Ball's advice for Sunderland in second leg

13-05-2025

Sunderland legend Kevin Ball has imparted wisdom for Regis Le Bris' side ahead of their Championship play-off semi-final second leg against Coventry. The former Black Cats captain told BBC Radio Newcastle, "I would imagine the players are really looking forward to it. I'm really looking forward to watching the game. "Nerves? I think the result they got down at Coventry was outstanding. I think the team's performance was excellent. "How I'd like to think they feel now, possibly is nervous, but nervous excitement and really looking forward to the game. I think it's natural."He added: "Some players it doesn't phase at all and I think they deal with it in the way they do and you have to commend them on that. "Other players will have a feeling of (nerves), sometimes it inhibits them to want to be the best they can be. There's all different emotions players go through. "The biggest thing you've got to do in my opinion is literally forget about the last game. Learn from it but forget about it and just do your best in the next game."[Former Sunderland coach] Bobby Saxton used to say to us: 'Do what you do best and do it well'."And if they do that tonight, they'll win the game."Listen to more from Kevin Ball on BBC Sounds.

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Phil Foden is slapped with ANOTHER parking fine after leaving his £200k Mercedes G Wagon in a Manchester loading bay to attend the premiere of Tommy Fury's BBC documentary

Daily Mail

27 minutes ago

Daily Mail

Phil Foden is slapped with ANOTHER parking fine after leaving his £200k Mercedes G Wagon in a Manchester loading bay to attend the premiere of Tommy Fury's BBC documentary

Phil Foden was hit with yet another £60 parking fine after leaving his £200,000 Mercedes G Wagon in a Manchester loading bay on Tuesday. The England star, 25, had driven his car into the city centre to attend the premiere of boxer Tommy Fury 's new BBC documentary. Despite receiving a string of parking fines in the past, Phil's car was once again seen in an unauthorised spot with a threat of removal from Manchester City Council on view on the windscreen. Meanwhile the Manchester City star posed for snaps with Tommy at the premiere of his documentary Tommy: The Good. The Bad. The Fury in The Printworks. Back in March, Tommy's beloved car was slapped with a yellow card in the form of yet another £60 parking fine. It came less than five months after he was hit with another fine and spotted running through Wilmslow town centre in a bid to avoid the charge. The England star had driven his car into the city centre to attend the premiere of boxer Tommy Fury 's new BBC documentary (pictured with Tommy on the red carpet) Onlookers saw Phil talk with the traffic warden, however his pleas appeared to fall on deaf ears as he took the yellow ticket off his windscreen and got into the car. On Saturday Phil kicked off a new season with Manchester City as the team kicked off their new campaign with a convincing 4-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, he was kept out of the squad for the match after manager Pep Giardiola noted a concern with a knock to his ankle during training, with hopes he'll be fit to play against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend. Off the pitch, he and his long-term girlfriend, Rebecca Cooke, also sparked engagement rumours after she was spotted wearing a large diamond ring in February. The footballer is said to have whisked his beau away on a romantic trip to Paris for New Year's Eve, where he reportedly proposed. In photographs obtained by The Sun, Rebecca was seen trying to conceal the large ring while out and about. A source told the publication: 'The pair of them have been together since they were young and their family and friends have been expecting them to get engaged for a while. 'The time seemed right for Phil to pop the question. He took her away to Paris for New Year's Eve and when they came back Rebecca had a sparkling diamond ring on her engagement finger.' Off the pitch, he and his long-term girlfriend, Rebecca Cooke, also sparked engagement rumours after she was spotted wearing a large diamond ring (pictured with their two children) 'The ring is absolutely huge. It's a massive diamond. She loves it and she's very proud of wearing it although she hasn't announced anything about it,' they added. The insider also hinted that their potential wedding could be a star-studded affair, with Premier League players and glamorous WAGs in attendance. Phil and Rebecca have been childhood sweethearts since their teenage years after meeting at a party. They are parents to three children. She gave birth to their third child in June, with Phil flying back from the Euros to be by her side in the delivery room. Phil and Rebecca welcomed their first child, Ronnie, in 2019, followed by their daughter, True, in 2021.

Rangers 1-3 Club Brugge: What Martin said

BBC News

29 minutes ago

BBC News

Rangers 1-3 Club Brugge: What Martin said

Rangers head coach Russell Martin: "We gave them a goal with the first kick of the game in our half."We concede a crazy goal and don't respond to it anywhere near as well enough as we should and then we concede a goal we shouldn't - we don't do our jobs from our set play, which is really frustrating."Then it becomes so difficult and we make decisions based on desperation, anxiety, jump around when we shouldn't."So the gameplan went out the window, and we needed a moment to calm down, refocus and reassess."The lads showed amazing resilience in the second half and the tie is still open and the players really feel that."Some of the guys have had a tough start here, and the way they played tonight they'll grow so much. Now we're going to be the ones chasing and hunting."

BBC News

29 minutes ago

BBC News

Rangers 1-3 Club Brugge: Have your say

A disastrous opening 20 minutes left Rangers' hopes of Champions League qualification hanging by a thread, as a clinical Club Brugge side tormented the hosts inside a seething fans, what did you make of your side's performance? Can you still qualify for the Champions League? Does Russell Martin have to change his tactics?Give us your thoughts the match report here.