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Ricky Hatton funeral: ‘Saint of Manchester’ remembered as city prepares for farewell

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Rock band Oasis, who Hatton adored and would later befriend, were building on Manchester's reputation as a capital of the music world.Manchester United were dominating English football.Hatton was playing his part in the ring and also giving his Manchester City-supporting backers something to cheer while their team struggled in the Red Devils' shadow.In the city centre, a new venue opened and staged a Torvill and Dean performance on its opening night."It was fortunate that they built the Manchester Arena when they did," said Speak of the indoor venue that welcomed its first customers in 1995.This is where Hatton had 15…

England vs Wales: Striker Ollie Watkins set to start in absence of Harry Kane

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England head coach Thomas Tuchel is poised to hand striker Ollie Watkins his first international start since November in the friendly against Wales on Thursday night.Captain Harry Kane is unavailable after picking up a foot injury while playing for Bayern Munich at the weekend - but hopes to be fit to face Latvia in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier.It is understood Watkins is in line to replace England's record scorer as the lone centre-forward for the visit of Craig Bellamy's side to Wembley.The Aston Villa striker has been a regular in the England set-up since his debut in March 2021, but…

Manchester United: Bruno Fernandes not interested in move to Saudi Pro League

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Bruno Fernandes has no interest in moving to the Saudi Pro League at the end of the season, BBC Sport understands.The Portugal midfielder rejected huge offers from Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad last summer in order to stay at Manchester United.Sources close to the United skipper have completely rejected recent suggestions he is ready to quit Old Trafford after the World Cup next summer and accept a Saudi offer.BBC Sport has been told that is not the case and Fernandes, whose United contract runs to 2027, with the option of an additional year, is only interested in playing in major European leagues.As…

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner: Are tennis courts being slowed to aid superstars?

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Bates was on tour between 1980 and 1996. He rarely played on a slow court."In that period of time, there were two completely separate tours," he explained."You had all the players who played on the clay, and then you had everyone else who played on the fast courts and the only time you would see the clay court players would be at the French [Open] and the only time we would see them would be at Wimbledon and the other Slams."All the indoor courts we played on were super slick. It was a question of how quick you could get…

England v Wales: We want to test ourselves against the best – Ben Davies

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Davies has played against England three times, including a 2-1 loss at Euro 2016 - a result that still rankles."The 2016 one, it still hurts the last-minute goal to concede, but in that one we were playing a game more result-dependent," he said."We're very lucky in this team that we have incredible guys all across the board, players that come in, players that maybe don't play every single time but show their best foot every time they come in."It's just a fun environment to be around. We enjoy each other's company on the pitch, off the pitch. It feels like…

World Grand Prix: Luke Humphries and Gary Anderson into quarter-finals

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World number one Luke Humphries moved into the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix in Leicester with a comfortable 3-1 win over Krzysztof Ratajski.Humphries, 30, was champion in 2023 and runner-up last year, and reached the last eight after a half-time adjustment - hitting six 180s and averaging 95.58 at the 'double in, double out' tournament.He said: "I went off at the break and said to myself 'you must be doing something different because you don't play like this usually'."So I slowed my throw down and I started hitting the trebles. On the practice board I am hitting everything and…

Maya Le Tissier: Is it time for Man Utd ‘rock’ to start for England?

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Manchester United coach Marc Skinner was quick to shut down an obvious line of questioning around his match-winner Maya Le Tissier after the club's Champions League debut."Your next question is probably 'should she start for England'," he said. "I am not here to answer that."Despite becoming one of the most consistent defenders in the Women's Super League, making a record 71st consecutive appearance in last week's 1-1 draw with Chelsea, central defensive anchor Le Tissier has had limited exposure at international level.Marshalled by Le Tissier, United had the WSL's second-best defence last season, conceding just 16 goals in 22 games.The…

England will be ‘underdogs’ at World Cup – Thomas Tuchel

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He was handed an 18-month contract, with the primary goal of leading England to World Cup glory."If you've never won Wimbledon, you may be one of the favourites but you are not the favourite," Tuchel said."You can go and if you come close, OK, you are within the pool, but you are not the favourite. It is just how it is."There is Brazil, there is Argentina, Spain, France and they just did it recently."It doesn't mean we have no chance and we know very well. First we will qualify and then we will know exactly why we go there."Tuchel gets…

Cole Palmer: Chelsea forward expected to be out until November with persistent groin injury

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Chelsea forward Cole Palmer is expected to be out of action until November following a club meeting about his persistent groin injury.The 23-year-old has faced recurring issues since the injury emerged during a shortened two-week pre-season that followed his starring role in Chelsea's Club World Cup victory in July.It has limited him to just four appearances across all competitions this season.Palmer was substituted after 21 minutes in Chelsea's 2-1 defeat at Manchester United on 20 September, and afterwards manager Enzo Maresca said the club would "protect" the England international with a period of rest to ensure his recovery after the…

Harry Kane injury: England captain to miss Wales friendly

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With Thursday night's game a friendly and World Cup qualification looking likely, Kane's injury is not a major issue for Tuchel.But England's reliance on Kane is obvious. The captain has scored a record 74 goals in his 109 caps, with the rest of the current squad scoring 53 between them.Kane has scored 26.4% of all England goals since his debut in 2015, with Raheem Sterling - last capped during the 2022 World Cup - the only other player to score 20 goals in that time.In Tuchel's squad the most obvious candidate to step up on Thursday is Aston Villa's Ollie…