Sacked coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he leaves Manchester United with a “better squad” than he inherited and ready to “kick on” in the challenge for major honours.
The Norwegian boss was sacked after Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Watford and a dreadful sequence of results.
He guided the club to second and third-placed Premier League finishes in his tenure but they are currently eighth, 12 points behind leaders Chelsea.
Solskjaer, 48, replaced Jose Mourinho on an interim basis in December 2018.
He was then handed the job full-time in March 2019 on a three-year contract and, in July, signed a new deal with the club until 2024.
Solskjaer was United’s fourth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 – and lasted longer than more experienced predecessors David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Mourinho.
However, while United finished second last season, they were a distant 12 points behind champions Manchester City and then lost the Europa League final to Villarreal on penalties.
In what could be a subtle strategy to build on last season’s performance and expand its ambition at the Mindgames Scrabble Premier League, Division B heavyweight D’Warriors has unveiled it’s new acquisition for the 2022 season.
D’Warriors achieved an appreciable position in the 2021 season despite contending against internal challenges forced on the team largely by Covid 19.
As a result, the management decided to inject fresh fingers into the team and strengthen it with three new singings.
Edo 2020 National Sports Festival Double Gold medallist Anthony Idorenyin who also emerged as the first runner-up at the 3rd Dynamite Opens Scrabble last May will be expected to bear his word influence on the team when the season commences next February.
Expected to add more muscle to the D’Warriors is one-time National Sports Festival Gold medallist Babatunde Adeagbo while Taiwo Adeniran completed the new additions.
Adeniran, a well- established tactician in nurturing future jammers from his conveyor belt at the University of Lagos has created a niche as a dependable player in the game.
The trio would team up with Fubara Tamunosiki and Kamar Adebowale for a shot at the title.
Team Manager Khaleel ‘Dynamite’ Adedeji who was delighted with the fresh replacements said the strategic shake-up was to ensure it remain focused on the projected plan for the incoming season.
According to him, “bringing on board new players with great charisma and experience is important for us to keep growing as a team.”
On the team”s ambition, Adedeji stated that “the goal is to win the league and get promoted, we believe we have amazing team to do just that and we will give it our best shot” he continued “going into a new season, there is always a fresh hope of believing we can accomplish our dreams. We fell short last season but we have crossed the T’s and dotted the I’s. Hopefully by February we will start with an excellent start.”
While appreciating the significant support it received from sponsors, he urged the fans to keep backing them as more moves would be put in place to ensure the team realise it’s set objectives for next season.
The Nigeria Union of Workers (NUR) has suspended its three-day warning strike following resolutions made by concerned authority.
NUR in a communiqué of resolutions jointly signed by President General, Senior Staff Association (SSA), Nigerian Railway Corporation, Aliyu Mainasara, President of NUR, Innocent Ajiji and Director Admin/Human Resources, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Dr. Monsurat Omotayo made the resolution after meetings with the NRC Board in Abuja and with the Federal Ministry of Transport (FMOT), NRC management, and the leadership of NUR and SSA in Lagos.
They resolved that a committee be set up with immediate effect on the review of the standard condition of service with timeline lasting to the 31st day of January 2022. It was agreed that the personal data on deceased workers be collected for processing for immediate payment as every worker is already covered by the group life assurance scheme.
President Muhammadu Buhari says the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), currently standing trial, runs contrary to the doctrine of separation of powers between the Executive and Judiciary.
Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s spokesman in a statement on Friday in Abuja, said the president stated this when he received a group under the aegis of Highly Respected Igbo Greats, led by First Republic parliamentarian and Minister of Aviation, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, at State House, Abuja,
While stressing his policy of non-interference with the Judiciary, President Buhari said when Kanu jumped bail, got arrested and was brought back to the country, “I said the best thing was to subject him to the system.
Three days after a leaked report of the Lagos State #EndSARS judicial panel went viral, which indicted the nation’s security forces of opening fire on the assembly of unarmed protesters and killing some citizens, President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday broke his silence when he told the visiting United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, that his government would allow the system to exhaust itself, and will, therefore, wait for pronouncements from state governments, which set up panels to probe police brutality in the country.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement, after President Buhari received Blinken at the State House, Abuja.
Up till last month during the one year commemoration of the #EndSARS protest, the Federal Government had insistently denied that unarmed protesters were killed at the tollgate on October 20, 2020, with the Minister of Information, Mr. Lai Mohammed, describing the incident as a “massacre without bodies.”
South Africa’s state-owned electricity provider, Eskom, says it’s found clear evidence of sabotage at one of its power plants.
It says one of its high capacity pylons was brought down when all eight of its support rods were cut.
Claims of sabotage at Eskom’s fleet of ageing coal-fired plants aren’t new, but the company says it’s the first time it’s had proof.
The debt-ridden energy giant regularly implements power cuts which are usually blamed on mismanagement.
But the government is now trying to clean up the company.
It’s not clear who’s behind the sabotage, but fingers are likely to be pointed at politicians with an interest in seeing Eskom, and the government, fail.
Malawian police have used tear gas to disperse a crowd of over 2,000 anti-government protestors in its biggest city, Blantyre.
The demonstrators were protesting against the rising cost of living, which they attribute to what they say is “bad and incompetent” leadership of President Lazarus Chakwera.
Images and video clips of protest organiser Bon Kalindo, a well-known comedian and politician, who now calls himself the “voice of the voiceless” are in wide circulation on social media, showing him fleeing the protest scene.
Police say they had secured an agreement with Mr Kalindo to call off the protest after it emerged that there were rival groups fighting among themselves and also perpetrating violence against onlookers.
South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns beat Hasaacas Ladies of Ghana 2-0 as they made history and won the first ever Women’s African Champions League title in Cairo.
The opening exchanges were evenly balanced with both teams enjoying periods of possession but some poor passing meant neither side could create clear-cut chances.
Sundowns came close in the seventh minute as Lerato Kgasago’s free kick from outside the area went narrowly over the bar. The breakthrough came in the 32nd minute as the front three of Sundowns combined well to get in behind the Hasaacas defence.
A first-time ball over the top from Melinda Kgadiete found Andisiwe Mgcoyi on the right hand side and in behind the defenders, her cross was flicked in at the far post by Chuene Morifi.
The South Africans took control of the game in the second half and were rewarded in the 65th minute when Mgcoyi was on target when she got on the end of a ball from Nonhlanhla Mthandi, racing into the area ahead of Hasaacas captain Janet Egyir.
Hasaacas’ best chance came in the 76th minute with a free kick just outside the area and directly in front of goal but Perpetual Agyekum’s fierce shot was well saved and pushed over the bar by Andile Dlamini.
As the Ghanaians pushed for a goal they were left short of numbers in defence but Sundowns were unable to take advantage and add to their tally.
Sundowns held on for the historic win despite playing the last few minutes with 10 women after Regina Magolola was shown a straight red card just moments after having come on as a substitute.
Companies owned by family and friends of former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila had millions of dollars of public funds funnelled through their bank accounts, according to Africa’s biggest data leak.
The money was transferred to the companies’ accounts at the Congolese arm of the BGFI bank.
Millions of dollars in cash were then taken out of the accounts.
Mr Kabila was president at the time of the bank transfers.
He has declined to respond to our questions over the transfers.
The leak included more than three million documents and information on millions of transactions from the BGFI (Banque Gabonaise et Française Internationale) bank, which works in several African countries and France.
Online French investigative journal Mediapart and the NGO Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) obtained the information.
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