Archive August 27, 2025

When the Carabao Cup second-round draw was held, Grimsby Town’s CEO Polly Bancroft and her five-year-old son were at home.

She became acutely aware of Manchester United’s capacity to sabotage best-kept plans after serving as its head of women’s football for two and a half years because of the intense international interest in them.

On August 13th, Bancroft was given another reminder that her current club and old one were the final two names chosen at this point in the competition.

Interest in the tie at Blundell Park was so high that League Two Grimsby’s website almost immediately crashed after being paid for their first meeting since a 1-1 draw in 1948.

We had to halt the website until Thursday morning when we reunited, according to Bancroft.

“My phone turned on its head.” Everyone connected to Grimsby Town had a moment of a pinch.

She wants to draw attention to the larger significance of a game in which Grimsby could have resurrected their 9, 000-capacity stadium three times.

However, there is a personal component.

As the Women’s Super League grew, United was a late starter. In their first season in the WSL, they made it to the top of the standings in 2018.

She remarked, “The women’s team was four years old when I joined the club, and the men’s team was 144.”

“Embedding that start-up within the establishment, naturally, had some growing pains.

It’s the same sport, but with different activities, demands, and requirements. We combined it as much as we could.

One of United’s accomplishments while playing at Old Trafford is a third-place finish in the FA Cup, two FA Cup finals, and Champions League qualification, according to Bancroft.

Since then, United has reached another FA Cup final, and they will begin a new European quest this week. The Ineos Group and minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe continue to have the impression that the club’s female members are uninterested.

I had to give a very specific response, Bancroft said.

There wasn’t much interaction between the two of us when they first started out in February and when I left in May.

They were also getting a good look around, meeting some key staff members, and understanding the landscape at the time.

Bancroft’s assessment of the appeal of the Grimsby job serves as a hint of a hidden message. The comparison is not like-for-like because she now holds a much more senior position at a much smaller club.

“I had close working relationships with the owners and the head coach, neither of which I had at Manchester United,” she continued, adding that the biggest opportunity was to report directly to the owners and line manage the head coach.

Bancroft is acutely aware of the need to fully integrate Grimsby’s women’s team, who currently compete in the East Midlands Women’s Regional Football League, into the organization.

They feel like they belong, said Bancroft, who occasionally moves their games from Clee Fields to Blundell Park.

The players’ names are now visible on the backs of their shirts for the first time, and we transport them to away games and make player appearances for the men’s first team.

However, Bancroft’s job at Grimsby is to represent the entire organization, not just one particular group.

When Debbie Cook, the then-Grimsby CEO, spoke at a Women in Football conference in March 2023, she heard someone who had an interest in a wider role.

One of a handful of well-known women who ran professional clubs included Mansfield’s CEO Carolyn Radford, Port Vale chair Carol Shanahan, Bolton chair Sharon Brittan, Leicester chair Susan Whelan, and West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady.

When Bancroft accepted to take over Cook’s position with the Football League in February 2024, she was aware of what she was getting into.

She claimed that because “it’s not new to me,” she shouldn’t feel uneasy about England’s professional clubs’ lack of female chief executives.

Although I don’t think much about it, Bancroft continued, “I’m reminded of it quite a lot.”

She hoped to serve as a positive role model for those who want to follow and that it was a problem that needed to be addressed.

She said, “I don’t understand the situation.” More needs to be done to improve the gender balance, including ethnic minorities and other inclusion-related issues, to improve it.

Role models certainly aid, as well as some bias training.

“I hope that speaking to the women who work in these roles about their paths and experiences, and ideally having me in the room as one of the only females, will help to spread the message that women can do a good job in these positions,” he said.

“You don’t have to have been in the men’s game from day one to make it to the men’s game.”

“I’ve obviously worked in the women’s game and transitioned into the men’s, but I still have responsibility for the women’s team.” People’s career paths are different. It has always been mine.

I don’t believe any other people have done that so far, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t do it in the future.

This week, Bancroft anticipates seeing some familiar faces.

She chuckles and asks, “Does that still occur?” When compared to the John Beck era at Cambridge and how lower league clubs turned off hot water in the visiting dressing rooms of emerald top-flight visitors and soaked warm-up balls so they were unable to be used, “” is invoked when compared to the days of the John Beck era.

However, United boss Ruben Amorim and his players might prefer to stay on the cosy side of the competition because they want to avoid a major upset and have one of only two legitimate silverware chances this year.

The players and staff might find it more uncomfortable than they’re used to in the Premier League because it’s obviously a little smaller than Old Trafford, added Bancroft.

“I am aware that our fans will make their lives as uncomfortable as possible.”

Lewis Hamilton left the last race of the first part of the Formula 1 season saying he was looking forward to a break – and acting like he needed one.

It hasn’t been an easy debut for the most successful driver in history with Ferrari.

The season started with Hamilton full of positivity about his new environment, and a sprint race pole and victory at the second race of the season in China hinted at great promise.

Within 24 hours of that success, however, reality began to sag a wrench. Both Ferraris were disqualified from the grand prix in Shanghai for technical infringements, having not been on the pace of the McLarens.

Hamilton and Ferrari have struggled to be competitive since then, and he ended the season by declaring at the Hungarian Grand Prix that he was “just useless” and “drove terribly.”

The raw statistics of Hamilton’s first part-season offer no firm conclusions.

Leclerc has outqualified The Briton for all qualifying sessions, giving him a fair chance to make a fair comparison, and he is on average 0.146 seconds slower.

But the season can be split into two parts – before and after the Miami Grand Prix, the sixth race of the season.

Hamilton finished second to Leclerc in the first six races, but he only qualified ahead twice in China, both times, for a time of 0.204 seconds.

Since the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in mid-May, Hamilton’s average deficit to Leclerc is just 0.078secs, including his two recent difficult weekends in Belgium and Hungary.

In the two races that followed, Hamilton had outqualified Leclerc three times.

Most drivers who have switched teams in F1 in recent years have faced some kind of adaption period, and Hamilton’s relationship with his engineer Riccardo Adami still does not sound at the level of mutual understanding he enjoyed with Peter Bonnington at Mercedes.

Leclerc has also competed for Ferrari since 2019 and is regarded by many as the fastest F1 driver in excess of one lap.

Can any driver be said to have “lost it” – as some have started to ask about Hamilton – if they are 0.078secs slower than arguably the fastest driver in the world?

However, there are some trends in Hamilton’s recent form.

In his first two seasons as team-mate to George Russell at Mercedes, they were separated by hundredths of a second on average qualifying pace, in 2022 in Hamilton’s favour, in 2023 in Russell’s.

However, something happened last year. Russell thrashed Hamilton 18-5 in qualifying at an average advantage of 0.171secs.

The year was going to be challenging because Hamilton made a comeback from telling Mercedes he was leaving for Ferrari before the season even began.

Even so, the remarks Hamilton made in Hungary this year were reminiscent of those he occasionally made in 2024, such as when he said at the penultimate race in Qatar that he was “definitely not fast any more”.

Hamilton frequently reacts emotionally when he is unable to explain why he isn’t as quick as he anticipates, when he has lost confidence, and is reevaluating himself.

Why the focus on qualifying? It provides a reference for absolute speed, first. Beyond that, not only has Hamilton always prided himself on his qualifying, but he is also the all-time record pole winner by far more than he is the race record holder. He leads Michael Schumacher’s 91 victories, but he has 104 poles over Schumacher’s 68.

And until losing the qualifying battle to Russell over their three years together, no driver had ever come out on top against Hamilton over their time as team-mates.

Late braking and gaining time in the corner-entry phase has been Hamilton’s stock-in-trade during his career.

He has not made it known that he does not enjoy the newest car generation.

Until 2021, F1 cars had flat floors, were higher at the rear than the front, and had softer suspension.

Hamilton would rotate the car based on the increase in rear ride-height during braking and the resulting shift in aerodynamic balance, which produced more front grip. His ability to balance on the edge of adhesion in the braking-entry phase at a higher speed than almost anyone else made him stand out.

The 2022 models of cars have shaped underbodies that create downforce by creating ground effects through so-called venturi tunnels. They have to run low and stiff to work at their best.

It’s impossible to attack corners in the manner that Hamilton once did. A different style is required. Drivers complain that to maximize the underbody downforce, they must brake earlier and accelerate into the corner.

Hamilton seems not to have been able to adapt as readily as others to this, or at least has not been able to differentiate himself as much. But why? Until the last few years, after all, he was renowned for his adaptability.

Hamilton’s main issue with this year’s Ferrari is that he lacks confidence in the back during cornering and braking.

Ferrari have introduced a series of upgrades in recent races – a new floor in Austria and in Belgium a new rear suspension, which seems to be limiting lift so the rear ride-height stays in a smaller window for a more optimum aerodynamic position.

Leclerc claimed in Hungary that he now finds the car more predictable, enabling him to “play with the limit a little more” during a qualifying lap.

But so far this does not seem to have translated into the car speaking the same language as Hamilton, who was more than 0.2secs slower than Leclerc when he was knocked out of the second qualifying session in Hungary.

People have started to wonder whether Hamilton’s recent struggles relate to his age as he turns 40 this year, which is inevitable.

The last driver to win a grand prix in his 40s was Nigel Mansell, who was 41 when he took the chequered flag in Australia in 1994 after Michael Schumacher had collided with Damon Hill while disputing the world title.

Alain Prost, 39, won his final world title in 1993. Alonso would have won in Monaco in 2023, aged 41, had his Aston Martin team made the right tyre choice at a pit stop as rain was just starting to hit the circuit.

Before their final performance in Formula One, Mansell, Prost, and Alonso all took breaks. Mansell spent a few years in IndyCar, Prost took a forced sabbatical, and Alonso spent two years pursuing other categories.

Hamilton has been in F1 non-stop for 19 years. He hasn’t had a car competitive enough since he suffered what he considers an injustice by missing a record eighth world title in Abu Dhabi four years ago.

And now he has to get up to speed with a new team, with a different culture, against a super-quick team-mate.

According to Hill, Lewis has been doing this since he was a young child his entire life. Packing your bags, travelling, the jet lag. Really, really difficult is the 24-race season.

” You can get run down. The key is whether he can relax and enjoy his time at Ferrari before giving himself a break and giving up trying to change them. They bought him. They want him to be successful.

“Lewis is looking over at (NFL legend) Tom Brady and people who’ve inspired him, who kept competitive in their sports for a very long time and extended their careers.

However, you eventually burn yourself out. You haven’t got any energy left.

“And you can’t then concentrate,” You need a very clear mind to race and commit to what is needed.

Talking to ex-F1 drivers who have been through the process themselves, and have discussed it with other sportspeople who have done the same, the age that matters to an athlete is biological, not the number in their passport.

People age differently in different ways, including in body, mind, vision, reactions, balance, precision, and at various times and rates.

The brain builds new synapses more slowly, so finds it harder to adjust.

If Hamilton is struggling to adapt as well as he did in the past, it would explain why he is doing so.

Equally, a successful, experienced driver knows they achieved peak performance with certain ways of assessing and feeling the car. The more challenging it is to change the more you get older the more deeply this is imprinted in your brain.

If Hamilton has lost even a tiny edge in this way, it would make sense that in a car that has reasonably fast rear movements that are not predictable and progressive, his body and mind cannot cope, accept, adjust and improve as well as they once could.

Hamilton might not be able to win again, but it might mean he won’t be as successful as he did unless he can find a car that suits his driving style.

The rules are changing next year, and cars are going back to flat, stepped bottoms, similar to the kind used before 2022.

Even if what is being seen right now is a result of age, Hamilton will still be able to win multiple races and championships if those cars give him the cues he need and allow his inputs to communicate with the car’s outputs more effectively.

At the same time, ageing is a reality no one can escape.

Hill had to deal with it head-on. In 1998, two years after becoming world champion, he took Jordan to their first victory, at the Belgian Grand Prix. He was abruptly discovered that he was no longer competitive in 1999.

Hill says:” How does age affect racing drivers? It’s similar to taking a vacation. Eventually, you know you’re going to have to go home. And, is that really not a holiday, at all?

“As a sportsperson, you know there is an end. And that affects your perception. There’s no way you can ignore it. Even if you love it and are good at it, you still have to consider stopping doing this thing.

Lewis Hamilton left the last race of the first part of the Formula 1 season saying he was looking forward to a break – and acting like he needed one.

It hasn’t been an easy debut for the most successful driver in history with Ferrari.

The season started with Hamilton full of positivity about his new environment, and a sprint race pole and victory at the second race of the season in China hinted at great promise.

Within 24 hours of that success, however, reality began to sag a wrench. Both Ferraris were disqualified from the grand prix in Shanghai for technical infringements, having not been on the pace of the McLarens.

Hamilton and Ferrari have struggled to be competitive since then, and he ended the season by declaring at the Hungarian Grand Prix that he was “just useless” and “drove terribly.”

The raw statistics of Hamilton’s first part-season offer no firm conclusions.

Leclerc has outqualified The Briton for all qualifying sessions, giving him a fair chance to make a fair comparison, and he is on average 0.146 seconds slower.

But the season can be split into two parts – before and after the Miami Grand Prix, the sixth race of the season.

Hamilton finished second to Leclerc in the first six races, but he only qualified ahead twice in China, both times, for a time of 0.204 seconds.

Since the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in mid-May, Hamilton’s average deficit to Leclerc is just 0.078secs, including his two recent difficult weekends in Belgium and Hungary.

In the two races that followed, Hamilton had outqualified Leclerc three times.

Most drivers who have switched teams in F1 in recent years have faced some kind of adaption period, and Hamilton’s relationship with his engineer Riccardo Adami still does not sound at the level of mutual understanding he enjoyed with Peter Bonnington at Mercedes.

Leclerc has also competed for Ferrari since 2019 and is regarded by many as the fastest F1 driver in excess of one lap.

Can any driver be said to have “lost it” – as some have started to ask about Hamilton – if they are 0.078secs slower than arguably the fastest driver in the world?

However, there are some trends in Hamilton’s recent form.

In his first two seasons as team-mate to George Russell at Mercedes, they were separated by hundredths of a second on average qualifying pace, in 2022 in Hamilton’s favour, in 2023 in Russell’s.

However, something happened last year. Russell thrashed Hamilton 18-5 in qualifying at an average advantage of 0.171secs.

The year was going to be challenging because Hamilton made a comeback from telling Mercedes he was leaving for Ferrari before the season even began.

Even so, the remarks Hamilton made in Hungary this year were reminiscent of those he occasionally made in 2024, such as when he said at the penultimate race in Qatar that he was “definitely not fast any more”.

Hamilton frequently reacts emotionally when he is unable to explain why he isn’t as quick as he anticipates, when he has lost confidence, and is reevaluating himself.

Why the focus on qualifying? It provides a reference for absolute speed, first. Beyond that, not only has Hamilton always prided himself on his qualifying, but he is also the all-time record pole winner by far more than he is the race record holder. He leads Michael Schumacher’s 91 victories, but he has 104 poles over Schumacher’s 68.

And until losing the qualifying battle to Russell over their three years together, no driver had ever come out on top against Hamilton over their time as team-mates.

Late braking and gaining time in the corner-entry phase has been Hamilton’s stock-in-trade during his career.

He has not made it known that he does not enjoy the newest car generation.

Until 2021, F1 cars had flat floors, were higher at the rear than the front, and had softer suspension.

Hamilton would rotate the car based on the increase in rear ride-height during braking and the resulting shift in aerodynamic balance, which produced more front grip. His ability to balance on the edge of adhesion in the braking-entry phase at a higher speed than almost anyone else made him stand out.

The 2022 models of cars have shaped underbodies that create downforce by creating ground effects through so-called venturi tunnels. They have to run low and stiff to work at their best.

It’s impossible to attack corners in the manner that Hamilton once did. A different style is required. Drivers complain that to maximize the underbody downforce, they must brake earlier and accelerate into the corner.

Hamilton seems not to have been able to adapt as readily as others to this, or at least has not been able to differentiate himself as much. But why? Until the last few years, after all, he was renowned for his adaptability.

Hamilton’s main issue with this year’s Ferrari is that he lacks confidence in the back during cornering and braking.

Ferrari have introduced a series of upgrades in recent races – a new floor in Austria and in Belgium a new rear suspension, which seems to be limiting lift so the rear ride-height stays in a smaller window for a more optimum aerodynamic position.

Leclerc claimed in Hungary that he now finds the car more predictable, enabling him to “play with the limit a little more” during a qualifying lap.

But so far this does not seem to have translated into the car speaking the same language as Hamilton, who was more than 0.2secs slower than Leclerc when he was knocked out of the second qualifying session in Hungary.

People have started to wonder whether Hamilton’s recent struggles relate to his age as he turns 40 this year, which is inevitable.

The last driver to win a grand prix in his 40s was Nigel Mansell, who was 41 when he took the chequered flag in Australia in 1994 after Michael Schumacher had collided with Damon Hill while disputing the world title.

Alain Prost, 39, won his final world title in 1993. Alonso would have won in Monaco in 2023, aged 41, had his Aston Martin team made the right tyre choice at a pit stop as rain was just starting to hit the circuit.

Before their final performance in Formula One, Mansell, Prost, and Alonso all took breaks. Mansell spent a few years in IndyCar, Prost took a forced sabbatical, and Alonso spent two years pursuing other categories.

Hamilton has been in F1 non-stop for 19 years. He hasn’t had a car competitive enough since he suffered what he considers an injustice by missing a record eighth world title in Abu Dhabi four years ago.

And now he has to get up to speed with a new team, with a different culture, against a super-quick team-mate.

According to Hill, Lewis has been doing this since he was a young child his entire life. Packing your bags, travelling, the jet lag. Really, really difficult is the 24-race season.

” You can get run down. The key is whether he can relax and enjoy his time at Ferrari before giving himself a break and giving up trying to change them. They bought him. They want him to be successful.

“Lewis is looking over at (NFL legend) Tom Brady and people who’ve inspired him, who kept competitive in their sports for a very long time and extended their careers.

However, you eventually burn yourself out. You haven’t got any energy left.

“And you can’t then concentrate,” You need a very clear mind to race and commit to what is needed.

Talking to ex-F1 drivers who have been through the process themselves, and have discussed it with other sportspeople who have done the same, the age that matters to an athlete is biological, not the number in their passport.

People age differently in different ways, including in body, mind, vision, reactions, balance, precision, and at various times and rates.

The brain builds new synapses more slowly, so finds it harder to adjust.

If Hamilton is struggling to adapt as well as he did in the past, it would explain why he is doing so.

Equally, a successful, experienced driver knows they achieved peak performance with certain ways of assessing and feeling the car. The more challenging it is to change the more you get older the more deeply this is imprinted in your brain.

If Hamilton has lost even a tiny edge in this way, it would make sense that in a car that has reasonably fast rear movements that are not predictable and progressive, his body and mind cannot cope, accept, adjust and improve as well as they once could.

Hamilton might not be able to win again, but it might mean he won’t be as successful as he did unless he can find a car that suits his driving style.

The rules are changing next year, and cars are going back to flat, stepped bottoms, similar to the kind used before 2022.

Even if what is being seen right now is a result of age, Hamilton will still be able to win multiple races and championships if those cars give him the cues he need and allow his inputs to communicate with the car’s outputs more effectively.

At the same time, ageing is a reality no one can escape.

Hill had to deal with it head-on. In 1998, two years after becoming world champion, he took Jordan to their first victory, at the Belgian Grand Prix. He was abruptly discovered that he was no longer competitive in 1999.

Hill says:” How does age affect racing drivers? It’s similar to taking a vacation. Eventually, you know you’re going to have to go home. And, is that really not a holiday, at all?

“As a sportsperson, you know there is an end. And that affects your perception. There’s no way you can ignore it. Even if you love it and are good at it, you still have to consider stopping doing this thing.

Joel Colwill, a midfielder for Cardiff City, claims that having Rubin as his brother’s assist for his first goal at the club “upped the emotion” further.

When substitute Rubin found his younger brother Joel in the second round of the EFL Cup, the Bluebirds were already two goals apiece against Cheltenham Town.

When Rubin Colwill chose to play in his brother with a pass that might not have been given to any other player, there was plenty of room on the edge of the field.

“To have one of us helping the other is on another level again, is what I was talking about the other day when I was discussing how special it was to be playing together.

As Cardiff’s unbeaten streak stretches to seven games, older brother Rubin has now scored three goals, and Joel has added his third against Cheltenham.

And Joel claims that there isn’t a conflict between Rubin Colwill and Rubin Colwill, despite the League One leaders’ previous efforts to make headlines.

There is no rivalry or shadow in Rubin, according to Joel Colwill, and I want him to be the best player he can be.

It’s a really proud moment for me to be playing for my brother’s dream team, Cardiff City.

Brian Barry-Murphy, head coach for Cardiff, claimed Joel Colwill’s smart finish against Cheltenham exemplified his training strategy.

The Bluebirds manager, the former Manchester City academy coach, has vowed to help the younger Colwill score more goals this season.

Joel did a good job, and we anticipate him to net a lot of goals this year, according to Barry-Murphy.

We have witnessed that in training, and it is to see him finish in that manner.

It’s about time for him to start demonstrating the goal-scoring prowess that we are confident in.

Joel Colwill is prepared to accept the challenge.

Joel Colwill said, “I want to score as many goals as I can and give my game a whole new level.”