European Super Football

There's been an update regarding the kick off time for the 2024 FA Cup final.  The match taking place between Manchester City and Manchester United will kick off at 15:00 BST. For the repeat of last year’s final between the same teams , the match has been brought forward from 17:30 BST. The Football Association said the kick-off time was moved to the traditional slot after it was agreed with both sides alongside the local authority, members of the safety advisory group and TV broadcasters.  City and United will meet at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 25th May. Last year’s final between the two was the first all-Manchester FA Cup final, with Pep Guardiola's side winning 2-1 on their way to a Treble. In 2023, the match was moved to the same time following police advice. This was the first final to take place at that time in twelve years. Many fans were happy with this as they believed it is the best time for important football matches.  How did the teams reach the FA Cup final? 

There has been some interesting news from Germany It has been announced that Manager Thomas Tuchel will be bidding farewell to Bayern Munich at the conclusion of this season. The 50-year-old stepped in for Julian Nagelsmann at the helm of the German champions in March 2023, signing on until June 2025.  The former Chelsea boss will now be departing a year earlier than anticipated, as part of what is described as a strategic shift in Bayern's sporting direction. Under his guidance, Bayern clinched last season's Bundesliga title after he assumed control in the spring. Nevertheless, they currently find themselves trailing leaders Bayer Leverkusen by eight points following consecutive league defeats. One of these setbacks was a resounding 3-0 loss to Leverkusen , compounded by a 1-0 defeat to Lazio in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 encounter. Check out the highlights from that recent defeat to Leverkusen.  Bayer Remain Undefeated! | Bayer Leverkusen - FC Bayern

What next for Wayne Rooney and Birmingham City? Picture credit -  Colin Bradbury | Flickr Birmingham City has decided to part ways with manager Wayne Rooney after a brief stint of only 83 days leading the Championship club. The 38-year-old took over the managerial role on 11 October following the contentious choice to remove John Eustace , with the team positioned sixth in the table at that time. However, the team's performance has seen a decline, now standing at 20th place. The recent 3-0 defeat to Leeds on Monday marked the ninth loss during Rooney's 15-game tenure. Professional development coach Steve Spooner will be assuming  temporary charge for Birmingham. Additionally, the club has also ended its association with one of Rooney's backroom staff, former Wolves and Wales midfielder Carl Robinson. The decision to bring in former England captain Rooney, who had previously managed Derby County and MLS side DC United, drew comparisons to the club's unfortunate mov

Here we go again New plans for a revamped European Super League (ESL) have been unveiled following a significant court decision.  Picture from a banner protesting the European Super League in 2021 This latest court ruling declared it illegal to prevent clubs from joining an alternative league. The proposed league features 64 men's teams and 32 women's teams, posing a direct challenge to current UEFA competitions. Manchester United, initially a key player in the original ESL concept  but later withdrew amidst heavy criticism, has confirmed their ongoing commitment to UEFA tournaments.  Despite the controversy, United's stance remains unchanged, emphasizing their dedication to working constructively with UEFA, the Premier League, and other clubs through the European Clubs Association for the betterment of European football. Previous Super News articles on the European Super League Clubs Announce New Super League Competition (greatermanchesterfootball.blogspot.com) Rememb

Is this a harsh decision? Nottingham Forest have confirmed manager Steve Cooper has been sacked. The announcement that Cooper has been dismissed has come after Forest lost five of their past six games. Forest have won once in 13 Premier League games and taken eight points in that time. They are currently 17th in the Premier League.  They have also picked up just one point from their last six games and are five points ahead of third-bottom Luton, who have a match in hand. A statement on the Forest website reads Cooper departs The City Ground having played an integral part in Forest’s return to the Premier League, cementing himself firmly into the Club’s rich history after guiding The Reds back into England’s top-flight. Appointed as head coach in September 2021, Steve galvanised Forest’s extraordinary rise up the Championship table and into the play-offs, culminating in a memorable win over Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium in May 2022. He then went on to manage the team for 55 m

Birmingham City have announced the appointment of Wayne Rooney as their new manager. The 37-year-old former England captain has joined the Championship club on a three-and-a-half-year deal. He succeeds Blues head coach John Eustace, who was perhaps controversially sacked after 15 months in charge. Read the stories behind a football icon.  The new American owners of Blues, Shelby Companies Limited, have made their first managerial change by appointing the ex-Everton and Manchester United striker. They took over the club in July.  In his new role, Rooney will be supported by his former England team-mate Ashley Cole alongside his old United colleague John O'Shea, the assistant coach of the Republic of Ireland men's national team. Carl Robinson and Pete Shuttleworth will also be part of Rooney's backroom staff after both assisted him at DC United. Click here to read more news from the EFL Wayne Rooney's managerial career will continue with his third job in management, f

UEFA has confirmed that the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland will host the 2028 European Championships . The joint bid was unopposed after Turkey withdrew to focus on a bid with Italy for Euro 2032, which was also confirmed at a meeting in Switzerland. Check out this video from  FAI TV - YouTube The UK and Ireland focused on Euro 2028, with UEFA's approval, after they had previously cancelled a plan to be Europe's preferred candidate for the 2030 World Cup. London's Wembley Stadium and Glasgow's Hampden Park hosted games at Euro 2020. Wembley hosted the final after what proved to be a hugely controversial day where there were reports of carnage and hooliganism outside the stadium.  Matches at Euro 2028 are set to be held at 10 different grounds, including Wembley and Hampden Park alongside Cardiff's Principality Stadium and Dublin's Aviva Stadium. Belfast's Casement Park and Everton's Bramley-Moore Dock stadium, the former unbuilt while the

 For the second year running, Bukayo Saka has been named England men's player of the year. The Arsenal winger, who turned 22 on Tuesday , retained the award he won first in 2021-22. Midfielder Jude Bellingham came second in the ballot, followed by England captain and all-time top scorer Harry Kane. Picture credit -  Premier League 2023/24, Matchday 4 - Arsenal 3:1 Mancheste… | Flickr In the past year, Saka has scored seven goals in 10 appearances for England, including a hat-trick against North Macedonia at Old Trafford. At the 2022 Qatar World Cup , he scored three times for the Three Lions, twice against Iran in the opening group stage and once against Senegal in the last 16. He has 11 England goals in 28 caps. The Arsenal fan favourite is again among England boss Gareth Southgate's squad for Saturday's European Championship qualifier against Ukraine and Tuesday's friendly with Scotland.  Saka will once again be an important player for England in what could be a

 There's been an interesting transfer development involving a Premier League side and another from La Liga. It has been announced that Kieran Tierney has joined LaLiga side Real Sociedad on loan for the 2023/24 season. Scotland international defender Kieran joined them in August 2019 from Celtic and during his time with them, he has made 124 appearances in all competitions. The 26-year-old enjoyed success in his first season with them, finishing the campaign by scoring his debut Arsenal goal in their 3-2 home victory against Watford on the final day of the Premier League season. This achievement was followed just days later, with Kieran starting in their 2-1 FA Cup Final triumph over Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.  He later played an integral role in helping the club secure their fourteenth FA Cup title, a record-breaking feat. Throughout his four seasons at the Emirates, Kieran also played a part in their FA Community Shield victories, winning against Liverpool in 2020 and more r

The £47.2m signing of goalkeeper Andre Onana from Inter Milan has been completed by Manchester United. The 27-year-old Cameroon international has agreed to a five-year contract with a 12-month extension option. Picture from  Football Pictures | Flickr The deal is worth an initial £43.8m plus a possible £3.4m in add-ons, and the former Ajax keeper will now join up with the United squad on their pre-season tour of the United States. Why have United signed him? Ten Hag's desire to bring his former Ajax goalkeeper to Manchester United increased after his excellent performance in Inter Milan's Champions League final defeat. A distribution like Onana's isn't risk-free, but it comes from the modern school of goalkeeping, where the last line of defence is now the first line of defence. Goalkeepers are now expected to be comfortable with the ball at their feet, be able to play short and long passes accurately, and provide angles from which sides who dominate possession can a

Reading are to appoint former Southampton head coach Ruben Selles as their new manager. The 40-year-old Spaniard will take over subject to him obtaining a visa, which the club applied for last week. Selles took charge of Southampton following Nathan Jones' departure in February but only won two of his 17 matches at the helm as Saints finished bottom of the Premier League. Premier League reaction: Southampton relegated (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) He left his former club last month after being told his contract would not be renewed following the club's relegation. During his time at Southampton, his record was pretty bad, but there were clearly many reasons for this. There were two wins, four draws and 10 defeats; 18 goals scored and 33 conceded. That’s not to mention a shock FA Cup defeat at home to Grimsby Town, who ran out 2-1 winners at St Mary’s. Most Southampton seemed to like him and believe he could have done a decent job in other circumstances. In his latest rol

Reports from across England and Scotland have suggested Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has agreed to become the new Tottenham manager on a two-year contract. The Australian has just finished his second season at Celtic. He has them to the Scottish title both years and the domestic treble this campaign. Could he continue going forward with the Parkhead side.  Spurs have been searching for a new main man since Antonio Conte's exit in March. Cristian Stellini and then Ryan Mason both took on the job on an interim basis but struggled to have any success. Cristian Stellini's was arguably a huge disaster.  Premier League news: Tottenham sack interim manager (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Very few Tottenham fans will ever really forget that horrible afternoon at Newcastle a few weeks ago.  More Premier League news:  Premier League news (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)   Picture of Postecoglou during his first season at Celtic The final elements of the deal are being finalised bef

 Chelsea officially have a new manager.  They have confirmed that Mauricio Pochettino will become their head coach from the beginning of the 2023/24 season.  The Argentinian will begin his new role on 1 July 2023 on a two-year contract, with the option of an additional year. Their recent Interim boss Frank Lampard took Chelsea to 12th in the Premier League - their lowest finish since the 1995/1996 season. The blues finished the Premier League   with a 1-1 draw against 4th placed Newcastle United .  In a statement on the Chelsea website, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors, said: "Mauricio’s experience, standards of excellence, leadership qualities and character will serve Chelsea Football Club well as we move forward. " You can read more from the Chelsea website here:  Mauricio Pochettino to become Chelsea head coach | News | Official Site | Chelsea Football Club (chelseafc.com) Let's explore what some Chelsea fans are saying Frank i

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

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.

 What is happening with Tottenham Hotspur? The official Twitter account posted the picture of the corner flag. You know something big is about to go down. Club update from Daniel — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 24, 2023 Interim manager Cristian Stellini has been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur after four matches in charge. The decision comes a day after they were thrashed 6-1 at Newcastle. A performance that saw many fans leave the ground after only 20 minutes. They are currently fifth in the Premier League table. Despite only being six points behind both Newcastle in third and Manchester United in fourth, very few fans will be expecting them to qualify for next season's Champions League. This was a season that started so promising for them. It quickly turned into a nightmare and Daniel Levy felt he has been forced into changing manager again. <Click here to read the story of how their season went very wrong> Look away Spurs fans. Highlights from yesterday. A

 Chelsea have appointed former manager Frank Lampard as caretaker boss until the end of the season. The 44-year-old, who is also Chelsea's record goalscorer, was previously dismissed as head coach at Stamford Bridge following 18 months in the job.  He then took charge at Everton but was sacked in January after less than a year in the role. He did however keep the Toffees in the Premier League.  Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali told the club website: "We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club. As we continue our exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season. We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line. "We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will tur

 Leicester City have sacked manager Brendan Rodgers following a 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace. Rodgers was appointed in February 2019 and led the club to its first FA Cup triumph in 2021.  However, their recent form has been really poor and they now face a battle to stay in the Premier League.  In a statement on the club website , chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said performances and results this season have been below expectations. The statement reads: "It had been our belief that continuity and stability would be key to correcting our course, particularly given our previous achievements under Brendan's management. "Regrettably, the desired improvement has not been forthcoming and with 10 games of the season remaining, the board is compelled to take alternative action to protect our Premier League status." He led Leicester to consecutive fifth-place finishes in his first two full seasons as Foxes boss. He also lifted the FA Cup in 2021. More reaction Kieran is

It has been confirmed that Head Coach Antonio Conte has left Tottenham Hotspur by mutual agreement.  Cristian Stellini will take the team as Acting Head Coach for the remainder of the season, along with Ryan Mason as Assistant Head Coach. This comes just over a week after Conte's extraordinary rant where he appeared to call out players and the Spurs board.  Let's explore some of the best reaction to this announcement Daniel Levy, Spurs Chairman, gave his thoughts on the club website : “We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place. We all need to pull together. Everyone has to step up to ensure the highest possible finish for our Club and amazing, loyal supporters.” Greg, a Spurs fan from Halifax, told us: "I totally agree with all that Conte said regarding the players and the lack of silverware since our last League Cup success. In my opinion, Daniel Levy needs to go, and go now. Maybe under new leadership Spu

 Another Premier League boss has lost his job. On Friday 17th March, Crystal Palace confirmed that Patrick Vieira has left his post as First Team Manager.  Three members of his coaching staff - Osian Roberts, Kristian Wilson and Saïd Aïgoun - have also left the club. Chairman Steve Parish told cpfc.co.uk: “It is with enormous regret that this difficult decision has been made. Ultimately, results in recent months have placed us in a precarious league position and we felt a change is necessary to give us the best chance of retaining Premier League status. That said, Patrick’s impact since joining us in the summer of 2021 has been significant, and he is held in the highest regard by myself, and all of his colleagues.  "He led the team to a Wembley FA Cup semi-final and a respectable 12th-placed finish last season playing some exciting football, which was a challenging and crucial campaign for the club given the changes we made to the squad prior to his arrival." All the best r