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      EFL set for almost DOUBLE number of televised games next season with Sky Sports agree to condition to edge out ViaPlay

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      THE EFL may end up almost DOUBLING the number of live games from the next TV deal.Sky are negotiating final details of a fresh contract that will see them pay much more.
      The EFL is set to get double the coverage next seasonCredit: Rex
      Part of those talks is about how many games they will show as the EFL seeks more exposure, especially down the divisions.
      Sky were initially looking to do fewer games in future but the fear of losing the whole deal brought them to the table with the best offer — as we tipped last month.
      There is still a chance that Sky “sub-contract” some of the coverage and insiders reveal the whole process has “a bit to go”. 
      That means fans will get to watch much more from their favourite Championship, League One and League Two teams.
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      Football enthusiasts could also watch more from Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham.
      The Red Dragons are fighting it out with Notts County in the National League as they seek automatic promotion.
      Fans of Premier League teams set to be relegated will take comfort in the fact they won’t be missing any of the action when they bid to return to the top.
      However, that won’t include Burnley, who earned promotion to the Premier League.
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      The Clarets returned to the English top flight just a year after their relegation.
      Burnley were led by manager Vincent Kompany on his first season at Turf Moor.
      Kompany will now get the chance to lock horns with former mentors like Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta. More

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      3pm blackout set to STAY as EFL reveal preferred bidder for new TV rights deal

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      SKY SPORTS have seen off the challenge of streaming service DAZN and other broadcast rivals to retain the rights to show live EFL football.EFL bosses are looking to almost double their current £119m per season deal.
      The 3pm blackout looks set to remain in place in EnglandCredit: Getty
      Streaming giant DAZN said it planned to screen all 1656 EFL games each season and seek to end the Saturday 3pm blackout.
      Despite that bid, and other offers understood to have been made by Viaplay and TNT Sports – the new name for BT Sport – Sky is the first choice of the EFL.
      A final deal is yet to be confirmed although it is understood that Sky intends to screen more matches than the 138 games shown in the current five-year deal that runs out at the end of next season.
      In a statement, league chiefs said: “The EFL has now completed a full and comprehensive review of the multiple submissions received as part of its broadcast rights sales process from 2024 onwards.
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      “The League will now enter into an exclusive month-long negotiating period with the preferred bidder, Sky Sports.
      “No further comment will be made on this matter at the current time.”
      The news will be a blow for DAZN, part-owned by Anthony Joshua, which felt it had made a significantly competitive and ground-breaking offer.
      But assuming an agreement is found over the next month, the news will bring a sigh of relief to Sky bosses.
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      It was reported last week that EFL bosses are looking to increase the current package to £200m plus, a huge potential financial lifeline for struggling clubs.
      The blackout was introduced, at the instigation of then-Burnley chairman Bob Lord more than 50 years ago, in the belief that it would prevent TV football damaging attendances at other matches.
      Prem chief executive Richard Masters declared earlier this month that he “didn’t see” the league’s backing for the blackout ending any time soon. More

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      I played for Man Utd and was in academy with Defoe but another ‘crazy’ striker was better – no one could touch him

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      FORMER Manchester United wonderkid Daniel Nardiello has opened up on what life was like training with some of the best prospects in England. Back in the 1990s, a then 15-year-old Nardiello was sent to Lilleshall in Shropshire, where many of the country’s best young footballers lived together and learnt their trade.
      Daniel Nardiello has revealed one player who was a ‘crazy’ talentCredit: Getty
      Nardiello was joined by the likes of Jermain Defoe and Neil Danns.
      However, he reckons none of them came close to the “untouchable” talent of Leon Knight.
      Speaking on the Undr the Cosh podcast, Nardiello said: I shared a room with Knighty for a year.
      “I was a 15-year-old lad, just left home, sharing a room with Knighty. Oh my word, he’s crazy. No other words for it.
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      “He’s the nicest lad as long as you keep on the right side of him. Get on the wrong side of him and he is absolutely ruthless.
      “Great player, but angry man. Get on the wrong side of him and he’ll never forgive you.”
      Knight was a Chelsea trainee at the time, and would go on to make one appearance for the senior team in the Uefa Cup.
      However, his career would ultimately lie elsewhere, going on to star for the likes of Brighton, Swansea and Huddersfield.
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      The 5ft 5″ striker scored over 100 goals across his career, including 80 in England’s football league.
      On Knight, Nardiello added: “I wouldn’t want to fight him. He’s a tough lad.
      “I remember we played at Barnsley together for a few months, he came on loan.
      “But what he put the young lads through – initiations and stuff like that – he was ruthless. A great lad, some good times with him.
      “He was the best player there [at Lilleshall].
      “There was Joe Cole who was the year above us, and obviously he was unbelievable, he was their main man – but we had Leon Knight.
      “At that age there was no one that could touch him.
      Leon Knight was ‘untouchable’Credit: Getty Images – Getty
      “Jermain Defoe was there who obviously went on and had an unbelievable career but Knighty was untouchable.
      “You’d think he’d go on to be an absolute world beater because he was that good at 15, 16.
      “He had a good career, but at that age you couldn’t touch him. And he was small then, obviously.
      “But he just ran rings around teams. We beat everyone every week anyway, as you’d expect, but he was scoring like five, six goals a game. He was playing in the age group above, he was that good.”
      Knight, 40, retired in 2012.
      Speaking to WalesOnline in 2006, Tony Carroll, then-chairman of famed East London youth football club Senrab, drew comparisons to Knight with ex-England and Tottenham ace Defoe – with them pairing up at Senrab in their youth days.
      He said: “They were absolutely unbelievable as a partnership, just like a pair or whippets, so very, very quick.
      “If I had to say which one was better when they were 13 or 14 I would say it was Leon. It was a close-run thing and there wasn’t much in it, but he was just ahead on points.
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      “You could see he had that bit of class even at that age. Jermain was nearly as good and they just used to dish out the goals between them.
      “The team would win 6-0 and they would score three each. There was always a bit of friendly rivalry to see who could score the most.” More

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      Barcelona’s financial woes deepen as BOLTON demand shock payment from cash-strapped club

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      BOLTON are claiming to be owed money by Barcelona, according to reports.Cash-strapped Barca shuffled their finances last summer in order to bolster boss Xavi’s squad.
      Barcelona have struggled with financial issues in recent seasonsCredit: Getty
      Marcos Alonso was one of their recruits, but the nature of the Spaniard’s transfer from Chelsea has now been questioned.
      Spanish paper AS claimed last month that the transfer had been reported to Fifa for alleged fraud by Alonso’s former youth team Union Aldarve.
      And according to Mundo Deportivo, Bolton feel they are due a payment too.
      Alonso, 32, played for the Trotters between 2010 and 2013 after signing from Barca’s fierce rivals Real Madrid.
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      He subsequently signed for Fiorentina, spending three years in Serie A before signing for Chelsea under Antonio Conte in 2016.
      His six years at Stamford Bridge came to an end last summer, when he left the Blues to return to LaLiga with Barcelona.
      After being heavily linked with the Catalan side through the transfer window, Alonso moved to Barca on September 2 after having his Chelsea contract ended by mutual consent.
      It was initially reported that Alonso had been due to be part of the deal that took Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona to Chelsea.
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      Alonso has made 27 appearances for Barca this seasonCredit: Reuters
      But after it emerged that Barca did not have time to register the left-back on deadline day he was released by Chelsea instead – allowing him to move clubs outside of the transfer window.
      Bolton, as well as Union Aldarve, have reportedly questioned the true nature of the transfer – although it is unclear what their exact grievance is.
      Sports lawyer Jorge Vaquero claimed to Mundo Deportivo that, should a club be found guilty of “concealing data regarding a transfer”, a ban from signing players could be enforced by Fifa.
      Alonso has made 27 appearances for Barca this season.
      Xavi’s men sit atop LaLiga – leading rivals Real Madrid by 12 points after beating them 2-1 before the international break.
      Alonso, 32, played for Bolton between 2010 and 2013Credit: PA:Press Association More

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      English football set for biggest shake up since 1960s with end to ‘medieval’ rules if DAZN win TV rights to matches

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      ALL 1,652 EFL matches will be screened if streaming giant DAZN wins the rights to matches from the 2024-25 season.The huge change would see the end of the “medieval” Saturday 3pm TV blackout that has been in operation since the mid-60s.
      DAZN will show all EFL matches if the company wins the rights to the gamesCredit: DAZN
      Only 20 League One matches are shown on TV each seasonCredit: PA
      Chief Executive of the Premier League Richard Masters does not see an end to the Saturday blackoutCredit: Getty
      DAZN are among the bidders for the next three-season package of EFL rights, with competitors including Sky, Viaplay and TNT Sports, the new name for what was BT Sport until the takeover by Discovery.
      EFL bosses are looking to increase the current package, worth £119m per season, to £200m plus, a huge potential financial lifeline for struggling clubs.
      But the DAZN option would see a huge increase in the number of games available including the traditional Saturday afternoon slot, currently protected from broadcasting by Article 48 of Uefa Statutes.
      DAZN argues that under the current system, with matches on Sky, lower division fans are being starved of the chance to watch their teams unless they go to the matches.
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      Only 20 games League One are shown each season, 10 in League Two and last season 26 of the 72 EFL clubs did not feature at all.
      Sources close to DAZN, which boasts 20 million “premium” customers but a footprint across most major nations, suggest the existence of the blackout is a “medieval” anachronism which should no longer be part of the football structure in this country.

      The blackout was introduced, at the instigation of then-Burnley chairman Bob Lord more than 50 years ago, in the belief that it would prevent TV football damaging attendances at other matches.
      Prem chief executive Richard Masters declared earlier this month that he “didn’t see” the league’s backing for the blackout ending any time soon.
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      But EFL chiefs will have the right to lobby the FA to end the restriction if they do a deal with DAZN.
      It is understood that DAZN feels a streaming deal covering all games across the three EFL divisions – the company would also be seeing a terrestrial partner – would widen access to fans, not just in this country but worldwide.
      The company is understood to be confident that there would be no detrimental impact on crowds and that by making the EFL games more widely available it would actually increase interest in match-day attendance. More

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      I played for Man Utd and spent 22 years as a goalkeeper – now I’m one of the top striker coaches in the country

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      IPSWICH are flying high in League One and are eyeing automatic promotion this season.The free-scoring Tractor Boys have netted 72 goals in 37 games this campaign – more than any other team in the division.
      Lee Grant is a striker coach at IpswichCredit: www.itfc.co.uk
      Grant, a former goalkeeper, retired from playing last yearCredit: Getty
      He spent the last four years of his career at Manchester UnitedCredit: AFP
      In fact, Ipswich are the joint-second highest scorers in the top four divisions of English football.
      Only Championship leaders Burnley (74) have scored more goals than Kieran McKenna’s side this season.
      And McKenna, who left his role as a first-team coach at Manchester United in November 2021, has been helped by a former Red Devil.
      Ex-Old Trafford goalkeeper Lee Grant is part of the Ipswich set up… but as a striker coach.
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      The former stopper announced his retirement last year with a brilliant post aged 39.
      But after spending 22 years between the sticks, Grant now 40, is helping Ipswich’s striker put the ball in the back of the net.
      Spending so much time in goal means he knows the best ways to score them.
      Grant told the The Telegraph: “Across 20 odd years of being in goal and conceding so many goals, I can remember so many so vividly. They are etched into my mind and psyche.
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      “I use that to help guide the forward players occasionally, for the sorts of outcomes that no goalkeeper would like.”
      Grant spent four years at United, and is the oldest player ever to make a European debut for United.
      When working with his players at Ipswich, he talks about situations he would least like to face as a goalie.
      He added: “We talk about foot patterns, how quickly we can get shots off, arriving onto the ball as quickly as possible, shortening steps.
      “I like it when our strikers are dictating to the goalkeepers. I enjoy it when we’re the ones leading the dance.
      “If I think back to myself between the sticks, that was probably where I felt most vulnerable, when a striker had that real clarity about what they were trying to achieve and were able to.” More

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      Exeter City star Jevani Brown ADMITS attacking woman in city centre but faces trial for alleged assault on another woman

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      A FOOTBALLER has admitted attacking a woman in a city centre attack but faces trial on an alleged second assault.Exeter City striker Jevani Brown today pleaded guilty to assaulting the female victim last month.
      Jevani Brown has admitted assaulting a womanCredit: Rex
      The 28-year-old is still facing trial after he denied attacking a second woman during the same incident.
      Brown entered the pleas during a hearing at Exeter Magistrates’ Court today.
      No details of the incident on February 2 were released.
      Brown – Exeter’s top goal scorer – was dropped by the League One side following his charge.
      He will now miss the rest of the season as the case against him continues.
      Brown began his career at MK Dons before joining Peterborough United.
      He also had stints at Cambridge United and Colchester United before he was signed by Exeter in 2021.
      England-born Brown, who represents Jamaica at an international level, was Exeter City’s top scorer this season with 14 goals and nine assists.
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      In a statement released today, 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.
      “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.”
      Brown will stand trial in JulyCredit: Rex More

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      Ipswich planning summer transfer raid on Portsmouth for free-scoring forward Colby Bishop.. but on one condition

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      IPSWICH are keeping an eye on Portsmouth striker Colby Bishop and want him if they reach the Championship.Bishop, 26, is one of the most respected forwards in League One and would be keen on a step up.
      Ipswich are tracking Portsmouth striker Colby BishopCredit: Alamy
      Bishop has been in good form for Pompey this season.
      The striker has scored 18 goals in 37 League One appearances.
      Only Conor Chaplin has scored more than him for Ipswich this season.
      The Tractor Boys have been spending heavily already and would find more funds if they can return to the second tier.
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      The club currently sit third in the third division, three points off the top of the table.
      However, they have played two more games than league leaders Sheffield Wednesday.
      Ipswich are 15 points clear of dropping out of the playoff spots
      Meanwhile, former Ipswich owner Marcus Evans wants to buy another club — and a handful are available.
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      The English businessman purchased an 87.5 per cent controlling stake in Ipswich in December 2007 and took over as chairman from David Sheepshanks in May 2009.
      But he failed in his mission to get Town back to the Premier League. More