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      Tottenham will NOT sell Harry Kane this summer as Jose Mourinho prepares to build new look Spurs

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      JOSE MOURINHO has received assurances from Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy that the club will NOT have to sell Harry Kane this summer.
      The North Londoners have been left reeling by the Corona Crunch after a string of concerts and sporting events at their new £1billion stadium were cancelled.

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      Jose Mourinho says Spurs do not have to sell Harry Kane this summer
      After taking out a £175million bridging loan from the Bank of England, there were fears the club might have to cash in on star striker Kane and other key players to avoid plunging even further into the red.
      They also have a staggering £852MILLION stadium loan to repay.
      But manager Mourinho said: “Have I had assurances I will not need to sell key players this summer? Yes.”
      Tottenham travel to Crystal Palace for their final Premier League match of the season tomorrow, still hoping to qualify for the Europa League.

      Mourinho knows with no Champions League football next season, he will have to cut his cloth accordingly in the transfer market.
      He said: “There will be small changes — a big overhaul needs a lot of money.
      “I don’t think there are many clubs ready to buy, buy, buy — the ones that are going to is because they can do it with or without FFP.

      “If they do it, it’s because they feel they can do it.
      “We know what we can do and what is not possible to do.
      “We don’t want to sell our important players and that immediately is a limitation because by not selling big players you also don’t have big incomings.
      “So we are going to be very balanced but again the objective is to improve the squad. I’m totally convinced we’re going to manage.
      “Sometimes a club can improve by giving a better balance to the squad. So we are very calm and our squad next season will be better than this season.”
      Mourinho welcomes back Dele Alli after injury and Eric Dier from suspension for their trip to the Eagles.
      It has been a turbulent season but a relaxed Mourinho, looking more like his old self, is still managing to bring the curtain down with a smile as he insisted he has nothing to prove.

      He said: “I am the champion of the last five matches. You can give that medal now — champion of the last five matches, 13 points.
      “I try to do my best all the time, I’m not worried about proving or not, I try to do the best all the time.
      “My most important match is the next one and my most important season is the next one.
      “It’s not anything that can come from outside that’s going to motivate me more or less or put more or less pressure on me, it’s just my nature. I don’t need that.
      “So I look forward to next season, I want very much to start next season and that’s my nature.

      “It has been a very difficult season for Tottenham with injuries to Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane.
      “Do we think that next season we’re going to be less unlucky?
      “Yes, but at the same time we need to try and protect ourselves — and to protect ourselves is to build a better squad, with a little bit more balance so we can face these negative things.”

      Premier League 2020-21 season to start on September 12 but fixtures will be released just three weeks before kick-off More

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      There’s no problem with VAR but there IS with those who operate it – it’s let football down

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      TWO things happened last week which put a smile on every West Ham United supporter’s face.
      The first was the convincing 3-1 win over Watford last Friday which 95 per cent secured our status in the Premier League.

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      Mark Noble is Mr West Ham and we are lucky to have him
      It was followed by an outstanding performance at Manchester United, which 100 per cent secured it.
      We also celebrated Mark Noble’s 500th senior appearance for West Ham which David Gold and David Sullivan paid tribute to last week.
      It is a quite phenomenal achievement in the modern game but then, as we all know, Mark is quite a phenomenal individual.
      He became just the tenth West Ham player to reach 500 first team appearances when he led out the Irons.

      Noble joins Billy Bonds, Frank Lampard Snr, Bobby Moore, Sir Trevor Brooking, Alvin Martin, Jimmy Ruffell, Steve Potts, Vic Watson and Sir Geoff Hurst in reaching the landmark, becoming the sixth academy graduate to do so.
      He also ranks ninth in games played for a single club in Premier League history.
      Yet his influence here at West Ham extends far beyond his commitment on the pitch.

      Throughout his long and distinguished career, Mark has always cared deeply about the welfare and needs of this club, and the staff who work so hard behind the scenes.
      We are lucky to have such a proficient, professional and dedicated captain. He is a leader in every sense of the word, on and off the pitch.
      Since the league recommenced, we have taken 11 points out of a possible 24 and scored 13 goals.
      It makes me reflect on what might have been this season if we had not had the dark period during it where we lost our goalkeeper and couldn’t keep a clean sheet.
      CRISIS CLUBS
      As this strangest of seasons grinds to a halt tomorrow, I feel sorry for the clubs at the bottom of the table. Of all the years, this is not the year to get relegated.
      The EFL appear to be looking to implement wage caps which are virtually impossible for relegated clubs to comply with.
      Games will still be played behind closed doors when the new season kicks off on September 12, which impacts the financial stability of all clubs — but those in the EFL rely most heavily on gate money.
      CEO of the EFL, Rick Parry, admitted to the select committee it was “difficult to answer” how many might go out of business as a result.
      With one having already dropped into administration, it is hard to be in a league which appears to have so much instability.
      Parry also stated that “parachute payments are an evil that needs to be eradicated” — even though he invented them and relegated clubs rely on them.
      If you get promoted to the Premier League, you owe it to your club to try to retain that status.
      That means massive investment which, if it doesn’t pay off, leads to financial disaster if you are relegated.

      No-one wants a promoted club to do a Blackpool but you might be forced to if relegation means you go into a league which seems to want to operate for the benefit of the lowest common denominator, not the highest, and will impose impossible conditions and fines which only impact you when you least need it to.
      VAR-CICAL
      And finally, VAR. The problem is not actually VAR itself but those that operate it.
      The Premier League shared with us the results of a fan survey.
      Supporters stated their main concerns are the subjectivity of VAR decisions, VAR interrupting goal celebrations, VAR decisions being communicated too slowly and not enough information about decisions that are being reviewed by VAR.
      This is about everything that VAR has to do!
      Which means the supporters, the players, the managers and the executives of the Premier League all share the same concerns.

      When you consider the amazing job the Premier League executive has done to get our football back on after lockdown, what a shame VAR has let football down.
      The Premier League now has to decide if we accept VAR as it currently is or do we do away with it completely?
      When the 17th Premier League meeting of the season concluded yesterday after a long three hours, it was agreed to have this debate at the summer meeting.

      Premier League 2020-21 season to start on September 12 but fixtures will be released just three weeks before kick-off More

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      Mourinho preparing to make Tottenham legend Ledley King part of backroom team after tactical analyst leaves dugout

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      LEDLEY KING could make a return to football as part of Jose Mourinho’s backroom team at Tottenham.
      The White Hart Lane legend is being widely tipped to replace tactical analyst Ricardo Formosinho, who is leaving the club to pursue a career as a head coach.

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      Ledley King looks set to return to Spurs as part of Jose Mourinho’s backroom teamCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      One-club man King, 39, made 323 appearances for the North London club from 1999-2012. He was then a coach in the club’s academy before becoming a club ambassador.
      New boss Mourinho asked the former centre-back and defensive midfielder to come in and do a few training sessions with the club’s defenders before lockdown.
      King was seen on the pitches at Tottenham’s Enfield training HQ with Mourinho before lockdown.

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      Mourinho wants someone closely associated with Spurs to replace Ricardo FormosinhoCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      And now it seems he could be working there more frequently after Mourinho revealed his new coach has already been appointed and is a Spurs man.

      Former stars Ryan Mason and Jonathan Woodgate are other names in the frame after Mourinho said: “Ricardo is leaving and he’s leaving because he feels that he would like to have, in this stage of his career, probably one of his last opportunities, due to his age, to be a head coach.
      “I’m not going to say where of course, that’s up to him, but he’s leaving and we all wish him all the best.

      “Who is coming to replace him?
      “I prefer that it’s the club that’s going to inform you about that but my decision was to go again in one direction that I had before in other clubs which is to help local people to develop, instead of bringing one more assistant with me.

      “So it’ll be someone with a history with the club, connected with the club and let’s try to give him an opportunity because I’m not really a fan of people moving with a lot of assistants and forgetting local talent and people from the house.”

      Everton jump ahead of Spurs in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg transfer battle as Southampton accept £25m bid More

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      This has been football’s craziest year ever – but brought us closer together

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      IT’S over, it’s finally over. The Championship season is finally over.
      My team got promoted. This would be special at the best of times but, after the longest season ever, it’s an unbelievable feeling.

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      West Brom fans celebrate their team’s promotion to the Premier LeagueCredit: PA:Press Association
      It’s over, this weird season, which for several months looked like it might not finish at all. Fans not being allowed to go to matches somehow made it even more nerve-shredding than usual. And it all boiled down to an evening in which the fans of a whole host of teams were to either jump for joy or drown in despair in front of their TVs.
      On Wednesday night my team, West Brom, got themselves promoted by the narrowest of margins right at the end of the very last match, crawling desperately over the finish line.
      At the very same moment Brentford, having won seven straight games since the restart, then lost their second consecutive match to miss out on automatic promotion.
      Their despair was our joy. In turn, their opponents — Barnsley — by winning had saved themselves from relegation, so their joy raged unconfined as Brentford’s players fell to the ground in abject misery.

      Elsewhere, Swansea and Nottingham Forest pulled off a minor mathematical miracle by respectively winning and losing in some style to get into, and fall out of, the playoffs, which start this weekend.
      Fans around the country felt sick to their stomachs, joy in their hearts, horror in their souls.
      All this kind of thing would of course still be true in normal times: the joy of Liverpool fans; the despair at Bournemouth and Watford as they face relegation; the quiet, agonising stress of Aston Villa fans as they pray their players now don’t go and fluff their lines on Sunday.
      But two factors have made this bizarre, crowdless end to the season much more intense. We’ve had to watch alone or perhaps with one or two friends. 

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      West Bromwich Albion players celebrate their side’s promotion at the end of the game against QPRCredit: PA:Press Association
      All in same boat
      There’s been no physical strength in numbers — no fellow travellers to lean on, sing with, laugh with, sob with or hug. It’s been a lonely road at times, and all the tougher for that.
      But in a different way it’s brought us all closer together, because there’s normally a big dividing line between fans of a club. 
      There are those who are there, at the match — and those who aren’t. 
      This last month there has been no divide, we’ve all been in the same boat. And I suspect that for fans around the world that’s been an extra special feeling. Because now, for once, they’ve been equals.
      Ahead of our big promotion game I heard from West Brom fans in Croatia, Australia, France, Italy, New York, California and Japan. We’d all be watching anxiously from the same place, in front of our screens. 
      And as well as fans of my own team I had good wishes from, among others, a Southampton fan I once met in Antigua; a Wolves fan who happens to be a rock god (Robert Plant); and a family of orthodox Jewish Man United fans in Jerusalem who I filmed with five years ago.
      All of this was very nice but ratcheted up the tension to unbelievable levels. 
      At home things had been tense for days.
      My girlfriend, you see, is a Leeds fan. They’d got promoted thanks to us losing last Friday. She kindly kept her celebrations very quiet that day, while I’d just glowered darkly in a most immature fashion. 

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      Brentford’s players appear dejected after the Barnsley match at Griffin ParkCredit: PA:Press Association
      Unbearable
      But she wanted the Albion to be promoted too (she knows what the team’s fortunes do to my mood). The tension was so unbearable she went off to fold some washing.
      Meanwhile at Anfield, my friend Lee Dixon was covering the Liverpool v Chelsea game. 
      As a West Londoner he was hoping for the Brentford goal which would have promoted them instead of us. But he said on 89 minutes he suddenly had an image of me sitting there, in pieces. 
      Lee calls my hair “the squirrel” as he says it looks like one is sitting on my head.
      “I just thought of you tearing your squirrel out”, he said. “And I found myself almost hoping Brentford wouldn’t score. I didn’t think you would survive the trauma.”
      He’s right about that, and possibly about the squirrel too. But then the whistles blew, and we were promoted. 
      The bloke from Antigua, Robert Plant, the Reds of Jerusalem and hundreds of others all texted.
      I thought, randomly, of something Jeremy Paxman, of all people, said to me the other day. 

      He’s not greatly into football but said he always liked the way us fans use the word “we” when we talk about our teams.
      And “we” is what it’s all been about this summer. 
      And I mean “we” not just as in fellow fans of our own teams, but “we” as in all fans of this wonderful game the world over.

      West Brom manager Slaven Bilic gets drenched in champagne after clinching promotion into the Premier League
      GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk More

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      Social media can be a cesspit of sewer rats.. this is worst year on record for racism in football

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      THIS has been a season we will never forget.
      In terms of football and racism, everybody has seen the discrimination and abuse, including England’s game in Bulgaria and increasingly online.

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      Palace star Zaha is one of those players subjected to sickening racismCredit: Rex Features
      For society, the death of George Floyd made me depressed.
      Then you add coronavirus and the financial implications across football and it becomes a worrying time.
      But there are always things that give hope, like the way football has reacted to Covid-19, with so many clubs doing amazing work in their communities.
      Marcus Rashford’s success with school meals is another and the way football — and players in particular — have responded to Black Lives Matter.

      There is an appetite to turn the words into real, meaningful and long-term action, to do the things needed to create lasting change and opportunities. But we also have to tackle discrimination.
      This will be the worst year on record. We have to stem the tide.
      Online abuse is a massive issue and it can turn into real-world abuse.
      There is no magic wand. Everybody needs to step up to the plate and raise their game.

      And I mean everyone — football, social media companies, government and law enforcement.
      We need the likes of Twitter and Facebook to do more, taking stuff down and also educating the public.

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      Bhandari says this has been the worst year on record and that the time for change is nowCredit: PA:Press Association
      Social media is not all bad. Look at how Rashford used it to create change.
      It also was why we knew about that awful incident in the Haringey versus Yeovil FA Cup tie so quickly.
      But while it can be an absolute fountain of joy, it can also be a cesspit of sewer rats. The problem is there are no real consequences for social media behaviour.
      People feel free to do whatever they want.
      We do not know whether it’s a 12-year old kid in Birmingham who is trolling Ian Wright or Wilfried Zaha, or if it is organised, orchestrated online hate.
      That doesn’t mean a blanket ban on anonymity but every account must have a verification link to a specific person.
      Then it is down to working with law enforcement to make sure appropriate action is taken.
      But the past two months have been a real positive.

      We must go beyond gestures and push for change past the news cycle
      Sanjay Bhandari, Chair of Kick It Out

      People see that what Black Lives Matter stands for is greater equality and fairness. They want to make that happen.
      The challenge now is to go beyond gestures. We have had them before.
      Shiny, high-profile initiatives don’t necessarily solve the problems.
      You have to stay involved when the news cycle has moved on. We need sustained action over four or five years to move the dial.
      Slogans on shirts are not enough. Supporters must know what to do if they see or hear something in a stadium, or on social media.
      It is about the academy player who has been racially abused or bullied having simple guidance about how to respond.
      It is helping the Sunday League player feel confident that a report of abuse will be investigated properly.
      We need concrete actions to change behaviour. Values alone will not.
      There is no quick fix. Culture doesn’t change overnight because someone says it should. It happens gradually.

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      Premier League players have taken a knee since football resumed in support of the Black Lives Matter movementCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
      Football boardrooms are still white and male, there is still an absence of black coaches, while Asians in football are completely invisible.
      But black players now feel more encouraged to speak out.
      Tyrone Mings, Troy Deeney, Rashford and Raheem Sterling are influencers in their own right, potentially bigger than clubs or any politicians.
      They can change opinions and have the courage to use their platforms responsibly.
      Football is enabling them to do that, which wouldn’t have been the case a few years ago.
      For my generation, the seminal game was West Brom thrashing Manchester United at Old Trafford in 1978.
      Not just for Laurie Cunningham and Cyrille Regis laying that slur about black players and snow to rest but because Gerald Sinstadt, the commentator, called the racism out.
      That was so unusual then. Now you would expect a commentator and the media to talk about it, not brush it under the carpet.

      Having lived in football for 46 years, it feels like George Floyd’s death has changed people. I do think it’s different.
      I’m more confident now.
      Football was already moving in the right direction but the way the game has reacted has shown me that there is a real willingness to change. More

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      Michail Antonio scooped £250k bonus after netting tenth Prem goal of season against Man Utd

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      MICHAIL ANTONIO landed an incredible £250,000 bonus for scoring West Ham’s penalty against Manchester United.
      The Hammers forward hit the jackpot after reaching 10 Premier League goals for the first time in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at Old Trafford but this was only after normal spot-kick taker Mark Noble stood down.

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      Michail Antonio calmly scored his penalty to continue his, and West Ham’s, fantastic end to the seasonCredit: EPA
      Antonio, 30, renegotiated his last contract in 2017 meaning he would earn £250,000 for getting into double figures but has never previously managed this in the top-flight.
      A £7million bargain from Nottingham Forest five years ago, he has one year left on his current deal but West Ham are offering him a new four-year contract.
      But it is the size of his goal bonus which is staggering even by Premier League standards. Afterwards, Antonio spoke about reaching his goal target.
      He said: “Me and Nobes talked and he asked me what my target was for the season. I said it’s ten goals and it’s been my target for the last five years I’ve been here.
      “I’ve never been able to reach it – I’d got to nine but not ten – so he said if we get a penalty in the next two games he’d give it to me because I’d scored so many important goals for us this month and he believed I would score.
      “I honestly didn’t think we’d get a penalty, and when we got it, I didn’t think he’d still give it to me! But as soon as they made the decision on VAR he said, ‘Are you ready?’ And I said, ‘Yes I am’.

      “I knew where I was going to put it. Because he spoke to me in the week I had a couple of practice penalties, so because I knew where I was going to put it I was confident, and just slotted it home.

      “Nobes will be back on them from Sunday, this was literally so I could hit my target of ten goals for the season and hopefully I can score another in open play!”
      West Ham face Aston Villa on Sunday. More

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      Premier League club almost lost £1m after fraudsters hacked director’s account during transfer deal

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      A PREMIER League club nearly lost £1million when it was targeted by cyber criminals during a transfer deal.
      Hackers infiltrated a club director’s email account as negotiations took place to sell a player to a European team.

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      The Premier League director revealed his username and password to fraudstersCredit: PA:Press Association
      He was conned into revealing his username and password in a phishing attack.
      Using the details, the crooks nearly succeeded in getting the £1million payment diverted to their own account.
      They failed only because the club’s bank clocked the dodgy transaction and blocked it.
      It also emerged that hackers shut down a Football League club’s stadium hours before a match.

      They had demanded 400 bitcoins, nearly £3million, to end their attack.
      Somehow the crooks suspended security systems and blocked electronic turnstiles — meaning the game was nearly axed.
      The National Cyber Security Centre — part of GCHQ — has warned sports teams they are high-value targets — with at least 70 per cent of clubs targeted every year.

      Their Cyber Threat to Sports Organisations report also reveals a racecourse staff member lost £15,000 trying to buy equipment from a spoof eBay site.

      Paul Chichester, director of operations at the NCSC, urged sports groups to boost ­their security systems.
      He warned that the impact of cyber criminals is “very real”.

      Liverpool lift the Premier League title after 30 year wait
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      Leeds target Eberechi Eze transfer following promotion after QPR youngster starred in Championship

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      CHAMPIONSHIP winners Leeds want QPR playmaker Eberechi Eze to lead their return to the Premier League.
      Marcelo Bielsa has identified the exciting England Under-21 international as the creative spark his team will need next season.

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      Leeds want QPR playmaker Eberechi Eze to lead their return to the Premier League
      And he is ready to outbid Spurs, West Ham and Crystal Palace for the 22-year-old Londoner who has been earning rave reviews this season.
      Sunsport understands that Leeds first declared their interest in Eze in January and told QPR that they would come in with a firm bid if they were promoted.
      Now they are preparing to fulfil that promise when the transfer window officially opens next Monday.
      Eze, who has scored 13 goals and provided eight assists this season, is valued at £20million by QPR.

      The West London club feared that price would drop as a result of the pandemic which has restricted the spending ability of every club.
      But with so much competition for the attacking midfielder QPR are still hoping to get close to the full asking price for their star player.

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      Marcelo Bielsa has identified Eze as the creative spark his team will need next seasonCredit: Alamy Live News
      West Ham boss David Moyes was at Loftus Road last Saturday to see Eze’s Man of the Match performance in QPR’s 4-3 win against Millwall.
      And after paying £22m to sign Jarrod Bowen from Hull in January, Moyes has no concerns about paying big money for a player with no Premier League experience.

      But master tactician Bielsa has made it clear to Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani that Eze is exactly the kind of prospect his team should be looking to sign.
      Radrizzani this week has been speaking about the possibility of bringing veteran superstars Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani to Elland Road as free agents.

      But the £200,000-a-week wage demands of both players would be way beyond Leeds’ reach and Eze would be a much more realistic long-term investment.
      QPR boss Mark Warburton is resigned to losing Eze this summer as his club struggle to make ends meet as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
      He has already agreed a £4.75m fee with Bruge for winger Bright Osayi-Samuel but has been allowed to spend £2.1m of that money to sign striker Kieffer Moore from hard-up Wigan.

      Leeds hopeful over incredible Edinson Cavani transfer with Premier League new-boys also set to target Zlatan Ibrahimovic More