Latest news with #Championship.
BBC News
04-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Leeds chairman backs manager Farke
Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe says he has "ended speculation" over the future of manager Daniel Farke by confirming the German is "my man".The Whites secured promotion back to the Premier League two weeks ago and won the Championship title with a 2-1 victory at Plymouth on their stellar campaign, which saw them reach 100 points, there were some reports the club were considering changing manager in the summer."I'm very excited to run it back with Daniel and collaborate with him," Marathe told BBC Radio Leeds."I'm under no illusions that it is going to be easy. The past two seasons the three promoted teams came straight back down but we have something they don't have, we have Daniel Farke first of all."Asked whether he had ended the question marks over the manager, Marathe responded: "I have ended the speculation. He is my man."This season's title was the third time that Farke, who has two years left on his contract, has finished top of the second tier, having previously twice finished top with has found life in the Premier League far tougher though, with his only full season at that level ending with a bottom-placed finish, before he was sacked in November of his second campaign in the top flight with Norwich in the relegation had said previously that Farke had not been given the financial backing required to compete before, and that would not be the case this time."Together we are going to build the best squad we can, with every penny we are allowed to spend to be competitive in the Premier League," the American said."We are going to attack the transfer market and it's something I'm really excited about." Farke a 'calming force' Leeds secured the title thanks to a run of five successive wins - after a run of just one victory in their previous six praised Farke's temperament in guiding the club back up to the top flight after two seasons in the Championship."He is such a calming force - presence would be an understatement," Marathe said."He really has a superpower that way. He told you all he was 100% confident we were going to the Prem after the draw with Swansea, and he believed it and I love him for it."He has that conviction and belief and I told him privately that I was looking forward to moving forward together, but I didn't feel like it was my time to speak because someone wanted to put out a rumour."
The Irish Sun
29-04-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Barcelona ‘ready to grant Marcus Rashford's transfer dream' – but WON'T pay fee Aston Villa agreed with Man Utd
MARCUS RASHFORD is a summer transfer target for Barcelona - but they're not prepared to pay £40million. The Catalan giants are ready to grant the 2 Marcus Rashford is a summer target for Barcelona Credit: Rex Rashford, 27, is currently on loan at Aston Villa after falling out of favour under United boss The But his resurgence has been cut short by a The issue is not thought to require surgery, with Rashford READ MORE ON FOOTBALL Villa were given a But they will haggle over the fee and are "unwilling to pay the £40m price" agreed with Villa. Barcelona were Most read in Football BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK The report indicates the forward would be "willing to take a pay cut" to move to LaLiga. And Rashford is desperate to play for a club in the Champions League next season. Gary Neville reveals fear with Liverpool to become most successful English team ever A return to United looks less likely, with Amorim already sounding out replacements. Reports suggest United are also keen on Ipswich striker Liam Delap, who can leave the Tractor Boys for £30m after their relegation to the Championship. United gaffer 2 Speaking last week, Amorim said: "We lack a lot of things in the team. 'In January we lost, and you are talking about Rashford and Antony, we lost these players. "And we didn't bring new ones, that was a risk. We are trying to do something more important. 'But I think that there are things here that are more important than to score 10 more goals this season."
BBC News
28-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'The best equipped to come back up'
The Telegraph's Luke Edwards speaks highly of Ipswich Town on BBC Radio 5 Live'sFootball Daily podcast after their relegation to the Championship was confirmed."They have had a good go at it," said Edwards. "They have been the best performing of the newly promoted teams, but there was a bit of naivety in the style that they wanted to play."They came up short but I like Kieran McKenna and the way that he talks. They were in League One two years ago so it has been a remarkable journey and maybe one that has happened too quick."The club will be in a better position financially and it will bring stability in the long term. They have strong building blocks to have another stab at promotion next season in the Championship."Of the three teams going down, I see them as the best equipped to come back up. The fans are behind them because they are just grateful for what this team have given them over the past two years."Listen to the Football Daily podcast on BBC Sounds
BBC News
28-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Why Rowett used 'effective' football to keep Oxford up
Oxford United boss Gary Rowett always thought it would be a "massive task" to keep the club in the second tier this season. He admitted there were times when he wondered if they would avoid the drop-zone. But after beating Sunderland 2-0 on Saturday at Kassam Stadium, the U's status as a Championship side was confirmed for another season."When I got here I thought keeping the club up would be a massive task to be honest," Rowett told BBC Radio Oxford."I thought it would be the hardest one I'd had in terms of trying to do it. I'm super proud of the effort everyone has made."In this division sometimes you have to roll your sleeves up and dig in. To beat a lot of the teams we beat at home is an amazing achievement this season." Despite an encouraging start to the campaign, the U's hit a rough patch around Christmas that ended with previous boss Des Buckingham losing his job. Buckingham's sacking was met with a fair bit of criticism by some Oxford fans. He was a popular figure at the Kassam, having led them to promotion the summer before. But in his place came former Millwall boss Rowett, a man with plenty of experience in the Championship."When we first came in, there was a clear defined system of trying to play, build and play in a certain way," Rowett said. "We then reached a point where we lost a few players and it became apparent to me very quickly that we had to find a different way."That way didn't need to look super pretty and didn't need to be perfect, it needed to be effective and efficient."Long term we want a lot more than that. Given the opportunity, we'd be able to build something a lot different."Oxford go into their final game against Swansea on Saturday, 3 May, safe in the knowledge they can start preparing for another season in the second tier. "If I'm being really honest, I didn't have a plan for us in League One," Rowett laughed. "I'm pleased for everyone that we'll have a chance to build something more sustainable in the Championship."We want to improve every aspect of the team, we need to strengthen certain areas. Those conversations now become real because we achieved safety." 'Staying up is why we need a new stadium' Oxford United chief executive Tim Williams has doubled down on his stance that the club need a new ground after retaining their Championship status. The lease on the Kassam Stadium, where the U's currently play, expires in June 2026 and the club is still awaiting a decision from planners about a proposed new 16,000-seater venue, which is expected this in April Williams said that without a new stadium, there would be no Oxford United, and that there is "nothing more important"."Staying up is why we need a new stadium," he told BBC Radio Oxford. "If people had any doubts, then Saturday showed why it is needed."Up or down it doesn't matter, Oxfordshire needs a football club with its own stadium in the heart of the county and that is the most important thing. We're a Championship club for the second season and we deserve a Championship stadium."We've been through some tough times this season and we made some very difficult decisions on the way."But we've done it for the right reasons and they are that we stay in the league for another year. It's an extraordinary and brilliant achievement."
BBC News
27-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'I've fulfilled a childhood dream'
75,000 miles. 902 rides. 180 wins. Champion Bowen has fulfilled his childhood hitting 1,000 wins in February, the 27-year-old had already set his next goal - to become champion."It was obviously very exciting to hit the 1,000 wins. I'm very lucky. A lot of people don't get to hit the 1,000 winners in their career, so to get there was amazing," he said."For the last two or three years now this has been the goal. I really wanted it last year, and it didn't happen, this year has gone amazingly well and thankfully we got there."I've fulfilled a childhood dream. When I was racing the ponies up the gallops with my brothers I was pretending to be Sir AP McCoy, Brian Hughes or Richard Johnson - legends of the game." Bowen missed out on last year's title after suffering a knee injury on Boxing Day when leading the Championship."I wasn't going to let it happen twice, I couldn't let the Championship slip again," he said."It was just a matter of starting this season off as fast as we possibly could and I managed to build up a good lead in the summer. Harry Skelton was fighting through Christmas but I built that lead back up again."The travelling is crazy. My car will have clocked up 75,000 miles in the season. I very rarely get to go home much so, it's difficult, but it is all well worth it when you're crowned Champion Jockey."It's hard work mentally and physically, I've kept the body in good shape this season. Mentally, it can be hard work, never having a day off, and just keeping going every day."I can't stand seeing somebody else win on a horse that I should have been on, that's why I'll travel up and down the country in one day for a ride if I have to." Family support Sean's parents, Peter and Karen Bowen, have been training racehorses since he was a child."Mum and dad from day one have given me wonderful support," he explained."You see how hard they work. They live down in Pembrokeshire, and they would drive all the way to Ayr or Perth just for us to win a pony race."So if you see that, if you see them doing that for you, then I suppose that's probably what's given us the drive in us to want to do more, and don't mind getting in the car and driving wherever you need to go."My partner Harriet puts up with a lot, because I see her very rarely, we're getting married in July and then we have our honeymoon, we're really looking forward to that break together." The perfect final week The Welshman has finished the season in fine style, starting with a five-timer at his home track, Ffos Las."It was actually my first ever five-timer. I've managed a few four-timers, but never a five-timer. It was a magic day - it was in front of family and the Welsh crowd who were brilliant, that was a day I'll never forget," he Welshman followed up that success with an Irish Grand National victory aboard the Rebecca Curtis-trained Haiti Couleurs."It's the biggest win of my career, to go over there and beat the Irish was obviously brilliant, and to do it for Rebecca, who's a Welsh trainer, was so good, it was an incredible day," said Bowen.
