. That said, Guardiola has been happy for Jeremy Doku to be a high-volume dribbler during his time at City, so maybe the Spanish coach will allow Cherki to be the same. The second question regards his position. Cherki does not have the defensive profile or work rate to play in deeper midfield areas, so he will probably not fit as one of the two 8's in the midfield for City. That could mean he plays from the right of attack, and with Doku on the left, we could see City build an attack with incredible threat from either flank. 12 Cherki can score goals for himself but is extremely creative and capable of playing through tight defensive blocks with his ability to dribble and play quick passes in and out to teammates to break through and create space that can be exploited. In signing Cherki, it is fair to say that Man City may have signed a true gamebreaker for next season. The Club World Cup and Conclusion City named all seven of the signings they made in the past six months - coming out to a total of almost £300m - in the 27-man travelling squad for the Club World Cup in the United States. It will give Guardiola a chance to see all three of his new toys on the pitch in his system of play. City's underperformance last season triggered a decisive response from City chiefs, with some key recruitment needs already being met with even more business likely when the open reopens on June 16. All three new signings have the ability to make an immediate and important impact on the squad, but living up to some of their predecessors will be a huge ask. 12 Club World Cup 2025 Guide SOME of the world's biggest clubs are heading Stateside for a MAMMOTH Club World Cup. Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Man City, and Inter Miami are among the 32 teams taking part in the tournament, which runs from June 14 to July 13. Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Ousmane Dembele, Cole Palmer and Harry Kane will be showing their skills to packed crowds across the US. Los Blancos are favourites to lift the trophy in New York but will face stiff competition from around the globe. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the tournament... INFO Everything you need to know ahead of the Club World Cup Club World Cup draw in FULL LATEST NEWS & FEATURES
Daily Mail
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Meaning behind Trent Alexander-Arnold's new shirt number at Real Madrid claimed to have been discovered by fans
Football fans have claimed to have uncovered the hidden meaning behind Trent Alexander-Arnold 's new shirt number at Real Madrid. The England full-back was unveiled at the Spanish giants on Thursday after joining Los Blancos early in time for the Club World Cup. His former club Liverpool were previously adamant that he would not be able to join Real until after his contract expired with the Reds on June 30. As a result, the LaLiga side agreed to pay £10million to the Merseysiders in order to secure the services of Alexander-Arnold ahead of schedule. But as the 26-year-old right-back was completing his medical in the Spanish capital, fans were convinced they had found out the reason why he opted for the number 12 shirt for his new club. They took to social media to pen their theories, after noticing an eerie similarity between his old and new numbers. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one user wrote: '6+6=12 .. I am a scholar.' A second added: '6+6 = 12......I see it...' A further comment read: 'Ahh, 6+6 = 12, now I got why 12!!!' Alexander-Arnold has been required to select a new number as LaLiga rules only permit players to wear those between one and 25. He has also chosen to undergo a name change as he embarks on a new chapter in his career - that will see him revert from 'Alexander-Arnold' to 'Trent'. Following Alexander-Arnold's presentation to fans, the Madrid squad will fly to the United States for the Club World Cup - which gets underway on June 14 - as they face RB Salzburg, Pachuca and Al Hilal. Along with being forced to sacrifice his old shirt number, Alexander-Arnold was also forbidden from taking another prized personal item to Spain. He was unable to ship his £130,000 Range Rover as Madrid have a sponsorship agreement with BMW, which prevents players driving any other cars to the club's training ground, according to El Motor. The car manufacturer provides Real Madrid players with cars to use throughout the season, meaning they will hook up Alexander-Arnold with a new drive.
BBC News
21 minutes ago
- BBC News
Single-day 'super' rounds for 2026 Women's Six Nations
Each round of next year's Women's Six Nations will be staged on a single day, with four 'Super Saturdays' leading to Sunday 17 May when holders England travel to nearest rivals France in the final match of the world number ones England have won seven successive titles, but France threatened to ruin their most recent celebrations, coming within a point of the Red Roses in will stage their 11 April opener against Ireland at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium, where, in 2023, they set a world record for the biggest crowd for a women's Test match with 58,498 watching a win over meeting with Ireland will be the Red Roses' first match following their 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup campaign on home turf, where they are favourites to lift the crown for the first time in 11 will host England at Murrayfield the following week in the first standalone women's international at the venue staged in front of current record attendance for a Scotland women's home match - 7,774, set at the 2024 meeting between the two rivals – is expected to be venues for the rest of the matches are yet to be announced, with organisers saying they "will be announced in due course".The 2026 tournament starts three weeks after the end of the men's Six Nations, rather than the previous one-week gap, as part of a new global international is hoped the tournament, coming a little over six months after the finale of the Women's Rugby World Cup in England, will attract unprecedented audiences 2026 Women's Six Nations fixtures All times BSTSaturday 11 AprilFrance v Italy 12:25England v Ireland - Allianz Stadium - 14:25Wales v Scotland 16:40Saturday 18 AprilScotland v England – Murrayfield – 13:30Wales v France – 15:35Ireland v Italy 17:40Saturday 25 AprilEngland v Wales 14:15Italy v Scotland – 16:30France v Ireland – 20:10Saturday 9 MayItaly v England – 14:00Scotland v France – 16:15Ireland v Wales – 18:30Sunday 17 MayWales v Italy – 12:15Ireland v Scotland – 14:30France v England – 16:45
