EXCLUSIVE Man United's biggest loss this summer: Insiders reveal the huge hole left by Nick Cox's Everton move, how he transformed United's academy and the reason every player's parents will miss him
Even as late as this week, Nick Cox was keen to confine talk of his exit to as small a circle as possible.
After nine years at Manchester United, Cox is heading for a new challenge at Everton where the prospect of becoming technical director and getting the scope to map out a brighter future for the Toffees was simply too good a role to turn down.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
24 minutes ago
- Reuters
Joint saves four match points to claim Eastbourne title
EASTBOURNE, England, June 28 (Reuters) - Australia's Maya Joint saved four match points before beating Alexandra Eala 6-4 1-6 7-6(10) to win the Eastbourne title in a gripping final on Saturday. Four times Eala, the first player from the Philippines to reach a WTA Tour final, was a point away from victory in the final-set tiebreak but Joint dug deep to prevail. The 19-year-old Joint showed tremendous resilience to stay alive and when she earned her second match point at 11-10 made no mistake, drilling a backhand crosscourt winner. While it was joy for Joint who claimed her second WTA title in her last four events having also won her maiden crown in Rabat on clay, the pain was too much for 20-year-old Eala, who went off court in tears to compose herself before the ceremony. "We will definitely play in more finals," Joint said after the youngest Eastbourne final by combined age since 1981. The men's final between Americans Taylor Fritz and Jenson Brooksby was taking place later at Devonshire Park.
The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Lando Norris storms to Austrian F1 GP pole as angry Verstappen slumps to seventh
Lando Norris claimed pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix by half a second at the Red Bull Ring, beating Ferrari's Charles Leclerc into second and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri into third. It was the perfect comeback for the British driver after his disappointment at having to retire when he crashed into Piastri at the last round in Canada. Red Bull's Max Verstappen was struggling for grip and finished in seventh. Lewis Hamilton was fourth for Ferrari and George Russell fifth for Mercedes. For Norris this was just the result he required after his title hopes took a battering when he made the misjudged move against Piastri in Montreal, dropping him to 22 points behind the Australian. At the Red Bull Ring this weekend Norris had insisted his error in Canada had ultimately resulted in a positive outcome, that he and the team emerged stronger now the seemingly unavoidable clash had finally happened. That is credible but it is inescapable that misjudgments like that in Canada could cost him the title. For all the psychological compartmentalising and rationalisations, that must weigh heavy. He said in Montreal he knew he had to make fewer errors, a theme he returned to in Austria. 'I've been making more mistakes and I've been behind,' he said. 'That's been clear. It's very close between us and Oscar's certainly been a bit more comfortable than I have this season, that's the way it is and I've had to try to improve and step up more.' Certainly he did so in qualifying with a lap that was all but untouchable. Notably the McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella, said the crash would have left Norris's confidence bruised and that the team would rally round him. They are still seeking to find a way to adjust the car to suit him and their upgrades this weekend to the front aero, rear aero and, crucially for Norris, the front suspension, to improve the feel he has for the front of the car, look to have paid off. Certainly Norris looked comfortable in qualifying, which has been his achilles heel this season. In Austria, it all appeared to come together and he looked in complete control from the off. Norris had dominated the first two sessions of qualifying and while Piastri opened the running for the first hot laps in Q3, he managed only a tidy lap that was swiftly eclipsed by his teammate. Norris was quicker in all three sectors and over two-tenths up on the Australian on top of the time sheetsin 1min 04.268sec, while Verstappen struggled a six-tenths back in sixth. For the final runs Russell improved, as did Leclerc, and Piastri knew he could do better but Norris once more looked confident. The British driver went quicker still through every sector with a lap of 1:03.971, half a second up on Leclerc, an absolute chasm. A late yellow flag when Pierre Gasly spun was costly for both Piastri and Verstappen, who both had to back off, with the Dutchman, struggling all afternoon, left almost a second back. An unhappy Verstappen described his car as so lacking in grip in every type of corner that it was 'completely undriveable'. The Dutchman will be dissatisfied by the result, especially after Red Bull brought what is likely to be their last major upgrade of the season to the race with a revision to the floor of the car it was hoped would help address the balance issues that have plagued it all year. 1. Lando Norris (McLaren) 1min 03.971sec 2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:04.492 3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:04.554 4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1:04.582 5. George Russell (Mercedes) 1:04.763 6. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 1:04.926 7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:04.929 8. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) 1:05.132 9. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 1:05.276 10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 1:05.649 Q2 11. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1:05.128 12. Alex Albon (Williams) 1:05.205 13. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) 1:05.226 14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) 1:05.288 15. Oliver Bearman (Haas) 1:05.312 Q1 16. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 1:05.329 17. Esteban Ocon (Haas) 1:05.364 18. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) 1:05.369 19. Carlos Sainz (Williams) 1:05.582 20. Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) 1:05.606 All of which will also fuel further speculation about the Dutchman's future, which has already dominated this weekend, when the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, confirmed that he was once more interested in persuading the world champion to leave Red Bull and join his team. The second session was red-flagged for 10 minutes when, as had occurred in Japan earlier this season, trackside grass caught fire, ignited by the sparks from the titanium skid blocks beneath the car.
Times
33 minutes ago
- Times
Irish bookie BoyleSports takes £100m punt on UK high streets
Ireland's biggest independent bookmaker has placed a £100 million bet on Britain's struggling high streets, with plans to open hundreds of new shops. The family-owned BoyleSports, a staple on high streets in Ireland, wants to open 200 new shops and create 1,000 jobs in what its bosses say is the UK's under-appreciated market. The move comes as BoyleSports is expected to be controversially unveiled as the new front-of-shirt sponsor at the Premier League football club West Ham United. BoyleSports, which operates 390 shops across Ireland and the UK, was founded by John Boyle in 1982, who remains on the company's board as chairman. Some 70 outlets are in the UK at present. The UK expansion will be funded by its shareholders, Vlad Kaltenieks, the company's chief executive, said. The move may be viewed as counterintuitive given the retreat from the high street by the likes of William Hill, Coral and Ladbrokes in recent years as they concentrate on online gambling operations. The number of betting shops has fallen every year for the past ten years, according to the Gambling Commission, although numbers dropped by only 1.4 per cent last year. The pandemic had a profound impact: some 1,808 shops have closed since Covid-19 hit, the equivalent of one in five of the number of shops pre-lockdown. UK bookmakers have instead turned their attention to US online markets, where sports betting is being legalised on a state-by-state basis. With America expected to be the world's biggest regulated market, UK betting companies have used their online expertise to partner with American firms. Kaltenieks said that this had resulted in UK betting shops becoming an under-appreciated market. Like other firms operating in the UK, BoyleSports was fined £2.8 million by the Gambling Commission in 2020 for failing to comply with money-laundering risk assessments. Kaltenieks said that it complies with all legal requirements, and that compliance was one of the firm's priorities. It is precisely because the UK is heavily regulated that makes the new investment attractive, he added. 'The UK is one of the most exciting, well-regulated and competitive betting landscapes in the world, and we believe we offer something genuinely different to customers,' he said. 'As a family-owned, independent business, we've built a loyal customer base in Ireland by focusing on trust, service and a seamless experience and now we're rolling that approach out even more widely across the UK.' There has been speculation over a potential tie-up with West Ham United over the past few weeks. The company declined to comment on such a deal, though it is understood that the club could unveil the new sponsorship deal as early as this week. Premier League teams have agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts by the end of the upcoming 2025-26 season following a campaign by gambling industry critics.
