Gustavo Poyet is determined to kick start his Sunderland reign by beating Newcastle United in just his second game in charge.

The Uruguayan was confirmed as Paolo Di Canio s successor at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday after the Italian paid the price for Sunderland s disastrous start to the Premier League season.

With his side sitting bottom of the Premier League, having accrued just one point from their opening seven games, Poyet s first assignment is a trip to Swansea City after the international break before his side host Newcastle the following week.

As a player, Poyet scored four goals in 11 games against the Tyneside club Sunderland are coincidentally one of just two clubs he managed more against and the former midfielder is hoping to heap more misery on Newcast…

AC Milan are closing in on Nice defender Renato Civelli, Italian TV station Sky Italia has revealed.

It is no secret the Rossoneri are searching for a new central defender and they have been looking at a number of high-profile players.

However, Sky Italia has learned that they might just opt for a cheaper alternative and sign Nice s Renato Civelli.

The 29-year-old s deal at Stade Municipal du Ray is set to expire and no doubt he would be interested in joining the Rossoneri.

Renato Civelli may be virtually unknown outside of France, but he has been putting in some very good performances in French Ligue 1 for almost a decade now.

After leaving Marseille to join San Lorenzo, the experienced defender quickly returned to France and signed a three-year…

Today, I say it with more conviction: this was the best World Cup ever.

That was FIFA president Gianni Infantino in Moscow, 48 hours before France would play out an absolutely enthralling triumph over Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium. Not many would disagree with him. Didier Deschamps certainly won t.

Russia 2018, the tournament of surprises, had one more up its sleeve for the showpiece clash in the capital. A France team so often accused of being too cautious, too afraid to unleash their attacking potential, smashed Croatia with a second-half attacking salvo. The same France team so widely praised for an imperious defence handed Croatia two goals, two lifelines, on a plate.

It was a welcome shock. It was also vindication for Deschamps, who nailed his tactics …

Monaco winger Gelson Martins has been suspended indefinitely for pushing a referee, pending a Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) investigation.

Martins is facing a lengthy ban after pushing referee Mikael Lesage twice during Monaco s 3-1 Ligue 1 defeat at Nimes on February 1.

Having initially shoved Lesage following Tiemoue Bakayoko s 32nd-minute red card, Portugal international Martins was then sent off before pushing the referee again.

Martins, who joined Monaco permanently from LaLiga outfit Atletico Madrid in 2019, risks receiving a suspension of up to six months.

Monaco team-mate Bakayoko received a two-match ban after his sending off last week.

Martins has scored four goals and assisted another for Monaco, who are 10th in Ligue 1 this sea…

Hull’s midfielder, Kevin Kilbane, insist that he would be looking whole-heartedly about beating Fulham on Monday night. However, he along with his countrymen Stephen Hunt and Paul McShane will take time out from the Tigers preparations for the evening kick-off by watching his country s play-off draw.

Kilbane won his 100th cap for the Republic of Ireland last week and has been an integral part of the Irish side over the past decade. Admitting that the presentation of the 100 cap almost moved him to tears, he said I ve just been very fortunate the manager has picked me and I ve managed to stay relatively injury-free throughout my whole career. But when you are in the side it gives you confidence and it is pleasing he has shown faith in me to play every game.

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Wigan Athletic striker Marlon King being jailed for 18 months for an assault on a young woman has showed just how footballers can go off the rails. The 29 year-old has apparently been in the dock seven times for several different offences.

At his age he should have known better, footballer or not. He tried to impress his victim by telling her ‘Don’t you know I’m a millionaire’.

It’s the typical footballer mentality. I’m sure King’s manager Steve Bruce is appalled by his striker’s behaviour and Wigan have quite rightly decided to terminate his contract.

These are young men with far too much money and not enough sense in some cases. These in many cases are people who have had hard upbringings but that is no ex…

As Andre Schurrle controlled the ball on the left-hand side of the box before thumping home the seventh goal of the match, a voice from the back of a Rio de Janeiro restaurant shouted in Portuguese: 10-0, 10-0, 10-0!

It did not get that bad for Brazil, but a 7-1 defeat to Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-final was undoubtedly one of the most crushing losses in the history of sport, not just football.

The confidence of the most successful footballing nation was destroyed in the space of 90 minutes in Belo Horizonte. The spectre of that result continues to haunt Brazil, but they will attempt to vanquish their demons on Thursday when they return to the Mineirao for the first time since that dark day.

As if the lingering memories of that seismic blow were not en…

West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan does not regret signing Dimitri Payet, despite an acrimonious end to the playmaker s time in east London.

Payet, who lit up the Premier League last season following a transfer from Marseille in June 2015, returned to Stade Velodrome for £25million on Sunday, having refused to play as he pushed for a switch back to Ligue 1.

And Sullivan, speaking to radio station talkSPORT, described the fee West Ham recouped for the 29-year-old France international as a damage-limitation deal .

What Dimi said to me is that his family hadn t settled, he said.

He wanted to go back to France. It was very strange what he said after moving.

I don t regret bringing him to the club. We finished seventh and a lot of that was down to…

England captain Harry Kane hopes to spread a broader message to make a step forward at the Qatar World Cup, where the striker and nine other skippers will wear anti-discrimination armbands.

The Three Lions forward has joined with captains from the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales as part of the OneLove initiative.

As England prepare to face Italy and Germany in the Nations League, Kane s decision to promote the movement to empower inclusion and diversity was the main talking point.

A distinctive heart-adorned armband will show England s stand against discriminatory practice in Qatar, where same-sex relationships and promotion of same-sex relationships are criminalised. 

I talked to some captains on …

The PGMOL chief Howard Webb has confirmed that plans are afoot for audio communication between the officials in the Premier League to be heard by the public.

There have been calls for transparency on that front for a long time, with the standards of refereeing in the English top flights subject to much criticism.

We re looking to do this as much as we possibly can.

PGMOL chief Howard Webb reveals that there is plans to allow the public to have access to more audio from referees and VAR

— Football Daily (@footballdaily)

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