January 2023 – bamdj.com

Liverpool boss Klopp to sue over Man City ‘xenophobia’ claim – ‘I would hate myself’

Posted on January 15, 2023 by bamdj

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will reportedly take legal action having been accused of xenophobia against Manchester City’s owners.

Klopp made comments on Friday about the relative spending power of his side compared with rival clubs and later insisted that he had been “misunderstood”.

The Reds boss was accused of lighting the touch paper ahead of the high-octane 1-0 win over City on Sunday which saw him shown a red card, coins thrown at Pep Guardiola, the City bus damaged and City fans engaging in chants about the Hillsborough disaster.

Asked specifically about reports alleging City believed his pre-match comments to be ‘borderline xenophobic’, Klopp said on Tuesday: “I don’t feel it at all. I know myself. And you cannot hit with something which is miles away from my personality. If I was – I cannot remember the word, wow! – like this I would hate it.

“I would hate myself for being like this. I have said a lot of times things that were a little bit open for misunderstanding. I know that. It was not intentional, just sometimes you say things and you think, ‘Oh my God! It can be interpreted like this?’ But this is not one of these moments. Absolutely.”

There is now a tense relationship between the two clubs and their fans but Klopp doesn’t think it necessary to smooth things over before their next meeting.

“I am not sure we have to be best friends with other clubs,” said Klopp. “I don’t think anybody wants to be best friends with us. It is a completely normal competition.

“It started here (in Friday’s press conference) with a question and I answered it and all the rest was made of it. I know what I thought when I said it and I thought I put it in perspective and said how much I respect what they (City) are doing.

“Obviously, it was still not right for some. As a club and a team with our supporters we showed an incredible performance. And then if something happens and one fan throws a coin it is a massive mistake and it will get punished, definitely.”

Despite Klopp’s willingness to put much of the tension behind him, the Irish Independent claim he is looking to ‘take legal action’ over the xenophobia claims.

Given this and everything that happened on Sunday, perhaps Klopp should feel a need to smooth things over to avoid tensions building to the clubs’ next meeting, when something really bad could happen.

Does he not have a duty of care?

MAILBOX: Jurgen Klopp should be banned for months. The safety of grassroots refs depends on it…

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Springboks out to honour memory of tragic compatriots

Posted on January 15, 2023 by bamdj

THE PRE-GAME NATIONAL anthem is a ritual that often induces a sudden surge of emotion but when Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika rings around Lansdowne Road tomorrow evening, there will be an added element of poignancy for the visitors.

Saturday’s game in Dublin is the first time the Springboks have played since the passing of four South African sporting stars and Jean de Villiers, the captain, revealed it’s been like losing a family member.

Before leaving for Ireland, de Villiers was among the thousands of mourners who attended a public memorial service for South African goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa, who was shot dead near Johannesburg.

The Springbok captain paid an emotional tribute to his counterpart at the service also held to remember the life of former world champion 800-meter runner Mbulaeni Mulaudzi.

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“It’s like losing a member of your family. We are thinking of them and of course their family,” de Villiers said this morning.

In the last fortnight, two former rugby players have passed away. Abie Malan, who captained the Springboks as well as assuming the role of selector following his retirement, died following complications after knee surgery. He was 78.

Tinus Linee, one of de Villiers’ former teammates, died on Monday from motor neurone disease. Although he never won a full cap, the former centre played nine tour games.

A minutes silence will precede kick-off on Saturday and de Villiers admits emotions will be running high as the squad get the opportunity to pay their respect.

“In paying our respects we can show we are an united country again. None of the guys played with Abie (he was 78) but Tinus was my first centre partner at Western Province so I have history with the guy.

“We don’t want to make too much of it, but emotions will be there.”

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Silva pushing Fulham to ‘show their quality’ and he is ready for Leeds United ‘to react’

Posted on January 14, 2023 by bamdj

Fulham manager Marco Silva is confident that his players will relish the challenge of facing Leeds United at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon.

Silva’s team climbed up to ninth in the Premier League on Thursday night as they beat Aston Villa 3-0 in what proved to be Steven Gerrard’s final game in charge.

Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch is under mounting pressure as the Yorkshire side are without a win in seven games. They were beaten 2-0 by Leicester City on Thursday evening.

But Silva is wary of a Leeds United backlash and cites their fervent home support as a key factor.

“After analysing our opponent, we know what type of team we will play against,” the Portuguese told reporters on Friday.

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“Even if they didn’t take the best results (from) the last few games, all of us know what it means to play at Elland Road, what type of atmosphere will be there.

“Everyone that loves football loves that type of environment. It’s another good opportunity for us to show our quality, our personality as a team, to deal well with that type of environment.”

The Cottagers notched their fourth league win of the season against Aston Villa and now sit six points above Leeds United, who stayed out of the bottom three on goal difference, albeit with a game in hand.

Leeds slipped to a third straight defeat at Leicester but Silva has insisted that their poor current form does not give his side an extra boost.

He went onto say: “Not really. Our motivation comes from ourselves, from our desire to be playing at the level we are playing, to keep improving, to learn from some mistakes. This is our own motivation.

“I’m sure they want to react and we want to keep reacting as a team as well, for different circumstances.

“It’s up to us to prepare our players well, to recover well, because it’s a really short space between both games. We have to assess them, how they are, and prepare in the best way we can.”

Silva is hoping that Aleksandar Mitrovic will be fit to resume after he was withdrawn late on against Villa to safeguard against aggravating an ongoing foot problem.

Injured trio Kenny Tete, Layvin Kurzawa and Manor Solomon are expected to remain unavailable.

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Former Connacht coach Bradley driving Georgian development

Posted on January 14, 2023 by bamdj

HAVING SPENT SEVEN seasons in charge of Connacht, Michael Bradley was ideally prepared to play a part in helping the Georgian national team to develop.

The Cork man would have grown accustomed to limited budgets and underdog status during his lengthy spell in Galway, but there were good days too.

Now an assistant coach to Milton Haig with Georgia, a role he has held since last year, Bradley is striving to drive the Eastern Europeans up the IRB World Rankings. A strong performance on Sunday against Joe Schmidt’s Ireland would be beneficial in that regard.

Bradley, who was in charge of Edinburgh between 2011 and 2013, first worked with the Georgians in 2010, when the IRB organised for the former scrum-half to lend his expertise to ‘the Lelos’ set-up on a part-time basis.

His commitments with Edinburgh ended that association, but when the 51-year-old left the Scottish club, the Georgian Rugby Union came calling with a full-time contract offer.

The 40-cap ex-Ireland international has been in charge of Georgia’s backs and attack since last summer, overseeing areas of the game where there has been definite need for development.

“It’s the way that the club rugby is structured, but over the last couple of years that certainly has changed.”

Bradley celebrates a Connacht win with Eric Elwood in 2008. Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

Haig and the Georgian players have heaped praise on Bradley’s influence in broadening their attacking capabilities, so much so that the Kiwi head coach believes Georgia do not simply rely on their forward power any longer.

While Haig is based on the ground in Georgia, Bradley is based out of his native Cork. That presents a unique challenge in terms of travel, particularly with so many of the Georgian players based in France.

“The players with the national squad, if you took it as a whole, around 60 or 70% are in France, and 30% are in Tbilisi. You just have to balance your time betwixt and between. We have Didier Bès, who coached Montpellier before – he’s in France and can take care of that side of things for us.

Bradley’s skills are not solely employed in the improvement of Georgia’s top international players. He has been involved in developing the country’s U18 and A teams too, installing standards, mindset and technical elements in those prospects.

“I’m a resource really that Georgia rugby can call upon,” says Bradley in outlining the breadth of his current role. Haig and the rest of the national coaching team are similarly deployed to grow rugby at all levels of the game.

Having secured the European Nations Cup [Six Nations B] this year, Georgia will look to retain that title in 2015, thereby heading to the World Cup with confidence. A group featuring New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga and Namibia will be no easy ride.

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Bradley drove Edinburgh to some strong European performances during his spell in Scotland. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO

Fixtures like Sunday’s against Ireland are of major importance to Georgia too, given that they so rarely have the chance to play top-tier nations outside of the World Cup. Taking on the current Six Nations champions, Bradley’s players are enthused to face players they have watched many times.

“All the Georgia players know the Irish players, even if there are a number of changes for the match on Sunday. The squad or the team that Ireland can put out, and the style of play, won’t be much different to what we saw on Saturday [against South Africa], especially in the second half.

While Bradley continues to push Georgian rugby forward, he continues to learn as a coach. On a personal level, he is enjoying the experience of coaching at international level, but there is always one ear to the ground for opportunities in the club game.

“I really do enjoy international coaching, and it gives me a bit of time at home as well., because I spent a lot of time away from home [when club coaching]. So I get blocks of time with this job at home, blocks of time in Georgia and blocks of time wherever else I have to go.

“But you would always keep an eye open to see what’s available as well. It’s a good challenge going into the World Cup; the whole of the country is behind the team and it’s a good environment to work in.”

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Arsenal star Pablo Mari to undergo back surgery after Milan supermarket stabbing

Posted on January 13, 2023 by bamdj

Arsenal defender Pablo Mari will undergo surgery on his back on Friday after being stabbed in a deadly supermarket attack in Milan.

The 29-year-old, currently on a season-long loan at Monza, is now recovering in the Niguarda hospital, with local reports claiming one of six victims – said to be an employee of the Carrefour supermarket – has died.

Quoted in the Gazzetta dello Sport, Mari said: “Today I was lucky, because I saw a person die in front of me.”

The Italian newspaper said that Mari had been walking with his wife and son – who was in a trolley – in the shop in Assago near Milan when he felt a pain in his back before seeing the attacker, later identified as a 46-year-old man and arrested by police, stab another person in the throat. Local reports say any terrorist motive for the attack has been ruled out.

It is reported that Mari’s injuries are not severe but, after spending the night in hospital, he will undergo surgery on damaged muscles on Friday.

Monza president Adriano Galliani, who visited Mari along with the Serie A side’s head coach Raffaele Palladino, told Gazzetta: “Pablo is an amazing guy. He had the strength to joke and tell me that he will be back in training on Monday. I brought him greetings from (club president Silvio) Berlusconi and everyone else. His team-mates wanted to come here but obviously it was not possible.”

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Speaking further about the attack, Galliani added: “It is shocking news. My thoughts are with the families – what happened today seems impossible for a city like Milan. It can’t be possible that someone gets up in the morning to go to work and then loses their life because of the actions of a criminal.”

The Corriere della Sera says former Napoli and Inter Milan player Massimo Tarantino was among those who immobilised and disarmed the attacker, with the 51-year-old quoted by the paper as saying: “I’m not a hero. I didn’t do anything special.”

Mari joined Arsenal from Brazilian side Flamengo in January 2020 and played 19 times for the Gunners before heading to Italy on loan in August.

In a statement issued shortly after their 2-0 Europa League defeat at PSV Eindhoven on Thursday night, Arsenal gave an update on Mari’s condition.

“We are all shocked to hear the dreadful news about the stabbing in Italy, which has put a number of people in hospital including our on-loan centre-back Pablo Mari,” it read.

“We have been in contact with Pablo’s agent who has told us he’s in hospital and is not seriously hurt. Our thoughts are with Pablo and the other victims of this dreadful incident.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, in his post-match press conference, added: “I just found out. I know (technical director) Edu has been in touch with his relatives. He’s in hospital but he seems to be OK.”

‘All the players are thinking of him’ – Ireland’s best wishes to Chris Henry

Posted on January 13, 2023 by bamdj

IRELAND ARE UNDERSTANDABLY disappointed to have lost Chris Henry this November, as the flanker recovers from a temporary blockage of a small blood vessel in his brain.

The IRFU yesterday confirmed the nature of the issue that saw the Ulsterman ruled out of Ireland’s win over South Africa two weekends ago, and it is expected that Henry will be sidelined for some months as he recuperates.

Speaking at Carton House this afternoon, Ireland number eight Jamie Heaslip was conscious of not discussing personal details or behind-the-scenes information, but did share his hope that Henry will be back in action soon.

“It’s never good hearing a player is out,” said Heaslip. “All the players are thinking of him obviously and he’s got the best of everyone around looking out for him. We were just told he was unavailable and we switched it up. Away we went.”

Heaslip did go into more detail on what exactly it is that Ireland will be deprived of in terms of playing skill this weekend against Australia and potentially further into the future.

“Like every good seven, he has that ability in the dark arts to get in there and mess ball up, whether it’s legally or illegally, whatever way you view it.

“He’s a great player, serious work rate, gets through a lot of work on the field that I don’t think he gets enough credit for,” continued Heaslip. “It’s not great having a player like that available for selection; it’s a big loss.”

Ruddock scored from a maul try against the Boks. Source: Colm O’Neill/INPHO

Rhys Ruddock stepped into Henry’s shoes impressively in the 29-15 success against South Africa, despite not having started too many games in the seven shirt beforehand.

Forwards coach Simon Easterby was enthusiastic about the influence Ruddock had on that encounter, and it appears the Leinster man is set to continue at seven against Michael Cheika’s Australia.

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Tommy O’Donnell was excellent at ruck time against Georgia last weekend, and offers another strong option at openside.

“Rhys came in and started the game and did really well. He’s a big man, physical and has a great engine on him. He’s fit for any position in that back row probably, but the seven one is something that he’s still learning.

“He’s doing very well at it, he’s training very well at it and it’s a position where we feel we’ve got the likes of Tommy O’Donnell and Dominic Ryan, who both went well at seven and six against Georgia. We’ve got a bit of depth there as well.”

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Trent Alexander-Arnold: Something is not going right at Liverpool but we believe in ourselves

Posted on January 12, 2023 by bamdj

Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold insists the squad believe in themselves despite another disappointing result on Saturday night.

The Reds on Saturday suffered a second successive loss in the Premier League to a struggling side, being beaten 2-1 at home by Leeds a week on from the 1-0 reverse at Nottingham Forest.

That left Jurgen Klopp’s men, who have lost four, won four and drawn four league games this term, ninth in the table, eight points outside the Champions League places.

After hosting Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday, they are next in league action at third-placed Tottenham on Sunday.

Trent told liverpoolfc.com: “I’d say we all believe in ourselves, we believe in the way we play, the squad and what we can achieve.

“But I think when you do get setbacks, it can potentially make you second-guess yourself and question things.

“Clearly as a team something’s not going right, it’s not going as well as we want it to go. That’s something for everyone to think about, for everyone to address and make sure we put it right, especially next week against Spurs, top-four rivals.

“We kind of need to go there and get some points if we’ve got any chance of reaching our aims and aspirations for the season.”

The England right-back, who described what was Liverpool’s first home league defeat since March 2021 as “difficult to take”, added: “I think we are not in the greatest run of form – I think a lot of players would say that about themselves and as a team in general.

“But we’re still creating opportunities to score and win games. We just haven’t been able to take them, especially (in the) last two Premier League games.

“I think it’s important for us to regroup, assess what’s going wrong. I think right now, it’s kind of, ‘pick up as many points as you can now going into this break (for the World Cup, which starts on November 20).’

“And potentially this break will come at a decent time for us to reset and be able to get our heads straight to go into the second half of the season.”

Klopp emphasised post-match that “you cannot qualify for the Champions League if you play as inconsistently as we do at the moment”.

The Liverpool manager also said it was “no secret pretty much everybody on the pitch can play better football”, as well as once again referencing the impact injury issues have had on his team this season, before adding: “It’s not now for a main overhaul, these kind of things.

“No – you have to fight through, fight for momentum, confidence, security, and that’s what we do.”

Leeds, capitalising on a Joe Gomez-Alisson Becker mix-up, took the lead through a fourth-minute Rodrigo tap-in that was cancelled out by Mohamed Salah 10 minutes later.

Brenden Aaronson volleyed against the hosts’ bar soon after, and the second half then saw Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier make a number of fine saves before Crysencio Summerville struck in the 89th minute to give the Yorkshire outfit their first victory in nine Premier League games, and first win at Liverpool since 2001.

It ended a four-match losing streak, as they moved out of the relegation zone, up to 15th place.

Boss Jesse Marsch had endured calls from Leeds fans for him to go in their previous match, and when asked how much he thought his players were fighting for him against Liverpool, the American said: “I think they were, but they were fighting for us.

“They believe in what we’re doing, and it’s been painful for all of us. Obviously they take heat from different people and different sources, the manager takes heat.

“It’s impossible to work in football in this day and age in isolation, we have social media, media, fans, we have everything.

“They walk around town, they hear from everybody that they’re behind them but that they need some urgency in our season, nobody wants to go down.

“So that’s all that’s on my mind – continuing to stay stable and strong so that they give themselves the best chance to perform.”

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Best proud of Ireland’s mental strength to avoid All Blacks defeat repeat

Posted on January 12, 2023 by bamdj

THE FINAL MOMENTS of Ireland’s win over Australia this evening in Dublin had an ominously familiar feeling to them.

As Michael Cheika’s Wallabies built through the phases, flashbacks of defeat to New Zealand a year ago brought hearts into the mouths of Irish supporters.

On the pitch, however, it was a different story. Under Joe Schmidt’s rule, this Irish group has come a long way from those infamous seven system errors that cost them a first-ever win over the Kiwis in 2013.

Hooker Rory Best, who was wonderfully combative on his return from a calf injury, highlighted the Irish assurance in the closing stages of the 26-23 win as the most pleasing part of the entire performance.

“The pleasing thing for this compared to where we were 12 months ago is that mentally, we stayed in. If you look at it 12 months ago, we went mistake after mistake, mental switch-offs if you like, but this time around in similar position, we didn’t.

Best shows his pleasure after seeing off the Wallabies. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO

“We stuck to our system, we came off the line, we hit and stuck, and we really put pressure on them. Ultimately, they were the ones under pressure because they were the ones who had to get points in some shape or form.

“We put pressure on them, everyone stuck to their job and the big thing for us is that no one threw in the towel mentally.”

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Three wins this month will have understandably built confidence in Schmidt’s squad, while the victories over Southern Hemisphere powers South Africa and Australia will drive expectation into the 2015 Six Nations and World Cup.

Ireland’s last clean sweep of the autumn Tests came back in 2006, when Ireland also reached third in the IRB world rankings. Memories of the 2007 World Cup tell Best that Ireland’s current form is no guarantee of further success next year.

“I think when you look back at the series, to beat two of the top teams and then to make a lot of changes and to really take a team like Georgia apart in the first half, maybe it didn’t show in the score, but I think we got the rewards in the second half from that.

Ireland defended doggedly in the second half. Source: Colm O’Neill/INPHO

“We have a lot of injuries, but we also played a lot of players in this autumn series and got three wins. We’re in a really good place.

“But having said that, in 2006 I was involved in a team that did something similar, won three games, and then some 11 months later at the World Cup, I think it’s an understatement to say it didn’t go according to plan.

“This is going to put a bit of pressure on us, because people are going to want to come and beat us now. But it’s a good place to be, because when people are coming to beat you it means that you’re going well and doing a lot of things right.

“It means you have to be even better every time you take the pitch now.”

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WWE NXT Live Event Results – December 7, 2018 – Fort Pierce, Florida

Posted on January 12, 2023 by bamdj

1. MJ Jenkins defeated Deonna Purrazzo
2. Brennan Williams defeated Luke Menzies
3. Wesley Blake defeated Denzel Dejournette
4. Reina Gonzalez and Aliyah defeated Chelsea Green and Jessie Elaban
5. Keith Lee defeated Punishment Martinez
6. The Street Profits defeated The Forgotten Sons (Jaxson Ryker and Steve Cutler)
7. Triple Threat Match
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Ulster team pay their respect to Irish rugby giant Jack Kyle at Thomond Park

Posted on January 10, 2023 by bamdj

TONIGHT’S DERBY BETWEEN Munster and Ulster was marred in the build-up by the passing of Jack Kyle, the out-half on Ireland’s first Grand Slam-winning team.

There was a respectful minute silence before kick-off where the two teams paid their respect to Kyle.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Here’s hoping for a game that does Kyle’s memory justice.

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