Category Sports News

After a disappointing 2024-2005 campaign that didn’t “sit well” with him, Captain Iain Henderson says there is no reason this season can’t be “different” for Ulster.

Ulster, the lowest of the four Irish provinces, placed 14th last year in the United Rugby Championship, making it the first time in the history of Europe’s premier competition to lose to Champions Cup rugby.

However, Henderson said he thinks the squad is well-equipped to correct the mistakes made last year following a successful pre-season ahead of their URC opener against Dragons on Friday.

The Ireland second row said, “Many players will carry that] last year as a bit of a chip on their shoulder.”

Before the new campaign, Ulster’s coaching and playing staff have been made several changes to make it easier for them to reclaim the top eight.

Northampton has signed defender Angus Bell, while Australia’s defender Angus Bell will follow after the autumn internationals.

Willie Faloon is now in charge of the defense permanently, while Mark Sexton has taken over as the attack coach.

The impact Augustus and Sexton have already had, according to Henderson, who believes the team is already in better shape than the team, who are currently playing senior rugby for the first time in a difficult year.

The 33-year-old added, “Mark Sexton has been working wonders with our attack. It feels fresh and new.”

I can’t wait to see the impact of a few older players leaving last year that have lifted the ceiling of those young players who have been stepping into shoes.

There is no denying that Augustus is going to cause some damage, which is exciting, when I watch him in training.

I feel like my body has been great this pre-season, and I want to be a part of this new Ulster coming out with the freshness I feel. “There is so much there to cause excitement and the excitement they [young players] bring rejuvenates me.

Last year at Rodney Parade, Ulster defeated Dragons 34-30, but Henderson added that Friday’s game at Affidea Stadium will be different due to both teams’ busy schedules.

On the day of the transfer deadline, Senne Lammens’ deal, “Will-he, won’t-he move to Manchester United,” was one of the more intriguing ones.

United had identified Lammens as a potential goalkeeper early in the window, but the Premier League team didn’t make their decision until the day’s deadline.

The 23-year-old Royal Antwerp player was still on his way to England, making sure he was in the right place “just in case” a deal was reached.

Five hours after the window closed, and long after Aston Villa’s World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez had given up on making a move to Old Trafford, having also been put on alert by United’s renewed interest in him, the deal was finally announced at 10pm.

Lammens described his £18.1 million switch as “a dream come true.” He added that he hoped it would mark “the beginning of something special.”

First of all, Lammens has no idea what he has done wrong.

According to sources, the Belgium Under-21 international has excelled in training and has a positive outlook overall.

Lammens is described as having a composed presence, being mature for his kind, and enjoying his new surroundings. He has already moved somewhere, which can be disruptive in its own right.

Tom Heaton, United’s third-round goalkeeper, backed up this assertion in an interview with the Podcasting Ground Guru: “He has a strong personality.

His fundamentals of goalkeeping are impressive. After a few days of training, I said that to him. He has already done a lot of impressive work.

United sources wanted to emphasize that he had been acquired with an eye on the future around his signing rather than Martinez.

His performance was impressive. No player saved more penalties than Lammens’ four in the Belgian Pro League last season, as he made 30 appearances and kept seven clean sheets and recorded 173 saves, which is 20 more than any other goalkeeper in Europe’s top ten leagues.

According to data analysts Opta, Lammens had a passing accuracy of 71% and a save percentage of 77.4%. Additionally, they claimed that 18.4 of his “goals prevented” total was.

Toby Alderweireld, a former Belgium and Tottenham defender, said, “Senne is young and has a big frame.” He’ll suit perfectly in England.

With only a single full season as the club’s number one goalkeeper and 57 senior appearances to his credit, Lammens was unsure whether he would be drafted right into the United first team in the fiery atmosphere of a Manchester derby on September 14.

Amorim explained why in his press conference a few days earlier, but he wasn’t until he was.

He has a lot of potential, but we also need to consider the present, and the goalkeeper needs to be extremely strong and experienced, he said.

It is a different league, different nation, and different ball.

Altay Bayindir, a Turkish international, won six of the previous seven Premier League games and all three of this season, staying in his place after falling to 3-0, and keeping it for the victory over Chelsea on September 20 with Trevoh Chalobah’s 80th-minute header into the corner giving the keeper no chance.

Few people believe the former United star, who cost United £4.3 million in 2023, is capable of filling the position on a full-time basis despite Amorim’s prediction that Bayindir and Lammens will battle for the top spot.

In terms of save percentage (50%), Bayindir ranks 16th out of the goalkeepers who have made more than two Premier League appearances this year, Opta claims. His home victories at Arsenal and Burnley resulted in eight goals conceded this season, more than his expected goals conceded figure of 7.14, which places him 17th in the league and far behind Fulham’s Bernd Leno, who conceded 2.15 goals fewer than he should.

Long pass accuracy is at 18th and passing accuracy at 17th respectively.

All of these figures strongly support the theory that Lammens should have his chance rather than when.

Amorim must be cautious when choosing the right day because a subpar performance could turn Lammens off because he has chosen to keep his newcomer out of the firing line so far.

United’s elimination from League Two Grimsby before Lammens even arrived has made the selection problem more difficult.

This implies that there won’t be a “soft landing” like in a less competitive competition, and that the assimilation period’s immediate consequences wouldn’t be as bad.

In the Premier League International Cup game at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, United opted not to name Lammens as an overage player.

It would have given Lammens a firsthand experience playing under floodlights at the main stadium, which is unusual for someone to make the first-team squad if they were primarily playing for Travis Binnion’s Under-21 squad.

The 1,600-person crowd, which was only a fraction of what the first team received, is comparable to the 6,456 who attended Lammens’ final senior game against Royal Antwerp at Charleroi in the Belgian Pro-League.

Therefore, Lammens appears to be set to make his next competitive appearance in the Premier League when the opposition manager won’t need a single invitation to target a rookie until United’s FA Cup campaign kicks off in January.

Roy Carroll, a former United goalkeeper, has urged caution against anticipating too much.

The Northern Irishman pleaded with the 23-year-old to allow him to grow as a Manchester United goalkeeper.

When David de Gea arrived, we did it for him. Before joining Manchester United, he was a young, successful goalkeeper.

Senne Lammens’ will-he, won’t-he move to Manchester United was one of the more intriguing deals on transfer deadline day.

Lammens had been identified as a goalkeeper of interest by United early in the window and although their interest intensified in the final week, it was not until deadline day itself the Premier League club made their move.

By that time, the 23-year-old Royal Antwerp player was on his way to England anyway, making sure he was in the right place ‘just in case’ an agreement was reached.

The deal was eventually announced at 10pm, five hours after the window closed and long after Aston Villa’s World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez had given up on his own dreams of securing a move to Old Trafford, having also been put on red alert by United’s renewed interest in him.

Lammens described his £18.1m switch as “a dream come true”. He also said he hoped it would be the “beginning of something special”.

Firstly, there is no sense Lammens has done anything wrong.

Sources say the Belgium Under-21 international has impressed in training and the overall view of him is a positive one.

Lammens is described as having a calm presence, as being mature for his age and is taking his new surroundings in his stride. He has already got somewhere to live, so has stepped out of hotel life, which in itself can be disruptive.

This view is backed up by United’s number three goalkeeper Tom Heaton in an interview with the Training Ground Guru podcast: “He has a strong personality.

“His goalkeeping fundamentals are very impressive. I said that to him after a couple of days’ training. He’s been very impressive so far.”

Around his signing in preference to Martinez, United sources were keen to stress he had been bought with an eye on the future.

His stats were good. Last season, Lammens made 30 appearances in the Belgian Pro League, keeping seven clean sheets and making 173 saves, which was 20 more than any other goalkeeper in Europe’s top-10 leagues, while no player saved more penalties than his four.

Data analysts Opta said Lammens had a save percentage of 77.4% and a passing accuracy of 71.5%. They also said his ‘goals prevented’ total was 18.4.

“Senne is young and has a big frame,” said former Belgium and Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld. “He’ll be a perfect fit in England.”

There was uncertainty over whether Lammens, with just a single full season as a number one goalkeeper and 57 senior appearances behind him, would be pitched straight into the United first team in the white-hot atmosphere of a Manchester derby on 14 September.

He wasn’t, with Amorim explaining why in his news conference a couple of days earlier.

“He has a lot of potential but we also have to look at the present and we are in a moment that the goalkeeper needs to be really strong and have a lot of experience,” he said.

“It is a different league, different country, different ball.”

Turkey international Altay Bayindir, who had started six of the previous seven Premier League games and all three this season, retained his place at the Etihad Stadium, a 3-0 defeat, and kept it for the victory over Chelsea on 20 September, when the visitors had just one effort on target, Trevoh Chalobah’s 80th-minute header into the corner that gave the keeper no chance.

Although Amorim has said Bayindir and Lammens will compete for the number one spot, few think the former Fenerbahce man, who cost United £4.3m in 2023, is capable of filling the role on a full-time basis.

According to Opta, of the goalkeepers with more than two Premier League appearances this season, Bayindir ranks 16th in terms of save percentage (50%). His mistakes in the home games against Arsenal and Burnley mean he has conceded eight goals this season, more than his expected goals conceded figure of 7.14, putting him 17th in the list and a long way behind the leader in that metric, Fulham’s Bernd Leno, who has conceded 2.15 goals fewer than he should.

Bayindir is 17th in terms of passing accuracy and 18th for long pass accuracy.

All of these numbers very much lead towards the theory it is a question of when, not if, Lammens gets his chance.

Yet, having elected to keep his new arrival out of the firing line so far, Amorim has to be careful when choosing the right day as a poor performance could set Lammens back.

The selection issue has been made more tricky by United’s elimination from the EFL Cup at League Two Grimsby before Lammens had even arrived.

It means there is no ‘soft landing’ available in a lesser competition, when the consequences for immediate mistakes in the assimilation period would not be quite so great.

United opted against naming Lammens as an overage player in the Premier League International Cup game at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

While it would be unusual for someone bedded into the first-team squad to feature in a game primarily for Travis Binnion’s Under-21 squad, it would at least have given Lammens a taste of playing under floodlights at the main stadium.

Although the attendance of 1,600 was a fraction of what the first team get, it is not far off the crowd of 6,456 who saw Lammens’ last senior game, in the Belgian Pro-League for Royal Antwerp at Charleroi.

So, unless he is made to wait until United begin their FA Cup campaign in January, it now seems Lammens will make his next competitive appearance in the Premier League, when the opposition manager will need little invitation to target a rookie.

Former United goalkeeper Roy Carroll has cautioned against expecting too much too soon.

“He’s only 23, please, please give him time and let him grow as a Manchester United goalkeeper,” the Northern Irishman told BBC Sport.

“We did it for David de Gea when he came in. He was a very young goalkeeper and a successful one even before he came to Manchester United as well.

Senne Lammens’ will-he, won’t-he move to Manchester United was one of the more intriguing deals on transfer deadline day.

Lammens had been identified as a goalkeeper of interest by United early in the window and although their interest intensified in the final week, it was not until deadline day itself the Premier League club made their move.

By that time, the 23-year-old Royal Antwerp player was on his way to England anyway, making sure he was in the right place ‘just in case’ an agreement was reached.

The deal was eventually announced at 10pm, five hours after the window closed and long after Aston Villa’s World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez had given up on his own dreams of securing a move to Old Trafford, having also been put on red alert by United’s renewed interest in him.

Lammens described his £18.1m switch as “a dream come true”. He also said he hoped it would be the “beginning of something special”.

Firstly, there is no sense Lammens has done anything wrong.

Sources say the Belgium Under-21 international has impressed in training and the overall view of him is a positive one.

Lammens is described as having a calm presence, as being mature for his age and is taking his new surroundings in his stride. He has already got somewhere to live, so has stepped out of hotel life, which in itself can be disruptive.

This view is backed up by United’s number three goalkeeper Tom Heaton in an interview with the Training Ground Guru podcast: “He has a strong personality.

“His goalkeeping fundamentals are very impressive. I said that to him after a couple of days’ training. He’s been very impressive so far.”

Around his signing in preference to Martinez, United sources were keen to stress he had been bought with an eye on the future.

His stats were good. Last season, Lammens made 30 appearances in the Belgian Pro League, keeping seven clean sheets and making 173 saves, which was 20 more than any other goalkeeper in Europe’s top-10 leagues, while no player saved more penalties than his four.

Data analysts Opta said Lammens had a save percentage of 77.4% and a passing accuracy of 71.5%. They also said his ‘goals prevented’ total was 18.4.

“Senne is young and has a big frame,” said former Belgium and Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld. “He’ll be a perfect fit in England.”

There was uncertainty over whether Lammens, with just a single full season as a number one goalkeeper and 57 senior appearances behind him, would be pitched straight into the United first team in the white-hot atmosphere of a Manchester derby on 14 September.

He wasn’t, with Amorim explaining why in his news conference a couple of days earlier.

“He has a lot of potential but we also have to look at the present and we are in a moment that the goalkeeper needs to be really strong and have a lot of experience,” he said.

“It is a different league, different country, different ball.”

Turkey international Altay Bayindir, who had started six of the previous seven Premier League games and all three this season, retained his place at the Etihad Stadium, a 3-0 defeat, and kept it for the victory over Chelsea on 20 September, when the visitors had just one effort on target, Trevoh Chalobah’s 80th-minute header into the corner that gave the keeper no chance.

Although Amorim has said Bayindir and Lammens will compete for the number one spot, few think the former Fenerbahce man, who cost United £4.3m in 2023, is capable of filling the role on a full-time basis.

According to Opta, of the goalkeepers with more than two Premier League appearances this season, Bayindir ranks 16th in terms of save percentage (50%). His mistakes in the home games against Arsenal and Burnley mean he has conceded eight goals this season, more than his expected goals conceded figure of 7.14, putting him 17th in the list and a long way behind the leader in that metric, Fulham’s Bernd Leno, who has conceded 2.15 goals fewer than he should.

Bayindir is 17th in terms of passing accuracy and 18th for long pass accuracy.

All of these numbers very much lead towards the theory it is a question of when, not if, Lammens gets his chance.

Yet, having elected to keep his new arrival out of the firing line so far, Amorim has to be careful when choosing the right day as a poor performance could set Lammens back.

The selection issue has been made more tricky by United’s elimination from the EFL Cup at League Two Grimsby before Lammens had even arrived.

It means there is no ‘soft landing’ available in a lesser competition, when the consequences for immediate mistakes in the assimilation period would not be quite so great.

United opted against naming Lammens as an overage player in the Premier League International Cup game at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

While it would be unusual for someone bedded into the first-team squad to feature in a game primarily for Travis Binnion’s Under-21 squad, it would at least have given Lammens a taste of playing under floodlights at the main stadium.

Although the attendance of 1,600 was a fraction of what the first team get, it is not far off the crowd of 6,456 who saw Lammens’ last senior game, in the Belgian Pro-League for Royal Antwerp at Charleroi.

So, unless he is made to wait until United begin their FA Cup campaign in January, it now seems Lammens will make his next competitive appearance in the Premier League, when the opposition manager will need little invitation to target a rookie.

Former United goalkeeper Roy Carroll has cautioned against expecting too much too soon.

“He’s only 23, please, please give him time and let him grow as a Manchester United goalkeeper,” the Northern Irishman told BBC Sport.

“We did it for David de Gea when he came in. He was a very young goalkeeper and a successful one even before he came to Manchester United as well.

Senne Lammens’ will-he, won’t-he move to Manchester United was one of the more intriguing deals on transfer deadline day.

Lammens had been identified as a goalkeeper of interest by United early in the window and although their interest intensified in the final week, it was not until deadline day itself the Premier League club made their move.

By that time, the 23-year-old Royal Antwerp player was on his way to England anyway, making sure he was in the right place ‘just in case’ an agreement was reached.

The deal was eventually announced at 10pm, five hours after the window closed and long after Aston Villa’s World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez had given up on his own dreams of securing a move to Old Trafford, having also been put on red alert by United’s renewed interest in him.

Lammens described his £18.1m switch as “a dream come true”. He also said he hoped it would be the “beginning of something special”.

Firstly, there is no sense Lammens has done anything wrong.

Sources say the Belgium Under-21 international has impressed in training and the overall view of him is a positive one.

Lammens is described as having a calm presence, as being mature for his age and is taking his new surroundings in his stride. He has already got somewhere to live, so has stepped out of hotel life, which in itself can be disruptive.

This view is backed up by United’s number three goalkeeper Tom Heaton in an interview with the Training Ground Guru podcast: “He has a strong personality.

“His goalkeeping fundamentals are very impressive. I said that to him after a couple of days’ training. He’s been very impressive so far.”

Around his signing in preference to Martinez, United sources were keen to stress he had been bought with an eye on the future.

His stats were good. Last season, Lammens made 30 appearances in the Belgian Pro League, keeping seven clean sheets and making 173 saves, which was 20 more than any other goalkeeper in Europe’s top-10 leagues, while no player saved more penalties than his four.

Data analysts Opta said Lammens had a save percentage of 77.4% and a passing accuracy of 71.5%. They also said his ‘goals prevented’ total was 18.4.

“Senne is young and has a big frame,” said former Belgium and Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld. “He’ll be a perfect fit in England.”

There was uncertainty over whether Lammens, with just a single full season as a number one goalkeeper and 57 senior appearances behind him, would be pitched straight into the United first team in the white-hot atmosphere of a Manchester derby on 14 September.

He wasn’t, with Amorim explaining why in his news conference a couple of days earlier.

“He has a lot of potential but we also have to look at the present and we are in a moment that the goalkeeper needs to be really strong and have a lot of experience,” he said.

“It is a different league, different country, different ball.”

Turkey international Altay Bayindir, who had started six of the previous seven Premier League games and all three this season, retained his place at the Etihad Stadium, a 3-0 defeat, and kept it for the victory over Chelsea on 20 September, when the visitors had just one effort on target, Trevoh Chalobah’s 80th-minute header into the corner that gave the keeper no chance.

Although Amorim has said Bayindir and Lammens will compete for the number one spot, few think the former Fenerbahce man, who cost United £4.3m in 2023, is capable of filling the role on a full-time basis.

According to Opta, of the goalkeepers with more than two Premier League appearances this season, Bayindir ranks 16th in terms of save percentage (50%). His mistakes in the home games against Arsenal and Burnley mean he has conceded eight goals this season, more than his expected goals conceded figure of 7.14, putting him 17th in the list and a long way behind the leader in that metric, Fulham’s Bernd Leno, who has conceded 2.15 goals fewer than he should.

Bayindir is 17th in terms of passing accuracy and 18th for long pass accuracy.

All of these numbers very much lead towards the theory it is a question of when, not if, Lammens gets his chance.

Yet, having elected to keep his new arrival out of the firing line so far, Amorim has to be careful when choosing the right day as a poor performance could set Lammens back.

The selection issue has been made more tricky by United’s elimination from the EFL Cup at League Two Grimsby before Lammens had even arrived.

It means there is no ‘soft landing’ available in a lesser competition, when the consequences for immediate mistakes in the assimilation period would not be quite so great.

United opted against naming Lammens as an overage player in the Premier League International Cup game at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

While it would be unusual for someone bedded into the first-team squad to feature in a game primarily for Travis Binnion’s Under-21 squad, it would at least have given Lammens a taste of playing under floodlights at the main stadium.

Although the attendance of 1,600 was a fraction of what the first team get, it is not far off the crowd of 6,456 who saw Lammens’ last senior game, in the Belgian Pro-League for Royal Antwerp at Charleroi.

So, unless he is made to wait until United begin their FA Cup campaign in January, it now seems Lammens will make his next competitive appearance in the Premier League, when the opposition manager will need little invitation to target a rookie.

Former United goalkeeper Roy Carroll has cautioned against expecting too much too soon.

“He’s only 23, please, please give him time and let him grow as a Manchester United goalkeeper,” the Northern Irishman told BBC Sport.

“We did it for David de Gea when he came in. He was a very young goalkeeper and a successful one even before he came to Manchester United as well.

Over the past seven days, there have been many things going on, including Scottish hat-tricks in the Bundesliga, World Athletics Championship ceremonies, and Ballon d’Or ceremonies.