Author: News Desk

Sunday Papers – ‘Starmer growth plan doomed without EU’ The Sunday newspapers continue to be dominated by the general election with Nigel Farage’s recent claims that the West provoked Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on several papers. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Farage – leader of Reform UK – has responded to the backlash. He says he is not and has never been an “apologist or supporter of Putin”. He goes on to write that he has been warning for 10 years that the West has played into President Vladimir Putin’s hands “giving him an excuse to do what he…

Wayne Rooney fears Gareth Southgate’s decision to confess the decision to deploy Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield as an ‘experiment’ will come back to haunt the England manager. The Three Lions have one foot in the last 16, but the nature of Thursday’s performance against Denmark has sparked serious concern. After somewhat fortuitously taking the lead through Harry Kane, England retreated into their collective shell, as they had done in their Group C opener against Serbia, and were punished by the impressive Danes. England were, ultimately, happy to escape with a draw that leaves them on four points ahead of their…

Gareth Southgate has suggested his England side are not fit enough to press the opposition effectively following their uninspiring start to Euro 2024. The Three Lions picked up a 1-0 win over Serbia in their Group C opener last Sunday, taking the lead through Jude Bellingham before wilting in the second-half. Harry Kane gave them an early lead against Denmark on Thursday but what followed was an alarmingly passive performance marred by careless passing, an absence of intensity and a plan to press the opposition that simply didn’t work. Morten Hjulmand’s stunning goal secured a deserved equaliser for the Danes…

Gareth Southgate finds himself under mounting pressure as England prepare for their final group match of Euro 2024 against Slovenia on Tuesday. The Three Lions limped to a dismal draw against Denmark in Frankfurt on Thursday evening in a performance devoid of any intensity, with their inability to retain possession a huge concern even at this early stage of the competition. The draw saw England miss the chance to seal qualification for the knockout stages as group winners. A win 1-0 over Serbia in their opening game means they are still in pole position to achieve that, but Tuesday’s clash…

Czech Republic and Turkey have experienced mixed starts to their Euro 2024 campaigns. The Czechs let slip a 1-0 lead over Portugal to succumb to a 2-1 defeat in the dying embers of the match. Turkey, meanwhile, prevailed with a 3-1 win in a dramatic encounter with Georgia in Dortmund which is widely being viewed as the game of the tournament so far. But amid the drama, some fans watching on TV back home would have been left confused as to why the two nations are being referred to as Czechia and Turkiye respectively at Euro 2024. Why are Czech…

Stuart Pearce fears Gareth Southgate’s decision to gamble on the fitness of Luke Shaw is likely to end in ‘disaster’. The Manchester United left-back hasn’t played a single minute of competitive football since February but still made England’s 26-man Euro 2024 squad. Shaw appears unlikely to play until the quarter-final stage, at the earliest, however, and continues to train separately to the rest of the squad in an attempt to speed up his rehabilitation. With Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell out of form and out of favour, Southgate has had little option but to deploy Kieran Trippier as a makeshift left-back which…

Gareth Southgate’s comments regarding Kalvin Phillips would have been ‘insulting’ to his England squad, Gary Lineker believes. The Three Lions are still reeling from their woeful 1-1 draw with Denmark in their second match of Euro 2024. Though England’s place in the knockouts is all but confirmed, their performances against Denmark and Serbia are extremely concerning. Midfield has been a problem area, with the pairing of Declan Rice and Trent Alexander-Arnold not working, the former looking a shadow of himself, while latter, a natural right-back, has failed to adapt to his new position. In his post-Denmark press conference Southgate suggested…

Wayne Rooney fears England manager Gareth Southgate is set to make a mistake by dropping Arsenal star Bukayo Saka at Euro 2024. Southgate is expected to make changes for England’s final group game against Slovenia on Tuesday night after two underwhelming performances against Serbia and Denmark. While Saka has been one of England’s better players in Germany, creating the assist for Jude Bellingham’s early opener against Serbia, he could be sacrificed as Southgate looks for answers in midfield. Rooney ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if Southgate dropped Saka, who was nominated for the Premier League young player of the season award last…

What I Own: We bought an ex-council property in Hackney for £400,000 Welcome back to What I Own – Metro’s property series where we speak to homeowners about getting on the ladder. For last week’s sister column, What I Rent, we visited 29-year-old Leila Davis and her wife Fleur in leafy South East London. Since moving in July 2019, they’ve transformed a tiny flat with next to no storage into a colourful dopamine dream, affectionately referred to as Casa de Modelei. This week, we’re over the river in East London, where 40-year-old James Barley and his 51-year-old partner David own a vibrant two-bedroom flat. Since buying…

Wembley Stadium train station closed for Taylor Swift’s Eras concerts Wembley Stadium train station will be closed over the weekend for the Taylor Swift Eras tour concerts to avoid overcrowding. The stadium in north-west London has capacity for 90,000 people, so it’s safe to say the area will be busy on Saturday and on Sunday. Wembley railway station is closest to the stadium, but fans will have to find other ways to travel there such as the Underground, after Chiltern Railways said its services will not stop at the stadium over the weekend. This is because Chiltern is already taking…