Latest news with #pundit
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Wayne Rooney clocks in for first Match of the Day shift after Man United and England legend landed '£800,000' BBC deal to become regular on the show
Wayne Rooney was pictured arriving for his debut appearance on Match of the Day at BBC 's studios on Sunday. Rooney turned up at 10:30am to formally kick off his new role as a regular pundit for the broadcaster. The former Manchester United and England captain is believed to have signed a lucrative deal worth around £800,000 a year to join the iconic football highlights programme. Arriving at the dock10 studios in MediaCityUK, Salford, Rooney looked confident as he walked past photographers and into the Match of the Day production hub. Rooney's transition from management to broadcasting comes after spells at Plymouth Argyle, Derby County, DC United and Birmingham City. The 39-year-old has been out of a job since leaving Argyle by mutual consent on New Year's Eve after a challenging seven-month spell in charge. Rooney has made no secret of his enjoyment of punditry since stepping back from coaching, occasionally appearing on Amazon Prime Video for Champions League coverage last season. Speaking to talkSPORT in June, he appeared to hint that his immediate future would involve more media work than management. He told the radio station: 'Obviously just doing some TV work at the minute, so that's what I'm doing. I'm enjoying it. So, that's where I'll be.' Rooney's switch also comes as Match of the Day move into a new era following Gary Lineker's controversial departure. Lineker confirmed his departure from the BBC in May and 'apologised unreservedly' after being accused of anti-semitism by sharing a someone else's social media post. The England legend left the BBC without a pay-off from his £1.4million salary while he, Shearer and Micah Richards have continued to work together on the hugely popular 'The Rest is Football' podcast. Lineker presented Match of the Day since 1999, with his 26-year reign making him the longest presenter in the show's history.
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Jamie Carragher mocks Gary Neville with Nottingham Forest comment following pundit's criticism of owner Evangelos Marinakis
has mocked fellow Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville over his criticism of Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis. Neville was banned from the City Ground in May having criticised Marinakis on social media after the Forest owner charged onto the pitch following a draw at home to Leicester. Reports this week suggested that Neville will not be permitted to attend Forest's opening game of the season at home to Brentford, which is being shown live on Sky Sports on Sunday. Carragher couldn't resist commenting on the situation as he said: 'Will you be at Forest, Gary?'. Marinakis had appeared to confront Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo but insisted that he was concerned about striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who collided with the post but played on. The striker subsequently required abdominal surgery. Neville had shared on X that he thought it was 'scandalous' behaviour from Marinakis to have come onto the pitch. 'Nuno should go and negotiate his exit tonight with him!' his post read. 'The Forest fans, players and manager do not deserve that. Forest responded with a statement in which they criticised Neville. The statement read: 'We urge former coaches and players, and other public figures in the game, to resist the urge to rush to judgement and fake news online, especially when they do not have the full facts and context. 'Baseless and ill-informed outrage for the purposes of personal social media traction serves no one - least of all the injured player.' Neville later described Forest's decision as 'disappointing'. 'I've dished out my fair share of criticism and praise in the last 14 years of doing this job and have never come close to this unprecedented action,' Neville wrote. 'Personally, I think it's disappointing that a great club like Nottingham Forest have been reduced to making such a decision. Whilst they have every right to choose who they let into their own stadium, it's symptomatic of things that have happened over the last 12 months with the club.' Forest had previously threatened Sky Sports with legal action over Neville's description of a club statement as being similar to one written by a 'mafia gang'. After a defeat to Everton in April 2024 Forest released a statement claiming that they had been denied three penalties while also alleging bias from VAR Stuart Attwell. 'Three extremely poor decisions - three penalties not given - which we simply cannot accept,' the statement read. 'We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn't change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times. 'NFFC will now consider its options.' Neville said of the missive that it was 'like a mafia-gang statement'. 'I mean honestly, what the hell are they playing at? It's like a petulant child. It's embarrassing.' Forest insist that Neville hasn't been formally banned but do not wish to allow him to enter the stadium until a resolution is found, such as the ex-England international taking more care when discussing Marinakis.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Wayne Rooney supported by wife Coleen in matching coloured clothing as they step out for new BBC Sport football season launch after he landed his very own show
Wayne Rooney was supported by his wife Coleen as they stepped out for the launch of BBC Sport's new season on Thursday. The former footballer and manager, 39, posed for snaps with Coleen as they walked the red carpet at the event in White City in London. Wayne boasted a smart and casual look, wearing a matching khaki jacket and trousers, with a white top underneath. Coleen, 39, oozed elegance as she rocked a summery pale green jumpsuit, keeping her look in coordination with her husband's outfit. They both beamed for the cameras before heading into the event, which was attended by high-profile sporting personalities. It comes as the BBC officially confirmed this week that Wayne had signed up as a pundit for the new season. For his new podcast, bosses said Wayne will 'dive into the football debates that are dominating your algorithm every week'. Rooney's new show will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer, Sounds, and the BBC Sport app and website. Speaking about the new series, called The Wayne Rooney Show, the Liverpool native said: 'I'm absolutely buzzing to kick off this podcast with BBC Sport. 'Every week, we dive into the biggest football stories - no fluff, just proper insider knowledge from someone who's lived it, breathed it, and knows what it takes to play at the highest level. Expect sharp opinions, honest chats, and more than a few laugh-out-loud moments with myself, Kelly and Kae. 'We each bring something different to the table but collectively want to give the audience the kind of insight you only get from being in the thick of the game and football fandom.' Meanwhile, this week Wayne fired back at Birmingham City minority owner and former NFL star Tom Brady after the American questioned his 'work ethic'. He managed just 15 matches for the Blues in what was a disastrous 83-day spell for the former Manchester United star at St. Andrew's two seasons ago. Under his tutelage, the Blues took a mere 10 points from a possible 45, losing nine games and winning just two before he was sacked in January 2024. In a documentary entitled Built In Birmingham: Brady And The Blues, which was released on August 1, the ex-New England Patriots quarterback told his business manager Ben Rawitz: 'I'm a little worried about our head coach's work ethic.' Those comments spread like wildfire on social media, with fans accusing Brady of 'disrespecting' the former England captain. Replying on his new podcast, Wayne said: 'I think Tom came in once, which was the day before a game where the days are a little bit lighter anyway. 'And I don't think he really understood football that well. But what he does understand is, he's a hard worker, we know that.' 'Football is not NFL – NFL works for three months a year. 'Players do need rest as well, so I think he's very unfair, the way he's come out and portrayed that.' Although he responded in fiery fashion to Brady's comments, Rooney made it clear that he does not hold a grudge over them. He added: 'Listen, I respect Tom Brady massively. 'He's one of the greatest, if not the greatest athletes of all time and Birmingham do look like they're getting it right now, which is good.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Roy Keane reveals how his summer cruise holiday almost descended into chaos after he confronted four fellow holidaymakers when they 'manhandled' female DJ: 'I had to put a marker down'
has opened up on a chaotic incident that took place on his one of his holidays this summer. Hard-hitting pundit Keane was discussing his time away from the game over recent months on the latest episode of Stick To Football. When he was asked about where he had been, Keane remarkably revealed that he almost came to blows during one of his trips. 'I've had a great summer,' he said. 'No tournaments, bit of a break. I went on a cruise and really enjoyed that. 'I did (get annoyed on) the first night. I put a marker down on the first night to a few people. They weren't coming up to me but they were just being rude to other people.' When pressed on what he meant, Keane added: 'They were just being rude to other people, rude to the woman playing the music and getting aggro with her and I stepped in. 'Listen lads calm down, this is a nice boat remember but these lads about four of them who were about the same age as me, maybe a bit older, they were being really rude to this woman DJ and manhandling her. 'And I just went over to them and went "lads just calm down" so I sat down and four of them came across ready to... no I didn't have them, it didn't kick off but it was pretty close.' Keane's story left Gary Neville in hysterics, before he asked how his wife Theresa had reacted. 'She wasn't too bad with it,' Keane responded. 'She said they were really rude.' Neville then joked about Keane's comments in regards to 'putting a marker down', to which Keane quipped: 'It's like a pre-season game, Charity Shield, studs down the back of somebody. 'They were still annoying the rest of the week but I kept my distance and a few nights later I saw them having a few words with this other guy. 'I went over to support him a little bit, but it wasn't as bad as I'm kind of making out.' Keane's hilarious anecdote was well received by his colleagues and it came just a day after it was announced he would become a grandfather for the fourth time. "It didn't kick off, but it was pretty close!" 😅 New season, same Roy... 😂 — The Overlap (@WeAreTheOverlap) August 14, 2025 On Wednesday, his daughter Leah shared her pregnancy alongside England international Taylor Harwood-Bellis. Leah shared black and white photos of her positive tests, baby bump, and scans of the foetus alongside Harwood-Bellis in their car. He and Leah are engaged and looked over the moon as they shared their news with the world with a touching video, captioned: 'Half of me, half of you.' The Manchester United legend already has three grandchildren and welcomed his latest in April with a nod at one of his classic punditry lines: 'My new grandson, big baby.'
Telegraph
03-08-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Big Ron Atkinson interview: ‘I saw on Facebook that I'd died!'
A couple of months ago, Ron Atkinson was scrolling through his phone when he happened upon a rather unexpected Facebook posting. It informed him that the renowned former footballer, manager and television pundit Ron Atkinson had died. He was processing this news, when his phone rang. 'It was Dean Saunders,' he recalls of the player he managed at Aston Villa. 'He says to me: 'I see you're dead, boss, but as you used to say to us all the time: 'I'm sure you can run it off'.' And he leans back in his chair and roars with laughter. Indeed, while he might be 86 years old, news of Ron Atkinson's death is more than a little premature. The man forever known as Big Ron is very much still with us, relishing life, finding comedic value in everything, from the origins of his phrase 'lollipop' to describe a step-over, through Joe Royle's behaviour in the sauna, to the Tenerife holiday property he sold for well over the asking price soon after the invasion of Ukraine to a man who sounded suspiciously Russian. 'The estate agent assured us he was from Lithuania,' he smiles. 'I suspect he'd been to Vilnius about as often as I have.' Atkinson is in his home in the Birmingham stockbroker belt. Though these days it is not so much financiers who live thereabouts as footballers. 'It's getting like Cheshire round here,' he says, pointing out of his kitchen window. 'Jack Grealish has a place over there his dad lives in, Ollie Watkins is down the road, Jude Bellingham's built a couple of houses for his family just there.' In the midst of it all, Atkinson's sizeable property is exactly as you might imagine Big Ron's place to be: plush, luxurious, with marble floors and a carpet in the lounge the pile of which is so thick it endangers the ankles just to walk across it. Parked in front of the property are a couple of Mercedes, at the back is his wife Maggie's pride and joy; a magnificent garden, filled with blooms, rolling out into the Worcestershire countryside. As to what his contribution is to the floral abundance, he is succinct. 'Me? I just sit in it.' Atkinson has invited Telegraph Sport to his home to talk about the 40th anniversary of the start of the 1985-86 season when the Manchester United side he managed began at a gallop, winning their first 10 matches. By November 1, still unbeaten, they had accrued 41 points, just a point fewer than United managed in the whole of last season. 'And hey, I tell you what, they were lucky to stay up,' he says of Ruben Amorim's side. 'I once went down with 43 points when I was at [Sheffield] Wednesday.' His United began that season as they had completed the previous one, when they beat an Everton side going for a treble in the FA Cup final with a display of precision and power, driven by Bryan Robson and Norman Whiteside in midfield, with Mark Hughes, Gordon Strachan and Jesper Olsen providing the finishing flourishes. 'There was no telly,' he recalls of the broadcasting dispute which kept the game off the nation's screens for four months as the season began. 'Which was funny because this rumour went round that we were winning every game in style, playing everyone off the park. No we weren't. Yeah, we had a couple of belters, like doing Villa 4-0. But we had more than enough scrappy 1-0s, where we won through battling not skill. Truth was, we were lucky to win 10.' Such fortune was soon used up. It was a start they could not sustain. After losing for the first time at Hillsborough in November, his United fell into a slump that ultimately resulted in a fourth-place finish, well behind the champions Liverpool. At the time much was made of a succession of injuries, particularly to Robson, who missed most of the latter half of the season. 'I'm not going to blame injuries, everyone gets injuries, it's part of football,' he says. 'But we lost Robbo, we lost Olsen, we even had Arthur Albiston out for a bit and he was never injured. The irony is Robbo got injured playing for England. Like Stevie Coppell a couple of years earlier. Never been injured playing for United, gets a career-finishing one playing for England.' While injuries were a factor, though, there was also talk of internal indiscipline. 'People say there was a drinking culture at my United,' he says. 'I tell you what, they couldn't have lived in a drinking competition with Liverpool or Everton. 'You know where they used to drink? In Paddy Crerand's pub. He kept me informed precisely what they were up to. The problem was [Paul] McGrath and Whiteside, when they were injured, the club used them in the hospitality suites. Course everyone was filling their glass. Word spread.' Whatever the cause of the slump, Atkinson's disappointment was profound. He thought, in that autumn flourish, he could become the first United manager to lead them to the title since Matt Busby 20 years previously. Though that, he says, was never the insistence from his employers. 'When I came in, I said to Martin Edwards [the then United chairman] that we had to get the club back into Europe, and we did that every season,' he recalls. 'We had some great nights in Europe. That game against Barcelona [in the European Cup Winners' Cup in March 1984, when his team overturned a 2-0 deficit in the first leg by winning 3-0], that was the greatest noise I've ever heard at a football match. It was this incredible crescendo.' An incredible night at Old Trafford as Man Utd overcome a 2-0 first leg deficit to knock Barcelona out of the European Cup Winners Cup in 84 — When Football Was Better (@FootballInT80s) October 11, 2017 Besides, he says, getting into Europe back then was an achievement in itself. 'In my career, I got in the top four eight times, and never once played in the European Cup. Quite right. It was for the champions. 'I mean, these days you can almost be in the bottom three and qualify for the Champions League, as Spurs proved last season. There are so many clubs in Europe, I see some of the names and I think they've been made up from tiles on the Scrabble board.' For his United, though, there was no Europe that season. English clubs were banned after the Heysel tragedy. All attention was on the league, and Atkinson's failure to win it from a position of such strength ultimately undermined him. 'I organised for Terry Butcher and Kerry Dixon to come in that summer,' he recalls, of trying to rebuild things after the disappointment. 'Everything was sorted, it was a simple matter of getting things signed off by the board. When that didn't happen, I knew it was over for me.' Indeed it was: a year after he had led the league, he was dismissed, to be replaced by a then plain Alex Ferguson. Though he holds no complaints. 'People ask me who was the worst chairman I ever worked under, and there were a few. But I tell you who was the best: Martin Edwards. He was so knowledgeable. And straight. When it was over, it was clean.' He went on to more than a decade of managerial success, winning the League Cup with both Wednesday and Aston Villa, taking Villa to second place [behind Ferguson's United] in the inaugural Premier League. So what was the secret of his success? 'Team building. You want good lads in a team,' he says. 'You don't mind scallywags, but you don't want villains. Scallywags might take the p---, villains are looking to rob you. My philosophy was to make it fun, make them want to come in for training, have the craic, a little razz or two, keep things buoyant.' By his own admission he was not a tactical maestro. Rather, he relied on his man-management skills, fostering a rumbunctious culture around any club he ran. The highlight of his week was five-a-side on a Friday, when he would be at the heart of the action, chivvying, shouting, endlessly mickey–taking. 'I used to love it if a player was carrying a slight knock on a Friday. I'd tell him, you rest ready for Saturday, sit out training. It meant I could join in the five-a-side.' Despite the fun, under Big Ron it was no easy ride. 'I never saw the bad in a player. If he missed a chance I'd always say, at least you were there. When I was a young pro at Oxford, the manager said to me: enthusiasm is free, so use it. I lived by that, always looking at the positive. But I was on them. And yeah, I could be sharp.' How sharp? 'Gordon Strachan said to me the other day: 'You'd last no more than three weeks in management these days if you tried to talk to players like you used to do to us.' Now they'd be saying to me: 'Talk to my agent'. But actually, I'm not sure Strach's right. I think the majority of players today, they'd be happy for a bit of hard talking. They're no different from the players I managed or how I was as a player. They don't want molly-coddling.' So, would he go back? 'People say to me, I bet you'd like to be managing today with all the money they get. Well, we did all right. And I had a great life. Eh, what I always say is this: it was better than working for a living. I did work in a factory, the BSA parts division in Birmingham. The highlight of the day was when one of the girls from the office walked past and we'd all bash the tools against the bench. When that's the best it gets, I tell you what, football is like heaven.' When he left management for the final time, after an inauspicious spell at Nottingham Forest, it was his way with words that forged his next career. He was a brilliant television co-commentator, employing a unique vocabulary that became known as Ron-glish, full of 'early doors' and 'lollipops' and 'giving it eyebrows' at the near post. Where did it all come from? 'Well, when I was a player, the one move I had was a bit of a step-over. The manager at Oxford at the time saw me try it one day and said: 'What are you doing? You look like a steamroller doing a lollipop.' Who knows what he meant. But I liked the phrase and used it ever since.' Language, though, ultimately cost him dear. His wholly uncharacteristic racist rant about Marcel Desailly 20 years ago may have been off air but it was ugly and it brought him down. He was cancelled from mainstream broadcasting, dropped from a column at the Guardian, and lost lucrative commercial contracts. He apologised profusely, did a couple of mea culpa television documentaries, went in the Big Brother house by way of mitigation. But being cowed and down wasn't Ron. He wanted to get back to doing what he had always done: having a laugh. These days he's not lingering over it. This is not a man for regrets. 'Actually I do have one, you know, slight regret,' he says. 'I should never have let Garry Birtles go at United. I know he's had that bad start, not scoring for a year and all that. But that wasn't under me. He did all right for me. I wanted him to stay, but Cloughie [Brian Clough] was in his ear to get him back to Forest. I should have done more to keep him.' These days, after hanging up the microphone on a spell with United's in-house channel MUTV during the pandemic, his involvement in football is now largely on the after-dinner speaking circuit. 'I did an event the other day and there were 11 of us lined up on stage,' he says. 'Roberto Carlos couldn't have bent a free-kick round that wall. It took so long between turns to speak, I could have had a couple of hours' kip.' When he is not on the circuit, he watches football on the television. Though he wonders whether there might be too much these days. 'You ask me which pundits I like, well I used to like Souey [Graeme Souness], but he's gone now. Not sure who out of the current lot I'd make an appointment to listen to. The trouble is, there's so much football on the telly now, nothing stands out.' Still, he watches enough to have opinions, not least of his old club United. 'What would I do if I were in charge there? Well, they could have resolved a lot of stuff by signing a decent striker. They paper over so many cracks. I'd have got Harry Kane. I know they say [Spurs chairman Daniel] Levy wanted £100m for him. OK, so pay £120m. With him up front, the midfield would have known who to pass to, the defence would have played better. Goalscorers make everything better.' As for who he enjoys watching these days, he is unequivocal. 'I love Bruno Fernandes. He's some player. People don't half moan about him, say he doesn't tackle and that. But he's not there to tackle. And I tell you what, if he'd been in that City side, he'd have been as effective as [Kevin] De Bruyne. Yeah, people say he moans at his team-mates. But I don't blame him – some of those he has to play with.' He shakes his head in silent disdain. This is what he can't understand: players who aren't up for the scrap, who don't acknowledge their privilege and fight for it. His own competitive instincts have always been ridiculously strong. When he's not watching the game these days, he likes to freshen them on the golf course. 'Am I still competitive? I was playing golf yesterday with some lads, fell out of the cart and did my elbow, blood everywhere. They're all going: 'Come on Ron, better stop, get to the hospital'. I'm going: 'You only want me to stop so you can win. Let's play on here, shall we?'' It was the love of competition, he says, that always drove him. 'When I was on the touchline I wanted to kill the other manager. But after the game, it was back in my office, mates together and we'd have such a laugh.' He tells a story about how after one match, he was in an intense debate with Joe Royle, who was Everton manager at the time. Ron decided he needed to continue his standard post-match routine, stripped off and headed into the sauna. 'Joe followed me in, sat down alongside me and carried on talking. Only he was still dressed in his suit,' he roars with laughter. It is but one of dozens of anecdotes about his friends and rivals in the game. The sad thing is so many of them – Terry Venables, Jack Charlton, his brother Bobby – have gone, many with dementia. So does he fear that threat himself? 'Did I tell you the story of Joe Royle and the sauna?' he says, by way of an answer, before winking and cackling once more. 'Well, you know, what can you do? It happens or it doesn't. You just have to live life. And I'm loving it.'
