標籤: tears

Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has opened up about the moment he was sacked by Everton and the surprising emotion behind it.

In a new conversation with Agent Rob JohnsonThe Netherlands boss reflected on his short but eventful tenure at Goodison Park, revealing he had tears in his eyes when chairman Bill Kenwright broke the news.

“They called me King Koeman”

Ronald Koeman arrived at Everton in 2016 after impressive performances at Southampton, with Everton making big plans under Farhad Moshiri.

His first season was successful as he led Everton to seventh place, securing qualification for the Europa League.

That first year was a happy one, including a budding relationship with chairman Bill Kenwright.

“He was a lovely man,” Koeman says when Jensen starts talking about Kenwright.

“He lived in London, and once a month I’d go there by train to have lunch with Bill Kenwright and talk about Everton. They were really fun conversations. He always called me ‘King Koeman’ too. But in the second season, it wasn’t so much ‘King’ anymore.”

disaster of the second season

Despite a record-breaking summer spending of £140 million, things quickly unraveled in the Dutchman’s second season.

That second campaign was marked by an inability to integrate new expensive signings as well as replace star striker Romelu Lukaku.

Ronald Koeman was eventually sacked after a 5–2 defeat to Arsenal and a five-match winless run at that point. The responsibility fell on Bill Kenwright, who began to cry.

“He came into my office when he had to deliver the bad news. He had tears in his eyes because he had to fire me on Farhad’s behalf.” He added.

However, Koeman holds no grudges against Kenwright. “a great person.” Jensen completely agrees with this.

“Firing you was the stupidest thing they ever did. After that, it just went downhill,” He concluded.

Everton’s sliding doors moment

The dismissal of Ronald Koeman is certainly a turning point in Everton’s history. While his agent believes the decision was foolish, this is revisionism at its finest.

Everton were sinking under the Dutchman and looked destined for relegation that year, but ultimately finished 8th^th Under Sam Allardyce. This certainly suggests that Koeman was the problem at that point.

Rob Jensen clearly thinks Koeman could have turned things around, and it seems Bill Kenwright had a similar feeling. Everton fans are likely to disagree.

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Max Strauss was back as if he had never left. In his Cleveland Cavaliers season opener after missing the first 67 games of the campaign due to the recovery of his broken left foot, the 29-year-old swingman brought his signature energy and hustle as if he had been playing this entire time.

“I played hard,” Strus said after the Cavs’ 130–120 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

“They’ve put in a lot of time and effort, and we’ve had a lot of conversations and conversations about what that looks like for them,” Donovan Mitchell said. “It’s easy for a guy to get discouraged, and he’s not one to give up, but put himself in a bad situation. But watching him keep working — obviously when I was out, we played pickup and played 1-on-1 and played 2-on-2, 3-on-3. So to see him do what he did tonight, it’s the same thing he’s been doing for about two and a half weeks, honestly. Y’all just don’t get it.” And that’s the Max Strauss we know.”

Fighting back tears, Strus talked about his confidence out of the gate.

“It was a long road,” Strus said. “I only know one way to work, and that’s go as hard as possible. I do that every day, and tonight too. I’m happy to play. I had a good night, but it doesn’t matter; we lost. I work out at the same rate every day and try to implement game speed reps and push myself to the max. I think tonight was a good demonstration of why it works and why I push myself to be that player.”

Brimming with anticipation as he waited at the scorer’s table, the Rocket Arena crowd roared as the horn sounded, and Strus checked in at the 4:53 mark of the first quarter for PA announcer Sean Peebles’ re-introduction. Immediately, with Cleveland trailing by 10, the veteran forward scored three balls in 30 seconds on a pass from James Harden on the left wing, drawing a loud ovation.

“I felt the energy,” Strus said. “It was special from the moment I went there to shoot the pregame. It shows you how much Cleveland loves their game and how much they care. I’m so grateful to be in Cleveland for this reason and to play for this organization. Our fans are second to none. I love being here and I love playing for them.”

“I loved the crowd,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “That was a really great moment, him coming in, and then hitting the first two threes. So it’s a shining light on a good day for us.”

Strus missed his next three attempts from long range at the same spot, including a transition pull-up and Donovan Mitchell’s catch-and-shoot from 27 feet. He finished the first half with 16 points and 4 rebounds in 12 minutes of action on 4-of-5 from the field.

Despite the Cooper flag and the Mavs pulling away in the second half, Strus continued his attack with two more corner threes and a sky-high putback to try to keep the Cavs within reasonable limits. It ultimately wasn’t enough to push his team over the edge, but those familiar Strus traits were back again.

He shot 7 of 9 from the field with 24 points, 8 rebounds and one assist in 23 minutes.

“I think you learn a lot about yourself when something is taken away from you,” Strus said. “I think I understand how important it is and how much it means to me that I want to come back, I want to make an impact, I want to help this team win. I love playing basketball, and I love doing it with a group of good guys. I’m happy to be back to be able to do that.”

“It was an amazing performance after seven months without playing an NBA game,” Atkinson said. “That may have been the best I’ve seen during that period of absence, and then coming into an NBA game and performing like that.”

Strus’ usual backtaps, strength as a screener, and overall destructiveness were on full display on each end. Immediately, the sentiment changed, and this is the kind of game-changer the Cavs are adding to the mix as the season winds down and the playoffs approach.

“It was the little things, the tip-outs, the two threes he hit back-to-back off our zoom action,” Mitchell said. “I set fire [screen] For that, and then he did a set and slid into the corner. Like, whether the shot is going in or not, these are the things you miss with him. And of course, Sam [Merrill] “He’s been phenomenal in that as well, so now that we have two of those guys, it’s great to see him back and be an even bigger threat for us.”

“They’re another reason I want to come back this year,” Strus said of his teammates. “I could dress it up and say, ‘Ah, I’ll be back next year.’ But I’m motivating myself to play, I want to play and everyone here is supporting me the whole time. So they wanted me to come back and be myself and help this team win. And we have a few fun months left and we are ready to do well in the playoffs. So I’m just happy to be back with the guys and help us win some games.”

The Philadelphia 76ers were widely expected to make a cost-cutting move before the trade deadline, as that is how their front office has operated over the past few seasons. He has shown an aversion to paying the luxury tax, and for better or worse, he has ensured that he does not stray above the tax apron.

However, the 76ers found the tax savings they were looking for in an unexpected place. They traded their 2024 first-round pick, Jared McCann, who had shown so much promise before tearing his meniscus, to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2026 first-round pick (from the Houston Rockets) and three second-round picks.

Now, McCain is turning his attention to the defending champion. On Friday night, he scored 21 points on 7-12 shooting from the field in the Thunder’s 105–86 win over the Brooklyn Nets. He starred for an OKC team that was missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, and McCann’s emergence has given OKC more room to rest those key guys — much to the dismay of 76ers fans.

76ers fans crying over Jared McCann loss after big night for OKC

The 76ers’ decision to trade McCain was a surprising development, as it looked like he was going to be part of the team’s core for the near future, given how well he played in his rookie season.

Now, McCann is playing well for the Thunder, and 76ers fans are heartbroken that the guy they picked is working for a different team in his second year campaign.

Sixers fan RN after trade of Jared McCain https://t.co/50ysWG7DFf pic.twitter.com/QM3mv0TSnt

– Chilinwari (@chilinwari) 21 February 2026

“Jared McCann playing so well shows just how bad Nick Nurse is on this roster,” wrote X user @Youdownwith_LNV.

@TimeoutSPORTS3 said, “The Sixers gave Jared McCain practically nothing. Non-serious organization.”

@Glenjr1988 added, “I was right about Jared McCain. I mean Sam Presti traded for him.”

76ers president Daryl Morey said they were “highly sold” on McCann. Only time will tell whether this is actually the case or not. However, everything is not looking good for Philly at the moment.