A bold – and some may say ill-advised – move by Sky Sports ahead of the Manchester derby.
Officials at the broadcaster requested that Manchester United’s new interim manager carry out an interview before the match direct with the studio. That would be a studio in which sat Roy Keane, who has reignited a bizarre spat with Michael Carrick’s wife which appears to date back more than a decade.
Speaking on The Overlap podcast, Keane branded Mrs Carrick ‘a big mouth’, presumably in a nod to an X-rated social media post she made, and subsequently deleted, after he had accused her husband of delivering a dour interview following a Champions League loss to Olympiakos in 2014.
Carrick brushed aside the comments in his press conference ahead of the derby but it is understood that, perhaps understandably, Sky’s request was met with short shrift by United officials – and Gary Neville instead spoke to his former team-mate.
Back in 2014 Mrs Carrick had responded to Keane’s criticism of a post-match interview by Carrick following a defeat by posting on social media: ‘Roy Keane what a **** will say anything to provoke a reaction.’
She swiftly deleted it, but Keane brought it up again last week after Carrick’s appointment, saying: ‘His wife can always come in [if Carrick doesn’t do well], cause she’s got a bit of a big mouth sometimes. She’s probably doing the team talk.’
Manchester United snubbed the chance for Roy Keane to speak to Michael Carrick ahead of kick-off against Man City after the Irishman’s comments about his wife
Carrick has been with wife Lisa (left) for 29 years and they were childhood sweethearts, but Keane (right) branded her a ‘big mouth’
Tottenham chief tootling off
Eyebrows were raised when Inside Sport revealed that Rebecca Caplehorn was to leave Tottenham Hotspur.
Caplehorn, the club’s Head of Football Administration and Governance, is highly regarded and it would appear that Spurs’s loss – after a decade of service – is the Premier League’s gain.
The competition declined to comment, but according to sources Caplehorn has been chosen to replace Tony Scholes, the Premier League’s chief football officer, who is heading across the Atlantic to become president of the USL’s new first-division men’s league.
Tottenham’s Rebecca Caplehorn is leaving to be the Premier League’s chief football officer
Prem’s plane pain
Not good news for the Premier League’s carbon footprint. The competition prides itself on its green credentials, and has a commitment to environmental sustainability.
However, the recent collapse of Eastern Airways, a regional airline which many clubs used to charter flights to away games, has created a shortage of private planes.
Indeed, Inside Sport has been told that some sides, unable to find a 50-seater, have instead been chartering larger, fuel-guzzling 180-seaters, which have been taking off and landing on their short-hops while less than a third-full.
Ravenous journo wreaks havoc
One of the privileges of being a reporter who covers football is the access to food, with the fayre at some clubs often the highlight of a visit.
However, it would appear one journalist, whom Inside Sport has chosen not to name, has earned a reputation for enjoying what is on offer a little too much.
The member of the media has been spotted swiping items and putting them into their bag and the situation has even prompted a complaint to be made to their employer and a request that they send someone else in future.
On one occasion, the guilty party was even spotted stashing tea bags into their rucksack.
Leeds’ LinkedIn spat
Some entertaining slapped-arsery from the back-slapping world of LinkedIn, concerning the redevelopment of Leeds United’s Elland Road.
Inside Sport readers may recall this column noting last year that images of the planned improvements – which are to see the capacity raise from 37,645 to north of 50,000 – looked eerily similar to work previously carried out at Liverpool when the main stand and Anfield Road stand were expanded.
It was also interesting that the designers of both projects were London-based KSS. Now, the Leeds redevelopment has been handed over to rival outfit BDP Patten to carry out in a move which insiders believe have put noses at KSS firmly out of place.
A recent press release posted on LinkedIn to mark the announcement, which made no reference to KSS’s prior involvement, seemed to suggest that was certainly the case. The post triggered the wrath of KSS chairman David Keirle, who responded: ‘WHAT? No mention that BDP are actually only appointed to deliver the design that KSS so carefully crafted for Elland Road. Hopefully this will be the consistent storyline throughout this project!!’
The release was swiftly amended. Keirle’s ‘carefully crafted’ comment, however, has raised smiles within the industry given the similarities with the work completed across the M62.
Leeds confirmed this month that they received planning permission to expand Elland Road
Leeds unveiled their stadium plans last year as they bid to increase the Elland Road capacity to 53,000
More Indian visa woes
The issue of Indian visa delays for those of Pakistani heritage has reared its head again, with England’s T20 plans disrupted by problems over processing the paperwork for frontline spinners Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed.
The pair were not expected to travel with the rest of the group for their World Cup warm-up tour of Sri Lanka on Saturday, where England will play three one-dayers and three T20s before heading directly to India.
The issue has been exacerbated by the deteriorating relationship between India and Pakistan and has led some to wonder if it may cause some damage to India’s bid for the Olympics in 2036.
Those involved in the bid may also not have welcomed comments from Denmark’s badminton star Anders Antonsen, who pulled out of the India Open for a third year in a row citing ‘extreme pollution’ in Delhi.
