Queen For You created a deep impression when scoring on debut at Ascot but now faces a real fight to wear the crown at York on Friday, as a stellar cast has assembled for the Oaks Farm Stables Fillies’ Stakes.
John and Thady Gosden’s daughter of Kingman is out of Fallen For You – a Coronation Stakes winner for the Clarehaven yard – and is a half-sister to six-time Group winner Glorious Journey, so is clearly bred to be a smart operator.
The manner of her two-length success, in what appeared a decent maiden, suggests she is on track to become an above-average filly herself.
She is pitched into Listed company for just her second start, a path taken by her training team in the past, including last year when they saddled the runner-up Grande Dame.
Thady Gosden said: “She won nicely first time out at Ascot and was a little green, which she was entitled to be
“She seems to have come forward for the run and although it is a big jump up into Listed company, we’d be hopeful. It is a much more competitive race and a step up in class, but we hope she will do herself justice.”
Equally impressive in her first start was Charlie Appleby’s Silver Lady, who romped the best part of four lengths clear of the opposition at Newmarket last month.
The form of that race was given a timely boost when the third scored at Beverley earlier this week and the daughter of Sea The Stars, who is out of Group One winner Lumiere, looks packed with potential ahead of this contest, better known as the Michael Seely Memorial Fillies’ Stakes.
Appleby said: “Silver Lady was impressive on her debut at Newmarket and came out of the race well.
“We feel that this is the right next step to test her credentials ahead of the summer.”
Sir Michael Stoute won this 10 years ago with Pavlosk, and looks to repeat the dose with Stormy Sea, who built on an encouraging Kempton bow at two when returning to the track at Haydock recently.
A half-sister to the Freemason Lodge handler’s Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge, she surged over four lengths clear in her first try over a mile at the Lancashire track and now Ryan Moore takes over in the saddle.
“I haven’t ridden her on the track but she clearly did it very well on her return at Haydock and I’d expect this half-sister to Bay Bridge to be featuring here,” the jockey told Betfair.
“That said, it is clearly a very competitive race full of similarly unexposed fillies of potential, so I imagine a few will be fancying their chances.”
Representing Jessica Harrington, Sounds Of Heaven brings smart form from Ireland to the table, while Ralph Beckett’s Juliet Sierra has to concede 5lb to all rivals following her victory in the Group Three Dick Poole Stakes at two. She is the most experienced runner in the field and also the only one to run in Group One company.
“It’s an extremely hot race and the initial plan with Juliet Sierra was to go to the 1000 Guineas and we were just not happy with her scope the week before, so we gave her a quiet week the week of the Guineas,” said Barry Mahon, racing manager for owners Juddmonte.
“To be honest, options are few and far between and she carries a penalty for her Group Three win at Salisbury last year.
“You would prefer to be running a nice filly like her without a penalty and maybe starting off at seven (furlongs) and working up to a mile, but when you go through the programme book, it was hard to find a race.
“We’re starting there, she’s fit and well and a filly we like. I wouldn’t be confident giving a penalty to some of the fillies in that race, like the Appleby and Gosden fillies, but she is a nice filly and we’re hopeful she will run a nice race.”
Owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum is well represented with both Kevin Ryan’s Glenlaurel and Andrew Balding’s Clochette lining up in the yellow silks with black spots, while William Haggas is another double-handed in the contest as he saddles both the reappearing Newmarket two-year-old winner Orchid Bloom and eye-catching Newbury maiden scorer Fakhama.
Connections have high hopes for the latter, with Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell, saying: “She is nice. She won first time at Newbury. She is very well bred – a beautiful filly. I’ll be disappointed if she doesn’t go on.”
Domingo Miotti has won the race to start for Glasgow in the number 10 jersey in Friday’s EPCR Challenge Cup final against Toulon.
The 26-year-old Argentina international will make his ninth start for Warriors in Dublin as the replacement for the suspended Tom Jordan.
Stafford McDowall stepped back to deputise for Jordan following his red card in the BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-final defeat by Munster but the centre has had to make do with a place on the bench at the Aviva Stadium.
Miotti has been preferred to kicking specialist Duncan Weir in the vacant stand-off position.
Hooker Fraser Brown has been handed a start days after signing a new one-year contract, with Johnny Matthews dropping to the bench.
JP du Preez replaces Richie Gray in the second row, Sione Vailanu is in for Rory Darge in the back row while centre Huw Jones is also back in the starting line-up.
Head coach Franco Smith said: “This week’s training has been highly competitive, with every player putting their hand up for selection and pushing each other forward.”
Amo Racing have been in blistering form in two-year-old contests this term and hold an ultra-strong hand in the Clipper EBF Marygate Fillies’ Stakes that kicks off the action at York on Friday.
Two Dominic Ffrench Davis-trained runners feature in this Listed event, with Persian Dreamer leading the charge on the back of a blistering display at Newmarket on debut and Nottingham scorer Treasure Storm providing able support.
Three fillies have done the Marygate/Queen Mary double in the past and this could prove the perfect stepping stone to Royal Ascot for Persian Dreamer, who is not only of warm order for this contest, but also the market leader for the Queen Mary itself.
“We think Persian Dreamer is a very classy filly and I think she has a standout chance in the race,” said Ffrench Davis.
“There are one or two obvious dangers. I think the Richard Hannon horse (Gaiden) will come on a lot for her debut at Windsor, she looked a nice type there and we have a little bit of a line through the form with Always Love You who was fourth that day.
“She was very impressive at Newmarket and has come on well since then. We are looking towards Ascot with her but this is a stepping stone and hopefully she can get the job done.”
He went on: “Treasure Storm has done nothing wrong. She was a little bit green on her first start and then improved on that to win at Nottingham, but we don’t think she is in the same league as Persian Dreamer. We would love it if she could run into a place.”
Karl Burke saddled the one-two in this 12 months ago and saddles two classy prospects as he attempts to repeat the dose.
One of the Spigot Lodge duo is the Middleham Park Racing-owned Got To Love A Grey who created a deep impression when scorching to a six-length success at Nottingham last month.
“She was very impressive at Nottingham, she was drawn out wide there and did everything Sam (James, jockey) asked of her and and was very impressive at the end,” said Middleham Park’s Mike Prince.
“It’s a sharp five furlongs at York and we do think she will step up to six furlongs at some point. It looks a very warm race with some decent fillies in it – I think it’s a very decent renewal and a strong affair.
“It’s interesting because it’s probably the first two-year-old race for the fillies that brings all the form lines together, so it will be interesting to see who is on the right form lines, but she couldn’t have done any more at Nottingham and hopefully goes there with every chance.”
Meanwhile, stablemate Dorothy Lawrence represents last year’s winning owners Clipper Logistics, but has just over three lengths to find with Persian Dreamer from when they met on the Rowley Mile earlier in the campaign.
Ryan Moore takes over in the saddle now and told Betfair: “I think she probably bumped into a good one when beaten at Newmarket last month, but she clearly shaped very well there and hopefully she can improve a good deal for it.”
Rod Milman’s Beenham built on her debut at Bath when accounting for a decent cast at Goodwood recently, while Richard Hannon’s Gaiden bumped into a useful looking rival when runner-up at Windsor and can be expected to take a step forward now.
Similar sentiments also apply to Tierney who finished an encouraging fourth when pitched into the Lily Agnes at Chester for her first start and trainer Hugo Palmer is keen to see if the speedy daughter of Mehmas can better that first racecourse effort on ground which will suit his filly much better this time.
He said: “She’s very much a filly for the here and now, she’s a speedy filly.
“She ran really well in the Lily Agnes taking on unpenalised winners, so it was a really good effort.
“The ground was much too soft for her at Chester, but I thought she ran a really encouraging race, although she will obviously need to step forward on that in stakes company.”
Bellarchi (Grant Tuer), Callianassa (Brian Ellison) and Miss Woo Woo (Robert Cowell) complete the field of 10.
Bernardo Silva is determined to right a wrong after firing Manchester City back to the Champions League final.
The Portugal playmaker struck twice as City overpowered Real Madrid 4-0 in the second leg of their semi-final on Wednesday to set up a clash with Inter Milan in next month’s Istanbul showpiece.
It marks a return to the final for City two years on from their disappointing loss to Chelsea on European club football’s top night and Silva wants to ensure the result is different this time.
The 28-year-old said: “The final of the Champions League is always an unbelievable occasion.
“I’ve only played it once and the outcome was wasn’t very happy for me. Let’s try and change that.
“We know that we play against a very tough team. I watched their game on Tuesday and they are very organised collectively.
“We’re going to study them, follow the manager’s plan once again and try to, individually and collectively, put out the best possible performance, like this one, to be as close as possible to winning that game.”
City produced one of the greatest performances in the club’s history to move a step closer to winning the competition for the first time.
Real Madrid, the holders and 14-time winners of the trophy, had no answer to City’s dizzying combination of movement, speed, strength and cutting edge.
City made a blistering start and maintained the intensity throughout. Silva put them into a thoroughly deserved lead after 23 minutes and added a second before the interval.
An Eder Militao own goal and late Julian Alvarez strike made the scoreline 5-1 on aggregate and truly reflective of their superiority. Victory could have been even more emphatic with Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois making three fine saves to deny Erling Haaland.
City’s display ensured sweet revenge for their loss to the same opponents in the semi-finals last year.
“I’m very happy because the performance was amazing,” Silva said. “From minute one, the pressure that we put on Real Madrid’s defence – we pushed them back and we created lots of chances.
“And with our people – the energy – we felt the momentum that we created. It helped a lot.
“The second half started in a weird way where they put us under a bit of pressure but I think the team was very resilient, very organised, and the difference from this year to last year was the chances – we created most of them. We took them and we scored the goals.”
The Champions League final could be the crowning moment of a glorious treble for Pep Guardiola’s City this season.
They will claim the first of the three trophies they are chasing if they beat Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.
Silva said: “Yes, with our people again. Hopefully we can give them another happy day and give them the special moment of winning five (Premier Leagues) in six years, which is not easy in this country.
“We’re going to rest, sleep well, eat well and prepare well to be at our best and give that happiness to them because they deserve it.”
Ben Kavanagh can still recall being hoisted onto his father’s shoulders as a four-year-old to watch his beloved Halifax play out their final seasons at Thrum Hall.
After a career that started with a Super League stint at Widnes and snaked through Wakefield and Bradford to Hull KR, the Halifax-born prop finally signed for his hometown club in 2019.
Kavanagh’s return coincided with the then second-tier side’s surge to the Challenge Cup semi-finals, including a win over Super League London Broncos, and he featured in their eventual 26-2 defeat by St Helens in Bolton.
On Friday night the 35-year-old will get his second shot at Saints when the reigning world champions head for The Shay for a sixth-round clash that Kavanagh admits will bring back plenty of happy memories.
“I’ve been a Halifax fan ever since I used to go to Thrum Hall with my dad, and even when I was playing for other clubs I’d try to get back back to watch them as often as I could,” Kavanagh told the PA news agency.
“I always said I wanted to finish my career at Halifax so it was a very special moment when I signed for them in 2019. We had a great cup run that year and we shocked ourselves a bit getting to semis and pushing Saints so hard in the first half.
“We’ve spoken about that cup run this week. We are going into the game as massive underdogs but there will be a great home crowd and it just shows that if we chuck a few things at them that they haven’t experienced before, anything could happen.”
Saints were also the opponents when Halifax claimed the latest of their five Challenge Cup wins with a thrilling 19-18 win at Wembley in 1987, 10 months before Kavanagh was born.
The club has put long-term fans like Kavanagh though every conceivable emotion in the summer era, including plunging out of Super League, teetering on the brink of the third tier, and winning a battle against potential liquidation.
Rebranded to their current Panthers in 2020, Halifax have been resurgent in recent seasons, finishing third in the Championship last season and retaining similarly strong play-off hopes in the current campaign.
A dream return to Super League with his home club may realistically come too late for Kavanagh, who also figured in the 2013 World Cup for Scotland, but he is pleased that the turbulence of the last two decades appears to be a thing of the past.
“It took a long time after their relegation from Super League to build things back up but now we’re heading in the right direction, and it’s something that’s back on the horizon,” he added.
“I remember those days at Thrum Hall when there were thousands watching, and it would be great to get back to that sort of atmosphere on a regular basis, starting on Friday night against Saints.”
Halifax are one of four Championship clubs featuring in the last 16 of the competition this weekend. Batley travel to Hull KR while London face York in a game that ensures at least one non-Super League side will reach the quarter-finals.
Jamison Gibson-Park admits the lingering pain of last year’s agonising Heineken Champions Cup final defeat to La Rochelle has fuelled Leinster’s desire for a shot at redemption.
Leo Cullen’s men are preparing for Saturday’s showpiece rematch with the French club in Dublin – 12 months on from losing to a last-gasp try in Marseille.
Scrum-half Gibson-Park concedes the disappointment of the dramatic climax at Stade Velodrome was a bitter pill to swallow.
And the Ireland international is determined to help secure a different outcome against Ronan O’Gara’s side this time around as Leinster bid to equal Toulouse’s record of five Champions Cup titles.
“It’s one of those things that’s mentioned all the time with great teams over the years, the way they use defeats and having it spur you on for the next year,” said Gibson-Park, who won the competition with his province in 2018.
“There’s probably no doubt that it has for us in getting to this point.
“When you work with a collective group to try and get somewhere and you fall at the last hurdle, it’s hard, especially when it’s like that, a few minutes from the end of the game.
“It’s tough moments in the dressing room and on the pitch afterwards.
“You live for those moments where you get to lift trophies and you enjoy those moments in the dressing room with your brothers.
“But the sombre feelings after a defeat stick with you as well.”
Leinster led for most of the 2022 final before replacement scrum-half Arthur Retiere crossed a minute from time in a 24-21 victory for La Rochelle.
A year on from a gut-wrenching trip to the south of France, the Irish club have the luxury of home advantage on this occasion.
New Zealand-born Gibson-Park says the prospect of competing for silverware at a sold-out Aviva Stadium has been a motivating factor throughout the campaign.
“Last year was obviously tough, having to go away to France and play a French team,” said the 31-year-old.
“The La Rochelle fans were out in force that day, like they always are, so I’m sure there will be a few of them that show up to the Aviva Stadium no doubt.
“It was a pretty big carrot for us at the start of the year, the fact it was going to be here in the Aviva.
“We’re looking forward to it, we’ve got the chance to be in front of our friends and family and hopefully a few home supporters.”
Leinster failed to score a try against La Rochelle last year as captain Johnny Sexton slotted six penalties before deputy Ross Byrne added another.
With talisman Sexton sidelined due to a groin injury suffered helping Ireland win the Six Nations Grand Slam, Byrne will partner Gibson-Park in the half-back positions from the start.
“Ross has played all of our games this year in the Champions Cup so I suppose we’ve adjusted a little bit to life without him (Sexton),” said Gibson-Park.
“He’s been such a big part of Leinster over the last however long it is and he’s an unbelievable player so we miss him massively.
“But I think Ross has done a pretty good job up until this point.”
Frost has delayed the start of the 105th US PGA Championship, the year’s second major, at Oak Hill in Rochester.
Play had been scheduled to get under way at 7am local time (1200 BST), but predictions of an overnight frost proved accurate.
Tournament organisers released a statement early on Thursday morning which read: “Due to frost, all Oak Hill Country Club practice facilities and the golf course are currently closed.
“To protect playing surfaces, everyone on-site must stay off any grass and gates will not open until the frost clears.
“Starting times for round one will begin approximately 1hr and 15 minutes after practice facilities open.”
The possibility of weather delays had been on the cards since the US PGA was moved from August to May in 2019, with Oak Hill having already been selected as this year’s venue.
Speaking on Tuesday, the PGA of America’s chief championships officer Kerry Haigh said: “Wherever the championship is (in May) appears as though it will bring some more variety to the weather than we’re used to having when we played in August.
“There is the possibility of a frost again on Thursday morning. We had a frost Tuesday morning. We had a couple of frosts last week. That may delay the start. Hopefully it won’t. But if it does, we’ll adapt.
“We’ve got the chance of rain on Saturday and hopefully clear on Sunday. That’s sort of the fun of golf. It’s an outdoor game and we can’t wait to see what Mother Nature brings as well.”
Manchester City moved within three wins of the treble by thrashing Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Pep Guardiola’s side need one victory from their three remaining Premier League fixtures to secure the title, while they can also win the FA Cup and Champions League by beating Manchester United and Inter Milan respectively.
City are seeking to emulate their local rivals United who achieved glory on the same three fronts under Sir Alex Ferguson in 1998-99.
Here the PA news agency compares the two sides.
Premier League
There are several parallels between this season’s title race and 1998-99.
Neither City nor United topped the table for a prolonged period until the second half of the campaign and both trailed Arsenal at various points during the run-in.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners were eight points clear of Guardiola’s side with nine games to go at the beginning of April, while Arsenal were three points ahead of Ferguson’s men with two matches remaining in 1999 – although both City and United had a game in hand.
Just as United edged out Arsene Wenger’s team with a 20-match unbeaten run, City have gone 14 Premier League games without defeat to move within touching distance of claiming a fifth title in six years.
Statistically, Guardiola’s treble-chasers have had the better season. They have amassed 85 points and scored 92 goals with three fixtures still to play, while United ended the campaign with 79 points and 80 goals scored.
Dwight Yorke top-scored for Ferguson’s side with 18 goals, which is half as many as Erling Haaland has managed for City (36).
That said, Andy Cole (17) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (12) also reached double figures for United, while only Phil Foden (10) has done so for City.
Defensively, Guardiola’s men have conceded 31 goals so far – the joint-fewest in the league alongside Newcastle. United shipped 37 goals in 1998-99, which was more than Arsenal (17), Chelsea (30) and Leeds (34).
Champions League
City topped their group ahead of Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and Copenhagen, while United finished second behind Bayern Munich but ahead of Barcelona and Brondby.
Guardiola’s side have since gone on to beat RB Leipzig, Bayern and Real Madrid over two legs, thanks mainly to crushing home wins in each tie.
Ferguson’s men had fewer rounds to negotiate in 1999 – when the Champions League was contested by 24 teams rather than 32 – but they still had to get past Inter Milan and Juventus across two legs before facing Bayern in the final.
United’s European campaign was considerably bumpier than City’s, who have scored 31 goals and conceded only five on their path to the final.
The Red Devils – by contrast – lifted the trophy having scored 29 and conceded 16.
While City are yet to concede more than once in a Champions League game this season, United were involved in several high-scoring thrillers including a pair of 3-3 draws against Barcelona in the group stage and a dramatic 3-2 comeback win against Juventus in the semi-final second leg.
FA Cup
As with the Champions League, City’s route to the final has been largely serene while United’s 1998-99 campaign was filled with trials and tribulations.
Guardiola’s team have cruised past Chelsea, Arsenal, Bristol City, Burnley and Sheffield United without conceding a goal, becoming the first side to reach the final with a perfect defensive record since Everton in 1965-66.
Meanwhile, as well as coming back from a goal down against Middlesbrough and Liverpool in rounds three and four, United needed replays to see off Chelsea in the quarter-finals and Arsenal in the semis.
The latter victory was especially dramatic, with Peter Schmeichel saving a Dennis Bergkamp penalty to keep the game at 1-1 and Ryan Giggs scoring a fantastic solo goal in extra time.
Jimmy Butler was labelled as "one of a kind" after he led the Miami Heat to a shock win over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The eighth-seeded Heat came into the series as big underdogs, while the Celtics were rated as favourites to claim this year’s NBA championship.
But despite facing a 71-59 deficit early in third quarter, Butler helped Miami to an improbable road 123-116 win.
The Heat scored a franchise playoff-record 46 points in the third quarter and outscored Boston 66-50 in the second half.
Butler had 35 points and also recorded seven assists, six steals and five rebounds. He now has five games with at least 30 points this postseason and his play has filled his teammates with confidence.
"When Jimmy's playing like that, we feel like we can play with anybody, beat anybody," Heat guard Gabe Vincent said after the game, per ESPN.
"We got a couple guys in this locker room like that, but Jimmy's one of a kind."
"It's fun [to play with him], he is one of the best players in the world for a reason," added Kyle Lowry. "It's just a joy to watch it.
"For a guy that wants it so bad and works so hard at his craft, it's important to enjoy his success. He gives us all the confidence to be successful and be aggressive and be assertive.
"That's what makes him special, that it's not all about him. He's about our group and our team and everyone else."
For Butler, who is hoping to lead Miami to the NBA Finals for a second time, the trust he is shown by all areas of the franchise is proving key.
He said: "We know that Coach [Erik Spoelstra] puts so much confidence and belief in each and every one of us. Coach Pat [Riley] as well.
"Our circle is small, but the circle got so much love for one another. We pump constant confidence into everybody.
"I'm playing at an incredible level because they are allowing me to do so. They are not putting a limit on my game. They are trusting me with the ball and on the defensive end.
"I think that's what any basketball player wants. That's what anybody wants out of life is just to be wanted, be appreciated and just let you go out there and rock.
"I really feel as though with anything in life, if you get the opportunity and you have the belief that my teammates, my coaches, Coach Pat, ownership have in me to kind of lead the charge, along with Bam [Adebayo] right now, anything is possible.
"We go out there and we hoop and we play basketball the right way, knowing that we've always got a chance.
"We don't care if you pick us to win. We never have. We never will."
Adebayo supported Butler with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Lowry, Vincent, Caleb Martin and Max Strus all scored 15 points each.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points but did not take a shot in the fourth quarter and Boston are now 4-4 at home in the playoffs ahead of Game 2 on Friday.
"I don’t know why," said Tatum. "You’ve still got to play the game, you've got to make plays, regardless of whether you’re home or away."
Marcus Smart, who had 13 points and a game-high 11 assists, added: "The only thing we need to adjust to is picking up our physicality and playing some damn defense.
"They didn't change anything from the first half that they weren't doing, they just upped their physicality and that's it. That's the only thing they switched.
"There's nothing tactical, X's and O's, it's just come out and guard your yard. They scored 46 in that third, and they got going, and they made us pay, and they led into the fourth quarter."
Dual Breeders’ Cup winner Modern Games tops 13 contenders for Saturday’s Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.
Winner of the Juvenile Turf in 2021 and the Mile last term, Modern Games has also tasted Group One success in France and Canada, but will be shooting for a first British win at the highest level.
The John and Thady Gosden-trained Laurel is one of his main rivals at the Berkshire track, having finished a narrow second in the Sun Chariot last year and opened with an easy Listed verdict on Kempton’s all-weather surface last month.
My Prospero represents William Haggas and he will be having his first run since finishing third in the Champion Stakes at Ascot in the autumn.
Jadoomi finished third on his first attempt at Group One company in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and he returns for Simon and Ed Crisford, while Mutasaabeq arrives on the back of a fine front-running success in the bet365 Mile at Newmarket at the start of the month.
Light Infantry was third in that event for David Simcock and reopposes, as does William Knight’s fourth-placed Checkandchallenge.
Richard Hannon is double-handed with Chindit and Lusail, first and fourth in the Paradise Stakes at Ascot recently.
Berkshire Shadow, Jumby, Triple Time and The Wizard Of Eye complete the line up, with Angel Bleu and Cash the only horses not declared.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s trophy-laden reign at Manchester United was illuminated by his often fiery rhetoric.
From withering put-downs to sparkling praise, the Scot produced many an apposite phrase and created a catalogue of memorable quotes.
Ten years on from his final match at the helm (May 19, 2013), the PA news agency takes a look at some of the most notable.
On challenging times
“My greatest challenge is not what’s happening at the moment, my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their f***ing perch. And you can print that.”
On Manchester City’s emergence as a Premier League force
“There has been a lot of expectation on Manchester City and, with the spending they have done, they have to win something. Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour and have to live with it. You can’t do anything about them.”
On Jose Mourinho
“He was certainly full of it, calling me ‘Boss’ and ‘Big Man’ when we had our post-match drink after the first leg. But it would help if his greetings were accompanied by a decent glass of wine. What he gave me was paint-stripper.”
On Arsene Wenger
“They say he’s an intelligent man, right? Speaks five languages. I’ve got a 15-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast who speaks five languages!”
On Rafael Benitez
“I think he is very concerned about his CV. He refers to it quite a lot.”
On his bust-up with Newcastle boss Alan Pardew
“The press have had a field day. The only person they have not spoken to is Barack Obama because he is busy.”
On the incident which saw former midfielder David Beckham struck on the head by a flying boot
“It was a freakish incident. If I tried it 100 or a million times it couldn’t happen again. If I could I would have carried on playing!”
On the mind games employed by Italian teams
“When an Italian tells me it’s pasta on the plate, I check under the sauce to make sure. They are the inventors of the smokescreen.”
On seeing Ryan Giggs as a schoolboy
“I remember the first time I saw him. He was 13 and just floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind.”
On Wayne Rooney’s decision to sign a new contract
“Sometimes you look in a field and you see a cow and you think it’s a better cow than the one you’ve got in the field.”
On Real Madrid’s hopes of signing Cristiano Ronaldo
“Do you think I would get into a contract with that mob? Jesus Christ, no chance. I wouldn’t sell them a virus.”
On United’s dramatic Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich in 1999
“Football, bloody hell.”
On retirement
“The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly. It is the right time.”
On handling star players
“Superstars with egos are not the problem some people may think. They need to be winners, because that massages their egos, so they will do what it takes to win. I used to see Ronaldo, Beckham, Giggs, Scholes… practising for hours. They realised that being a Manchester United player is not an easy job.”
On his football philosophy
“Fear has to come into it. But you can be too hard; if players are fearful all the time, they won’t perform well. You play different roles at different times. Sometimes you have to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a father.”
On his supposed influence with referees
“This is a guy who has the worst record of any manager in the history of English football, fined £100,000 by them, suspended so many times. That’s some influence, I must say. It’s a little bit Walter Mitty.”
On the England manager’s job
“I don’t think the manager’s job with England is a good one. I think it’s a horrible job.”
On turning down the England job
“It took me about 10 seconds to say ‘No way’. I couldn’t manage England in a million years. Think of me going back to Scotland doing that.”
On David Beckham’s celebrity
“David is the only player I managed who chose to be famous. He thought he was bigger than Alex Ferguson.”
On his recovery from a brain haemorrhage
“I knew I was alive but, on my own, I started thinking, ‘I wonder if they’re telling me the truth?’ The operation was a success, but you’re in that loneliness. It can be frightening.”
Friday marks the 10th anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson’s last game as Manchester United manager, with the club still searching for a return to their glory days under the long-serving Scot.
Here, the PA news agency compares those years to the last decade of Ferguson’s triumphant reign.
Ferguson’s last 10 years
United won the Premier League in five of Ferguson’s last 10 years in charge, taking his total to 13 titles overall.
That included a run of three in a row from 2006-07 to 2008-09, before he added the 2010-11 title and signed off in 2012-13 with another.
They never finished outside the top three in that time, with an average league position of 1.7, and averaged 84.4 points per campaign.
His sides won 68 per cent of their league games and 66 per cent overall as they also collected three League Cups, an FA Cup and the 2007-08 Champions League title. Their 10 major trophies were supplemented by the 2008 Club World Cup and five Community Shields.
They scored an average of 1.94 goals per game and had a goal difference of +632 across their 578 games in all competitions.
The decade since
United have been through five permanent managers in the years since Ferguson’s departure, in addition to last season’s interim boss Ralf Rangnick and caretakers Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick.
Ferguson’s anointed successor David Moyes did not even make it through the first season of his six-year contract while Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also failed to bring sustained success.
Current boss Erik ten Hag has impressed in his first season in the role and offers hope the club are turning the corner, but their statistics in the last 10 years stand in stark contrast to Ferguson’s record.
Most glaring is the lack of a league title, with local rivals Manchester City instead chasing a sixth win in those 10 years, Chelsea winning two and one each for Leicester and Liverpool.
Mourinho’s 2016-17 season is the high water mark, with United winning both the League Cup and the Europa League. Ten Hag has already matched the former and will have the chance against City next month to emulate the FA Cup won in 2016 in fellow Dutchman Van Gaal’s last match in charge.
Even a pair of Community Shields can only lift the trophy count ahead of that final to six, and the club’s league record paints a similar picture.
They have gone from constantly battling for the title under Ferguson, and winning it half of the time, to a similar record in the battle simply to qualify for the Champions League.
Should Ten Hag’s side hold on to their top-four spot this season that will be five in 10 years, with an average position of 4.5 after finishing second twice, sixth on three occasions and once each in third, the fourth place they again occupy this season, fifth and seventh.
They have averaged 68.2 points over the nine completed seasons, 16 fewer than in Ferguson’s last decade. With 66 this season and three games remaining, they are at least on course to improve on that mark.
They have won 52 per cent of league games, rising to 55 per cent across all competitions, scored 1.68 goals per game and have a goal difference of +381 in 559 games.
Jimmy Butler scored 23 of his 35 points after halftime and the Miami Heat used a dominant third quarter to beat the Boston Celtics 123-116 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday.
Miami faced a 71-59 deficit early in the third quarter before using a 17-4 run to take a 76-75 lead.
Butler scored nine straight points for the Heat, capped by a 3-pointer with 1:56 left in the quarter to make it 95-87.
Malcolm Brogdon's free throw with 2:31 to play pulled Boston within 114-110 but Caleb Martin and Butler made consecutive threes to extend the lead to 120-110 with under a minute left.
Miami, which has opened all three playoff series with road victories, scored a franchise playoff-record 46 points in the third quarter and outscored Boston 66-50 after halftime.
Bam Adebayo had 20 points and eight rebounds, while Kyle Lowry, Martin, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus each scored 15 points, with three 3-pointers apiece as part of the Heat's 16-for-31 effort from long range.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points but didn't take a shot in the fourth quarter. Brown finished with 22 points and nine boards and Brogdon added 19 points.
Game 2 is Friday in Boston.
Liverpool lost to Sevilla in the Europa League final on this day in 2016 as Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of a first trophy on Merseyside were ended.
Daniel Sturridge fired Liverpool ahead on 35 minutes in Basle but the Spanish outfit rallied after the break to win 3-1 and secure a third successive triumph in the competition.
Kevin Gameiro began the fightback just 17 seconds into the second half before a double from Coke completed the turnaround for Unai Emery’s team.
Liverpool had strong claims for a penalty turned down in the first period after Daniel Carrico appeared to handle as Roberto Firmino attempted to take the ball past him.
They went in front when Sturridge flicked a fine shot beyond David Soria with the outside of his left boot.
Sevilla found a way back into the game from the restart after a ball into the box was cleared only as far as Mariano Ferreira and he squared for Gameiro to tap in.
Liverpool never regained the momentum and Coke punished them when he steered in from the edge of the area on 64 minutes.
Coke grabbed his side’s third just six minutes later, driving in from close range after the ball came to him via a deflection. Liverpool appealed for offside but to no avail.
The result meant the Reds not only missed out on a return to the Champions League but failed to qualify for European football at all from Klopp’s first campaign in charge.
Liverpool finished eighth in the Premier League that season, below Southampton and West Ham, and 21 points behind champions Leicester.
Yet, having also reached the Carabao Cup final, there had been clear signs of progress under the German, who had succeeded Brendan Rodgers the previous October.
They went on to finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League the following year.
They then reached the final of Europe’s top competition in 2018 and won it in 2019 before claiming a first Premier League title the following season.
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