• Head coach points to talks held as well as his contract

• Slot describes the criticism he is facing as ‘normal’

Arne Slot has said he has “every reason to believe” he will remain Liverpool’s head coach next season and get the opportunity to rectify this campaign’s decline.

Liverpool were booed off at Anfield last weekend after a 1-1 draw with Chelsea and another underwhelming performance. Slot’s future was under scrutiny before the home crowd vented their frustration but, internally, Liverpool’s position has not changed and there remains support for the coach who delivered the Premier League title in his debut season.

American zeal for ‘the Hamptons of England’ has rubbed off on sales with luxury British fashion house back to a full-year profit

The luxury fashion brand Burberry has said a new £2,000 handbag named after the Cotswolds has boosted sales, as the English region becomes increasingly popular with wealthy Americans.

Joshua Schulman, the boss of the British brand, said its tote bags – which mix leather and the signature Burberry check – had helped drive the company’s best performance in bag sales since 2023.

• Arsenal manager weighing up options at right-back

• ‘We’re going to try to get him available as quickly as possible’

Mikel Arteta is crossing his fingers that Jurriën Timber will have a chance of facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final as he weighs up his options at right-back.

Arsenal confirmed on Tuesday that Ben White would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury that is expected to rule him out of the World Cup, although Arteta said the defender must “wait and see” regarding the summer. Timber has not played since Arsenal’s win over Everton on 14 March owing to a groin issue. The Netherlands defender is understood to have been close to returning at the end of last month before experiencing a setback.

It would be foolish of the club to undo a winning, entertaining formula by turning elsewhere for a permanent head coach

These days, we have a strong desire to complicate football, particularly in how we talk about it. Often, we are saying the same stuff we always were, just calling things by different names – styles are philosophies, contributions are actions, players earn minutes, not appearances – and the game can still be as simple as it ever was. This is something Michael Carrick understands well, and is one reason Manchester United’s next move is also simple: they have no choice but to appoint him as permanent head coach.

Under Carrick, United’s 33 points from 15 games puts them top of the form table for a period in which rivals have been beaten and Champions League qualification guaranteed, with a third-place finish highly likely. Had Ruben Amorim delivered these results, he’d be secure; were Luis Enrique responsible, they’d be further evidence of his generational – outstanding – brilliance. Yet there remains equivocation.

Scale of attacks prompts warnings that Moscow is trying to overwhelm air defence systems

• Europe live – latest updates

Russian missiles and drones are pounding Ukraine for a second day, as almost continuous heavy attacks hit the country, with Kyiv bearing the brunt of an assault that has killed at least three and injured 40 in the capital.

The overnight attacks followed heavy daylight raids with missiles and drones across the country on Wednesday.

Uit straatboekenkastjes in en buiten Nederland haalt Arjen Fortuin steeds een boek, bespreekt het, en geeft het door. Deze week een liefdesroman uit een expatmagneet aan de Main.

therealthings.com has added a photo to the pool:

This image features one of my favorite towers in Japan — the Tsutenkaku Tower, standing proudly in Osaka’s Shinsekai district.

Over the years, this tower has appeared in many of my photographs, and for good reason. Shinsekai remains one of my favorite neighborhoods in Osaka. There’s something about this place that keeps drawing me back: the glowing signs — even if many of the original neon lights have gradually been replaced by LED — the music spilling out into the streets, the incredible food, and the lively, carefree energy of the people who give this district its unmistakable character.

Even though the current version of the tower was rebuilt in the late 1950s, together with the surrounding neighborhood, for me carries a distinct 1980s atmosphere. A feeling that resonates deeply with me.

It’s the kind of place where time seems to blur. A corner of Osaka where nostalgia lingers in the air, and where I can completely lose myself in that familiar glow of another era.
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© Marcus Antonius Braun
www.therealthings.com

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