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The reigning WSL Player of the Year continues to be shifted around by her international manager, which is neither benefitting the player nor the team

England will be under no illusions of how tricky this UEFA Women's Nations League campaign is going to be after a late defeat to the Netherlands on Tuesday evening blew their group wide open, with a Belgium side that has never before qualified for the Women's World Cup sitting in pole position after two rounds of action. The Lionesses had started the new competition strongly with a win over neighbours Scotland last Friday, but a dramatic loss in Utrecht just four days later has raised several questions.

Thirty-three days after losing the World Cup final to Spain, Sarina Wiegman's side looked commanding and exciting in the first half of their opening game, scoring two good goals after being unlucky to have another ruled out for offside. The second half of that match was concerning, though, with England fortunate not to concede an equaliser. They would not get away with such sloppiness against Wiegman's home country, the Netherlands scoring a well-deserved 90th minute winner to bounce back from a shock defeat to Belgium in their opening match.

There is a lot at stake in the Nations League. The winners of the four groups in League A – one of which features England – will qualify for the competition's finals and have the chance to win a trophy. On top of that, the two teams that reach the final (unless one is France) will qualify for the women's football tournament at next summer's Olympics, to be hosted by Paris, something which is a big goal for England, Wiegman and Great Britain. Oh, and there is a place at the 2025 Euros to secure, too.

It wasn't a disastrous start to the competition by the Lionesses – after all, they've got a win on the board – but there is plenty to consider ahead of a double-header with table-toppers Belgium in October.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from England's September fixtures…

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  LOSER: Rachel Daly

  When Wiegman made it known that Alessia Russo would be rested for England's first game in this international break, it gave Rachel Daly a huge opportunity to impress. The Aston Villa star is still struggling to get game time as a No.9 for her country, but that is where she started against Scotland and she played well, unlucky to have a goal ruled out for a controversial offside before creating the Lionesses' second of the night with a brilliant assist.

  However, in the second half of that win, she was moved back into the wing-back role she occupied for most of the World Cup and it limited her offensive threat. It was something of a surprise, too, because Daly and Russo are England's only centre-forward options in this squad while Bethany England recovers from surgery. If Daly was going to play 90 minutes, why not make them all as a No.9 and bring one of the versatile defenders off the bench to play at wing-back?

  Four days later, Daly started in that wing-back role against the Netherlands as Russo took her place up front and she was picked apart by the lively Victoria Pelova, who ran rings around her as the Dutch went on to win the game. Indeed, Daly was booked for bringing the Arsenal star down and taken off at half-time as England changed shape.

  Wiegman is still struggling to get the best out of last season's Women's Super League Player of the Year and Golden Boot winner, and it's not only a hindrance to the player but also to the Lionesses, who would certainly be better if a goalscorer like Daly could be integrated effectively into the team.

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  WINNER: Alessia Russo

  Out-scored by both Daly and England last season, Russo's form has been a hot topic of discussion for some time now, but the signs going into the new season are good for her, the Lionesses and Arsenal, who she has joined after leaving Manchester United this summer.

  Yes, she missed a penalty in the Gunners' decisive Champions League shootout with Paris FC earlier this month, but she also netted twice in that match from the bench, and she got another goal on international duty this week, too, with her strike against the Netherlands a wonderful finish.

  Wiegman's decision to rest Russo for England's first match was a wise one and hopefully she will reap the rewards of the week away with her country, having had a little bit of time to recover and got on the scoresheet before Arsenal's WSL campaign starts on Sunday.

  It's clear that she is still the first choice centre forward for the Lionesses, too.

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  LOSER: The back three

  One of the biggest questions going into this international window was about the formation that England would use. Wiegman has long set the Lionesses up in a 4-3-3 system, but she changed to a 3-5-2 during the World Cup and it helped the team reach the final.

  Indeed, it was the latter that the coach opted for in these September games and that meant the second fixture, against the Netherlands, was going to be a big one. The Dutch are well-versed in three-at-the-back systems and so would be the toughest test of Wiegman's new set-up to date – too tough a test, it turned out.

  With wing-backs Pelova and Esmee Brugts causing tons of problems for England in the first half, the World Cup runners-up came out for the second period in a 4-3-3. It's clear that there's still a fair bit of fine-tuning for Wiegman and her team to do if the Lionesses want to improve in the 3-5-2.

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  WINNER: Mary Earps

  England might not have kept a clean sheet in these two games, but goalkeeper Mary Earps certainly did her reputation as one of the best in the world in her position no harm. The Manchester United shot-stopper spoke openly this month about the struggles she'd endured while having her body language and facial impressions scrutinised amid transfer interest from Arsenal, but it was clear from her performances for the Lionesses that even that hasn't distracted her from putting in top performances.

  A fantastic save to deny Caroline Weir in the win over Scotland caught the eye and Earps made a couple of great saves in the defeat to the Netherlands, too, most notably a low stop to thwart Pelova.

  With the new WSL season starting on Sunday, United will be encouraged to see that their No.1 is laser-focused despite finding the attention on her difficult as of late.

Yunus Musah is eager to point out that he still has his “head held high” despite forming part of AC Milan’s frustrating defeat to Juventus.

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• Rossoneri came unstuck against Juventus
• Reduced to 10 men in that contest
• Slipped from the top of Serie A table

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The United States international was handed another Serie A start by the Rossoneri in that contest, as he lined up against fellow countrymen Weston McKennie and Tim Weah. It was to be the visitors to San Siro that had the last laugh, with a solitary goal from Manuel Locatelli settling the tie in Juve’s favour.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Milan endured a disappointing evening on home soil, with USMNT star Christian Pulisic having to be taken off shortly before half-time following a costly red card picked up by Malick Thiaw. Stefano Pioli’s side were unable to hold out with 10 men, leading to them slipping from the top of the Serie A table.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Musah was, however, to put in another impressive performance – with his work rate in the middle of the park being noted once again – and he has posted on social media of the need for everybody in the Milan camp to stick together: “Head held high and always united.”

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• WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Musah has now taken in nine appearances for the Rossoneri on the back of his summer transfer from Valencia, with the 20-year-old midfielder earning plenty of plaudits in Italy for the speed at which he has settled in new surroundings.

Tom Brady, one of the most recognisable American athletes on the planet, recently decided to become a minority owner of Birmingham City.

National Football League (NFL)'s legendary quarterback, Tom Brady, is a well-known figure in American Football circles. The now-retired quarterback recently announced his decision to partner with Knighthead Capital Management LLC, Birmingham City's holding company, to become a minority owner at the English club. The seven-time super bowl winner was appointed the chairman of a new advisory board.

The 46-year-old was spotted at The Roost, a pub near St Andrew’s stadium, before Birmingham’s game against Leeds in the Championship on the weekend. He was later pictured at the stadium signing jerseys.

Brady will be working alongside the sports science department to advise on health, nutrition, and recovery programs while applying his extensive leadership experience and expertise across several components of the club.

You may be wondering how Brady can afford all of this investment. Below,GOALtakes a look at his net worth, streams of income and sources of revenue.

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  What is Tom Brady's net worth?

  Net worth	$530 million
  Source of wealth	Football
  Date of birth	August 3, 1977
  Country of birth	United States of America

  According to Forbes, Brady got paid more than $530 million over the course of his 23 NFL seasons. $333 million from his playing contracts, according to Spotrac, and around $200 million from his endorsements and such.

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  What businesses does Tom Brady have?

  Apart from being a successful athlete on the field, the former New England Patriots quarterback is involved in a lot of things off-the-field as well.

  In 2016, Brady announced the launch of his peak performance website TB12Sports.com. The site features his training regimen information and includes a store to purchase TB12 equipment, snacks, and merchandise.

  In 2021, the quarterback co-founded a sports-based NFT platform called Autograph alongside American entrepreneur Richard Rosenblatt. Autograph announced it raised $170M in funding in January of the same year.

  Fox Sports announced that following Brady's playing career, he would join the network as the lead color commentator. The deal will reportedly pay him $375 million over 10 years, making him the highest-paid sports commentator in history.

  In 2023, the Michigan University graduate also purchased a minority stake in the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA.

• What charity work does Tom Brady do?

  Following the launch of his peak performance website TB12Sports.com, Brady, alongside Boston Private and Robert Paul Properties, announced the formation of the TB12 Foundation as well. The nonprofit foundation was launched with the aim to provide free post-injury rehabilitation care and training to underprivileged young athletes.

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  What NFL records does Tom Brady have?

  Brady has 10 Super Bowl appearances and seven wins, both an individual record. He won the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award a record five times, being the only player to win it in two different franchises. He is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time.

  The California-born superstar holds many major quarterback records, including most career passing yards, completions, touchdown passes, and games started. He is the only quarterback to win a Super Bowl in three separate decades.

  His longevity is one of the most talked about aspects of his career. He had a career spanning 23 years, the first 20 seasons were spent with New England Patriots. He was the oldest NFL MVP at age 40 and the oldest Super Bowl MVP at age 43.

  Brady is the only NFL quarterback named to two all-decade teams (2000s and 2010s) and was also named in the 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.

Mikel Arteta'a side recovered from conceding in the first minute to take the lead, only for a slip in concentration to allow a late equaliser

On a rainy London evening with thunder echoing over the broadcast at the Emirates, Arsenal and Fulham battled back-and-forth for the entire 90 minutes. An error from Thomas Partey less than 60 seconds into the match saw the Cottagers take an early lead and then chaos ensued.

A 66th minute spot-kick from Bukayo Saka levelled the match after Fabio Vieira was brought down in the box and then, nine minutes later, Vieira flew forward again. The Portuguese international played a pinpoint cross into the box and striker Eddie Nketiah fired home, leaving the Gunners convinced they had secured all three points.

Despite Calvin Bassey earning a red card, Fulham refused to give up, however, and, in the 87th minute, their efforts were rewarded after midfielder Joao Palhinha struck home off a corner kick to level the match.

GOAL rates Arsenal's players from the Emirates Stadium…

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  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Aaron Ramsdale (4/10):

  Was caught out-of-position on both goals, albeit his defense let him down both times.

  Ben White (6/10):

  Did what was asked of him, wasn't at fault for either Fulham goal.

  William Saliba (6/10):

  Solid at the back, locked down the Fulham attack and was consistently in the right spot.

  Jakub Kiwior (6/10):

  Did exactly what was asked of him on the left flank of defense.

  Thomas Partey (4/10):

  At fault for Fulham's opening goal in the first minute of the match and was consistently caught out of position at right-back, despite playing out of position for the Gunners.

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  Midfield

  Declan Rice (6/10):

  Helped control the tempo of the match and drove Arsenal back into the match.

  Kai Havertz (5/10):

  Missed a golden chance in the first half and still doesn't look comfortable in a midfield role.

  Martin Odegaard (7/10):

  A brilliant performance from the Gunners midfield talisman again, but lacked a clinical finish throughout the match.

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  Attack

  Bukayo Saka (7/10):

  Scored a 66th minute penalty kick and was relentless on the wing all afternoon.

  Leandro Trossard (4/10):

  Subbed out at half-time, little to zero impact on the match through the first 45 minutes.

  Gabriel Martinelli (6/10):

  Very little impact on the match, but linked up well over the final stretch with the rest of the attack.

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  Subs & Manager

  Eddie Nketiah (8/10):

  Scored the match-winner after being subbed on at half-time, proving to Arteta once again why he's a reliable option up top.

  Fabio Vieira (8/10):

  Earned a penalty just 10 minutes after being subbed on and assisted Nketiah's goal shortly afterwards.

  Oleksandr Zinchenko (7/10):

  Subbed on in the 56th minute and brought life into the team and the crowd with his exceptional work rate.

  Jorginho (5/10):

  Subbed on in the 84th minute, missed his mark on the Fulham equaliser three minutes later.

  Gabriel Jesus (N/A):

  A welcomed return for the Gunners striker, but he was subbed on in stoppage time.

  Mikel Arteta (6/10):

  After a dreadful first 45 minutes, Arteta turned it around with a fantastic selection of second-half substitutes.

This season has been a wretched one for Nuno Santo’s small squad at Wolves.

They have been dealt countless injury blows which means we won’t see the likes of Jonny, Daniel Podence, Pedro Neto or Raul Jimenez until next season.

That being said, a return is edging ever closer for their Mexican sensation.

Jimenez has been missing since November after a horrifying clash of heads with Arsenal defender David Luiz.

The forward fell to the floor in agony as he was then stretchered from the field. The prognosis was that Jimenez had fractured his skull, an injury that would keep him out for an extended period of time.

He’s been able to progress from basic fitness work into full competitive training from March but has been unable to fully involve himself in powered heading and aerial duels.

Wolves announced on Wednesday evening that he wouldn’t play again this season but they did provide an exciting update on when he may back in action.

In a club statement, they revealed that Jimenez is expected to be fit and ready in time for the start of the 2021/22 campaign.

Club doctor Matt Perry said: “His skull fracture has now healed well; he will wear a protective headguard to cover the area of bony injury for the remainder of his career, but it is adjudged strong enough for him to return to play with this protection.

Perry continued: “A brain injury such as concussion can take weeks and months to recover fully and TBI will sometimes leave lasting deficits. It is wonderful to be able to say that Raul has made a remarkable and excellent recovery to date.

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“Further match-based rehabilitation will start in July and will be tightly controlled initially. This respects the fact that although his recovery appears to be total there is a big step from training to competition.”

This is simply wonderful news, and it’s likely to leave the manager absolutely buzzing.

Without Jimenez this season, Wolves have struggled significantly in the final third.

Their top scorers are Ruben Neves and Neto on just five goals while Fabio Silva and Willian Jose have only netted a handful of times between them as well.

Silva has started to progress nicely in the back end of the campaign but Jose’s arrival from Real Sociedad has not gone according to plan.

He hasn’t suited the club’s style of play and has one goal to show for his efforts at Molineux.

Jimenez is a natural born goal scorer so to have him back next season will be a massive boost to their chances of finishing in the top half.

Last term, the 30-year-old bagged 27 strikes and also racked up ten assists. To have that sort of volume missing from your attack will trouble any team.

Nuno will be dancing for joy that his main man is making a full recovery.

AND in other news, Tim Spiers delivers exciting transfer update, Wolves fans should be buzzing…

A number of Manchester City fans are livid with their rumoured third kit for the 2021/22 season.

The Citizens are enjoying a fantastic campaign – they are within touching of distance of claiming the Premier League title, while they have one foot in the Champions League final after beating Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their semi-final. They have already secured the Carabao Cup as well, meaning they could end the season with three trophies.

Their attire for the season have been made by Puma, their kit provider since 2019. Next season is already not too far away, and plans are already being made for the shirts they will wear in 2021/22 as a rumoured City third kit for the upcoming campaign has been leaked. Remarkably, it does not seem to contain the club’s crest.

A photo of the reported new kit was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters, some of whom have dubbed it “terrible”. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these Man City fans had to say about the kit leak

“Hate this so much, wish we can go back to Nike”

Credit: @jason23ortega

“Is this club trying to punish we the fans or what”

Credit: @chetambe_

“That looks terrible”

Credit: @FUTJPO

“This can’t happen…. there’s no badge man!”

Credit: @danthedrummer12

It’s like @PUMA are trying to outdo themselves in terms of dreadfulness. Got to say, they’re knocking it out the park every single time.

Credit: @phil_ribchester

“This makes me feel ill”

Credit: @Ethan4707

In other news, some Man City fans are unhappy about this Raheem Sterling news.

Everton have been handed a massive boost ahead of their clash with West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.

Although they will be missing the services of James Rodriguez again, they will be able to welcome back one of their key players from a promising campaign.

Carlo Ancelotti was speaking late this week about his team’s chances at the London Stadium and confirmed that Abdoulaye Doucoure was fit again.

He said: “He is really important. He showed fantastic quality and has supported the team a lot when he played.

“It was a great surprise for us to have this type of player. He put a lot of energy into the midfield and to have him back for the next game will be really important.”

Ancelotti concluded: “Without him, we have had more problems. He is one of the most important players we had and he has been a really good signing. I hope he can show his quality in the last games we have before the end.”

The Frenchman has been absent for seven games now dating back to March 4th. The £120k-per-week earner has been missing as a result of a small fracture in his foot.

Everton posted pictures of the midfield general back in full training this week which represents a huge advantage to their chances on Sunday.

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The Toffees have been missing some muscle in the middle of the park without him with Andre Gomes struggling following his own return to injury.

The Portuguese was lumped off shortly after the hour mark against Arsenal and then won just two of his nine defensive duels in the defeat to Aston Villa last weekend.

Ancelotti appears to be buzzing that his combative midfield player is back and you can hardly blame him.

Prior to his two-month-long injury, the 28-year-old had only missed one league game all season after arriving from Watford for a fee of £20m.

Against a free-flowing West Ham side, having Doucoure back is absolutely vital. He and Allan will have a huge job on their hands if they are to stop the effervescent Jesse Lingard.

AND in other news, Imagine him & DCL: Everton must swoop for £24.9m gem who gives oppo “sleepless nights”…

According to reports, Aston Villa are monitoring West Brom star Matheus Pereira ahead of a potential move.

What’s the story?

Dean Smith’s side got a taste of what the 24-year-old can do when he delivered a superb goal-scoring display in the Baggies 2-2 draw against Villa in the Premier League at the weekend.

The Athletic’s Steve Madeley has now claimed that Albion’s West Midlands rivals Villa are “understood to be among the Premier League sides monitoring the 24-year-old”.

He ran Matt Targett ragged

Dubbed as a “genius” who “who has a technical ability that I have never even seen before” by former Nurnberg coach Nate Weiss, Pereira has emerged as one of West Brom’s standout performers since his arrival at The Hawthorns.

His performance against Villa on Sunday really showed what he can bring to the table, with Jermaine Jenas left raving about him after the game. The pundit said: “He’s just silky. When he’s on it, he’s just got that lovely left-foot, (tucked) his penalty away, the delivery into the box for set-pieces was brilliant, and he wanted to showcase his skills.”

Pereira gave Targett “countless problems” according to the Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece, and when you look at the stats, it’s easy to see why that was the case.

The £11.7m-rated Brazilian finished the game with the highest Sofascore match rating of 8.1 and gave Targett an absolutely torrid evening. As well as scoring from the spot, the winger hit the woodwork, completed 100% of his dribbles, provided a team-high three key passes and sent in a game-high of four accurate crosses.

While Targett had some joy going forward, he struggled defensively, being dribbled past twice (the joint-most of any Villa player), losing seven of his 12 duels and conceding possession on 16 separate occasions (Sofascore).

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With eight goals and five assists in the Premier League alone, Pereira is putting up a real fight in order to keep the Baggies in the top flight. That kind of never-say-die attitude is something Smith will surely love as he looks to build a more competitive squad for next season.

He might be playing for the enemy, but Pereira is someone for whom Villa should push the boat out to try and sign.

Meanwhile, Villa could replace Ross Barkley by signing this “unique” Premier League star…

Nikola Milenkovic is on Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer radar ahead of the summer transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, Spurs are making the arrival of a central defensive leader their top priority when the window reopens, and the 23-year-old Fiorentina star is among their targets.

His contract is set to expire 12 months after the current season ends, meaning the Serie A outfit would have to cash in if they are to make any money on his signature.

The Serbia international is currently valued at €30m (£26m) by CIES Football Observatory, whilst reports emerged last month suggesting La Viola’s asking price was around €35m (£30m).

Solid Spurs unit

Gold also claims that, despite Tottenham having the third-best defensive record in the Premier League, there has been a clear lack of cohesion and leadership at the back.

Spurs have dropped 13 points from a winning position, with individual defensive mistakes clearly a major problem, and this is where Milenkovic could be the solution.

Much of Tottenham’s defensive record may well be attributed to the arrival of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who has been a rock-solid presence in front of Mourinho’s ever-changing backline.

Of all of Mourinho’s regular starters (20 or more starts), he leads the squad for tackles (2.8) and interceptions (1.3) per game, proving to be an industrious workhorse and contributing far more to stopping the opposition compared to the likes of Eric Dier, who has started the most matches of any centre-back in the league. He has managed only 0.8 tackles and 0.9 interceptions, via WhoScored.

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At 6 foot 5, Milenkovic has drawn comparisons to arguably one of the greatest defenders to grace the English top flight in Nemanja Vidic.

“Milenkovic is better than Vidic with the ball at his feet, and he is much calmer on the field,” said Mozzart journalist Dejan Stankovic to ESPN. “He is the most talented centre-back Serbia have had since Vidic, and they definitely have one thing in common – both are fearless.”

If Spurs want a colossal presence to lead them out from the back, then they shouldn’t look much further than the Fiorentina titan.

Only Franck Ribery has performed better in Serie A for them this season, with the Serbian recording an average WhoScored rating of 6.83. In terms of key defensive attributes, he is performing exceedingly well too, managing 1.4 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 3.5 clearances per game.

This shows that, despite his towering height, he’s an equally hard man to defeat on the ground – just as much as in the air – and he clearly has a great ability to read the game and then snuff out any danger.

That is something his former Partizan boss Ivan Tomic has pointed out before, as he said: “Milenkovic has [the] physical characteristics of a beast. He reads the game well, plays the ball, and should have a great career ahead of him.”

Daniel Levy ought to swoop this summer if he is to vastly improve Spurs’ defence, and in doing so, he could begin to create a dream spine for several years.

Milenkovic would be a fine addition to Spurs.

AND in other news, 19x possession lost: Spurs gem drops int’l disaster, Mourinho claim proving to be true…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Newcastle United defender Steve Howey believes there was nothing wrong or unusual with the reported training ground bust-up last week.

It was reported in the Daily Mail last week that Steve Bruce and Matt Ritchie had a row that included physical contact from the manager.

However, Howey believes there is nothing wrong with it and claims it happens at every club, with no player or former player able to deny they’ve not seen it happen.

Bruce did not take well to the story being reported and how big of a talking point it became as it seemed to take the focus away from an important game against West Brom, which they ended up drawing 0-0.

Howey told FFC that he believes nothing is wrong with a bust-up and that it is a regular occurrence up and down the country.

“The fall out for me is not an issue it happens all the time. If it was supposedly true that Steve was kind of nudging into him that’s not really an issue for me.

“If you get an ex-player or a current player, and you ask them ‘has that ever happened to them?’ If they turn around and say ‘no’, they’re a barefaced liar because it happens constantly.

“They’ll argue with coaches, they’ll argue with managers and come face to face. I’ve seen players fighting but it’s a passionate game.”

A lot was made of the training ground bust-up, however, it may have been blown out of proportion as Howey says t happens all the time.

Newcastle don’t need any more news or press about them except for what is happening on the pitch as they continue to battle against relegation.