Latest news with #RoyHodgson
Belfast Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Why Iceland could prove a real thorn in Northern Ireland's side in intriguing clash of friendly fire
The Iceland national team crest of a giant, a dragon, a bull and an eagle, all introduced by the country's governing body in 2020, could be described as emblematic of the echo and courage of livelier times. In footballing terms, the country's heart soared with the odyssey that ended Roy Hodgson's tenure as England boss with a famous victory in the Euro 2016 Round of 16 before going out to host nation France at the Quarter-Final stage.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
PLAY TEAMSHEET: Can YOU name the Wolves side that beat Liverpool 1-0 in 2010? Or pick YOUR team and guess their starting XI
Welcome back to Teamsheet... Mail Sport's original football memory game with a twist that gives you the chance to test your football knowledge against your mates. Liverpool may be Premier League champions, but, today, we are heading back to the end of 2010, when bottom of the pile Wolves earned their first win over the Reds in 27 years. The defeat piled the pressure on Roy Hodgson, whose side sat 12th in the standings themselves. We, though, want to know if you can name the team that Mick McCarthy put out that day. It's just for fun, so see how you fare and share your Teamsheet score... full instructions on how to play are at the bottom of the article and in the game itself. And you can also pick any team you like and guess their starting XI. Best of luck! HOW TO PLAY The aim of the game is to score as few points as possible! If you guess a player at the first attempt you score one point - so the lowest score for guessing every player at the first attempt is 11. Guess a correct letter in the right position, and it'll turn green. Guess a correct letter but in the wrong position, and it'll turn yellow. You have six guesses for each player - and if you fail, we'll reveal their identity for 11 points! You can also ask for a free letter, but it costs you a point. So play on to see if you'll score the best possible total of 11 - or fail on every player and score 121.
The Herald Scotland
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
William Hill chief executive on why SPFL is undervalued in market
'That was a real experience,' he tells Herald Sport. 'I would rather have been one of the Swedish players who played for Celtic or Rangers, picking up the trophy than presenting it. 'But that was as close as I can come and it was a privilege. I can't even imagine how it must be to go out there every week on the pitch in front of 60,000 supporters. The experience was like, 'Okay, this must be how it feels to be a player.…' A promising No.10 with hometown team Orebro SK, he watched Gordon Strachan score the winner against Sweden in September 1980 and resolved to model his game on Scotland's playmaker. 'Until I was 18 years old my life was all football, nothing else,' he says. 'We won the Swedish championship at junior level and I was promoted to the senior squad at Orebro under Roy Hodgson when we were in the Swedish second division. He was a demanding coach and when he moved to Malmo he was replaced by a Scotsman, Stuart Baxter.' Badly twisting an ankle at school, hopes of first team football in the Swedish Allsvenskan were cut short by knee surgery. He completed a bachelor's degree in business administration at the University of Gothenburg before moving to the UK in 1990 to pursue a master's degree in international accounting and finance at the London School of Economics. He became chief executive of William Hill two years ago, admitting ruefully: 'I am probably doing better now than I would have done as a footballer.' Last summer William Hill agreed a record five-year agreement with the SPFL to replace cinch as title sponsors, the Swede excited by the potential of a tie-up he saw as a 'perfect fit'. Livingston's gutsy fightback in the Premiership play-off win over Ross County brought the first year of the agreement to a mutually beneficial end. On top of title wins for Celtic, Falkirk, Arbroath and Peterhead, the battle for third place and European spots went to the wire, Aberdeen's Scottish Cup triumph pipped Hibernian to automatic qualification for the European group stages, and the Championship saw Falkirk survive a late wobble. 'When it was presented to me as an opportunity to become a true supporter and a sponsor of Scottish football I thought it was a fantastic proposition,' adds the Swede. 'For us it was very clear that it was a perfect fit. 'The intensity, the Old Firm rivalry, the stories all through the leagues, it is fantastic entertainment. 'And if you look at the per capita attendance at games it is the No.1 sport. We took it on and it is by far our biggest sponsorship for the company as a whole. 'We are one year in now and when we got the opportunity on the table I was struck by the passion, the intensity, the relentless atmosphere that everyone told me about. 'So for us to be able to be true supporters of Scottish football via sponsorship of the four divisions and be the ones who present the trophy is amazing. Evoke CEO Per Widerstrom and Murdoch MacLennan (Image: SNS Group) 'It's the most important partnership we have and we are very happy with the commercial impact of the first year. We see that our customers have increased in number and also that the stake, in relative terms when it comes to Scottish football, has increased.' Barry Hearn once described the game in Scotland as 'undersold' and 'self pitying', highlighting a perceived lack of ambition and investment. Charged with reaching annual revenue of £50 million by 2029, the William Hill deal is key to the SPFL hitting the target set by clubs. Read more: Stephen McGowan: Aberdeen cup glory a throwback to golden days for a battered city Stephen McGowan: Is Dermot Desmond absentee landlord or Celtic mastermind? On top of financial support, William Hill agreed to tackle the perception amongst supporters of a game under-promoted and under-appreciated by launching a weekly SPFL preview show. Streamed on YouTube every Friday, the Warm-Up takes a look at the issues affecting the Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two, feeding the appetite for stories from a league which – regardless of the quality on the pitch – continues to attract the highest per capita attendances in Europe. 'We had an opportunity with Scottish football and recognised that it could be promoted more,' Widerstrom explained. 'We have an opportunity here to stand out above our competitors. 'We do that by going above and beyond the Premiership. As an ex-footballer I think it's important than we show our commitment beyond the top teams. 'We do the Warm Up programme and try to promote and support the four leagues and the great guests we have. I am very happy with the tie up we have with Scottish football. 'And, you know what? It's just the start. We have learned so much from the first year and we are constantly asking, 'What can we do better? What do we need to tweak?'.' The issue of gambling sponsorship in football remains contentious and divisive. English Premier League teams have voluntarily agreed to ditch gambling sponsors from the front of their shirts in order to tackle addiction issues amongst supporters in the UK. Celtic and Rangers – Scotland's biggest clubs – maintain shirt betting tie-ups while the sale of league naming rights to one of the biggest bookmaking firms in the country drew negative scrutiny from politicians. 'Ultimately there should always be a good balance,' acknowledges Widerstrom. 'A balance in terms of how much people gamble and how much they bet and how much they can afford. 'And that they do it in a reasonable way. That's why, when we focus in on Scottish football it's a balance between giving people good offers and – at the same time – playing safely.' To promote safe and responsible betting, William Hill and the SPFL partnered with EPIC Global Solutions, a consultancy focused of gambling harm prevention. Promoting awareness amongst players, staff and supporters EPIC has delivered education workshops to move of the 42 senior clubs and offered sessions to supporter and community trust groups. 'EPIC is a genuine company, the people there have real life experiences,' Widerstrom says. 'And we have had their representatives broadcasting speeches and presentations to all of our employees and telling their life stories to give us the perspective we need. As a CEO I need to know what the sessions involve so I have taken part in them myself. And then we need to understand and act on what they tell us. 'We have had 800 players go through the programme and if you include some of the important staff then it's almost a thousand. 'I think over this first year 37 teams have gone through it. And when we launched it we also went to the fans in the communities. 'There are always two sides to the coin and it is important that we, as an operator, be fully aware of our responsibilities to help people gamble safely.'
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Oliver Glasner: ‘I'm 100 per cent committed' to Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has reiterated that he remains '100 per cent committed' to the club but is not currently in discussions over a new contract. Glasner signed a two-and-a-half-year deal when he arrived at Palace in February 2024 to replace Roy Hodgson and was the subject of a failed bid from Bayern Munich three months later to become Thomas Tuchel's successor, while he has been linked to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. Advertisement The Austrian has led Palace to their highest Premier League points total and they won the FA Cup, their first major trophy, in his first full season in charge. His contract runs until the end of next season, expiring in June 2026, and Palace had opened talks with the 50-year-old over the possibility of extending his stay in south London, but he says while he is not currently thinking about a new deal, he is not considering leaving the club. 'I'm just talking about the future and about what we are planning,' Glasner said in his press conference before Palace's final Premier League game of the season against Liverpool on Sunday. 'I'm 100 per cent committed to these plans, so (I have) no thoughts about something different. 'I have one more year left. We speak about next season. I have a contract here. We speak about pre-season. This is in the next three, four months. 'So everything that happens after 1st of July, 2026 we don't talk about this at the moment because it's too far away. We are talking about what happens this year, and that's why I'm 100 per cent committed, because I have a contract and I have other things on my mind.' Those comments come after chairman Steve Parish told reporters following the 1-0 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final that the club would need to match Glasner's ambition in order to tie him down to a new contract, saying that the manager wants to be 'part of something that's going in a direction.' Glasner handed his players two days off after Palace's 4-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday saw them eclipse their previous highest total of Premier League points and rewarded his background staff with an overnight trip to Ibiza. 'It was an appreciation for the staff, a big thank you to everyone,' Glasner added. 'They do such a great job and work so hard to support the players to make sure everyone is fit and available. 'When we're always talking about the environment and the spirit at the training ground, it's not the grass, it's not the building, it's the people who make the environment, the people make the mood. 'We're doing such an amazing job and this was a small appreciation to go there and enjoy the time together. We had a lovely time together and then we go back to work again.'
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Roy Hodgson is the toast of a proud FA, just don't mention Harry Redknapp
The Football Association was obviously proud of its pick and of its process yesterday. All four members of the Club England board flanked new manager Roy Hodgson at the Wembley press conference, and three of them spoke enthusiastically about their new man. Confidence in the team and its chances, though, was rather less obvious. Hodgson's familiarity with the pressures and rhythms of international football clearly counted in his favour. As the FA pointed out, repeatedly, Hodgson was a successful manager of Switzerland who had also coached United Arab Emirates and Finland. To prioritise that was a new departure. "This is the first time the FA have appointed an England manager with any previous experience of international football," the FA chairman, David Bernstein, announced. "That experience can only help us with our plans for Brazil in 2014. He has outstanding contacts through his work with Uefa and Fifa. This experience, ability and track record of building teams made him the outstanding candidate for us." All true enough: Hodgson has all of that and more, including a League Managers Association Manager of the Year award, a run to a European final, and titles won in Sweden and Denmark. But he was not the favourite for this job. The reason for the FA's choice of Hodgson over Harry Redknapp was the question hanging over the afternoon, but Bernstein insisted it had been a careful, deliberative process, which concluded in a unanimous, unambiguous decision. "We only approached one club," Bernstein said. "We initially put together a list of names for consideration, then reduced that down in time. Roy emerged as the standout name. We canvassed views and opinions from a wide number of people in the game. With the board, we were unanimous in choosing Roy, a manager of vast experience of international and European football." There was no need for a public competition, Bernstein said, as the FA could choose the best candidate itself: "We felt that, if we did our homework sufficiently strongly, our research thoroughly, and the whole thing in a measured, professional way, it was better to come up with one favoured candidate than interview a range of people." Of course, it has been suggested that Hodgson was the value candidate, with an expiring contract at a mid-table club. Again, Bernstein repelled the claim. "We were driven purely be the desire to get the best person," he said. "It was definitely not financially driven." The board did not mention Redknapp by name. The closest acknowledgement of his presence was when Bernstein suggested the board had not taken the popular option. "There were easier appointments," he conceded. "It shows the level of confidence that we went for this appointment understanding all the issues." There certainly is confidence from the FA board in its handling of this. They have a good manager in place before the end of the season; it was not always clear it would end this well. "It has been handled very professionally, confidentially," Bernstein said. "We always said we'd make the appointment around now, and we've stuck to our timing." While the FA spoke to Hodgson only last weekend, it said that it had chosen him roughly one month ago, but delayed contact. "We thought it was too early and might disrupt West Brom's season," Bernstein explained, although supporters of Tottenham Hotspur might raise an eyebrow or two. But the man is in place and now he has to drag England through a European Championship. Bernstein announced, mercifully, that there was "no fixed minimum target" for Euro 2012. Football matters, though, were largely left to Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA's director of football development. And here, the optimism and pride were slightly dampened. "It's going to be a tough job, whoever the manager is," Brooking acknowledged. "Tournament football has always been a big challenge. The likes of Germany, Holland and Spain will be ahead of us in terms of expectancy." They certainly will, and in other terms too. "But the coach we have appointed can improve the group." Reaction to Roy: What the game thinks Jack Wilshere (England and Arsenal) "Not many have the experience that Roy Hodgson has, he has proved he is a top manager at international level so don't see any reason why he can't do it for England... good choice in my opinion! Good luck and I hope I can help him in some way in the future!" Steven Gerrard (England and Liverpool) "I've worked with Roy. He's a good man and a good manager. It's important he's given a chance and I'm looking forward to working with him again." Chris Brunt (West Bromwich Albion, the club Hodgson will be leaving at the season's end) "Congratulations to Roy Hodgson, he will do a good job for England like he has done for us over last 18 months. Great coach and a good man." Peter Odemwingie (West Bromwich Albion) "It was a pleasure working with him. Hope he will do well with the England." Roberto Di Matteo "It'll be difficult for anybody but I think he's got all of the experience that you need for a national team." Sven Goran Eriksson
