Gormley extends Cliftonville stay
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Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Will Wright, 17, almost caps dream Liverpool debut with an Anfield goal - just after Reds beat Arsenal to sign the forward from Salford City
New Liverpool signing Will Wright came close to making an instant impression on fans just days after signing for the club. The Premier League champions had officially announced Wright's signing from League Two side Salford City earlier on Tuesday. The Reds had confirmed the forward had already linked up with their U21s squad last week and made his debut for the team on the weekend. Wright was given a 16-minute cameo in the second of Liverpool's pre-season double header against Athletic Club on Monday, with the teenager coming on for Florian Wirtz. The forward nearly marked his first Anfield appearance with a goal just 10 minutes later. Wright skipped past a challenge inside Liverpool's half, before feeding the ball to Federico Chiesa. After sprinting forward to offer Chiesa and option to his left, Wright received the Italian's pass and attempted to bend the ball into the net. The forward was ultimately denied by the Athletic Club goalkeeper's foot, with the ball rebounding to safety. Liverpool had beaten Premier League rivals to the signing of Wright, who made four senior appearances for Salford City last season. Arsenal had agreed a £200,000 fee with Salford two weeks ago with a further £50,000 to follow across the season in achievable add-ons. Talks had been progressing well with his representatives but Liverpool, who had led the initial race for the 17-year-old, came back in at the weekend and matched Arsenal's offer. Leeds United and Rangers also made late enquiries, as did Nottingham Forest, while City, though big admirers, have already committed sizeable funds to other youth signings. Wright ultimately agreed terms on a three-year contract with Liverpool. FA Cup defeat by Manchester City in January.
The Sun
35 minutes ago
- The Sun
It's easy to forget just how good Dele Alli was – unfortunately other talented stars could soon follow his sad decline
NEWS that Dele Alli's career as an elite footballer may be over comes as no great surprise but with genuine sadness. And ever since Dele revealed the full extent of his traumatic childhood, in an interview with Gary Neville, there should only ever be empathy and understanding about the way his career has nosedived. 5 5 Yet Dele's career trajectory — five outstanding seasons, followed by a long descent — is not unusual and will become more commonplace. Because elite modern football is no country for either free spirits or troubled souls. Dele is adamant he wants to continue his career having been banished from the squad at Italian club Como after one Serie A appearance — a nine-minute cameo as a sub in March which ended in a red card. But at the age of 29 — and six years after the last of his 37 England caps — Dele is surely finished at the top level. An increasing number of players burn brightly for a short period of time before they either implode or suffer serious downturns. From Dele's generation of England players alone, Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling, Jesse Lingard, Ross Barkley, Jadon Sancho and Harry Winks were all regular internationals who, for various reasons, have struggled to last the course. The intensity of the modern game, with its demand for extreme athleticism and utter mental dedication, means that those like Harry Kane, who play at the top for ten or 15 years, are going to become the exception rather than the rule. Add in the increasingly congested fixture list for leading players — the nonsense of the Club World Cup only adding to it — and many will break down physically as well as psychologically. 5 It is easy to forget quite how good a player Dele was. Not many players score 18 goals in a Premier League season from midfield, reach a World Cup semi-final and a Champions League final by the age of 23, win the PFA Young Player of the Year award as well as Match of the Day's Goal of the Season. Dele Alli hailed for opening up on mental health battles as Everton star joins Monday Night Football panel In that Neville interview, in 2023, Dele revealed he had been sexually abused as a six-year-old and was dealing drugs by the age of eight. He is estranged from both of his birth parents and was adopted by a school friend's family as a teenager and has more recently been in rehab to tackle addictions. During his early years at Tottenham, Dele was well looked-after by a supportive and tight-knit dressing room under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino. Those Spurs team-mates were hugely fond of Dele — regarded as a likeable but wayward kid rather than a bad egg. They knew many of his issues and there were many positive influences on him, especially Eric Dier. Dele's career trajectory — five outstanding seasons, followed by a long descent — is not unusual and will become more commonplace. Elite modern football is no country for either free spirits or troubled souls. Yet since Pochettino's sacking in November 2019, Dele's career has been in a downward spiral from Jose Mourinho to Everton to Besiktas to Como — and a serious renaissance now seems highly unlikely. Other elite players who have crashed and burned may also have suffered extreme personal circumstances. Others are simply not built with the one-track mind now essential to a lasting career at the top. Up until the 1990s, it was perfectly possible for elite footballers to enjoy sex and drugs and rock-and-roll lifestyles and still enjoy sustained success. Now that levels of athleticism have increased, players' lifestyles are monitored so stringently by their clubs and their chances of a sly night out are wrecked by the advent of camera phones and social media, free-spirited players like Grealish will struggle. 5 5 Nothing can be done about this trend. The internet won't be uninvented and ultra-professionalism will never go into reverse. In an ideal world, every top footballer would have the mindset and stable background of Kane. In theory, they should all be able to live like monks for 15 years and enjoy their multi-million-pound rewards once they hang up their boots. Which is all well and good until you factor in the fact they are fallible human beings, often from tough backgrounds, who are subjected to huge temptations. Being a professional footballer in the 21st century is far more lucrative, but far less fun, than it was in the 20th. Addictions suffered by elite footballers are now less likely to be booze and recreational drugs but online gambling, gaming, porn as well as sleeping pills — secretive, lonely ways to alleviate pressures and problems. Nobody is playing violins for these young multi-millionaires. But, in its move towards extreme professionalism and 365-days-a-year seasons, football will lose more wonderful players like Dele.
Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
My bulimia was a 'necessary evil', says ex Formula One ace David Coulthard
Scots Formula One star David Coulthard has revealed he saw bulimia as a 'necessary evil' as a young driver. The former McLaren, Williams and Red Bull driver said he weighed himself twice a day to make sure he was the perfect size for racing. He said just saw it as what was required for young drivers to make their way through the ranks. But eating disorder charities have warned that bulimia can cause serious health problems. Speaking to Jake Humphrey on the High Performance Podcast, Coulthard, who has worked as a pundit since retiring in 2008, said: I didn't see it as a pressure. I saw it as a necessary thing to make weight. 'Jockeys, we're familiar with jockeys having to do saunas and whatever to lose the body weight to do the event they're doing. Boxers, I'm sure there's others. Gymnasts I assume. 'Just dysmorphia. They don't see in the mirror what they feel is a reflection of them as an individual. 'I would step on the scales and I was a pound overweight. That was going to affect my performance. So I weighed myself twice a day as a teenager. 'Morning when I got up, completely dry. And evening before I went to bed. Then that gave me my average weight. 'And I could tell a few days out whether I was in the right area for the race weekend. 'It was more of a compromise. It was a necessary evil of which I didn't discuss with anyone. 'I just knew that if I was overweight, then whatever dinner I'd had that night was not going to stay inside me. 'When I went into cars, suddenly I was relatively light for a 17-year-old because I'd kind of starved myself through my late teens. 'And therefore I had room to grow into my body. 'It was making sure I didn't have a disadvantage, because if I was overweight, I had a disadvantage. 'An edge would have been if they didn't include a weight and I could have got even lighter. But of course you're always looking for every advantage you can.' Daniel Magson, CEO of the charity First Steps ED, said: 'It is positive to see David talk so bravely about his experience of bulimia. 'We know that every eating disorder journey is unique, and that is why it is so important to share stories and break stigma, so more people who are impacted by bulimia can reach services like First Steps ED. 'Bulimia can cause serious damage to the body. Long-term effects include damage to teeth, throat, vocal cords and gut, and it may also increase the risk of heart problems. 'That is why early intervention is so important for anyone struggling with an eating disorder or with weight concerns. Our team offers support tailored to where you are on your recovery journey.' Mr Coulthard won 13 F1 races in his career and finished second in the drivers' standings in 2001, behind Michael Schumacher.
