Luke Shaw has come to the defence of his England and Manchester United teammate Harry Maguire following his poor performance on Monday night.
The central defender retained his place in the England squad to Germany even after the 1-0 defeat against Italy and having barely played limited minutes for his club so far this season.
Lacking match sharpness and confidence at what appears to be an all-time low, it was little surprise that he wasn’t at the races. Nothing could quite prepare for his calamitous outing, giving away a penalty for the first goal and losing the ball which led to the second.
For many United supporters, however, this kind of performance will have come as no surprise. The 29-year-old has immediately dropped from Erik ten Hag’s starting 11 after what feels like two seasons of mistakes, sub-par performances and general frustration.
They seem to be better for it as well. United now have five wins in their last six games; ironically, the only one they lost was when Maguire started against Real Sociedad in the Europa League.
Nevertheless, long-time defensive partner Shaw – who has also found himself adrift from the current Red Devils side in recent months – believes his treatment from the fans and media has been unfair.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live after the 3-3 draw, Shaw said: “Harry is an amazing player, an amazing character. He’s taken a lot of stick – probably more than I’ve ever seen before in football.”
The 27-year-old out-of-favour left-back went on to insist that “he never hides away, he’s always there” adding, “You can have people who can hide away and not want to be in the spotlight. He keeps putting himself in the spotlight, it shows the strength and character he’s got.”
Reflecting on the feelings around the England and United camps, he said “everybody knows he’s an unbelievable player. At the moment the confidence might not be there because it could feel like the whole world is against him.”
He went on to explain that both Gareth Southgate and the players trust him, especially after his contribution in the Euros and previous World Cup, concluding that “people need to understand he’s a big part of the England team and have to accept it.”
Southgate is now without a win in the last six games and the rollercoaster against Germany marked the last game before the 2022 Qatar World Cup which starts in just 54 days.
It feels like the Three Lions boss has to win something or reach the final at the very least to stay in the job — that’s if he even still wants after this next tournament.
Kolo Touré joins Manchester City’s backroom staff on a permanent basis
Danny Jones
Former Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool defender, Kolo Touré, has now permanently re-joined the club as a first-team coach.
The retired centre-back, who finished his career at Scottish giants Celtic FC before hanging up his boots back in 2017 and becoming part of their backroom staff, has been working with Man City as part of the FIFA Club World Cup set-up.
Having clearly impressed on the road, not to mention having spent last season as Assistant Lead Coach alongside U18s boss Oliver Reiss – with the youth side winning the Premier League North title – the 44-year-old has now been given an assistant coaching job with the senior squad on a full-time basis.
Announced on Tuesday, 15 July, ahead of City’s pre-season tour getting underway next month, Kolo Touré is the latest among multiple recent appointments to manager Pep Guardiola’s ranks.
Hailing from the Ivory Coast and having enjoyed a career spanning more than 15 years, he’s considered one of the greatest African players of all time, so it’s no question that he brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the role.
Touré, who made more than a century of appearances for the Blues, began his coaching journey with the national team before assisting Brendan Rodgers at both Celtic and Leicester City.
He also spent a rather short spell at another Greater Manchester side, being made head coach of Wigan Athletic in November 2022.
But it wasn’t to be…
The older brother of fellow City club legend, Yaya, was ultimately sacked around two months later (just 59 days, to be exact) after having failed to win a single fixture in his first name games in charge.
Kolo Touré taking instructions from Pep, the chemistry’s taking shape. Brilliant to see Kolo soaking it all in from the very best. He’s here for the long haul, man. You can feel it. pic.twitter.com/RscM9rg0GS
Commenting on Toure’s appointment as first-team assistant coach, Director of Football Hugo Viana said in an official club statement: “We’re delighted to permanently add Kolo to our first team coaching staff.
“Not only does he bring his immensely precious experience at football’s elite level, but he also has a deep connection with Manchester City and a deep knowledge of the Club.
“We’ve also been hugely impressed with his work and success with our Under-18s, and by adding him to our senior staff permanently, this will only strengthen the transition for players in our Academy into the first team.
“As we already saw throughout his time with Pep Guardiola, Pep Lijnders and James French this summer, his massive personality of optimism and positivity is hugely infectious and we’re already looking forward to his work moving forward.”
In case you were unfamiliar with the latter two names, you’ll find all you need to know down below.
England cricket legend Sir James Anderson joins Manchester Originals for The Hundred 2025
Danny Jones
England and Lancashire County Cricket (LCC) legend Sir James, a.k.a. ‘Jimmy’ Anderson, has officially signed for Manchester Originals ahead of this year’s The Hundred campaign.
What a statement from the Greater Manchester side.
Now 42, the knight of The Oval and the realm is in the twilight of his career, but you’ll struggle to find many others of his ability and sheer amount of experience anywhere else in the competition.
Selected by Manchester Originals as their wildcard pick for the 2025 tournament, Anderson is set to become the second-oldest pro to ever play in the history of The Hundred.
The fast-paced cricket format only began back in 2021, but has quickly gone on to become a fan favourite, with sell-out games over at the Emirates Old Trafford and, indeed, up and down the country.
Roping in veterans like the much-loved Northern lad will only help bring more eyes to the games.
With more than 400 career appearances and nearly 1,000 wickets at international level alone over the course of more than two and a half decades in the sport, they don’t get much more iconic than Jimmy Anderson – it’s a big coup for Manchester Originals.
As mentioned, while the Lancashire-born bowler’s time in international whites may have come to an end, as well as serving as a key Roses mentor, he’s still an LCC star. Representing Lancashire Lightning in the year’s T20 Blast, ‘The Burnley Express’ has already claimed 14 wickets in his first eight matches.
Discussing his impending debut, the ‘King of the Swing’ said: “I’m really looking forward to The Hundred, and I’m really happy to be part of the Manchester Originals squad. I’ve loved my time with Lancashire this season, so I’m excited to have the opportunity to add value in The Hundred.”
“It’s a competition I’ve really enjoyed watching. When you’re at the games, you can really see that it does attract a slightly different crowd, a lot of younger people and families, and you can’t underestimate how important that is for our game. I can’t wait to get out there.”
The first lot of Hundred fixtures get underway on Tuesday, 5 August, with the first home match at Old Trafford Cricket Ground welcoming the toss the following day (Wed, 6 Aug).
You see the rest of The Hundred 2025 wildcard draft picks in full HERE.
Danny Jones -
27th September 2022 
