Northern Ireland, Billy Bingham, and a life less ordinary
They weren't going to turn that around after Kosovo scored two goals within 20 minutes yesterday. Ian Baraclough, the manager of the Green and White Army, has lost three of 19 games in charge. Baraclough went on to say that Paddy McNair, who was injured on the morning of the game, would have made a difference. We held it up to the light and looked at it from various angles.
Norn Iron has played 13 Nations League matches and has not won a match. They are taking a brave and principled stance of Irish unity, with the Republic's record in Uefa's waste of time just as bad: no wins in 12 for Stephen Kenny. Norn Iron's record isn't great and they are eight points off the pace set by Greece, and five shies, having gone into group K22 as top seeds. Baraclough still believes that the home crowd will be all in behind the team, not a problem, but what can anyone expect when you are going into battle without a defensive linchpin? Paddy, get well soon.
The plight of Norn Iron is something of a downer, but it shows how great the achievements of Billy Bingham were back in the 1980s. It was announced this morning that the brilliant Bingham has passed away at the ripe old age of 90. He played for Norn Iron in the World Cup in 1959 and was part of the team that won the FA Cup that year. He also played for Linfield in 1971 and was part of the team that won a quadruple.
It was his time in charge of Norn Iron that sticks out to me the most. The high point of Bingham's career was that he led his country to the 1982 and 1986 World Cup, where they were beaten by Spain in the finals. All the time with a pipe. A master tactician and a gentleman, here is hoping he has a quick glance down at Windsor on Sunday to inspire his countrymen one final time.
Live on the big website.
Scott Murray will be giving goal updates from all the Nations League matches.
The day's Quote of the day.
What are you up to? It is Série D. Man, do you need money? Did you lose all of your cash? Elano got his chat on with Thiago Rabelo and talked about his time as a coach in Brazil's lowest division, where he got a warm reception from fans. He loved playing for the real lords.
In Campinas, So Paolo State, Elano posed in front of some shrunken goals. Gabo and The Guardian.
The letters are numbered five.
How dare you make me cry reading your letter. Yesterday's letter from Brian Robson made me want to drink from a container. Beautiful moments like this will disappear if you succeed in your campaign against football.
Wouldn't it be nice if clubs gave over their shirt sponsorship to a social action initiative aimed at reducing poverty instead of cozying up to online gambling firms?
I have always found football odd, andNoble Francis' comment about managers being foolishly awarded contract extensions after a big win highlighted that. A longer contract is the reward for a good job. The reward for being rubbish is to be sacked immediately. There have been payouts from Man Utd, Spurs, and Real Madrid. Maybe The Fiver should look at football management for its next job.
Find someone who looks at you in the same way that he looks at the other person. Is it really? Do you still not understand who your readers are? It's never gonna happen. Excellent article about a club legend by the way.
You can send your letters to the boss. You can always follow The Fiver on the internet. John Gregory is the winner of today's prizeless letter.
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Receive the latest Football Weekly Extra. Barry, Max, and the Pod squad are going back on tour soon. There are tickets remaining for live shows in June and July.
The team news has been released. The Guardian.
There are news, information, and books.
Uefa defended the decision of its two most senior executives to leave Paris early to watch the Championship playoff final at Wembley.
The takeover of Derby has been delayed. Chris was given until Friday afternoon to prove that he is in a position to complete the deal. Apparently, the EFL is disappointed. Still, at least there is someone else waiting in the wings in the form of MikeAshley. The disaster was avoided in that case.
The transfer window in the premier league is officially open and it is sucking souls into a parallel dimension of exit doors, war chests, and come-and-get-me pleas The latest is that Sonny Perkins is being pursued by a number of teams, with West Ham unwilling to meet the youngster's wage demands.
The signing of Kadeisha Buchanan has been completed by the club. She has won five times the Women's Big Cup and Division 1 Féminine.
Kadeisha Buchanan is getting her picture taken. The picture was taken by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC.
The men's and women's player of the year awards have been handed out, with Sam Kerr winning the women's award.
Danny Drinkwater is no longer with the club.
Do you still want more?
For the summer, our men's and women's transfer interactives are up and running.
Suzanne Wrack has talked about her experiences growing up as a football fan and how the revolution in women's football has changed her life.
There is a lovely illustration too. Luis Mendo is the illustrator for The Guardian.
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37 years old!
