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[365footballorg-blog]

Cardiff 'not the place' Schmeichel wanted to return to

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Uefa Nations League: Wales v Denmark Venue: Cardiff City Stadium Date: Fri, 16 Nov Kick-off: 19:45 GMT Coverage: Live on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app, plus live text commentary.

Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has mixed emotions about returning to Cardiff City Stadium to face Wales.

Schmeichel was in the Leicester City side who played at Cardiff City on an emotional day[1] on 3 November.

It was Leicester’s first game following the death of their owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in a helicopter crash.

“It’s probably not really the place that I personally wanted to be after the last time,” Schmeichel said.

“But we’ve got good memories. It was a good tribute that we had and a really good result.

“It’s a kind of different feeling, but still looking forward to it.”

The 32-year-old has previously said he will never be able to rid himself of the memory of the helicopter crash that killed Leicester’s owner and four others.

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He was part of a delegation from the club who travelled to Thailand to attend Srivaddhanaprabha’s funeral.

Schmeichel returns to the Cardiff City’s home for Friday’s Nations League match, which he describes as “must-win game” for Denmark.

Victory for Wales would guarantee them a first place finish in Group B4 while a draw would give Denmark the chance to top the group when they face Republic of Ireland three days later.

“It’s a must-win game, but it’s no different to any other game for us,” Schmeichel said.

Denmark’s Eriksen ready for Wales ‘final’[2]

Wales assessing Bale ankle injury[3]

“We’ve got to go and win, simple.”

Denmark won 2-0 thanks to two goals from Christian Eriksen when the countries met in Aarhus in September.

But Schmeichel said that result will have no bearing on Friday’s game.

“That’s gone – it’s all about now,” he added.

“We can’t use that for anything. Wales are obviously going to be highly motivated to go and win and so are we.”

References

^ emotional day (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Denmark’s Eriksen ready for Wales ‘final’ (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Wales assessing Bale ankle injury (www.bbc.co.uk)

BBC Sport – Football

Cardiff 'not the place' Schmeichel wanted to return to was originally published on 365 Football

[365footballorg-blog]

Scotland's Kerr 'not caring' about prospect of heavy defeat by USA

International friendly: Scotland v United States Venue: Simple Digital Arena, Paisley Date: Tuesday, 13 November Kick-off: 19:00 GMT Coverage: Watch on BBC Alba, listen on BBC Radio Scotland 810MW/DAB/online, and follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website

Scotland head coach Shelley Kerr says she’s “not too concerned” about her team potentially taking a heavy beating from world champions United States.

Kerr’s side – 19th in the world – host the USA in Paisley on Tuesday and she is “intrigued” to see how they cope.

The US have been the world’s highest-ranked side for the best part of four years and won the World Cup in 2015.

“A lot of people are saying ‘what if you take a heavy defeat?’ But I’m not caring,” Kerr said.

“We’ve got a game plan and we want to try and measure ourselves against the best team in the world.

“We could draw USA in the World Cup, so it’s important that just now, while it’s still 2018, that we get a real opportunity to see where we’re at as a national team.”

Pick your Scotland XI to face the USA[1]

Glasgow’s Kerr given first Scotland call[2]

Kerr called for “realism” among home fans about her side’s chances given the “continuous flow” of talent emerging in the US compared to the “11,000-12,000 registered players” in Scotland.

But she hoped supporters will turn out to see the world’s top players – just as they did when a record crowd of 4,000 attended the Scots’ final World Cup qualifying match against Switzerland.

Kerr is without several key players – Arsenal trio Kim Little, Emma Mitchell and Lisa Evans, plus 1899 Hoffenheim defender Sophie Howard – but she will judge the success of the game by “three strands”.

She explained: “There’s the performance side, the legacy side, and there’s also a huge opportunity for everyone in Scotland to see some global names across the world in women’s football.

“I think what we have got is a group of good players. Training all week has been fantastic and the dynamics in the group has been great.”

References

^ Pick your Scotland XI to face the USA (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Glasgow’s Kerr given first Scotland call (www.bbc.co.uk)

BBC Sport – Scottish

Scotland's Kerr 'not caring' about prospect of heavy defeat by USA was originally published on 365 Football

[365footballorg-blog]

Choosing between England and Republic of Ireland 'not easy' - Rice

West Ham’s teenage midfielder Declan Rice says the decision over his international future will be “one of the hardest of my career”.

Speaking to The Times[1], he said he has still not decided whether to declare for the Republic of Ireland or England.

“Without a doubt, it is not an easy decision,” said London-born Rice, 19, who qualifies for the Republic via his paternal grandparents.

“I need to make the right decision, what is best for me and my family.”

Rice, who has impressed for West Ham in eight appearances this season, has three senior caps for the Republic but all have been in friendly matches, meaning he is still able to declare his allegiance to England.

He has been omitted from Martin O’Neill’s last three squads[2] as he continues to ponder his future, and confirmed he has been in communication with the Republic boss and his England counterpart Gareth Southgate.

“Martin was excellent when he came to my house and Gareth was excellent and they both understand the position I am in. I said I just need some time,” he explained.

“Being 19, I never thought I would be in a position to make such a hard decision.”

Despite Rice saying he is no closer to a decision, O’Neill said he remained “hopeful” the youngster may still opt for the Republic.

“He has got a lot of things to consider and you have to say a lot of those maybe favour England,” said O’Neill earlier this week.

“But overall we are still hopeful.”

The Republic play neighbours Northern Ireland in Dublin on Thursday 15 November before concluding their Nations League campaign in Denmark four days later.

References

^ The Times (www.thetimes.co.uk)

^ omitted from Martin O’Neill’s last three squads (www.bbc.co.uk)

BBC Sport – Football

Choosing between England and Republic of Ireland 'not easy' – Rice was originally published on 365 Football

[365footballorg-blog]

Leicester City helicopter take-off was 'not abnormal'

The helicopter carrying the Leicester City owner appeared to be operating normally moments before it crashed, an expert has said.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others were killed in the crash outside the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Aviation expert David Learmount said a widely shared video showed the aircraft complete an “awkward” take-off without issue before getting into difficulty.

Crash investigators are expected to move the wreckage in the next few days.

As well as Mr Vichai, Nursara Suknamai, Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz also died in the crash.

The footage, taken inside the stadium, shows the AgustaWestland AW169 climbing normally for about 40 seconds, before it pauses and goes into a downward spin.

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Mr Learmount said: “At lift-off you can’t see anything that’s abnormal, but it’s an awkward job climbing out of a stadium because ideally you want some forward speed as well as continuing to climb.

“The pilot climbed very nearly vertically until he was above the height of the stadium and then started to turn to the right – it was very shortly after that control was lost.

“Just after he did a manoeuvre that seemed to be intended, he lost control.”

Attention is focussing on the tail rotor, which stops the fuselage being spun by the force of the main rotor.

A minute’s silence will be held and black armbands will be worn by players at all Premier League matches this weekend as a mark of respect, the Premier League has confirmed.

Leicester players will travel by road to their Premier League game at Cardiff on Saturday rather than fly, as going by plane was felt to be insensitive given the circumstances of Mr Vichai’s death.

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].[1][2][3][4]

References

^ Facebook (www.facebook.com)

^ Twitter (twitter.com)

^ Instagram (www.instagram.com)

^ [email protected] (www.bbc.co.uk)

BBC Sport – Football

Leicester City helicopter take-off was 'not abnormal' was originally published on 365 Football

[365footballorg-blog]

Gerrard belief in Rangers side 'not changed'

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard says his belief in his players has not changed, despite his frustration over their League Cup semi-final defeat.

The Ibrox side were beaten 1-0 by Aberdeen at Hampden on Sunday and re-iterated his warning for players to “step up”[1].

“My belief and confidence in the players hasn’t changed because of the game at the weekend,” Gerrard said.

“We played really well but got caught on a sucker-punch of counter attack.”

Speaking on Rangers TV, he added that they would put right the problems in attack when they face Kilmarnock at home on Wednesday.

“At a big club, you expect big players to step up on big occasions and provide big moments,” he said.

“If that doesn’t happen at any big club, the manager finds better players who will do that.”

The former Liverpool captain added that the side want to “make supporters happy again” and the way to do that was winning.

Ferguson header sends Aberdeen into final[2]

‘Blame me but team must step up’ – Gerrard[3]

Rangers will be bolstered up front for the game with the return of strikers Alfredo Morelos and Kyle Lafferty, who he added will “for sure” make up for some of what has been lacking in the final third.

Kilmarnock go into the Premiership game with a three-point and three-place advantage over their hosts and, for the Ibrox boss, a familiar face in former Liverpool assistant Steve Clarke.

“Steve will come and try and frustrate us, get the crowd on our back,” he predicted.

“He’s got a good team and players and I have respect for Kilmarnock whether we beat them at their place or not, it’s irrelevant. They’re coming in with confidence, so it’ll be a really good test for us.”

Rangers sit fifth in the table, level on points with St Johnstone as they look to record a third consecutive league win.

“The lads are lucky because this game comes around quickly,” he added. “The last thing you want after a semi-final loss is a long time to wait to play again.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the reaction of my players.”

References

^ re-iterated his warning for players to “step up” (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Ferguson header sends Aberdeen into final (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ ‘Blame me but team must step up’ – Gerrard (www.bbc.co.uk)

BBC Sport – Scottish

Gerrard belief in Rangers side 'not changed' was originally published on 365 Football

[365footballorg-blog]

Mourinho 'not confident' over De Gea deal

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is “not confident” goalkeeper David de Gea will sign a new contract – but says he is “not worried” by the situation.

In August, United were positive over the chance of De Gea renewing his deal.

He is committed to Old Trafford until the summer, with the club having an option to extend to 2020.

“If the club want to be better than it is and not worse, obviously it would be very important to keep David,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.

De Gea, 27, was named in May as the club’s player of the year for an unprecedented fourth time.

Juventus have reportedly targeted the Spain international as another low-cost high-quality addition after picking up Liverpool midfielder Emre Can, Barcelona full-back Dani Alves, Bayern Munich midfielder Sami Khedira and Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente on free transfers in recent years.

De Gea, who joined United from Atletico Madrid in 2011 in an £18.9m deal, is one of several players nearing the end of their deals with the Premier League club.

France forward Anthony Martial, Spanish midfielder Juan Mata and Ecuador wing-back Antonio Valencia are also out of contract at the end of the season.

Mourinho was keen to sign at least one central defender and a winger in the summer, but could not convince the board that his targets would strengthen the squad.

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BBC Sport – Football

Mourinho 'not confident' over De Gea deal was originally published on 365 Football

[365footballorg-blog]

MacLean wants Celtic to 'get pumped'; Rangers 'not legends yet' - gossip

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FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Hearts striker Steven MacLean has turned up the heat on Betfred Cup semi-final opponents Celtic by insisting he wants the Scottish champions to “get pumped” by RB Leipzig in the Europa League tonight. (Scotsman)[1]

Steven Gerrard says his Rangers team can’t be mentioned in the same breath as legends of the past whose European record they could beat tonight. (Herald)[2]

Brendan Rodgers is battling a Europa League injury crisis in Leipzig tonight but challenged his stand-in stars to prove they can crack it at Celtic. (Daily Record)[3]

Steven Gerrard has ordered Rangers to seize control of their Europa League destiny tonight — and pile the misery on sorry Spartak. (Scottish Sun)[4]

RB Leipzig manager Ralf Rangnick has insisted his club, one of the richest in Germany, could not afford to buy Celtic’s best young players. (Herald)[5]

St Mirren’s technical director Gus MacPherson has waded into the argument over the Irn-Bru Cup by saying that it is no longer a tournament run for clubs, but a tournament run to support political agendas. (Scotsman)[6]

Dundee are lining up a move for ex-Ross County and Partick Thistle midfielder Martin Woods. (Scottish Sun)[7]

Former Celtic midfielder Morten Wieghorst could face his old club as Rosenborg boss in the Europa League after he was named on a three-man shortlist. (Daily Record, print edition)

Steven Gerrard, the Rangers manager, believes following in the footsteps of strident, no-nonsense former Ibrox bosses Walter Smith and Graeme Souness is his blueprint for success, ahead of his side’s Europa League clash with Spartak Moscow. (The Times, subscription required)[8]

Aberdeen have confirmed they have sold their allocation of tickets for Sunday’s League Cup semi-final against Rangers. (Press and Journal)[9]

Influential Austrian midfielder Peter Haring is ready to return for Hearts’ Betfred Cup semi-final against Celtic, manager Craig Levein has confirmed. (Edinburgh Evening News)[10]

Lewis Ferguson says he joined Aberdeen to experience occasions like Sunday’s League Cup semi-final. (Aberdeen Evening Express)[11]

The SPFL are investigating Falkirk’s controversial recruitment of manager Ray McKinnon, who left Morton for the Bairns three months into a year-long contract at the end of August. (Daily Record, print edition)

Thursday’s English Gossip[12]

References

^ (Scotsman) (www.scotsman.com)

^ (Herald) (www.heraldscotland.com)

^ (Daily Record) (www.dailyrecord.co.uk)

^ (Scottish Sun) (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)

^ (Herald) (www.heraldscotland.com)

^ (Scotsman) (www.scotsman.com)

^ (Scottish Sun) (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)

^ (The Times, subscription required) (www.thetimes.co.uk)

^ (Press and Journal) (www.pressandjournal.co.uk)

^ (Edinburgh Evening News) (www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com)

^ (Aberdeen Evening Express) (www.eveningexpress.co.uk)

^ Thursday’s English Gossip (www.bbc.co.uk)

BBC Sport – Scottish

MacLean wants Celtic to 'get pumped'; Rangers 'not legends yet' – gossip was originally published on 365 Football

[365footballorg-blog]

Watch: Mourinho 'not interested' in Scholes criticism

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Jose Mourinho says he is “not interested” in criticism from former player Paul Scholes, who said the Portuguese boss was “embarrassing” Manchester United. BBC Sport – Football

Watch: Mourinho 'not interested' in Scholes criticism was originally published on 365 Football