
Ryan Reynolds pays tribute after death of Joey Jones
Hollywood A-lister Reynolds posted a picture on Instagram of himself and fellow co-owner Rob McElhenney alongside Jones.
'I'm really glad I got to spend time with you,' wrote Reynolds, who completed his takeover of the club with McElhenney in 2021.
'Thanks for the stories. Condolences to his family, friends and Mickey (Thomas, Jones' close friend and former Wrexham team-mate). Rest up, Joey. Big second half coming up.'
Jones, who was capped 72 times by Wales, began his career with Wrexham in 1973 before moving to Liverpool, where he won two European Cups and a league title, two years later.
He returned to play at the Racecourse Ground between 1978 and 1982 and then ended his career with the club – from 1987 to 1992 – following stints with Chelsea and Huddersfield.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mirror
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Arsenal sent clear Viktor Gyokeres transfer warning ahead of imminent arrival
Arsenal are expecting to announce the signing of Viktor Gyokeres in the coming days after finally agreeing a deal with Sporting Lisbon worth around £63m - with a medical set for the weekend Arsenal legend Sol Campbell has warned that Viktor Gyokeres might not be enough to help the Gunners win the Premier League title and believes they might need two top strikers to battle Liverpool. Gyokeres is on the verge of finally sealing his long-awaited move to the Emirates after talks with Sporting Lisbon dragged on for much of the summer. Arsenal have agreed to pay the Portuguese club around £54.8million, plus £8.7m in add-ons and the Sweden international is expected to undergo a medical this weekend ahead of joining his team-mates on their pre-season tour of Singapore. The Gunners will be hopeful Gyokeres can fire the team to silverware after five years without a trophy, having been blown away by Liverpool last season without a recognised No 9 up front for much of the campaign. But Campbell - who won two Premier League titles at Arsenal and three FA Cups - has insisted that two strikers are necessary in case Gyokeres becomes injured. Last season, Liverpool won the title with Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, while Mohamed Salah scored the bulk of the goals from the wing. "You need two strikers to trouble other teams," he told the Sun via BetSelect. "You can't always rely on just one striker as if he gets injured, the team's performance drops. So it's important to have a main one and have another really good backup. Sometimes they can play together, sometimes one's on the bench and the other comes on. "It can be good to get a slightly older one who's been there, seen it, and done it, and can come on when you need something to happen for 20 minutes, but they're top, top quality. "If you pick the second striker properly, they can come on to make a difference. That's something you have to do. So if they do get two strikers, they could definitely become champions. "That's the type of player who has been missing, somebody who has scored 20-25 goals just in the league. It's okay to say, 'he's got all of these goals in all of these competitions,' but that's not good enough; that's not going to win you the Premier League. You need goals to get you over the line and make up point differences." Gyokeres scored 54 goals in 52 games for Sporting Lisbon last season and is seen as one of the best strikers in world football right now. He is set to become the club's sixth signing of the window after Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Noni Madueke, Christian Norgaard and Cristhian Mosquera. Arsenal, who have handed Gyokeres the iconic number 14 shirt once worn by Thierry Henry, are hoping to fly the player out to Asia soon as they prepare for games against Newcastle and Tottenham.


The Guardian
21 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Wood you believe it? The footballer who made Euro trophy cases on the Wirral
On the Wirral, to the west of Birkenhead and behind a hospital and a Toby Carvery, is Arrowe Park, a 250-acre country park. This is one of the many fields of play for Yana Daniëls, a footballer and a carpenter, and one of the more solitary and spacious. There is something to be said of the similarities between the art of carpentry and Daniels' sport, of the precision born out of graft and execution, although crafted by hand rather than foot. But perhaps more to be said about the balance of life, control and chance. This year Daniëls, who has left Liverpool at the end of her contract and has 45 caps for Belgium, has spent time making her own contribution to Euro 2025. She did not make the Belgium squad to feature in the tournament but instead she has handcrafted the boxes for every player-of-the-match trophy in a converted Wirral garage, with wood from Arrowe Park. Each box is engraved with the matchday number, date and venue, above a proudly printed 'Made by Yana Daniëls'. Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmatí and Chloe Kelly are among those who have been handed them in Switzerland. 'The front lid slides in and out through a groove and the entire box is made from sustainable wood, no hinges or screws,' says Daniëls, who set up her own business a year and a half ago. 'It's 100% sustainable, which is something I care deeply about.' Perhaps more than most footballers, the former Belgium international has had to plan ahead. A decade on from a career-threatening injury, we speak after she has done an intense training session followed by an hour-and-a-half commute back home. 'I realised how quickly things can change, from playing to not having a football job. I think that helped me think about future plans,' says Daniëls, a self-professed 'planning geek' who studied agro-biotechnology at university. 'When you get older you start to realise: 'How long will I play on for? Will I need to find a normal job?' Your body gets tired, the young players come up, and they are really good. You start doubting yourself. You know one day you have to retire. I think that scares a lot of people.' Carpentry was an interest developed through DIY requests for the changing rooms at Liverpool as well as from many teammates. A table for a physio's front room, wall decor for Laura Coombs, placemats for Gilly Flaherty and personalised racks for her teammates' boots were all made, mainly from wood sourced from Arrowe Park. Some days the wood might be from other local parks, and on others, Daniels would get a message from a friend saying: 'Tree chopped down, it's here, come get it.' Across her career Daniels has played in nearly every position and was called 'a manager's dream' by the then Liverpool manager, Matt Beard. Off the pitch, it seems as if the carpentry has helped her. 'Sometimes we are locked in a football world which can be quite brutal,' she says. 'Football is a business. Sometimes, you're just a little number and you can be replaced the next day if they want.' The 33-year-old has had to be resourceful throughout her life. Growing up, she remembers fondly the chalet she holidayed in as a child – handmade with local wood by her parents – as a core memory of creation and comfort. But it has not all been plain sailing. In 2015 she spent six months working as a zookeeper while recovering from a lateral cruciate ligament tear, an injury that kept her sidelined for two years. After the contract with Liverpool ran out this summer, she travelled across eight European countries in a hand-refurbished campervan with her partner and long-time teammate Jasmine Matthews, accompanied by their cockapoo, Alfie. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion The financial reality of women's football is changing but we are witnessing the first generation who can make any kind of living playing the game. Most leave it with little financial security. 'It has changed in the last two or three years; the money is going up. Even an 18-year-old can have a full-time income,' she says. 'We were never able to live that way, so we knew we had to have a backup plan. 'It's a totally different mindset for young players now. They are fully invested in football and that's the only thing they do. But I think it's so important that you don't just focus on football. I think you can get quite isolated.' Daniëls' company, The Woodcycle, has benefited from a development programme that aims to help female players with their careers after retirement. The programme, called The Second Half, has benefited from the collaboration and guidance of people in the game such as Karen Carney and Kim Little. 'It's about having the right team around you,' Daniëls says. 'It's nice that ex-players can prove that you can do so much more than just football. They helped me massively, but I was surprised by the number of people who wanted to help. 'You're quite independent as a footballer, and then you need to share your ideas outside of it. It is hard at the start, but once you open up, there are a lot of people willing to help.'


Daily Mirror
21 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Liverpool boss Arne Slot already commented on Alexander Isak as he asks to leave Newcastle
Arne Slot already thinks highly of Alexander Isak amid Liverpool's chase for the 25-year-old, who recently announced his desire to leave Newcastle Liverpool boss Arne Slot has already admitted he's in awe of Alexander Isak's shooting ability. The Newcastle striker sent shockwaves through English football on Thursday when he went public with his desire to leave the Premier League club after three years. Isak did not travel with Eddie Howe's side on their pre-season tour to Singapore and has had his head turned by interest from the league champions, who made a formal approach to sign him for £120million earlier this month. While the Magpies responded with the familiar line that the Sweden international is not for sale, the striker no longer sees his future with the League Cup winners, with Liverpool the favourites to capture his signature. Some may have thought the Reds' acquisition of Hugo Ekitike for £79million on Wednesday would have meant a deal for Isak was no longer feasible, but that doesn't seem to be the case for Slot, who seems keen to make him his sixth major signing of the summer. The Dutchman has enjoyed a summer of heavy spending with the Reds investing just shy of £300m following their Premier League triumph last season. The number nine position was a weak point for Slot, who opted to use Luis Diaz centrally for much of the season, with Darwin Nunez and the late Diogo Jota unable to find consistency in front of goal. Slot's appreciation for Isak should therefore come as no surprise, especially given the praise he handed the striker, who scored twice against Liverpool last season, after their 3-3 draw at St James' Park last December. Isak opened the scoring with a thunderous strike, which Slot commented on after full-time. He said: "That they are able to score a goal, that's not a surprise for me, and especially the first one, what a finish that was. That shot from Isak, I don't even know if Caoimh [Kelleher] saw that goal, as hard as it was." Liverpool won the return fixture 2-0 in February, and while the Swede was not in the squad, he was still subject to compliments from Slot. "It's an understatement to say that he's in fine form," he said. "I think he's in excellent form. It's the team performance which will help us control him. "The more ball possession we have, the easier it is to control him. Although he's definitely a threat on the counter-attack as well. The good thing for us is that we've got two centre-backs that are probably one of the best players that are able to play against him. "We have two very, very good centre-backs and that's definitely what you need if you face a striker with the quality of Alexander Isak." The striker came back to haunt Liverpool at Wembley when he scored Newcastle's second in their 2-1 win over the Reds in the League Cup final. Despite Isak's preference to leave the club, Newcastle are under little financial pressure to part ways with him, given they remain in line with profit and sustainability rules. The Swede also has a contract that runs until 2028. However, Howe may be wary of the damage that keeping an unhappy player can cause on the morale of the squad and with Premier League football returning in three weeks, a decision on his future must soon be made.