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BBC News
15 minutes ago
- BBC News
New-look Man City aim to bounce back amid uncertainty
Manchester City head into the new season with the cloud of financial charges still hovering over them, while there are questions on how quickly their new signings will integrate into the been dominant with four successive Premier League titles, Pep Guardiola's all-conquering side endured a bitterly disappointing 2024-25 finished third in the table, failed to win a major trophy and suffered a shock last-16 exit from the Fifa Club World Cup at the hands of Saudi Arabia's will be a wounded beast, but there is uncertainty as to how they will respond to last season's struggles and whether Guardiola can build another title-winning machine."We are ready," said the Spaniard. "We had a short pre-season but a really good one and we are ready to go, to enjoy the good moments and bounce back as soon as possible."I cannot assure you, but the signs are that we can be better. Maybe we can be worse! You never know. But I think it will be better." Charges verdict rumbles on Last Sunday, the giant electronic advertising board close to Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium served a reminder it has been "246 days since Man City's FFP hearing ended".That has since ticked on to 252 days and we are no closer to knowing the outcome of City's 115 charges for allegedly breaching the Premier League's financial rules, which were first published in February hearing took place in front of an independent commission between September and December of last year, but there has been no indication as to when the findings will be have strongly denied the charges but, if found guilty, the commission could sanction a massive points deduction or the unthinkable scenario of relegation.A decision was widely expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2025 and boss Guardiola provided a timeline of "in one month" back in February, but that has now dragged into another sheer scale of charges and amount of evidence has led to October now being mooted for the time of the verdict, but there has been no official confirmation of club has declined to comment, while Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said they have "no influence" on the timing and it would be "wrong" for him to the meantime, it has been business as usual for striker Erling Haaland signed a new bumper contract which expires in 2034 and the club extended their kit partnership with Puma for a record £100m per season, making it the largest such deal in the Premier January, they have spent almost £400m on new signings as Guardiola reshaped his squad in an attempt to reclaim the Premier League trophy. Are City flying under the radar? It isn't that often Guardiola gets it wrong in the transfer market but of the four January signings, only Egypt forward Omar Marmoush can be classed as a success after scoring eight goals, including a hat-trick against defender Abdukodir Khusanov barely got a look-in after March, Brazilian centre-back Vitor Reis has now been sent on loan to Girona, while there appear doubts over whether Guardiola trusts midfielder Nico summer strategy was to bolster the squad by addressing the problem areas, bringing in Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves to fill the hole at left-back, while box-to-box Dutchman Tijjani Reijnders will bring much-needed energy to the legend Kevin de Bruyne and Jack Grealish left in the summer and it may fall to Frenchman Rayan Cherki to pick up the mantle of attacking creativity, while James Trafford will provide goalkeeping competition to Ederson as the Brazilian enters the final year of his desperately missed the presence of Rodri in the middle of the park during an injury-ravaged season for the club and the Spaniard is unlikely to be fully fit until September after a dressing room has lost serial winners in De Bruyne, Grealish and former captain Kyle Walker so, while Guardiola will be hoping the new boys quickly grasp his vision and settle in immediately, are City flying under the radar?Aside from the acquisition of Trafford from Burnley, City did the bulk of their transfer business in June before the Club World Cup, while signings such as Florian Wirtz for champions Liverpool and Viktor Gyokeres at Arsenal caught the sources have pointed to new captain Bernardo Silva having the experience to galvanise a side which underperformed to their previous high standards last term, when he leads them out against Wolves on Saturday (kick-off 17:30 BST).One insider said "don't count us out" and it would be foolish to do so for a side that has been champions in six of the last eight seasons. Guardiola to relight fire - or is the end near? Last season will have been a shock to Guardiola, finishing outside of the top two for only the second time in 15 seasons as manager at City, Barcelona and Bayern a 10th season with City, the 54-year-old is currently the Premier League's longest-serving boss and has said he will take a break from management once he the great Sir Alex Ferguson did over at neighbours Manchester United, Guardiola will need to show he still has the desire to re-energise himself and his team in an attempt to overthrow Arne Slot's Liverpool and return to the summit only has the playing squad been refreshed, but the coaching staff too. Jurgen Klopp's former Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders has joined in a similar role, and set-piece coach James French has also arrived from the Reds, while Kolo Toure was promoted from the youth former City and Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann has cast doubt over whether Guardiola has the ability to go again, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "When a season starts, you've got to light a fire in a team, with the fans, and make people believe. And I'm not sure he's got that fire any more."I'm not sure they're going to win another big title under Guardiola. I'd be surprised, to be honest."Spanish football expert Guillem Balague added: "The fire that we see now - what we see in his eyes, in the jokes with his players and how he returned refreshed from the summer - can that continue until the end of the season?"He has a two-year contract until 2027 and 100% by the end of the two years he will not continue with club football. But nobody can say that may not happen earlier, that this could be his last season."Is he excited because it is his last season or is it because he really feels he has a team in his hands which he can mould and create a new Manchester City, a third version?"If he sees himself having the ability to continue then we will see a second year but we will not see a third. We are seeing the end of Pep Guardiola as a manager."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Liverpool's new hero, the crisis they MUST spend money to fix - and Bournemouth star shows big clubs what they are missing in 4-2 defeat by Arne Slot's champions
Liverpool 's defence of their Premier League title is up and running after a night of drama at Anfield. The opening night of the 2025-26 season will be remembered in part for reasons other than the football after Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo was allegedly the subject of racist abuse from a Liverpool fan during the first half. 'This has taken the shine off the night,' said Liverpool manager Arne Slot after his team's 4-2 win. 'These things just shouldn't happen.' On the field, Slot's team were perhaps a little like we expected them to be. At times, irresistible with the ball but at others desperately vulnerable when they didn't have it. This is a Liverpool team that is in transition. If everybody thought last summer was the big one at Anfield, as Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp, they were perhaps wrong. This has been an off-season that has seen the champions sign seven players and lose an equal number while also trying to come to terms with the tragic loss of Diogo Jota. Here are the take aways from a big opening night in Liverpool. THE KOP HAVE A NEW HERO It was a great Liverpool striker Michael Owen who once said that the best forwards have an ability to almost slow their heart rate when a chance arrives. It's perhaps fair to say that the departed Darwin Nunez didn't have that natural gift. Maybe the player who has arrived in his stead really does. The French forward Hugo Ekitike was fabulous on his league debut here. If his goal in the Community Shield was impressive last week then this was an altogether more complete performance. The 23-year-old's first half goal was beautifully taken. How many players would have snatched at the chance after Ekitike bustled through on goal? Given the circumstances, quite a few. But Liverpool's new forward waited for Bournemouth goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic to commit himself before rolling the ball in. His celebration in honour of Jota was lovely, too. There was more, though. We have been told that Ekitike is not necessarily a number nine and maybe if Aleksander Isak arrives from Newcastle, Slot may shuffle things round. But he played like one here, coming to the ball naturally and turning to play passes that brought team-mates in to play. Ekitike seems to have a temperament for this stage and the Liverpool fans have taken to him already. Nunez was a warrior and the Kop loved him for that. Ekitike – on this evidence – looks a far better footballer already. 'We shouldn't take for granted what Ekitike has done over the last two weeks,' said Gary Neville on SKY. Quite. CAN THEY CLOSE THE DOOR? On TV afterward, former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher told Slot that he was 'worried' about how open his team were when Bournemouth came at them and it's hard to disagree. This was a thrilling victory for Liverpool and the crucial third goal scored by Federico Chiesa on the volley was much harder to execute than it first seemed. But the detail of the game will perhaps concern Slot more than he was letting on last night. Bournemouth could have scored twice before Liverpool took the lead and then simply tore the champions open on the break as Semenyo ripped through to bring his team back in to the game and then level. All teams concede goals, of course, and Bournemouth remain a very capable team. They will beat good teams this season. But Liverpool tend to concede the same kind of goals on repeat and that is always a bad sign. Slot tried to laugh off Carragher's criticism after this game but the fact is that his full-backs were caught up field on both occasions as Semenyo punished Liverpool and with their most naturally defensive player Ryan Gravenberch not available, there were far too many holes in front of the Liverpool central defenders. Liverpool's pursuit of Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi is well known and they may well sign him. But he wont solve this problem on his own. Liverpool need to be more secure when teams come at them and that's a tactical and collective thing rather than something for one player to cure. Liverpool go to Newcastle a week on Monday. Eddie Howe will have been encouraged by some of what he will have seen here. IRAOLA WILL FIND SOLUTIONS It hasn't been a good summer for Bournemouth off the field. After last season's progressive campaign, the south coast club have lost £150m worth of talent, including two of their best defenders and a goalkeeper. That would test most managers, never mind one working at a club with relatively limited budget. But Andoni Iraola showed last year that he is a manager who has the ability to find solutions where there don't seem to be any. That's why clubs like Tottenham briefly considered him early in the summer. Last season, Bournemouth punished good teams by drawing them on to them and then turning over possession and striking. That is how they scored their two goals at Anfield – both moves started deep in their own half – but they also spent good spells building possession and pressure. Maybe this is a sign of tactical progression. Whatever the case, Semenyo recovered from the difficulties of the first half to score two fabulous goals and it was hard not to feel pleased for him. It was good of Slot to check on him after the game, too. It had not been an easy night for the 25-year-old, a player who has really come to the fore over the last 18 months after an early career that found him at Bristol City and then on loan at Bath, Newport and Sunderland. The Ghana international has just signed a new contract that is due to last until 2030. That's a smart piece of work by Bournemouth but also begs the question why one of the big clubs hasn't tried to buy him.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Warmth and passion: Chappers ushers in new era for Match of the Day
He's spent years sitting on the bench, playing second fiddle to one of England's best ever strikers. But now that Gary Lineker has hung up his boots and bid farewell to Match of the Day after 26 years, Mark Chapman can finally have his moment. While more casual fans won't be aware of what the veteran broadcaster – affectionately known as 'Chappers' – will bring as the new focal point, to the diehards he's long been a known quantity. Widely respected for his relaxed manner and astute questioning, Chapman, 51, has hosted Match of the Day 2 on Sunday nights since 2013 (while occasionally covering for Lineker) and also presents a number of sports programmes across BBC Radio 5 Live. But before establishing himself as one of the top broadcasters in the country, he began his career more than five decades ago, as a continuity announcer on BBC television in 1996. He then became the cricket correspondent for BBC North East radio, before joining BBC Radio 1 as a Newsbeat sports reader on the Sara Cox and Scott Mills shows – where he developed the nickname 'Chappers'. He later joined BBC Radio 5 Live to host 5 Live Sport on Mondays. Alongside his run on Match of the Day 2, he was also BBC Sport's chief rugby league presenter, fronting its coverage of the Rugby League World Cup and RFL Challenge Cup matches. Chapman is one of Match of the Day's three new hosts, alongside Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan. While Cates will present a UEFA Super Cup highlights show on Wednesday and Logan will present the newly rebranded Match of the Day on Sunday, the three will rotate across the shows throughout the season. He's always been passionate about the game, declaring early in his career that he spent his time off 'playing football and watching football'. When asked to describe himself in three words, he opted for 'stroppy, moody and temperamental'. Appearing on the Scott Mills Breakfast show on Friday alongside the other two hosts, Chapman joked with Mills about their time working together. 'He never took off his coat,' Mills reminisced, 'he was there for a good time, not a long time.' Mills also highlighted one of his BBC diary entries from the early noughties, when the pair went to Magaluf with Jo Whiley. 'We went to dinner with DJ Sammy in Palma except for Chappers, who decided to shun a swanky celebrity dinner in order to do research on the Magaluf bar scene. Apparently, when you walk down the street, there are people who physically drag you into bars and force you to drink two pints for two euros with a free shot. Poor Chappers never stood a chance,' the entry read. Others have also said it is Chapman's warmth, humour and experience that make him a joy to work with. 'He's somebody that knows the game very well, is deeply passionate about it and is very good at providing a space where all the different pundits and people involved feel comfortable,' said Nedum Onuoha, who worked with Chapman on Planet Premier League. 'He tries to get the best out of you. He is very good at being able to create a show that's enjoyable, and I think that goes a long way in punditry.' Onuoha said Chapman was 'really funny and dry with certain things'. He said the presenter always remembered 'that it is a game' and wanted people to have fun. 'He knows that laughing brings people together, as opposed to arguing about things that honestly don't really matter. His personality is a great one, he's fun to be around and that can really make a difference, especially for new people entering the industry.' Chapman lived with his wife, Sara, in Hale, Greater Manchester until her death from cancer in 2020. The couple had three children together. One of the things that will undoubtedly be welcomed by BBC bosses is Chapman's approach to social media. He hasn't posted on X since January 2021, which sets him apart from his predecessor, who quit the BBC after an antisemitism row and never shied away from expressing his views on topics from the war in the Middle East to the UK government's immigration policy. Asked about the principal duties of a pundit in an interview with the Guardian in 2018, Chapman said: 'To inform, entertain and give an opinion. They don't always have to do highbrow analysis or be controversial – there's a balance to be found.' Match of the Day's new rotating line up, featuring two women, is a far cry from the days of Jimmy Hill and Des Lynam at the helm. But while leaning in to the change, Chapman and his co-hosts have worked to avoid comparisons to their predecessors. 'It helps that we're all really different from Gary [Lineker], in that he does it with a profile of his own as an England legend,' Cates has said. 'It's a very different career path. An ex-player taking over would be more of a direct comparison.'
