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      Sir Alex Ferguson was such a control freak as a boss he picked star players’ babysitters

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      SIR Alex Ferguson was such a control freak as a boss he picked star players’ babysitters.Fergie, 79, Britain’s most successful ever manager, got youth team members to look after the children then grilled the young aces about what went on.
      Sir Alex Ferguson ran his players’ livesCredit: Rex
      Gordon Strachan, 64, who played for Fergie at Manchester United and Aberdeen, said: “He ran everything at the clubs.
      “At Aberdeen, keeper Bryan Gunn looked after my boys, Craig and Gavin.
      “Then Fergie would interrogate Bryan about what time I got in, if I had curry and if I’d been out with Mark McGhee. It taught us discipline.”
      Strachan also said on talkSPORT: “He even had a talk with wives before a final to say, ‘Don’t take him shopping, he’s resting’.”

      Man Utd legend Sir Alex Ferguson opens up about his health and thanks the NHS at documentary premier More

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      Jamie Vardy set to bid for The Inbetweeners’ infamous yellow banger

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      FUN-loving footie ace Jamie Vardy is set to bid for The Inbetweeners’ infamous yellow banger.The Leicester City and former England striker normally drives a £165,000 Bentley Continental GT.
      Footie ace Jamie Vardy is set to bid for The Inbetweeners’ infamous yellow bangerCredit: Reuters
      In the series the pals shouted ‘bus w*****s’ at bus stop queues as they pottered past in the 1996 Fiat Cinquecento HawaiiCredit: Channel 4
      But he is a big fan of the classic Channel 4 comedy — and its “football fwend” joke — and even calls mates from his hometown of Sheffield “The Inbetweeners.”
      In the series the pals shouted “bus w*****s” at bus stop queues as they pottered past in the 1996 Fiat Cinquecento Hawaii, with a mismatched red door and rude bumper sticker.
      The car is up for auction in Bristol and has already had an offer of £5,500
      Auctioneer Andrew Stow said: ‘It’s just so British. It’s an underdog — yet everyone wants a piece of it’

      It is up for auction in Bristol and has already had an offer of £5,500.
      A source close to 34-year-old Jamie said: “He’s told his mates he wants to have it as a collector’s piece.”
      Auctioneer Andrew Stow said: “It’s just so British. It’s an underdog — yet everyone wants a piece of it.”
      Ridiculed yellow car from The Inbetweeners set to sell for £3,000 at auction More

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      UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin slams idea of staging World Cup every two years

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      UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin has slammed the idea of staging a World Cup every two years as “completely irrational”.Fifa Congress gave the go-ahead on Friday for a feasibility study to be conducted into holding the tournament more often than the current four-year cycle.
      Aleksander Ceferin has slammed the idea of staging a World Cup every two years
      But in an exclusive interview with SunSport, Uefa president Ceferin said: “FIFA can do a feasibility study about that but it’s impossible that the World Cup would happen every two years.
      “This would, from one point of view, cause a complete disruption of the calendar.
      “From the other point of view players would be exposed to injuries if they played a month-long tournament every second summer and will not have time to recover from the long season.
      “The idea to have the World Cup every two years is completely irrational.”
      The proposal to conduct a feasibility study into a biennial World Cup was made by the Saudi Arabia FA, close allies of Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
      The Saudis have already given financial and moral support to Infantino’s plans to expand Fifa’s Club World Cup.
      The Fifa chief has also been accused by La Liga boss Javier Tebas and others of secretly backing and encouraging the failed European Super League.

      Documents suggest the ESL plotters believed they had Fifa backing for their plans and at least one senior Fifa official attended a meeting about it.
      Something doesn’t add up and Ceferin said: “He [Infantino] guaranteed to me that neither he nor any of his people was present at any meetings with the Super League, that he didn’t know anything about it.
      “Any Fifa president who supported a project like that, he or she could not be Fifa president anymore.
      “I got a promise from his side.“We spoke over the phone. He said, ‘Ah, interesting, I haven’t heard about this project for quite a while’.
      “I have to believe Fifa, that they are not behind it.
      “A crazy project like that will never happen again.”
      France lifted the World Cup trophy for the second time in 20 years in 2018
      Florentino Perez (left) and Aleksander Ceferin (right) were at war over the ESL
      To a lot of people, holding the World Cup every two years looks like another crazy project.
      But it’s all part of the ongoing power struggle between Fifa and Uefa, and Infantino and Ceferin.
      For now the Uefa president’s priority is successfully staging the delayed Euro 2020 tournament.
      Ceferin remains hopeful Wembley will welcome at least 22,500 fans to matches during Euro 2020, despite concerns about the spread of the Indian variant.
      It remains to be seen whether Wembley will be able to welcome even more fans for the semi finals and final.
      Ceferin, who will hold a phone conference with Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden and government officials in early June, said: “If we’ve learned anything from this Covid situation, it is that things can change daily.
      Let’s see how things go, but I’m optimistic.
      “We are talking about July [for the semi finals and final].
      “We hope by then the majority of people will be vaccinated. We have to be careful of course.
      “We will discuss it with them, we will see what they say. The decision about it is not up to the governing bodies but the governments and local authorities.
      “I think we will have spectators as planned and hopefully even more.”
      Ceferin also defended Uefa’s decision to stage the rescheduled tournament in 11 different venues during a pandemic.
      He said: “I have to rely on my team from Uefa Events.
      “They said that it was simply impossible to change it because we invested so much into these countries.
      It would be financially impossible to do it, and logistically as well, probably.
      “Our health protocols are really strict.
      We have played 1,300 Uefa international matches since the pandemic started and 98.5 per cent without any problems.
      “I think we have to bring hope with football. We have to start, slowly, living a normal life.“We cannot just say we don’t do anything.”
      UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin attacks Big Six English clubs for wanting to join European Super League More

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      Liverpool willing to sell surprise star defender Nat Phillips in £10m summer transfer with Van Dijk and Gomez to return

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      LIVERPOOL will sell centre-half Nat Phillips in the summer – but only if they get a major offer.The defender has had his first run in the team under Jurgen Klopp, but he is unlikely to be a starter next season and that has caught the eye of other Premier League clubs.
      Nat Phillips, 24, may leave Liverpool this summer – if the price is rightCredit: EPA
      The Reds have already decided not to keep Turkish centre-back Ozan Kabak – as we revealed last week – but local lad Phillips could also go if the right bid lands.
      The 24-year-old starred in the win at Burnley, when he got his first senior goal, and the former VfB Stuttgart loanee could command a £10million fee.
      Phillips made 19 league appearances for the German side during the 2019-20 campaign, helping them win promotion to the Bundesliga.
      He has since featured 16 times in the Premier League this season but is likely to play fewer games once Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip return from injury.
      The crocked trio have managed just 22 Prem appearances between them this term.
      Klopp may also decide to sign a new centre back this summer as Liverpool are believed to be interested in RB Leipzig ace Ibrahima Konate.
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      Liverpool boast the most-valuable squad in the Premier League

      The Reds have been linked with several players recently, including Udinese star Rodrigo De Paul.
      They are also said to be keen on Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma, rated at £40m.
      And Liverpool are believed to be interested in Manchester United target and Borussia Dortmund talent Jadon Sancho.
      Naby Keita, meanwhile, could be on his way out of Anfield, with newly-crowned LaLiga champions Atletico Madrid reportedly considering a move for the midfielder.
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Tearful Liverpool hero Alisson dedicates incredible headed winner to late father who tragically drowned this year More

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      Man City boss Pep Guardiola admits he’d love £150m-rated Harry Kane as Tottenham star plots summer transfer escape

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      PEP GUARDIOLA has opened the door to signing Harry Kane by admitting: I’d love a 30-goal-a-year hitman.His Manchester City are favourites to land the £150million-rated Tottenham centre-forward, who wants to leave this summer.
      Pep Guardiola has admitted he’d love a 30-goal-a-year striker like Kane at Man CityCredit: PA
      Man City chief Pep Guardiola has opened the door to a summer move for Harry KaneCredit: PA
      Kane gave a huge hint that the Etihad would be his chosen destination when he admitted Kevin De Bruyne is the one man he would love to play alongside.
      And Guardiola said: “I’d love to have a striker who got 50 goals a season honestly but I don’t like to put all the pressure on one player.
      “At Barcelona Lionel Messi, every season since he was born, scored 50 a season.
      “Thierry Henry scored a lot in the first season, Samuel Eto’o scored a lot – what a striker.
      “When you are to win titles, especially the Premier League, with just one guy you won’t win it.
      “You need more and the statistics speak for themselves. You need three guys with more than ten, scoring 12 to 15, to be competitive.
      “But when you have someone who can get 25 to 30 it helps a lot.”
      Despite romping to the title, City’s top Prem scorer is midfielder Ilkay Gundogan with 13.
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      What every Tottenham player earns following Mourinho’s pay rant

      Raheem Sterling, with three fewer, is the only other player to reach double figures.
      Sergio Aguero – the club’s 258-goal all-time leading scorer – has played a bit-part due to injuries and leaves after today’s clash with Everton.
      Gabriel Jesus, bought to fill Aguero’s boots, has again failed to take his chance with only eight.
      That spread of goals saw City stroll to a third title in four years and they will complete a treble if they add the Champions League to the League Cup.
      Now there is the growing prospect of Kane, 27, leading the line next term – though Guardiola could face competition to sign the England skipper from across Manchester.
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      United chief Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has just nailed down Edinson Cavani for another 12 months but still wants another goalscorer at Old Trafford.
      And he believes playing with the veteran Uruguay ace, 34, would improve any striker – even Kane.
      Solskjaer revealed: “Just because Edinson stays doesn’t mean we are not looking for a forward.
      “It’s the nature of the beast that you’re always trying to improve.
      “Edinson staying is great and whoever comes in will learn from him definitely, whoever you are.
      “So the short answer is we’ve not stopped looking for a centre-forward.”
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Harry Kane will hold transfer talks with Tottenham amid Man Utd and Man City interest More

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      Uefa chief Ceferin rejects Gary Neville call for regulator and says losing League Cup wouldn’t kill English football

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      GARY NEVILLE and Uefa chief Aleksander Ceferin agree on the basics.But their visions of how to stop future Super League projects and give football a more sustainable future are very different.
      Aleksander Ceferin does not back Gary Neville’s plan
      Player-turned-pundit Neville and more than 100,000 fans who signed a parliamentary petition reckon English football needs an independent regulator to defend its traditions and values.
      But Ceferin believes the game can and should be left to govern itself – and English football must play its part in devising Europe-wide solutions to long-running problems.
      Ceferin, a lawyer by profession, is catching his breath after “a crazy three weeks”.
      No sooner had Uefa seen off the ESL than it had to move the Champions League Final from Istanbul for the second year in a row, in order to allow Chelsea and Manchester City fans to attend.
      But while he is willing to see both sides of most arguments, Ceferin has strong views on outside regulation being forced on football, in England or anywhere else.
      He said: “I don’t think there’s a need to change the way football is run. Especially I don’t think that governments should interfere.
      “When there are ideas of an independent body governing football, it’s just a matter of time before the level of independence of those bodies will be questioned. 
      “The most important thing is that we strengthen the pyramid, that we create the regulations we didn’t have so that projects like that cannot happen again.”Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is NOT taking his hat off to Uefa’s plans to expand the Champions League
      Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is NOT taking his hat off to Uefa’s plans to expand the Champions LeagueCredit: AFP

      Neville was not alone in calling for severe punishments, including points deductions and competition bans, for England’s Big Six.
      Instead, the Premier League clubs, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Inter have escaped with modest financial penalties and threats of massive fines if they try it again.
      Ceferin said: “I don’t think it’s right to say who, but I spoke with two or three of the owners of the six English clubs.
      “They said they completely misjudged the situation, they know it was a big mistake and they know there has to be a sanction because of that.
      “I’m sure they will not do it again. They learned their lesson. That’s enough for me. I’m not on a crusade to punish them forever.”
      But it will be strange next Saturday to watch Chelsea and Manchester City trying to win a trophy they were prepared to ditch just weeks ago.
      Especially after City were only able to reach the final after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a two-year ban for breaking FFP rules.
      Ceferin said: “I disagree with their decision and was for sure disappointed.
      “But I’ve learned as a trial lawyer in Slovenia that some cases you win that you were sure you would lose, and some you lose that you thought you would win.” 
      So much for the past, what about the future?
      Managers like Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, players like City’s Ilkay Gundogan and fans of all clubs are also united in opposition to Uefa’s plans to revamp the Champions League from 2024.
      Earlier this month, supporters told Ceferin at a virtual meeting they did not want any more CL games, let alone the 100 extra proposed, because of the impact on the English calendar and competitions like the League Cup..
      Ceferin said: “You like traditions very much, but it doesn’t mean you don’t have to modernise from time to time.
      “I don’t want to get into how. But I don’t think that all the spirit of English football would be gone if you had one cup less.”
      Plans to award CL places on the basis of past European competition performance are also unpopular.
      Ceferin says Uefa must explain better why the Swiss-style league format and the new qualification criteria will create a better and fairer Champions League.
      He is willing to tweak the proposals, but football authorities in England and elsewhere must also be willing to compromise.
      Angry fans protest outside Stamford Bridge over the European Super LeagueCredit: Getty
      A Chelsea fan famously protested against the ESL with a placard reading: “We want our cold nights in Stoke.”
      Which club’s ground in Ceferin’s native Slovenia would be the equivalent of the Bet365 Stadium on a Tuesday night in February?
      Ceferin laughed: “Maybe FK Aluminij. They have a small stand that’s not covered. It’s cold up there.”
      But Aluminij, like all the clubs in Slovenia’s top flight, receive about £85,000 per year in TV rights revenue, compared to £100m for each Premier League club.
      And that’s why, Ceferin says, initiatives like the new third-tier Europa Conference League, regarded as a booby prize by some Premier League managers, are important.
      Ceferin said: “It is a serious competition.
      “Clubs like Tottenham or Roma could be in it. Top teams will play in the semi finals and final.
      “If English clubs play well in the Conference League, they will earn points that could help them play in the Champions League in the future.
      “If we want to work on saving the pyramid of football – and football is not about England only – clubs in smaller countries need more international matches.
      “They will improve, they will get more sponsors, more money from broadcasting rights, because they can play against a team from the Premier League or La Liga.”
      Neville wants an independent regulator to help to re-set the balance between rich and poor in English football.
      But Ceferin says everyone must work together for the benefit of the whole European game in the post-pandemic, post-ESL era.
      The Uefa president said: “The good that Covid has done is that we are all discussing all the topics.
      “You have to work on the whole ecosystem of European football. If we do something, but the Premier League, La Liga and the others don’t, then we don’t achieve much.
      “We should calm down now and put things in place for the future which ensure that football becomes even more sustainable.”
      Gary Neville gives impassioned rant about greedy Big 6 and The European Super League More

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      Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson tells pals he fears England axe as he struggles to recover from injury

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      JORDAN HENDERSON is set to join in the celebrations should his Liverpool team-mates secure a Champions League place today.But the Anfield skipper will still have a worry at the back of his mind.
      Jordan Henderson is concerned about missing Euro 2020Credit: Alamy
      For he has told close pals he is deeply concerned that his return to training after groin surgery in February may have come too late for him to make England’s bid for the Euros this summer.
      Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate is due to announce his squad for the finals on Tuesday.
      But Henderson, though seen happy and smiling as he worked out on Friday, fears he might get a call tomorrow that would turn the joy of his club’s top-four comeback to sorrow.
      Reds boss Jurgen Klopp declared recently that England’s vice-captain still had a chance of being selected by Southgate.
      Yet Friday was his first proper football session since getting crocked and the 30-year-old fears the worst.
      That with only two warm-up games scheduled, against Austria and Romania before the big kick-off with Croatia on June 13, Southgate will not take a chance on him.
      Henderson’s injury, along with the season-ending knee damage to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, means Klopp’s fallen champs find themselves in the last-chance saloon today.
      The Anfield chief, whose team host Crystal Palace, stressed: “A season is a season and you cannot cut off the positive parts from the negative parts and then say, ‘Oh, look at that, nearly there’.
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      Arsenal ace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has signed a new deal at the club
      “We don’t see it like this. I said when we lost our centre-halves, all of them pretty much, we broke our leg but we could still win games.
      “Not always with the most convincing football but we could still win games, we were still scoring and all these kind of things.
      “Then, we had to – and we had to at that time – take midfielders and transform them into centre-halves and that broke our spine.
      “The young boys were not ready to play centre-half, the midfielders had to play centre-half at that time and we lost rhythm, we lost pretty much everything, all of the stuff.
      “A football team is like an orchestra or whatever, or something else where plenty of people work together, and if you lose one piece you might, or you can, still do it.
      “But if you lose another piece then it gets really difficult, especially in this league where everybody performs at such an incredibly high intensity level.

      “This year with the injuries we had, it was not a year in which you can become champions. No chance for nobody.
      “Take out, as good as they are, the three centre-halves of City. No.
      “Three centre-halves of United. No. For the whole season, pretty much. That’s how it is, it was really strange.
      “But fight back. Accept the difficulties, fight back and make the best of it.
      “If we qualify for the Champions League, then we made the best of it.”
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Liverpool boss Klopp reveals that Jordan Henderson has returned to training More