Month: September 2019

The Reds chairman has hailed the impact made at Anfield by the German coach and assured supporters that squad additions will be made if required

Jurgen Klopp has been billed as “perfect” for Liverpool by club chairman Tom Werner, while transfer concerns during a quiet summer at Anfield have been played down.

The Reds saw their German tactician bring an end to a seven-year wait for major silverware last season when domestic rivals Tottenham were seen off in the Champions League final.

Premier League title pain was endured as Manchester City edged out the men from Merseyside, but Klopp’s side will be back in the hunt for a top-flight crown in 2019-20.

He is considered to be the best possible coach to lead Liverpool forward, with Werner telling The Athletic of the man at the helm: “What comes through from Jurgen is what a kind, humble, intelligent, confident and good humoured leader he is.

“He’s obviously the right person for Liverpool. We were convinced of that the first time John [Henry], Mike [Gordon] and I met him in New York.

“The match between the aspirations of our fan base, the history of the club and Jurgen, they match up in a way that is really perfect. I’m sure he could have taken a job at any other top club but I think this has been a great match.

“I think he would be a brilliant psychologist if he wasn’t such a great manager. He brings out the best in players.

“The moment I’ll remember more than any other from the final in Madrid is when the players embraced Jurgen and then threw him up in the air on the pitch.

“We can talk about what a remarkable coach he is but the love that you felt in that moment between Jurgen and his players was so great. There’s so much respect for him and what he’s done for them. There was great love in that moment.”

As things stand, with only a few days of the summer window left, Klopp will be asked to deliver more trophy triumphs this season with pretty much the same squad as he worked with last term.

Click Here: kenzo men’s new collection

Werner does not consider that to be an issue, despite the concerns of some supporters, and claims funds will be made available if suitable additions are indentified.

He added: “I don’t think it makes strategic sense for an owner to comment on transfer policy while a transfer window remains open.

“What I would say is that, as always, Jurgen has articulated the situation really well by pointing not only to the strength we already have but the strength we have to come back. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is back, Rhian Brewster is available properly for the first time I’d say, Naby Keita a year on, I could go on…

“It’s also a very high-quality team and squad, which makes signing players who are better than we currently have more challenging.

“What I would say is that we always remain ambitious and we remain committed to keeping this amazing squad together and at a level where it can be competitive for all the big trophies.”

The Bauhaus caravan arrived at the Bund Finance Center in Shanghai on Aug 24 to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Hochschule fur Gestaltung, the first modern design college in the world.

Located in Germany, the college is now called the Bauhaus-Universitat Weimar. To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Bauhaus caravan started its 10-month global tour in January.

Designed by German architect Van Bo Le Mentzel, the caravan features more than 40 Bauhaus art books and has already been to cities such as Dessau and Berlin in Germany and Kinshasa in Congo. Its China tour started in Shandong province on May 26 and will include stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing.

“The purpose of the tour is to spread the Bauhaus design concept. We want to let the public understand the value and significance of design and encourage designers to rethink their position and future value to society,” says Chi Wei, the founder of the +86 Design Sharing Platform.

Click Here: Atlanta United FC Jersey

The 22-year-old will get a chance to impress in the Premier League after a strong loan spell with Derby County last season

Liverpool winger Harry Wilson has completed a season-long loan move to Bournemouth.

Bournemouth have paid a £2.5 million loan fee for Wilson, with another £500,000 due in bonuses depending on performance. The Cherries, however, will not have the option to purchase the Wales international at the end of the loan. 

The 22-year-old impressed in a loan stint with Derby County in the Championship last term, and will now have an opportunity to show what he can do in the Premier League. 

Wilson turned in several strong performances for Liverpool in the pre-season, making six appearances and scoring against Borussia Dortmund and Lyon.

Although Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was impressed by Wilson’s form, the Reds are unable to guarantee the winger extensive playing time in 2019-20. 

And so the decision was taken to send Wilson on loan, though club sources tell Goal that the Welshman is still very much in Liverpool’s long-term plans.

“It’s great to be here, great to finally get everything sorted and I can’t wait to meet all the staff and the lads,” Wilson told afcbTV.

“When Liverpool informed me it was a possibility to come here I was keen to get it sorted. I want to play Premier League football and with a great team like Bournemouth.

“With the style of play that Bournemouth are likely to play I feel that I can fit right in and help the team a lot.”

Wilson was subject to plenty of interest after his breakout campaign with Derby last term, in which he scored 15 goals in 40 Championship appearances.

Newcastle and Aston Villa were among the clubs to enquire over Wilson, but Liverpool have determined that Bournemouth is the right place for Wilson to continue his development.

The two clubs have an excellent working relationship and Liverpool view Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe as an excellent developer of talent. 

Wilson’s international team-mate David Brooks is set to miss three months with an ankle injury, which could open up more playing time at the beginning of the season.

Liverpool kick off their Premier League campaign on Friday against Norwich City, while Bournemouth face another promoted side, Sheffield United, in their opener on Saturday.

 

Click Here: West Coast Eagles Guernsey

The former England frontman left Merseyside at the end of his contract earlier this summer and John Barnes does not think his presence will be missed

Jurgen Klopp does not need to sign a replacement for the recently-departed Daniel Sturridge, according to ex-Liverpool midfielder John Barnes.

Sturridge left Anfield upon the expiration of his deal in June, bringing to an end a six-year spell on Merseyside which was largely blighted by injuries.

The mercurial striker shone in his first full season at Liverpool, forming one-third of a fearsome attacking triumvirate alongside Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling, as the team narrowly lost out to Manchester City in a thrilling Premier League title race.

Unfortunately, he was unable to reach the same heights in the 2014-15 campaign amid consistent fitness issues and after Klopp’s arrival at Anfield, he was forced to take up a backup role within the squad.

Sturridge was, however, able to make a significant contribution to Liverpool’s cause last season, despite playing second fiddle to the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.

The 29-year-old netted four goals in 26 appearances for the Reds, with most of those coming as a substitute, before the club decided against offering him an extension.

There has been some suggestion that Klopp might bring in an extra striker before the transfer window closes, but Barnes does not feel that landing a replacement for Sturridge is a necessity for the European champions.

“Daniel Sturridge didn’t play much last year and we finished second in the league and won the Champions League,” the Liverpool legend told bonuscodesbets.co.uk.

“So, do we need to replace him? We have Origi, who did well when he came on. He’s not the top scorer and first player on the team sheet so doesn’t need replacing.

“Had we lost Salah, Mane or Firmino and not replaced them, then you could say that it is an issue. He was a good player for Liverpool but I think he lost his way in the last couple of years, with his fitness as well. He has to find a home and get motivated for his own career and play. It’s a shame but we haven’t seen a fit Daniel Sturridge for a few years.”

When asked where Sturridge could end up plying his trade next, Barnes added: “Sturridge has to get fit and motivated, no matter what club he goes to. He could go to Real Madrid or Birmingham City, but he won’t play if he’s not fit and motivated. I don’t think it’s a club that is important, it’s how hungry he is and if he can get motivated.

“If Sturridge can earn money in the MLS and it’s a competitive league, and if he feels he can’t get a club here for whatever reason, then it’s a good move. The players there are fit and strong and competitive. It’s the same all over the world.”

Klopp’s men missed the chance to win their first silverware of the 2019-20 campaign last Sunday, losing against Manchester City on penalties in the Community Shield final at Wembley.

Liverpool matched the Premier League champions during normal time, however, despite still being without Mane, who was granted an extended break after international duties with Senegal.

Barnes felt Salah and Firmino led from the front admirably as the Reds showed the same intensity which served them so well last term, as he added: “It just didn’t happen for Salah on Sunday. I don’t look at individual players, I look at how well the team is playing and the whole team, particularly in the second half, played really well.

Click Here: gws giants guernsey 2019

“Before that game, the first team hadn’t been together. There was no Mane, Salah, Firmino whereas they just left off, for me, in terms of performance and energy, and as well as how they pressed high up the field, from where they were last season.”

With 21 airports, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has the most airports in China. The region is playing a key role in the belt and road initiative. Xinjiang is also known for its cuisine and sceneries. Get to know more about Xinjiang in the 70-second video.

 

Click Here: essendon bombers guernsey 2019

As more consumers become aware of the deplorable working conditions faced by millions of workers across the apparel supply chain, global fashion brands have been pledging to work with suppliers, governments and NGOs to make sure workers earn a fair living wage. But is that just lip service? And, even if they are taking action, are their programs actually working?

The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) went on a quest to find it out. In 2014, the organization published a report titled Tailored wages: are the big brands paying the people who make our clothes enough to live on?, which inspired several companies to commit to ensure living wages across their supply chain. Five years on, CCC decided to verify if they have kept their word.

The results are disappointing: “although some brands are doing more than others to promote better practices, no brand can yet show that living wages are being paid to any worker in supply chains outside their own headquarter countries”, said the organization in its follow-up report Tailored Wages 2019: The state of pay in the global garment industry.

Fashion brands’ voluntary activities failing to deliver a living wage

The new study assessed 20 fashion brands, of which 85 percent said they are committed to ensuring a living wage. They were divided into five categories named A to E: A for companies able to guarantee that all workers across the supply chain are paid a living wage and E for brands which can show no evidence of a living wage being paid.

Shockingly, 19 brands were classified as E, namely: Adidas, Amazon, C&A, Decathlon, Fruit of the Loom, Gap, G-Star RAW, H&M, Hugo Boss, Inditex, Levi’s, Nike, Primark, Puma, PVH Corp, Tchibo, Under Armour, Uniqlo and Zalando. The only brand which got a different score was Gucci, classified as C because it was able to show 25 percent of its workers are paid a living wage.

According to CCC, the problem is the companies which declare themselves to be committed to ensuring a living wage have no benchmark and no strategy. “Having no benchmark indicated to us that wages being enough to meet workers’ basic needs is merely an abstract concept for their work”, says the organization. “No brand was able to show a scalable strategy for achieving a living wage within a specific timeframe”.

Due to the absence of clear targets and benchmarks, brands’ voluntary initiatives are failing to deliver a significant reduction of the gap between a living wage and what workers are actually paid, according to CCC. H&M reported a 25 percent wage increase in Turkey, an 18 percent increase in Cambodia and a 15 percent increase in China following its projects — still, those workers are far from earning a living wage. Inditex reported a 90 percent wage increase in Turkey but the minimum wage stipulated by the state went up 60 percent in that same period. Last but not least, Nike showed an 11 percent increase in wages in Thailand in 2017, but CCC noted that their method was based on targets related to bonuses, a system which can promote overwork, stress and accidents in factories.

To add insult to injury, brands which have made public plans to encourage governments to set a living minimum wage were notably absent from public support for the protests which took place in Bangladesh earlier this year.

England is the only possible destination for the Brazil international, but his future looks set to be dependent on that of Christian Eriksen

Philippe Coutinho’s situation at Barcelona has reached a critical stage. 

Ready to offload the Brazilian midfielder, the Catalan side believe only Premier League clubs will be able to afford him this summer, but time is running out as the transfer window in England closes at 5pm BST (12pm ET) on Thursday.

A return to Liverpool has been touted in the press as a possibility, but coach Jurgen Klopp has already ruled out any chance of the Reds moving for him.

“I think he’s a fantastic footballer and all that stuff, but it would be a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big-money signing and it’s not our year for that,” Klopp said in July.

“It’s just not possible. As I said, having him would make each team better – us included – but I really hope that he finds his luck at Barcelona.”

After Coutinho ruled out going back to the north west to join Manchester United and his agent, Kia Joorabchian, admitted it would be “hard” for him to join another team in the Premier League, it would seem the path to England is blocked.

However, there is one road open to the 27-year-old and it leads to London.

Arsenal had considered swooping for Coutinho after it emerged that Barca were open to letting him go, but with Mesut Ozil still in the side and defensive reinforcements their priority in the closing days of the window, they are in no rush to spend big on the former Inter star.

Instead, the more likely destination would be Tottenham, who are looking at Coutinho in case they lose Christian Eriksen.

In the last year of his contract with Spurs, the Denmark international is waiting to decide his long-term future, which could depend on what happens with Paul Pogba.

The French midfielder is “in the process” of negotiating his exit from Manchester United, according to agent Mino Raiola, and it is Real Madrid who have been closely associated with him.

If Pogba stays at Old Trafford, Madrid are expected to turn their attention to Eriksen to strengthen their midfield. On the other hand, United have reportedly contacted Spurs about signing him as Pogba’s replacement.

Either way, selling Eriksen this year would give Tottenham the financial strength to move for Coutinho.

Barca are working against the clock to move Coutinho on. If he ends up leaving, it can only be to the Premier League and would imply that Neymar’s alleged return from Paris Saint-Germain may be closer than ever.

Click Here: collingwood magpies 2019 training guernsey

To mark the 880th anniversary of the birthday of renowned Song Dynasty philosopher Lu Jiuyuan (1139-1193), a cultural tourism festival will take place in the scholar’s Jinxi homecounty in East China’s Jiangxi province in October.

Better known as Lu Xiangshan, he was a pioneer in Chinese philosophy, highlighting the supremacy and self-sufficiency of the mind. He suggested this inner world of people exerted a far-reaching impact on the history of Chinese Confucianism and Chinese culture at large.

To better protect and pass down the neo-Confucian philosopher’s thoughts, academies where students learn ancient Confucian classics, temples, squares and memorial gateways have been built or renovated in and around the county in Fuzhou city.

To warm up for the coming festival, calligraphy and photography contests as well as flash mob activities have been held from April.

Cai Qing, vice mayor of Fuzhou city, says the event aims to promote the traditional cultural treasures of China as well as boost the development of local tourism.

Click Here: brisbane lions guernsey 2019

English football has experienced a small taste of VAR, but it will be fully implemented this season in the country’s top division

Having already been rolled out in elite-level competitions across the planet, including the World Cup and the Champions League, VAR will be introduced in the Premier League from 2019-20.

The technology was officially used in competitions such as the Carabao Cup and FA Cup last season, but decision-makers for England’s top league opted to delay its introduction until this year.

After a season of extensive behind-the-scenes monitoring and testing, PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) director Mike Riley concluded that VAR will help referees “make more better decisions”.

As the Premier League gets set to follow Serie A, La Liga and the Bundesliga, Goal takes a look at what will happen with VAR in practice.

How will VAR work in the Premier League?

VAR – the video assistant referee – will operate much in the same way as it does in other competitions.

The purpose of VAR is to aid the referee in making decisions regarding the correction of “clear and obvious errors” during a game.

There are four main areas where incidents can be reviewed: Goals, penalties, red cards and mistaken identity.

The following is the general practice:

Will VAR be different in the Premier League?

There will be some slight differences in the use of VAR in the Premier League, with officials hoping to avoid issues experienced elsewhere.

PGMOL, along with the Premier League, carried out non-live trials in the 2018-19 season and analysed the use of VAR in other competitions in an attempt to hone the practice.

A particular area of concern was the potential for VAR to interrupt the flow of a game and cause confusion among supporters.

Neil Swarbrick, the man leading the implementation of VAR in the Premier League, says that referees in England will adhere to a stricter standard when it comes to video consultations.

“The threshold is higher,” Swarbrick told the Mirror. “It’s different interpretations of the IFAB laws. The different variations we’ve got we hope will stop the long stoppages and the long reviews with the screen.”

By way of example, it has been argued that the contentious penalty given to Liverpool in the 2018-19 Champions League final for a Moussa Sissoko handball would not be given via VAR in the Premier League.

Click Here: Cardiff Blues Store

Mike Riley, head of PGMOL, told the Times. “In real time it (Sissoko’s handball) looks a clear penalty.

“With VAR you can actually see what he’s doing, and he’s not interested in trying to block the cross, he’s saying to the covering defender, ‘Get over there and fill the space.’

“That’s not a deliberate act of extending the arm away from the body.

“You also see the ball deflects off the chest on to the arm, and if you put everything together and apply the philosophy we do here, we wouldn’t say that was handball.”

So, in practice, that interpretational divergence may reduce the potential for VAR-rewarded penalties, a fear that has been aired by some in the football community.

How will referees use VAR replays in the Premier League?

Premier League referees have been encouraged to limit the time they use the video review area at the side of the pitch, which has been identified as a notable source of delay in VAR calls.

Instead of reviewing every call flagged by the VAR assistants, it is hoped that match officials will trust the advice given to them by their colleagues. However, the referee can still take time to review if necessary.

Relating to that, the Premier League has taken steps to keep the supporters and those watching the game on TV informed about the process and rationale of decisions.

Graphics will be displayed on screens to explain the reason for a delay in play and the thinking behind any overturned decision.

As well as that, the VAR can also decide to show a definitive video clip, which illustrates exactly why a position was reached, on those screens.

In stadiums where screens are not in use, announcements will be made over the PA system.

Furthermore, in an attempt to make the VAR process as accessible as possible, league officials have indicated that they are exploring the possibility of showing messages and video on an app.

With a history dating
back to 1897, Wrangler’s past achievements are well known: in 1996, one out
of every five pairs of jeans sold in the United States was a Wrangler. The
brand has also secured a spot among the best selling denim brands in the
world. But what does the future hold for the American label, now that it is
under a new parent company?

One year ago, VF Corporation, Wrangler’s owner since 1986, decided to
spin off its denim brands Wrangler and Lee, creating a separate, publicly
traded business called Kontoor Brands. Although VF announced the split as
good news, saying the “exciting new step” would “mean that both VF and the
new company will have the resources, management focus and financial
flexibility to thrive in a dynamic marketplace, creating an even brighter
future for both organizations”, analysts were quick to say the two denim
brands were struggling to compete with athleisure.

Declaring leggings are the new jeans is a hasty conclusion, however.
Although leggings do outpace denim in terms of growth, denim’s market share
is still twice as big as that of leggings. In addition, mass retailers in
the UK and the US went back to after a dip in 2015 and 2016.

Also working to Wrangler’s advantage is the catapulting heritage brads back
to hype status. During the last Kingpins trade show in Amsterdam, experts
Amy Leverton and Sam Trotman, from trend forecasting company Denim Dudes, the demand for American iconography
from the 1980s and 1990s to increase even more as a result from mounting
frustrations about the current economy and politics. “Millennials are
literally buying back their youth,” said Leverton. Many of them are turning
to secondhand shops to find original pieces from those decades. As a
result, brands which were popular in that period are actively going through
their archives for inspiration on new designs, or even re-launching iconic
pieces exactly the way they were. Wrangler is no different: in February,
the label released its first global collection, Icons, featuring
six restyled cult items from the past.

Considering denim is one of the most polluting segments of the fashion
industry, the future of Wrangler’s designs inescapably involves addressing
the issue of sustainability. The brand is starting to take its first steps
in that regard: earlier this year, Wrangler launched in the United States. Another line made with a , which is said to eliminate almost
100 percent of the water typically used in the dyeing process, hit European
stores in June.

FashionUnited spoke with Sean Gormley, Creative Director for Wrangler
EMEA, to learn more about these developments.

Let’s start by talking a little bit about yourself. How did you enter
the denim industry and how did you become Wrangler’s creative director?

I was studying fashion design at Central Saint Martins in London, and I
had an
opportunity to intern at Fake London Genius, a cult luxury brand. They were
designing premium jeans and casualwear in Wapping, an area of east London
that
had attracted fashion designers, artists and other creatives. It was during
this year
that my appreciation for denim grew and I returned to Saint Martins with
clear ideas
about how I would design my final collection. At that time I was one of
only a few
student designers using denim, which was probably helpful for getting me my
first
break.

What tips would you give to someone aspiring to work as a denim
designer?

Do your homework on the history of denim, from a design perspective.
Research the
various eras of denim history – from the earliest American utility workwear
to Sixties
style, Eighties silhouettes and washes, and the Nineties grunge look and
more –
because elements of these all come around again and again, and influence
current and
future trends.

From a practical perspective, I’d advise an aspiring designer to really
think about the type of brand or product that you would love to work on,
research
them and target those brands or designers. Make contact, show your work and
show determination. It really helps.

How has the separation of Wrangler from VF Corporation affected you
creatively? Does Kontoor Brands have any special plans for Wrangler?

As a part of Kontoor Brands, Wrangler is sharpening its focus on
becoming a unified global brand with products that reflect today’s style,
fit and finish expectations. This
global approach influences how we think about design and creativity – we
want to
ensure we are bringing Wrangler’s western heritage to the forefront with
products
that excite consumers globally.

You see evidence of this approach in recent collection launches like
Wrangler Icons,
which was a global launch. The concept came out of Europe, and we
collaborated with our regional counterparts to finetune and launch it
globally. Under Kontoor, we are able to leverage and increase brand
investments like never before in design, creativity and innovation.

Nostalgia is a big trend these days, especially in the denim scene.
Wrangler has
recently relaunched classic styles from its archive with the ‘Icons
collection’. How was
it to go through the archives and redesign these styles?

I love working with Wrangler’s unbelievably rich product and marketing
archives. As
a heritage brand, we have decades of inspiring material. We’ve picked up
rare
denim treasures and curious oddities from the 100-year history of Wrangler
and its
predecessor brand Blue Bell, that inspires us constantly. The
recently-launched Icons
range came out of a clothing rail of amazing vintage garments that was
wheeled
around the office for a month or two, being discussed and edited down. One
of the
most important criteria we used to decide which styles to reissue in the
Icons range
was popularity. Brands don’t get to call products iconic, consumers do. A
product
only becomes iconic through its staying power in the test of time.

Some people say leggings are threatening the denim market. What do you
think about that? What is the future of denim, for you?

I think denim and jeans will always be an important way to dress. The
fabric and style
has been interwoven with popular culture for decades. Denim will remain a
symbol
of youth, durability, freedom and self-expression — and I can quite
confidently say
that the legging will never get close to that!

Wrangler is making an effort to be more sustainable. The brand unveiled
its foam dyeing technique earlier this year. How is the strive to produce
denim in a more
sustainable way affecting the way you work?

As a designer today there is a great responsibility to demand better
products for the
environment at every level, from the production of the yard, to dyeing, to
how
people wash their denim at home. I’m proud of the way our product creation
teams
have embraced a culture of responsibility, and that the company as a whole
has set
its sights on becoming a global leader in sustainable manufacturing.

What are you most proud of in your work for Wrangler?

I’m most proud of the amazing team we have in Antwerp. It’s a small yet
highly
productive office with passionate people who love the brand and believe,
like me,
in the massive potential of Wrangler. Our recent Indigood launch of
sustainably-dyed denim was the culmination of 18 months of collaboration
with fantastic partners such as textile experts Tejidos Royo and Hilaturas
Ferre. That was a big career highlight, and it feels great to work on
genuine breakthrough innovation that will hopefully lead a revolution in
the way denim is dyed.