Warner fires Ashes jibe at England's Root
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Premier League 2025-26 preview No 4: Brentford
Guardian writers' predicted position: 18th (NB: this is not necessarily John Brewin's prediction but the average of our writers' tips) Last season's position: 10th The summer has seen Brentford transformed from established and admired club to being the enigma they once arrived in the Premier League as. If anything, even less is known about what awaits them than back in 2021. The departure of Thomas Frank removed the club's public face, someone who embodied and fronted the rise of one of London's smaller concerns. Without him, uncertainty is unavoidable. Frank was a huge asset to the club, bordering on irreplaceable and so, Brentford must do things differently, as always under the club's idiosyncratic majority ownership. There is heavy trust in the process that benefactor Matthew Benham employed to establish Brentford, while Phil Giles is a highly respected sporting director, at the club for over a decade. The pair met in a different sphere, the world of sporting statistics for betting purposes. Their great gamble this summer is to replace Frank with a rookie manager in Keith Andrews, appointed from within. Many external punters now fancy Brentford for the drop. Success or failure will come via those processes. Frank took three key members of staff in Justin Cochrane, Chris Haslam and Joe Newton to Tottenham. Another assistant, Claus Nørgaard, has also departed. The playing staff will also look markedly – and for fans, almost certainly worryingly – different. Manchester United were shaken down for the full valuation of Bryan Mbeumo while Yoane Wissa has agitated to follow his partner out the door, too. If those two were the biggest-name departures then further on-field leadership has exited in the club captain, Christian Nørgaard, the veteran centre-back Ben Mee and Mark Flekken, the popular, underrated goalkeeper. A very different Brentford will greet opponents next season, with the ex-Liverpool pair Jordan Henderson and Caoimhin Kelleher immediately becoming the most widely recognised players at a freshly unknown quantity in whom fans are asked to keep the faith. Keith Andrews is new in the job but he's not an unfamiliar face, having enjoyed a lengthy media career since his retirement from playing. Last season, Brentford fans became used to the sight of Andrews on the sidelines as Frank's set-piece coach. Kieran McKenna, the Ipswich manager, was on the list of possibles, as was the departed Cochrane for another inside appointment. In late June, Andrews, with little frontline managerial previous beyond spells as assistant at MK Dons and then the Republic of Ireland, was plumped for. He has huge shoes to fill, even if he does have the bountiful hair to match his beloved predecessor. The summer of great change continued in July when Benham cashed out a minority stake of around 25%, for a deal valuing Brentford around £400m. The new minority owners are the South Africa-based UK businessman and former Autoglass chief executive Gary Lubner and the film mogul Sir Matthew Vaughn, behind such films as Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Kick-Ass and Layer Cake. Vaughn is also Mr Claudia Schiffer. Benham had been seeking new investment since late 2023, and the pair have paid £100m for their share of his Best Intentions Analytics holding company. Vaughn has revealed he previously considered buying in 25 years ago, when 'it would have been much cheaper'. The chief executive, Jon Varney, and Giles will, though, continue to run the club day to day. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion At 35, Jordan Henderson still has plenty to prove. There are doubts over his candidacy to be a member of Thomas Tuchel's England squad after ill-starred, and controversial, moves to Saudi Arabia and Ajax. If many expected a return to his Sunderland roots, Henderson chose London, there perhaps being little coincidence he is within easy reach of a Tuchel scouting trip. Henderson, as a Premier League-winning captain, brings huge experience, the type of leadership a club shorn of key personnel might seek. But has he the legs to play the all-out pressing style Brentford favoured under Frank and highly likely to continue under Andrews? Michael Kayode's loan move from Fiorentina was made permanent in May for a fee of £17.5m, after 12 impressive Premier League appearances. The Italy Under-21 international showed off his promise during that short window, including a rampaging overlapping right-back's performance in a 4-3 May victory over Manchester United that showed off Frank's team at its risk-and-reward best. 'He was very strong,' said the departed manager of a powerhouse performance from a player who has assimilated well into the Bees' culture. 'An easy decision,' said Giles once the move was made permanent. Kayode's long throws represent a considerable addition to the already dangerous set-piece repertoire Brentford can boast. Fábio Carvalho is another, though perhaps forgotten, ex-Liverpool player within the Brentford squad, someone who fell victim to the spate of injuries that denied Brentford's push for Europe last season. Like Igor Thiago, the club-record signing striker whose first season was wrecked by a knee injury, a shoulder injury robbed the 22-year-old of the final three months of 2024-25. Both Thiago and Carvalho will represent near-new additions to Brentford's squad. West London, when at Fulham, is where Carvalho played the best football of his career though admittedly at Championship level. Frank never quite harnessed the Portugal Under-21 player signed for £27.5m a year ago. 'The new coaches have been great – full of energy, fresh ideas,' Carvalho said during his club's pre-season training camp.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The Knox Grammar curse: As an old boy is accused of the unthinkable, we reveal the scandals the private school wants you to forget - and the horror story that made Kyle Sandilands tear up his son's application
Tucked away in Sydney 's leafy Wahroonga, Knox Grammar is one of Australia's most prestigious schools - home to rugby stars, old money and generations of tradition. It's the kind of place where blazers are pressed, surnames carry weight and relationships are formed that can last a lifetime.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Fate of Victoria Park stadium in doubt after Indigenous group called for the Brisbane site to be protected
The fate of a 63,000-seat Olympic stadium is hanging in the balance after an Indigenous group lodged a long-term protection order on the site. The Yagara Magandjin Aboriginal Corporation (YMAC) on Tuesday asked the federal government to block the massive construction in Victoria Park in central Brisbane. YMAC claimed the park was one of the city's 'most significant' First Nations sites. If the application is successful, the Queensland Government would have to find a new location for the centrepiece of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Victoria Park is managed by Brisbane City Council, but new state legislation last month determined Olympic venues are exempt from heritage and planning laws. YMAC spokeswoman and Yagarabul elder Gaja Kerry Charlton told the ABC the park, which has the Indigenous name Barrambin, is significant to local Aboriginal people. 'Barrambin is living Country. We know this place is of great significance and history. It was a complete shock when the premier came out with his stadium plans,' she said. 'We are very concerned there are ancient trees, artefacts and very important ecosystems existing there. There may be ancestral remains.' YMAC lodged the protection order application under Section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act (ATSIHP). The act allows the Commonwealth to prevent damage to 'significant Aboriginal areas' and would overrule the new state law. Yagara elder Uncle Steven said Victoria Park should be protected as there were 'not many places left around south-east Queensland that still contain that significance in cultural heritage'. 'If that [stadium] goes ahead, we lose part of our history. It's not only First Nations history, it's Australia's history, Brisbane's history,' he said. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water confirmed it is reviewing the YMAC's application. Save Victoria Park spokeswoman Sue Bremner questioned why Indigenous groups were opposing the Olympic stadium when Victoria Park was previously used as a golf course, rifle range and encampment for WWII American soldiers. 'The park has grown up with Brisbane, and it's gone through various stages,' Ms Bremner told 4BC Radio. 'One thing about a golf course is that it doesn't change the topography as much. The ridges where the First Nations people camped for thousands of years are still there. 'That is not going to be the case if this stadium build goes ahead.' A spokeswoman for the state government, led by Premier David Crisafulli, said it was committed to 'ensuring the Games deliver a generational infrastructure legacy'. 'The new laws provide a bespoke process that recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage matters - incorporating engagement, consultation with relevant parties and preparation of a cultural heritage management plan,' she said. The Federal Government in July pledged $3.4billion in funding for the Queensland Government for the Games Venue Infrastructure program. Combined funding resulted in a total of $7.1billion to be used on delivering 17 new or upgraded sporting venues across Queensland. The stadium planned for Victoria Park is set to host the Games' opening and closing ceremonies. Several athletic events would also be held at the venue. Several Queensland teams - including Brisbane Lions, Brisbane Heat and Queensland Bulls - have expressed interest in the stadium as their homeground after the Games.
