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BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Monty Python legend Eric Idle brings new show home to Midlands
Monty Python comedy legend Eric Idle has shared childhood memories of taking the 148 bus from Birmingham to Wolverhampton, as he returns to England to perform for the first time in 13 also recalled growing up in Studley, going to a boarding school full of "wild" boys in Wolverhampton - which was like working with the Monty Python crew - keeping wicket for Redditch, and supporting Wolves FC at the age of who describes himself as "a Midlands boy", told BBC Radio WM he was "looking forward" to performing at Birmingham Symphony his last UK performance at London 2012, singing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, he said "I haven't been in England and performed since the Olympic Games". He supported Wolves until he moved to London, when he "watched Chelsea for a bit", but said: "I watch both sides because it's much more fun."In London, neighbour Gary Lineker later pointed out to Idle that fans only sang his hit song on the terraces when they were losing. 'I pushed Sinatra off the top' "The best moment in my life about that song was when England were beating Germany 5-0 in Munich, and the German fans started to sing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," he said. "I thought that was so funny and so brilliant".It later became Britain's number one funeral song, which Idle found "very moving". "I'm particularly proud because I pushed Frank Sinatra off the top. It was My Way before that," he said. Describing his new show as a mix of comedy and songs, he said he was adapting it for each location on Birmingham, he wants to talk about the number 148, which went through Hollywood on its way into the city. 'Mock and roll' In the 1970s, the Python team played four nights at the rather-more-famous Hollywood Bowl in the US, when they took their live show out on the was about that time, when the cult comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail was released in 1975, that Idle coined the phrase "mock and roll" for their particular brand of comedy."We weren't quite a rock group, we were more like a mock group," he said he found going "from Hollywood to Hollywood", a full circle in his life, "rather wonderful". Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Telegraph
11 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Alexander Isak has betrayed all those who held him dear at Newcastle
Alexander Isak was idolised at Newcastle United, a hero, a trophy-winning legend and the best striker to wear the black and white stripes since Alan Shearer. He could have done almost anything and his legacy would have remained unblemished – except this. By publicly trying to force his way out of the club with three years remaining on his contract, despite being repeatedly and directly told that he was not for sale this summer, Isak has betrayed all those who held him dear on Tyneside. He has angered and infuriated fans and, perhaps most damning of all, he has let down his manager Eddie Howe, the man who pushed so hard to sign him from Real Sociedad three years ago and who has helped turn him into one of the best forward players in Europe. Even now, as Isak refuses to accept the decision of the board that he will not be allowed to leave for Liverpool, Howe has tried to put an arm around him. He has tried to ensure there is a way back for him to return to the fold. Howe understands his frustration and can accept his bitterness, but he cannot accept a player who refuses to adhere to the professional standards he demands. Isak is too divisive to be allowed to mix with the rest of the team. That is a horrible, regrettable place to be. Isak has made it clear he is not in the right frame of mind to play for Newcastle or train with the group. The longer it goes on, the more damage he will do. Forward's behaviour has been despicable It is not just his reputation at Newcastle that is taking a beating, it is how the rest of the football world will perceive him from this point on. If Isak can act this way at Newcastle, how will he behave at other clubs when he does not get what he wants? His behaviour has been despicable and the road to redemption from here is a long and arduous one. He has effectively refused to go on a pre-season tour to Asia and is no longer in a suitable state of mind to train with his team-mates, let alone play for the club that turned him into a superstar. So where does Isak go from here? He can continue to agitate to leave, he can hand in an official transfer request. These are options he can take. He can stick to his current plan of making things as difficult and uncomfortable for Newcastle – and Howe – as possible in the hope that he breaks their resolve and he, for all intents and purposes, forces them into allowing him to sign for Liverpool. That is his desire, but in football, as in life, we do not always get what we want when we want it. He can continue to act like a spoilt child who has been told they cannot have sweets for breakfast. Toys tossed out of the pram followed by a moody, petulant sulk. This is his choice to make. Or, he can accept Newcastle's decision, point the finger at his agent for agreeing to the six-year-contract he signed when he joined in 2022 and start to repair broken relationships. It will be difficult and supporters are bound to vent their emotions. He could be booed the first time he plays for Newcastle again, but other players have been through similar and come out the other side. The French midfielder Yohan Cabaye went on strike to try to force a move to Paris St-Germain but was reintegrated by then manager Alan Pardew. He performed so well on the pitch the fans forgave him and, when he eventually left for Paris the following January, he went with at least some goodwill. Before that, Kieron Dyer endured a tumultuous relationship with Newcastle supporters after it was revealed he refused to play on the right wing in a game at Middlesbrough at the start of Sir Bobby Robson's final season as manager. He was widely booed and jeered, even when playing for England in an international match at St James' Park, cupping his ears on the pitch to incense further an irate fanbase. But he played for another three years at Newcastle and was a key player under Robson's replacement, Graeme Souness, and then Glenn Roeder. He was never idolised as he once was, but he stopped the booing and earned the respect of supporters by giving his all on the pitch. Not too late to repair relationships Harry Kane went missing at the start of pre-season trying to force his way out of Tottenham, but was welcomed back and played another year before leaving for Bayern Munich. Luis Suárez did the same at Liverpool. It has happened before and it can happen again. Isak can still pull himself back from the brink. This is where Isak finds himself. He has chosen a volatile path to walk down. He has lost the respect and affection of a passionate fanbase and he has upset his manager and team-mates. But there is a way back, he just has to not be so stubborn and so blinkered, that he fails to see it. Nobody expects him to stay at Newcastle forever, but he will still only be 26 next summer when there will be far more options for him than just Liverpool. Newcastle are willing to offer him a massive pay rise and a new contract with a release clause in it. He will not be held against his will in 12 months' time if he still wants to leave. He will have more control over his future and Newcastle will still get a fair price for him, which will enable them to reinvest in their squad. He can do right by himself and the club. It is thought both Bayern Munich and Barcelona will be looking to sign a world-class striker next year. Both teams have as good a chance of winning silverware as any in Europe and will be able to match wage demands of £300,000-plus a week. Who is to say Real Madrid will not be lurking, too. Or PSG. Liverpool, if he really has his heart set on Anfield, will still be there too. An amicable deal will be there to be done, the price set by any release clause. Newcastle want one more year out of him. That is all they are asking for. It will give them time to find a replacement; it will give them time to prove they can match his ambitions. But if he still wants to go in 2026, they will not stand in his way. All Isak has to do is apologise, shake off his disappointment, admit he has made a mistake and do the things in a Newcastle shirt that have made him what he is. If he scores goals and plays well, Newcastle supporters will forgive him. He can be loved again on Tyneside, but he needs to stop behaving badly. The sooner he does that the quicker and easier the healing process will be. Or he can continue to sulk and agitate to get what he wants now. It will tarnish his reputation, he will always be perceived differently, not just by Newcastle fans, but the rest of football too. He might still be able to force his way out. He can cling to that idea, fuelled by his agent who would love a big pay day, but he will never be the same player he was. No matter how good he is, he will always be tarnished by it. The player who broke hearts and let down a manager who has done nothing but support him. Wherever Isak ends up, this is what he will be remembered for. And he will always be remembered as a villain rather than a hero on Tyneside. Nobody can tell him what to do, we can only hope he does the right thing.
Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
'I'm not going to lie ... I look at the Lionesses with jealousy'... SWPL supremo McIntyre admits Scotland needs a national team to capture the imagination
As she pursues her own 'Utopia' for women's football in Scotland, Fiona McIntyre can't help but steal an envious glance at the paradise being built in England 's green and pleasant land. An inspiration, yes, but also a reminder of the miles still to be covered if this proud footballing nation is to realise McIntyre's dream of a completely full-time top flight. The SWPL managing director, rightly proud of a product unrivalled for drama at the business end of the table, is confident that every piece of available data points to continued growth in the women's game north of the border. But it's only natural to feel that our nearest neighbours — in this case an English game guaranteed to take another stratospheric leap as a result of the Lionesses defending their European Championships title — should produce mixed emotions for anyone trying to keep up with the Kellys and the Hamptons. 'I look at them, the Lionesses, with jealousy; I'm not going to lie,' admits McIntyre. 'When Scotland qualified for the Euros and the World Cup, we saw the biggest uplift ever in the number of women playing football in Scotland. That's the impact, it's massive. 'Having a national team competing on the world stage or the European stage is hugely important, but also, from a league perspective, it does so much for the credibility of your country. 'I look at the national team and I see the talent there, and I know they're more than capable of qualifying. The new manager is in, and it feels like a sort of fresh momentum is coming with her, so I genuinely hope they can kick on, get some results and that we'll be sitting here again soon talking about a Scotland team going to the Euros or the World Cup.' International aspirations are, of course, elements beyond the control of the people working so hard to modernise Scotland's elite domestic competition. But 'Prem One', as those in the game call an SWPL1 division which has just been cut from 12 teams to 10 in pursuit of greater competition across the board, is more than contributing to the wider growth of the sport. McIntyre feels that the top tier, with its dramatic final-day title deciders, its landmark partnership with ScottishPower and its growing profile across the country, is already delivering in one very important sphere of public life. Perception, in this age of optics and vibes, is everything. 'People have now got a far greater understanding that, as a professional women's football league in Scotland, we have real high-quality calibre elite professional athletes both in our country and those who have left, such as Erin Cuthbert and Caroline Weir. 'Women's football for a long time was viewed as almost quite amateur and part of that would be down to the resource that was in it, and the visibility of it, and that impacted how players were able to prepare. 'What you see now is a growing respect for the fact that women's football is an elite sport, attracting national brands like ScottishPower, and there's an aspirational element to it now. 'That's probably the biggest shift that I've seen, particularly around the younger generations when you see young girls waiting for items to get autographed and they've got kits with names of the female players on the back. That really shows you have created these real genuine role models.' Not content to rest on achievements to date, McIntyre is eager to see improvement — across all metrics — as the new SWPL kicks off on Sunday August 17. When it come to dramatic tension, the last few campaigns will be hard to beat. Hibs will defend the title they won last season on a final day when any one of four teams could have taken the crown. Previous to that, Celtic won on goal difference and, before that, Glasgow City triumphed with the last kick of the campaign. For a game looking to attract new fans and commercial partners, that's the stuff of dreams. 'It's huge,' says McIntyre. 'We speak a lot about everything around the game and what we're trying to achieve off the pitch, but fundamentally what happens on the pitch is the most important thing. 'Football is at its most exciting when it's competitive and there's a real uncertainty of the outcome. We've been really fortunate in the last three seasons that people were genuinely not sure which way it was going to end until the very last kick of the ball. 'I think we're the most competitive (league) in Europe. We absolutely want to capitalise on that in terms of using that narrative, that story. I think that's created media interest — or additional media interest — and that's something we absolutely try and capitalise on to get people into stadiums.' McIntyre is keen to talk about perception and is working hard to ensure the game in Scotland is respected accordingly. This season is one of change in the SWPL. The top league has been reduced from 12 to ten teams. There is a reason for that, obviously, and it has all to do with quality and competitiveness. The SWPL was matched only by Spain in the number of games players were being asked to play, so that had to be reduced. Also, a UEFA study showed that, post-split, the SWPL was by far the most competitive but, pre-split, it was at the other end of the spectrum with at times particularly high, one-sided scorelines. That needed to change, but all the teams had to be on board. When the SPFL touted cutting the Premiership to ten teams, there was outcry. In the SWPL, it was different. McIntyre says: 'I guess women's football is still earlier in its journey and, from the outset, when we set up the SWPL, there was definitely a real sense of collective identity. All the clubs were coming together for the greater good of women's football. 'It's never a popular decision to reduce the top league. Essentially, we relegated three teams and not everyone necessarily liked that but, to their credit, they all understood because we presented the data, we presented the why, and even the clubs that were impacted by that negatively were very understanding because we presented the reasons and the rationale behind it.' It takes a lot for clubs to commit to full professionalism. Even champions Hibs don't pay all of their full-time players what you would call a proper living wage. That won't change overnight. But a completely full-time top flight? An entire league full of female footballers who have earned the right to call themselves professionals? 'I hope so — that's certainly what we are trying to deliver,' says McIntyre. 'That's the Utopia.' ■ ScottishPower is dedicated to energising women's football at every age and stage of the game through its exclusive Principal Partner for the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) and Scottish Women's Football (SWF).
