Arsenal fan are we perchance?

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Ballymena United have revealed that they have turned down a bid from Crystal Palace for their 16-year-old striker Matthew Shevlin.

The A-level student had a trial with the Premier League club in September.

"Palace suggested they were keen to get a deal tied up quickly but their offer wasn't really one we would entertain," chairman John Taggart told the Ballymena Times, external.

"We don't want the young lad to be held back, but at the same time we have to look after the interests of Ballymena United."

Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane has got a good excuse, external for missing training with the rest of the squad on Tuesday morning ahead of their Euro 2016 qualifiers...

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Luke Wright has been named Sussex's new club captain in all formats following Ed Joyce's decision to resign.

Wright had been the favourite to succeed the Irishman in all three formats, after leading the county to the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast this summer.

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American Wesley Hall, from Atlanta, who became a Nottingham Forest fan after he was mistaken online for former Forest player Wes Morgan, has said it was "a dream come true" to attend his first game.

The pair are both known as Big Wes and Mr Hall's Twitter handle is @bigwes, leading to Forest fans mistakenly tweeting him four years ago to congratulate him on Morgan's 400th appearance for the club.

He knew nothing about football at the time, but is now a diehard Reds fan and attended his first Forest game on Saturday.

Sounds like a gruelling couple of hours for England in the heat of the United Arab Emirates...

England, remember, made 286-5 declared on the first day of the opening match of the tour.

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A fine choice. The Dutch wheelchair tennis player won 22 grand slam tournaments between 1999 and her retirement in 2013.

McIlroy also spoke in support of Paul Casey, who will miss next year's Ryder Cup if he does not renew the European Tour membership he gave up in January.

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"Some things matter more to people than others and I'd say family would always come first before any golf tournament, no matter what it is," McIlroy said.

"So if that's Paul's decision more power to him for doing that. The way he's playing it would be a bit of a blow for the European Ryder Cup team.

"But I feel like we've got enough strength in depth that even if Paul isn't on the team we'd still be able field a really strong 12 guys."

Think it's all excitement and glamour and non-stop fun being a golfer. Think again.

Rory McIlroy spent a fortnight in the air flying to and from tournaments in the past year, touching down at nearly 120 airports along the way, and was so fed up considered resigning from the European Tour to ease his schedule.

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"I've definitely contemplated it," the 26-year-old said. "You know, getting sick of the travel, getting sick of having to cross back and forth between tours."

But the Northern Irishman added: "Would I actually (quit)? Probably not. I feel like I owe a lot to the European Tour, they gave me a lot of opportunities at the start of my career. I will always be grateful for that."

Not sure Barca and Real Madrid would agree but take your point Jon...

BBC Radio 5 Live

England backs coach Andy Farrell reacted tersely to suggestions he had been swayed by family loyalty during the World Cup.

Asked whether it had played a part in his son Owen being picked at fly-half for the defeats by Wales and Australia, he said: "The head coach makes the final decision. That is that."

Speaking on the Monday Night Rugby Club with Mark Chapman, South African World Cup winner Bob Skinstad also dismissed the accusation, saying: “Sure, it's a family member, but he's got a job and a duty to a role in the greater rugby community. 

"What the journalist is insinuating is pretty hard for Farrell. I think he got away with murder there.”

Mark Chapman, Mike Tindall, Matt Burke and Bobby Skinstad debate where it all went wrong for England, and ask what next following a pool stages exit from their own World Cup.

Download the podcast here.

We'll forward that to the Liverpool board immediately, they will surely want to take it into consideration when making the next appointment...

Scotland women's coach Anna Signeul has named her latest squad... 

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The Newcastle Chronicle reports, external that Swiss defender Kevin Mbabu is facing a spell on the sidelines after damaging his hamstring during his side's defeat at Manchester City on Saturday.

The 20-year-old was chasing back to Sergio Aguero in an attempt to prevent the Argentine scoring the third of his five goals when his hamstring went.

He is set to undergo a scan to assess the damage done but hopes he will be out for weeks and not months.

A Question of Sport Teaser

Which six NFL teams played at Wembley in the 2014 season?

Get your thinking caps on, we'll give you the answer later.

Monday night's Wayne Rooney documentary on BBC One put the spotlight on the Manchester United and England international.

BBC Radio 5 live's Afternoon Edition want to hear from you if you watched it...

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Good news for James Ward - he has won his first match since Wimbledon, ending a run of 11 consecutive defeats.

Seven weeks before Britain contest the Davis Cup final against Belgium, the 28-year-old beat John-Patrick Smith in the first round of the Mons Challenger ... which also happens to be taking place in Belgium.