Leyton Orient to pay tribute to 74-year-old fan who died at Brisbane Road

Leyton Orient have paid tribute to supporter Derek Reynolds, who died after being taken unwell towards the end of the League One match against Lincoln on Tuesday night.

After fans had gone on to the pitch to alert the referee to the medical emergency in the East Stand, the match was halted in the 82nd minute and eventually abandoned.

The London Ambulance Service confirmed on Wednesday morning that despite extensive treatment and the combined efforts at the scene – which included an incident response officer, two medics in fast-response cars and an ambulance crew – the 74-year-old man had later been pronounced dead.

Leyton Orient Football Club is devastated to confirm that the supporter who was taken ill at Tuesday s game against Lincoln City has sadly passed …

Talking Point: Along come Burnley as Guardiola´s Man City eye goals flurry

Pep Guardiola is convinced the floodgates are about to open for his Manchester City team and Saturday s opponents Burnley may already be fearing the worst.

On their last three visits to the Etihad Stadium, Burnley have lost 5-0 on each occasion, with a pair of Premier League thrashings coming either side of an FA Cup trouncing.

Speaking this week, Guardiola said he would need to find a solution to his City team s scoring problem, which has seen them net a modest 10 goals in their opening eight Premier League fixtures this season.

He mentioned the importance of fixing little details , adding: In one or two games, this kind of thing will get better. The season is still so young and I m fully optimistic we re going to do a good season.

Given he recently sig…

Diego Maradona dies: FIFA should retire number 10 from football – Villas-Boas

Marseille head coach Andre Villas-Boas urged FIFA to withdraw the number 10 for all competitions to honour Diego Maradona.

Maradona, widely regarded as one of the best players of all-time, died at the age of 60 on Wednesday after a suspected heart attack.

He starred in the number 10 for Napoli and Argentina during his playing career, and the shirt was retired by the Serie A club in his honour in 2000.

Villas-Boas wants to see FIFA go one step further and withdraw the number 10 completely.

For Maradona, it s a hard blow. I would like FIFA to withdraw the number 10 for all competitions, all teams, he told a news conference after Marseille s 2-0 Champions League loss to Porto on Wednesday.

I think it s the best tribute that can be given to the grea…

FA set to vote against UEFA rule change allowing Aleksander Ceferin extra term

The Football Association intends to vote against a rule change which would allow UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin to serve a further term in 2027, the PA news agency understands.

National associations, including the English FA, will be asked to amend a raft of UEFA statutes at Thursday’s Congress in Paris.

Within that bundle of rule changes is a move to amend Article 69 which would mean the first partial term Ceferin served from September 2016 would not be counted within the three-term limit, and would therefore allow him to serve a further full term from 2027 to 2031.

The proposal has already led to the resignation of UEFA’s technical director Zvonimir Boban, who had previously been a strong ally of Ceferin.

The FA is understood to have pushed for t…

Xavi faces crunch moment in bid to become Barcelona boss

Xavi looked set to take a significant step towards becoming Barcelona s new coach on Thursday.

The former Barcelona captain appears to be the only candidate the club have in mind to replace the sacked Ronald Koeman.

This has led a delegation from Barcelona to travel to Qatar in an effort to persuade Al Sadd, where Xavi is head coach, to release the former Spain midfielder from his contract.

Talks have taken place between senior officials from both sides and are said to have been convivial, and now it will reportedly fall to Xavi to take the next step.

Al Sadd chief executive Turki Al-Ali said earlier this week that the Stars League side remained committed to keeping our coach Xavi with us .

However, Xavi told Mundo Deportivo he was very eager and …

I´m not Bale´s father but Madrid fans remember what he has done – Ancelotti defends Los Blancos star

Carlo Ancelotti said I am not Gareth Bale s father but launched a defence of the Real Madrid forward and insists he will play if he deserves to when returning from international duty.

Since coming back from a loan stint with Tottenham last season, Bale has made just three appearances for Los Blancos – the same number of times he has played for Wales in 2021-22 – due to a troublesome thigh injury.

Despite including two LaLiga titles, four Champions League medals and a Copa del Rey on an impressive resume with Madrid, the club s fanbase have often made Bale the subject of their ire.

It was put to head coach Ancelotti that he had protected Bale like a father in the past, but the Italian said his achievements at the club should always be remembered.

I m …

Demarai Gray set for Al-Ettifaq move

According to Fabrizio Romano, Al-Ettifaq expect to complete the signing of Demarai Gray from Everton very soon. The personal terms between the player and the Saudi club have already been agreed, and the talks with Everton are close to a positive conclusion.

The 27-year-old winger recently puzzled Everton chiefs by informing them that his transfer was done, as manager Sean Dyche revealed, and the club replied that no move would be done without them agreeing to it. However, it seems that is now close, with Everton obviously aware that Gray would be out of contract at the end of the season.

Gray rose through the academy ranks at Birmingham City. In January 2016, he joined Leicester City where he spent five years, and then six months with Bayer Leverkusen before making his …

Wales have made ‘significant’ progress since Gareth Bale retirement – Rob Page

Rob Page believes Wales have come “a long way” since the retirement of Gareth Bale to be within one win of reaching Euro 2024.

Wales host Poland in a play-off final at Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday, with a place in Germany this summer at stake.

Victory would see Wales play at a third successive European Championship and a fourth major tournament out of five after qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.

But this time Wales would achieve qualification without talismanic former captain Bale, their record caps holder and goalscorer who retired a few months before the start of Euro 2024 qualifying in January 2023.

“Look back to the semi-final and final before the World Cup and Gareth scored the three goals,” said boss Page, recalling Bale’s brilliance i…

Clement Lenglet and Arnaut Danjuma leave Tottenham following end of loan spells

Tottenham have confirmed the departures of Clement Lenglet and Arnaut Danjuma following the conclusion of their loan spells.

France defender Lenglet joined Spurs last summer from Barcelona and made 35 appearances in all competitions, scoring once.

Netherlands forward Danjuma arrived in January from Villarreal but was restricted to just one start in a total of 12 outings.

As previously announced by the Premier League club, Lucas Moura will also depart this summer at the end of his contract.

The Brazilian forward scored 39 goals in 221 Tottenham appearances, including a hat-trick against Ajax which secured a place in the 2019 Champions League final.

“We thank all three players for their service and wish them well for the future,” read a statemen…

Xavi to Barcelona: Returning heroes – the hits and misses

One story is dominating the sporting agenda in Spain on Saturday: Xavi s potential return to Barcelona.

The Catalan giants have reportedly earmarked the club great to take over from the under-pressure Ernesto Valverde at the end of the season, and held informal discussions with him on Friday in Doha.

Xavi, 39, is currently coach at Al Sadd but would likely relish a return to Camp Nou, where he won eight LaLiga titles and four Champions League trophies during a glittering playing career.

A strong affinity with a club is not a guarantee of success, however, and we have taken a look at eight other examples of players returning to manage teams they starred for.

 

HITS

Pep Guardiola

After leaving Barcelona as a player in 2001, Guard…