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      Rafa Benitez in embarrassing ‘cowboy’ gaffe over now-deleted tweet about Newcastle getting Champions League football

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      NEWCASTLE hero Rafa Benitez suffered a hilarious gaffe on social media after his former club sealed Champions League qualification.Benitez joined the Magpies in 2016 and won over the fans as he gained Premier League promotion in his first full season and brought stability before falling out with Mike Ashley three years later.
      Newcastle legend Rafa Benitez suffered a hilarious gaffe on social media
      Benitez mixed Newcastle’s famous slogan with an iconic cowboy lineCredit: Rex
      The Spanish tactician still has a soft spot for the Toon and proved it on Twitter after the Tyneside giants made it to the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.
      However, the ex-Liverpool boss put together a funny typo as he mistook the iconic “Howay the lads” slogan with a famous cowboy greeting and wrote “Howdy the lads”.
      Benitez issued a photo showing Newcastle players as well as manager Eddie Howe celebrating and tweeted: “Congratulations to all involved. Howdy the lads.”
      The ex-Real Madrid manager quickly realised his mistake and deleted the tweet.
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      But some Newcastle fans managed to get a screenshot and enjoyed some friendly banter as they still appreciated the gesture from their former manager.
      One fan tweeted: “Rafa Benitez tweeted “Howdy the lads!” Instead of “Howay the lads!” Yeehaw.”
      Another posted: “I reckon howdy the lads might take off y’know, especially on our USA tour in pre-season. Rafa Benitez, marketing genius.”
      A third commented: “Rafa Benitez accidentally tweeting then deleting “Howdy the lads!” is sending me west.”
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      This fan said: “Cowboy town!!!!”
      That one wrote: “Yeehaw up the Toon.”
      And this supporter tweeted: “Rootin’-tootin’ for the Toon!” More

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      Newcastle set to earn less than half Man City’s Champions League money as they have NO ranking points

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      NEWCASTLE’S Champions League pot of gold is set to be less than HALF of the Prem’s other three contenders.Eddie Howe’s men have earned the club a place back in the European elite for the first time since the 2002-03 season under Bobby Robson.
      Newcastle will receive less than half of the other Prem clubs that have qualified for the Champions LeagueCredit: Reuters
      Pep Guardiola’s Man City will collect at least £58.06millionCredit: PA
      But a full decade without any Euro football will hurt them when Uefa dole out the Champions League cash in September.
      While Manchester City are assured of a minimum £58.06million before they even kick a ball, New­castle may start with just £21.5m, less than half the likely fees paid to both Arsenal and Manchester United, who need one point from their final two games to book a top-four spot.
      That is due to the Toon taking a tiny share of the controversial “ten-year historical coefficient pot”.
      The £522m pot is divided on a sliding scale, with top-rated qualifiers Real Madrid taking £31.65m and City, fourth in the rankings, earning £28.67m.
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      But Newcastle, due to their long European exile, have NO ranking points.
      Instead, they will be assigned one fifth of the English coefficient of 37.635 —  just 7.527 ranking points.
      That almost certainly means Newcastle will be the lowest-ranked qualifiers and take just £989,000 from that pot. Manchester United will pick up £24.72m and  Arsenal £21.75m.
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      The total Champions League prize fund of  £1.77billion per season is split into three portions —  historical rankings, performance-related merit payments, and  TV “market pool” for each country.
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      All four English sides earn the same £13.6m qualification payment.
      But with the Toon looking more likely to finish fourth — Manchester United will go third with a win over Chelsea tomorrow — they will get a smaller cut of the  TV pool.
      BT’s mega-deal, which continues under the new TNT Sports label, means the English pot of £57.6m is the biggest in Europe.
      The first half is paid out according to the Prem positions, with champs City taking 40 per cent — £11.52m —  and the fourth-placed team just a tenth, or £2.88m.
      Erik ten Hag’s  United, if they finish third, will get a fraction MORE than Arsenal — £48.11m — because of that extra coefficient payment.But even finishing third would only bag Newcastle a total of £24.38m. More

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      Newcastle’s viral assistant Jason Tindall says ‘haters make me laugh’ after ‘attention-seeking mad dog’ label

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      JASON TINDALL doubts that Hollywood’s finest could write a script for his and Eddie Howe’s ‘incredible journey’.While Howe would, of course, be handed the lead role, you would back ‘Mad Dog’ to steal the show.
      Jason Tindall has hailed his journey with Eddie HoweCredit: Getty
      He has known Eddie Howe since 1998Credit: PA
      The Newcastle manager’s assistant was centre stage a fortnight ago when mocked across social media for looking — as the name of the viral Twitter account says — “desperate to be the centre of attention”.
      Often spotted shaking the opposition gaffer’s hand before Howe and grinning widely at the front of every team snap, the “jealous haters” accuse Tindall of hogging the limelight.
      But he is happy to take the stick, as he chuckles all the way to the Champions League — after Monday’s 0-0 draw with Leicester confirmed Toon’s return to the European elite after a 20-year exile.
      Tindall, 45, said: “It did make me laugh when I found out about the nickname ‘Mad Dog’.
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      “The haters love to hate but it just makes me laugh.
      “It’s a compliment to Newcastle — it’s a rival a lot of other clubs don’t want. I’m thick-skinned enough now not to take anything personally.
      “A lot of people like to hate and there’s a lot of jealousy out there.
      “A lot of people don’t like  Newcastle challenging at the top.
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      “Long may that continue, whether the stick does or not, who knows but there’s been a lot of love from Newcastle fans.”
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      Tindall is the yin to Howe’s yang — spiky, extroverted, in your face and energetic bordering on hyperactive.
      He is the perfect foil for steady Eddie, with their paths first crossing as team-mates at Bournemouth in 1998.
      Howe said: “We didn’t really have a relationship. We’re really different people. But there’s a force when we come together that’s really powerful.”
      They joined forces in the dugout in 2008, taking the cash-strapped Cherries from the depths of League Two to the Prem in seven years.
      Howe has spoken about the 500-mile car journeys they would take in the early days scouting players — yet next term they will be jetting around Europe in the Champions League.
      And Tindall added: “We had a little moment at the end of the Leicester game because everyone knows where we’ve come from.
      “You could not write a movie about it. We’ve done it the hard way and we’ve earned our stripes.
      “Bournemouth started on -17 points and were bottom of League Two. Fighting for our lives and having to finance a lot of things ourselves.
      They worked together at BournemouthCredit: Reuters
      And have now led Newcastle to the Champions LeagueCredit: Getty
      “All that time spent on the road, all the hard yards and all the hard graft we’ve done to achieve something like this makes it extra special.
      “That’s what we were saying, can you believe we’re in the Champions League from where we’ve come from? It’s times like this where you pinch yourself and go, ‘You know what, it has been an incredible journey’.”
      Eighteen months ago Howe, laid low with Covid, had to watch his first game as Magpies chief  — 3-3 against Brentford — from a hotel as Tindall took charge at St James’ Park.
      That point saw Newcastle slip to the bottom of the Premier League. Just 551 days later and they are in the Champions League.
      And despite being taunted for stealing the spotlight, Tindall knows there is only one top dog.
      He said: “Eddie is the leader of the group and nobody deserves it more. He’s an incredible manager. He works extremely hard with great attention to detail and that drives the best out of everyone, me included.
      “I don’t think he gets the plaudits he deserves — he is up there with the best managers.
      “What we’ve achieved this season is from our day-to-day work and the long hours we do, in terms of preparation to get the outcome we want.
      “That’s probably been the strength of us both since we’ve been here.”
      Iconic boss Sir Bobby Robson was the last to lead the Magpies into the Champions League.
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      Tindall added: “To be spoken of in the same breath is fantastic.
      “It just goes to show what a great achievement it has been and hopefully we can continue to grow —  hopefully, this is just the start.” More

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      I was told I’d won a trip of a lifetime to the Champions League final – only to find out it was a MISTAKE… I’m furious

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      A YOUNG football fan was left fuming after he was told he’d won a trip of a lifetime to the Champions League final only to find out it was a mistake.Kyro Moore, 18, thought he had bagged the chance to watch one of football’s biggest games after entering a competition with sportswear giant Adidas.
      Kyro Moore was left devastated after he won two tickets to the Champions League finalCredit: Tony Nicoletti Daily Record
      Kyro was going to go to club football’s season finale with his dad MichaelCredit: Tony Nicoletti Daily Record
      In a grovelling email, Adidas confirmed he was not actually being sent to the UEFA clash between Man City and Inter Milan in Istanbul next month.
      The sportswear giant confirmed he was one of several others who had fallen victim to a glitch in their app.
      And the footy fan was then offered a £100 voucher as an apology.
      Kyro, a car parts warehouse worker, from Ayrshire, said the blunder had left him “gutted”.
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      He said: “I was absolutely over the moon when I was told I’d won. It’s a once in a lifetime experience.
      “I’m a massive football fan and support Celtic, who won the European cup, so you always dream of going to see a European cup final. I thought ‘you beauty, this is your chance’.
      “I’d managed to shuffle things about at work and plans with friends to prepare for this trip away.
      “When I was told it had been a mistake it was complete mood swing and the way I was feeling just plummeted.
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      “I’m just out of school and exams so I thought this was going to be a celebration after all that. I thought it had come at a great time to get away enjoy myself after the stress. ”
      Thousands of football fans are preparing to in head to the Ataturk Olympic Stadium for the June 10 final.
      Kyro entered a draw at the end of April after signing up to the AdiClub to win tickets for two people to the game.
      He was stunned to open his app earlier this month to a message telling him he had won.
      It said: “You’re a winner. Score. You’ve just won two tickets to the UEFA Champions League Final. We’ll be in touch with all the details soon.”
      When no more details arrived, Kyro contacted customer support and was assured via messages that he would receive more information within two days.
      But last week an email arrived confirming there had been a mistake.
      It said: “Kyro, you are receiving this email because you are one of a small number of participants that unfortunately may have received a confusing message due to an error message after signing up to a draw for a chance to win UCL final tickets.
      “Unfortunately, due to an error, for a short while it may have been technically possible for you to access a winner page in the adidas app. When notified of this error, we promptly removed the page.”
      ‘DEVASTATED’
      The email apologised for the mistake and offered Kyro a £100 voucher to redeem on the website.
      Kyro said: “You wouldn’t expect a company like Adidas to make the error they did.
      “I was excited about what an experience this could have been and had told all my friends and family. They were devastated for me.
      “Adidas sent me a voucher with a redemption code. I’ve not redeemed it because I don’t think it’s acceptable.”
      Kyro’s dad Michael, 41, who he had planned to take to the game with him, has complained to the sports giant on his son’s behalf.
      He said: “Because I don’t like seeing my son upset I went and priced the trip myself to try and take him.
      “The tickets to the game would have been two spread out seats, not even together, and it would have been £4,800 all in but there were no flights left to Scotland on the Sunday so I couldn’t take him.
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      “I’m gutted for my son. It’s like dangling a carrot and then pulling it away. There should be a process in place to make sure this never happens.”
      Adidas was approached for comment.
      The winning notification say Kyro jump for joyCredit: Tony Nicoletti Daily Record
      But after communicating with Adidas he was left disappointedCredit: Tony Nicoletti Daily Record More

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      Kevin De Bruyne’s stunning wife goes braless in see-through top as she parties with Man City Wags in nightclub

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      MANCHESTER CITY superstar Kevin De Bruyne’s wife Michele Lacroix stunned in a see-through outfit during the club’s title celebrations.De Bruyne, 31, and Michele, 29, attended a Manchester nightclub on Sunday alongside other City stars and their partners after lifting the trophy at the Etihad earlier that day.
      Kevin De Bruyne’s wife Michele Lacroix appeared to be braless in a see-through topCredit: Eamonn and James Clarke
      Michele celebrated the Premier League title with Nathan Ake and his partner KayleeCredit: INSTAGRAM
      Michele and Kaylee were joined by Bernardo Silva’s partner Ines Degener TomazCredit: INSTAGRAM
      Kaylee also posed with Manuel Akanji’s wife Melanie and Riyad Mahrez’s partner Taylor WardCredit: INSTAGRAM
      The playmaker’s wife stood out with a braless dress as she stepped out of the car and entered the club.
      She also posed for photos alongside other Wags from inside their exclusive venue.
      That is after the Belgium international brought her and their three kids Mason Milian, Rome and Suri on to the pitch to pose with the trophy following their 1-0 win over Chelsea.
      De Bruyne and Michele will be hoping for more celebrations to come in the next month.
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      City are after a sensational Treble after pipping Arsenal for the Premier League title.
      The Citizens will face off against rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final on June 3 at Wembley.
      Pep Guardiola’s men will then fly to Istanbul to face Inter Milan in the Champions League final just seven days later.
      If City win both matches then they will become the first Premier League team to win a Treble after United in 1999.
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      The Champions League trophy is the only piece of silverware to elude the club since Sheikh Mansour took over in 2008.

      Pep Guardiola is also desperate to win it, having lifted five Premier League titles in that time.
      The team’s final Prem game takes place on Sunday at Brentford with De Bruyne unlikely to start in order to be fit for the two finals. More

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      Ex-Newcastle star in last Champions League squad left a ‘caterpillar cake’ poo in fridge for disgusted team-mate

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      NEWCASTLE’S last Champions League squad included a player who left a “caterpillar cake” poo in a team-mate’s fridge.That was none other than Andy Griffin, who clocked up 104 appearances in six years at St James’ Park and was a starter under Sir Bobby Robson in Europe back in 2003.
      Ex-Newcastle ace Andy Griffin pulled off a disgusting prank back in 2003Credit: PA:Empics Sport
      Griffin played for Newcastle the last time they qualified for the Champions LeagueCredit: Getty
      Bradley Orr used to live with Griffin when they played together at NewcastleCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      That was the last time the Toon played in the Champions League but Eddie Howe’s men just ended that 20-year hoodoo after confirming their place in the top four with a goalless draw against Leicester.
      However, Howe will be hoping his players will show more decorum than Griffin did two decades ago when he pulled off a vile prank on Bradley Orr.
      The two Newcastle team-mates lived together in the same flat back in the early 2000s.
      And the outlandish right-back decided to wind up his understudy.
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      However, Griffin arguably went overboard by leaving something disgusting in their fridge for his flatmate to find.
      Orr told Under the Cosh: “Griff is one of my best mates, never mind football, one of my best friends, what a fella.
      “I lived with him for a few years – he’s around the bend, nuts, horrible creature, but an absolute diamond.
      “Griff was playing week in, week out at this point and you know when you have to stay behind to do extra and stuff.
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      “I come in the flat one day and he’s asleep on the couch, and I’ve gone off and gone into the fridge and there is a turd that long on the top shelf of the fridge.
      “I’m like, ‘Are you for f*****g real?’ We’ve got to live here, this is our fridge, with a big log about that long.
      “He wasn’t asleep, he was just down laughing his head off and I was like, ‘There’s something wrong with you mate’.
      “You know when you s**t on your own doorstep, you have s**t in your own fridge. He thought it was just hilarious.”
      Jon Parkin then asked: “Was it like a caterpillar cake on the fridge?”
      Orr confirmed that was indeed the case as the panel burst out laughing. More

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      Game Week 36 completes the 2022/23 Dream Team season – make sure to use any remaining transfers!

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      This is an important public service announcement.All Dream Team gaffers should be aware that Game Week 36 will be the last Game Week of the 2022/23 season.
      That means the final day of the Premier League campaign falls under the same umbrella as the FA Cup final, Europa Conference League final and the Champions League final.
      Sunday promises to be a tense day for Leicester, Leeds and Everton supporters
      To be clear, every player will be subject to lockout from 4:30pm Sunday when every team kicks off at the same time, meaning Dream Team managers won’t be able to make any transfers after that time.
      May’s transfer refresh was the last batch of the season so Dream Team bosses should use any remaining transfers before Sunday’s games get underway to tailor their XI to the final fixtures.
      Naturally, players likely to appear in the last round of league games plus one (or two) of the subsequent finals seem best placed to register serious points.
      Manchester United host Fulham before yet another visit to Wembley, the site of their Carabao Cup victory a few months ago.
      West Ham travel to relegation-threatened Leicester before their meeting with Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final in Prague.
      However, Manchester City are once again the central protagonists as they will compete three times in Game Week 36.
      Manchester City will play three times in Game Week 36
      The Premier League champions visit Brentford on Sunday, face their local rivals in the FA Cup the following Saturday, and take on Inter in the Champions League final a week later as they chase a historic treble.
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      Pep Guardiola may opt for a second-string starting line-up again this coming weekend – the likes of Sergio Gomez (£4.6m), Kalvin Phillips (£1.2m) and Rico Lewis (£3.9m) were given rare starts against Chelsea in Game Week 35 – but even if that’s the case, the popular favourites will surely be reinstalled for the two major finals.
      Whatever strategies Dream Team gaffers decide upon, it’s crucial everyone understands that (a) any remaining transfers need be implemented before 4:30pm on Sunday and (b) there will be no transfers issued on the first Friday of June. More

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      Newcastle face Champions League group of death but fans won’t care after 20 YEARS out of competition

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      NEWCASTLE could be handed a NIGHTMARE Champions League group as they prepare to return to Europe’s elite competition.Toon fans will be relishing the opportunity to face the continent’s elite after securing their place on Monday night.
      Eddie Howe has clinched a Champions League spot for NewcastleCredit: Reuters
      Newcastle drew with Leicester to guarantee a top four place on MondayCredit: Getty
      Eddie Howe’s men played out a goalless draw with Leicester to clinch the point they needed to guarantee Champions League football next season.
      The Magpies will be placed into pot four as they prepare for their first appearance in the competition since the 2002/03 campaign.
      That season they made it through to the second group stage before being eliminated.
      But they could be up against it from the off this time around.
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      The nightmare Champions League group Newcastle could be handed
      As they will be placed into pot four, it means they are set to come up against three more experienced European sides.
      And they could feasibly be drawn against Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and AC Milan in a group of death.
      Real Madrid, 14-time European champions, will be placed in pot two as they failed to win LaLiga this season.
      And seven-time winners AC Milan are set to drop down into pot three – just 12 months after their Serie A title triumph earned them a place in pot one.
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      However, Newcastle could also be handed a more favourable draw despite being in the lowest pot.
      Dutch champions Feyenoord are a less intimidating pot one side that Howe’s side could come up against.
      Then in pot two they may well receive the likes of Porto or RB Leipzig.
      And in pot three Newcastle could end up alongside Dinamo Zagreb, Rangers or Red Star Belgrade. More