McLeish quits as Birmingham boss

Australia s A-League has been rocked by the exit of Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick on Saturday.

Merrick s six-year tenure at the Victory was confirmed at a press conference which the dual premiership coach did not attend.

It was left to club chairman Anthony Di Pietro and managing director Richard Wilson to make the announcement.

The board of Melbourne Victory can announce head coach Ernie Merrick and the club have agreed to part ways, Di Pietro said.

This decision has been reached after an extensive board review of all parts of the business. We determined the best way forward was to part ways and Melbourne Victory are to undertake a new coaching direction.

Ernie s been obviously a very successful coach and we are appreciative of this,…

Lars Lagerback was ecstatic with Iceland s first-half performance after the Nordic nation accounted for 10-man Turkey 3-0 on Tuesday.

Iceland s Euro 2016 Group A qualifying campaign got off to the perfect start in Reykjavik thanks to goals from Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson.

Lagerback s men, who narrowly missed out on reaching the 2014 World Cup after losing a two-legged play-off against Croatia, dominated from the outset with Bodvarsson heading home the opener in the 18th minute.

The hosts controlled proceedings from that point as Sigurdsson and Sigthorsson completed the scoring in the second half and Lagerback said the opening 45 minutes was the best he had seen since taking the reins in 2011.

I think we had a really, r…

Eric Abidal has told Paul Pogba to remember that Barcelona are the best club in the world as he contemplates his next move.

Reports in Spain have suggested Real Madrid are going to make a big play to try and sign the Juventus and France midfielder this summer, with the player also linked to both Manchester clubs in the Premier League.

Barca, though, have also been long-term admirers and Abidal – a four-time Liga winner during six years at Camp Nou between 2007 and 2013 – thinks Pogba, 23, should bear Barca s stature in mind.

It is no surprise that the great teams want to sign Pogba, he said to Cadena COPE.

People talk about his talent, but he is still young. He is doing very well at Juventus but he did not show his best level during his first Euro 2…

Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink has played down suggestions that his captain John Terry could be set for a shock England recall.

England conceded four goals during last week s friendly outings against Germany and Netherlands and boss Roy Hodgson conceded his prospective Euro 2016 squad has a lack of quality in the left-sided centre-back position, before revealing he recently had a long chat with Terry.

The 35-year-old is out of contract at Chelsea at the end of the season, and retired from international football in 2012 – a factor that Hiddink joined Hodgson in playing up at his Friday news conference.

I think it is a little bit overvalued, whether they [Hodgson and Terry] had a conversation, Hiddink said.

It was no issue for either of them. John is doing h…

According to a recent report from Calciomercato, Barcelona are open to the idea of selling Samuel Umtiti during the summer transfer window. The 25 year old defender’s contract is set to expire in 2023, although it seems more and more likely that he’ll be leaving soon. He has been at the Nou Camp since back in 2016 when he arrived from French club Lyon, and hasn’t looked back since. He is also a French international, winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup with his nation last year.

Umtiti reportedly likes both Manchester United and Manchester City, which is one of the reasons why Barca could be open to the idea of selling him on. He could be part of a plan that would see him depart the club, and in turn, Barca will continue to go all in on the idea of bringing in Matthijs de Ligt…

A difficult question because I don t think about it now. I only think about United. Everything is possible, I don t exclude anything. What happens in the future, that happens.

Those are the words of Manchester United youngster Tahith Chong, who confirmed during a recent interview with NOS in the Netherlands that he is open to anything – including a loan move away from the club. At the age of just 19, Chong has already been able to establish himself as one of United’s most exciting youngsters of the last few years. He made his professional debut in an FA Cup win against Reading earlier on this season, after impressing for the club’s youth setup. Chong initially made the jump over from Feyenoord in the Netherlands to Old Trafford back in 2016.

He is viewed as one …

According to a recent report from Sky Italia, Juventus are ready and willing to launch a genuine bid to try and sign Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka.

Roma are also contemplating an approach for the man who, right now, is one of the most in-form midfielders in Europe thanks to his performances for Switzerland at Euro 2020.

Whether or not that’s going to open up the door for a big move away from the Emirates, though, is the question on everyone’s lips especially when considering the fact that nobody really knows whether he can consistently replicate this form for Arsenal.

The fact that the club will not be playing European football could prove to be the deciding factor with Juve, as always, being viewed as legitimate contenders to win the Champions League so l…