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What not to say to a friend who is struggling to conceive
People struggling to conceive say friends and family often make well-meaning but insensitive comments about their infertility.
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Chris Daniel has climbed Pen y Fan 742 times in one year, in memory of his wife Rita.
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Key events
“The Port Vale manager, Jon Brady, left Australia as a 17-year-old to chase his dream of playing in the United Kingdom. Spells at Brentford, Swansea and Wycombe did not make a first-team debut a reality. The sacrifice would not be wasted as determination to make a career in England grew stronger, becoming a non-league stalwart, but always with an eye on what came next.
“Like Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final opponent, Chelsea’s head coach Liam Rosenior, Brady plotted a route to the dugout from early on, earning his B licence at the age of 23. Twenty-eight years later, he has managed more than 500 league games, in charge of Brackley and Northampton before joining League One’s bottom club in January, and embarking on a surprising Cup run…”
Jeff Sax has messaged in to say:
“The failure of the Chelsea ‘model’ reflects the total lack of understanding of football that the new ownership possess. This was highlighted by signing Rosenior to a 6-year contract.”
Port Vale last reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup 72 years ago. They faced Leyton Orient in the 1953-54 quarter-finals and clinched a 1-0 win to reach the semis.
Could that be a good omen for today?
Jacob Steinberg
“Trust the process. Ignore the haters. Promise that the trophies will come. Stay on brand. Disappear on international duty and issue a brazen come-and-get-me plea to Real Madrid. Suggest a move to Barcelona would be difficult to reject. Don’t silence the noise. Increase the noise. Question the club’s transfer policy. Say you miss the previous manager. Say Madrid is your favourite European city. Say it more than once. Hang on. Have we gone off-message here?”
Enzo Fernández was not the only Chelsea player to stir the pot during the international break. During a recent interview, full-back Marc Cucurella criticised the club’s decision to sack Enzo Maresca.
He told The Athletic: “We knew what Maresca wanted from us. Winning a title like the Club World Cup also helps, strengthens the bond, and you create great relationships during the celebrations. When a manager gives you that confidence and offers you a platform to fight for titles, you’d die for him.
“The moment Maresca left, it had a big impact on us. These are decisions taken by the club. If you asked me, I would not have made this decision. To make a change like that, the best thing is to wait until the end of the season. You would give everyone, the players and the new manager, time to get ready, have a full pre-season. The instability around the club comes from this, in a nutshell.”
Despite his comments, head coach Liam Rosenior decided against suspending Cucurella for any upcoming games. The Spaniard starts on the bench this evening.
Chelsea have lost every match since their FA Cup fifth-round victory over Wrexham. They lost 8-2 on aggregate across two games in the Champions League round-of-16 between Premier League defeats to Newcastle and Everton.
The FA Cup is now their only chance at silverware this season, so they need a big performance today.
You can read more on Enzo Fernández and his suspension here:
Chelsea will be without Enzo Fernández today due to a suspension. He is not suspended under FA rules, but due to his conduct. Blues head coach Liam Rosenior announced yesterday that Fernández will not be available today or next week because he “crossed a line” with recent comments about his future.
The midfielder first questioned if he would remain at Stamford Bridge beyond this season before suggesting he would like to live in Madrid.
In response, Rosenior said: “For Enzo, it’s disappointing to speak in that way. What I will say about Enzo is in terms of him as a character, as a person, I’ve got no bad words to say about him. But I think a line was crossed in terms of our culture and what we want to build. So we had to make a sanction and that was a decision we’ve made. The door is not closed on Enzo. That’s very important. It’s a sanction. You have to protect that culture. I think in terms of that, the line was crossed in the international break.”
Team news
Chelsea starting line-up: Robert Sánchez; Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo, Jorrel Hato; Roméo Lavia, Andrey Santos; Estêvão, Cole Palmer (C), Pedro Neto, João Pedro.
Substitutes: Teddy Sharman-Lowe, Josh Acheampong, Mamadou Sarr, Marc Cucurella, Dário Essugo, Moisés Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, Liam Delap.
Port Vale starting line-up: Joe Gauci, Connor Hall, Jordan Gabriel, Cameron Humphreys, Kyle John, Liam Gordon; Ben Garrity (C), Rhys Walters, Funso Ojo; Ben Waine, Martin Sherif.
Substitutes: Ben Amos, Jayden Stockley, Ethon Archer, Ryan Croasdale, Jordan Shipley, Eli Campbell, George Hall, Tyler Magloire, Andre Gray.
Right, time for some team news…
Manchester City sailed through to the semi-finals with a huge 4-0 win over Liverpool earlier today. Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick to send his team through, with Antoine Semenyo getting on the scoresheet as well. Goalkeeper James Trafford also played a huge part by saving a penalty from Mohamed Salah in the second half.
Preamble
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final clash between Chelsea and Port Vale. Wembley Stadium is within touching distance for both clubs this afternoon, with just 90 minutes (or 120 depending on how this plays out) between them and a day at the home of English football.
Premier League giants Chelsea are the overwhelming favourites for this one, with Port Vale struggling at the bottom of League One. However, the third-tier side stunned Sunderland to get here, so you can’t write them off.
Given Chelsea’s recent run of results, Port Vale will be hopeful of a huge upset at Stamford Bridge.
Kick-off for this one is at 5:15pm BST – join me!
Jim Boyce, patron of Cliftonville F.C, says he is “disgusted” by the behaviour seen on Friday from a “small element”.
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