Former USA manager accuses Jrgen Klinsmann of jockeying for his job and calling his 2011 firing a mistake

New Swansea City manager Bob Bradley broke his five-year silence on the end of his tenure as coach of the US national team, accusing Jrgen Klinsmann of jockeying for his job and calling his firing a mistake.

From the day I got fired by the US, I have not said one thing publicly about their team, alright? Bradley said on Friday during his first press conference since taking over at Swansea. I dont appreciate the way it was done, I think they made a mistake.

When asked what he thought of Klinsmanns complimentary comments regarding his recent appointment, the 58-year-old Bradley was thankful but went on to suggest the glowing reference wasnt exactly present back when he was managing the team. When he did commentary on the 2010 World Cup, he was already jockeying for the job, said Bradley, who went on to say that for a long time he had kept his mouth shut to support the team, especially since his son, Michael, is the captain. If he has said something in a nice way, I appreciate it.

Back in 2010, Klinsmann was a pundit for ESPNs World Cup commentary team and one day after USA lost to Ghana in the round of 16, the ex-German international commented on the current state of US soccer and what the country should do in order to develop as a soccer nation. From the pay-to-play format at youth level to the need for more Hispanic inclusion, it did seem as if Klinsmann was marketing his own candidacy for the job. Ive been here for 12 years now, Klinsmann said, after Mike Tirico confirmed his close ties with the US.

Following the World Cup, Bradley signed a contract extension until 2014 that would have kept him in charge until at least the following tournament in Brazil. But one year later, after taking the US to the Gold Cup final – where they lost to Mexico 4-2 – Bradley was fired by the federation on 28 July 2011. He finished his tenure with a 43-12-25 record including a Gold Cup in 2007 and Confederations Cup runners-up finish two years later.

Swansea City fans should perhaps focus more on his work with Egypt where Bradley took charge of the the Pharaohs at a time of tumultuous unrest within the country. Despite the fact that the Egyptian Premier League was suspended due to the revolution, Bradley and his wife, Lindsay, stayed in Cairo and led them to within one match of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup when they lost to Ghana in the third and final round of qualifying. He ended his role in 2013 with with 24 wins, five draws and only seven losses.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/oct/07/bob-bradley-jurgen-klinsmann-jockeying-usa-job

The creator of the paint-faced villain Pennywise, in his novel It, responds to panic over spate of clown-related activity across the country

After instilling a fear of clowns into millions of readers with his malevolent character Pennywise, novelist Stephen King has urged an America alarmed by a flurry of threatening clown sightings that its time to cool the clown hysteria.

The first sighting was in Greenville, South Carolina, where a small boy told his mother that a pair of clowns had tried to lure him away. A number of clowns have since been spotted in states including Florida, New York, Wisconsin and Kentucky. Time magazine totted up sightings in more than 24 states, with a handful of arrests. Its report said: In Alabama, at least seven people face felony charges of making a terrorist threat connected to clown-related activity.

David Kiser, a talent recruiter for Ringling Bros circus company, told the Guardian that since caveman days, people would smear ashes on their faces to make each other laugh. Other times they would smear ashes on their faces to scare each other. Scott Bonn, a criminologist and professor of sociology at Drew University in New Jersey, told Time that the fascination with clowns is really the fact that theyre not real. We dont know whats beneath that makeup. It could be anyone or anything. Theyre actually very frightening.

Kings clown creation, Pennywise, has terrified readers since he appeared in his novel It in 1986. There was a clown in the stormdrain. The light in there was far from good, but it was good enough so that George Denbrough was sure of what he was seeing, writes King. The face of the clown in the stormdrain was white, there were funny tufts of red hair on either side of his bald head, and there was a big clown-smile painted over his mouth They float, it growled, they float, Georgie, and when youre down here with me, youll float, too.

Pennywise was played by Tim Curry in a 1990 TV adaptation. A forthcoming film will see Bill Skarsgrd taking on the role of the killer clown and some commentators are suggesting the wave of spooky activity could be viral marketing for the film.

Stephen King (@StephenKing)

Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria–most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.

October 3, 2016

But despite his own contribution to coulrophobia the fear of clowns King has urged his millions of followers on Twitter not to worry about the rash of sightings across the US. Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh, he wrote.

His followers were unconvinced. Except the ones that live in stormdrains, right? said one, while another was clear that nothing contributed more to my clown hysteria than It.

One Twitter user came up with a particularly creepy hypothesis. This is exactly what Pennywise would say if he hijacked your account, Stephen, they wrote.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/06/clown-sightings-stephen-king-it-pennywise

Image copyright PA

Birmingham is the most popular destination for people moving from London, official figures show.

More than 6,000 people left the capital for England’s second city last year, according to the latest internal migration statistics.

The second, third and fourth most popular destinations were all within 50 miles of London – Brighton, Thurrock and Epping Forest respectively.

Business leaders say the figures reflect an ongoing trend.

Emma Gray, marketing director for Visit Birmingham, said the city had seen significant growth and investment.

“People may have older perceptions of Birmingham and have not see how it has transformed over the past 10 years,” she said.

“Businesses both internationally and domestically are looking for opportunities outside the capital.”

“They know that by being located in a central place like Birmingham they have the best of both worlds, they can get back to friends and family, and because they are in the middle of the country they can explore more.”

Image copyright Getty Images

Last year, HSBC bank said about 1,000 jobs would be transferred from London to Birmingham as it relocates its headquarters to a new office in the city centre.

Deutsche Bank has also continued to expand in the city.

Image copyright Lucy Williams

Lucy Williams, head of UK Bank Regulatory Compliance at HSBC, moved to Birmingham with her husband and three children.

“My last visit to the city was 25 years ago and it was very different then. It’s an incredibly vibrant city. Physically, it’s changed dramatically.

“The community has been incredibly welcoming… and reached out to us.

“There’s an awful lot going on in the city all the time. We have found there’s so much going on for families.

“The move for the family has been incredibly positive.”

Image copyright Reuters

The figures are largely based on NHS registrations and are likely to be an underestimate.

They will include students heading to university, as well as people who were moved from London boroughs because local authorities were not able to afford the rising cost of housing them in the capital. One authority, Wandsworth, admitted offering grants of up to 7,000 to anyone prepared to move to Birmingham.

Heather Richardson, the director of Fish Home Finders, which helps people to relocate to the West Midlands, said young professionals were attracted by lower property prices and a better quality of life.

“They have this image of Birmingham being a really industrial city and every single time people say ‘wow’, I did not know Birmingham was like this.

“There’s nothing like living in a capital city, you can’t compete with that, but Birmingham has everything on a smaller scale.”

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Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37385265