Arena victim's dad says MI5 'hiding' from justice
A bereaved father claims MI5 did everything to stop a claim by Manchester Arena attack families.
A bomb, gang turf wars and the rise of club culture - poet, author and broadcaster David Scott looks at Manchester in the 1990s
'Dreamer' Amorim 'right guy' to revive Man Utd
Ruben Amorim says he is the "right guy at the right time" to turn Manchester United around.
As Pep Guardiola signs a two-year contract extension at Manchester City, The Football News Show asks if the main reason for staying at Etihad Stadium is the lack of suitable replacements.
City fan Amos Murphy tells host Ben Croucher why there may be a modicum of truth in that - but also why the Spaniard is still the best manager in the Premier League.
Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician
Image source, Getty ImagesAs Manchester City look to bounce back against Tottenham following four successive defeats, we have done a statistics deep dive into the defensive problems contributing to the losses...
City are currently conceding 1.2 goals per game - their worst rate in a Premier League season under Pep Guardiola (previous worst was one per game in the Spaniard's first season in charge).
However, they are actually conceding around the same number of shots as they have in the past two seasons (7.8 per game this campaign vs 7.7 in both 2022-23 and 2023-24) – the quantity of shots they are conceding is not the problem.
In fact, only two sides - Bayern Munich and Getafe - are giving up fewer shots per-game in Europe's big five leagues this term.
The reason why they are conceding so many goals is down to the quality of chances they are giving up being excellent.
Guardiola's side are, in fact, giving up the highest quality of chances in Europe's top five leagues this season - in terms of expected goals (xG) per shot faced.
The shots they have given up so far are worth 0.155 xG on average. This is to say that, historically, teams score those chances 15.5% of the time and that is exactly what they are doing - City's opponents have a 15.1% conversion rate so far.
They have conceded one penalty, which in turn bumps up the xG per shot faced number, but they have still given up the best chances in Europe excluding penalties - 0.148 xG per shot faced.
So this is not a tale of the opponents being especially ruthless in front of goal and City just being a little unlucky. The defending Premier League champions are giving up excellent chances to sides - who have been very happy to take them.
Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesIt was something of a surprise on Thursday night to learn Pep Guardiola had signed a two-year contract extension at Manchester City.
Along with many other journalists, I was under the impression Guardiola had agreed a single-year deal, with the option for another season if he still fancied it in 2026.
It seemed a reasonable enough question to ask for clarification at Guardiola's news conference this lunchtime.
And the answer was interesting.
Effectively, Guardiola said he had done it because he did not want to be in the same situation next season that he has been in this one - answering questions about his future virtually from the moment he returned for the start of pre-season.
That does not scream longevity.
Guardiola has never broken a contract but can it be completely ruled out that the second year is a convenient way of dealing with a issue the former Barcelona boss did not want to be bothered with and he will exit City in 18 months' time?
Image source, Getty ImagesPep Guardiola says his two-year extension was very easy to thrash out.
Dan Roan
Sports editor
This was a highly accomplished and assured first media conference by Ruben Amorim, whose confidence was immediately apparent as he strode purposefully into a packed room at Carrington with a smile and "hi guys" to the assembled journalists, before fielding a host of questions from both English and Portuguese reporters.
This felt very different to the strained and adversarial media conferences that became a weekly feature of the final months of Erik ten Hag's tenure at Old Trafford.
Speaking in fluent English, Amorim seemed to relish the opportunity to articulate how he is feeling. Smiling throughout, he made clear his belief both in himself and in his players, claiming he is "the right guy at the right moment".
But he also acknowledged the scale of the task he faces here after years of decline, and the need for his team to improve. However, he also firmly rejected the suggestion that this was "the impossible job". "Of course not," he said.
He has acknowledged that Manchester United need time and has said that they need to improve. He has also given a reality check about the plans to put in place and the improvement that is required.
As the first managerial hire since Ineos took over the football operations at Old Trafford, a lot is resting on his shoulders. It was noticeable that Tom Crotty, a senior director at the petrochemicals company and a trusted advisor to billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, was in attendance.
However, if the coach was feeling the pressure that comes with that, and from being in one of the most scrutinised coaching roles in world football, he did not show it.
At the end, Amorim embraced several Portuguese reporters who had travelled here to cover his first media appearance.
Whether he forges such close bonds with their British counterparts remains to be seen. But based on this first performance, communication will not be a problem for the coach.
Watch The Football News Show on BBC iPlayer
Image source, Getty ImagesManchester United coach Darren Fletcher has been successful in reducing his touchline ban to two matches after being found guilty of misconduct against Brentford on Saturday 19 October.
Fletcher is alleged to have acted in an "improper and/or confrontational manner" and used "abusive and/or insulting words" towards the match officials during the Premier League victory at Old Trafford.
Former midfielder Fletcher admitted to this misconduct, but argued that it was only towards the fourth official and the referee and that he was not abusive.
Having been sanctioned with a three-match touchline ban and £7,500 fine, the independent Appeal Board has subsequently reduced the ban by one game and the fine down to £6,000.
Image source, Getty ImagesIt is that time of the season where domestic and European games come thick and fast, but who is best equipped to deal with those demands?
"Manchester City are probably in the worst position but it depends who they can get back fit," said former Premier League goalkeeper David James on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.
"They have already had academy players starting Premier League and Champions League games in the past month.
"City are stretched and will be on the edge if they are bringing in freshly recovered players back in for so many games.
"Liverpool can afford to rest players because of their position in the Champions League and Mikel Arteta seems to be picking the same fit players to be playing all the games so far this season.
"He does start to rotate further into the competitions, and that works for them for now, but that is also when they will start to pick up injuries later on in the season.
"So Liverpool are probably in the best position as things stand."
Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesNew Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim says that while journalists and pundits may not think it is possible for the Red Devils to win the Premier League title under him in the future, he has full belief in himself, his staff and his players to make that dream a reality.
Speaking at his first news conference as United boss, on Friday, the 39-year-old said: "I’m a little bit of a dreamer. I believe in myself. I believe in the club - we have the same mindset. I truly believe in the players. I know you don’t believe a lot but I do. I want to try new things.
"You guys don’t think it’s possible, I do."
The former Sporting Lisbon manager arrived in Manchester on 11 November, following the sacking of Erik ten Hag.
Asked where he thought he might need to "repair" the United squad, Amorim dismissed the suggestion his players needed fixing.
"I don’t know about repair." he replied. "We have space to grow as a team. We have to improve in a lot of areas. I know it’s a different way of playing and we are changing the way we play.
"We have to change the physical aspect of the team. I don’t know how long it will take. I know at Manchester United we have to win games. We need a lot of time because it’s a tough league, we have to improve a lot to try and win the title.
"It's not revolution. The football is not so different with five at the back, four at the back, three at the back. It’s not evolution or revolution, it’s a change in the way we play football."
Amorim takes charge of United for the first time on Sunday, at Ipswich Town (16:30 GMT).
