The Government is being urged to take action.
The post New reports finds 7.7 million UK households are expected to struggle with heating bills this winter appeared first on The Manc.
DAN JAMES admits he would like to follow Wales boss Craig Bellamy and play in a possible Team GB Olympic side.
British Olympic Association chiefs want a men’s football team at the 2028 Olympics staged in Los Angeles.
Bellamy was one of five Welshman who played in London 2012 – the only time since 1960 a GB men’s side has taken part.
Leeds winger James said: “If the opportunity arised then I’d definitely be interested.
“Not many people can say they have been to an Olympics so if it did arise I’d be more than interested.”
New Wales boss Bellamy became the first British to score in Team GB colours in 52 years when he netted against Senegal at Old Trafford 12 years ago.
Bellamy was a big supporter of the Olympic movement and described the opportunity as a “great honour”.
He was joined by fellow countryman Ryan Giggs, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Neil Taylor in Stuart Pearce’s squad.
The FA are believed to be keen to embrace the opportunity.
But other Home Nations are concerned a joint GB side with players from the four countries would threaten their independent status with Fifa.
Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney claimed the possibility of GB entering a men’s side has “never been discussed” among Dragons bosses.
That is despite the BOA promoting the idea after the Paris Games this summer where Spain beat France 5-3 after extra-time to win the gold medal.
Whether James, 26, plays in LA remains to be seen but Wales aim to qualify for the 2026 World Cup hosted in the US as well as Canada and Mexico.
Bellamy names his squad today for Wales’ Nations League games away to Iceland and Montenegro in Cardiff this month with James set to miss out due to a hamstring injury.
But James is excited about linking up with the new Dragons chief soon as they map out their journey to emulating Wales’ 2022 World Cup qualification in Qatar.
James, who was speaking at a McDonald’s Fun Football Day at Bollington United in Cheshire, added: “The 2026 World Cup is our big aim.
“These Nations League fixtures are very important to put us in a good position going into the qualifiers for the World Cup and we want to get to Group A in the Nations League.
“We have had the experience of the World Cup and it wasn’t quite what we wanted.
“We were delighted to get there but we were disappointed in the way it finished.
“All the players are desperate to get there again. The fans will want to experience it too.
“It’s going to be a great one in the US so it’s one we don’t want to miss out on. America is great.
“They are producing top footballers and the sport is becoming bigger and bigger over there.
“You see how they put on big spectacles in other sports and that World Cup will be watched all across the globe. It will be brilliant. We don’t want to miss out on that.”
James is looking forward to working with ex-Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle wideman Bellamy.
The new Wales chief kicked off his tenure with a positive goalless home draw with Turkey and a 2-1 win in Montenegro last month.
James said: “It’s a great appointment. I’m gutted to miss out.
“The manager is an ex-player who played in my position and had a great career like Ryan Giggs.
“Ryan brought me through and I’ll always thank him for that.
“But having two ex-players who were great in the Premier League will be nice for me because I can get their experiences as footballers.”
Tagline
McDonald’s Fun Football ambassador Daniel James took part in the largest ever Fun Football session to celebrate the milestone of 500,000 children benefitting from the programme across the UK. Sign up to a free session near you at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football
A MANHUNT has been launched for a masked thug who threw acid over schoolchildren before fleeing.
As the search enters its second day, with no arrests being made so far, cops are desperate for witnesses to come forward as a boy, 16, and a girl, 14, remain in hospital.
Met Police are now hunting a suspect they have described as a tall, slim, black male.
He was wearing dark clothing with his face obscured, possibly by a mask or balaclava, the forced added.
The alleged thrower also rode an e-scooter to and from the scene.
“THE way Rico is playing, there are no words. He does everything.”
Those the words of Pep Guardiola after Rico Lewis’ (£3.8m) Champions League masterclass against Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday night.
Ilkay Gundogan (£3.5m), Phil Foden (£5.7m), Erling Haaland (£9.2m) and James McAtee (£2m) scored the goals in Manchester City’s 4-0 victory but the 19-year-old defender-cum-midfielder was most worthy of his coach’s lavish praise after the final whistle.
Lewis created three big chances (one finished off by Haaland), registered three shots on target, and contributed to the visitors’ clean sheet in a hugely impressive all-round display that yielded 18 Dream Team points.
The England international has been something of a cheat code in Dream Team so far this season.
Having previously been a bit-part player at the Etihad, he’s now a regular starter and key man for the defending champions.
Lewis started the campaign at just £3m and is still affordable now at £3.8m, though he’s destined for another price increase after his 20-point haul in Gameweek 6.
There are more games to come this Gameweek but at the time of writing, Lewis is ranked third among assets in his position with 58 points to his name in total at an average of 7.3 per appearance.
His third assist of the season means he now leads the way in the playmaking department among defenders.
The main reason City’s homegrown star is such an appealing Dream Team option is his specialised role in Guardiola’s tactical set-up.
Categorised as a defender and therefore eligible for clean sheet points, Lewis is most commonly deployed as an additional midfielder – taking up some extremely advanced positions at times.
John Stones (£4m) fulfilled a similar role with great effect last season.
And the experiment is likely to continue not only because Lewis has thrived in such areas, but because of Rodri’s unfortunate lay-off.
The Spain international is widely considered the best deep-lying midfielder in the world but an ACL injury has prematurely ended his season.
While nobody is on Rodri’s level, City are hardly short of quality midfielders but at this stage it seems as if Lewis will get plenty of minutes this term.
It may even be the case that the teenager is able to play alongside Kyle Walker (£3.9m) when the latter is deployed as a more orthodox right-back.
Although Dream Team bosses should know by now that no individual is totally immune to Guardiola’s rotation policy.
Play Score Predictor with Dream Team this season!
Essentially, Lewis is an affordable, in-form asset who is being played out of position (in the best way possible) for one of the strongest teams in Europe – a godsend for Dream Team managers!
His current ownership of 13.5% makes him the fifth-most selected defender in the game but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he cracked the top three in the coming weeks.
City are due to face Fulham, Wolves, Sparta Prague, Southampton and Tottenham before the end of the month.
BetMGM: Get £40 in free bets — HERE*
*New cust only. 7 days to opt in by placing a £10 qualifying bet at 1/1 (2.0) odds or greater to receive 4x Free Bets: 1 x £10 horse racing, 1 x £10 Bet Builder, 1 x £10 Acca and 1 x £10 football. 7 day expiry. Exclusions apply. Stake not returned. 18+. T&Cs apply.
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. gambleaware.org
Happening this month at Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit
The post Kabza De Small, Uncle Waffles, Morda, Samthing Soweto & more to headline BMW M Festival appeared first on YOMZANSI. Documenting THE CULTURE.