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BBC News
6 minutes ago
- BBC News
Table tennis player to represent England for first time at age 70
A table tennis player will fulfil has lifelong ambition to represent his country - more than 50 years after he first picked up a just turned 70 years old, John Poysden has broken into England's top 10 ranked over-70s began his sporting journey at a club in Rochford and was Southend-on-Sea's number-one ranked men's Poysden said he was "absolutely thrilled" to receive the call-up to the Home Nations Tournament in September. His sporting passion took a back seat as he became a city trader, and had a family, but he retired at 54."I then quite quickly discovered that quite a few things had changed in my 25-year absence, and there was an awful lot to learn," he said."I've never really done things half-heartedly, so I guess I just worked on adapting and improving once again."I thought perhaps I'm in with a chance of selection but to be honest it was more in hope than expectation, so when I received the call-up I was absolutely delighted and felt honoured to be asked." The Home Nations Tournament sees teams compete from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Guernsey and are the reigning champions of Mr Poysden's age bracket, and he will have the chance to retain that title between 5 and 7 September at Nottingham Trent University."I've never been the most naturally talented player. I've got great friends who don't pick up a bat for several months and they just pick up a bat and they've just got hand-eye coordination immediately," he explained."I have to work at my game. I have to practice." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Big Ron Atkinson interview: ‘I saw on Facebook that I'd died!'
A couple of months ago, Ron Atkinson was scrolling through his phone when he happened upon a rather unexpected Facebook posting. It informed him that the renowned former footballer, manager and television pundit Ron Atkinson had died. He was processing this news, when his phone rang. 'It was Dean Saunders,' he recalls of the player he managed at Aston Villa. 'He says to me: 'I see you're dead, boss, but as you used to say to us all the time: 'I'm sure you can run it off'.' And he leans back in his chair and roars with laughter. Indeed, while he might be 86 years old, news of Ron Atkinson's death is more than a little premature. The man forever known as Big Ron is very much still with us, relishing life, finding comedic value in everything, from the origins of his phrase 'lollipop' to describe a step-over, through Joe Royle's behaviour in the sauna, to the Tenerife holiday property he sold for well over the asking price soon after the invasion of Ukraine to a man who sounded suspiciously Russian. 'The estate agent assured us he was from Lithuania,' he smiles. 'I suspect he'd been to Vilnius about as often as I have.' Atkinson is in his home in the Birmingham stockbroker belt. Though these days it is not so much financiers who live thereabouts as footballers. 'It's getting like Cheshire round here,' he says, pointing out of his kitchen window. 'Jack Grealish has a place over there his dad lives in, Ollie Watkins is down the road, Jude Bellingham's built a couple of houses for his family just there.' In the midst of it all, Atkinson's sizeable property is exactly as you might imagine Big Ron's place to be: plush, luxurious, with marble floors and a carpet in the lounge the pile of which is so thick it endangers the ankles just to walk across it. Parked in front of the property are a couple of Mercedes, at the back is his wife Maggie's pride and joy; a magnificent garden, filled with blooms, rolling out into the Worcestershire countryside. As to what his contribution is to the floral abundance, he is succinct. 'Me? I just sit in it.' Atkinson has invited Telegraph Sport to his home to talk about the 40th anniversary of the start of the 1985-86 season when the Manchester United side he managed began at a gallop, winning their first 10 matches. By November 1, still unbeaten, they had accrued 41 points, just a point fewer than United managed in the whole of last season. 'And hey, I tell you what, they were lucky to stay up,' he says of Ruben Amorim's side. 'I once went down with 43 points when I was at [Sheffield] Wednesday.' His United began that season as they had completed the previous one, when they beat an Everton side going for a treble in the FA Cup final with a display of precision and power, driven by Bryan Robson and Norman Whiteside in midfield, with Mark Hughes, Gordon Strachan and Jesper Olsen providing the finishing flourishes. 'There was no telly,' he recalls of the broadcasting dispute which kept the game off the nation's screens for four months as the season began. 'Which was funny because this rumour went round that we were winning every game in style, playing everyone off the park. No we weren't. Yeah, we had a couple of belters, like doing Villa 4-0. But we had more than enough scrappy 1-0s, where we won through battling not skill. Truth was, we were lucky to win 10.' Such fortune was soon used up. It was a start they could not sustain. After losing for the first time at Hillsborough in November, his United fell into a slump that ultimately resulted in a fourth-place finish, well behind the champions Liverpool. At the time much was made of a succession of injuries, particularly to Robson, who missed most of the latter half of the season. 'I'm not going to blame injuries, everyone gets injuries, it's part of football,' he says. 'But we lost Robbo, we lost Olsen, we even had Arthur Albiston out for a bit and he was never injured. The irony is Robbo got injured playing for England. Like Stevie Coppell a couple of years earlier. Never been injured playing for United, gets a career-finishing one playing for England.' While injuries were a factor, though, there was also talk of internal indiscipline. 'People say there was a drinking culture at my United,' he says. 'I tell you what, they couldn't have lived in a drinking competition with Liverpool or Everton. 'You know where they used to drink? In Paddy Crerand's pub. He kept me informed precisely what they were up to. The problem was [Paul] McGrath and Whiteside, when they were injured, the club used them in the hospitality suites. Course everyone was filling their glass. Word spread.' Whatever the cause of the slump, Atkinson's disappointment was profound. He thought, in that autumn flourish, he could become the first United manager to lead them to the title since Matt Busby 20 years previously. Though that, he says, was never the insistence from his employers. 'When I came in, I said to Martin Edwards [the then United chairman] that we had to get the club back into Europe, and we did that every season,' he recalls. 'We had some great nights in Europe. That game against Barcelona [in the European Cup Winners' Cup in March 1984, when his team overturned a 2-0 deficit in the first leg by winning 3-0], that was the greatest noise I've ever heard at a football match. It was this incredible crescendo.' An incredible night at Old Trafford as Man Utd overcome a 2-0 first leg deficit to knock Barcelona out of the European Cup Winners Cup in 84 — When Football Was Better (@FootballInT80s) October 11, 2017 Besides, he says, getting into Europe back then was an achievement in itself. 'In my career, I got in the top four eight times, and never once played in the European Cup. Quite right. It was for the champions. 'I mean, these days you can almost be in the bottom three and qualify for the Champions League, as Spurs proved last season. There are so many clubs in Europe, I see some of the names and I think they've been made up from tiles on the Scrabble board.' For his United, though, there was no Europe that season. English clubs were banned after the Heysel tragedy. All attention was on the league, and Atkinson's failure to win it from a position of such strength ultimately undermined him. 'I organised for Terry Butcher and Kerry Dixon to come in that summer,' he recalls, of trying to rebuild things after the disappointment. 'Everything was sorted, it was a simple matter of getting things signed off by the board. When that didn't happen, I knew it was over for me.' Indeed it was: a year after he had led the league, he was dismissed, to be replaced by a then plain Alex Ferguson. Though he holds no complaints. 'People ask me who was the worst chairman I ever worked under, and there were a few. But I tell you who was the best: Martin Edwards. He was so knowledgeable. And straight. When it was over, it was clean.' He went on to more than a decade of managerial success, winning the League Cup with both Wednesday and Aston Villa, taking Villa to second place [behind Ferguson's United] in the inaugural Premier League. So what was the secret of his success? 'Team building. You want good lads in a team,' he says. 'You don't mind scallywags, but you don't want villains. Scallywags might take the p---, villains are looking to rob you. My philosophy was to make it fun, make them want to come in for training, have the craic, a little razz or two, keep things buoyant.' By his own admission he was not a tactical maestro. Rather, he relied on his man-management skills, fostering a rumbunctious culture around any club he ran. The highlight of his week was five-a-side on a Friday, when he would be at the heart of the action, chivvying, shouting, endlessly mickey–taking. 'I used to love it if a player was carrying a slight knock on a Friday. I'd tell him, you rest ready for Saturday, sit out training. It meant I could join in the five-a-side.' Despite the fun, under Big Ron it was no easy ride. 'I never saw the bad in a player. If he missed a chance I'd always say, at least you were there. When I was a young pro at Oxford, the manager said to me: enthusiasm is free, so use it. I lived by that, always looking at the positive. But I was on them. And yeah, I could be sharp.' How sharp? 'Gordon Strachan said to me the other day: 'You'd last no more than three weeks in management these days if you tried to talk to players like you used to do to us.' Now they'd be saying to me: 'Talk to my agent'. But actually, I'm not sure Strach's right. I think the majority of players today, they'd be happy for a bit of hard talking. They're no different from the players I managed or how I was as a player. They don't want molly-coddling.' So, would he go back? 'People say to me, I bet you'd like to be managing today with all the money they get. Well, we did all right. And I had a great life. Eh, what I always say is this: it was better than working for a living. I did work in a factory, the BSA parts division in Birmingham. The highlight of the day was when one of the girls from the office walked past and we'd all bash the tools against the bench. When that's the best it gets, I tell you what, football is like heaven.' When he left management for the final time, after an inauspicious spell at Nottingham Forest, it was his way with words that forged his next career. He was a brilliant television co-commentator, employing a unique vocabulary that became known as Ron-glish, full of 'early doors' and 'lollipops' and 'giving it eyebrows' at the near post. Where did it all come from? 'Well, when I was a player, the one move I had was a bit of a step-over. The manager at Oxford at the time saw me try it one day and said: 'What are you doing? You look like a steamroller doing a lollipop.' Who knows what he meant. But I liked the phrase and used it ever since.' Language, though, ultimately cost him dear. His wholly uncharacteristic racist rant about Marcel Desailly 20 years ago may have been off air but it was ugly and it brought him down. He was cancelled from mainstream broadcasting, dropped from a column at the Guardian, and lost lucrative commercial contracts. He apologised profusely, did a couple of mea culpa television documentaries, went in the Big Brother house by way of mitigation. But being cowed and down wasn't Ron. He wanted to get back to doing what he had always done: having a laugh. These days he's not lingering over it. This is not a man for regrets. 'Actually I do have one, you know, slight regret,' he says. 'I should never have let Garry Birtles go at United. I know he's had that bad start, not scoring for a year and all that. But that wasn't under me. He did all right for me. I wanted him to stay, but Cloughie [Brian Clough] was in his ear to get him back to Forest. I should have done more to keep him.' These days, after hanging up the microphone on a spell with United's in-house channel MUTV during the pandemic, his involvement in football is now largely on the after-dinner speaking circuit. 'I did an event the other day and there were 11 of us lined up on stage,' he says. 'Roberto Carlos couldn't have bent a free-kick round that wall. It took so long between turns to speak, I could have had a couple of hours' kip.' When he is not on the circuit, he watches football on the television. Though he wonders whether there might be too much these days. 'You ask me which pundits I like, well I used to like Souey [Graeme Souness], but he's gone now. Not sure who out of the current lot I'd make an appointment to listen to. The trouble is, there's so much football on the telly now, nothing stands out.' Still, he watches enough to have opinions, not least of his old club United. 'What would I do if I were in charge there? Well, they could have resolved a lot of stuff by signing a decent striker. They paper over so many cracks. I'd have got Harry Kane. I know they say [Spurs chairman Daniel] Levy wanted £100m for him. OK, so pay £120m. With him up front, the midfield would have known who to pass to, the defence would have played better. Goalscorers make everything better.' As for who he enjoys watching these days, he is unequivocal. 'I love Bruno Fernandes. He's some player. People don't half moan about him, say he doesn't tackle and that. But he's not there to tackle. And I tell you what, if he'd been in that City side, he'd have been as effective as [Kevin] De Bruyne. Yeah, people say he moans at his team-mates. But I don't blame him – some of those he has to play with.' He shakes his head in silent disdain. This is what he can't understand: players who aren't up for the scrap, who don't acknowledge their privilege and fight for it. His own competitive instincts have always been ridiculously strong. When he's not watching the game these days, he likes to freshen them on the golf course. 'Am I still competitive? I was playing golf yesterday with some lads, fell out of the cart and did my elbow, blood everywhere. They're all going: 'Come on Ron, better stop, get to the hospital'. I'm going: 'You only want me to stop so you can win. Let's play on here, shall we?'' It was the love of competition, he says, that always drove him. 'When I was on the touchline I wanted to kill the other manager. But after the game, it was back in my office, mates together and we'd have such a laugh.' He tells a story about how after one match, he was in an intense debate with Joe Royle, who was Everton manager at the time. Ron decided he needed to continue his standard post-match routine, stripped off and headed into the sauna. 'Joe followed me in, sat down alongside me and carried on talking. Only he was still dressed in his suit,' he roars with laughter. It is but one of dozens of anecdotes about his friends and rivals in the game. The sad thing is so many of them – Terry Venables, Jack Charlton, his brother Bobby – have gone, many with dementia. So does he fear that threat himself? 'Did I tell you the story of Joe Royle and the sauna?' he says, by way of an answer, before winking and cackling once more. 'Well, you know, what can you do? It happens or it doesn't. You just have to live life. And I'm loving it.'
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Sunday's briefing: Eddie Howe frustrated by Isak saga as Wilson joins Hammers
Speculation over the future of Alexander Isak at Newcastle rumbles on, while West Ham have signed former Magpies striker Callum Wilson. In Scotland, the William Hill Premiership is under way. Howe frustrated by Isak saga Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has admitted the situation surrounding unsettled striker Alexander Isak is 'far from ideal'. The Magpies rejected a £110million bid for the Sweden international on Friday from Liverpool, who recently beat them to the signing of Eintracht Frankfurt frontman Hugo Ekitike. The 25-year-old did not travel to Asia for Newcastle's pre-season tour due to what the club called a 'minor thigh injury', only for talk of his unhappiness to emerge. Howe said: 'I don't really know what is going to happen next. The situation is far from ideal and it is quite complex.' Newcastle, meanwhile, have signed Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale on a season-long loan with an option to buy and reportedly made a £65.4m bid for RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko. Wilson joins Hammers West Ham have signed Callum Wilson on a one-year contract following his release by Newcastle. The 33-year-old former Bournemouth striker scored 49 goals in 130 appearances in five years for the Magpies. Wilson said: 'I'm excited to be joining a massive football club like West Ham.' Holloway angered by fan behaviour Swindon boss Ian Holloway said he was 'absolutely disgusted' after a fan allegedly threw part of a seat at rival goalkeeper Myles Roberts in a tense 2-1 defeat at 10-man Walsall. The flashpoint occurred in stoppage time, shortly after Connor Barrett scored what proved the winner for the 10-man Saddlers in the Sky Bet League Two opener. Holloway added: 'Whoever you are, you should be ashamed of yourself. I am going to hunt you down and find you.' Opening day frustration for Rangers Rangers slipped at the starting line of their William Hill Premiership campaign as Motherwell hit back for a 1-1 draw at Fir Park. Gers skipper James Tavernier headed in from a corner in the 14th minute but Russell Martin's side never found any rhythm and Emmanuel Longelo drove in an equaliser three minutes from time. Newly-promoted Livingston came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Kilmarnock, who paid a heavy price for the sending-off of George Stanger. What's on today? Scottish champions Celtic begin their bid for a 14th title in 15 seasons as they host St Mirren. There are two other games in the SPL with promoted Falkirk taking on Dundee United and Dundee facing Hibernian.
