Cricket is not just a game of the Ashes. It’s banter, identity, and history. Samantha Johnson examines why this conflict has always been about more than just runs and wickets, from colonial roots to sledging.
Published On 25 Dec 2025
John Robertson, a former Scotland, Nottingham Forest, and Derby County winger, was dubbed “the Picasso of our game” by manager Brian Clough at the age of 72.
Robertson scored the only goal as Nottingham Forest won the 1980 European Cup with a victory over Hamburg, where Trevor Francis had earlier netted the winner against Malmo.
He won the 1981 World Cup finals for Scotland and won the 1982 World Cup finals against New Zealand and scored a winning goal against England.
Before joining Wycombe Wanderers, Norwich City, Leicester City, Celtic, and Aston Villa, he earned 28 caps for his nation.
In his 2012 biography, Clough referred to him as “one of the best footballers I have ever seen, as good as the Brazilians or the Italians,” who he described as “a scruffy, unfit, uninterested waste of time.”
Football icons: John Robertson
Featuring John McGovern, Garry Birtles, John O’Hare, Archie Macpherson, Viv Anderson, Sherrie Hewson, John McGovern, Garry Birtles, and John O’Hare.
Robertson, who was born in the Viewpark region of North Lanarkshire, first made his debut in May 1970 with Forest, playing for the Drumchapel Amateurs and Scotland at the youth level.
Before Clough’s arrival in 1975, he joined the legendary manager and appeared in 243 games between December 1976 and December 1980. He had been on the transfer waiting list.
In the League Cup final replay victory over Liverpool in 1978, Robertson scored the winner from the penalty spot.
In 1983, Clough and his former assistant, Peter Taylor, were forced to sell him to Derby for a constested transfer fee, which strained their relationship.
Robertson’s development at County was hindered by an early injury, and despite returning to Forest in 1985, he never returned to the same form. He then moved on to non-league Corby Town, Stamford, and finally Grantham Town.
He also won the 1978 FA Charity Shield, the Uefa Super Cup, two Football League Cups, the First and Second Division titles, and the Anglo-Scottish Cup.
Robertson also topped the Nottingham Post’s list of all-time Foresters in 2015.
Robertson assisted Wycombe in achieving promotion from the Football Conference and Third Division, promotion to Leicester’s top tier, and promotion to the League Cup as well as promotion.
Following that, a much stronger Celtic spell came.
They also won the League Cup once, the Scottish Premier League once, and the Uefa Cup once in Glasgow.
Princess Charlotte stole the show as the royals celebrated Christmas by hugging wellwishers and charming the crowds. The 10-year-old, who wowed viewers of her mum the Princess of Wales’ Christmas carol concert on ITV last night by playing the piano, joined her parents, siblings and wider family including the King and Queen for the annual Christmas Day church service in Sandringham this morning.
Walking alongside her mum Kate, Charlotte wore a grown up light brown coat with dark brown trim along with her now signature bow in her hair. After enjoying the traditional church service, Charlotte as well as her brothers Prince George and Prince Louis, then greeted the crowds who had turned out to greet them, with the trio receiving a handful of gifts.
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Before greeting the crowds, the young princess could be seen chatting with Mike and Zara Tindall’s daughters Mia and Lena. After Charlotte, who resembled the late Queen Elizabeth, could be seen laden with flowers and gifts while future King George clutched a soft toy as did his younger brother Louis. And in one adorable moment, Charlotte gave one royal fan in a wheelchair a hug reaching down to embrace the woman who was wrapped in a blanket to keep warm.
The Wales family Christmas Day celebrations come after Kate and Princess Charlotte’s pre-recorded Christmas piano duet aired last night. The mother and daughter sat together to play a piece they know well by Scottish composer Erland Cooper, for Kate’s Christmas carol concert.
Kate and Charlotte’s piano performance was for the Together at Christmas concert, held at Westminster Abbey on December 5, and was pre-recorded last week so did not feature at the live event – but it was aired as part of the ITV1 screening of the service on Christmas Eve.
The Waleses are spending the festive season together, but will visit the Norfolk royal residence on Christmas Day. The family-of-five experienced a major change just a few weeks ago when they moved into their eight-bedroom “forever home”, Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park.
The change is seen as a fresh start for the Waleses after Kate’s recovery from cancer, which she announced at the start of 2025, following what William branded a “brutal” 2024.
The royal family usually walk to church on Christmas morning and enjoy a traditional turkey roast with all the trimmings, before sitting down to watch the King’s Christmas broadcast on television. Last year, Charles used his Christmas address to pay tribute to the “selfless” doctors and nurses who provided “strength, care and comfort” during cancer treatment for him and the Princess of Wales.
This year, he is expected to pay tribute to Britain’s war veterans in his Christmas message, as he reflects on the heroics of those who served in the Second World War. Marking the end of the year that commemorated the 80th anniversary of VE Day and VJ Day, it is anticipated that the monarch will once again herald the actions of our greatest generation.
For the second time in his reign, Charles has chosen to record his Christmas speech away from Buckingham Palace, in an effort to present a community feel, royal sources said.
This year, the King decided to film the message at Westminster Abbey, the spiritual home of the royal family for more than 1,000 years. Since 1066, almost every English and later British monarch has been crowned at Westminster Abbey. It is also the site where the Prince and Princess of Wales were married in 2011, and where the Princess has for the past five years hosted her Together At Christmas carol concert, celebrating hundreds of community heroes for their efforts.
After battling to win the Premier League title with Arsenal and Manchester City on Saturday, Aston Villa will face a tough challenge at Chelsea.
Brighton is the host of The Gunners, which is on the top of the Christmas tree, while Pep Guardiola’s City will visit Nottingham Forest.
After Alexander Isak fractured his leg, Liverpool manager Arne Slot is dealing with a striker crisis, and Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes also has to watch from the sidelines.
In order to prepare for the holiday season, AFP Sport examines three important points:
Even though they are just three points adrift of leaders Arsenal, Unai Emery’s third-placed Villa remain regarded as rank outsiders for the Premier League title.
Villa won their 10th straight victory at home against Manchester United, marking their first top-flight team victory since 1914, with a 2-1 victory over Manchester United.
Morgan Rogers, an England midfielder, has been a key contributor to their recent success, and one of his best qualities is his form, which he failed to score in in his first seven games in all competitions.
He has made 11 goals in his last 15 appearances, and his goals have been of a high caliber.
Just 2.86 expected goals, a metric used to determine a player’s likelihood of turning a chance, have been the only seven Premier League goals this season by Rogers.
However, according to football analysts Opta, Villa has only 5% of the chance to win the English title for the first time since 1981.
When Emery’s men take on fourth-placed Chelsea, the match will follow a game at Arsenal a few days later.
Arne Slot probably had first-choice attackers Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak in mind when they first started the season.
The Liverpool manager now has neither, with Salah and Isak both participating in the Africa Cup of Nations while Isak is expected to spend at least two months on the sidelines after breaking his leg against Tottenham.
After a shocking run of six defeats in seven Premier League games that tore Liverpool’s title defense apart, Slot has stabilized the team.
The reigning champions have won three league games and drawn two more, but concerns will surround where the goals will come from in preparation for Wolves’ trip to the bottom.
Hugo Ekitike will be under more pressure due to Isak’s absence.
The Premier League signing’s summer signing has scored eight goals, more than Salah and Cody Gakpo combined.
During Manchester United’s recent lean years, Bruno Fernandes has been a shining light and practically ever present.
However, Ruben Amorim, the manager who left his talisman with an apparent hamstring injury and pulled up against United with a 2-1 defeat at Villa Park, will have to make plans for a time without him.
Even though the outcome is uncertain, Amorim has already ordered Fernandes off of United’s Friday home game against Newcastle at Old Trafford, with the Portuguese manager urging the rest of his squad to “step up” in the face of his “impossible to replace” captain.
Diogo Dalot, a defender, called it “massive”. We don’t know how bad it is, but we are aware of how tough he is when he plays.
For inconsistent United, who are also without top scorer Bryan Mbeumo while playing Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon, playmaker Fernandes has five goals and seven assists this season in the Premier League.
EPL Fixtures :
Friday
Newcastle vs. Manchester United (2000 GMT)
Saturday (unless otherwise specified) 1500 GMT
Nottingham Forest face Manchester City at the weekend in 1230, followed by Brentford face Brentford at the weekend, Brentford face Brentford at the weekend, Burnley face Everton at Burnley, Liverpool face Wolverhampton at West Ham, Fulham face Fulham at West Ham, and Chelsea face Aston Villa at Chelsea (1730).
Sunday
Sunderland v Leeds (1400), Crystal Palace v Tottenham (1630)
Southern California has been flooded and mudflown by a powerful winter storm, which has caused severe evacuation orders in high-risk areas. Authorities in six counties, including Los Angeles and San Diego, have declared a state of emergency, and they warn that the dangerous conditions could persist through Christmas Day.
Published On 25 Dec 2025
Sam Faiers is reportedly being iced out of their lives by those who were once close to her. And her isolated life comes at a bad time because her beloved TV career has fallen apart as fans turn away.
The 34-year-old former The Only Way Is Essex actress and her older sister Billie Shepherd, 35, had left the ITVBe reality series to pursue a media career. She co-hosted a number of independent TV programs, including The Baby Diaries and The Mummy Diaries.
She described her romantic relationships with her 39-year-old real estate partner Paul Knightley, as well as their three children, Paul Jr., Rosie, and Edward, their youngest son. She is also known for her award-winning brand Revive Collagen, which has earned her admirable standing.
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However, success comes at a price because Sam is now more of a Billy no-mate and only has friends to hang out with, and fans are concerned that she is distant from her extended family. She recently boasted about taking Paul and the kids to Lapland, where they were recently broadcast on social media.
However, her fans noticed that her mother Sue and sister Billie, who frequently accompany her on such trips, were not present. And it appears that she has completely been iced out of the Essex social scene, leaving her with only work colleagues to socialize with.
A source has told The Sun: “Christmas used to be the time when Sam’s house was buzzing with people, but things feel different now. Her circle is much smaller these days, she keeps to herself, and outside of Paul, her kids and Billie, she doesn’t really have many friends or see many people.
Her former friends in Essex have been discussing how, in spite of the fact that no one else is ever around, she seems to spend her time with. All of them are employees.
They added: “There’s her business partner, her PA, Billie and her Revive Collagen team and that’s it. She seems to have now been permanently frozen out of her old life by the Essex wives.” The Mirror has contacted a representative of Sam for comment.
The depressing news about Sam’s life comes after her most recent TV show, which was cancelled after only one season, was released. The siblings teamed up with sister Billie to create a reality series called Sister Act, which was filmed over a number of episodes last year. The series premiered in August of this year.
But the show failed to find an audience and was axed – however, Sam has argued that she and her sister simply don’t have the time to make any more episodes as they are so busy. Sam shared the disappointing news during a Q&A session on her Instagram stories last month.
Will you and Billie be on Sister Act soon, asks a fan. The reality star, however, cautioned that last year, Billie and I spent the most time filming Sister Act. Truly, it was a truly unique experience. Because both of us are currently working on a lot of projects, we aren’t planning on doing much else for another series.
Despite Sam’s insistence that the decision was made as a result of the workload, it was claimed that Sister Act received the chops due to low rating standards. Sam hadn’t been on TV in a while, an insider told a news outlet at the time, and it appears viewers missed her.
Viewing figures didn’t go as planned, and the show’s focus was on the sisters selling products, which resembled a protracted advertisement.