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      Paul Pogba’s injury finally puts an end to an unwanted sideshow at Man Utd… thank you, and goodbye

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      THE fact news of Paul Pogba’s thigh injury while training with France did not make the headlines says it all.His absence for two months after this international break will not affect Manchester United’s form, one way or the other. In fact, they could be better off without him.
      It will not be bad business for Man Utd to let £89m Paul Pogba leave on a free next summerCredit: PA
      Pogba has been an unwanted sideshow that has too often dragged United down since the day he returned to the club in August 2016.
      The Red Devils are now happy to let his contract run out next summer when he can leave on a free — again — and the circus can move on to another town.
      They have grown fed up with Pogba. They just want him out.
      His appalling, 15-minute cameo in last month’s 5-0 humiliation by Liverpool was the final straw.
      Axed to the bench for the match, the 28-year-old midfielder came on at half-time with the score already 4-0.
      Within five minutes he  had lost possession for the Scousers’ fifth goal.

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      Then his reckless foul on Naby Keita on the hour not only saw him receive a red card but also resulted in the  Liverpool midfielder leaving the pitch on a stretcher.
      Pogba later denied SunSport’s story that he had snubbed manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. If there is proof they hugged each other and said, ‘Thanks for your efforts today’, then we would welcome it — but our information was otherwise.
      Ask a United fan to name a game when they have come away gushing about a Pogba performance and they can only name one. And it was only one half of that match, too.
      It was the day Manchester City were preparing to celebrate the title on April 7, 2018 — derby day.
      United were 2-0 down at the break but Pogba scored twice in the second half and inspired them to a 3-2 win.
      People wonder why he  cannot play for United like he did for Juventus while  winning four Serie A titles.
      United believe Pogba has an entourage convincing him he is the best in the world
      Well, he joined a team that were Serie A champions already, remained that for the four years he was there and the four years after he left. They were that dominant.
      At United, he joined a team that needed him to lift them — and he could not do it.
      He fell out with boss Jose Mourinho, who did a great job by winning the EFL Cup and Europa League in his first season in 2016-17 and then finished second in the Prem the year after.
      But the Pogba rumpus did for him — and it has rumbled on ever since.
      United believe Pogba has an entourage convincing him he is the best in the world.
      The hangers-on are happy to portray a picture of a multiple Scudetto winner and world champion, so it has to be someone else’s fault.
      He is their GOAT without any evidence on the field with United to back that up.

      ⚽ Read our Manchester United live blog for the latest news and transfer gossip from Old Trafford
      Witness Cristiano Ronaldo day in, day out, with every club he has served. He does not amble, he does not give up — he gets on with it.
      Do not call it bad business to sign him for £89million and let him go for a free.
      Bad business would be to hand him a new contract that no other club can match, so United would be stuck with him. Thank you. And goodbye.
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      Manchester United’s pampered stars have team of technicians to tune their TVs and fix computers

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      MANCHESTER UNITED’S pampered stars have a team of technicians to tune in their TVs and fix their computers when they crash, The Sun can reveal.The multilingual handymen also put up shelves and hang pictures for the millionaire footballers.
      Man United’s pampered stars have a team of technicians to tune in their TVs and fix their computers when they crash, The Sun can revealCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
      An ad for a new “player care property technician” placed by the club also asks for candidates to have a knowledge of “foreign languages, spoken and written”.
      They are required “to assist the Player Care Property Technicians with day-to-day maintenance issues, emergency breakdown attendance of equipment, house moves and general building management of players and senior management residential properties.”
      The ad does not reveal salary details but similar jobs attract £30,000-a-year pay.
      United’s stars are under pressure, and boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in fear of the boot, after hapless recent displays against rivals Man City and Liverpool.
      Fan Dave Carter said: “I wish the club was more focused on sharpening up the players on the pitch rather than worrying about tweaking their TV aerials off it.
      “It’s not a good look advertising for staff to pamper these overpaid footballers when results are so dire.

      “Perhaps they will be advertising for a new manager soon.”
      Manchester United was approached for comment.
      United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in fear of the boot after hapless recent displays against rivals Man City and LiverpoolCredit: AFP
      Simon Jordan says that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a large part of Man Utd’s problems More

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      Four Premier League clubs including Man Utd and Chelsea approved for ‘safe standing’ trial in January

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      FOUR Premier League clubs have been given the go-ahead to trial “safe standing” this season.Chelsea, Spurs, Man City and Man United will be the top-flight sides taking part in the pilot in January.
      Manchester United are one of the clubs which will trial safe standingCredit: Getty
      The first match will be Chelsea v Liverpool on January 2.
      Championship team Cardiff have also been given permission.
      Standing has been illegal in the top divisions since all-seater stadiums were introduced in 1994 following the death of 97 Liverpool fans in the Hillsborough disaster.
      If the trial is a success, other clubs will be able to apply for next season.
      New Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, a Liverpool fan brought up near Anfield, had approved the move.
      She said: “Football fans have long wanted the introduction of safe standing and I’m pleased we are fulfilling our manifesto commitment by piloting its return.”

      Spurs built safe standing provision options into their new £1billion home and chairman Daniel Levy said: “The Club has led on lobbying the Government for safe standing at stadia and is delighted that this will now be possible.
      “It delivers choice for fans attending the game – whether home or away supporters – and the vast majority of our fans are in favour of this scheme.
      “We are extremely proud of our ‘safe seating’ design, which ensures both comfort and safety, whether standing or seated, while maintaining the same aesthetics as in all other areas of the stadium.”
      Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston added: “The time is now right to properly trial safe standing in the Premier League and EFL Championship ahead of a decision on a widespread roll-out.
      “Safety is absolutely paramount and the SGSA is working hand-in-glove with the clubs on this.
      “Fans deserve different options on how they can enjoy a live match and I will be watching the progress of these trials with interest.”
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      ‘It was never the same’ – Arsene Wenger admits he should have quit Arsenal when Stan Kroenke arrived at Emirates in 2007

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      ARSENE WENGER has admitted for the first time that he regrets dedicating so much of his life to Arsenal.And he claims he has no reason to return to the club where he was sacked after 22 years in charge.
      Arsene Wenger admits he should not have stayed at Arsenal until the end of his careerCredit: Getty
      Wenger believes he should have moved on when Stan Kroenke joined in 2007Credit: PA
      The Frenchman, 72, rejected job offers from some of the biggest clubs in the world before being asked to leave in 2018.
      He has never returned to the Emirates and now cannot help wonder what might have been if he followed his instinct to leave when things started to fall apart in 2007.
      In a revealing new documentary released this week, Wenger said: “I should have gone somewhere else. My fatal flaw was that I loved too much where I was.
      “I identified myself completely with Arsenal and that was the mistake I regret. But now there is no special reason for me to go there.
      “I could have gone to the French national team, the English national team three times, I could have gone twice to Real Madrid, to Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and even to Manchester United.”
      Yet that loyalty was never truly appreciated by the board or fans, culminating in his departure at the end of the 2017-18 season.

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      He recalled: “It’s the end of your life, like a funeral. On the day everyone is nice to you and one week before you have to face a lot of criticism.
      “I managed to control my emotions but, of course, the end of a love story is always sad.”
      Wenger admitted his obsessive nature has worked against him as he finally faces up to the reality of his solitary existence.
      He said: “The meaning of my whole life was football and sometimes I’m afraid to acknowledge it.
      “I am a hermit. I lived in a bubble, my own little triangle of home, training centre and football stadium.
      “I have the addiction gene and when you have that you don’t develop some of the aspects of your personality that you should.
      The end of a love story is always sadArsene Wenger
      “I feel guilty because my  passion created selfishness. My passion for football made me not take enough care of the people around me.
      “I would have loved to have had a bigger family and now I am so grateful to have my daughter.
      “I try to repair things but this desire not to lose makes you  inhuman and destroys part of you.
      “Women kill for love and men kill because they hate to lose. I meet many huge champions and they only talk about what they lost.
      “Success is easy to absorb but the defeat remains forever. It hurt so much when we lost that sometimes I threw up.”
      Wenger, now head of global  football development for Fifa, saw cracks start to appear when the club left their Highbury home and moved to  the Emirates.
      He said: “Highbury was my soul, the Emirates my suffering.
      Highbury was my soul, the Emirates my sufferingArsene Wenger
      “I could see that it would be more difficult because we started out with a project of £200million, which we could basically afford, and  finished at £428m.
      “The decisive point was 2007. It was the first time I could feel  tensions in the boardroom because David Dein had an agreement to bring in Stan Kroenke and I was torn between being loyal to the club and being loyal to David.
      “That’s when I thought I had to go to the end of the project, but I still wonder if I did the right thing because life was never the same.
      “Once we moved to the new  stadium, we moved from first or second place to third or fourth and we lost our best players.
      “Before we lost the players at 30 years plus. Afterwards we lost them at 25.
      “So to work with restricted resources and still keep the club at a level where we could pay our debts, from 2006 to 2015 I personally think I did my best job.”
      Alongside interviews with former Arsenal greats Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry,  Martin Keown and Lee Dixon, the  documentary also includes a contribution from Wenger’s managerial  nemesis Sir Alex Ferguson.
      I was not scared of anyone in footballArsene Wenger
      Wenger recalled: “Ferguson was the dominant figure in English football and everyone was scared  of him, from the press to the referees.
      “But I was ready for the fight because it was a good opportunity to show that it’s not only in England that you know how to play football.
      “When you are fighting to win, you are two lions with only one desire which is to eat the lion against you. I was not scared of anyone in football.”
      Ferguson said: “Arsene and myself are dinosaurs but we didn’t do so badly.
      “I went 13 weeks without losing but I was never near going through a whole season unbeaten. That achievement stands above anything else and it belongs to Arsenal.”
      Looking back on that  Invincibles season of 2003-04, Wenger added: “It was the moment where I fulfilled the dream of my life.
      “The fact I could convince this group of players to achieve something they didn’t think was possible, I have done my job in a perfect year for one year.
      ⚽ Read our Arsenal live blog for the latest news and transfer gossip from The Emirates
      “But I sometimes wonder if  something was broken after that Invincibles season because I had achieved what I deeply wanted.
      “Now is it linked with me that after I had achieved the highest level, I didn’t do it again.”
      *Arsene Wenger: Invincible comes to cinemas from  November 11 and on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download on November 22. It is available to pre-order now at amzn.to/3Bqxnm8.
      Arsene Wenger sensationally reveals he tipped Arsenal to go season unbeaten before 2003-04 Invincibles campaign More

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      English footie clubs racked up tax debts worth over £140 million since pandemic

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      FOOTBALL clubs in England have racked up tax debts of £140million-plus in the pandemic.Sixty clubs in the Premier League and English Football League have the debt, figures obtained by The Sun show.
      Footie clubs in England have racked up tax debts worth over £140 million since the start of the pandemicCredit: Alamy
      Premier League clubs owe £49.5million in unpaid taxes including VAT.
      EFL clubs owe £91.8million in accrued taxes, with £64million in the Championship, £24.9million in League One and £2.9million in League Two.
      The taxman would not identify any of the clubs involved but it is understood that Wayne Rooney’s Derby County owes £28million.
      HMRC confirmed that repayment agreements have been struck so clubs are not in arrears.

      It is understood that Wayne Rooney’s Championship outfit Derby County owe £28million to HMRCCredit: Getty
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      Man United striker Marcus Rashford named Person of the Year for getting poorer children reading

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      MAN United striker Marcus Rashford has been named Person of the Year for getting poorer children reading.The ace, 24, who has campaigned to end child poverty, launched a book club to promote literacy.
      Man United striker Marcus Rashford has been named Person of the Year for getting poorer children readingCredit: PA
      He also teamed up with publisher Macmillan Children’s Books, which donated 50,000 titles, including Rashford’s own, You Are A Champion, to those in need.
      His efforts have now been recognised by The Bookseller, which named him FutureBook Person of the Year.
      The award is for people “making a real difference” in publishing.
      Rashford, who features on the cover of The Bookseller, said: “Success was getting great books in the hands of the children who truly need them.
      “Books that children could take lessons and tools from, that would help them overcome any challenge they were facing.”

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      Four Premier League clubs approved for ‘safe standing’ trial in January

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      FOUR Premier League clubs have been given the go-ahead to trial “safe standing” this season.Chelsea, Spurs, Man City and Man United will be the top-flight sides taking part in the pilot in January.
      Manchester United are one of the clubs which will trial safe standingCredit: Getty
      The first match will be Chelsea v Liverpool on January 2.
      Championship team Cardiff are also expected to be given permission when the decision is announced tomorrow.
      Standing has been illegal in the top divisions since all-seater stadiums were introduced in 1994 following the death of 97 Liverpool fans in the Hillsborough disaster.
      If the trial is a success, other clubs will be able to apply for next season.

      New Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, a Liverpool fan brought up near Anfield, had approved the move.
      She said: “Football fans have long wanted the introduction of safe standing and I’m pleased we are fulfilling our manifesto commitment by piloting its return.”
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      in Boxing

      Boxing legend Frank Bruno rekindles romance with ex-lover Nina Coletta who helped mental health recovery

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      BOXING legend Frank Bruno has rekindled his romance with an old flame who has helped his mental health recovery.Nina Coletta dated the ex-heavyweight champ for four years until 2016.
      Frank Bruno has rekindled his romance with Nina ColettaCredit: Solarpix
      Pals say they grew close again when Frank, 59, “reached out” after he was admitted to hospital following a relapse in his fight with bipolar disorder.
      Nina, 56, who runs a hairdressing business in Glasgow, has been splitting her time between her home in Scotland and Frank’s in Bedfordshire.
      A source said: “Frank is in a great place right now and Nina is a big part of that. She’s been really supportive and Frank is happier than he’s been in a long time.”
      The dad of four wrote of his latest health battle in 60 Years a Fighter, out this month.
      Our source said Nina, who joined him at the Pride of Britain awards last week, told Frank the book would be an important step in opening up about his feelings.
      They added: “Frank was proud to take her to the awards where she met his friends.”

      Frank won the WBC heavyweight crown in 1995 but struggled after retiring and split from wife Laura in 2001.
      Last month he told The Sun on Sunday lockdown led to his relapse, which saw him sectioned in June last year.
      His charity The Frank Bruno Foundation is holding a fundraising ball on November 12 to help others battling with their mental health.
      Frank Bruno is a former world heavyweight boxing championCredit: Getty
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