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The Guardian
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Unbelievable, Jeff! Hartlepool's beef with Stelling is a baffling business
You come at the Stelling you'd best not miss, as the famous quote from The Wire's Omar Little kind of goes. Feared by his enemies and loved by viewers, the scar-faced stick-up man's advice suggests that anyone attempting to challenge the established order should be prepared for unpleasant consequences if their plan backfires. It is a lesson Hartlepool United owner Raj Singh is currently learning the hard way after sending a letter to each of Hartlepool's fellow National League clubs asking them to ban Jeff Stelling – the TalkSport and former Soccer Saturday host, and national treasure – from their boardrooms and hospitality suites for the season ahead. In scenes that his chum Chris Kamara would almost certainly describe as 'Unbelievable, Jeff!' (unless they in some way involved an Anthony Vanden Borre red card at Fratton Park), Stelling resigned from his role as president of Hartlepool in May, in protest at Singh's handling of negotiations over the protracted non-sale of his beloved hometown club. Apparently still fuming over Stelling's decision to step down from an honorary role in which he wielded the same amount of power as your average regimental goat, Singh recently embarked on a letter-writing campaign to call upon his fellow owners to deny Stelling any of the myriad lavish trappings of hospitality associated with cash-strapped non-league clubs when he travels to Hartlepool away games. Having initially made it clear that Jeff was not to be considered for any freebies specifically designated for club officials, Singh added: 'In the unlikely event that Mr Stelling independently attends any Hartlepool fixture at your home ground, I'd further request that you consider to seat Mr Stelling separately to any HUFC dignitaries or staff.' And while nobody is denying Hartlepool has its dignitaries, it seems actual dignity is currently at a premium in their corridors of power. Football Daily doesn't claim to be familiar with the nitty-gritty of the beef, but what we can say for sure is that we hope Stelling has another one of his charity walks teed up, so that he'll be able to march off the excess blubber he's certain to put on after National League clubs the length and breadth of the country fall over each other to defy what looks like a petty and sly act of vindictiveness. In calling for Stelling to be denied hospitality, Hartlepool's owner has almost certainly guaranteed that the universally popular broadcaster will be subjected to the kind of extreme levels of corporate largesse unlikely to be witnessed in the fifth tier ever again unless Manchester City end up playing in it after the verdict on those 100-plus charges is finally announced. 'I'm a lifelong supporter of that football club and if it came down to the fact that I travelled and stood with the Poolies, the Hartlepool supporters, wherever they are, then that's fine,' a slightly baffled Jeff told his radio audience. 'I'd already bought my ticket – we're away to Yeovil on Saturday – to be with the fans, so I didn't get the issue or why Mr Singh wanted to raise it. The other thing that I took offence to was in the statement he says in the unlikely event that I attend games independently. Well, I mean, last season I went to Aldershot, Eastleigh, Solihull, Southend, Sutton, Wealdstone, Woking, Dagenham and Redbridge, Ebbsfleet, Maidenhead and a few others as well, so, it's not so unlikely that I'll attend. I'll be at Yeovil on Saturday and I'll tell you what, I'll say it right now – if Mr Singh is there, I'll be happy to meet him and have a chat with him.' Meet him? If the Yeovil Town hierarchy have anything at all about them, Jeff will be sitting right beside the man he says he hasn't seen in at least a year. It certainly sounds like it's time for either a long overdue catch-up or 90 minutes of awkward silence. I've done one live performance which felt a bit weird – there was a live band playing the drums and I had to literally use it as an instrument, which felt crazy, but I enjoyed it. It's all about timing …' – Fulham's Alex Iwobi gets his chat on with Ed Aarons about how he enjoys dabbling with being a musician as a chance to breathe away from football, but is still 100% committed to the game. I know Mr Francis has dumped all of your sisters but not giving him letter o' the day for the nominative determinism belter (yesterday's Football Daily) was just petty. Noble rot!' – Harry Piano. Marvellous contribution, as always, from Noble Francis. I found his comments on nominative determinism doubly fascinating, as I'd always assumed his name was Francis, with Noble being an epithet, as in Teflon Tony or Stinky Pete. You really do learn something every day. (And yes, I'm fully aware that I don't actually have to explain to Big Website readers what an epithet is …)' – Phil Taverner. It was very sad to hear of Jorge Costa passing away, and at only 53 years old too. That's no age at all. Unsurprisingly, all the focus will rightly be on his eight league titles, five cups, Uefa Cup and Champions League but for some of us elder members of this parish, he will always be a key part of the best named back four in what was called, at the time, the Barclaycard Premiership: 'Young, Fish, Costa, Fortune'. RIP Jorge Costa' – Noble Francis. Many thanks for showing a beautiful photo of the Øresund/Öresund Bridge (yesterday's Still Wants More, full email edition) when marking the occasion of the Øresund/Öresund Strait Bigger Cup clash. I was one of 40,000 runners to make the journey to Malmö on foot in May this year, and may even be on your chosen picture (although very close to the back). What an experience' – Iain Moore. Thanks for linking to the article about Noel Blake (yesterday's Quote of the Day), and I wish him well. I can testify to the man's footballing brilliance. At Exeter, December 1996, I once saw him nullify an entire Cardiff City attack by a tactic best summed up as: 'He's just chatting to Peter Fox in the centre circle, no hang on, he's exactly in the right place to sort that out, and now he's chatting to Peter again.' The rest of the Exeter City defence were free to join in the rather random bombardment of the Cardiff end, which eventually, and rather painfully led to two goals. From my position amongst the Cardiff City Soul Crew (don't ask) I can accurately report the Exeter goal was never threatened. I've never seen before or since, one defender, using such intelligence and pure class to boss a game. Mind you, I think Peter Fox nearly froze to death' – Jon Millard. If you have any, please send letters to Today's winner of our letter o' the day is … Jon Millard, who lands some Football Weekly merch. Terms and conditions for our competitions are here. Join Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning and the Football Weekly pod squad take a dep dive into the thorny issue of football finance as the new season begins. 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. From one gameshow host in Jeff Stelling to another. Gary Lineker's hasty departure from the BBC did not mean the end of the former Leicester and Everton striker's TV career. To further the comparisons with Des Lynam, he's on his way to ITV, though not to host a red-hot soccer show but to be its new Leslie Crowther. Come on down? Lineker, who doubles these days as a podcast tycoon, will not be reviving The Hitman And Her or Strike It Lucky but instead bringing his pun-laden drollery to The Box where '12 famous faces are put in boxes and given daring challenges', a cross between 'I'm A Celebrity and SAS: Who Dares Wins' that appears to be a big deal in Norway. Though so is cross-country skiing. The show seems set for a Saturday slot, though unlikely to clash with the hip, happening version of Match of the Day planned by BBC suits to replace Lineker. A record number of reports of abuse at matches in English football were made during the 2024-25 season, with complaints of sexism and misogyny driving the depressing increase, according to new data from Kick It Out. The relegation scrap could be feisty in Serie A next season after it was confirmed that players will have their salaries slashed by 25% if their teams go down. Russell Martin's 'love and care' approach to criticising his players has worked a treat after Rangers walloped Viktoria Plzen 3-0 in the first leg of their Bigger Cup third qualifying round tie at Ibrox. Darwin Núñez has been given the key to the Liverpool door marked Do One and given the green light to discuss a move to Al-Hilal for a fee of about £56m. Meanwhile, Newcastle's Alexander Isak has been punished for going awol by – and wait for it, you'll like this – being banned from the club barbecue. Yep! No sausages for you Alex, lad. Son Heung-min is hoping to make a splash in LA, baby! Who has the power? Andros Townsend, that's who. The Steve Claridge du jour has signed for Thai club Kanchanaburi Power on a freebie. It's his 16th club! And the big news of the day is that Ed Sheeran has got his squad number back at Ipswich now they are back in the EFL. Premier League rules barred the club from naming the guitar-jangler as their No 17, a shirt he was given when investing 1.4% in the club in 2021, but Championship suits are more lenient. An owner, a scout, an agent and a player go into a bar speak to a team of Big Website writers to reveal just how this transfer business rolls. Neymar's prodigal return to Santos hasn't gone quite as planned, as knack and bust-ups with fans continue to blot the copybook. Still, he's added star quality, writes Tom Sanderson. Which football teams have met in fixtures at the most different home grounds? The Knowledge knows. Agog on the Tyne. Louise Taylor examines the absolute state of Newcastle's summer transfer market woes. And we have more Big Website Premier League previews hot off the production line: Brighton and Burnley. 4 June 2012: A fan in Berlin embraces a Madame Tussauds waxwork of a very young-looking Cristiano Ronaldo before Portugal's match against Germany at the European Championship. Let's hope the summer heat didn't cause it to melt.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel's war against Iran is a gamble - and to pay off it can't afford to miss
"You come at the king, you best not miss," says Omar Little, channelling Machiavelli, in the US crime series The Wire. But the same principle applies to Israel's decision to attack Iran. Its war is a gamble - to pay off, it must be entirely successful. It cannot afford to miss. That may seem a strange thing to say as things stand. seems to be hitting its targets with devastating accuracy. Live updates: Trump says Iran 'want to talk' Take the stunning campaign of decapitation: Israeli intelligence correspondent Ronen Bergman reports that Israel has developed the ability to monitor 's top officials "in real time". That fearsome power is being wielded with awesome effect. Iran's military and intelligence commanders are being traced and eliminated one by one - 20 of them in the first night alone. The destruction of Iran's air defences is also on the mark. It has left Iran's skies open to Israeli jets to destroy target after target with pinpoint accuracy. The mission is to destroy Iran's nuclear programme, but also it seems the regime's means of repression and control. Read more: To be absolutely sure of success, Israel needs the regime to fall. It must destroy both Iran's ability to develop the bomb, but more importantly, its will to do so. Fail on either front, and Iran's leaders will prioritise building a nuclear weapon. They will have to, so they can defend themselves better next time. Their ability to build the bomb will be impossible to destroy completely, however massive the munitions Israel puts into the centrifuge halls of Natanz and Fordow. The Iranian nuclear programme is too far developed. They have the knowledge and expertise. For as many nuclear scientists Israel kills, there are their students to replace them. And the technology is in their favour. As one western source told the Israeli Haaretz newspaper over the weekend: "They have knowledge about the plant centrifuges. "They don't need as many centrifuges as they used to. They can build a small plant somewhere, heavily fortified underground, maybe even in less than three years." At some point, the Israelis will need to end their campaign. The Iranians' desire to build the bomb will then be redoubled among what's left of their regime. The capacity to do so will have been degraded, but the know-how will remain. Toppling the regime will be the surest way of achieving Israel's aims if it ushers in a replacement not determined to go nuclear. Israel knows that and has been going after people and places essential to the regime's apparatus of internal control and repression. Read more: It has been attacking energy infrastructure, too, knowing soaring energy prices may fuel social unrest and dissent. Expect those efforts to bring down the ayatollahs to intensify - Israel has come for the king and cannot afford to miss.
Sky News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Israel's war against Iran is a gamble - and to pay off it can't afford to miss
"You come at the king, you best not miss," says Omar Little, channelling Machiavelli, in the US crime series The Wire. But the same principle applies to Israel's decision to attack Iran. It's war is a gamble - to pay off, it must be entirely successful. It cannot afford to miss. That may seem a strange thing to say as things stand. Israel seems to be hitting its targets with devastating accuracy. Take the stunning campaign of decapitation: Israeli intelligence correspondent Ronen Bergman reports that Israel has developed the ability to monitor Iran 's top officials "in real time". That fearsome power is being wielded with awesome effect. Iran's military and intelligence commanders are being traced and eliminated one by one - 20 of them in the first night alone. The destruction of Iran's air defences is also on the mark. It has left Iran's skies open to Israeli jets to destroy target after target with pinpoint accuracy. The mission is to destroy Iran's nuclear programme, but also it seems the regime's means of repression and control. 3:47 To be absolutely sure of success, Israel needs the regime to fall. It must destroy both Iran's ability to develop the bomb, but more importantly, its will to do so. Fail on either front, and Iran's leaders will prioritise building a nuclear weapon. They will have to, so they can defend themselves better next time. 2:12 Their ability to build the bomb will be impossible to destroy completely, however massive the munitions Israel puts into the centrifuge halls of Natanz and Fordow. The Iranian nuclear programme is too far developed. They have the knowledge and expertise. For as many nuclear scientists Israel kills, there are their students to replace them. 0:24 And the technology is in their favour. As one western source told the Israeli Haaretz newspaper over the weekend: "They have knowledge about the plant centrifuges. "They don't need as many centrifuges as they used to. They can build a small plant somewhere, heavily fortified underground, maybe even in less than three years." 1:36 At some point, the Israelis will need to end their campaign. The Iranians' desire to build the bomb will then be redoubled among what's left of their regime. The capacity to do so will have been degraded, but the know-how will remain. Toppling the regime will be the surest way of achieving Israel's aims if it ushers in a replacement not determined to go nuclear. Israel knows that and has been going after people and places essential to the regime's apparatus of internal control and repression. It has been attacking energy infrastructure, too, knowing soaring energy prices may fuel social unrest and dissent.
Irish Independent
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Kerry FC boss Conor McCarthy says ‘there is a lot of self-reflection' as pressure mounts
'I do take a lot of responsibility for it. That's part and parcel of it,' the Killarney man says The character of Omar Little from The Wire put it best: it's all in the game yo. Coaches are going to catch scrutiny when things aren't going well, when in a results business, results aren't going your way. Not even the youngest coach in the league, in the youngest club in the league, with probably the youngest squad, can avoid that.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Granderson: Celebrating suffragists and trying to disenfranchise women? That takes some cognitive dissonance
There's not much room in my life for people who don't love 'The Wire.' And yes, I used present tense in reference to a television show that aired its final episode 17 years ago. Just hear me out. This 'Star Wars' fan has made room in his life for 'Star Trek' loved ones. This lover of Marvel Comics has gone to see D.C. movies. I'm all for personal growth and making compromises … but if you don't believe 'The Wire' is the greatest television show in the history of television shows, we can't break bread. A man has got to have a code. For some longtime Clippers fans, that code includes never rooting for the Lakers. There are folks who have sworn off a particular restaurant in their community or one of the national retail stores. Perhaps there's a state we swear we will never visit. Our code — as Omar Little, one of the characters from 'The Wire,' frames it — is the compass we follow in life. Laws are meant to shape a society and religion guides our faith; however, how we truly move in this world is defined by the code we've written for ourselves. When it comes to Congress, the stakes are often much higher than in the worlds of sports and entertainment. When the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act) was first introduced in the House in May 2024, it was under the guise of ensuring that only U.S. citizens were able to vote in our elections. Republicans argued that because immigrants are able to secure a driver's license regardless of immigration status, those licenses could be used to vote. Keep in mind the mass voter fraud conspiracy theory was first debunked back in 2018 by the voting integrity commission the Trump administration created. Besides, the sponsors of the SAVE Act know it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in this country. This policy was not born out of a pressing public need. This was politics. By using the optics of the migrant crisis in the border cities of Eagle Pass and El Paso, this act provided a way to criticize the Biden administration's immigration policies through insinuation without evidence — and also a way to suppress voting. The proposed new law would require voters to present a passport (which documents U.S. citizenship and identity) or a U.S. birth certificate and a photo ID with a name that matches it (or a chain of paperwork documenting the name changes between birth and a person's current legal name). The bill passed in July 2024 mostly along party lines, with five Democrats siding with 216 Republicans. Among those Democrats was Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, whose official biography includes the line 'as one of eight children born to migrant farm workers in Laredo, Texas.' That's not meant to shame Cuellar as much as highlight the complexity of the immigration issue. Publicity stunts like the SAVE Act are counterproductive, and yet Cuellar's 'yay' vote is understandable. I've lived in Arizona and Texas through a handful of elections, and I get that it's difficult for Democrats to get elected in these border states without breaking with progressives in Washington on immigration. A man has got to have a code. Cuellar's votes on the SAVE Act apparently reflect his. The same can be said of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who in 2014 became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress and who proudly reminds those who visit her website that she 'authored and passed the Women's Commemorative Coin Act.' Signed into law in 2019 by President Trump, the legislation celebrated a diverse group of suffrage activists — from Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Harriet Tubman and Ida B. Wells — who fought for equal voting rights and full inclusion in the democratic process. The law's text makes clear the legislation was in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which granted women the right to vote. The act says women's rights are linked 'directly to the founding ideals of the United States.' And yet, Stefanik's name is also attached to the SAVE Act, which threatens the integrity of the 19th Amendment. The legislation would disproportionately disenfranchise women, who are more likely to change their last names when they marry or divorce and so often have a photo ID that does not match their birth certificate. Providing documentation for name changes can be a challenge. Maybe you have all your important paperwork in order. Many people do — until they don't. Think back to when Hurricane Helene, one of the costliest and deadliest storms since Katrina, struck the Atlantic Coast just weeks before the 2024 election. More than 70,000 homes were damaged in North Carolina alone — countless pictures, keepsakes, important documents like birth certificates lost forever. That's not a conspiracy theory. That's just what happened. Even under ideal circumstances, it can take months and cost hundreds of dollars to get official replacements for lost documents. But voter registration often must be done a month or more before election day. The SAVE Act is a recipe for many people, especially women, to be shut out of elections. In the midst of natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires or floods, a woman's right to vote should not be among the things she loses. When you consider Americans need only a driver's license to buy a gun, to see conservatives draft legislation requiring more documentation to vote tells you which constitutional right they view as most dangerous. Everybody has to have a code. Some elected officials — like Cuellar and Stefanik supporting the SAVE Act — apparently also learn to code switch. @LZGranderson If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
