5 h. ago De Bruyne’s perfectly timed departure marks tipping point in Guardiola era | Jonathan Liew

The City midfielder made his teammates look like geniuses and once more he is making just the right move at just the right momentNot for the first time, Kevin De Bruyne read the situation to perfection. Not for the first time, he spotted the right play just a little earlier than everyone else. And of course this was always his gift: not simply to pick the right option but to do it faster than anyone else, buying him those crucial fractions of a second when everything else was in flux and only he in stillness.And of course this was not the only respect in which De Bruyne understood the game of football better than most. As a struggling teenager in the Genk academy, he noticed the way the club abruptly stopped paying for a foster family to house him, and then quietly resumed when he started banging in goals for the second team. Cast adrift at Chelsea, he noticed how he was ignored while first-team players were lavished with attention and bespoke coaching. Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago Man City have already lost perfect Kevin De Bruyne replacement after £42.5m transfer mistake

Latest Manchester City transfer news and gossip as Kevin De Bruyne's summer exit will leave questions as to who will be his replacement

Economics

8 h. ago Kevin De Bruyne was the magician who brought personality to the Man City machine

If the accusation levelled at Pep Guardiola is that his teams can be too bloodless, beating opponents with perfectly-constructed moves of precise passing, De Bruyne was a throwback

Politics

40 h. ago Ange Postecoglou seeks moment of strength to escape spiral at Spurs | Jonathan Liew

Tottenham manager knows the vultures are circling but his mission is driven by honouring the family nameHis passport still bears the name “Angelos Postekos”. It was the name legally given to him by his parents, eager for their children to fit into their adopted home, aware that they would face enough obstacles – a different language, a different culture, a different skin tone – without throwing a long name into the bargain.But he always hated the name Postekos. To him it smelled too much of embarrassment. Of apologising for who you were. Of changing your essence to please others. Of compromise. And so, as soon as he had any say in the matter, he resolved he would be known by the name his father had used, and those who came before him, back in the old country. Before everything changed forever. Continue reading...

Politics

58 h. ago Anthony Elanga’s solo special stuns Manchester United: Football Weekly

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and Mark Langdon as Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United, taking a step closer to Champions League football next seasonRate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.On the podcast today: Anthony Elanga scores a wonderful solo goal against Manchester United and it proves enough for Nottingham Forest to claim a vital 1-0 win in the hunt for Champions League football. Continue reading...

Sport

63 h. ago Scrappy startups to industry giants: lessons from the founders of Dash Water, Fever Tree and Perlego

The latest ScaleUp Standard newsletter takes in marketing tips from the founders of Dash and breaking into the US with Perlego’s CEO Gauthier Van Malderen

Politics

3 d. ago Welcome to the future of football, where the ability to entertain is king | Jonathan Liew

The Baller League is one of a series of seven-a-side ventures aiming to challenge the traditional model of the gameThe first ever goal in the UK version of the Baller League is scored by the influencer PK Humble, just in case you ever find yourself taking part in a pub quiz in 2045. Humble – a midfielder for Hashtag United and star of the recent YouTube series Inside – takes the ball out of defence, advances it at a frankly embarrassingly leaden pace and side-foots it past a goalkeeper who should really do better.Welcome to the future of football. It’s faster, better and more exciting than the real thing. Albeit not faster in a strictly physical sense, or better in a strictly technical sense, or more exciting in the sense that you actually need to care about who wins. But it is, nonetheless, all of these things. Why? Because we said so. And don’t just take our word for it. Maya Jama says so too. Slow, lingering camera shot of Maya Jama. Now, what was the question again? Continue rea...

Politics

3 d. ago Welcome to the Baller League, the future of football – whether you like it or not | Jonathan Liew

The series in London is one of a range of seven-a-side ventures challenging the traditional model of the gameThe first ever goal in the UK version of the Baller League is scored by the influencer PK Humble, just in case you ever find yourself taking part in a pub quiz in 2045. Humble – a midfielder for Hashtag United and star of the recent YouTube series Inside – takes the ball out of defence, advances it at a frankly embarrassingly leaden pace and side-foots it past a goalkeeper who should really do better.Welcome to the future of football. It’s faster, better and more exciting than the real thing. Albeit not faster in a strictly physical sense, or better in a strictly technical sense, or more exciting in the sense that you actually need to care about who wins. But it is, nonetheless, all of these things. Why? Because we said so. And don’t just take our word for it. Maya Jama says so too. Slow, lingering camera shot of Maya Jama. Now, what was the question again? Continue reading...

Sport

4 d. ago Mark Wright given 'amazing tip' by Sir Elton John on being a dad after legend's emotional death admission

Presenter Mark welcomed daughter Palma into the world with Michelle Keegan earlier in March

Events

4 d. ago Sir Elton John gives new dads Mark Wright and Olly Murs his top parenting tip

Dad-of-two, Sir Elton John, gave Mark Wright and Olly Murs some parenting advice as he admitted he spent his own childhood 'walking on eggeshells'

Politics

5 d. ago Preston’s attempts to bore Aston Villa to distraction crumble like pastry | Jonathan Liew

Championship perennials are beige down to their signature snack but their existence is still something to savourThe man behind the counter at Greggs on Fishergate has never heard of a butter pie, but try Poundbakery over the street. Poundbakery doesn’t do butter pie, but try Greenhalgh’s on the corner. Greenhalgh’s: closed on Sundays. The chip shop on Market Street does meat pie, meat and potato, steak, steak and kidney, chicken and mushroom, cheese and onion. Butter pie? A shake of the head.You’ve got to try the butter pie. That’s what everyone says the first time you visit Preston. It was created in industrial times, for the largely Catholic working population to eat on Fridays when meat was forbidden. Often you hear it described as a “delicacy”, but even this is to overstate its intensely yeoman nature. It’s layers of potatoes, onions and butter in a pie. It’s cheap. It’s hearty. It’s unpretentious. It exists to be consumed and then immediately forgotten. It is – with deepes...

Politics

5 d. ago Elton John says he 'grew up in fear of parents' – and gives one tip to Mark Wright 

Mark Wright and Olly Murs were both offered some words of wisdom about all things parenting from Elton John during a heartfelt interview on Heart Radio

Politics

6 d. ago Manchester City enter Last Dance era under Guardiola with FA Cup in sights

Some players’ futures are in doubt but beating Bournemouth could help those they leave behindPep Guardiola is a basketball aficionado and has often been seen courtside in America trying to learn from one of the world’s most intense sports. The Manchester City manager holds Michael Jordan in high esteem and it feels as if the next two months may be the club’s version of the basketball legend’s Last Dance documentary for some of their senior players. The FA Cup is the NBA championship for those wondering where they may start next season.City face a second trip of the season to Bournemouth, where their 32-match unbeaten run ended in November, hoping to reach a semi-final at Wembley for the seventh successive year. Guardiola and his side have barely recovered since losing Rodri, City’s Jordan according to his coach, and a second defeat by Andoni Iraola’s men on Sunday would remove any chance of a trophy for the Spaniard and his ageing charges this season. Jordan was asked for one great ...

Politics

7 d. ago Sacked Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut hits out at Omer Riza behaviour in explosive TV interview

The former Bluebirds manager spoke about his departure from Cardiff and his assistant coach getting the job full-time

Events

8 d. ago Zoe Ball looks happy in first outing since Radio 2 exit after low

The much-loved broadcaster was seen for the first time since her Radio 2 breakfast departure at Elton John's star-studded show at the London Palladium

Politics

9 d. ago Why the double standards on ‘leadership’ when it comes to Black players? | Jonathan Liew

Jordan Henderson is a great English leader. But he has been encouraged and applauded for the very same acts for which minority ethnic players are castigated and stigmatisedHow shall I lead thee? Let me count the ways. I lead thee by stepping up and being vocal, around the dressing room, setting standards in training. I lead thee quietly by example, you know, the not-much-of-a-shouter‑and-a-screamer-but-when-he-speaks-people-listen kind. I lead thee by having been there, done that, won everything in the game. I lead thee by never backing down from a challenge. I lead thee by sheer gravitas.By any of these measures, Jordan Henderson is a leader. He was a leader for Liverpool, raising standards and setting the tone for 12 golden years. He was a leader for the NHS and the LGBTQ+ community off the field. He was still a leader when he left Liverpool and moved to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to create – in his words – “positive change” in the country for his beloved LGBTQ+ constituents....

Politics

1 week ago TNA icon Gail Kim sacked by company as decision branded 'most baffling' in wrestling

Gail Kim was among a number of leadership team departures announced on Tuesday by TNA Wrestling, including 7-time Knockouts Champion and long-time wrestling producer Gail Kim

Politics

1 week ago Newsboy's horse racing tips for Wednesday’s meetings at Kempton, Market Rasen and Hereford

Newsboy's nap selection for Wednesday, March 26, is the Dylan Cunha-trained Collusion (8.00) at Kempton Park. His next best is another runner at the Sunbury track, Roi De France (7.00)

Economics

1 week ago Jude Bellingham will antagonise and frustrate, but that is the price of genius | Jonathan Liew

England midfielder’s simple, repetitive talent can make all the difference for Thomas Tuchel. We need to go with itThe deception begins before he has even received the ball. As Ezri Konsa steps forward, Jude Bellingham leans towards his marker, Ylber Ramadani, and intimates he wants the pass in behind. Ramadani steps across to cover. On this, Bellingham immediately switches direction and takes two quick paces towards Konsa. The pass comes, as it was always going to do. But Bellingham’s sleight has earned him five precious yards of space.The striker Myrto Uzuni now drops in to close him down. Myrto, meet Jude. Pull up a chair. You’ve played against him before at Granada, you’re familiar with his work, and you want to help, you really do. You try to get around his body to where the ball is, only to find that body and ball have mysteriously vanished: a quick swivel and then off in the other direction, beyond your despairing grab, in the general direction of your penalty area. Four seco...

Politics

2 w. ago Putting your house on the market? Here’s some tips for getting it sold

Spring is typically a great time to put a house on the market to get it sold quickly

Economics