The first England squad for Euro 2024 has been revealed and a few notable names have not been included in the provisional list of players, namely Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.
Having had a bit of an off-season at club level as well as struggling with a number of injury issues, the 26-year-old has already been in and out of Erik ten Hag‘s team over recent weeks and months.
As a result, he has seemingly been left out of Gareth Southgate‘s first round of picks for the Euros, though the final selection for the tournament will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Despite being go-to players under the Three Lions boss in past tournaments, he and former Liverpool star Jordan Henderson look set to miss out on a summer where England are considered one of the favourites for a change, along with former Manchester City man Raheem Sterling too.
🚨 Marcus Rashford not part of initial England squad for Euro 2024. 26yo Manchester United attacker made strong impact at World Cup + selected for last camp but expected to miss out of provisional group Gareth Southgate names @TheAthleticFC#EURO2024#MUFChttps://t.co/pVHAuNX7it
Reacting to the news, ex-pro turned pundit Paul Merson admitted he was “shocked” by the decision, especially with Rashford potentially on the verge of picking up an FA Cup this weekend, though the bookies are favouring Man City, who have once again won the Premier League title this season.
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Other notable exclusions include Ben Chilwell and often injury-stricken Chelsea fullback, Reece James – despite Southgate being slim on full-backs as it is – City loanee, Kalvin Phillips, as well as another United man in Jadon Sancho, who has only just regained some form out on loan at Borussia Dortmund.
Elsewhere, fellow teammates Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and youngster Kobbie Mainoo have all been chosen by the national team boss despite some lingering questions surrounding their fitness and experience.
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You can see England’s Euros squad in full down below:
Once again, plenty can change between now and mid-June; drop-outs are almost inevitable when it comes to major tournaments, not to mention that the likes of the FA Cup and Champions League (with multiple England players featuring across both) could end up giving Southgate another decision to make.
Regardless, of the players that have been chosen for the Euros, England are fortunate to be stacked with plenty of talent, youth and experience. This could very well be the best chance of winning silverware fans could hope for.
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What do you think, is this the team to help bring football home?
Featured Images — England/Marcus Rashford (via Instagram)
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Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
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Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
21st May 2024 
