Blackburn Rovers are on the lookout for what will be their seventh manager in less than seven-and-a-half years after parting company with Gary Bowyer on Tuesday.

After two spells as caretaker boss following the dismissals of Henning Berg and Michael Appleton – both of whom lasted less than ten weeks in charge – Bowyer was handed the position on a permanent basis two-and-a-half years ago.

A slow start to this season has seen the former Rotherham United full-back relieved of his duties, meaning he is remarkably the eighth manager to be sacked by a second-tier side since the opening weekend of the campaign – meaning a third of the division have pulled the trigger with just sixteen games played.

Much changed

Kit Symons, Chris Powell and Ch…

Football Federation Australia (FFA) confirmed the appointment of James Johnson as its new chief executive officer on Friday.

Johnson, most recently the senior vice-president of external affairs with the City Football Group (CFG), is replacing David Gallop as chief and will begin in the role in January.

He has previously held positions with FIFA – as head of professional football and senior manager member associations – and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as director of international relations and development.

Having run a domestic and international executive search, and in a strong field of candidates, we have no doubt James is the right person for the role. We are thrilled that he is coming back to Australia at this important time for the game, FFA c…

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba insists that he is more focused on team accolades like the Champions League or World Cup than individual prizes such as the Ballon d Or.

Barcelona great Lionel Messi and Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo have enjoyed a stranglehold over football s greatest individual honour for the past decade.

Pogba has been among those touted to take over the mantle when Messi and Ronaldo s reign over football s best player on the planet winds down.

But the France international recognises such an achievement can only come about by winning the greatest team trophies.

I want to win a World Cup and Champions League and to be the best, Pogba told Canal+.

The Ballon d Or is more a dream than an objective.

You c…

Arsenal s new boss Mikel Arteta has claimed being ruthless and consistent is what has made Pep Guardiola such a successful manager.

Arteta was announced as Arsenal s new permanent head coach on Friday, with Freddie Ljungberg having been in interim charge since Unai Emery was sacked in November.

He joins the Gunners after assisting Guardiola at City since 2016, winning two Premier League titles, two EFL Cups and the FA Cup during his time in Manchester.

Arteta, who came close to taking over at Arsenal in 2018 before Emery succeeded Arsene Wenger, plans to champion some of Guardiola s best qualities as he looks to revitalise fortunes at Emirates Stadium.

What I ve learned mostly is you have to be ruthless, consistent and fit every day the culture of the c…

Paul Pogba could still join Real Madrid but he is not worth the reported €200million asking price, according to the Manchester United midfielder s brother.

Mathias Pogba, who plays in the fourth tier of Spanish football, thinks his younger sibling might yet leave Old Trafford despite United s apparent insistence on a huge sum.

The Premier League club reportedly want close to the world-record €222m fee that saw Neymar move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

United would not be able to sign a replacement as the transfer window has closed to English clubs, but Mathias advised Madrid to listen to the desires of head coach Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane is one of the greats and I think that if the club give him what he wants he won t have a problem, …

Morocco are through to the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 after goals from Selim Amallah and Zakaria Aboukhlal secured a 2-0 win over Comoros on Friday.

Amallah opened the scoring in the first half at Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium and Aboukhlal added a second late on as the Atlas Lions made it two Group C wins out of two following a 1-0 victory over Ghana in their opening game, sealing their spot in the knockout stage.

Standard Liege midfielder Amallah showed great composure in the penalty area as he latched onto a loose ball after Ayoub El Kaabi s shot was blocked, before finishing with his right foot after 16 minutes.

Nayef Aguerd almost doubled Morocco s lead before the break when he met Sofiane Boufal s corner with a towering header, but rattled the crossbar…

Everton are in no rush to sign players who would replace Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Moise Kean, according to , with manager Carlo Ancelotti still counting on them.

Gbamin, primarily a midfielder but capable of playing in any defensive role, arrived to Goodison Park from Mainz 05 in the summer of 2019 for a reported fee of €25 million, but injuries have affected his time with the Toffees severely. Having just returned from an Achilles tendon rupture, the 25-year-old played his only third game for the club, first this season, against Crystal Palace earlier this month and picked up a medial collateral ligament injury in training afterwards, which is now set to keep him out of action for the rest of the campaign.

Meanwhile, striker Kean is having a very good loan spell at P…

Atletico Madrid can seal a place in the round of 16 with victory over Austria Vienna in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

The La Liga high-flyers top Group G after winning their opening three matches and will enter the home fixture against their struggling opponents as red-hot favourites.

Atletico have won 11 of their 12 league fixtures this season, helping them to second place in the table, just one point behind Barcelona.

They sit five points ahead of city rivals Real Madrid, largely thanks to the form of forwards Diego Costa and David Villa.

Costa has been outstanding for Diego Simeone s side, scoring 15 goals in as many appearances in all competitions.

His latest effort which came in Sunday s 2-0 home success against Athletic Bilbao, when Villa al…

Milan have played a part in France s latest bid for World Cup glory after revitalising striker Olivier Giroud, according to the Serie A club s president Paolo Scaroni.

France remain on course to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the trophy after beating England 2-1 on Saturday to set up a semi-final showdown with Morocco.

Giroud scored the reigning champions winner in the quarter-final against England, with that his fourth goal of Qatar 2022 – only team-mate Kylian Mbappe (five) has scored more.

The 36-year-old has also been in good form for club side Milan this campaign, having been directly involved in a team-high 14 goals (nine goals and five assists) in 19 matches.

He has scored 23 goals in 57 games in all competitions since the s…

Chinese Super League leaders Guangzhou Evergrande fell to their first defeat of the season as they lost 1-0 to Tianjin Teda on Saturday.

Australian midfielder Erik Paartalu’s effort in the 16th minute went unmatched by the visitors to the Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium, who simply could not get past Alexandre Guimaraes’ determined side who sit just one point off the relegation zone.

The only relief for Evergrande was that the teams directly below them could not take advantage of the rare defeat as Shandong Luneng and Beijing Guoan fell to Shanghai Shenxin and Changchun Yatai respectively.

The loss for Beijing, which was their first in five, saw the capital club robbed of the points by Changchun’s Isac who fired home a brace to seal a 2-0 scoreline.

But Shan…