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(Per PA Media)
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Rangers and Celtic have reached an agreement to grant around five per cent of the tickets in their stadium to away supporters for the Old Firm derby matches from next season onwards. The two clubs have been at loggerheads in recent years, both chopping each other’s allocations in a tit-for-tat manner stemming from the Light Blues’ decision to reduce the number of visiting fans allowed in after Steven Gerrard’s arrival as manager in 2018.
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More than 7,000 away supporters were traditionally allowed to attend Glasgow derbies, but there have been none present at recent matches between the teams, with Celtic citing safety concerns around having such a small number of fans for such a highly-charged fixture when they refused the offer of 700 tickets for Ibrox earlier this term. This situation was widely deemed as detrimental to the spectacle of what was previously viewed as one of Europe’s most historic fixtures.
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A statement from the Scottish Professional Football League read: “This will be effective from Scottish Premiership season 2024/25, subject to all necessary requirements being satisfied at both Ibrox and Celtic Park. It does not affect the remaining two league matches between the clubs in season 2023/24, which will remain at a zero allocation for away supporters.”
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Let’s open with the news that the vast majority of Liverpool fans didn’t want to hear: Xabi Alonso looks set to stay at Bayer Leverkusen.
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Perhaps in an ideal world, we’d have two or three head-to-head showdowns between the title-chasing trio of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal over the last 10 games of the season. Instead we have just one. Still, Man City v Arsenal (4.30pm Sunday) offers a fascinating climax to the weekend as the Premier League kicks back in after that pesky international break.
Talking of which, we’ll also bring you news from all today’s prezzers as top-flight managers try mightily to avoid ranting about players picking up knocks while away with their countries.
And talking of managers, unless this is something very clever from the Michael Edwards playbook, it looks as if Xabi Alonso isn’t heading to Liverpool. In a timely twist, another boss tipped to be Jürgen Klopp’s successor is at Anfield on Sunday to advertise his claims. Yes, Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton are heading north to take on Liverpool and, fun fact, the Italian is unbeaten in four games against the German.
But before all that, we also have hot, massive, full programme action in the EFL. And it starts with a bang as Leicester try to shake of potential Devon Loch claims when they travel to Bristol City for a 12.30pm kick-off. Full updates from there and regular dips into all the other Championship, League One and League Two games. Right, let’s get this thing started.
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important events
“I hit something,” Nuno Espirito Santo revealed Hear about Nottingham Forest’s points deduction. It appears to be an inanimate object. Definitely not one of Jim McLean’s guys.
The Guardian reported how MacLean lifted a right cross.
Rangers and Celtic agree on Old Firm ticket allocation
News from Scotland All games will be played on Saturday or Sunday, with the exception of tonight’s game between Ayr and Airdrie.
(per PA media)
rangers and celtic An agreement has been reached to give around 5 per cent of stadium tickets to away supporters for Old Firm derby matches from next season onwards. The two clubs have been at loggerheads in recent years, stemming from the Light Blues’ decision to reduce the number of fans allowed in after Steven Gerrard took over as manager in 2018, with both sides using a form of retaliation. They are reducing each other’s allocations.
Traditionally, more than 7,000 away supporters have been allowed into the Glasgow derby, but recent matches between both teams have had no spectators in attendance, with Celtic refusing to attend. The reason was safety concerns over the small number of fans attending such a heated game. We are offering 700 tickets to Ibrox at the beginning of this season. This situation was widely considered to be detrimental to the spectacle, which was previously considered one of Europe’s most historic events.
The Scottish Professional Football League said in a statement: “This will come into effect from the 2024/25 season in the Scottish Premiership, subject to all necessary requirements being met at both Ibrox and Celtic Park. “The remaining two league games between the clubs in the 2023/24 season will not be affected and the allocation to away supporters will remain at zero.
A little bit of supplies-based housekeeping. The ‘big three’ of the championship (highlighted in bold to enhance the reading experience) are all in the TV box, so they have their own kick-off times.
12:30pm – vs Bristol City leicester
1pm – Millwall vs West Brom
3pm – 8 games
5.30pm – Blackburn vs. ipswich
8pm – Watford vs. leeds
All 12 matches between League One and League Two will kick off at 3pm GMT.
The teams for the early kick-off at Ashton Gate are: A win could see Bristol City move up from 14th to 12th place.
Come on, Reds! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/O5CAOtJVX4
— Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) March 29, 2024
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Bristol Easter XI 🌟 #BCILEI pic.twitter.com/x7SOOhlwVG
— Leicester City (@LCFC) March 29, 2024
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One hour left until today’s Championship opener kick-off between Bristol City and Leicester. The Foxes can return to first place with just one point. This is the top of the table. There is a significant difference between 3rd and 5th place.
Away from the chaos and general madness of the Premier Leaguea nice article by Daniel Harris about a YMCA club looking to make their top league debut in Norway.
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo pays tribute to Larry Lloyd Speaking at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s home match against Crystal Palace, he said: “He was one of those miracle men. Our thoughts are with his family. Sad moment.”
Forest have been deducted four points for breaching the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability regulations, leaving them 18th in the table with nine games remaining. They are appealing the fine.
They have a chance to take a big step towards safety over the next four days with back-to-back home games against Palace and Fulham (Tuesday), and Nuno wants the crowd to play their part.
A very important match, no doubt. We will start with the match against Palace, so we will progress game by game. It’s a good team, it’s going to be a tough game, we’re at the City Ground, our situation is, it’s a big game for us. The support of the fans, the noise of the City Ground – we need them and they will definitely back us up.
That’s our mentality: start the game well, start on the front foot, get everyone involved, get the fans involved, get the crowd involved. (They are) more than the 12th person, and they are very important.
Yesterday we had the sad news that Larry Lloyd passed away.A key player in Nottingham Forest’s successive European Cup wins.
I like Stephen Pye’s article about the 1980 final victory over Hamburg on his 1980s sports blog.
The goal gave Forest something to stand on and set up the game as a comeback challenge. Center backs Larry Lloyd and Kenny Barnes were fantastic. Lloyd had passed an ankle fitness test, but had warned his old mate Keegan that his defensive partner Barnes was after him. Barnes tackles Keegan and receives a yellow card. The first half certainly confirmed his intentions.
Quiz questions: Which Premier League team has the longest winless streak going into this weekend’s game?
The answer is that Everton and manager Sean Dyche have dealt with a frustrating development ahead of Saturday’s game against Bournemouth, which, combined with the point deduction, leaves the Toffees in 16th place, four points out of the drop zone.
If we had won five of these games, everyone would have said, “Yeah, of course, because they’re playing well.” But when they don’t win, they say, “They’re not playing that well.” That’s the difference between perception and fact. My job is to look at the facts.
We do a lot of things right, but if we don’t win, all the things we do right are considered different. Whichever way you look at it, what’s missing from many of our performances is the final moment. Can we add those last moments and not only stabilize our performance, but win the game? We have to win the game. That’s the job, done.
He is not the first Merseyside manager to go on a rant about ‘facts’, but Opta supports many of Dyche’s statements.
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Everton have scored just one goal in their last five away games in the Premier League, despite having 65 shots (14 on target), an xG of 4.8 and seven big chances. In the previous away game, against Man United, they took 23 shots but failed to score, which was the first time they had not conceded a goal in an away league match since August 2010 against Aston Villa (also 23 shots). was the highest recorded number.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe As early as ever, it was revealed yesterday that the FA had charged Sandro Tonali with charges relating to 50 bets he made after he was swapped from Milan to Tyneside in a £55m move last July. is reacting to the news. Tonali is in the middle of a 10-month worldwide ban imposed by the Italian Football Federation, and there are fears he could receive a further extended sanction in the future. Newcastle and Howe hope further sanctions from the FA will be handed out at the same time.
The news that there were FA charges, the news that moving from Italy to England didn’t stop the disease, the disease was there, people should see it that way and say, ‘Throw the book at him. ‘Let’s punish them further.’ I don’t think that gets to the root of the problem. We need to protect all athletes because this is open to everyone and is becoming a bigger issue in society. So this is not just a Sandro issue.
I hope there are no further consequences for Mr. Sandro. He suffered during this time and asked for help and was very honest and admitted that he had a problem. I think the best thing for Sandro is to take his punishment, learn many lessons and resume his career from now on.
Get ready for the weekend’s Premier League action with another edition of Ten things..
“The Argentine will be hoping the youngster can continue his form when Burnley visit Stamford Bridge.” Who is Jacob Steinberg talking about? See below.
Alonso decides to stay at Leverkusen
Let’s start with the news that the majority of Liverpool fans didn’t want to hear: Xabi Alonso looks set to remain at Bayer Leverkusen.
preamble
Perhaps in an ideal world there would be two or three head-to-head meetings between the title-chasing trio of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal in the final 10 games of the season. Instead, there is only one. Still, Man City v Arsenal (Sunday 4.30pm) provides a fascinating climax to the weekend when the Premier League resumes after a messy international break.
Speaking of which, we also have some news from today’s Pleasures, where top league managers are trying hard not to rant about players getting injured while away on home soil.
And speaking of managers, it looks like Xabi Alonso won’t be heading to Liverpool unless this is a particularly smart move from Michael Edwards’ strategy. In a timely development, another manager who is tipped to be Jurgen Klopp’s successor will be at Anfield on Sunday to promote his case. Yes, Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton are heading north to take on Liverpool and the fun fact is that the Italians are unbeaten in four games against the Germans.
But before that, there is also intense, large-scale, full-program activity going on in the EFL. And it begins with a bang as Leicester travel to Bristol City for a 12.30pm kick-off, looking to shake off a potential claim for Devon Lock. From there you’ll get full updates, and all other Championship, League 1 and League 2 matches will also be available for regular participation. That’s right, let’s get started.
