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KEEP an eye on Southampton as some major changes are in the pipeline.Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is fighting to keep his job after the club ended the season with five losses and a draw, finishing 15th in the Premier League.
Ralph Hasenhuttl or his coaching staff could be sacked by Southampton after their dire runCredit: Reuters
The club’s new majority owner Dragan Solak and former Brentford director of football Rasmus Ankersen are demanding changes.
Option one is to sack Hasenhuttl, who has been at the club for four years.
The second choice is to keep the Austrian but get rid of his backroom staff.
Hasenhuttl is famous for having a huge ego and is happy to take all the credit when Southampton win — do not forget when he broke down crying on the pitch after beating Liverpool 1-0 in January 2021.
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FOOTBALL.css-1gojmfd{margin-bottom:16px;}.css-gmec1d{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;height:auto;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-align-content:center;-ms-flex-line-pack:center;align-content:center;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:flex-start;justify-content:flex-start;margin-left:calc(-20px/2);margin-right:calc(-20px/2);}.css-fh9577{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;margin-left:calc(20px/2);margin-right:calc(20px/2);}.css-65fvqt{max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-1exhbll{box-sizing:border-box;overflow:hidden;background-color:rgba(237,245,242,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;position:relative;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-bk55po{box-sizing:border-box;display:block;position:relative;margin-bottom:0;}.css-1shocxe{box-sizing:border-box;}.css-1a2irou{box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;}.css-1a2irou 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But after defeats, the Austrian is more than happy to point the finger at his team.
If Southampton are to make a change they need to do it soon.
Also, former RB Leipzig boss Hasenhuttl has used a hybrid version of Ralf Rangnick’s pressing tactics — and this has been employed right down to the youth team.
So if a new manager does come in at St Mary’s, a big decision will have to be made on whether to change the club’s entire philosophy.
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FIFPro, the global union for professional football players, is having its European conference in the stunning seaside town of Budva in Montenegro.
But one nation’s representative will be missing.
The Ukrainian delegate is not allowed to leave his country as he is over 18 and under 60, so he could be called up to the front line on any given day to fight against Russia.
FIFPro is also angry with Ukraine’s football clubs as they have released all of their overseas players to return home during the war.
However, the clubs have retained the players’ registrations, stating the stars are on ‘extended leave’.
This means teams are demanding money for the players this summer.

WATFORD have broken with tradition by securing a young, English manager in 39-year-old Rob Edwards from Forest Green.
Yet his annual wage is £300,000, which is small when you consider the Championship boss average is between £500,000 and £700,000.
Unbelievably, one option discussed by Hornets owners, the Pozzo family, before moving for Edwards was Bristol Rovers’ Joey Barton.

KELLY SOMERS is one of the rising stars of broadcasting and works for various outlets including the BBC.
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So it is a surprise Somers has been axed by Premier League Productions, who produce content for football fans around the world.
Although the thirst for Premier League football globally has never been greater, PLP are getting rid of lots of staff as part of a major cost-cutting exercise.
Rob Edwards landed the Watford job after Joey Barton was consideredCredit: Reuters
Kelly Somers has been let go by Premier League Productions despite excelling for the BBCCredit: Getty More

IF YOU held a vote on the most memorable end to a season that Sergio Aguero moment would win it by a mile.But I’m pretty sure what would be second — the amazing day in 1995 when my West Ham side drew with Manchester United and Blackburn won the title at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s Man City are chasing the Premier League title on the final day of the seasonCredit: Reuters
Blackburn Rovers won the title at Anfield in 1995 after West Ham held Man Utd to a 1-1 draw at Upton ParkCredit: Rex
Everyone thought Liverpool would roll over to make sure Kenny Dalglish won the league with Rovers, while no one gave us a prayer against United.
It was my first season at West Ham and after being at the bottom all season, we’d turned it around and got out of trouble a few weeks earlier.
So the fact we had nothing obvious left to play for, and Liverpool could stop their big rivals, meant there were loads of  conspiracy theories about.
In the end Blackburn DID win the league but not because of any half-hearted or dodgy performances.
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Liverpool came from behind to beat them but we drew with United, so Kenny was champion after all — and no one could question either game.
It proved that not only is the Premier League the best in the world but also the fairest. And that’s not something you could say 100 per cent about every  country out there.
I bring it back up because there have been a few nudges and winks going into the final day this time, with so much up for grabs at both ends of the table.
But the great thing about the Premier League, about the entire English game, is that anything you win has to be earned.
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When we played United all those years ago, there probably weren’t even many of our own fans who gave us much of a chance.
The one thing they did know, though, was that we’d give it a damned good go.
They wouldn’t expect or accept anything else and, to be honest, all that talk was pretty annoying.
United at Upton Park was always a massive game. They were THE club to beat and it was never a problem getting the players up for it, whatever was at stake.
So there was no way anyone was already on the beach and although we needed our keeper, Ludek Miklosko, to have an absolute blinder, we got what we deserved.
United were hammering away at our goal, knowing they only needed a point to be champions.
Paul Ince trudges off the pitch after West Ham held them to a famous 1-1 draw on the final day of the season in 1995Credit: Rex
But Ludek had one of those days, we hung on and Kenny won the league at his old club — even though Blackburn had lost in the last minute.
We were just relieved we’d stayed up and, fair play to Alex Ferguson,  he had a glass of wine in my office afterwards, even though he was so choked.
Me and Fergie were two of the last old-school managers who’d have a drink after games, and quite often you’d get a knock on the door telling you the players were on the coach.
If you’d lost, you would say, ‘Let them wait . . . and there’s no fish and chips on the way home’, which was a big thing back then.
I seem to remember Fergie stayed for a couple of glasses! It was an unbelievable day, but not for the reasons some had suggested beforehand, even though that will never stop some people having their own theories about things.
Today is no different. They all expect Steven Gerrard to have a right go at City, because if Villa get a result it opens the door for Liverpool.
Sir Alex Ferguson saw his team lose out on the titleCredit: Rex
But there are others who think Wolves will roll over at Anfield because they’ve got nothing left to play for. Which is absolutely rubbish, for sure.
And at the bottom there’s plenty of that as well. Will Brentford be 100 per cent on it against Leeds? How hard will  Newcastle go at Burnley?
Well, I tell you something — whatever happens at either end won’t be down to anyone having a day off. That’s what makes this league the best.
For the record, I think both City and Liverpool will win because they’re the top two teams in the world, never mind this country, which means the title stays in Manchester.
As for  who joins Norwich and Watford in the Championship? I can see it being decided by goal difference — and if I’m right, that means Leeds are going down.
But the one thing I can say with total confidence is whatever the outcome, it will only come after a hell of a fight.
BRAVE JAKE FIRST CLASS
AFTER Jake Daniels came out as the first openly gay professional player in this country, I am sure many others will  follow suit.
It was a very brave decision  and will go down as one of the defining moments in football history. He’s got my total admiration because it can’t have been easy.
Jake Daniels came out as gay this weekCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
The dressing room can be a pretty brutal place at times, even if views have obviously changed a lot for the better over the years.
There will have been plenty of gay  footballers in the past who kept quiet because of how society was back then, and the way Jake spoke was both impressive and very mature.
I don’t think being gay would ever affect anyone’s chances of making it or not. It  certainly shouldn’t, anyway.
People should be judged on one thing and one thing alone: whether you’re good enough. Nothing else really comes into it.
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Jake will always be remembered for the courage he showed in making his announcement, and rightly so.
I really hope that one day people look back on him for the fantastic career he’s had as well. More

IT MIGHT not have been what he wanted, but Harry Kane is still one of their own.And in the week that football paid tribute to one-club legend Mark Noble at West Ham, it is becoming increasingly likely that Kane could become the last of that dying breed.
Harry Kane could yet reap the rewards after he ended up staying at Tottenham last summerCredit: Alamy
Because Erling Haaland’s imminent arrival at Manchester City has effectively closed Kane’s last escape route from Tottenham.
And the way things are going for him, that’s not quite the disaster it might have seemed last summer.
It was exactly a year ago today that Kane told Sky’s Gary Neville that he was ready to leave Spurs.
But that move never materialised after chairman Daniel Levy priced him out of the market with a demand for £150million.
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Football.css-1gojmfd{margin-bottom:16px;}.css-gmec1d{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;height:auto;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-align-content:center;-ms-flex-line-pack:center;align-content:center;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:flex-start;justify-content:flex-start;margin-left:calc(-20px/2);margin-right:calc(-20px/2);}.css-fh9577{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;margin-left:calc(20px/2);margin-right:calc(20px/2);}.css-65fvqt{max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-1exhbll{box-sizing:border-box;overflow:hidden;background-color:rgba(237,245,242,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;position:relative;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-bk55po{box-sizing:border-box;display:block;position:relative;margin-bottom:0;}.css-1shocxe{box-sizing:border-box;}.css-1a2irou{box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;}.css-1a2irou 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.nk-headline-heading{color:rgba(71,30,121,1);}.css-1uyse24:before{content:”;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;z-index:1;}.css-n392go{border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(155,201,183,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-1p5s3t0{padding:0;border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(155,201,183,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-124tga5{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-5jzxpx{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-i1acvs{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,99,73,1);text-transform:uppercase;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-i1acvs:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}CONT ME IN .css-8h3gc3{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,37,38,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-8h3gc3:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}Kane hints he’ll SNUB Utd transfer to stay at Spurs… thanks to Conte
And now that City are out of the running, only Manchester United, Chelsea and maybe Newcastle are rich enough to match Levy’s valuation.
Yet with Spurs just one point away from a Champions League return, why would Kane want to leave Antonio Conte’s upwardly mobile side for any of those three?
United are a complete basket case at the start of a massive rebuilding process — and could yet be playing in the Europa Conference League next season.
Maybe if they had appointed Mauricio Pochettino they might have stood a chance.
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FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
But now? Forget it.
Kane made it abundantly clear that he would never sign for Chelsea when they came in for him last summer… and that was before it all fell apart at Stamford Bridge for sanctioned owner Roman Abramovich.
And all the oil in Saudi Arabia isn’t going to turn Newcastle into top-four contenders during Kane’s remaining few football years.
Yet barring a dodgy lasagne against rock-bottom Norwich on Sunday, Spurs are all set to secure qualification for the competition which Kane yearns to be competing in again.
They have the best stadium in Europe, magnificent training facilities and a world-class manager in Conte.
Antonio Conte is starting to make real strides as boss at SpursCredit: Getty
And while they might not be about to topple City and Liverpool any time soon, they are shaping up to become a third major English power next season.
If that is going to happen they will need to strengthen their squad with the quality signings demanded by Conte.
But they also need to keep the volatile Italian on board after his threats to walk away if he doesn’t get his own way.
That is something which Levy absolutely cannot allow to happen after the disastrous decision to appoint Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo last summer.
Many people attributed Kane’s slow start to the campaign to him sulking about the breakdown of his dream move to City.
But don’t forget he had just been hit for six by England’s heartbreaking penalty defeat at the European Championship final at Wembley.
So returning to work with the charisma-free Nuno was never going to inspire a player who had dared to dream.
And it was only when Conte pitched up in North London in November that Kane properly sparked into life.
Up to that point he had scored just one Premier League goal all season.
Now he has 16, as well as eight assists, ten FA Cup, League Cup and European goals and another 11 for England.
His partnership with Son Heung-Min is bordering on the telepathic, with the duo responsible for 60 per cent of all Tottenham’s goals this season.
Kane and Son Heung-Min are key to Spurs’ successCredit: Reuters
They are the reason they are about to beat Arsenal to fourth place, because no striker at the Emirates has managed more than four Premier League goals so far.
The noise generated during last week’s North London derby was like nothing I have heard at a football stadium without a rock band playing there.
Those Spurs fans can sense that something special is stirring along the Seven Sisters Road.
And Kane might want to think twice about leaving them just when they are shaping up for some long overdue glory, glory.
Stop, Klopp
JURGEN KLOPP has complained that the 40 medals which Liverpool received for winning the FA Cup final are not enough to go around everyone involved in their success.
But when you take away the 31 players who were involved in their six Cup ties, that still leaves nine for Klopp and his backroom team.
And if you are going to reward absolutely everyone who contributed, you’d need a medal for the Anfield box office manager, the press officer, social media team, kit manager and the assistant to the assistant masseur.
They have to draw the line somewhere — so can I suggest James Norris, who played one minute of the third-round win against Shrewsbury?
Or maybe Melkamu Frauendorf, who had nine minutes in the same game.
Bale-ing out
NO s*** Sherlock moment of the week arrived with the announcement Gareth Bale will not be renewing his £650,000-a-week deal with Real Madrid.
It is pretty difficult to be out in the cold in the Spanish capital — but that’s what the injury-prone Welshman has managed these past four years.
And as Real boss Carlo Ancelotti puts the finishing touches to his preparations for next week’s Champions League final, it’s a fair bet Bale does not figure in his plans to beat Liverpool.
For the Madridistas can’t wait to see the back of the £86million winger, 32, and he can’t wait to see the back of them.
But if Wales win their World Cup play-off against Scotland or Ukraine in June, Bale must shelve thoughts of retirement and find another team to keep him in shape for Qatar in November.
Let’s hope they have a decent golf course nearby.
Gareth Bale will leave Real Madrid this summerCredit: Getty
No Christ redeemer
CHELSEA boss Thomas Tuchel threw Andreas Christensen under the bus when he revealed that the defender asked not to play in the FA Cup final.
Then he twisted the knife by admitting it was by no means the first time that the Danish international had pulled out of a game at the last minute.
But Chelsea feel no loyalty to Christensen after the way he negotiated to leave them for Barcelona as a free agent.
So perhaps Tuchel’s questioning of the player’s mental toughness is his way of saying he won’t be that much of a miss next season.
Film Vard to believe
BACK in 2016 reports first surfaced of plans to make a Hollywood film of Jamie Vardy’s life.
Even more incredible were rumours that Zac Efron was approached to portray the Leicester striker . . . with Meghan Markle as his wife!
But now it seems that it’s the Vardys who could be heading for La La Land after their car-crash libel action against Coleen Rooney.
Because there was no whodunnit involved in this Wagatha Christie case . . . it was Rebekah Vardy’s account.
And if the Rooneys haven’t had their fill of legal drama, Wayne might now like to consider suing the court artist who has drawn him looking like an extra from Lord of the Rings. 
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NEWCASTLE took to social media this week to declare the club’s pride in supporting the international day against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia.
Let’s hope someone told their Saudi owners. More

THE last time Manchester City pipped Liverpool to the Premier League title on the final day of the season, the margin was a single point — or 11 millimetres.Jurgen Klopp still remembers it keenly — an extraordinary goal-line clearance by John Stones in City’s 2-1 victory at the Etihad which was Liverpool’s ONLY league defeat of that 2018-19 campaign.
The outstretched boot of John Stones stopped Liverpool from winning the title three years agoCredit: Getty Images – Getty
If Sunday’s final day goes to form, with home wins for City and Liverpool leaving Pep Guardiola’s men a point clear again, this time Klopp will locate the fine margin for success and failure inside the wiring of referee Paul Tierney’s brain.
While recognising every team has several ‘if only’ moments during the course of a season, Klopp mentioned the Reds’ 2-2 draw at Tottenham on December 19.
The fact he had to start with teenager Tyler Morton in central midfield due to a Covid outbreak and the failure of Tierney, or his VAR Chris Kavanagh, to award a stonewall straight red to Harry Kane for a reckless first-half challenge on Andy Robertson, who was later sent off himself.
Last summer, we were expecting Kane to settle the title race as a Manchester City player.
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Instead, he netted twice when Spurs defeated City 3-2 in February.
But Klopp also readily recalls the moment when Kane escaped a sending off against his side.
Harry Kane was not sent off for this tackle on Andy RobertsonCredit: The Times
Klopp’s mind was whirring as he analysed the title race, after his second string had secured an impressive comeback victory at Southampton on Tuesday, to set up Sunday’s climax, when City face Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa and his Quadruple-chasers host Wolves.
This title race has been magnificent but England’s undisputed ‘Big Two’ have not been as relentless as they were three years ago, when Liverpool won their final nine league games but City managed 14 straight victories to edge them out.
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Klopp mentioned Stones’ clearance in 2019 and he referenced the “madness, absolute madness” of Liverpool winning 15 and drawing three of their 18 fixtures in the second half of this season.
The Anfield boss added that this was “the only way to keep the distance to City like this” — and with his fingers he indicated the tiniest of margins.
Approximately 11mm.
Like any partisan football man, Klopp’s mind is quick to recall misfortune, while swift to forget moments of good luck.
He recalled away games at Spurs and Chelsea either side of Christmas, which both ended in 2-2 draws, when the Kop were suffering through Covid absences.
For the Spurs game, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara were all positive for the virus, while Jordan Henderson was also out with illness.
Jurgen Klopp’s side need to hope Aston Villa get a result against Man City on Sunday, while Liverpool beat WolvesCredit: AP
And while Klopp expressed his “love” for Morton, the 19-year-old has not featured in the Premier League since.
Klopp mentioned “when Robbo got a red card and Kane didn’t” — as Robertson had a straight red awarded by VAR Kavanagh, after he failed to do the same for Kane’s wild challenge earlier on.
But Kane had already fired Spurs into a 1-0 lead by that point, while the scoring had finished by the time Robertson received his marching orders.
If City defeat Villa on Sunday, though, that Spurs away game will be the match which lingers in Klopp’s thoughts.
What’s coming up on the Premier League final day
Perhaps even more if Liverpool defeat Real Madrid in the Champions League final and miss out on the Quad by a single league point.
But Klopp was adamant the Reds, with most of his first-choice players well-rested, will be fully focused on defeating Wolves because: “If we have one ear in Manchester, suddenly Jimenez bang!”
But, as for the prospect of a miracle from Liverpool legend Gerrard at the Etihad, Klopp did not sound hopeful, especially given that Villa host Burnley tonight with almost no recovery time before they face the champions.
He said: “They play Burnley, then they must collect the bones and go again on Sunday.
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Fixture scheduling, Covid absences, refereeing mistakes — every club has their moans over the course of a season.
And if Liverpool fall just a point short, Klopp will not be slow in airing his frustrations. More