The Caribbean connection: Cole Palmer's grandad reveals his family's journey from St Kitts to Manchester

Rio Ferdinand tells Gareth Southgate to 'FREE Raheem Sterling' after balking at the Chelsea star's omission from the latest England squad last week The story of how the Premier League came into being is one of determination and deceit, of clubbable bureaucracy coming face to face with free-wheeling entrepreneurialism. In effect it is a story of its age, the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Thatcherism had smashed post-war orthodoxies but created little in its place. Football, the national game, was on its knees: stigmatised as a crucible for hooliganism, grieving after the tragedy of Hillsborough. The sport was loathed by government and struggling to make ends meet. Yet a great opportunity was approaching and a small number of ambitious men were ready to seize it. Man United 'legends' reunite for a game in Dubai with some looking unrecognisable (and some you might not recognise anyway!)

Wolves star Mario Lemina says 'I GIVE UP' while Matheus Cunha insists 'we are tired of hearing excuses'... after referee Michael Salisbury admitted he 'got it wrong' in Fulham defeat

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's son is selected for Sweden Under 15s boot camp... as former national team manager plays down comparisons Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg reveals the ONE weakness he thinks Arsene Wenger's Invincibles had as he admits Champions League regret Klitschko demands Russia and Belarus athletes are BANNED from Paris 2024 as he condemns murders of 'over 250 Ukrainian athletes' during the war Fans joke Everton star Dele Alli should be 'arrested' after footage of PINK summer haircut is revealed online, with one keen on seeing Sean Dyche's reaction Then, he says, there were no warning signs of what was to come. “I don’t think 15 years ago there was any thought of the Russian oligarchs being sanctioned. Who can say that Roman [Abramovich] didn’t do a great job for them? You ask any Chelsea supporter. The club were virtually bust before Roman came in, he turned the club around.”Although much of it has been hinted at over the years it is fascinating to read of the growing rift between Dein on one side and on the other, Fiszman, Peter Hill-Wood, the late former chairman, and Keith Edelman, then managing director. Dein and his wife Barbara were “ostracised” on away trips in Europe. He believed there was jealousy at his profile as the corporate face of Arsenal. Most of all there was disharmony on how they would fund a new stadium. He was a miracle worker, and they just let him go,’ Dein insists. ‘He left in a similar way to me. I thought the club owed Arsene a duty of care, at least a discussion. We need a change but how do you want this to be done? Do you want to be involved? What can we do? Would you like a different role, would you prefer to exit elegantly? You must have dialogue. It didn’t happen in my case, didn’t happen in his. And that really hurt him. I would have done it differently.

West Ham's stars are joined by their WAGs on a night out in Soho for their Christmas Party - as Karren Brady and David Sullivan drop in too - three days before they fly for Europa League game in Serbia Manchester United fans left fuming at question asked by TNT Sports reporter to Erik ten Hag ahead of vital... In self-publishing lingo, a price promotion is when you discount your book for a short period of time, during which you engage in concentrated marketing activities. There are two main benefits to launching your book with a price promotion: After meeting the pair, Kelly got straight to work. The FA commissioned an executive from Saatchi & Saatchi, Alex Fynn, to imagine how a new league might be organised and the revenues it might generate. Kelly also hired Parry, then a management consultant at Ernst & Young, to act as emissary to the Big Five. Jules Breach, Joe Cole and Joleon Lescott are forced to keep their cool as England fans chant 'Channel 4 is f****** s***' live on air after North Macedonia drawSky Sports PULLED an interview with Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham calling for the Premier League to drop their 10-point penalty against Everton... as the Toffees fan calls the move 'deeply troubling' Dein also helped obtain Arsenal's entry into the G-14 group of major European football clubs in 2002, and became President of the G-14 in October 2006. A keen promoter of women's football, he was also President of Arsenal Ladies Football Club, the most successful English women's football team, while Arsenal vice-chairman.