Andy Neill

Family; Cycling; #LFC & #AFCB

[Andy Neill @andyrneill]

Wow, @parleycricket finish on 237-8 v @pooletowncc with 140* for @lukeneill11 having been 38-6...

[Andy Neill @andyrneill]

@NickyAACampbell ❤️

[Andy Neill @andyrneill]

@NickyAACampbell ❤️

[🎸 Rock History 🎸 @historyrock_]

At Live Aid 1985, David Bowie faced one of the toughest challenges of his career: taking the stage right after Queen.

Queen finished their legendary set around 7:02 p.m. In just 21 minutes, Freddie Mercury and the band had mesmerized 72,000 people.

Bowie hadn’t toured in two years and had put his band together in a rush. He had to keep the crowd’s energy up after that intense emotional climax. Anyone who went on after that risked leaving the audience feeling disappointed or exhausted. The bar was set incredibly high.

But Bowie pulled it off with class and professionalism. He started with “TVC 15,” followed with “Rebel Rebel” and “Modern Love,” and closed with an emotional “Heroes” that had the crowd singing along at the top of their lungs. He proved he was one of the few artists capable of holding his own after Queen.

[Andy Neill @andyrneill]

@MoSalah ❤️YNWA❤️

[Andy Neill @andyrneill]

@emmamurphyitv I so admire the work you do..always so close to harms way & sharing the truth with what is really going on in the world. Thank you Emma🤜🤛

[Automotive Management @AMchatter]

Hendy opens new Van Centre in Dorset, announces multi-brand plans https://t.co/47P7uWvAB1 #motortrade #automotive #dealers

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

The Adoration of the Maga. A few thoughts. It all felt a step too far by Gianni Infantino. The award of the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize felt more to do with its president’s desire to please powerful politicians as much as Donald Trump’s love of such glitzy, expensive offerings of loyalty last seen in medieval courts.

It felt more about politics than sport, a risky game for Fifa to play whenever it wants to bring a national association into line for perceived interference by government in the future. The Trump trophy weakens Fifa statutes. It also distracted from the real trophy, the World Cup, and the group-stage draw, traditionally a celebration about bringing countries together. Infantino took his eye off the balls.

A football draw designed to work out who plays who and (eventually) where and when is not the time or place for such politics. Infantino wasn’t speaking for the world in bestowing the Peace Prize, as he claimed. So presumptuous. So out of touch. Many probably agree that Trump has been a force for good in geopolitics, some might disagree. Most would probably feel such decisions should be left to experienced experts like the Nobel Committee and, please, can we get on with a football draw.

It’s spectacularly naïve or simply arrogant for Fifa to enter such non-football areas. It feels more and more that this was as much an Infantino initiative as Fifa’s. Infantino was supposed to drain the swamp when he arrived at Fifa in 2016 in the wake of assorted corruption scandals bedevilling the governing body of world football. How fitting that the nadir of Infantino’s propensity for self-aggrandisement as leader of what’s supposed to be a team game came in Washington. It was there that Trump promised to transform politics with his “drain the swamp” rhetoric, also in 2016.

The selfie moment was particularly cringe-worthy. Infantino forgets that football is the star of the show, not a 55-year lawyer. A senior football executive, who’s been at the heart of the English and European game for more than 20 years, messaged me during the drawn-out draw with his verdict on Infantino. “I feel revulsion, anger, shame, disgust – how has our sport been taken over by a Swiss ***** and turned into a total travesty???” He also pointed out that ensuring the leaders of USA, Mexico and Canada each somehow pulled out their own country’s name was not a good look for a draw based on chance.

Great for the cameras, though. Flash, bang, wallop, what a picture of Infantino's priorities. And who gets the next FIFA Peace Prize? And wouldn't Infantino have gained more respect had he used the money for the Trump trophy to subsidise excessive ticket costs? He's lost sight of what should be the real priorities for the leader of football. The game.

It's sad, really. Many sensible people work at Fifa, passionate about the game not their own ego, but it's alarming what happens to the leadership when they take power there. Even the great football manager Arsene Wenger has changed since becoming Chief of Global Football Development at Fifa. He now campaigns for more games, backing the expanded World Cup, which he would have railed against as a widely-admired, free-thinking club manager, fiercely protective of his players' well-being. "I believe that 48 teams is the right number." Arsene, just listen to yourself.

Many fans probably won’t lose much sleep that Wenger dances to Fifa's tune or that Infantino cosies up to Trump, Aramco and co. Some probably think Fifa’s a video game. Most just can’t wait for the football. The game’s about Mbappe and Messi, Haaland and Salah, Kane and Dembele, not Infantino and Trump.

The game’s about the Tartan Army, the brilliant Mexican following, the ever-hopeful English, the mobile carnival of Brazilians and the millions of other fans flocking to venue cities next summer, only a third with tickets. The USA is prepared for the party. I covered USA 94 and you couldn’t really tell there was a tournament on, certainly where I was in Detroit, Chicago and DC. You will this time, also in Canada. Mexico's total immersion was never in doubt given their passion for the game.

Infantino should remember this. He runs a great football organisation, not a political organisation. He needs to re-focus. Fifa is undeniably a force for good in many countries. The Fifa Foundation runs a new community programme that supports 154,924 people in 54 nations. Its new Digital Education Programme works on computer literacy amongst disadvantaged groups, helping them into the workplace. It’s easy to say it’s all about Infantino (Foundation board president), soft power and ensuring he keeps countries onside, voting for him, but the Foundation undeniably changes lives.

Infantino needs to look at his Adoration of the Maga and remember what he should be doing for football: serving it, not himself. #FIFAWorldCup.

[Andy Neill @andyrneill]

@AnushkaAsthana @Channel4News Good luck, you’ll smash it 👍👏

[John Simpson @JohnSimpsonNews]

Two leading human rights organisations based in Israel, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, say Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The two groups said Israel had targeted civilians in Gaza only because of their identity as Palestinians.

[John Simpson @JohnSimpsonNews]

I’ve got the greatest respect for the many journalists in Gaza who have reported bravely and often at the cost of their own lives to show us what’s happening there. But it’s been too easy for Netanyahu’s supporters to discredit them as pro-Hamas. If the world’s media had been freely allowed to see the destruction visited on Gaza, the outcome might have been very different.

[Nigel Owens MBE @Nigelrefowens]

You have got to love the French .

[Liverpool FC @LFC]

Our lad from Portugal. Forever ❤️

[Liverpool FC @LFC]

Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota.

[ALASTAIR CAMPBELL @campbellclaret]

Around 400 Palestinians, including dozens of children, have been killed while trying to get humanitarian assistance. I don’t recall these incidents (including this weekend) leading many papers or news bulletins. Are we really saying a few chants from a couple of musicians is more newsworthy or important? We have lost our bearings …

[Aberdeen FC @AberdeenFC]

ABERDEEN FOOTBALL CLUB.

2024/25 SCOTTISH CUP WINNERS!!

[Richard Woodruff 🇺🇦 @frontlinekit]

French senator perfectly describes the Trump situation.

[Hendy Group @HendyGroup]

🚨 Big News: Brand-New Dealership! 🚨

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[Hendy Group @HendyGroup]

😍 We were thrilled to have the Alpine A290 GTS on display in our Southampton showroom this week!

👀 Who's excited for its permanent arrival next year?

#Alpine #AlpineA290

[Tour de France™ @LeTour]

🏛️ A sprint for 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘

#TDF2024