Former England football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson has revealed that he has been sadly diagnosed with terminal cancer and only has "at best a year to live".
The 75-year-old ex-Premier League and EFL coach confirmed his devastating news during an interview on Swedish radio earlier this week.
He is, of course, best known to football fans around the world as the Three Lions boss between 2001-2006, where he took charge of the so-called 'Golden Generation' of English footballers at the time, including Beckham, Owen, Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, and many more.
Eriksson led the star-studded national team to two World Cup tournaments during his reign, as well as EURO 2004 when England suffered a heartbreaking and controversial loss to Portugal on penalties.
Eriksson reveals terminal cancer diagnosis with only 'a year to live' (Credit via Flick/England Football)
Aside from his England duties, Eriksson has also managed a number of other notable clubs throughout his career, including Manchester City, Leicester, Benfica and Lazio, as well as sides in Sweden, China, the Phillippines and the Ivory Coast national team.
Many fans grew concerned after Eriksson resigned as the Sporting Director at Swedish club, Karlstad Football, 11 months ago now.
News reports simply cited "health issues" at the time and now it appears the nature of the problem was much more serious than first thought, having now been unfortunately diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
"Everyone understands that I have an illness that is not good. "Everyone guesses it's cancer and it is - but I have to fight as long as I can.", he told Swedish radio station Sveriges Radio P1 during a candid interview.
When asked more about the condition, Eriksson did not disclose which type of cancer he has been diagnosed with, but he did unfortunately reveal he only has "at best a year" to live, and "at worst, even less".
"Or in the best case, I suppose even longer. I don't think the doctors I have can be totally sure, they can't put a day on it,... [so] it's better not to think about it.
"You have to trick your brain.
"I could go around thinking about that all the time and sit at home and be miserable and think I'm unlucky and so on. It's easy to end up in that position. But no, see the positive sides of things and don't bury yourself in setbacks, because this is the biggest setback of them all of course."
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Danny Jones -
11th January 2024 
