Latest news with #RobbieSavage
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Nine reasons why Tottenham vs Manchester United was the worst cup final in history
All the build-up to the Europa League final touched on the oddness of the situation. Two of Europe's non-form teams competing for its second-highest club honour. It was billed as a season-saver for each and as such a certain excitement began to creep in. Perhaps chaos would ensue and we would see a left-field classic? Reader, we did not. A horrible season for Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United culminated in a woeful match between them. It was like watching England's European Championship team of 2024 playing England's European Championship team of 2024. None of this matters in the slightest for Tottenham fans, who have a first trophy since the days when Teemu Tainio was a Premier League player. It was a tough watch for the rest of us though. Indeed it was hard to recall a worse final of a major competition. The case for the prosecution: Early disappointment After the usual bloated build-up the game kicked off and immediately became scrappy, quickly giving way to the same word minus the 's'. There was the early blow of TNT Sport relegating Robbie Savage and Rio Ferdinand to the bench, which might have presented some struggles to viewers during the match but ultimately deprived us the inverse of their Athletic Bilbao comeback love-in. There was also the dawning realisation of what we were watching, more evident with every niggling foul and aimless punt upfield. Not a rabble-rousing handbrake-off thrill-fest but 16th vs 17th in the Premier League. And not a particularly good Premier League. The standard of passing These days we are used to watching teams from League Two upwards channel Guardiola's Barcelona, pinging the ball about with supreme confidence. No sign of that here where even competence would have been a vast upgrade. For long periods neither side seemed able, or interested, in stringing more than three consecutive passes together. Tottenham ended the evening with just 115 successful passes, the lowest number in a European final since Opta began tracking the stat in 2009-10.
Scottish Sun
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
TNT Sports pundit, 50, snubs managerial ‘offers from numerous football clubs' to stay in current role
SAVVY MOVE TNT Sports pundit, 50, snubs managerial 'offers from numerous football clubs' to stay in current role Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ROBBIE SAVAGE has snubbed several 'offers from numerous football clubs' to stay at Macclesfield FC. The TNT Sports pundit, 50, defied the odds by guiding the Silkmen to promotion in his first season. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Robbie Savage has snubbed several sides to pen a deal with Macclesfield Credit: Macclesfield FC 2 The TNT Sports pundit led them to the Northern Premier League title in March Savage's side sealed their place in next season's National League North by storming to the Northern Premier League title in March. Macclesfield scooped their trophy with six games to spare. And that saw Savage fall into the crosshairs of several sides seeking a new boss. But the former Wales midfielder has committed himself to Macclesfield by penning a new two-year contract. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL FOOTBALL SHOCK Brazil and Inter Milan legend Lucio rushed to hospital and in intensive care It means he will stay for their campaign in the National League North. And club chief Robert Smethurst revealed Savage turned down numerous offers to stay put. He declared: 'Absolutely thrilled to be able to keep hold of Robbie despite offers from numerous clubs. The journey continues.' After winning the title, Savage choked up during a press conference as he paid an emotional tribute to his father. BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS The ace's dad Colin died in 2012 aged 63, five years after being diagnosed with dementia. Savage paid tribute by saying: 'Winning the league with six games to go. Not only have we done it, we've smashed the winning barrier and I can't thank my staff enough. 'I wish my father was here' - Emotional moment Robbie Savage chokes up after winning promotion with Macclesfield 'I wish my father was here to see it, it's seeing people's families here… my mum couldn't be here as she was ill. 'She said 'I wish your dad was here to see you'. I'm quite emotional because the pressure has been extraordinary, to the point my sons were worried about me having a heart attack. 'I've proved people wrong, I'm a fighter and believe in what I do, I just wish my mum and dad were here. 'But the nicest thing was my two boys were here. They gave me a big kiss and hug, my wife too, that means so much. 'People can say what they want about me but they cant take away that my group have won the league on the first attempt. 'If the players don't realise now what this club is, it's one of the biggest clubs in non league.'
The Irish Sun
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
TNT Sports pundit, 50, snubs managerial ‘offers from numerous football clubs' to stay in current role
ROBBIE SAVAGE has snubbed several 'offers from numerous football clubs' to stay at Macclesfield FC. The TNT Sports pundit, 50, defied the odds by 2 Robbie Savage has snubbed several sides to pen a deal with Macclesfield Credit: Macclesfield FC 2 The TNT Sports pundit led them to the Northern Premier League title in March Macclesfield scooped their trophy with six games to spare. And that saw Savage fall into the crosshairs of several sides seeking a new boss. But the former Wales midfielder has committed himself to Macclesfield by penning a new two-year contract. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL It means he will stay for their campaign in the National League North. And club chief Robert Smethurst revealed Savage turned down numerous offers to stay put. He declared: 'Absolutely thrilled to be able to keep hold of Robbie despite offers from numerous clubs. The journey continues.' After winning the title, Most read in Football BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS The ace's dad Colin died in 2012 aged 63, five years after being diagnosed with dementia. Savage paid tribute by saying: 'Winning the league with six games to go. Not only have we done it, we've smashed the winning barrier and I can't thank my staff enough. 'I wish my father was here' - Emotional moment Robbie Savage chokes up after winning promotion with Macclesfield 'I wish my father was here to see it, it's seeing people's families here… my mum couldn't be here as she was ill. 'She said 'I wish your dad was here to see you'. I'm quite emotional because the pressure has been extraordinary, to the point my sons were worried about me having a heart attack. 'I've proved people wrong, I'm a fighter and believe in what I do, I just wish my mum and dad were here. 'But the nicest thing was my two boys were here. They gave me a big kiss and hug, my wife too, that means so much. 'People can say what they want about me but they cant take away that my group have won the league on the first attempt. 'If the players don't realise now what this club is, it's one of the biggest clubs in non league.'
The Sun
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
TNT Sports pundit, 50, snubs managerial ‘offers from numerous football clubs' to stay in current role
ROBBIE SAVAGE has snubbed several 'offers from numerous football clubs' to stay at Macclesfield FC. The TNT Sports pundit, 50, defied the odds by guiding the Silkmen to promotion in his first season. 2 Savage's side sealed their place in next season's National League North by storming to the Northern Premier League title in March. Macclesfield scooped their trophy with six games to spare. And that saw Savage fall into the crosshairs of several sides seeking a new boss. But the former Wales midfielder has committed himself to Macclesfield by penning a new two-year contract. It means he will stay for their campaign in the National League North. And club chief Robert Smethurst revealed Savage turned down numerous offers to stay put. He declared: 'Absolutely thrilled to be able to keep hold of Robbie despite offers from numerous clubs. The journey continues.' After winning the title, Savage choked up during a press conference as he paid an emotional tribute to his father. The ace's dad Colin died in 2012 aged 63, five years after being diagnosed with dementia. Savage paid tribute by saying: 'Winning the league with six games to go. Not only have we done it, we've smashed the winning barrier and I can't thank my staff enough. 'I wish my father was here' - Emotional moment Robbie Savage chokes up after winning promotion with Macclesfield 'I wish my father was here to see it, it's seeing people's families here… my mum couldn't be here as she was ill. 'She said 'I wish your dad was here to see you'. I'm quite emotional because the pressure has been extraordinary, to the point my sons were worried about me having a heart attack. 'I've proved people wrong, |'m a fighter and believe in what I do, I just wish my mum and dad were here. 'But the nicest thing was my two boys were here. They gave me a big kiss and hug, my wife too, that means so much. 'People can say what they want about me but they cant take away that my group have won the league on the first attempt. 'If the players don't realise now what this club is, it's one of the biggest clubs in non league.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Promoted Merthyr to compete in National League North
They are the football club proud to come from the south Wales valleys – but have been told they will be a 'northern' team next season. There were huge celebrations when community-owned Merthyr Town won the Southern Premier League South title. But it has been confirmed they will now play in the National League North next term – with 300-mile away trips to Darlington and South Shields among their away days in a regionalised division. In front of more than 3,000 fans at Penydarren Park last month, the part-time outfit sealed promotion to English football's sixth tier, their highest level in 30 years. The Martyrs had played in the Western and Southern Leagues since being reformed after Merthyr Tydfil's liquidation in 2010. And the club had been aware the potential make-up of the teams next season at sixth tier level – and the large contingent of teams from the south of England - could see them having to plan to head north. Three south of England sides, Dagenham & Redbridge, Ebbsfleet and Maidenhead, dropping out of the fifth-tier National League would have given organisers a headache in how to split clubs. The National League confirmed its allocations for the 2025-26 season on Thursday, although says those are subject to appeal. A Football Association spokesperson said: "We make every effort each season to allocate National League System [NLS] clubs to the most geographically suitable league possible. "The clubs are allocated to a league based on the step in the NLS that they will be playing in, and their location in the country. These allocations are subject to appeals. "Geographical suitability continues to play an important part in NLS allocations, and we always try to balance this against the number of teams in each division to ensure sporting integrity is maintained." 'Merthyr can go as far as people want' Merthyr Town owners vote against Cymru Premier move Merthyr are not alone in the anomaly: Oxford City, Hereford United and Bedford Town have also been placed in National League North, whose other new clubs include Robbie Savage's Macclesfield Town. The game at Hereford's Edgar Street will be Merthyr's shortest away day, with a 43-mile, one-way trip taking around an hour. But it will take fans – and players – as much as 12 hours on the road in a round-trip for their game at South Shields. At the time of their promotion, chairman Les Barlow said their placing would make "no difference" as they revelled in a season in which they enjoyed a 32-game unbeaten run. Merthyr won the Welsh Cup in 1987 and went on to upset Italian giants Atalanta in the following season's European Cup Winners' Cup. Last season, they turned down a lucrative offer from the Football Association of Wales to join the Welsh league system, a decision manager Paul Michael says was vindicated by their promotion.
