Richest game in football set for tense touchline face-off with boss who terminated opposite number’s contract as player
RUSSELL MARTIN hopes to lead Southampton back to the Premier League on Sunday with a victory over Leeds.
For the Saints manager, a Wembley triumph in the richest game in football would be even sweeter because it would be over his former Norwich boss Daniel Farke.
Martin, 38, will never forget the way he was treated by Farke at the end of his nine-year spell at Carrow Road in 2018.
The club skipper, having been sent out on loan to Rangers earlier in the year, was banished to train with the under-23s and not allowed in the first-team dressing room.
Shocked Martin then had his contract terminated by the German, before going on to join MK Dons, where he soon became manager.
A source said: “Daniel has done this sort of thing a few times and it has been just the same at Leeds.
“But Russell had done nothing wrong and his treatment at Norwich by Farke was seen as disrespectful.”
Vintage relationship
JURGEN KLOPP and Roberto De Zerbi may have both left their clubs but they will surely end up in opposing dugouts again at some stage.
The pair now have a lot of time for each other although they did not exactly hit it off originally.
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De Zerbi felt bad for forgetting to shake Klopp’s hand after his first game in charge of Brighton at Anfield last season.
So when Liverpool made the return trip, he handed over a bottle of expensive Italian wine as an apology.
Dan’s Devil of a day out
DAN ASHWORTH visited Wembley on Saturday to watch the League One play-off final.
The incoming Manchester United sporting director was an unexpected presence among the Bolton fans who saw their side lose 2-0 to Oxford.
He was there to support his son Zac, 21, a left-back who has played 23 times for the Trotters on loan from West Brom but did not make the final squad.
Ashworth senior has been on gardening leave since February when Newcastle received an official approach from United.
The clubs failed to agree compensation, leading Ashworth to launch arbitration proceedings against the Toon in an attempt to resolve the impasse.
Kompany’s triple loan groan
BURNLEY manager Vincent Kompany will have to do a bit better in the transfer market than last summer.
When he led Burnley to the Championship title, he had three key players on season-long loans – Chelsea’s Ian Maatsen, Nathan Tella from Southampton and Manchester City man Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
But Kompany failed to keep any of them for second stints.
Now Maatsen is about to line up in the Champions League final for Borussia Dortmund.
Tella has won the Bundesliga title with Bayer Leverkusen and plays in Wednesday’s Europa League final.
While Harwood-Bellis is preparing for Sunday’s Championship final as he has been farmed out to Southampton.