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Showing posts from April 30, 2023

Non League: Football will return to Gigg Lane

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Football will return to Gigg Lane next season for the first time since 2019. A vote to merge Bury FC and Bury AFC passed and paved the way for football to return to the iconic stadium. <More Non League news> Members of both clubs failed to reach a two-thirds majority in a previous first merger vote in October. This time over 90% of the Bury FC Supporters' Society and 97% of Bury AFC members voted to form one club to play at Gigg Lane from next season. This unified club in Bury also qualifies for local council and government levelling up funding. What league with the team play in? When Bury F C was expelled from the English Football League in 2019, some fans going formed Bury AFC. That club now plays in the Premier Division of the North West Counties League, the ninth tier of the English football pyramid and they staged their home games a few miles down the road from Gigg Lane at Stainton Park in Radcliffe. The newly merged Bury Football Club will therefore play in that sa

Transfer Rumours: Declan Rice on the move?

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 Will Declan Rice be on the move this summer? It is expected that West Ham United will demand £100 million for midfielder Declan Rice this summer as they attempt to fight off interest from several Premier League rivals. The East London club would prefer to keep Rice, but there is an acknowledgement his situation is reaching a critical. He effectively has two years remaining on his contract at the London Stadium. Latest Premier League news:  Premier League news (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United , Newcastle United and Liverpool are monitoring developments. It will be interesting to see which of those clubs make an offer for the England midfielder in the summer.  Rice celebrating a goal for West Ham: Credit -  Football Pictures | Flickr One of the current favourites to sign Rice are Chelsea. They've had a long-held interest in the player, but this will depend on the identity of their new manager and how quickly they can trim down their

Premier League reaction: Late drama at the Amex

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 Brighton & Hove Albion 1 - 0 Manchester United Let's explore as Brighton sealed a late win over Manchester United at the Amex Stadium. Despite creating several chances, United probably didn't deserve the win . In all honesty, a draw would have been a fair result and it took a late VAR decision to give Brighton the victory. The match in context Despite the defeat, United are still in a prime position to reach the Champions League by finishing in the top four. However, the margin for error has been reduced, and they must hold their nerve after this dramatic defeat. This Brighton win followed a 6-0 thrashing of Wolves, and many fans believe performances like these will be critical in the chase for Europe. The tweet "Massive Win" from the official Brighton Twitter account probably summed up everything. Massive. Win. pic.twitter.com/UAbflVwkGt — Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) May 4, 2023   Looking back at United, they stay in 4th place and are 4 po

EFL: Greatest ever play-off matches

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 We all love the drama of the playoffs.  They are a series of matches contested by the four football teams that finish below the automatic promotion places in the second, third and fourth tiers of English football. They were first introduced to the EFL in 1987 and have been staged after every season since. Some hate them and others love them. Let's explore some of their greatest matches. <Click here to find more news and stories from the English Football League> Reading 2-4 Swansea: 2011 Championship play-off final. Swansea stormed into a 3-0 lead come the end of the first half. However, a two-goal comeback from Reading after half-time tested the nerve of the Welsh side. A young Scott Sinclair then bagged a hat-trick to ensure Swansea became the first Welsh side to play in the Premier League. This would mark the start of a memorable period for the club. In 2013, they won the EFL Cup.  Nottingham Forest 2-5 Yeovil: 2007 League One play-off semi-final.  One to forget for Fo

Icons: Ronaldo

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Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, commonly known as Ronaldo, is our latest football icon.  He played for some of the world's biggest clubs and was a huge icon during the 1990's and 2000's. A brief introduction to 'The Phenomenon'. Nicknamed The Phenomenon and R9, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever. As a multi-functional striker who brought a new dimension to the position, Ronaldo had a huge impact on a generation of forwards and attacking players that followed him. His individual accolades include being named FIFA World Player of the Year three times and winning the Ballon d'Or twice. <More football icons> The start of his career. He started at Cruzeiro and moved to PSV in 1994. He joined Barcelona in 1996 for a then-world record transfer fee, and at 20 years old, he was named the 1996 FIFA World Player of the Year, making him the youngest recipient of the award. Despite being a fan favourite and developing an affinity with the clu

Premier League: It's all change at Leeds United

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Leeds United have sacked manager Javi Gracia and appointed Sam Allardyce as they try to avoid relegation.  Spaniard Gracia was appointed in February and has been sacked after only 10 weeks and 12 games in charge at Elland Road. Allardyce has been tasked with guiding 17th-placed Leeds, who are out of the bottom three only on goal difference, to safety with four games remaining.  Premier League news (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) His first game for his club is against Manchester City on Saturday. Gracia's final match in charge was Sunday's 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth. Can Leeds do the unthinkable and beat City? That latest heavy loss followed an awful run of results that included 6-1, 5-1 and 4-1 defeats against Liverpool , Crystal Palace and Arsenal respectively.  Premier League: It was a dramatic Sunday (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) This dismissal takes the total of managerial changes in the Premier League to 15 for the season, five more than in any other previous campaign.

Women's UCL: Arsenal left heartbroken

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 Arsenal Women 2 - 3 VfL Wolfsburg Ladies Arsenal were knocked out in the Women's Champions League semi-finals with a crushing extra-time defeat by two-time winners Wolfsburg at the Emirates Stadium. A terrible mistake by defender Lotte Wubben-Moy gifted possession to Wolfsburg with minutes to go and unmarked substitute Pauline Bremer poked in a cross from close range. In front of a record crowd for a women's game in England, Arsenal put the 60,063 fans through an array of emotions before leaving them heartbroken after 120 minutes. Arsenal took an early lead through Stina Blackstenius after avoiding a video assistant referee (VAR) scare for a potential handball in the box by Wubben-Moy in the opening minutes. Wolfsburg then responded as returning captain Alexandra Popp - ruled out of the first leg with a calf injury - set up Jill Roord to make it 1-1 on the night and later headed the visitors in front. A Blackstenius close-range finish was ruled out by VAR shortly into the

Premier League: Breathless encounter at Leicester

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Leicester City 2 - 2 Everton Leicester City and Everton had to settle for a draw after a chaotic 90+ minutes that leaves teams both in deep trouble at the wrong end of the Premier League table. This breathless encounter came after a dramatic Sunday. How important could these two days prove to be come the end of the season. Premier League: It was a dramatic Sunday (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Both Leicester and Everton started the game in the bottom three. However, a point was enough to drag Leicester out of the drop zone on goal difference, while Everton stay 19th, one point behind 17th-placed Leeds. Dominic Calvert-Lewin opened the scoring with just his second goal of the season from the penalty spot, picking himself up to convert after being bundled over by Timothy Castagne. The lead lasted just seven minutes as the hosts equalised through Caglar Soyuncu, who rolled home a cool finish from Wout Faes' knockdown. Leicester turned the game around after 33 minutes as the spri

Premier League: It was a dramatic Sunday

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 There were 20 goals on a dramatic Sunday of Premier League football.  Let's explore what happened and examine what the impact might be come the end of the season. AFC Bournemouth 4 - 1 Leeds United Bournemouth earned a superb 4-1 win to deepen Leeds' relegation worries. A quick-fire Jefferson Lerma played a key part in lifting his side further away from relegation danger and leaving the visitors a point clear of the drop zone. Fulham 1 - 2 Manchester City Manchester City beat Fulham to return to the top of the Premier League for the first time since February as Erling Haaland scored his 50th goal of the season in all competitions. Fulham did themselves proud on the day but didn't offer enough in an attacking sense to worry the title favourites too much. Can City go and win The Treble? Click here to see all the news and stories from East Manchester.  Manchester United 1 - 0 Aston Villa Bruno Fernandes scored his 100th career league goal to boost Manchester United's

Transfer Rumours: Could Tammy Abraham be returning to England?

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 Could Tammy Abraham be moving back to the Premier League? Let's see what the latest rumours are saying. The eyes of two giants of European football are reportedly on Tammy Abraham. Last night to watch the match between Rome and Milan at the Olimpico, there were also some representatives of Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.  Both clubs are looking for a striker to reinforce their offensive department and, for different reasons, the former Chelsea could be the right person. At Old Trafford, they are looking for a long-term option to try and help them compete for the Premier League and Champions League next season. For PSG, their failure in the Champions League could see them look to start something of a rebuild. There are rumours that PSG  might see both Lionel Messi and Neymar depart. Could a shock move to Spurs be on the cards? It was rumoured back in October 2022 that Spurs were interested in Abraham. One of their issues over the years has been their inability to bri

Scotland: Celtic move closer to another Treble

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 Celtic 1 - 0 Rangers Celtic booked their place in the 2023 Scottish Cup final after a tense 1-0 win over Rangers. They will Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the first weekend of June as their hunt for another treble continues. Jota was the hero for the Hoops, heading home from inside the six-yard box just three minutes before half-time. A 50/50 split in the crowd meant, there was plenty of colour and noise on either side of Hampden Park. In the opening few minutes of the match, that incredible atmosphere carried on. The opening 10 minutes were a cagey affair. Celtic's backline had to deal with a raft of aerial balls forward, but once Celtic got a hold of the ball their possession and composure followed. Half-chances came and went for either side, but it was Allan McGregor that was the first to be tested on 27 minutes when Alistair Johnston let rip from 20 yards.  WHAT. AN. ATMOSPHERE. 😍 "One of the true great fixtures in the game we love so much...Glasgow does rivalry

Serie A: How Napoli soared to the top once again

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The Napoli fans have always been a passionate group of people.  This season, that passion has only increased. Occasionally, this passion is rewarded with a successful football team. Their dreams of watching a vibrant team with flair and skill have become a reality once again. They overcome their rich northern rivals to reach the summit of Italian football once again. From March onwards, their city has become a scene of constant celebration. The Champions League defeat against AC Milan was annoying but they quickly got over that. The story is one that is discussed by fans across Europe  Lilly is a Manchester United fan but she moved to Naples in 2014 and has become obsessed with the local fan culture. She said: Almost every neighbourhood is adorned with sky blue and white streamers, flags bearing the faces of Napoli players. This current team means more to them. They feel it represents them in a way that has only been replicated once." Shaun is from Inverness in Scotland. H

Premier League: Brentford maintain European hopes

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 Brentford 2 - 1 Nottingham Forest It was a dramatic afternoon at the Gtech Community Stadium as Brentford snatched a late win.  The match could have a huge impact come the end of the season. Will Forest go down? Can Brentford qualify for European competition?  THIS GROUP 😍 pic.twitter.com/TpMpGSKWtY — Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) April 29, 2023 <Latest Premier League news and stories here> The away side looked set to earn a vital three points in their relegation battle, holding the lead as the clock ticked past 80 minutes thanks to Renan Lodi’s close-range goal late in the first half. However, Ivan Toney’s free-kick snuck past Keylor Navas for his 20th goal of the Premier League season before Dasilva sparked amazing scenes and celebrations at the Gtech Community Stadium. The goal was all of Dasilva’s doing, the attacker driving inside Morgan Gibbs-White, then flashing a shot beyond Navas at his near post to register back-to-back league wins for Thomas Frank’s Bees. Post mat