Latest news with #MarkHoward
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Salford sign former Wrexham goalkeeper Howard
Salford City have signed former Wrexham goalkeeper Mark 38-year-old was released by the Red Dragons at the end of last season after 58 appearances in three previously played three games on loan at the Ammies from Blackpool in 2019."This move is the perfect fit for me right now, it is exciting," he told the club website., externalThe League Two side have not disclosed the length of contract Howard has signed.
BBC News
05-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Goalkeeper Burton signs Wrexham extension
Goalkeeper Callum Burton has signed a two-year contract extension to remain at Wrexham until the 2026-27 campaign 28-year-old made four League One appearances during Wrexham's rise to the 2024-25 campaign was curtailed by a thigh injury and he hopes to make a bigger impression when the new season gets underway."I loved my year here last year even though it got cut short by injury," he said"Wrexham is a club on the rise, and I want to be able to play my part in that."Burton started last season as understudy to first-choice Arthur Okonkwo, who broke a wrist in November 2024 giving Burton an Burton himself suffered injury the following month and he did not figure for the remainder of Wrexham's promotion winning veteran Mark Howard released at the end of last season, Wrexham have re-signed Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward on a two-year deal in the build-up to their return to the the meantime Luke McNicholas has joined new Forest Green Rovers, one of new manager Robbie Savage's first recruits for the National League club.
News.com.au
23-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Gross': AFL broadcaster under fire for showing young Carlton fan sobbing
The AFL world is divided after Fox Sports decided to showcase a distraught child during Carlton's embarrassing eleven-point defeat to North Melbourne on Saturday. The Kangaroos, one of the league's weakest teams, sprung a huge upset over the Blues on the weekend much to the anger of fans, with a chorus of boos sounding out around the MCG at several points in the match. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. There was no shortage of sad or dismayed Blues fans in the stands as their side was dominated for large parts of the game but many felt one move by the AFL broadcaster went too far. With Carlton down 84-45 in the final quarter, Fox Sports' decision to pan to a young distraught Blues fan drew the ire of many watching at home. 'That is a summation of what's happened for the Blues with that poor young fella. Mum and Dad have brought him to the footy today, full of hope,' commentator Mark Howard said. While Brisbane Lions great Jonathan Brown quipped: 'That's just bad parenting'. However, many footy fans didn't see the light side of it, slamming the broadcast giant on social media. 'Fox needs to stop zooming in on upset fans. It's not just uncomfortable, it's invasive and exploitative. You don't know why someone's crying. Maybe it's not even about the game. And filming crying kids for broadcast? That's not storytelling, it's just gross,' one angry viewer wrote on social media. 'They should be zooming in on fans but kids crying is not right,' another added. While a third said: 'That poor little fella who is a Carlton supporter & was crying is about to become a meme. He doesn't deserve that. His day is bad enough as it is!' But others didn't see the fuss. 'It's part of the entry policy you accept when buying a ticket. Unlucky, just bottle it up like the rest of us,' one fan wrote. Others commented 'Australia is the land of snowflakes, grow up' and 'They're at a live football match ffs in the public eye how can it be invasive if you don't want people to see your emotions then stay home lol'. After the loss, Carlton coach Michael Voss was equally dismayed, but his anger was shared between his team's performance and the fans' decision to boo. 'It's not time to isolate, it's time to come together,' Voss said in regard to the booing. 'We love coming to the ground and having the supporter base we have and the passion that our supporters have, but we share in their disappointment.' But fans were not done complaining, with 3AW in Melbourne bombarded by angry Blues fans after the game. Eddie called in and said: 'I'm 57 years old and I've been watching Carlton for many years and we still lack heart. 'I'm pleased for North Melbourne, but we were absolutely done in the third quarter. I'm calling it out Voss, sorry mate, you've got to go. It's time for a change.' While Adrian said: 'They show a bit of spine in the last quarter so they can get selected again and not get dropped. 'There's no heart and Michael Voss, you've got no idea what you're going to get from that coach. 'You've got to take most of the blame Michael and we want you out of the football club. Time is up.'
Daily Mail
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Footy fans slam TV giant for showing boy crying his eyes out at Carlton vs North Melbourne AFL match - but others say the 'snowflakes' need to 'harden up'
Footage of a young Carlton fan crying in the stands during his team's loss to North Melbourne has left AFL fans divided, with many slamming broadcaster Fox Sports for keeping the camera on the distressed youngster. The Blues sunk to their worst defeat of the season as they fell to the Kangaroos by 11 points on Saturday, leaving their fans furious as they failed to beat one of the league's worst teams. Viewers saw footage of the young supporter with Carlton trailing the Roos 84-45 in the final quarter, with Fox using short grabs of him during its recaps of the match as late as Monday afternoon. 'That is a summation of what's happened for the Blues with that poor young fella. Mum and Dad have brought him to the footy today, full of hope,' commentator Mark Howard said. 'That's bad parenting,' joked Howard's colleague, Brisbane Lions great Jonathan Brown. However, many footy fans didn't see anything funny about the footage as they blasted Fox for featuring the boy so prominently. 'Fox needs to stop zooming in on upset fans. It's not just uncomfortable, it's invasive and exploitative. You don't know why someone's crying. Maybe it's not even about the game. And filming crying kids for broadcast? That's not storytelling, it's just gross,' one viewer wrote. 'Whoever decided to put that crying boy to air should be ashamed of their decision. Imagine how they'll feel when they know they were shown on TV crying, let alone everyone who'll now share it online. F***ing ghouls. And now it'll be on all the news and footy shows just to ensure this poor kid has zero chance of escaping its negative impacts,' another said. 'They should be zooming in on fans but kids crying is not right,' added a third. 'That poor little fella who is a Carlton supporter & was crying is about to become a meme. He doesn't deserve that. His day is bad enough as it is!' another posted. Comments like those drew waves of approval from fans posting messages like 'Agree 100%', 'Good call' and 'Spot on'. They also left a lot of other footy fans in disbelief as they said Fox had done nothing wrong - and anyone who says differently is a 'snowflake'. 'Sanitising sport of its emotion would rob it of everything that makes it great,' one wrote. 'Oh my this is soft,' another posted. A large portion of supporters felt the footage was too intrusive While broadcasters commonly show fans' emotional reactions during matches, fans like this one felt a line was crossed during Saturday's game 'It's part of the entry policy you accept when buying a ticket. Unlucky, just bottle it up like the rest of us,' a third said. Another used sarcasm to get their point across, writing, 'Networks shouldn't zoom in on fans celebrating a win. It's invasive and no network should show actual fans.' 'You also get a lot of ecstatic fans who also like to be on cam for a bit of fame. Don't ruin the fun. I blame the team if anything,' another fan wrote. Other comments in the same vein included 'Australia is the land of snowflakes', 'Grow up - shows the passion of the game', Why??? What's wrong with crying and being passionate?' and 'They're at a live football match ffs in the public eye how can it be invasive if you don't want people to see your emotions then stay home lol'. After the loss, Carlton coach Michael Voss reacted to his team being heavily booed by fans at halftime, three-quarter time and after the match. 'It's not time to isolate, it's time to come together,' Voss said of the booing. 'We love coming to the ground and having the supporter base we have and the passion that our supporters have, but we share in their disappointment.' Voss produced a furious spray at three-quarter time and while it looked like it was targeted at the midfield group, he insisted it was to the whole team. The Blues' loss to the lowly Kangaroos leaves them 10th on the ladder 'That's not acceptable the way that we played through that period of time ... it just didn't sit with the mids,' he said. 'North Melbourne were much too good around the contest for us. 'I felt like for a middle patch there, they probably bullied us.' Finalists in the past two seasons, Carlton slumped to 6-8 and will sit two games outside of the top eight by the end of the round. The unexpected result will turn up the heat on Voss, who has been under pressure since Carlton's calamitous round-one loss against wooden spooners Richmond. Asked if he was coaching for his future over the next two months, Voss simply put the focus on Carlton's next game against Port Adelaide on Thursday night. 'It's more about staying present to where we're at ... the competitor in me is about getting better tomorrow,' he said.
Leader Live
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Leader Live
Wrexham keeper Arthur loves pre-match engagement with fans
Okonkwo has become a real fans' favourite during his two seasons at The Racecourse and he is now preparing to make the step-up with the Reds to the Championship. The goalkeeper originally joined Wrexham on loan from Premier League giants Arsenal during the opening stages of the 2023-24 League Two campaign and he has fully embraced the pre-match interactions he has with supporters. Okonkwo told Amanpour and Company: 'I've seen both sides to it. I was at Arsenal and the season I had with the first team, you were literally escorted everywhere you're going. 'You don't see the fans. We have security everywhere and I think that's a special thing that's at Wrexham at the moment. 'You know, you come in before every game, we sign everyone's stuff and, you know, you feel good about it. 'It's really special to be able to engage with the fans before the game and that's something you don't really get, obviously, higher up the levels and... I hope it stays like that. 'Being able to engage with fans as much as we can, it's always a special feeling.' Two other fan favourites - Steven Fletcher and Mark Howard - have departed the club following the League One promotion-winning campaign and executive director Humphrey Ker says bidding farewell to players is tough to do. He said: 'Really, the cruellest irony of this whole thing is that the success that these players deliver for the club creates a huge challenge for them, in terms of their ability to continue with the club as it goes up through the levels. 'With Arthur, he's a young player, he's got unbelievable potential. He's already a fantastic player. 'So, he's someone that, I think has a very long future with the club if he so chooses and if we can hold on to him, you know, if he doesn't go and get signed by Real Madrid! 'This summer, we said goodbye to, in particular, Steven Fletcher and Mark Howard. 'Chomp, as he's known, Mark Howard is someone whose been with us from the National League all the way up. He's had three promotions in a row. 'Fletch has had two promotions with us and they're not only fantastic players, but they're great people. 'I mean, a huge basis of the success that we've enjoyed as a club has been the quality of not only the player, but the person that the manager's been able to bring in and it's brutal. 'It's really, really tough. I mean, it's such a tight-knit group. It's such an incredible dressing room. 'That character is really the most valuable thing that we've been able to unearth. The individual players, great players, great value in terms of transfer fees and wages, and all that sort of stuff. 'But, actually, the thing that has delivered three successive promotions, that starts with the people, the characters, the personalities. 'So, yes, saying goodbye to those people is very hard. It's very hard.'
