Reweloae

The Guardian - * Bale in squad for World Cup qualifiers after return from injury * Page: ‘Gareth is exactly where we thought he should be’ Gareth Bale is “raring to go” and on course to win his 100th cap for Wales after being named in Robert Page’s squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Belgium. Bale has been out since 8 September after sustaining what was described by Page as a “significant hamstring tear”. But the Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti, says the forward may be involved in the La Liga match against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday and Page has named the 32-year-old in a 28-man squad for Wales’s vital double-header. Bale would become only the second Welshman to reach 100 caps after Chris Gunter, who achieved the feat in March. Continue reading...

The Guardian - Athletic’s captain sought out goalkeeper after late equaliser in a gesture that symbolised why this rivalry is like no other When the final whistle went at the end of the Basque derby, Iker Muniain embraced the referee and then made his way through the noise and the rain straight to Alex Remiro. By the time he got there, Iñaki Williams was already hugging the goalkeeper and soon more Athletic players came to comfort him. The clock had shown 90.47 when Remiro made the mistake that cost his team victory and there was little consolation, just a lost expression, but that didn’t stop them trying. “I tried to raise his spirits, give him affection, tell him it it’s OK, it doesn’t matter,” Muniain said, standing pitchside still catching his breath. Muniain and Alex Remiro are not teammates, not any more. Remiro is the Real Sociedad goalkeeper, Muniain the Athletic captain whose shot had just raced past him and into the net to make it 1-1 at the end of a wet, wild night. And i

The Guardian - Like this? Forward it to your friends and they can sign up here If you stick a ferret down your trousers it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise when it nips your crown jewels, so it’s no great shock that Tottenham’s appointment of a conservative, counter-attacking manager did not lead to them playing the kind of liquid football all involved with the club were hoping to see after the departure of José Mourinho. Continue reading...

The Guardian - * Manager preparing to face Atalanta in Champions League * Solskjær says he has ‘players to play many different systems’ Ole Gunnar Solskjær conceded “one swallow does not make a summer” after Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Tottenham, and said criticism fuels his drive for success. The Norwegian’s job was in the balance after United’s 5-0 humiliation by Liverpool yet Solskjær survived and responded by leading his team to Saturday’s emphatic victory in north London. Yet with United at Atalanta for Tuesday’s fourth Champions League Group F match before hosting Manchester City on Saturday in the Premier League, Solskjær knows United must put a string of displays together. Continue reading...

The Guardian - Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson and Jordan Jarrett-Bryan to discuss Manchester City and Liverpool dropping points at home – before they react (mid-pod) to Tottenham’s sacking of Nuno Espírito Santo Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. We begin at the Etihad, as Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace produced one of the shocks of the season so far to beat champions Manchester City by two goals. Why did we all underestimate the former Arsenal midfielder’s managerial credentials? And is this result a blip for Pep’s men, or maybe indicative of a wider issue? Continue reading...