Centre Doherty signs new deal with Newcastle
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STV News
25 minutes ago
- STV News
'We have lofty aspirations': Kilmarnock and Kettlewell set season aims
Kilmarnock manager Stuart Kettlewell says he and his squad have 'lofty but achievable' ambitions for the upcoming league season and they aim to get off to the best possible start against Livingston on Saturday. An unusual opening weekend schedule means the match at Rugby Park is the only 3pm kick-off on Saturday and sets the ball rolling for the Premiership season. Kettlewell, who arrived as manager early in the summer to succeed Derek McInnes, has his full focus on winning his first league game in charge but has set targets for his squad to achieve over the next ten months. He won't reveal those ambitions publicly but says they are setting their sights high, and the manager says those aims are achievable. 'In league terms, I'm never going to sit here and shout my mouth off about that,'Kettlewell said. 'It's safe to say that we have our goals. 'It's safe to say that we have lofty aspirations and where we want to be. 'You know, different people, different managers, different players, I see it across the country and in other country, sometimes we want to shout our mouth off about what we're gonna be and what we're gonna do. 'As long as my players and the staff and everybody at the football club understands what that looks like, what success is, what failure looks like, and that's really all I'm concerned about. 'Sometimes those goals can shift as well. Sometimes it's a scenario where you do that a little bit better and you think that you can push boundaries. 'It's safe to say that the goals that we've set will be difficult to obtain, but we think they're also achievable.' While the long-term targets are being kept in-house, the desire for a winning start this weekend is clear and Kettlewell wants to build on a League Cup group stage where the new-look team took three wins and a draw to top their section and reach the second round. 'You always want to get off to a good start,' he said. 'I said it before the group stages that I've always been fortunate in my managerial career to win the group because that can be challenging. I think we've seen that again this year that it can be a sticky competition because of the stage of the season. 'So I always wanted to do that but you always want to get off to a good start. You always want to try and post your first win as quickly as you possibly can. 'So I think the shortest of short-term targets is to try and get your first three points on the board, as difficult as that will be.' The manager says his side will face a tough task against newly-promoted Livingston on Saturday but is happy with how the group has been during his first weeks in charge and that he has confidence they can improve and succeed as they get to know his methods. 'I think they're responding very well,' he said. 'They're very receptive, which is all I ever asked for. 'But football's football. I've said that a number of times I've got ideas and I've got ways that I believe I want a team to play and function. 'I think it's about limiting excuses. That can come from from either myself, the players, the coaches and staff, and just trying to try to make sure that we're a really competitive side. 'We know that we face a difficult task against a good Livingston side at the weekend and we'll give them every respect as we always do. With any opponent we would always do the same. 'But for me it's just constantly trying to evolve and just trying to become the best version of what we want to be.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
New Statesman
26 minutes ago
- New Statesman
The Lionesses have slain an old England
Photo by Adam Davy/Alamy On an overcast Tuesday afternoon (July 29), as 65,000 people lined the Mall to Buckingham Palace in celebration of the Lionesses Euro triumph, one thing became clear: this was not like the football gatherings of old. Gone were the crushed beer cans, roadside urination and coked-up Charlies; instead there were prams, cowgirl hats decorated with the St George's Cross, and women of all ages. There were plenty of boys and men, too: the elders who had learned to appreciate the women's game, and the young'uns native to its joys. It is a different type of game. But the joyless, systemic reasons as to why the professional women's game isn't as advanced as the men's did not bother anyone on the Mall. If there is one uncontestable truth about football, it is that there is no uniform way of experiencing, playing or enjoying it. The beautiful game would not be so beautiful if everything was the same. It survives by flexing with different contexts and audiences, grounded by the game's fundamentals. It thrives on difference – as the tempo of the Premier League differs from the National League; so does the European version of the game from the South American; as there is a complete 180-degree vibe shift between something like the Euros, compared to the Africa Cup of Nations. The women's game is just another variation. The modern personality of the women's game (which only became fully professionalised in 2018) can be seen off the field, too. Unsurprisingly, a game led by a group of people who were officially excluded from playing football for 50 years (by the FA), has a keen interest in inclusivity. That includes a wide embrace of queerness, race and culture. This was exemplified on the Mall by the appearance of the Nigerian afrobeats superstar Burna Boy, who performed alongside his die-hard fan, the England head coach Sarina Wiegman. And though this is a cleaner, family-friendly packaging of the game, there is still some bite. The exuberant Arsenal winger, Chloe Kelly, is that personified: still riding high after scoring the winning penalty for England (with a kick of the ball that clocked in at a thunderous 110 km/h), she told those gathered on the streets how 'so f*cking special' the Euros triumph is. The Mall was chosen as a royal setting for the queens of European football, but the vibrant and inclusive Englishness that the women's national team represents contrasted oddly with the palace that loomed over them – a greying, absent relic, more an uninvited uncle than a generous host. The patriotism represented by Buckingham Palace now looks dated against the national pride envisioned by Gareth Southgate and displayed by both the women's and men's national teams. Through it, in a footballing context at least, a malleable and de-toxified Englishness – one sensitivity attuned to race, class and cultural struggles – has emerged. After her winning penalty in the final, Kelly declared: 'I'm so proud to be English', and this was uncontroversial. Had she been a male player during our national team's dark period in the 1970s and 1980s, when hooliganism and racism was rife, these words would have had very different connotations. This new, more malleable form of Englishness is not the 'Cool Britannia' of the Euro '96 tournament, a cultural celebration which was co-opted by politicians, most notably Tony Blair. The power and pervasiveness of sport to connect otherwise disparate groups of people hasn't waned, but there is less room in this movement for Royals in hospitality boxes and celebratory Downing Street visits. Keir Starmer would have been an awkward host for the Lionesses' reception at No 10 on Monday (July 28), despite being a football fan (he was in Scotland meeting Donald Trump). Angela Rayner – who, like many of the women's team, wears her working-class roots proudly – was clearly a more natural fit. On the Mall, there was no escaping this new and different patriotism. The Lionesses have taken the tactical foundations of Southgateism and aligned it with their own, proud, goals. The cameras focused on the celebrating team and their fans, cropping out the old symbols of national identity in the background. The road to Buckingham Palace served a practical purpose, in that no other street could accommodate 65,000 people. And yet it felt as if this crowd could have congregated somewhere else – a park, a festival, somewhere with less historical baggage – and that this might have been more appropriate to the England they chose to celebrate. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Related
Daily Mirror
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Newcastle to drop part of name and adopt Red Bull once takeover is completed
Red Bull are set to takeover Premiership Rugby side Newcastle Falcons with the north east outfit rebranding to become the Newcastle Red Bulls as they company set out their ambitious plans Newcastle Falcons will be rebranded to the Newcastle Red Bulls from next season as the energy drinks company close in on their takeover of the Premiership Rugby side. The process still needs the green light from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and for lawyers to complete the deal, but Newcastle players and staff have been informed that Red Bull has agreed terms with Semore Kurdi, the former chairman. Red Bull have impressed with their vision, which includes them taking on Newcastle's debt. Included in that figure is a Covid loan of nearly £14.5million, reports the Telegraph. They also want to retain their academy products and make the club an attractive destination for players. Newcastle finished bottom of the Premiership table last season after two wins from 18 league matches. Their ambitions have not been aided by them constantly seeing their best players leave for pastures new. Jamie Blamire, the England hooker, has joined Leicester Tigers and former captain Callum Chick has headed to Northampton Saints. Last season Adam Radwan left mid-term for Welford Road and Guy Pepper, one of their most impressive academy players, is now impressing at English champions Bath. Newcastle chief Kurdi is no longer willing to bankroll Newcastle, having put in around £25m since 2011. In the past there had been talks over a loan from the other Premiership clubs and CVC Capital Partners to help keep the club going. Kurdi was also unable to attract investment from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which owns the city's football club. But they had no interest in also purchasing the rugby team despite those in the Middle East thought to be keen on involving themselves in the rugby landscape. Red Bull though have now swooped in and Newcastle will join their portfolio of sporting outfits. Their most well known brand is their Formula 1 team but they also own football clubs such as FC Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig and are a minority investor in Leeds United. Red Bull has also been a partner of England Rugby since 2020. The drinks brand are also involved with several of rugby's biggest names. They have individual sponsorship arrangements with Jack Nowell, Mack Hansen and Siya Kolisi. Teams owned by Red Bull nearly always adopt the brand's name with the MLS side, the New York Red Bulls, another example of this. The one and only time Newcastle were champions of England was back in 1998.
