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A message on my phone buzzes. “I pick you up at the station.” It is Erik ten Hag offering a lift in his car once my train from Amsterdam arrives in Enschede, in the east of the Netherlands. It is delayed, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
Soon after, he pulls up in a silver Range Rover and gets out to exchange a handshake. He has finished a day’s work
Manager Gary Rowett says he has not had to clear the air with Leicester City’s hierarchy about criticism he aimed their way just weeks before his appointment.
The 51-year-old was working as a Sky Sports pundit earlier in February when he blamed “very, very poor management” on the Foxes’ fall, external from winning the Premier League title in 2016 to battling to avoid relegation to League One a decade
Madueke has missed six of Arsenal’s 12 Premier League matches this season after suffering a knee injury in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City in September.
He returned from nine weeks out in Sunday’s north London derby, coming on in the 78th minute of a 4-1 win against Tottenham.
“The last game versus Tottenham was incredible and that gives me such a boost,” Madueke said.
“I play on the side
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has admitted the club has made mistakes – but stressed they must look to the future rather than dwell on the past.
In an extensive interview with Piers Morgan earlier this week, legendary former United star Cristiano Ronaldo said that while he thought his fellow Portuguese was doing a good job, Amorim could not work “miracles”.
Al-Nassr striker Ronaldo, a former international team-mate of
“Since I joined the club, it’s my view to rotate players. No-one complains when you win. When you don’t win I can understand no-one is agreeing.
“I loved rotation as a player. Football is a bit different compared to years ago in terms of physicality and intensity. It’s impossible to play with the same players 65 games in one season.
“If you want to see the season like a marathon,
Following speculation this week that Cardiff could change their manager for the second time this season – and rumours of a return for former boss Neil Warnock – Riza again insisted he could save the club from relegation to the third tier.
“If I didn’t think I was the right man for the job, I wouldn’t be standing here,” he added.
“It’s still only one point. Luton beat Derby which
However, Ten Hag was praised for developing younger players such as Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo at Old Trafford.
He said managers “have to show them (modern players) more love”.
“With this generation you choose different words and a different approach,” he said.
“(Sir Alex) Ferguson also belonged to the previous generation. With that generation you could be much more direct in your communication and approach.
“A player of this
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou says it is “really easy” for people to “stick their boots” into his team.
Spurs were knocked out of the EFL Cup as they lost 4-0 in the semi-final second leg at Liverpool on Thursday night.
Postecoglou’s side, who held a 1-0 lead going into the match at Anfield, failed to register a single shot on target in the return game.
Former Spurs
Postecoglou added: “Criticism is saying something that’s not really helpful. Assessment is trying to give people feedback to try to make them better and give people the opportunity to improve.
“With Timo it wasn’t about whether he played well or not. It was a difficult game. I’m asking 18-year-olds to do difficult jobs.
“He’s an international, he’s won the Champions League, he’s a senior player.
“There’s a level of application
The Lilywhites are 19th in the Championship table, two points off the relegation places, and have finished in mid-table – 13th, 12th and 10th – in the three seasons before 2024-25.
Indeed, they have finished between seventh and 14th in all nine campaigns since their return to the second tier in 2015, rarely in trouble yet also struggling to consistently mount a top-six challenge.
Former Barnsley and Sheffield United boss