Championship strugglers fire Wayne Rooney

Former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney stepped down as Plymouth manager on Tuesday after just seven months in charge of the Championship strugglers. Rooney leaves with Plymouth rooted to the bottom of the second tier following Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at relegation rivals Oxford. Plymouth sit four points from safety after winning just four times and losing 13 of their 23 league games following Rooney’s appointment in May. Plymouth have been thrashed 6-1 by Norwich and lost 4-0 against both Bristol City and Coventry in recent weeks to heap the pressure on the former England captain. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the board of Plymouth,” said Rooney. “Thanks also to all the staff who made me feel welcome and who make the club such a special place, the players and fans for their efforts and support during my time as head coach and I wish them all the best for the future. “To the Green Army thanks for making the games at Home Park so special, they are memories that we will share forever. “Plymouth Argyle will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will continue to look out for and take interest in their results.” A statement on the club website added: “Plymouth Argyle can confirm that the club and head coach Wayne Rooney have mutually agreed to part ways with immediate effect. “We would like to thank Wayne and his team for all their efforts and wish them well for the future.” It is 39-year-old Rooney’s latest managerial flop. He was sacked by Birmingham after only 15 games in charge last season. Birmingham were eventually relegated from the Championship after Rooney’s exit. Rooney was also unable to keep Derby in the Championship after the club were hit with hefty points deductions when they went into administration and breached Football League accounting rules. He earned plaudits at Derby for keeping them in the survival battle until the end of the season but quit the Rams in the aftermath of their relegation in 2022. Rooney also had a spell as DC United manager in the United States before returning to England. Feted as one of the greatest players of his generation, Rooney is Manchester United’s all-time leading goalscorer and also held that record with England for eight years before it was broken by Harry Kane in 2023. He won five Premier League titles, the Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup in a glittering 13-year spell with United that ended in 2017.

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Man United sacks manager Erik ten Hag

Manchester United have sacked Erik ten Hag after a dismal start to the season. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s new football structure kept Ten Hag in charge after winning the FA Cup but have parted ways with the manager just five months after that success at Wembley. United lost 2-1 against West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday, which represented their fourth loss in nine league games, and Ten Hag was relieved of his duties on Monday. Ten Hag was heavily backed in the summer transfer window and signed Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte but results have been poor. The Dutchman’s spending in time charge of United surpassed £600million and he failed to build on an excellent first season, which saw United finish third and win the Carabao Cup. United contacted other managers in the build-up to the FA Cup final last season. Ten Hag oversaw a stunning victory against Manchester City at Wembley and Ineos decided to extend his contract, despite compelling evidence suggesting he should have been relieved of his duties. The statement confirming Ten Hag had been sacked read: “Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men’s first-team manager. Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024. “We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future. Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of the team as interim head coach, supported by the current coaching team, whilst a permanent head coach is recruited.” Ratcliffe made radical changes after acquiring a minority stake in United and there was mixed reaction to keeping Ten Hag after he oversaw the most defeats in all competitions since 1977/78. Although United won the FA Cup last term, they finished eighth in the Premier League, which was their lowest-ever finish in the top-flight, and recorded a minus goal difference.

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Tuchel agrees to become England’s manager

Thomas Tuchel has agreed to become England’s manager after talks with the Football Association accelerated on Tuesday.  The 51-year-old will be the third foreign manager of the men’s team and the first from Germany. The FA has had Tuchel on its shortlist to find Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor since the beginning of the process, a list that also included Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and the interim manager, Lee Carsley, among others. It zeroed in on Tuchel, who led Chelsea to Champions League glory in 2021 – the highlight on an impressive CV. He has been out of work since leaving Bayern Munich in May. Tuchel follows Sven-Göran Eriksson and Fabio Capello in taking the job as an overseas head coach. The FA’s chief executive, Mark Bullingham, who led the recruitment process alongside the technical director, John McDermott, has long been clear that nationality should be no barrier to the role. Bullingham made the point during the European Championship in June that the England women head coach, Sarina Wiegman, is Dutch. In others words, the FA was and is perfectly happy to put its trust in someone from outside England. There is no doubt that Tuchel is an anglophile. He speaks excellent English – a prerequisite for the FA in terms of an overseas candidate – and he embraced his 18 months or so at Chelsea, becoming a cult hero to their fans. Tuchel’s skills as an orator and a leader came to the fore when he spoke out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, despite Chelsea being owned at the time by a Russian, Roman Abramovich. Tuchel found that he loved the more personality-driven aspect of the British media. Tuchel is uncompromising and left his previous four jobs under something of a cloud, reports of fallings-out with players and directors following his exits from – in chronological order – Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern. On the other hand, when Tuchel hits his stride, he has the ability to energise and inspire, to build momentum. Hugely charismatic, he has a proven track record at the highest level, winning everything on the domestic front at PSG before narrowly failing to deliver them a maiden Champions League trophy, losing in the 2020 final to Bayern. He would make up for that on a personal level at Chelsea. At Dortmund, he had won the DFB-Pokal. At Bayern, he would win the Bundesliga. Tuchel would be expected to bring the English coach Anthony Barry with him, having worked with him at Chelsea and Bayern. Barry is an assistant to the Portugal manager, Roberto Martínez.

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Labbadia may return as Super Eagles manager 

German coach Bruno Labbadia may have sorted out contractual issues with the NFF to now take charge of the Super Eagles. Labbadia announced “New chapter” accompanied by the Nigerian flag on his Instagram this afternoon. He was to have led the Super Eagles in 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda before the NFF announced that talks broke down over who will be responsible for the payment of his taxes in Nigeria and Germany. Labbadia himself was not particularly pleased his appointment was made public by the NFF when a full agreement was not in place. The Super Eagles will play a double-header against Libya next month in continuation of the AFCON qualifying series.

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