Nothing can match Test cricket's ability to delight and then infuriate
The Daily Mirror had sent a chap along, an experienced sports reporter, but not what one would call a cricket aficionado. He turned up in a mac with a cloth cap, rolled his own fags in the days when you could still smoke in a press box. If I picture him now, he looks a bit like Andy Capp. He peered out through the downpour-streaked windows, the rain close to bouncing. 'What they come off for?' he asked. 'Tha' play in worse than this in Burnley.'
Well, that's how I remember it, anyway. And on days like this at the Oval, I think I know how he felt. One imagines so did everyone else traipsing towards the exit beneath what appeared to be clearing skies just after 6pm. It was as if some killjoy had come in and changed the channel as you were about to find out what the hell was going on after two seasons of Severance. Stumps? What do you mean stumps? I was watching that. Look, pal, they play in worse than this in Burnley.
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The Guardian
14 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Will Hearts' army of data nerds back up Tony Bloom's title talk?
Despite the Scottish Premiership title race being more predictable than Football Daily at a bottomless brunch, fitba has never been short of drama. Who can forget Ross County deleting their own website, Kirk Broadfoot suffering facial burns after microwaving an egg and former Hearts manager Robbie Neilson trying to give journalists the slip as he left the club's training ground by sending out a decoy (sports scientist John Hill) to the car park in a Robbie Neilson mask. Edinburgh, very much the second city in Scotland when it comes to football, still has one of the game's finest rivalries between two grand old clubs, Hearts and Hibernian. Each have had their moments in recent derbies: last year Hearts' Lawrence Shankland celebrated scoring a penalty by catching and eating a pie thrown by a Hibs supporter. In March, Jack Iredale scored a screamer to win the derby for Hibs. The post-match celebrations at Easter Road featured one of the finest ever renditions of Sunshine on Leith, a song sung with so much feeling that it left some Hibs players in tears. And who can blame them? If you get goosebumps watching that song, imagine what it must be like to come from that corner of Scotland, stand on that terrace and sing those lyrics in front of your victorious team. Magic. The point is, fitba is far greater than just Rangers and Celtic. And this is very much the opinion of Tony Bloom, the owner of Brighton who bought a 29% stake in Hearts this summer for £9.86m. Following the club's opening win over Aberdeen – a 2-0 victory that leaves the Jambos top of the Premiership table – Bloom was in a bullish mood as he faced the media, explaining that he thinks Hearts can challenge for glory. 'If we have not won the league title in the next 10 years, I will be very disappointed,' Bloom stated. 'I want to make sure that we are in the talk to win the title at the start of each season.' We have heard this sort of patter before, a new owner coming in and telling a club's supporters what they want to hear. The difference is, Bloom has a track record of using his army of data nerds and analytics gurus to drastically improve clubs with savvy recruitment. Brighton are now one of the best run clubs in England, while Union Saint-Gilloise, who were bottom of Belgium's second tier when the Englishman took over in 2018, won the Belgian top flight a few months ago for the first time in 90 years and are in Bigger Cup. The last time a club that wasn't called Celtic or Rangers won the Scottish Premiership was 1985 and the last time Hearts won it was 65 years ago, but Bloom seems untroubled. 'I understand there will be a lot of Celtic and Rangers fans, maybe Hibs and Aberdeen fans, who will be laughing and saying 'we've heard it all before',' he blathered. 'I just thought there was an opportunity here to shake things up in Scotland. I think we've got a very good chance of at least being second this season. I've just got a lot more confidence of what Hearts can do compared to when I did my first press conference at Union seven years ago.' Bloom has wasted no time in bringing in a new striker, Cláudio Braga, who (very much in the Brighton ilk) was signed from Norwegian second-division side FK Aalesunds for around £400,000. The Portuguese bagged four goals in five pre-season matches – including one in a 3-0 win over Premier League Sunderland – and already has a chant among the Tynecastle faithful: 'All we need is … Cláudio Braga,' set to the tune of the Queen classic. Sunshine on Leith it is not, but Hearts fans will be getting goosebumps regardless. A couple of friends had come over to see me, we were chatting, and suddenly they said they couldn't understand what I was saying. My speech was slurring. I had gone for a walk that morning and felt wobbly, just very lethargic. I was sapped of any energy and a couple of times I felt as though I might stumble but I didn't' – in an extract from a new book, the former Portsmouth, Leeds and Exeter defender Noel Blake talks about the emotional and physical battle of recovering from a stroke. Celta Vigo signing Athletic Bilbao youngster Luis Bilbao and signing Bryan Zaragoza are yet more disappointing nails in coffin of nominative determinism. Now, it's just me and a lad I knew at school called Gareth Thickett who failed all his exams that are keeping up the good fight …' – Noble Francis. I rarely agree with Dr Tottenham, but he's right … it will be greatly appreciated when he leaves' – Chris Brown. If you have any, please send letters to Today's winner of our letter o' the day is … Chris Brown, who lands some Football Weekly merch. Terms and conditions for our competitions are here. Our man David Squires veers away from football this week to tell the story of his boxing forebear who died on the Titanic. It's well worth your time. On Thursday 11 September, join Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning and a host of your other Football Weekly favourites live on stage for an evening of unfiltered football punditry at Troxy in London and livestreamed globally. Book now. Football stardom is a young person's game these days. As in: very young. The stars of the future have social media disgrace presences way before they can apply for a provisional driving licence – all part of the career plan. And these young ballers recognise ball, to use a phrase we're decades too old to carry off. Judging by Monday night's showing against Athletic Bilbao, Rio Ngumoha is a kid for Liverpool fans to get VERY excited about, capping it with a beautiful goal. He's only 16, and his performance was hailed by Max Dowman, Arsenal's heir apparent, still just 15 but of whom huge things are expected. 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And in other Old Trafford news, the 1958 fans' group will protest against the club's ownership in the opening game of the Premier League season against Arsenal by displaying a banner that could have done with a taste test. It reads: 'Jim Can't Fix This'. Rangers have completed the signing of Go Ahead Eagles winger Oliver Antman on a four-year deal. Celtic have completed the signing of Steven Kangtheconqueror on a four-year deal. Meanwhile, yogi guru Russell Martin insists his scathing assessment of Rangers' players after the draw at Motherwell came from a place of love, man. 'I think if they know us by now as a group of coaching staff, that it all comes from [that] place … really, and [we] care for them,' he ommed. 'They're good people, but the default is to try and protect yourself when it gets tough.' And expect some Hollywood-style long-range passing at Wrexham next season, after Kieffer Moore checked in on a three-year deal from Sheffield United for around £2m. 'I'm over the moon,' yelped the Wales striker. The latest edition of our sister email is here on the Big Cup winner, Marco Simone, and his grand ambitions for a new women's club in Monaco. Jonathan Wilson declares the utter pointlessness of deriving any conclusions from pre-season while, er, deriving some conclusions from pre-season. As Xabi Alonso enters his first Liga season as Real Madrid coach, Coralie Salle hears from those who worked with him when he was dishing out the cones as coach of Real Sociedad's B team. A local affair but an international one too, will take place when Malmö meet FC Copenhagen in Tuesday's all-Scandi Bigger Cup clash. Billy Munday bridges the great divide. Big Website's Premier League pre-season preview series continues with Bournemouth and Brentford, two clubs shorn of key personnel by the bigger boys. And come and get your latest transfer rumours, right here! 4 July 1995: Liverpool moving for the hottest striker in English football is a familiar story. Back in 1995, they got their man in Nottingham Forest's Stan Collymore, seen here with manager Roy Evans after a whopping £8.5m transfer. Stan the Man got off to a decent start with a cracking goal against Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day of the 1995-96 season, before forming a deadly partnership with Robbie Fowler, sharing 55 goals. It was a Collymore goal that decided the following April's all-time 4-3 classic with Newcastle but that Liverpool team never achieved its potential. Wearing white suits as losing FA Cup finalists and some tabloid-splashed big nights out led to their Spice Boys tag. Meanwhile, Collymore's form began drifting. The rapid rise of Michael Owen meant he was sold to Aston Villa, his boyhood idols, for £7m, Liverpool never quite enjoying the best of his huge potential.
Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The 2025 Community Shield will NOT be shown on free-to-air TV as FA confirm new broadcaster for season curtain raiser after ITV lose rights
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The Sun
14 minutes ago
- The Sun
Hidden secrets of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from Harry Kane's mega-box to Daniel Levy's biggest regret
TOTTENHAM opened their incredible stadium in April 2019. But many fans still don't know about several of the £1bn structure's remarkable features. 20 20 During the latest episode of The Overlap, brought to you by SkyBet, chairman Daniel Levy showed Gary Neville around Spurs' plush home. Neville, 50, was left in awe several times by the ingenious stadium. From a micro-brewery on site to links with Tottenham's famous past, no stone was left unturned as the Lilywhites built their new home. Here, SunSport takes a look around arguably the Premier League's best stadium. Kane's mega-box During his conversation with Neville, Levy was keen to show off Tottenham's plush VIP lounges. And where better to start than the one previously occupied by the club's all-time leading goalscorer prior to his £100million switch to Bayern Munich two years ago - complete with stunning kitchen, comfortable seats and an incredible view. Levy said: "This used to be Harry Kane 's box." BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 20 20 20 "I just got them a couple of seats in the main stand, wow! Harry's got a bigger kitchen than I've got at home in his box. "I've never been in one of these before and it's absolutely incredible." Daniel Levy says he'll get the credit he deserves when he leaves Tottenham in rare interview Levy's biggest regret During Neville's tour of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the former Manchester United star realised just what a hands on approach Levy had taken in the project. While standing in the 17,500-capacity South Stand, Neville couldn't help but cheekily ask if there was anything Levy would have liked to have done differently, with hindsight. Levy, 63, beamed as he said: "There's a couple of pillars that I wish weren't there at the moment. "Pillars when you drive in under the stadium, it's a bit tight." 20 20 Retractable pitch Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is not just used for football. Since opening, the venue has also been used for NFL games, rugby matches and several concerts, including the likes of Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga. Asked about how the surface "transforms" for different events, Levy revealed: "Underneath all the protective measures on the pitch is actually the NFL pitch. "There's an artificial pitch there. Then above this would be the grass pitch, and when we're in concert mode or NFL mode, the grass pitch goes under the famous South Stand. "It can stay there for up to 10-14 days. It has ventilation, irrigation, special mowers - so it's pretty unique piece of kit." 20 20 Hidden F1 track In addition to the NFL, Tottenham have also partnered with Formula 1. Located beneath the South Stand is an F1-branded go-karting track. The nifty feature has become a popular attraction within London. Levy said: "When the grass pitch is here, that's a Formula 1 track, for go-karting." 20 Amazing art gallery Tottenham boast the largest club shop in Europe, standing at 23,000 square feet. Within it is a 400-year-old listed building, which the club have restored and turned into an art gallery. Showing Neville around, Levy said: "There's a very old building called Warmington House. It's about 400 years old. Yep [it's listed]. "We had to keep it, we restored it... and it's now an art gallery. It's a beautiful building that we've completely restored." Neville was left in awe of the structure, replying: "It's brilliant. I love the integration of the old brick with the modern glass look." 20 20 20 Pieces of history At the very start of Neville's tour, Levy proudly showed off a link with Tottenham's past. The Spurs chairman said: "Do you know about this floor? This is the old stadium." As Neville said "Oh wow," Levy continued: "All crushed. We wanted to have a link with the old, White Hart Lane and the history. "It's literally crushed concrete and smoothed afterwards." Within the South Stand concourse, there is also a plaque on the floor, marking where the centre spot within the old White Hart Lane used to be. 20 20 Borussia Dortmund-inspired stand The 17,500-capacity South Stand is Tottenham Hotspur Stadium's most obvious landmark. Levy takes great pride in the uniqueness of Tottenham's home - but does give credit to another club for the brilliant single-tiered stand. On inspiration for the new stadium, Levy said: "I wouldn't say there was one stadium that we said 'we need it to be like this'. "I think Dortmund in terms of our South Stand, the Yellow Wall. That's where we got the South Stand idea from." 20 20 Incredible dressing room In contract to White Hart Lane's more old school dressing rooms, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium features huge, plush modern changing areas. In awe, Neville said: "Dressing rooms never cease to amaze me now, how good they are. "Wow. I remember the old White Hart Lane changing rooms." When Levy said the new dressing rooms were a "bit different" from the old, Neville laughed as he said: "Just a bit!" The inner bowels of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium also feature huge NFL dressing rooms. Much bigger than the football changing areas, due to the size of NFL rosters, the larger dressing rooms came in handy during Covid, giving players an opportunity to social distance on matchday. 20 Beer brewed on site Tottenham partnered with Molson Coors last month, confirming that Coors, Madri, Rekorderlig and Cobra will be on the menu at home games next season, as well as Pravha. Fans will still be able to get Beavertown products, brewed especially on site. Showing Neville the micro-brewery, located between the South and East Stands, Levy explained: "We're very conscious with what we do with the local community. "One of our ideas was to have a craft beer, so we teamed up with a company called Beavertown, which was a craft beer company that was based locally. "We then said to them that we would like to brew our own beer in the stadium. So this is our brewery, in a joint-venture with Beavertown." When Neville asked if Spurs had bought into Beavertown, Levy said: "We didn't buy into it... unfortunately" At this point both men laughed as Levy rued the missed opportunity. The Tottenham chief then added: "But we did a joint-venture, in terms of all the beer sold in the stadium." 20
