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    Man United boss Erik ten Hag praised by his players for being ‘most fashionable’

    MANCHESTER United boss Erik ten Hag is a title winner in the fashion stakes, according to his players.The Dutchman, 53, has been praised for his tailored suits and waistcoats — and his fondness for flat caps has seen him likened to hit TV gangsters The Peaky Blinders.
    Trendy ten Hag will stroll on football’s top catwalk next month as he leads United out at Wembley for the FA Cup finalCredit: AFP
    His stylish look is a far cry from the “club shop chic” of rival Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, who prefers team-crested gear and a baseball cap.
    And ex-Leeds manager Jesse Marsch often wore jeans on the sideline.
    Some Man United staff were said to have been heard commenting on how “sharp” ten Hag looked as he left the hotel ahead of the club’s recent FA Cup semi-final win against Brighton.
    A club insider said: “The manager is always turned out so well, whether it’s his beard or his clothing. We joked he could be a Peaky Blinder with his flat cap.
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    “It’s a far cry from [ex-manager] Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his tracksuits. We’ve even seen the gaffer at the training ground wearing tweed — all he needed was the shotgun.”
    The former Ajax manager lifted silverware for the Red Devils earlier this year, dispatching Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United 2-0 in the final of the League Cup at Wembley.
    United lost away at Brighton on Thursday in the Premier League and face West Ham on Sunday.
    Trendy ten Hag will stroll on football’s top catwalk next month as he leads United out at Wembley again for the FA Cup final.
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    Let’s raise a glass to Celtic boss Postecoglou.. don’t be surprised to see him an impact this side of Hadrian’s Wall

    IT WAS a storm in an egg cup, or perhaps a whisky glass, but Celtic’s probable fifth treble in seven seasons has the other half of Glasgow itching with frustration.And there can be few scratchers north of the border more aggravated than Rangers manager Michael Beale, 42, who has already been rendered title-less as another Hoops monopoly of big trophies plays out.
    Ange Postecoglou’s CV is nothing to sneer atCredit: Getty
    He is on course to win the treble with CelticCredit: Kenny Ramsay
    His counterpart five-and-a-half miles away, Ange Postecoglou, brushed off Beale’s comment that the Greco-Australian was a lucky man to have had handy transfer cash.
    “Not luck but know-how” was an Aussie reaction the late Shane Warne, God bless him, would have been proud of. I am sure the Greeks had a phrase for it, too.
    Under-estimating Ange has been a common reaction throughout his 25 years of management.
    But get this for a CV: Two titles in the old National Soccer League with South Melbourne; two in the A-League with Brisbane Roar, yet another in Japan’s J League with Yokohama F Marinos.
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    And then, a badge really to boast about, guiding Australia to 2015 Asian Cup glory.
    With the Roar, he once went an impressive 36 games undefeated. Eat your heart out, Pep.
    There isn’t a name Aussies can’t transform into a single syllable so Angelos soon became Ange to his mates in Melbourne.
    He was five when his family, penniless and jobless settled there in 1965. A defender with the features of a warrior, he was to become a one-club player and Aussie international.
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    Postecoglou, 57, has led Celtic to the title and won the league cup twice in his first two seasons with the club, dominating Scottish football as Manchester City threaten to do in England.
    But where Celtic are set to be champions for the 53rd time, no English club has the satisfaction of nearing an equivalent domination — Manchester United leading on 20 from Liverpool’s 19.
    Now whether being emperor of a small kingdom is more satisfying than being president of a big one, the fact is that Celtic are minor players in modern football.
    The national team are only beginning to shrug off the air of useless braggadocio that settled over it in the past two decades.
    In Glasgow pubs, they still tease Sassenachs about the 3-2 win against England, 1966 World Cup winners a year earlier.
    And the triumphs of Robert the Bruce, seven centuries ago.
    All bar Celtic and Rangers struggle to attract attendances of more than 20,000.
    Billionaire owners are not to be found and television contracts are tiny compared with those in England.
    Sky recently signed to pay Scottish football £150million-a-year from 2025, while the company’s current contract with the EFL is £119m-a-season, but is likely to be increased because there is a probable new rival.
    Chicken feed compared with the Premier League champions, who will earn £176m from TV money this season alone.
    There are still advocates of the admission of the two Old Firm clubs to the English structure, although these tend to fall foul of arguments about the level of entry.
    The Ibrox capacity is just over 50,000 and Celtic Park is around 60,000 so the possibility will always be attractive to some — the SNP  Government probably not.
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    And so with the odd exception — Rangers under Steven Gerrard in 2021 — Celtic have a recent record of domestic dominance that looks set to continue.
    Postecoglou’s feats around the world suggest he would make an impact this side of Hadrian’s Wall and, no, this is not a new defensive strategy. More

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    If Sam Allardyce had stayed at England, I’d have been a Three Lion.. he’s the man to grab Leeds players by the balls

    I’M more painfully aware than any other footballer that Sam Allardyce lasted only one match as England manager.That’s because, if Big Sam had been around to name a second England squad, I knew I would have been in it.
    Sam Allardyce can inspire Leeds to safetyCredit: PA
    Big Sam would have called Troy Deeney up to the England squadCredit: Getty
    Back in 2016, I was in good form for Watford in the Premier League and after Sam’s first match in charge against Slovakia, he’d phoned my club and told them I would be called up to face Malta and Slovenia in World Cup qualifiers.
    I can remember it well, we were due to play Burnley and I was told that as long as I didn’t have a stinker, I’d get my first England call-up that week.
    But the very next day, Sam quit as England manager after being caught in a newspaper sting.
    It was harsh that the FA felt he had to go but, I tell you what, I’d have paid him good money for him to stay in that job for at least another few weeks!
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    I’ve had a better career than I ever expected when I started out, so there are no complaints from me — but to have represented my country would have been a crowning glory.
    Despite that disappointment, I’ve always felt very grateful that Sam rated me highly enough to play for England — and I’m delighted to see him back in football at Leeds after a two-year absence.
    I know a lot of people laughed when, during his first press conference, he claimed he was “up there” with Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
    I didn’t find it funny. I thought it was brilliant and I was buzzing for him. This is a self-confident man with an excellent CV to back up his words.
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    If I was a Leeds player, I’d be thinking, “This bloke believes he can get us out of jail, I’m all in”.
    My old Watford boss, Javi Gracia, lasted just 70 days in charge at Elland Road.
    He is a thoroughly good man who was dealt a bad hand at Leeds.
    That is a squad which needs to be grabbed by the balls and there is no one better to do that than Big Sam. I think he can keep them up.
    Leeds have four matches to play and the first two are against Manchester City and Newcastle.
    But the final two games, at West Ham and at home to Tottenham, are definitely winnable and a couple of victories will probably save them from the drop.
    Their midfield is the worst part of Leeds’ team — and there are other bad parts — because they seem to keep signing bang-average American midfielders.
    Likewise, striker Georginio Rutter, who joined in a £35million deal and has yet to score a goal.
    One of the few exceptions is Willy Gnonto, who should have started more games.
    If Leeds go down, the Italian winger is one of the few players who would get a decent Premier League move in the summer.
    Big Sam will rely on lads like Adam Forshaw, Luke Ayling and Liam Cooper — if fit — to shore things up.
    You can certainly say Sam’s brand of football is very different to Marcelo Bielsa’s high-energy attacking template.
    But I disagree with most Leeds fans, who seem to think Bielsa is a great manager. The Argentinian is a short-term boss whose sides lose a lot of exciting matches — but still lose them.
    After his first half-season in the Prem, teams started to suss Leeds out and a lot of his players got injured because they were burnt out.
    If Sam gets the couple of wins Leeds need, then I think he should stay on next season and make that team difficult to beat.
    Most players love managers like Sam because there is no bulls**t.
    It’s funny how Premier League clubs keep appointing managers from all over the world and yet, when the chips are down, they turn to tried-and-tested men like Sean Dyche, Roy Hodgson and Sam.
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    He has seen it all before and will take the air of panic out of the situation at Elland Road.
    And he certainly knows a good player when he sees one — but I would say that, wouldn’t I? More

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    Ryan Giggs has kid brother, 11, he’s never met – who plays rugby for Wales but does NOT support Man Utd

    FOOTBALL star Ryan Giggs has a kid brother he has never met — who loves rugby.Talented Beau Wilson, 11, resembles Ryan, now 49, as he wheels away in celebration on the pitch.
    Beau Wilson, 11, looks just like his brother Ryan Giggs but this time on the rugby pitch
    Unfortunately for Ryan, his younger brother supports Man United’s bitter rivals, LiverpoolCredit: Alamy
    He shares his brother’s lightning speed but not his love for Man United — as he supports Liverpool.
    Their dad, Danny Wilson, 67, said: “It’s uncanny, I watched Ryan play all his games as a youngster and now history is repeating itself in a different sport.”
    Giggs was called Ryan Wilson until he was 16 and his parents split.
    He grew estranged from his former rugby-pro dad, who says Beau has no interest in Ryan.
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    He said: “He doesn’t want to know. It’s a shame because if Ryan saw him play he’d be very proud.”
    Danny was at Cardiff Arms Park to watch his son’s team in a Wales under-12s final.
    Beau played centre, the same position as his dad, to help Llandaff North beat Builth Wells 10-5.
    Security worker Danny said: “It takes me back to when Ryan was the same age and playing football in Manchester.”
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    He last met him more than 15 years ago.
    Ryan is due to stand trial in July for alleged assault and coercive behaviour against an ex-girlfriend.
    Ryan Giggs as a boy pictured with his father Danny WilsonCredit: Wales News Service
    Danny was at Cardiff Arms Park to watch Beau’s team in a Wales under-12s finalCredit: Marc Giddings More

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    Huge TV actress shocked to find her great-grandad put Wrexham on the map long before Ryan Reynolds

    HOLLYWOOD A-lister Ryan Reynolds might think he’s put Wrexham on the footballing map, but it was Emily Atack’s great-grandfather who ­actually did that.During her appearance on the new series of BBC ancestry show Who Do You Think You Are?, the Inbetweeners actress discovers her family were innovators of the beautiful game in Wales.
    Emily Atack is one of nine stars to delve into their ancestry in the upcoming series of Who Do You Think You Are?Credit: Getty
    Atack discovered one of her relatives was a footballing pioneer in Wales, like Wrexham owner Ryan ReynoldsCredit: Rex
    She learns Wrexham-born Edward Robbins was the scourge of the English Football League in the 1930s, clashing with them for refusing to free up their Welsh players so they could play for the national team.
    It was only because of his campaigning in his role as Secretary of the Welsh Football Association that Welsh-born stars playing for clubs in England could finally represent their country, ­paving the way for the likes of future legends including Gareth Bale to become Welsh icons.
    A source says: “Emily could not believe the link to Wrexham, particularly as the name is now so associated with Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who co-own the club.
    “She is in no way sporty either, so to hear her family had this pedigree came as a big surprise.”
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    Edward Robbins had such legendary status within the game that he was dubbed the “dictator of Welsh football”.
    Former Arsenal and England striker Cliff Bastin, a huge name in the 1930s, stated in his auto- biography that Robbins not only “inspired Welsh football — he was Welsh football.”
    Emily is one of nine stars to delve into their ancestry in the upcoming series of the long-running show.
    She’s joined by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, adventurer Bear Grylls, dancer Kevin Clifton, Dj Dev Griffin, kids’ TV doctor twins Chris and Xand Van Tulleken and actresses Claire Foy and Lesley Manville.
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    The latter two even find out their family histories would make top TV dramas.
    The Crown star Claire discovers her family was caught up in a murder trial, while Mum favourite Lesley learns how an ancestor fighting for workers’ rights ended up paying a very heavy price.
    But probably not as much as the £2million Ryan and Rob reportedly paid for Wrexham.
    Alex’s 1D love hint
    A FEW years back, Alex Scott hooked up with a mystery member of One Direction – and she is still being quizzed about it today.
    Appearing on Mo Gilligan’s Lateish Show tonight, the host grills the former Arsenal star about her boyband lover, rumoured to be Harry Styles.
    Footie legend Alex Scott revealed she hooked up with a member of One DirectionCredit: Getty
    Asked if the rumours are true, Alex uses song titles to tease: “I do like a bit of Watermelon Sugar, a bit of Pillow Talk, and Slow Hands.”
    When Mo presses her, she adds: “I’m not saying.”
    But she later says: “Harry’s got it going on.”
    Alex told in her auto- biography How (Not) To Be Strong, published last September, that the romance happened on 2019’s Strictly Come Dancing.
    If she’s sensible, Alex will wait until the follow-up to finally spill.
    The Lateish Show is back tonight at 10pm on Channel 4.
    Kid you not
    ITVX Kids has announced its summer line-up of new content, which includes fresh episodes of Lego Dreamzzz, Aussie drama The Gamers 2037 and animated comedy FriendZSpace.
    Children’s faves Teletubbies and Bob The Builder will also be available soon on the streaming service.

    Ramsey’s one love
    COMICS Chris and Rosie Ramsey will soon be back on TV after their show jumped from BBC Two to BBC One.
    Speaking to The Sun’s TV Mag – free inside tomorrow’s paper – the couple say they cannot believe their podcast, Sh**ged Married Annoyed, has led to them becoming telly stars.
    Chris and Rosie Ramsey will be back after jumping from BBC Two to BBC OneCredit: Rex Features
    Chris said: “It’s mad. We just said before this, ‘If we came up with the podcast and said, right, this is the plan – podcast, then arenas then a BBC show – someone would say, ‘Who the hell do you think you are?’ ”
    But they still have a big ambition left – and they could probably achieve it given their huge fanbase.
    Rosie said: “I’d love to have a No1 single.”
    The Chris & Rosie Ramsey Show returns next Friday at 10.40pm.
    Dancers tour de force
    THE Strictly dancers are shaping up nicely on their summer tour.
    Finalists Gorka Marquez, Vito Coppola, Jowita Przystal and Carlos Gu will bring the magic of ballroom to a venue near you this month.
    The Strictly dancers are preparing for their summer tour
    They’re joined by six more show favourites including Nikita Kuzmin, Nancy Xu and Dianne Buswell for the 35-date tour, which began on Tuesday in Hull.
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    Reigning champ Jowita, who won with Hamza Yassin in 2022, posted: “Good to be back on stage. Dreams do come true.”
    For tickets, check out strictlytheprofessionals.com. More

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    Tottenham whizkid Harvey White weighing up his future at club as midfielder targets first-team football

    TOTTENHAM whizkid Harvey White is weighing up his future at the club.The midfielder, 21, has enjoyed his time on loan at League One Derby during the second half of this season. 
    Harvey White is weighing up his future with SpursCredit: Reuters
    He has an offer of a new contract with his parent club on the table, with his present deal expiring in the summer of 2024.
    Discussions will be held with the Spurs hierarchy at the end of the season.
    White is keen to experience more first-team action.
    The youngster has made 14 League One appearances for the Rams since joining the club on loan.
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    He was regularly involved in Spurs’ matchday squad under Antonio Conte in the first half of the campaign – when the fiery Italian was still at the helm – but only played four minutes.
    The Maidstone lad, who came through the Spurs academy, must consider whether now could be the right time to move on from his boyhood club or not.
    White’s only appearance for Spurs was when he replaced Ivan Perisic off the bench against Crystal Palace at the start of January.
    He was named in the matchday squad for two other Premier League matches, as well as five out of Spurs’ six Champions League group games.
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    White has started five games in League One since joining the Rams on loan, and has featured off the bench nine times for the club.
    Derby are sixth in League One going into the final game of the season, with Paul Warne’s side looking to secure a place in the play-offs. More

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    Exeter City star Jevani Brown named player of the season by teammates weeks after admitting beating up a woman

    A FOOTBALLER has been named player of the season by his teammates — weeks after admitting beating up a woman.Exeter City striker Jevani Brown, 28, pleaded guilty last month to an assault on a night out.
    Exeter City player Jevani Brown has been named player of the season by his teammates — weeks after admitting beating up a womanCredit: Rex
    He also faces trial in July for allegedly attacking a second woman, which he denies.
    Brown, top scorer with 14 goals, has been suspended by the club since being charged, but posed with the award at the League One side’s end of season bash.
    In a statement released last month, the club said: “Jevani Brown appeared at Exeter Magistrates Court this morning in relation to an incident in February.
    “He pleaded guilty to one charge of assault and not guilty to a second charge of assault.
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    “A trial date has now been set to hear the case at Exeter Crown Court on July 7.
    “As the legal proceedings remain active there will be no further comment from Exeter City Football Club.”
    One angry fan complained: “Is this a good message to send?”
    “He’s admitted assaulting a woman and is about to stand trial on another similar charge.
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    “This goes way beyond club loyalty and I say that as a season ticket holder. Disgusting.”
    Teresa Parker, of campaigners Women’s Aid, said: “His fellow players voting him their player of the season undermines the club’s actions.” More

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    My brave son, 3, had to have his foot amputated but now he’s playing football for England thanks to his bionic limb

    A BOY of three who had his foot amputated is now playing football for England.Lucas Keith’s family did not even know if he would walk again.
    Brave Lucas Keith joined the England Amputee Football Junior squad a year after having his right leg removedCredit: NNP
    Lucas is now the youngest in the training camp squad for amputees aged up to 16Credit: NNP
    But he joined the England Amputee Football Association’s juniors squad a year after having the limb removed.
    Lucas was just six months old when doctors discovered he had fibular hemimelia — a condition where he was missing the bone in his lower right leg.
    After amputation he took his first steps using a prosthetic leg on his second birthday.
    Lucas is now the youngest in the training camp squad for amputees aged up to 16.
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    Rules state players must use crutches, rather than prosthetic legs.
    Mum Lauren, 31, of Newcastle, said: “Lucas saw another player without his prosthetic and said, ‘Look mummy, he’s got one foot, just like me’. It made my heart melt. It was the first time he’d seen someone else like him.
    “We couldn’t believe how quickly he got used to it. He’s got a new lease of life now.”
    Organiser Elaine Oakey added: “All the players are inspirational and determined and he has fitted right in.”
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    The amputee team want to raise £10,000 for a training camp in Poland this August. More