How Luton Town stopped the slump: Matt Bloomfield reveals the turning point for the Hatters, the one thing they refuse to discuss and what's new this summer as they target rapid return to Championship
But two days after the drop was confirmed, boss Matt Bloomfield walked into a room with chairman Gary Sweet, assistant manager Richard Thomas and operations chief James Mooney – and told them there was no point in looking back. From here, the only way is up.
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The Independent
a minute ago
- The Independent
Ruben Amorim's past and present collide with Gyokeres vs Sesko battle
Ruben Amorim has spent £200m on a new forward line. He will see the player who may be the greatest advertisement for his management on the pitch on Sunday. Just not in a Manchester United shirt. Amorim's alchemy is not apparent in Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo or Matheus Cunha. Not yet, anyway. But a reunion with the Arsenal debutant Viktor Gyokeres provides a comparison with Sesko, the striker he did purchase this summer. For both clubs, really, given that Arsenal's choice boiled down to the Slovenian and the Swede. They opted for the man transformed into one of Europe's hottest properties by Amorim. For United, it is an assessment of a centre-forward who has spent a week working with Amorim against one who had 16 months under his tutelage. Gyokeres scored 65 goals for the Portuguese coach in a season and a third at Sporting CP. Without that, Sesko's bow at Old Trafford on Sunday could have been for Arsenal. It wasn't a direct choice between the two for United. Amorim admires Gyokeres but they always felt his preference was to go to Arsenal. They concentrated on attainable targets. And so, instead of briefing Bruno Fernandes on how to find Gyokeres, Amorim will be using his knowledge of the striker to try and prepare Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro and co to stop him. Gyokeres is the senior figure: 27 years old to Sesko's 22, with six seasons on the books of English clubs to none. But no Premier League appearances: his only games for Brighton came in the cups. He was loaned to Swansea and Coventry, before being sold to the latter. He scored 22 goals in his last season in the Midlands. And then, transformed by Amorim, 97 in 102 games for Sporting. Amorim preferred to credit the club for the inspired decision to buy Gyokeres; indeed recruitment was headed by Hugo Viana, now Manchester City's director of football. 'In Sporting they have a very good group of scouting because they live from that, from the players they can buy and sell to survive,' he explained. Yet if he thinks the Premier League poses a new challenge for arrivals from both Germany and Portugal – 'it is a different league, the physicality is different,' he said – he alluded to Arsenal's longstanding lack of a genuine No 9 or prolific goalscorer. 'He is a very good player. He is going to give [them] different characteristics. It is going be different if it is Viktor or [Kai] Havertz [in attack] so we need to be prepared for that but it is not a surprise to see Viktor at a big club in England.' Or Sesko, given Arsenal's lengthy pursuit of him and Newcastle's bid for him. If the price RB Leipzig had long quoted, of €100m, was off-putting, it was notable that Arsenal got Gyokeres cheaper, at £54m, than United acquired Sesko, for an initial £66.3m. Add-ons could take the deal to £73.7m, or €85m. It makes him costlier even than Cunha and Mbeumo. Amorim did not shy away from the size of the fee. And yet, if Gyokeres is bought to be the finished article, Sesko is a work in progress. 'He's going to learn but he has great potential,' Amorim said. 'I can see Ben being a striker for Manchester United for a lot of years. That is why we pay so much money to have a striker that will have his history in our club.' Sesko could be United's No 9 for a decade. Yet the same was said two years ago of Rasmus Hojlund. Now he may be farmed out on loan to AC Milan. The Dane, a £72m buy, went unused in last week's friendly against Fiorentina when Mason Mount played as a false nine. Hojlund's form was mixed before Amorim's arrival but he delivered far more for Erik ten Hag. If Gyokeres is the advertisement for the Portuguese's management, Hojlund is the indictment of it. Amorim could have cited Gyokeres in his sales pitch to Sesko; he presumably did not mention Hojlund. For now, however, United can concentrate on Sesko. First impressions have been positive. 'He is always thinking about football, he's really obsessed about that and that is a good thing,' smiled Amorim. 'You don't have to think about that aspect with that young guy. I don't need to tell Ben: 'Ben, this is Manchester United, a lot of pressure, you have to perform, you need to be ready for the physicality…' With that guy I don't have that concern. I have the opposite: enjoy [it] a little bit.' United hope they will enjoy Sesko's stay; his history, as Amorim put it. If a player who scored 13 league goals last season is one for the future, a man who got 39 is bought for the here and now, for a title challenge. 'I can only say how happy we are to have him,' said Arteta of Gyokeres. 'He is going to have a tremendous impact in the team and his adaptation has been really, really good. It's for us creating the right context for Viktor to do what he does the best, which is to score goals.' And in large numbers. For the forward Arsenal could have signed and the attacker they did, a debut goal would feel auspicious. It has been the summer of the striking buy in the Premier League. Amorim shaped one and signed another. And on Sunday, he could be harmed by his past or revelling in his present.
The Independent
a minute ago
- The Independent
Man Utd vs Arsenal prediction, team news & bet builder tips
Both teams to score and Manchester United to win - 6/1 Bet365 Bryan Mbuemo to score - 17/5 BetVictor Manchester United kick off their Premier League season on Sunday, taking on Arsenal in the late kick-off, as they look to make a huge improvement on last season. The Red Devils, who have won the title 20 times, finished 15th in May, 32 points behind Sunday's opponents and 42 behind the Champions Liverpool, which is the same as the number of points they picked up from their 38 games. Boss Ruben Amorim only took charge in November, and it was anything but a dream start to life at Old Trafford, winning just 16 of his 42 games in charge, but after spending just shy of £200m, he will be confident of a huge improvement this time around. The Gunners would also love an improvement on their league position after finishing as runners-up for the last three seasons; the last time they bettered that was back in 2003/04, when they won the last of their 13 league titles. United have actually been champions more recently, winning their last title back in 2012/13. Mikel Arteta has spent a similar amount as Amorim, bringing in five players, including strikers Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres, who he hopes can take them to the next step. Gyokeres was long linked with a move to Old Trafford to link up with his former Sporting manager, but instead, after scoring 57 goals in 49 appearances last season, he joined Arsenal for £64m. Man Utd vs Arsenal tips: United to get off to a flying start According to the Premier League winner odds, Arsenal are second favourites behind Liverpool, while United are fifth in the betting behind City and Chelsea. You can also get 15/4 on United finishing in the Premier League top four odds, while the Gunners are 1/5. The first game of the season is always hard to predict, but this is the perfect fixture for both sides to see where they're at. United have lost just two of their last 18 home league games against Arsenal, winning 10 and drawing six; however, both of those defeats have occurred since Arteta took charge. A win on Sunday would be the Reds' 100th over Arsenal in all competitions. They have met 243 times with United winning 99, Arsenal 89 and 55 draws, and a victory this weekend would make them the first ever team to beat Arsenal 100 times. Football betting sites have installed Arsenal as favourites, while United are home underdogs in the latest Premier League odds. The visitors have scored in each of their last 11 away league games at Old Trafford, which could make a compelling case for targeting a score draw. An even bolder bet would be to take the 6/1 odds on both teams to score and United to win. United's biggest issue last season was scoring goals with just 44 league goals but the signing of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko should certainly fix that problem. Man Utd vs Arsenal betting: Mbeumo to shine on debut Former Brentford striker Mbeumo scored the first goal in 10 different games last season, on his way to scoring 21 goals for club and country, including against Arsenal in a 3-1 defeat. He also scored in the first minute in two consecutive games against Tottenham and West Ham, and he would no doubt love to get his United career off to a flying start. Betting sites are offering 10/1 on him doing it again on Sunday, you can also get 11/1 on him scoring last, but we like the price for him to score anytime on his Old Trafford bow. Man Utd vs Arsenal prediction 2: Bryan Mbuemo to score anytime - 17/5 BetVictor Man Utd vs Arsenal team news Man Utd vs Arsenal betting offers Betfred are offering existing customers the chance to claim £10 in free bets after placing a £10 bet builder on Man Utd vs Arsenal or any Premier League match across the opening weekend of the season. To qualify bettors must opt-in on the promotion before placing a £10 bet builder before kick-off on your selected game. Your bet builder must contain three selections or more and odds of 3/1 or greater. Once your qualifying wager has settled, your account will be credited with a £10 free bet to use on a bet builder. Free bets are active until 11.59pm on August 23. Please gamble responsibly When having a bet, it's vital to practice responsible gambling. Betting can be addictive and it's important to stay in control of your betting. Never treat gambling as a way to make money, never bet more than you can afford and when the fun stops, stop. Gambling sites offer punters tools, like deposit limits, profit and loss trackers and self-exclusion options, to help them stay in control. But if you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don't hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below.
The Sun
2 minutes ago
- The Sun
Wayne Rooney launches new side hustle as Man Utd legend and BBC pundit releases statement
WAYNE ROONEY has celebrated the launch of a new post-playing side hustle. The Manchester United and England legend delved into the punditry and management worlds after bringing the curtain down on his glittering playing career. 3 3 But Wazza can now officially call himself a podcaster after teaming up with the BBC to launch 'The Wayne Rooney Show.' The 39-year-old and his wife, Colleen, celebrated the launch of his new venture on Friday at a special BBC event. Rooney proudly posted a snap of himself with his other half at the shindig to his Instagram late last night. His accompanying caption read: "Great event last night celebrating the start of a new football season with @bbcsport and the launch of my new podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show! "Episode 1 is out now, available on @bbciplayer, @bbcsport YouTube, and @bbcsounds." Rooney talked about his ill-fated spell in charge of Birmingham City, who he managed for just 83 days, in the first episode of his new show. And he didn't mince his words when talking about the viral clip of Blues minority owner Tom Brad y questioning his "work ethic". He said: "I think Tom came in once, which was the day before a game where the days are a little bit lighter anyway. Wayne Rooney's record-breaking career WAYNE Rooney took the football world by storm when he made his debut for 2002 with Everton. He quickly became the club's youngest-ever goalscorer aged 16 years and 342 days and was named the BBC's Young Sports Personality of the Year. The striker joined Manchester United in 2004 and spent 13 years at Old Trafford. He went on to make 559 appearances for the Red Devils and scored 253 goals. To this day he is still the club's all-time leading goalscorer. Following his spell with United, Rooney returned to Everton for a season. He also spent one-season stints with D.C. United and Derby County at the end of his career. As well as his impressive club career, Rooney is also England's second-highest goalscorer with 53 goals in 120 appearances, behind only Harry Kane. After hanging up his boots, the England icon turned to a career in management. He took charge of Derby County in 2020 and managed to just about save the club from relegation from the Championship at the end of his first season. However, with Derby handed a 21-point deduction the following campaign, he was unable to keep them up again and subsequently left. Then came a 15-month spell in charge of MLS side D.C. United. He failed to impress during his time in Washington and parted ways with the club at the end of the 2023 regular season. Rooney was controversially handed the Birmingham job in October 2023, replacing John Eustace with the club doing well and sixth in the Championship table. However, in 15 games he suffered nine defeats and managed just two wins. He was sacked in January 2024 with Birmingham down in 20th. The club were relegated to League One at the end of the campaign. He returned to management in May with Plymouth Argyle but managed just five wins in 25 games. The United legend now finds himself out of work once again. "And I don't think he really understood football that well. "But what he does understand is, he's a hard worker, we know that." He added: "Listen, I respect Tom Brady massively. "He's one of the greatest, if not the greatest athletes of all time and Birmingham do look like they're getting it right now, which is good. "And I think what they have done is got the players out that they needed to get out."
