#EFL League One News
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Peterborough United Boosted By Opposition Injury Concerns
Bolton Wanderers could be without a number of key players for their clash against Peterborough United this Saturday, with Dion Charles already revealed to be a major doubt for this weekend’s match, according to the Peterborough Telegraph.
This will be a boost to a Posh side who have a terrible record away at Bolton, losing their last three when travelling up to Greater Manchester to play the…
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#Bolton wanderers#darren ferguson#Dion charles#efl league one#EFL League One News#ian evatt#league one#league one news#Peterborough United
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The Heart of a Villan - Chapter 2/5
Chapter Two - Operation Lion's Den
Summary: Three-thousand miles from home, Henry drags Emma into a land she never imagined venturing to; the realm of English football. She holds no interest in the sport but when she’s approached by Villa Captain Killian Jones, she determines that there could be something in the sport for her after all.
Words: 9536
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Killian enters the home changing room, the last to return due to his flirty grovelling at pitch side, and is met by jubilant chaos. Someone already has their victory playlist at full blast, blaring from their phone, and Will – ever the life and soul of a party – has stripped to his boxers, dancing around the place with his shorts on his head.
Will spots his arrival instantly and prances over, slinging an arm over his shoulder and dragging him centre-stage, to the middle of the room.
“Wahey, look who it is! The man of the hour, the captain of the century!” Will exclaims.
He grabs Killian by the wrist and flings his arm into the air, as if proclaiming him champion of a boxing match.
“It would appear that three points and a man of the match performance is not all our captain managed to secure,” Robin notes.
As appreciative as Killian is for Robin’s pinpoint accuracy on the pitch – a lot of his goals have come from getting on the end of a Locksley delivery – he’s not so fond of it off the pitch. Will jerks Killian’s arm down so to look for himself.
“Emma,” Will reads and looks up at him, “is that the bird whose kid you clobbered?”
“The woman,” Killian corrects pointedly. “And I’d hardly say clobbered.”
“Well, I’ve gotta hand it to ya, mate, it was one hell of a bold tactic,” Will comments. “Keep going with audacious tactics like that and you’ll give the gaffer a run for his money!”
Killian playfully shoves Will off him, knocking the shorts off his head in the same movement.
“Alright, that’s enough of that! Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We have yet to seal the deal,” the aforementioned gaffer strolls into the room.
His arrival changes the atmosphere instantaneously. The music is shut off, attentive silence fills the room and the entire team scramble to find their seats. They all know the drill after a victory; the gaffer gives them a small time to celebrate whilst he converses with his coaches and then it’s straight back to business.
He steps into the centre of the room and stands to take in his captive audience. He’s a young man for his role, mid-thirties and some of his players are a fraction older than him but his presence is a notable one, no matter what room he walks into. His presence alone demands respect and attention. He could walk into the away dressing room just next door and elicit the same response.
The gaffer’s accomplishments in the beautiful game deserve such worship, and earns awe from all those he meets for the first time.
Killian remembers the gaffer’s first day, being called into his office at the training ground first thing to be warned that the new gaffer wasn’t adverse to switching things up, to stripping him of his captaincy and giving it to another player if he deemed it to be in the best interests of the team. Had the previous gaffer made such a proposal to him, Killian would have been outraged, diving into an argument of how such an action would be unjust and potentially dent his reputation, yet with the new gaffer he’d done nothing but nod dumbly as he stared, astonished, at the legend before him.
A Premier League footballing legend; he’d broken into the Manchester United first team at just nineteen years old, setting the midfield ablaze, raking in the goals and assists. At only twenty-five years of age, the gaffer’s career came to a tragically premature end when a mistimed tackle in a pre-season friendly broke his leg in two places, but not before he had won five Premier League titles, two EFL cups, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the best of the best; the Champions League. A mind-boggling achievement for only seven seasons in the senior game.
Killian’s own career – coming towards the end of his eleventh professional season – feels trivial in comparison; his highest accomplishments of note being a Championship Play-off final victory and runner-up in an EFL cup final.
So he’d lapped up every word the gaffer had spoken, followed every instruction, gratefully grasped every piece of advice the legend had for him. His efforts retained him his captaincy and the entire team’s belief in the manager’s structural changes, tactics and formations had the team preforming miracles.
With the gaffer being a former Manchester United player, the media had taken to facetiously questioning whether the Aston Villa manager has sold his soul to the devil to elicit such fantastical results in transforming a relegation battling team into one competing for a top four spot on the other end of the Premier League table.
It's somewhat ironic, Killian muses, as the gaffer clears his throat, preparing for a speech, that in the three times Aston Villa have faced up to Manchester United since their new manager’s appointment, the Villans had beaten the Red Devils all three times.
Football is a fickle sport. A man once hailed as a hero for bringing such success to the Devils since transforming into the Villan responsible for pilfering nine points from them.
“As of this moment, we sit in fourth. You all know as well as I do what that means; it’s a Champions League spot but the fat lady has not yet sung!” the gaffer proclaims. “There are still eleven games left of the season and we’re sitting on the brink of success. They believed we’d drop off by Christmas. Did we?”
“No!” comes the charged, unison response.
“And nor will we! But victory comes with a price,” the gaffer continues.
It’s his long old mantra, one Killian’s heard countless times during the gaffer’s thirteen month reign at the club.
“Victory requires focus, it requires determination, it requires grit and it requires hard-work. I have demanded a lot from you lads in the last year and I’d like to think the results speak for themselves, but there’s no time to rest yet. I want Champions League, you want Champions League, the fans want Champions league. Eleven more games, one final push; double the focus, double the determination, double the grit, double the hard-work and we put Aston Villa back where it belongs; back amongst the top clubs of Europe. Are you ready for that?”
“Yeah!” the teams roars, together once more.
The gaffer nods, satisfied, “Enjoy today’s victory. Enjoy your day off tomorrow. You’ve earned it. We go again Monday.”
As quickly as he’d arrived, the gaffer leaves, off to meticulously review the game’s footage ahead of the team’s Monday morning briefing.
--
Killian releases a leisurely sigh as he leans back, his elbows resting on the tiled edge of the recovery pool, the cold water tranquil and peaceful, as his muscles relax.
“Cannonball!”
The scream comes from Will, moments before he leaps from poolside into the water, sending waves crashing into the faces of Killian and Robin; the only two inhabitants of the pool.
“Watch it!” Killian growls.
“Careful,” Robin speaks simultaneously, a light warning as if he were speaking to his eight-year-old son.
The rest of the team has long left, leaving ‘The Three Fragilities’, as the trio were often mockingly referred to as, to their longer post-match recovery routines. Will, at the mere age of twenty-two, has already torn his ACL twice, spotlighting him, to the club’s physios, as one to watch and take extra care with. Killian has suffered with a weakened Achilles since childhood, subjecting him to the longer recovery processes throughout the entire course of his career. As for Robin, well…
“It’s not my fault you two are old and boring,” Will defends his actions.
“Hey, speak for him, mate,” Killian nods towards Robin, “I’m still in me twenties.”
Will scoffs, “Yeah, and barely clinging on! When’s the big three-oh?”
“Bloody cheek!” Killian huffs. “I’m barely more than a month into twenty-nine!”
“Like I said, clinging on,” Will jokes. “Fighting against the pull of retirement age.”
“Bugger off,” Killian returns and is adamant, “I’ve got at least six years of top-flight in me still.”
“Wonderboy’s eyeing up your captain’s armband already,” Robin observes, amused.
“Wonderboy can bloody dream on,” Killian remarks.
Will settles down in the water, sitting on the submerged seating. The trio promptly dive into a game of ‘Would You Rather’, their usual way of passing the time, and Killian gets splashed by both Will and Robin on multiple occurrences, whenever the other men don’t agree with his responses. Killian gives as good as he gets, particularly dousing Robin when he comes out with the nonsense of preferring to sign for Birmingham City over Derby County.
“Have you lost your bloody mind?” Killian questions, appalled. “You can’t sign for Birmingham from Villa!”
“Says who?” Robin questions.
“Says the universe! It’s an unwritten rule,” Killian reminds him. “City fans won’t want you and Villa fans would be calling for your head! Going to City is like… Luke turning to the Dark Side!”
“As a Forest fan from birth, signing for Derby is turning to the Dark Side,” Robin returns. “I may play in claret and blue and for the lion on the badge, but my heart will always lie with Nottingham Forest.”
“Ah, yes, I’d forgotten your allegiance to Forest,” Killian admits.
“Hence the ‘would you rather’, they’re not meant to be easy questions,” Will speaks pointedly. “Where the bloody hell did you think I’d pulled Derby County out of?”
“I learned not to question your mind within your first week at Villa,” Killian retorts.
Further would you rather questions leads to more splashing and before any of them know it, Robin’s alarm is ringing on his phone, calling the end to their recovery time. Will jumps up faster than a diving player whose just won his team a penalty.
“Time to go home, stick on fifa, and relax!” Will grins at the prospect of his evening’s freedom.
Killian and Robin follow him out of the pool.
“I remember those days,” Robin reminisces. “Now I’m going home to an excitable eight-year-old and a newborn who’s vastly opposed to sleep.”
Will pulls a face at the mere thought and comments, “Kids. Who’d have them?”
Emma… Killian thinks wistfully and catches himself just before her name can escape his lips.
He freezes and pretends to busy himself with selecting a towel, allowing Robin and Will to go on ahead, both so deep in conversation that they fail to acknowledge his lingering behind. His eyes are wide at his own mind’s thoughts.
What the bloody hell was that?
He recalls the initial incident leading to their meeting vividly.
The opposition players broke out of nowhere, forcing him to bust a gut sprinting back towards his own goal, throwing in a last minute, desperate slide tackle to block his fellow number nine’s slot. He lay on the grass, watching the flight of the ball, time slowing down as it hurtled towards a young boy. He remembered hoping for the boy, or the woman beside him, to look up in time to react to the oncoming ball. When it became apparent they were both too drawn into their hotdogs, he hoped a member of the crowd would pull out a world class save, diving to parry the ball away.
Hope was useless. The ball hit the boy square in the face.
Shit.
Killian threw himself into PR mode, well-versed from previous escapades. He went over straight away, was the one to attract the attention of the first aiders, apologised, briefly checked in upon their return from the first aid station, dedicated his winning goal to the lad, gave the lad his shirt, signed some things and then he had turned to the best trick up his sleeve and subtly responded to the woman’s flirting.
It had gotten him out of trouble on multiple occasions. A few years back he’d crashed his car into another person’s vehicle. The driver – a woman by the name of Eloise Gardner – had been enraged when she’d climbed out of her car, her fury increasing more upon inspecting the damage. Then she had recognised him and things had taken a turn for the worse when it became clear she was a Blues fan and timing was not on his side; he’d only scored the winner in the Second City Derby the day before, causing him to be a very unpopular man from the eyes of Blues supporters. She’d cursed at him and threatened to go to the police so he’d turned to his charm and talked his way out of trouble and straight into her bedsheets. He’d awoken the next morning to coffee in a Birmingham City mug, a cruel joke, and before he really knew it, Eloise Gardner had gone from angry woman to friend with benefits. And they were regular benefits. Just as there were also regular acts of sabotage, Eloise taking her chances to try and throw him off his game, turning off his alarms, making him late for training, team meetings and matchday coaches, and yet he kept seeing her. There was something of a thrill to it; to fornicating with the enemy, to being challenged by her, and it had pulled him in.
Then the new gaffer had arrived at the club, pulled him up on recent dips in performance and unprofessional behaviours, and threatened to take away his captaincy. Killian dived headfirst into proving himself; spent every waking hour focused on his career, on the pitch, in the gym, or reviewing footage of previous matches. There was no time for the distraction of Eloise Gardner and once he’d made sure his captaincy was secured, she never replied to his texts or answered his calls.
He didn’t care. It had been nothing serious. Just a way to get out of trouble and have some fun in the meantime.
And that’s all it was with Emma. Charming his way out of trouble. But then he’d done something he hadn’t intended to do; he’d invited her and her kid to dinner.
And then his thoughts had gone straight to her the first moment someone mentioned something which even remotely referenced to her.
And he’s still thinking about her.
She’s nestled into his brain and there’s no shaking her.
He absent-mindedly plays with the red towel in his hand, noting the similarity of the red of the towel to the jacket she had worn. He wonders what she’s up to back at her hotel. He can clearly picture her lad bouncing on the bed, chatting enthusiastically to his mates on the other end of a phone call. He imagines Emma sat at the table, taking in the view of Birmingham out her window, a soft smile on her face as she listens to Henry’s excited recount of the day’s events and her eyes drop to her own phone, lying on the table, as she waits patiently for his call-
Wait.
He drops the towel. His heart pounds as a horrific thought swirls around his head. He recalls the light touch of her soft skin against his sweaty, warm arm as she’d written her name and number on his hand. The same hand which had been submerged in water, splashing and being splashed. He dares not look but he has to. His eyes reluctantly drop to his hand and his heart sinks. There’s faint scratching of ink, some stronger, some more faded, most of it gone all together. What remains is purely there to taunt him, to remind him of what he’d almost had, of what he had lost.
He's a bloody fool.
--
Killian has no idea what has gotten into him. The subtle, nonsense flirting and the offer of dinner had been for one purpose and one purpose only; to stop Emma from going to the press, claiming her five minutes of fame and allowing the newspapers to spin a tale which makes him look bad. The gaffer was big on no distractions and, as they had found out when Will crashed his car into the gates of a primary school, any news story proves a distraction.
Killian had been relieved to discover the morning paper contained no news story about a young lad requiring medical attention at the Villa game, determining himself in the clear.
And yet he finds himself sat in his car outside Villa Park on his day off, clinging to the only knowledge – beside her name – that he had; Emma and her lad had a stadium tour booked. He needs to see her again, if only to explain he hadn’t intentionally ghosted her, and this is his only chance.
A quick search on the Villa website had informed him that stadium tours were scheduled at ten-thirty in the morning and one in the afternoon. He’d arrived at Villa Park at nine sharp, in case her lad had been keen to explore the Villa store before the tour – the big store, not the half-arsed matchday one – when it opened at nine-thirty. He hadn’t. Those going on the morning tour had started arriving in dribs and drabs around ten-fifteen. He searched the group, both upon entering and leaving, for Emma and her lad; nothing.
By the time vehicles finally beginning pulling into the car park for the second, and final, tour of the day, he’s been sat in his car for three-hours-and-forty minutes. He sits up straighter in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes to focus on the people getting out of their cars.
Nothing.
He remains hopeful. The lad said they were coming and Killian doubts, from the impressive knowledge of Villa history that the boy had spouted at him, he would ever let his mother forget about the tour. Unless they haven’t forgotten. Maybe something’s happened; maybe the lad’s fallen ill, or has suffered complications from the impact of the ball. Maybe the lad’s wound up in hospital. Maybe his chances of ever meeting Emma again washed away with her number. Maybe he should start searching the local hospitals; he can start with Birmingham Children’s Hospital, he has a little pull there, visiting at least once a year with the rest of the Villa team.
As his mind spirals, he very nearly misses a grey taxi pull into the car park, only noticing it when it parks in the bay directly in front of his own. The back door opens the very moment the taxi stops and Killian breathes a sigh of relief when Emma’s young lad leaps out; he isn’t in hospital, he looks well in himself (except for the heavy bruising forming around his nose and left eye) and is full of energy, leaping excitedly as he eagerly coaxes his mother out of the taxi.
Killian has to stop himself from emulating the lad’s enthusiasm, very nearly leaping out of his own car when he sees Emma exit the taxi. He glances around the car park, taking in the growing number of people arriving for the stadium tour; he doesn’t want to cause a scene. He’s deep in Villa territory; there’s no chance of him not being recognised. A frenzy of picture and signing requests may well scare Emma off and he wants to speak with her, needs to speak with her, one-on-one (plus the kid).
He dons a black baseball cap and some dark sunglasses – it works in the movies – then slowly gets out of his car and follows after Emma and her lad, both on the move towards the stadium.
“Emma!” he softly calls out.
She turns, looking surprised to hear her name. Her head tilts slightly when she sees him and then her eyes widen with recognition before a cold stare falls over them and she straightens, standing tall and folding her arms across her chest.
“Jones,” she states coolly, hiding her initial surprise.
“She thinks you’re a jackass,” her lad speaks up conversationally.
Killian’s head has never turned so fast, snapping to stare at the boy; she what? Not a good first impression, work to do.
“Henry!” Emma exclaims.
“I don’t! You’re still my favourite player,” Henry covers quickly at Killian’s look then looks to his mother, “But I heard you on the phone to Grandpa. You said he was a jackass and that all professional sports players are egotistical jocks and that you never should have-”
“Okay, Henry,” Emma cuts him off and turns to Killian, “I was mad.”
That’s promising. Mad means she cares.
Cares! For a man she exchanged a few sentences with? She’s mad about her son being let down.
Or it’s a mixture of both.
The side of his mind fighting his corner dares to have hope. He takes a small breath. He’ll never know unless he shoots his shot.
“I would have called but I lost your number,” he starts to explain.
Her eyes shift to his side.
“Did you lose your hand too?” she remarks sceptically.
“The ink washed off,” he expands. “I was a bloody fool and didn’t save your details on my phone before– let me make it up to you. Lunch?”
He’s too eager, not even finishing his explanation before diving into his question. He’s mentally kicking himself.
What the bloody hell is he playing at?
“We’ve eaten already,” Emma tells him outright.
“I can still show you the city?” he offers immediately.
He wants the ground to swallow him up. He’s acting desperate.
“Henry’s been talking about this tour all morning,” she tells him.
It like taking a boot to the face, studs first; using her lad to let him down gently after her first attempt failed to dissuade him. He takes a resigning step back. He’s missed his shot; took too long, invited pressure, put it out wide. She’s taken possession, took her goal kick, and blasted the ball deep into the other half.
“Mom, he can come on the tour with us.”
The young lad dives in with a heroic save to keep the game alive.
Henry looks to his mother with big, brown puppy-dog eyes, seemingly eager to see his idea come to fruition. Killian looks to Emma and raises an eyebrow. If she agrees, there could still be hope.
“I guess he could,” she shrugs.
It wasn’t a no. He had a chance.
“Yes!” Henry cheers. “This is going to be so cool!”
“Aye, lad,” Killian agrees, glad that at least one of them is thrilled about his presence. “But let’s keep my presence between the three of us, okay? The club charges double the price for tours with ex-players present. I doubt they’d be too happy to learn that a current one spontaneously popped up at a standard tour.”
Whilst everything he says is strictly true, he’s talking utter nonsense. In truth, he has the duration of the tour to win Emma on side and he’s not going to be able to achieve such a feat if he’s having to share his time equally with the rest of the people on the tour. As much appreciation as he has for the support that Villa fans show him, they were not the reason he’s wasted half his day off sat in his bloody car; Emma is, and he sure as hell is not going to let those four hours become a waste of his time without a fight.
Henry gasps, “So it’s like a spy movie! You’re going in undercover. You’ve got to get in and out without being recognised!”
“That’s the aim,” Killian nods.
“The hat and shades are a good start,” Henry says, “but we need to name this mission.”
“Name it?” Killian questions.
“An operation name,” Emma expands, amused. “The kid loves his spy movies almost as much as soccer. He turns his aims into missions and names them. For example, Operation Cobra is his mission to get me to like your sport and refer to it as ‘football’.”
“Cobra? Why cobra?” Killian asks.
“Grandma says snakes are a symbol of rebirth and transformation because of the way they can shred their skin. The aim of Operation Cobra is to transform Mom into a football fan,” Henry explains then declares, “But right now we have another op to focus on, and this will be Operation Lion’s Den.”
Henry turns to take in the stadium before them and beams.
“Okay then,” Killian agrees. “Into the lion’s den we go.”
Killian steps towards the stadium entrance, aware that time is not on their side, the tour due to start any moment.
“Wait!” Henry yells urgently.
Killian freezes.
“Have you got an alias?” Henry asks him. “We can’t call you Killian. People might clock on.”
“Fair point, lad,” Killian concedes and considers, “How about Alex? Alex Rogers.”
“Okay Alex,” Henry agrees. “Now, Operation Lion’s Den can commence.”
--
Operation Lion’s Den was very nearly called off the very moment they had stepped into reception and approached the front desk. The booking under David Nolan had only two tickets to its name and the tour was fully booked. Killian dived in to save Operation Lion’s Den, revealing his true identity to the woman at the front desk, talking his way in and urging her to keep his presence discreet.
They had all received their passes, a claret lanyard on which holds a small claret square complete with the Villa badge and the lettering ‘STADIUM TOUR’, and entered into the Gas Lamp Longue just in time for the commencement of the tour.
Their tour guide is a young yet knowledgeable Australian woman named Belle who is such a fountain of Aston Villa facts – both present and historic – that even Killian finds himself learning new things about his club as they are shown around the hospitality areas within the North Stand.
Henry soaks it all up, chatting enthusiastically with Belle as she leads the way through corridors and up stairways, before the lad runs off to take photos of the view of the pitch from the latest hospitality area they are shown.
Emma lingers at the back of the group, keeping her distance from the avid Villa discussions being held amongst the friendly group, and Killian notices the way her gaze keeps lingering on the view of the stadium, staring longingly at the Holte End opposite, as if wishing to go back to the previous evening’s game.
Belle launches into a tale about the club’s late charge for promotion into the Premier League a few years back, and Killian leans towards Emma.
“You can’t fool me, you know,” he tells her, his voice low and hushed.
“Fool you how, Alex?” she returns pointedly.
“I saw you yesterday, after I scored,” his voice remains a low murmur, right into her ear, purely for the purposes of keeping his secret identity intact, and not because he longed to breathe in every bit of her enticing scent. “I saw the grin creeping onto your face, I saw your eyes alight with adrenaline, I know your heart was pounding in your chest as the roar of the crowd encompassed you.”
Her eyes flick once more towards the Holte End then back onto Belle.
“Is that supposed to mean something?” she challenges.
“It means that you let it in, maybe not consciously, maybe only for the briefest of seconds, but you let the claret and blue of Aston Villa touch your heart,” he tells her.
“Or maybe I was glad to finally see some kind of action in what was looking to be a goalless game,” she returns.
“Hmm, sure,” he replies, unconvinced. “You know, I remember watching my first Villa game. I was eight years old. I wasn’t sure about coming but my dad told me there was no pressure for me to be drawn into the club the same way he was. He said, ‘You don’t choose Aston Villa, Aston Villa chooses you.’. And for some people, that’s from birth, it’s all they ever know. For others, like me, like your lad, it’s more complicated; you find your own way to it, and it fills this gap you never even realised you had until one day you can’t remember there ever being a time in which Aston Villa didn’t hold a place in your heart.”
“That won’t ever be me,” Emma responds assuredly.
“We’ll see, love,” Killian shrugs. “We’ll see…”
--
Belle leads them into the heart of the Trinity Road stand, through hallways and up more stairways, until they finally enter the press room. Henry is at the front of the group with Belle, allowing him to claim front row seats and reserve two for Killian and Emma who maintain their pattern of lingering at the back of the group. With Henry’s enthusiasm, they can hide at the back no longer and are forced to take the seats right at the front.
When Belle asks for a volunteer to take centre-stage, Emma finds it funny to offer Killian for it and, since they’re seated at the front, Belle spots her right away, urging him up.
Henry looks utterly horrified at the prospect of Operation Lion’s Den being blown whilst Emma all but pushes Killian off his chair, leaving him with little choice but to join Belle behind the desk situated on the raised platform at the front of the room. She lowers her voice to exchange greetings, ask his name, and question whether he wants to take his sunglasses off and he responds with a hasty lie about light sensitivity.
Belle proceeds to lead the group into a fake press conference, introducing him as new signing Alex Rogers, unaware of how incredibly difficult she was making it for him to maintain his cover. To aid his jeopardised cover, Killian naturally slips into an Irish accent as he proceeds to face a bunch of questions from the fake journalists who play their parts well. Emma is stifling a laugh whilst he has to really concentrate on providing answers in the way a standard Villa fan would, and not submit to his years of media training instinctively screaming a standard, scripted answer at him. It’s only five minutes of questions but it feels like the longest five minutes of his life and when he finally escapes the unwanted spotlight, fake Irish Alex Rogers persona somehow intact, he’s sweating.
Belle offers the opportunity for photos behind the desk and light conversation soon floods the room as families take it in turns to have their picture taken at the press desk.
“That was awesome!” Henry exclaims, just about managing to keep his voice down. “They were interviewing Killian Jones and they didn’t even have a clue!”
“Mmm, someone almost blew Operation Lion’s Den,” Killian says, shooting a good-humoured glare at Emma.
She smiles and confesses, “I just wanted to see how you fared under pressure.”
“Because you didn’t see enough of that yesterday?” Killian shoots back.
“Maybe I liked what I saw yesterday,” Emma shrugs.
Henry promptly pulls Emma away to get his own picture at the press desk and Killian stares after her, taking the moment to collect his temporarily scrambled thoughts. It was a return to the previous day’s playfulness, a stark contrast to the cool, withdrawn woman in the car park.
He’s pushed her back into her own half, finally gaining a bit of possession for himself, making progress up the pitch.
He considers what must be left on the tour; the private boxes, the dressing rooms, the pitch and the dugouts. He’s got the better part of the second half of the game to go. He can still pull it back. He can still win it.
There’s time yet.
--
“We have private boxes available to buy for a game. If you’re interested in this possibility, you can get in contact with our hospitality department via our phone lines or through our website. Many of our players and sponsors also have their own private boxes, whether in this stand or the Doug Ellis on the other side of the stadium. Players’ friends and family will use the boxes during the games,” Belle tells the group as they walk along a hallway, closed doors on the left leading into said boxes.
“Grandpa looked into these,” Henry tells Emma. “They’re about three-thousand pounds per matchday! That’s not far off four-thousand dollars!”
“That’s obscene,” Emma remarks.
“Welcome to the world of top-level English football, love. The money in it is bloody ridiculous,” Killian acknowledges disdainfully for, whilst he benefits substantially from it, he doesn’t wholly agree with it.
Belle brings the group to a stop outside a door which Killian knows well.
“Club Captain Killian Jones kindly permits us entry into his box during these tours,” Belle informs the group, “enabling us to be able to show you the view from such luxurious viewing spaces.”
Henry grins knowingly at Killian as Belle leads the group into the box. Killian lingers somewhat awkwardly in the doorway as he watches the large group explore the space. He’s not used to seeing so many unfamiliar people in his usually remote, private spot. Upon entering after a game, he’s usually met by familiar faces and not the sight of people taking selfies with the view of the pitch behind them. As willing as he is to let the tours into his box – it seems the least he can do after all the support the Villa fans have given him over the years – it feels strange to actually see it happen.
“A whole range of people have watched matches from up here,” Belle tells the group and Killian can but wonder exactly where she’s going to go with her examples. “From family members and close friends to Hollywood actors and royalty. But Killian has also been known to regularly invite local foster families to games and host them here too.”
Emma looks surprised as she turns to him, an awe in her eyes as she murmurs, “Foster families?”
“I’m aware of the privilege I’m fortunate enough to have. If I can make even the smallest difference in the lives of those in less fortunate positions, it only seems right to do so,” he explains seriously and then smirks as he seizes the opportunity to call her out, “You see, not all professional sportsmen are egotistical jocks.”
“We’ll see,” she shrugs, nudging him playfully in the side then asks the burning question, “And royalty?”
“Oh, aye,” he confirms with a nod. “Didn’t you know the future king’s a villan?”
“Until yesterday, I didn’t know a villain was anything more than the bad guy in a movie,” Emma points out. “So, you’re telling me that you mix with royalty?”
“From time to time.”
She laughs.
“What’s so funny about that?” he questions, bemused by the reaction.
“I just can’t imagine you all… fancy and proper,” she tells him.
“I scrub up quite well, I’ll have you know,” he insists. “It’s not all sportswear and sweat.”
There’s a spark in her eyes as she returns, “Pity.”
--
“And now, the Villa dressing room,” Belle announces as she leads them through the double doors and into the room that, in the entirety of the stadium, Killian is most familiar with. “I’d like to direct your attention to the tactic board up here.”
She brings the group to a large whiteboard, positioned on the only wall not lined with player’s lockers and seats. Scrawls of the gaffer’s tactics remains in place from the previous day’s game.
“Now, as most of you are aware, past Villa managers have used similar tactics for every game which meant they’d furiously remove any signs of their tactics from this board before we’d have even a chance of stepping foot in here,” Belle addresses her attentive audience. “Adam Gold, however, we have all very quickly learned is just as world-class a manager as he was as a player. He’s a tactical genius; his tactics vary significantly from game to game, adapting to the slightest whiff of a weakness he assesses in opposition players, and so he’s more willing to leave us little insights into his great mind.”
She gestures to the board, a combination of circles and numbers to represent players, complete with arrows of various lengths and intensities.
“You can see his half time talk during yesterday’s game partly comprised of urging his front three to apply intense pressure to the back line, to not give them a second on the ball, forcing them to go long despite their forward players not boasting much height and preferring to receive the ball to feet,” Belle interprets the squiggles for those struggling to decipher.
Killian notes her use of the word ‘urging’ as soft. He recalls the gaffer’s instructions as a demand, an unspoken threat of being substituted if they failed to match the intensity he expected.
“And up here,” she points to slightly more legible writing in the top corner of the board, “is his mantra. It’s been here every week without fail since Gold took charge of the club last year. It’s rather inspiring and applicable outside football so I invite you all to take the opportunity to take in the wise words of Adam Gold.”
They’re words Killian has heard countless times since the gaffer’s arrival. Words he could recount in his sleep;
Victory comes at a price;
Focus
Determination
Grit
Hard-work
“Now feel free to explore and take photos,” Belle tells them.
The group immediately disperses around the room, taking photos on the seats beneath various players’ lockers and Belle throws further facts and information at them as they do so. Henry’s the first one to claim the seat beneath Killian’s name, shirt and locker, and Killian watches on amused as the lad flat-out refuses to budge for anyone until Emma catches up with him and takes his picture.
Even then, he’s not done.
“Kil-uh, Alex!” he calls, catching himself, a hint of panic flaring in his eyes, but he quickly continues, “I need one with you.”
Killian ducks his head as he crosses the room, sitting next to Henry and silently urging Emma to move fast as she takes the photo, well aware of the growing number of people waiting. The second he hears the click of the picture, he’s up and guiding the young lad away.
“What about Humbert or Booth?” he suggests to Henry.
The boy nods eagerly and hurries over to their lockers, positioned side by side, roping Emma into continuing to be his photographer. He ends up going around the entire changing room, taking photos under each player’s name and replica shirt. Killian even coaxes Emma to get into some of them with Henry, taking over her duties as photographer.
They eventually make it to the final player in the squad. Killian has Henry and Emma getting ready for a photo in front of Robin’s station when another member of the group steps into his shot and offers his hand out for the phone.
“Here, I’ll take it for you,” the man says. “You get in. As good as place as any to get an update for the family photo album.”
“Oooh,” Killian draws out, immediately noting the assumption. He points dumbly towards Emma and Henry, stumbling over his words, “I’m- he’s- she’s-”
“He’s just a friend,” Emma steps in to clarify.
Friend. He bloody hates the sound of that word on her lips.
But it is better than jackass, or egotistical sportsman.
Small victories.
One step at a time.
Killian refocuses, snapping the photo and returning the phone to Henry who proclaims he’s sending all the photos to Nicholas immediately.
“Okay, we are running short on time so can everyone follow me, and we’ll head out to the tunnel,” Belle announces.
The group are rather prompt in wrapping up on their various photos and following Belle out of the door. Killian sticks an arm out, successfully holding Henry back from being the first one out the door after Belle. As the door swings shut behind the final member of the group, leaving just him, Emma and Henry in the emptied out dressing room, Killian drops his arm back to his side.
“What are you doing?” Henry questions.
“I figured you’d want a proper photo,” Killian explains.
He removes his hat and sunglasses, chucking them onto Robin’s seat. By the time he gets to his seat, Henry’s already there – as eager as always - so Killian ends up to the side, just as he had been in the first picture they’d taken. Emma takes the picture, just as the door swings open again and Belle returns.
“I do require everyone to stick togeth-”
She cuts herself off as the door swings shut behind her, staring at Killian and laughing in disbelief.
“Alex. Rogers.” Belle says the name with a light shake of her head. “I should have known something was up. Wha- What are you doing here, Killian?”
“Trying to keep a low profile,” Killian tells her, grabbing his hat and sunglasses, putting them back on. He nods to Henry, “The lad wanted to go on the tour as planned so I’m tagging along.”
Belle has quickly recovered from her surprise and tells it how it is, “Well, you’re doing a good job of disrupting the planned tour by not keeping up.”
The trio choose not to hang around any longer.
--
Killian stands staring at the European Cup in the display stand proudly situated in the centre of the tunnel. It’s a reminder every single home game, every time he comes and goes from the pitch, of where the club had once been, how far it had fallen, and what it was striving for once more.
Emma steps up beside him and reads the display tag, “European Champions, nineteen-eighty-two.”
“European Champion,” Killian breathes out dreamily. “Every footballer’s dream. That’s my ultimate goal, right there.”
“Does that mean the rumours are true?” a worried Henry pops up out of nowhere, appearing between Emma and Killian. “The ones about you going to Manchester City in the summer?”
“Off the record?” Killian checks, not that he can envision the boy to go running to the press, but the media training in him demands it. “I could go to City. Might very well go on and lift the trophy my first season there. Certainly a higher chance of it than if I were to stay here. But what does that really achieve? There’s almost an expectation on City to win it. Going to City, well, that just feels like bloody cheating. I want a story, an underdog story. My first season with Villa, we finished in the middle of the Championship. Eight hard years later and we’re pushing to be in competing in the Champions League next season. It’s a big, big ask but there’s every chance I could be lifting that trophy as a Villa player in just over a year’s time, and if there’s a chance of that, even a very, very slim one, I can’t possibly leave. From Championship mediocrity to Champions League winners; proving that focus, hard work and determination pays off, that’s the true dream.”
“So you are staying!” Henry grins.
“No definitive promises, lad,” Killian returns. “We’ll see.”
--
“And here we are. The conclusion of our tour, the dugouts,” Belle gestures to the team dugouts at pitch side. “Unfortunately, we can not go on the pitch today. We’re nearing the end of a long season and endured a horrendous winter so the groundskeeping team have been working tirelessly to keep the pitch at a top notch condition and have requested minimal disturbance to the playing surface. You are more than welcome to take your pictures in the dugouts and at the side of the pitch right here.”
On Henry’s disappointed look, Killian catches his eye and gives him a small nod – he’ll sort it.
The lad grins and rushes off to get his pictures in the home dugout, diving into the crowd of people doing similarly. Emma is back to playing photographer as Killian wanders over to Belle.
“This is the final part of the tour, right?” he strikes up conversationally.
“That’s right,” she confirms.
“So, you don’t mind if I stay back with two of your guests to give my own personal tour?” he checks.
“By that, you mean take them on to the pitch, which we’re under strict instructions not to allow,” Belle’s onto him in a flash.
“You’re under strict instructions not to allow,” Killian corrects, “and I shall neither confirm nor deny your accusation, that way you are not a willing accomplice in whatever I may or may not be up to.”
“Killian.”
“Come on, it’s not like I’m going to do anything to severely piss off Nathaniel, am I?” he remains persistent. “I’ll let you into a little known fact; us players are just as wary of pissing off that man as any member of the club staff.”
Nathaniel, the head groundskeeper, has a notorious reputation for getting severely pissed off with anyone who dares to touch a single blade of his grass on non-matchdays. Even on matchdays, players opting for a knee slide celebration upon scoring risked the incoming wrath of Nathaniel when bypassing him in the tunnel at half-time or full-time as he’s on his way out to tend to his precious grass. If the man had it his way, the matches wouldn’t even be played on the hallowed turf of Villa Park. There are very few people who dare to cross him; even the gaffer tends to give the man a wide berth.
“Fine!” Belle huffs reluctantly and points an accusing finger at him. “But I had no part in this, understood?”
“Crystal clear, love,” Killian confirms with a nod.
--
Killian has no bloody idea what he’s playing at.
He and Emma are finally alone. At least alone, if not for her lad. For the first time, there’s isn’t a crowd of people around, or a demand for him to be elsewhere. It’s just them in a completely empty stadium, an opportunity to get to know each other better, and things are great. Except for the fact that Emma doesn’t share the same love for football or Villa as he and Henry do. She’s probably longing to be in the group Belle had led to the exit of the stadium, the doors of freedom from the world of football, and he’s kept her from them.
He had promised her dinner. Instead, he’s given her an extended sentence imprisoned within Villa Park.
He’s a bloody fool. First the ink, next the stadium. He can only marvel at how his brain fails to function properly where Emma is involved.
“Are we going on the pitch?” Henry questions eagerly.
Making Henry happy is easy. Impressing football fans is easy. He has no clue where he stands with non-football fans. He needs to figure it out and fast. Until then, he can only stick to what he’s good at.
“We’re doing more than that, lad,” Killian manages a smile. “What’s the one thing every Villa fan wants to do?”
Henry’s eyes shift towards the goal in front of the Holte End and he dares to believe, “Score in the Holte?”
Killian nods, “Score in the Holte.”
He instructs Henry to hold fire, and his eyes linger for a fraction too long on Emma, sat in the dugouts with an unreadable expression on her face, before he jogs down the tunnel and fetches one of the balls they keep stored in the dressing room. He returns to find Henry exactly where he’d left him and the young boy’s eyes light up at the sight of the football.
Henry doesn’t just score in the Holte, he scores a whole series of goals in the Holte; left foot, right foot, headers, and volleys. He even attempts a bicycle kick which goes soaring into row Z and sends Killian clambering into the stand to fetch the ball. On his return to the pitch, Killian glances to the dugouts where Emma still sits, perched on one of the claret and blue seats, watching with a small smile on her face. He rolls the ball to Henry, who’s quite content scoring in an open goal, as Killian jogs over to the dugouts.
“Well, this won’t do,” he states as he stops in front of Emma, holding out a hand towards her, “I can’t have my best player languishing on the bench.”
She takes his hand, perhaps a little reluctantly, and he helps her to her feet, pulling her along with him onto the pitch and into the penalty box at the Holte End.
“Hey, lad, how about we let your mother have a go?” he suggests.
Henry collects the ball from the net of his latest goal and nods eagerly, “Can I be the keeper?”
Killian agrees and chuckles at the sight of young Henry, barely more than a dot when stood in the centre of the mammoth net. He places the ball Henry chucks at him onto the penalty spot and turns back to Emma.
“I’ve never kicked a soccer ball in my life,” Emma tells him, staring at the ball as if it were going to attack her.
“There’s for a first time for everything,” Killian returns. “All you have to do is kick it twelve yards. Anywhere but at the keeper and you’re pretty much guaranteed a goal, given his size.”
Emma gives a short nod, her eyes fixed on the ball, a hard determination fuelling her gaze, as if determined to prove herself. She steps up to the ball and pulls back her right leg.
“Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah!” Killian calls out, halting her actions just as she’s about to kick.
He moves over to her, placing his hands softly onto her shoulders and guiding her a few steps back from the ball. He stands behind her, his chest just inches from being pressed against her back, as he coaches her.
“You need to give yourself a run-up,” he explains his intervention. “Now, the temptation’s going to be to kick the ball with your toe; don’t do that. You have two options, you can either use the inside of your foot or get under it and hit it with your laces. For now, let’s keep things simple with the side of your foot. Statistically, most penalties are scored in the bottom left of the goal so my technique is to place it in that corner but, for now, just focus on getting it on target. Okay, so run up, generate power, hit with the side of your foot and direct goalwards.”
He releases his hands from her shoulders, encouraging her to take her shot. She charges forward, strikes the ball with the inside of her right foot and it nestles into the back of the net towards the bottom left. It’s not perfectly placed in the corner but it’s a very promising start and Killian is pleasantly surprised by the amount of power she had rifled into the ball; she’s either a good student or beginner’s luck is in play,
She cheers and he high-fives her before Henry charges over, diving onto his mum to celebrate with her.
They break into a mini game, pulling off their jackets and placing them on the ground to make small goals either side of the width of the penalty area; taking Killian back to the many hours spent playing football on school playgrounds and parks in his youth. Henry and Emma team up against him and Killian initially takes it easy, allowing the lad to score and doing very little as Emma dribbles the ball around him and slots it home.
There are wild celebrations as Henry and Emma go two-nil up and break into a teasing chant of ‘we’re beating the pro’ which sets Killian’s competitive side ablaze. He drives forward with the ball at his feet, knocking it through Henry’s legs as the lad makes a step in to block. He powers around Henry, taking a touch of the ball to knock it towards goal, just Emma to beat. He feigns a move left then swiftly knocks the ball to Emma’s right and he’s past her, sprinting goalbound, the ball at his feet. He’s in the clear, goal dead certain and is preparing himself to slot it home when contact is made with the back of his right leg. He loses his balance, barrelling over onto the grass, landing on his back in time to see a stumbling Emma following behind him, crashing down on top of him.
She puts her hands out quickly, onto the grass either side of his head, taking her weight off him, but she remains above him, looking down on him. He dumbly stares up at her, taken by surprise by both her sudden challenge and the position they since find themselves in. His mind’s scrambled, overcome by the light woody scent radiating from her, the faintest hint of cinnamon, and her warm breath tickling his temple.
“Can’t get past me that easily,” she tells him triumphantly.
“I did get past you!” he argues. “I was through on goal, and you took me out. That’s a dead cert red!”
“I have no idea what that means,” she confesses.
“It means your team are down a player, you’re off the pitch, headed for an early bath,” he explains.
“Do I get to take you with me?”
A faint gasp escapes his lips at her suggestive tone and her gleaming earthy eyes only draws him in closer, his head lifting off the grass, his elbows propping against the ground, lifting his upper body against hers. There’s barely anything between them and yet he still desires her closer, needs her closer. Her soft, red lips part; an open goal, inviting his forward move.
His lips brush faintly against hers.
“Mom!” Henry calls.
She’s gone instantly. Killian lets out a shaky breath and throws himself into the grass, squeezing his eyes shut. Bloody kids.
“Uh, Killian, this guy does not look too impressed. He’s actually carrying a pitchfork,” Emma’s comment pulls him from his sulking.
He jumps to his feet, looking towards the tunnel to see head groundskeeper Nathaniel stalking towards them, a thunderous look on his face.
“Killian Jones! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Nathaniel bellows from the halfway line.
“Funnily enough, mate, I’ve been asking myself the same question all day,” Killian attempts to keep things light.
The groundskeeper does not see the funny side, a deep scowl piercing into Killian’s soul. If looks could kill, he would be flat out on the ground.
Killian throws his hands up into a surrender.
“Don’t worry, mate, your pitch is intact,” Killian tells him then glances at the scuff marks inflicted by Emma’s challenge and their subsequent falls, and amends, “mostly. My bad. I’ll make it up to you. We’ll be on our way now.”
Killian navigates Emma and Henry around the fuming groundskeeper, an onslaught of curses following his every move as they hastily leave the pitch behind them.
--
“So, how about that dinner?” Killian proposes.
They stand on the car park outside Villa Park, a safe distance from the fury of Nathaniel. Things have changed since she turned him down the just a few hours ago, and he’s fuelled with confidence for her coming response.
“I’m sorry.”
The response is unexpected and he clenches his jaw in an effort to hide his crushing disappointment.
“We’re due on a train back to London,” she explains.
He comes crashing down to reality. He’d forgotten they were tourists, forgotten they lived thousands of miles away, forgotten that things were much more complicated than winning over a non-football fan when his whole life is football.
“Ah, of course,” he nods. “How long are you in the country for?”
“We leave for Boston next Sunday,” Emma answers.
“I have a game in London next Saturday,” Killian tells her. “I can sort tickets for your whole family?”
“That’d be awesome!” Henry exclaims.
Killian grins at the lad then looks to Emma hopefully, “And maybe we can finally get that dinner after? Just me and you?”
Emma glances at Henry, falls deep in thought as she considers, as if a debate is raging in her head. They’d both gotten caught up in the moment on the pitch, they were both firmly back in reality where any long-term future is especially unlikely. She knows what he’s suggesting; a one-time thing.
“What the hell,” she throws any caution to the wind. “I’m on vacation. Let’s do it.”
“And this time I have my phone to hand so you can put your number directly into it.”
He pulls his phone out of his pocket and hands it over to her.
“Make sure you don’t drop this down the toilet,” she tells him warningly as she inputs her number.
He takes the phone back from her, holding it tightly.
“I’m an attacker by trade but this I will defend with my life,” he promises.
As she gets into the taxi waiting for her, Killian’s eyes drop to the new contact in his phone; Emma Nolan. He clicks on the edit button, adding one red heart emoji to her contact name.
For all the talk of her letting the claret and blue of Aston Villa touch her heart, he had well and truly let her touch his.
--
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Been a fan for ages but don't watch the academy much, mind telling me a bit about it?
of course! i love our academy to death (mostly watch the u18s and the u21s as a disclaimer whenever i’ve got the time) and think we’ve got some great talent at the moment.
a quick rundown of some of our recent history: our academy definitely has not been the best in the country and especially the past 4 years, under mourinho and conte, has honestly been kind of a dead end for many youth players. we’ve obviously had some academy talent who have made a great impact on the first team (in recent years: kane, skipp, winks, etc. mason and tanganga to a lesser extent) but you can argue that their development happened mostly on their loans.
either way the glaring problem has mostly been that we’ve had managers who recruit big name players from outside the club rather than focusing on youth talent and development inside the club. this kind of peaked under conte where the u18s were thriving because of their complete independence from the first team (won trophies!) meanwhile the u21s got relegated (which was overturn because of some new ruling) because their players were pulled out of training sessions to essentially be stationary cones in first team training.
this could not have changed more in the first few weeks of the pl2 season! i’ve been following the u21s mostly and so far the kids have won every match, scored 15 and conceded 1 and are top of the league. they’ve just won 0-5 against colchester in the efl trophy as well. the abundance of talent we’ve got that was apparent last season also has been able to be set free because shock horror they don’t have to stand around in training sessions anymore. i think another large factor in this turnaround is the fact that ange’s style of play has been clearly implemented in this team. they build out from the back and press insistently. simply a joy to watch and refreshing to see because implementing the same play style in the first team and the academy allows an easier pathway into the senior team à la barcelona and all that. also ange generally looks towards youth talent within the academy to recruit to the first team and reports have been saying that he’s already watched over some practices and told the lads that he selects based on performance and merit so if they want a chance and work hard for it they will get a chance.
so far currently i think our standouts at academy level (not including players on loan like alfie devine and dane scarlett) are jamie donley, jude soonsup-bell, will lankshear, yago santiago, josh keeley, alfie dorrington, mikey moore, ashley phillips etc. moore especially has got a lot of hype and is regarded as one of the best youngsters in england for his age group (he’s 15 iirc). all of these kids have a lot of potential for different reasons, we’ve got an abundance of attacking talent in donley, santiago, and soonsup-bell. also keeley for example is a really talented young keeper who’s very composed for his age and communicates with his back line well.
apart from the obvious shouts the player who has impressed me time in and time out is jamie donley. super versatile along that attack line and can play as a 9 but but i think he’s best employed as a 10. he’s got good instinctive finishing and a killer passing range. this is a kid who grew up watching kane. he’s definitely one of the players who’s head and shoulders above the pl2 and i think a loan would benefit him greatly come january, really hope the club are considering that. here’s a thread on him if you’d like to read more! also recommend following this handle on twt if you’ve got it, they’re the main hub for all academy news 🤍
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is it bad that i've been watching the prem a couple of months now but never bothered to figure out the differences between the competitions that they're playing? like i have a general idea of what the champions league is and a few others but dont ask me how different they are from everything else bc like if its my team playing idc im just gonna watch it and hope and pray they win?? 🤭🤭
Bestie this is also me in a nut shell
I know there’s different competitions but if I tried to explain it then it would go badly so I’ve tagged in the queen of football @carlottawllms who had presided a lovely explanation below 🩷
Bc you said Premier League it’s the easiest to focus on the competitions those teams can take part in.
There’s the domestic competitions only English teams can participate:
FA Cup: English Football Association Cup
EFL (Carabao) Cup: League Cup
They’re quite similar in their layout and participation rules, but the FA Cup is the more respected one.
= they are not for Premier League Clubs only, but also for e.g. Championship Clubs
The there’s the European competitions where English clubs amongst other European clubs can participate as long as they’re qualified for the respective one. Competitions in descending order:
UEFA Champions League
Only the best clubs of Europe’s top leagues are eligible to participate:
The 10 champions of Europe’s top 10 leagues.
The runner-ups of Europe’s top 6 leagues.
The 3rd and 4th place of Europe’s top 4 leagues.
There’s several other rules that apply like the title-holder being qualified and stuff but that would go a little too far here 🙈
UEFA Europa League
Also only European clubs. All cup winners from the 55 UEFA member associations are eligible to participate. In addition, up to three teams per association can take part if they occupy the places behind those eligible for participation in the UEFA Champions League in the final table of their league (e.g. place 5 in the PL).
UEFA Conference League
A new competition also for only European clubs. The explanation for who is eligible to participate is a little complicated tbh…basically the teams who aren’t eligible to participate in the Champions or Europa League may be eligible to participate in this competition but then again not every team. So I can’t really give a proper explanation 😂
UEFA Super Cup
Winner of the Champions League vs winner of the Europa League
I think the easiest is to take last season’s final table and look at P1 - P7 (if I’m not mistaken) and then you’ll see which team plays in which European competition 🙈
All the teams below that place aren’t eligible to play in any European competition.
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Wait what happened to them (kinda new to football sorry!)
don’t worry! i’ll try and explain it as best i can - sorry if it’s long!
so at the time bury fc were in league one. in late 2018 they were purchased for £1 by a businessman who is honestly, a massive prick. he ended up paying a massive tax bill to HMRC about two months later to avoid liquidation of the club after buying it for the same price as a bag of doritos from the corner shop.
by about april 2019 players and staff weren’t being paid on time and EFL were thinking this is a bit sus lads. bury basically said nah it’s sound we’ll sort it boys. the club’s creditor is trying to get it to high court but the meeting was moved until the end of the season. bury were like lads we’ll settle these wage bills in a week it’s calm, whereas the creditor and HMRC are tearing their hair out because they want this owed money.
anyways steve dale (dickhead owner) is realising he’s a bit fucked here because it turns out buying a football club for the same price of a vegan sausage roll isn’t a fucking normal thing to do, so he puts the club on the market. £1.6 million was needed to pay the wages and these debts etc by the end of the season. but bury isn’t exactly real madrid, so their turnover was only looking to be about 10% of that in that month or so. big steve also tries to do some weird bargaining, that ultimately goes down like a brick in a swimming pool.
the EFL finds out about this CVA attempt and are not bloody happy (liable to a 12 point deduction) and if things can’t get any worse, manager pisses off and half their players.
so the EFL want proof that this CVA will go through but there’s no proof of the club’s financial viability and they’re looking more broke than me after buying one cocktail in deansgate. they can’t get this proof that they’re getting this money to pay off the debts and whatever and their next few games were suspended.
in august, bury were given 2 weeks by the EFL to provide a plan to pay off creditors. if not, they’d be expelled.
big steve’s still being a prick and everyone is screaming at him to sell up so somebody can save them. just 3 days before the deadline, he rejects an offer that would’ve ultimately saved bury fc because he is a bellend. everyone’s panicking and deadline day is approaching, MP’s and fans are writing to the EFL for an extension. they give a 48 hour one because they must’ve felt generous. on the deadline day, twatty steve agrees a deal with a company to buy the club, and the EFL give 4 days to complete this important sale. but the company pulled out because the sale couldn’t proceed.
on the day bury were given until to complete the selling of the club, the EFL enter their villain arc and say, in the words of taylor swift, “bye, bye, baby.” bury have their membership to league one withdrawn. some investigations follow.
a few days later bury aren’t having this and plan to take legal action against the EFL for kicking them out. MP’s and other people say bury should be put in league two the following season and the EFL said they’ll think about it, and they’ll also be checking financial status’ of other clubs. however, the following year they come out and say bury’s demise was due to the previous owner because of the wages he was paying players.
so bury are trying to get into league two, but all the other EFL clubs are in their bitch era and say no fuck off you skanks (pretty much). so it’s advised they apply for the national league whilst these owner and sponsor problems are resolved.
so bury are offered money by people including everton’s chairman, but the EFL are like NO! DONT HELP THESE POOR ASS BITCHES! meanwhile HMRC are still trying to find out how much bury still owe them because they seem to not own any calculators and it’s taking them months to hand count this shit.
by december, fans are attempting to create a fan owned club, bury afc. they apply for a non league and it is approved in early 2020.
back to ar steve. mans is shitting himself. the club is very close to liquidation because he’s not paid anything under the CVA that he’d rimmed. he needed to pay like £2m or else he’d be fucked and the club. then it would become £5m etc. then he tries to get a new one because he can’t learn his lesson. man’s is forking out thousands on legal shit and he’s begging the FA for a national league place, who ultimately say piss off.
at this point, the club exists. it just has no players, no league, no employees. big steve is not happy with this fan made club, and starts bitching about them like a 13 year old on snapchat. despite big steve’s disapproval, nobody cares and bury afc begin their journey in a non league division, sharing a ground with a nearby club.
november 2020, bury fc are placed into administration, with debts over £15 million.
#this is so long sorry if i got things wrong#this is only like half of it if u want more about the fans / bury afc i reccomend the documentary on iplayer!
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Wrexham secure promotion to League One | Football news
Wrexham turned on the style to seal promotion to League One with a 6-0 win over Forest Green.
The North Wales-based club, owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, have won back-to-back promotions after winning the National League title last season.
Reynolds and McElhenney took over the club in November 2020 and ended their 15-year absence from the EFL by eliminating Notts County…
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Tottenham Hotspur vs Nottingham Forest: Match Preview
Should Spurs get the three points, they’ll go forth in the table.
Spurs play Forest in what is a must-win fixture before a run of tricky fixtures, including the North London Derby, Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea away, and possibly a yet-to-be-rescheduled Manchester City home game. With Aston Villa dropping points against Brentford on Saturday in a dramatic 3-3 draw, a win would put Spurs in the Champions League qualification zone thanks to goal difference with a game in hand.
Spurs’ form has been inconsistent recently like most of the season has been for them, winning their last three out of five games (including the 0-4 Villa game) but also lost poorly to Fulham and drew to West Ham in the previous game. However, they have won four out of their last five home games - only losing to Wolves - and are heavy favourites for this game, picking up an average of 2.20 points at home this season.
The Lilywhites won 0-2 in the reverse fixture, with goals from Richarlison from a Kulusevski cross and the Swede scoring later, taking advantage of a Turner mistake. There will be no Matt Turner for tonight’s game, though, as Forest now has a new number 1 in Sels. Bissouma also received a red card for a silly challenge, resulting in a four-game ban, although he didn’t miss any games through suspension due to his unavailability from AFCON. Veliz also had a great cameo, getting one zero touches of the ball as he was subbed on at the last minute to run down the time (my apologies, but this was too funny not to point out). Before all that, Johnson - on his return to the City ground after his summer transfer - received a nasty cut above his eyebrow, whose scar is still visible today. Spurs were still suffering an injury crisis with van de Ven and Maddison still injured (they ended the game with a midfield of Hojbjerg, Skipp, and Sarr), with Davies and Kulusevski replacing them, respectively.
In terms of head-to-head records, Spurs have won the last four out of their previous five games against Forest, only losing 2-0 in the EFL Cup in 2022 due to goals from Lodi and Lingard (I just saw the back five of Sess, Lenglet, Dier, Sanchez, and Doherty and shuttered). Spurs won this fixture last season 3-1, with Kane scoring a brace and Son adding to the tally (Richarlison had a goal disallowed), Worrall scoring a late consolation goal, and Ayew missing an even later penalty for the visitors.
Forest come into this game with one win in seven matches, although the win was a resounding one against Fulham in the midweek. Before that, they lost four and then drew two. They’re currently 17th in the table, only above Luton Town on goal difference, following the Hatters’ win against Bournemouth on Saturday. Forest have an abysmal away record, only picking up 10 points on the road, with a record of 2-4-9. Their 29-point haul this season includes their four-point deduction for PSR breaches, which are currently under appeal (which ironically revolves around the sale of Johnson).
Tottenham Hotspur News
Sarr should be returning back into the starting lineup.
Predicted Lineup
Guglielmo Vicario: Clean sheets have been rare for all his good performances. This game may be one of the best chances he has before the end of the season.
Destiny Udogie: He’s impressed this season but must be wary of Elanga during this game.
Micky van de Ven: Chris Wood is not known for his speed, but Micky’s pace will be helpful should Forest counter (which they will).
Cristian Romero: The vice-captain will have to keep Wood in check, and like the rest of the defenders, a clean sheet would be welcome.
Pedro Porro: He hasn’t been as free-flowing these days but remains everpresent
Pape Matar Sarr: He was benched the last game, presumably for rotation or injury concerns, but should start.
Yves Bissouma: He performed well against West Ham and was complimented by Ange. Despite inconsistencies in his games, his position is not at risk.
James Maddison: He hasn’t quite hit the heights before his injury, but his spot is secure.
Timo Werner: Although he has the right profile for this team, his goalscoring instincts still need to be improved.
Son Heungmin: With Richarlison injured for this match, Son should lead the frontline, and a goal would be great following his 400th appearance.
Brennan Johnson: The Forest Academy graduate will play against his former teammates again, hoping to last longer on the pitch and leave unscathed.
Players Dropped
Rodrigo Bentancur: He performed fine and has been for most of his appearances following his ankle injury, but Sarr should take his spot for this game.
Dejan Kulusevski: He hasn’t been dropped as he was benched in the last game, but his performances have waned after an otherwise consistent run, and Johnson should be starting, although Kulusevski will no doubt make a cameo at some point.
Players Absent
Fraser Forster (injury): Out for the rest of the season with a foot injury.
Manor Solomon (injury): Out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Richarlison (injury): He has a knee niggle, according to Postecoglou, but could return to the squad for the Newcastle game.
Ryan Sessegnon (injury): Out for the rest of the season with a thigh injury.
Nottingham Forest News
Gibbs-White has been Forest’s star player this season.
Predicted Lineup
Sels; Aina, Murillo, Omobamidele, Williams; Danilo, Yates; Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Elanga; Wood
It appears unlikely that Nuno will change the lineup that started against Fulham in midweek on his return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Players Absent
Nuno Tavares (injury): He has had a thigh injury since February, and this game will be too soon for the defender.
Taiwo Awoniyi (injury): His injury has been a blow for Forest, although Wood has done well in his absence.
Willy Boly (injury): Got injured during AFCON and probably won’t play a role in this game.
Players to Watch Out For
Brennan Johnson (TOT): He’s hit an upturn of form in recent weeks and might look to get a goal against his boyhood club as he goes up against Nigerian international Aina.
Son Heungmin (TOT): He may only have one goal in three matches against Forest, but he’s Spurs’ leading man and has the most goal contributions this season, even if he was unavailable during the Asian Cup.
Morgan Gibbs-White (NFO): He orchestrated the defeat of Fulham in midweek and is Forest’s brightest spark and chief creator. He’s also been linked with a move to Tottenham in recent weeks.
Chris Wood (NFO): Forest’s top scorer with 11 goals has been on fire, scoring thrice in their last three games, with 0.82 goals every 90 minutes this season. His aerial prowess will have to be kept in check by Spurs.
Anthony Elanga (NFO): The Swedish international equals Gibbs-White’s assist numbers at seven and will relish the space in Spurs’ high line, particularly when Udogie drifts inside.
Prediction
On paper, this should be a routine win for Spurs, but Spurs tend to hold possession of the ball and need to do more with it. Forest will be looking to capitalise on any Spurs mistakes and lapses in concentration to catch them on the counter, likely through their speedy wingers. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the home side concede first, but the visitors' poor away record should result in Spurs winning.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Nottingham Forest
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Calacus Monthly Hit & Miss – Sell Before We Dai & Red Bull Racing
Every month we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the last few weeks.
HIT - SELL BEFORE WE DAI
Languishing towards the bottom of the Sky Bet League One table, Reading FC are a club in turmoil.
Having been in the Premier League as recently as 2012, it is the Royals’ problems off the pitch are causing greater concern.
Owner Dai Yongge, whose takeover was announced on the night of Reading’s triumphant Championship play-off semi-final in May 2017, has been told by the English Football League (EFL) that he must “fund the club adequately” or “make immediate arrangements to sell.”
During his reign, the club has been relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time in 22 years; staff have not been paid; they have been deducted a total of 18 points; and given a five- year transfer embargo due to financial issues. Yongge’s tenure has also seen extreme cost-cutting, including redundancies and the CEO selling their most valuable player assets behind the back of their manager.
Yongge had previously failed in his bid to take over Hull City in September 2017 after reportedly not meeting the Football Association's fit and proper persons test. The Premier League were also said to be concerned about the takeover at the time.
At first he did make significant investment into the club, twice breaking the club’s transfer record. He also turned down large sums of money for their star players and tied them down to new contracts, funding the club through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite this, the result was only one top-half Championship finish and the EFL’s Profit and Sustainability regulations charged the club in 2021/22 with breaches due to the increased salary spending, leading to a six-point deduction.
Towards the end of 2022, further scandal followed when staff were not paid on time for November and December. With the club failing to stick to the business plan imposed by the EFL that stipulated maximum loses, they were deducted a further six-points in April of that year and would ultimately be relegated from the second tier.
Another tumultuous summer ensued and July saw the club hit with a winding-up order by HMRC for non-payment of tax. Pre-season preparation was hardly ideal given the club was without a manager or enough players to field a team, late into the summer.
The club have been deducted a total of six points so far this season, with another two point-deduction (with a further two points suspended) handed out in February after the club failed to meet HMRC payment obligations, in accordance with EFL Regulations.
By late 2021, the club’s annual £32mn wage bill was more than double total revenue and Reading have been barred from buying new players almost ever since with £220mn net debt being the biggest in English football outside the Premier League.
During this turbulent period, Yongge undertook little to no media interviews or fans’ forums where he could explain his strategy or plans to raise new funding or sell the club.
It defies belief that Yongge is financially struggling given that The Daily Mail recently revealed that he has purchased a multi-million pound mansion by Buckingham Palace.
This silence gives the impression that he has lost interest in the club and appears content to see it collapse, ignoring the importance of the Royals to its community of fans and stakeholders.
One of the oldest clubs in the Football League and rich with history, the fans have not taken the problems lightly.
Their continued campaigning against the regime, keeping the issue in the public eye, while increasing the pressure on the EFL and Yongge, has provoked widespread sympathy and support from clubs and fans from far and wide.
They have mobilised and ensured consistent communication and messaging through the Sell Before We Dai group. Since they were set up in June 2023 they have gained a significant social media following, secured vital regular media coverage and organised various high-profile protests in a dignified and progressive manner.
They describe themselves as ‘a fan-led pressure group pushing to encourage Reading FC owner Dai Yongge to sell up to a new owner before more damage is done to the club we know and love’ with a clear objective to ‘secure a sustainable future for Reading FC.’
The group has received support from a coalition of MPs, including former Prime Minister, Theresa May, and James Sutherland, who recently said: “As a fan what’s happening here is devastating. It’s clear that we need to better protect football from rogue owners — and if you want the perfect test case this it, right here.”
They also were instrumental in the council’s decision to list the stadium as an asset of community value, symbolising its importance. That means the local community will be informed if the venue is listed for sale within the five year listing period. The community can then enact the Community Right to Bid, which gives them a moratorium period of six months to determine if they can raise the finance to purchase the asset.
Tennis-ball disruption in the 16th minute of home games (marking the number of points deducted under Dai’s ownership) started at the Bolton Wanderers game and has largely continued since.
The most dramatic protest saw Reading’s League One match against Port Vale in January abandoned, when tennis balls were again thrown, before around 1,000 home fans invaded the pitch to protest against the ownership.
Sell Before We Dai urged no more invasions and said in a statement: “We should always be prepared to be bold with our actions. That was made clear on 13th January. Fed up of being lied to and seeing their club slowly die, fans felt they were left with no other option than to run on to the pitch and force the game to be abandoned.
“That action was a desperate attempt to bring attention of our plight to the nation, and to pressure Dai Yongge to do the right thing and stop delaying the sale of the club.
“We also need to come together as a football community and consider our next actions very carefully.
“We do not want to throw away all we’ve achieved over the past week. We received overwhelming backing from across the football community and media for our actions. We may lose that support if there is another pitch invasion in the short term.
“We also do not want to give anyone at Reading FC an excuse to put the blame on us for what is ultimately the fault of one man and his associates who have left us with a shell of a club.
“As we say, no action is off the table, at least in the long term. Fans have shown that they will do whatever it takes to force this regime out of our club. But right now is not the time to get the match abandoned again.”
Sell Before We Dai have not only met with the EFL, local politicians, fan-led review chair Tracy Crouch as well as elusive Royals CEO Dayong Pang.
They helped fund a truck bearing Yongge’s face to drive outside the House of Commons leading calls for the independent football regulator and another ahead of England’s match against Belgium in late March.
That same month, a club statement confirmed that Yongge was in talks with Wycombe Wanderers Football Club regarding the sale of Bearwood Park — Reading’s state-of-the-art training facility that only opened in 2019, sparking further outrage.
Sell Before We Dai organised a protest outside Wycombe's Adams Park stadium on Friday evening and said: "Selling one of the club's key assets makes the club even less attractive to a new owner".
Wycombe quickly made a statement confirming that the plans were on hold: "Wycombe Wanderers Football Club are putting on hold provision for funding to Reading Football Club and the acquisition of the Bearwood Park training facility from its owners.
"Importantly, it was agreed that while the details were being finalised and due diligence carried out, Feliciana would provide sufficient financing to Reading to allow it to pay its tax obligations and operating expenses, including payroll for the staff and players.
"It was Wycombe and Feliciana’s belief that they were helping Reading and professional football with the offer to assist its neighbour in a manner that had historically been used in the past by many football clubs. Indeed, Wycombe’s own training ground had been sold over a decade ago to reduce operating expenses and fund the club when the club had its own financial issues.”
Speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire, former chairman, Sir John Madejski, said: “I’m always an optimistic person and I think things will ratify in the near future and the club will be sold.
“If, as I think there are some very wealthy owners lining up, about three of them as I understand it, they’ve got incredibly deep pockets and if they can keep the training ground that would be wonderful because it’s state of the art.
“If there are any business people out there listening , I think reading could be a tremendous opportunity for somebody out there with deep pockets, I really do.”
Hopefully, Sir John is correct and The Royal’s supporters will soon have reason for optimism. They have shown what can be achieved by holding power to account, and refusing to let injustice slide.
It says so much for the club’s troubled finances that a fundraiser was set up by fans to support Reading staff who have not been paid while the Tilehurst End blog assessed what has gone wrong for the Royals and wrote: “This is now a club fighting to stay in League One, let alone get back into the Championship, following a chaotic pre-season and yet more points deductions.
“This is now a club with an owner who struggles to pay his own staff and the tax man, is in constant trouble with the authorities, and has been the subject of open revolt from fans who’ve had enough and are desperate to force him out. This is now a club that sent redundancy letters to 17-20 staff members right before Christmas.
“It all goes back to one man: Dai Yongge. He’s been the agent of destruction in Reading’s 2023, through both callousness and incompetence, leaving everyone else to suffer the consequences of his actions. Managers, staff members, players and fans - he’s mistreated, angered, undermined and disrespected them all. 2023 is the year Reading Football Club paid the price.”
In late March, there were positive developments when the club announced that they had “committed to a letter of intent with a potential purchaser of Reading Football Club. The parties will now enter a period of exclusive negotiation.”
According to the Telegraph, “It has now emerged that the mystery consortium from North America are the preferred bidders, appearing to have secured a deal ahead of hedge fund company Genevra Associates.
The party are understood to have advanced funds ahead of approval by the Football League to enable Reading to pay their liabilities and avoid another points deduction.”
Understandably, Sell Before We Dai were not getting carried away, especially without the identity of the bidder being made public and said: ““We implore the potential buyer to reach out to STAR and the wider fanbase as soon as possible to provide some reassurances.
“We also need to stress that ‘exclusivity’ does not mean ‘done deal’ and as outlined in the statement, there is still some way to go before we can truly celebrate the end of the Dai regime.
“This may be the beginning of the end, but it is still just the beginning. However, though we are preaching caution, there is clear reason to be optimistic.”
What happens next remains to be seen, but the dignified and determined actions of the fans at least give some hope that Yongge will sell and the club will rise once again.
MISS – RED BULL RACING
The controversial first title win for Max Verstappen at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a watershed moment for Formula One.
With Lewis Hamilton seemingly on his way to a record eighth Drivers’ Championship, the safety car was deployed after Nicholas Latifi crashed five laps from the end.
Amid a muddling of the official rules, that gave Max Verstappen the opportunity to overtake Hamilton on the final lap and earn his first world title, signalling a change in dominance from Hamilton’s Mercedes AMG team to Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing.
Formula One competition has been rather dull since then, with Mercedes struggling to adapt to new regulations and Red Bull Racing dominating.
After winning the Bahrain Grand Prix at the start of the current season, Verstappen’s fourth Drivers’ Championship appears to be a procession, with little of the jeopardy such a high-profile sporting competition deserves.
By the time he triumphed at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix a few weeks later, Verstappen had won nine races in a row, and his 29th out of the past 34 races since mid-2022.
Literally and figuratively, Red Bull is a well-oiled machine, with the company thriving on the track and tightly controlling what information is released into the public domain.
That approach has been threatened since early February, when news broke that Red Bull was undertaking an internal investigation into allegations of ‘inappropriate, controlling behaviour’ by Team Principal Christian Horner.
"After being made aware of certain recent allegations, the company launched an independent investigation," Red Bull said in a statement.
"This process, which is already under way, is being carried out by an external specialist barrister. The company takes these matters extremely seriously and the investigation will be completed as soon as practically possible. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."
Horner is something of a pantomime villain in Formula One, unafraid to push technical boundaries and happy to clash with his rivals in search of success.
While acknowledging that an investigation was going on, Red Bull failed to follow a basic rule of crisis communications – do not leave a big information void that can lead to speculation and make the situation worse.
It took two weeks for Formula One and governing body the FIA to make statements, which said little other than that they would be monitoring developments, while Ford, who will become Red Bull’s engine partner in 2026, were more assertive in their demands for a prompt resolution.
In a letter to the Red Bull team, CEO Jim Farley expressed his displeasure with “the unresolved allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Red Bull Racing leadership.”
He said: “As we have indicated previously, without satisfactory response, Ford’s values are non-negotiable. It is imperative that our racing partners share and demonstrate a genuine commitment to those same values. My team and I are available at any time to discuss this matter. We remain insistent on, and hopeful, for a resolution we can all stand behind.”
On the eve of the new F1 season, Red Bull's investigation dismissed the case against Horner and said in a statement: “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed.
“The complainant has a right of appeal. Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial. The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned. Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards."
Strangely, no details of the inquiry were made public. While it was to be expected that the complainant and incident specifics remained anonymous, no information about the process, the legal team who undertook the investigation, nor Horner’s defence and the investigation’s conclusions were forthcoming.
Not even the identity of the lawyer who undertook the investigation was made public, let alone the scope of the undertaking or whether it made any recommendations.
For such a high-profile case to lack transparency inevitably gave rise to accusations of a whitewash aimed at moving on as swiftly as possible, when all the pithy statements did were raise more questions than were answered.
If Red Bull thought that the new Formula One season would see the investigation forgotten about as fans and media moved on, they were very much mistaken.
After the investigation, an anonymous whistleblower leaked a file of unverified emails, images and messages, purported to be from Horner to a female third party, to a wide range of media, Formula One, the FIA, and the sport’s nine other team leaders.
Horner, having previously refused to comment beyond protesting his innocence and confidence that the investigation would confirm as much, went on the offensive.
He said: “The only reason this has gained so much attention is because of the leakage and the attention that there has been drawn in the media. What has happened then after that is that others have looked to take advantage of it. F1 is a competitive business and elements have looked to benefit from it and that is perhaps the not so pretty side of out industry.”
Could Horner expect his rivals to remain silent, when he as previously been so forthright about other issues that have arisen? And do other team principals such as Mercedes’ Toto Wolff and the McLaren CEO Zak Brown not have a right to comment, particularly given that the tawdry episode has dragged their sport into the gutter?
No wonder that they have urged more transparency, while Formula One and the FIA have requested to see the findings of the investigation.
What the crisis also exposed was the fractious divisions within Red Bull which threaten to hinder its dominance just when it looked as if an era of supremacy was inevitable.
Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died last year, left his 49% share to his family, while Thai pharmacist Chaleo Yoovidhya owns a controlling 51%, with Horner’s future very much a point of conflict between them.
Yoovidhya, who some suggested has been trying to extend his powerbase by removing those he does not consider his allies, backs Horner, no doubt convinced by the Englishman’s track record of building a dominant race team that he has led since 2005, while Mateschitz’s family are said to want him out.
Matters took another turn when Red Bull’s long-term special adviser Helmut Marko, known for his indiscretion towards media and other Formula One stakeholders, came under the spotlight with initial reports suggesting he may be suspended.
That triggered emphatic vocal support from ally Max Verstappen, who warned that his future was closely linked with that of Marko.
After qualifying, Verstappen was asked what he thought about the threats to Marko and responded: "My loyalty to [Marko] is very big. It's very important that he stays within the team. If such an important pillar falls away, that's not good for my situation as well. So, for me, Helmut has to stay, for sure.”
Not only was that a clear threat to the Red Bull senior leadership, it was also in stark contrast to Verstappen's carefully worded answer when asked about Horner’s position.
Whether he was speaking as a proxy for his son or not, Jos Verstappen then made it clear that he saw Horner’s position as untenable.
Verstappen Snr made it clear that Horner has to go, that the Horner controversy was "driving people apart" and that the team would "explode" if their principal remained.
“I sympathise with the woman, with all that she went through, but we will see what happens.
“In the press conference Horner gave the other day it was all about him and his problems when we should be talking about Max, the car, his performance and the race. I've already said I think it is causing problems if he stays.
"There is tension here while he remains in position. The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can't go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.
"I think it's too late for Christian to say 'leave me alone' but he has the support of the Thai owner so I think he will stay for the rest of the season. I said it would bad if he stayed, it really isn't good for the team, this whole situation.
“But the most important thing for me is that Max is happy. That's what counts for me. I just want him to be happy.”
It can’t have helped Red Bull fans that Verstappen was linked with a move to Mercedes amid the in-fighting within the team, with Horner admitting that they could not force an unhappy driver to remain regardless of a long contract.
To make matters worse for Red Bull, they chose International Women’s Day to suspend the woman at the centre of the controversy, with the team again offering no detail for the grounds of her suspension.
Could there be a more effective way to remind women in motor sport that they need to stay in their lane?
Unsurprisingly, the accuser then lodged an official complaint about Horner’s behaviour with the FIA’s ethics committee, which the BBC reported was not the first complaint made to the governing body amid concerns that Red Bull might try to cover the story up.
It was left to Hamilton, who has urged more diversity and better governance within the sport, to underline the problems the Horner crisis has caused.
He said: “As someone who loves the sport it's definitely disappointing to see what's going on right now. I think transparency is really key and I'm really, really hoping to see some progress moving forwards.
“We always have to do more to try to make the sport and the environment people work in feel safe and inclusive. It will be really interesting to see how it’s dealt with in terms of the effect it may or may not have on the sport moving forwards. It’s a really important moment for the sport to make sure that we stand true to our values.”
Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen tried to play down the controversy, backing Red Bull’s investigation process, while lamenting the lack of focus on the team’s on-track success and focus.
The information vacuum, coupled with a lack of leadership from the sport’s governance serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of reputation in top-level sport and Red Bull’s apparent lack of preparation for an internal issue when it has previously been readied for external issues combat.
The lack of transparency and suspension of the complainant reflect badly on the values Red Bull want to transmit.
The somewhat tone-deaf investigation and communications strategy has raised questions about the team's integrity and damaged Red Bull's reputation with its partners and fans which extends way beyond motorsport.
#Red Bull#Max Verstappen#Jos Verstappen#Lewis Hamilton#F1#FIA#Mercedes-Benz#Toto Wolff#Red Bull Racing#Grand Prix#Helmut Marko#Reading FC#Sell Before We Dai#The Royals#Paul Ince#John Madejski#FootbalL Association#Dai Yongge#EFL#Football League#Hull City#Premier League#Nigel Howe
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MATCH REPORT: READING (0) 2 CHARLTON ATHLETIC (0) 0
EFL ONE : Saturday 10 February, 2024 : 3pm kick-off
A tale of two halves, although, despite some slick passing from Charlton, more so first half, Reading never looked in any danger of losing this match, such was their confident dominance.
The first 45 lacked goals and there was an early 3 min spell of time-wasting from both teams which made the game go flat. After the break, more energy and the most chances; AZEEZ blasted in two rockets, 66 & 76 mins, and could have had a hat-trick but blazed over the bar, again going for power.
When Charlton did break into the final third, Reading's defence blocked and tackled superbly, in particular YIADOM but the human dynamo, MBENGUE gets my MOTM - an impressive performance.
Plenty of endeavour too from SMITH in the hoops and he nearly scored from two / three chances, but for me, there's still an over reliance on him to do the business upfront.
The ref, Craig Hicks, was generally fussy but still maintained good control overall although, 2nd period, he perhaps should have clamped down on two instances of Royals players being kicked up into the air by issuing cards. That said, he was fair to both sides.
The Reds definitely employed some spoiling tactics, which is a pity, as many of their side can play. In fact, only a super save from BUTTON prevented it ending 2-1.
Even four days into a new job, you would have thought new manager Nathan Jones would have perceived that, but I strongly suspect he set out to secure an away point, but rightly his negativity was rewarded with a 2-0 loss. Food for thought.
Reading are now up to 18th and continue to defy their critics as they search to maintain their League One presence, despite points deductions and fines (hundreds of Reading fans dressed as clowns or wore clown masks -as issued, to protest against the owner).
Reading: Button, Mola (Dorsett '60), Knibbs, Savage (Craig '88), Smith, Azeez (Elliott '88), Ehibhatiomhan (Mukairu '78), Yiadom © (Abrefa '88), Bindon, Mbengue, Wing. Subs not used: Pereira, Wareham.
Charlton Athletic: Isted, Jones, Thomas, May ©, Ladapo, Edu, Watson (Campbell '80), Watson, Gillesphey (Edmonds-Green '45), Bakinson, Coventry (Camara '79). Subs not used: Maynard-Brewer, Kanu, Anderson, Ramsey.
RDG MOTM = Amadou Mbengue, quick, energetic, classy performance.
CHARLTON MOTM = Harry Isted, kept the score down and all round, very competent GK display.
Attendance = 14,554
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 7/10
Mark Watkins, 11/2/24
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Sports News - Josh Sargent stays hot with fourth goal of 2024
2024 is turning out really well so far for U.S. men’s national team striker Josh Sargent.
Sargent scored his fourth league goal of the new year and his seventh overall in Norwich City’s 2-2 EFL Championship draw with QPR on Saturday. The American striker headed the Canaries back in front at Loftus Road Stadium in the second half before QPR equalized later to earn one point.
After Jack Colback and…
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Cheltenham Town - Five Potential Replacements For Wade Elliott - Opinion
Rooted to the foot of the League One table with no goals to their name and only one solitary point accumulated, it was always going to be hard for Wade Elliott to hold onto his job at a dejected Cheltenham Town.
Losing 3-0 away to Peterborough United in the recent mid-week round of League One fixtures ultimately saw Elliott get the boot, Cheltenham down to 10 men after only five minutes played in…
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#Cheltenham Town#darrell clarke#efl league one#EFL League One News#Graham Coughlan#Karl Robinson#league one#manager sacking#martin devaney#New Manager#steve cotterill#wade elliott
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A screening list for an English club to buy
It's long been a dream of mine to buy a football ⚽ club in England and bring it up the divisions and try to turn it into a big club worth billions.*
What would be an ideal club to buy:
League Two (or possibly League One). League Two is the 4th division, league One is...the third division. In American terms, very roughly speaking, League One is AA minor league baseball, and League Two is A.
Close to an international airport with a direct flight. In practice from Houston this means greater London, maybe greater Manchester/Liverpool (there's a direct singapore air flight). On the other hand, maybe you move there and go 24/7.
Big stadium without urgent need for renovations where fans attend even in lean times. The gate is a big piece of the economic puzzle in lower divisions. The better the attendance in lean years means that you can (theoretically) lever up more with debt because the downside is lower (theoretically)
Higher GDP in surrounding area the better. More sporting success means more economic success. Also generally less xenophobia for when you buy the club and for the inevitable times when your team doesn't live up to expectations.
League Two (via Wikipedia)
League One:
Clubs on this list (12 in League One, 6 in League Two) roughly within an hour of Manchester airport without traffic: Bradford City, Tranmere Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Wigan, Barnsley, Port Vale,
Within an hour of Heathrow: Swindon Town, MK Dons, Charlton Athletic, Reading, Portsmouth, Oxford United.
Top of League One and League Two (by stadium capacity) are both clubs who would probably be pretty gunshy, for some different reasons. Derby County went busto, MK Dons got moved in controversial circumstances.
Even knowing how football mad the general area is, it's somewhat surprising how many clubs are within an hour of the Manchester airport.
You notice Wrexham in the bottom left corner, as it's a short drive from the airport. A few actors managed to buy the club in a particularly brilliant manner by cross-promoting all their investments using a documentary, all the while acting as if they're losing money.
[I find the documentary really annoying. Lots of dumb jokes, overacted "reality scenes," not enough football, business or Wales. I do enjoy the Wales bits though.]
They did manage to go from the 5th division to the 4th division, however, which is a big accomplishment. They got the club apparently for free, by simply promising to invest in the club.
There's a few clubs in London if you're willing to look at the 5th division, but the stadiums are small. For example, of that map, the largest stadium is Barnet at 6400. Since it's London, presumably expanding or building a new stadium when you need to is much more expensive.
I also think that 5th division complicates an obvious blueprint: for me, it would be recruit from Argentina relatively young and create a culture where players aren't homesick and can perform. Beyond that, Chelsea also showed us that buying lots of players cheap when they're young and loaning them out until you sell or play them is a profitable strategy.
_* Almost 20 years ago I spent hours figuring out Peter Thiel's email when he was at the height of his success as a macro trader to send him an extremely half-baked suggestion of buying a club in administration. If you assume he didn't respond, that is the safest of calls.
_** Technically the top level (the Premier League) is no longer a member of the EFL.
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Deal agree; this weekend's "Pivotal" West Ham sensation is wanted by an EFL club.
Derby County want to sign West Ham United striker Divin Mubama in January
Derby County want to sign West Ham United sensation Divin Mubama in the January transfer window, with this weekend “pivotal” to his future according to Claret & Hugh.
Writing on their website (22 November), the news outlet report that the academy graduate is a target of the League One outfit this winter with his current…
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On this day in Wikipedia: Friday, 27th October
Welcome, Benvenuto, Välkommen, Bienvenida 🤗
What does @Wikipedia say about 27th October through the years 🏛️📜🗓️?
27th October 2019 🗓️ : Event - Christ Mocked
Christ Mocked (pictured) by Cimabue sold at auction in France for €19.5 million, a record for a pre-1500 artwork.
"Christ Mocked is a small 13th-century panel painting by the Italian artist Cimabue, in tempera on a poplar panel. It depicts the Mocking of Jesus and is one of three panels known from a polyptych depicting the passion of Jesus. It was discovered in the kitchen of an elderly woman in Northern..."
Image by Cimabue
27th October 2018 🗓️ : Event - Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City F.C. owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha dies in a helicopter crash along with four others after a Premier League match against West Ham United at the King Power Stadium in Leicester, England.
"Leicester City Football Club is a professional football club based in Leicester, in the East Midlands of England. They play their home matches at the King Power Stadium and compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Leicester City were founded in 1884 as..."
27th October 2013 🗓️ : Death - Noel Davern
Noel Davern, Irish lawyer and politician, Minister for Education and Skills (b. 1945)
"Noel Davern (24 December 1945 – 27 October 2013) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister of State from 1997 to 2002 and Minister for Education from 1991 to 1992. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Tipperary South constituency from 1969 to 1981 and 1987 to 2007. He served as..."
27th October 1973 🗓️ : Birth - Jason Johnson (baseball)
Jason Johnson, American baseball player
"Jason Michael Johnson (born October 27, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He throws and bats right-handed...."
Image licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0? by madmiked on Flickr (Original version)
User UCinternational (Crop)
27th October 1923 🗓️ : Birth - Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein, American painter and sculptor (d. 1997)
"Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. His work defined the premise of pop art through parody. Inspired by the comic..."
Image licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0? by Eric Koch for Anefo
27th October 1816 🗓️ : Death - Santō Kyōden
Santō Kyōden, Japanese poet and painter (b. 1761)
"Santō Kyōden (山東 京伝, 13 September 1761 Edo – 27 October 1816) was a Japanese artist, writer, and the owner of a tobacco shop during the Edo period. His real name was Iwase Samuru (岩瀬 醒), and he was also known popularly as Kyōya Denzō (京屋伝蔵, kyōya denzō). He began his professional career illustrating..."
Image by Hannah
27th October 🗓️ : Holiday - World Day for Audiovisual Heritage
"The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage takes place every 27 October. This commemorative day was chosen by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 2005 to raise awareness of the significance and preservation risks of recorded sound and audiovisual documents..."
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