Eddie Howe was keen to look at the positives after Newcastle United secured seventh place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes were among the goalscorers as Newcastle won 4-2 at Brentford to finish their Premier League campaign.
The victory ensured a seventh-place finish, and a Manchester City victory over Manchester United in next Saturday s FA Cup final will confirm Newcastle s place in next season s Europa Conference League.
While this season did not quite live up to the heroics of last term, which saw the Magpies finish in the Champions League spots, Howe still feels it has been a successful campaign.
We are United.
We have felt your support every step of the way, both inside the stadium and all over the world. T…
Roma stalwart Daniele De Rossi wants his club to revitalise themselves under new manager Rudi Garcia this season.
Roma will enter their third successive campaign with a different manager, aiming to break into the top five in the Serie A for the first time since 2009-10.
Garcia has bought well in the close-season with Kevin Strootman, Mehdi Benatia, Maicon and Morgan De Sanctis the headline arrivals at the Stadio Olimpico.
The last few seasons have not gone well, that is clear, De Rossi said.
What we need is to be reborn. And we start from here, we start with pre-season. It s the preparation for a revival ahead of an important year.
The club has always been a strong one, even in the years that things didn t go so well.
However, something has been missi…
Southend United manager Phil Brown is relishing the prospect of taking on former club Hull City in the FA Cup fourth round.
Brown led Hull to the Premier League in 2008 and kept the club in the top flight before being placed on gardening leave the following season, which ended in relegation.
An unsuccessful spell at Preston North End followed for Brown before he took charge of League Two Southend in March 2013.
The 54-year-old will now welcome Hull, who are back among England s elite clubs under Steve Bruce, to Roots Hall on January 25 or 26.
You couldn t write the script; it really is what the FA Cup is all about, Brown told Southend s official website.
It s a great draw for me personally coming up against Hull, but also for the players to test themselves …
Deputy secretary general Markus Kattner has been sacked by FIFA following breaches of his fiduciary responsibilities .
The German has been reported to have been aware of the disloyal payment made by then-president Sepp Blatter to Michel Platini in 2011 which resulted in the pair being banned from all football-related activity for six years – the Frenchman s suspension has since been reduced to four following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Kattner joined FIFA as the finance director in 2003 and had been serving as acting secretary general since January after Jerome Valcke was hit with a 12-year ban after FIFA s Ethics Committee found him guilty of numerous acts of misconduct.
However, Kattner has now been dismissed by world football s go…
Hull City manager Steve Bruce believes Paolo Di Canio s outdated approach to management proved to be his downfall at Sunderland.
Di Canio was dismissed by the Wearside club on Sunday having overseen a run that saw his side pick up just one point from their five opening games and left them rock-bottom of the Premier League.
The Italian only joined the Stadium of Light outfit as Martin O Neill s replacement in March, helping them preserve their top-flight status thanks partly to a 3-0 derby win at Newcastle United.
But Sunderland have failed to build on that success this term despite recruiting 14 players in the transfer window, while Di Canio has regularly criticised his players in public after poor results.
And Bruce, who managed Sunderland from 2009 to 2011, fe…
Former Swansea City defender Chico Flores has joined Spanish club Granada, it has been revealed.
The 30-year-old was a free agent as his contract with Al Duhail had expired, and he signed a one-year deal with Granada, with an option for a further year.
Flores will attempt to help los Rojiblancos return to the elite division after they were relegated from La Liga last term.
The experienced defender had represented Cadiz, Racing Portuense, Barcelona B, Almeria and Mallorca before moving to England in 2012.
Flores then enjoyed two very successful campaigns with Swansea City, making a total of 57 Premier League appearances.
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FIFA have announced the worldwide extensions of bans given to 26 players by the Italian Football Association for match-fixing offences.
The FIGC handed out suspensions ranging from two months to four years back in July and August after conducting further investigations into match-fixing relating to Serie B games in the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons and Serie A contests in the 2010-11 campaign.
Torino s Belgium international goalkeeper Jean-Francois Gillet was among those to receive one of the longest bans, with the 34-year-old banned for three years and seven months for offences relating to two matches involving former club Bari in 2008 and 2009.
A match official was also handed a four-year ban, and those sanctions will now be implemented on a worldwide scale.
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Vicente del Bosque has tipped Pep Guardiola to become Spain coach at some stage in the future and believes the current Manchester City manager s Catalan roots will not be an issue.
Del Bosque stepped down as Spain boss in the wake of their last-16 exit at Euro 2016, having previously guided them to 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 glory.
Guardiola is not among the candidates to take the vacancy following his recent arrival at City, but the Del Bosque has backed him to lead his country later in his career.
Guardiola is the best coach around at the moment, there is no doubt about it. He got a great education and has since only developed, Del Bosque told Suddeutsche Zeitung.
In the past, we brought in coaches from abroad. Now our coaches are the ones moving ab…
Holders Spain will be out to prove everyone they are still the team to beat when they take on Netherlands in their opening World Cup fixture and edge closer to winning Group B. Meanwhile, Oranje aim to get revenge on La Furia Roja for the heartbreaking defeat in the 2010 World Cup final, but it is clear they are the underdogs here.
It was against the Netherlands that Spain won their first ever World Cup title, defeating Oranje in the 2010 final thanks to extra time goal by Andres Iniesta, and La Furia Roja hope their next match against the same opponents will pave the way for another successful tournament. Having also lifted the trophy at Euro 2008 and Euro 2012, Spain are searching for their fourth successive title at major tournaments, that is if we disregard the 2013 Confede…
Arsenal are ready to move for wantaway Leicester City midfielder Riyad Mahrez in the summer, according to the Star.
The Algeria international hasn’t trained for the Foxes since they rejected a deadline day approach from runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City, and missed their 1-1 draw with Swansea City at the weekend.
It remains to see whether or not Pep Guardiola will renew his interest in signing the 2016 PFA Player of the Year when the transfer window reopens, though Arsenal could now make a move.
Since signing for Leicester halfway through the the 2013/14 campaign the twenty-six year old has racked up one hundred and sixty-five appearances in all competitions, scoring forty-four goals.
He was a key part of the squad that won the Premier…