In a season when Manchester United’s aspirations have been peeled away like layers of an onion, the only goal left is qualification for the Champions League. It is enough to make even the steadfast shed a tear. Thrashed in the Capital One Cup by League One MK Dons and dumped out of the FA Cup by one of their own, United were never even in the Premier League title race. Entry back into Europe’s elite competition would represent a positive campaign however. The minimal requirement, undoubtedly, but a mark of improvement nonetheless. Something to look forward to. Manchester United have not beaten a team in the top half of the Premier League since Liverpool in December . Failure to finish in the top four would be pretty disastrous though. Without the extra commitment of a European campaign and having held a healthy lead in this run at one stage, falling late would ask serious questions of Louis van Gaal. It would probably mean entry into the Europa League instead – a nightmare scenario adding games in a competition United would rather avoid entirely. The continent’s purgatory. United face a difficult run-in, with 10 games to define their season. Four of their next five matches are against the top six but Van Gaal’s side have not beaten a team currently in the top half of the table since December. Here,Sportsmail assesses their chances. Man United vs Tottenham (March 15) Reverse fixture: 0-0 . A struggle for life, is how Van Gaal termed the second half of the sides’ dour draw at White Hart Lane on December 28. A repeat would be intolerable not only to watching fans but in the table. United must win, and beware Harry Kane. The 21-year-old striker already has 26 goals to his name this season - more than the supposedly stellar line-up of Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao have managed for United combined. Besides, Mauricio Pochettino's men have Champions League ambitions of their own, and will be desperate for a victory over one of their chief rivals for the top four. Prediction: 2-1 United . Manchester United train ahead of their crunch Premier League clash against Tottenham on Sunday . Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Radamel Falcao are all smiles despite their side's recent struggles . Football data analysts BSports believe a Manchester United home win is easily the most likely outcome . March 15: Tottenham (home) March 22: Liverpool (away) April 4: Aston Villa (home) April 12: Man City (home) April 18: Chelsea (away) April 26: Everton (away) May 2: West Brom (home) May 9: Crystal Palace (away) May 16: Arsenal (home) May 24: Hull (away) Liverpool vs Man United (March 22) Reverse fixture: 3-0 United . The match at Old Trafford sparked Liverpool’s remarkable resurgence into the Champions League hunt. This game could prove the deciding factor. Brendan Rodgers has his side buoyant and Anfield will be bouncing. Van Gaal should douse the flames with his selection. But, with Philippe Coutinho rampant, Raheem Sterling offering pace and dynamism simply not seen in United's team and Daniel Sturridge now back in action after injury,the Dutchman will need a tactical masterstroke to pull off victory. This is arguably the fiercest rivalry in the land as England's two most successful clubs go head-to-head. Anfield will be rocking with the added incentive that Van Gaal's head could be on the block if he fails to finish in the top four. Prediction: 1-1 . Man United vs Aston Villa (April 4) Reverse fixture: 1-1 . Tim Sherwood led Spurs to victory in his previous visit to Old Trafford as a manager, and Villa are showing signs of vibrancy under his charge. They need points for survival and will fight all the way for it. Surely United will have too much quality though. Could arguably be the easiest fixture in United's run-in. But, as we've seen these last two seasons, anything is possible in the post-Fergie era. Prediction: 2-0 United . Man United vs Man City (April 12) Reverse fixture: 1-0 City . Sergio Aguero got the decisive goal at the Etihad on an afternoon Chris Smalling lost his head and City were denied three clear penalties. Manuel Pellegrini’s team have not often been at their best since, but their firepower can be awesome when focused on the right target. Such as their biggest rivals. This will be a third Manchester derby at Old Trafford at this stage in three consecutive seasons. City have won the past two. 6-1, anyone? United have rarely got near their noisy neighbours in recent years. And City's focus could be entirely focused on overhauling Chelsea's Premier League lead after their likely Champions League elimination in Barcelona. But Old Trafford will not stand for their men surrendering as meekly as during last season's grim 3-0 defeat. Prediction: 1-1 . Sergio Aguero is likely to cause the United defence problems in next month's Manchester derby . Chelsea vs Man United (April 18) Reverse fixture: 1-1 . Robin van Persie’s late equalising goal got Old Trafford to its feet and hoping a turning point had been found. It proved to be a false dawn and Chelsea have eased away at the top. Out of Europe, Jose Mourinho’s side are unlikely to lose focus as their hunt for the title reaches its closing moments. Men like John Terry, Nemanja Matic and Diego Costa will surely not let that happen, and the Blues' mixture of power, pace and potency should see them too good for United. PSG did, however, expose chinks in Chelsea's armour. Whether Angel Di Maria, Ashley Young et al are strong enough to pierce those gaps is another matter, . Prediction 2-1 Chelsea . Eden Hazard has been Chelsea's stand out player this season as they bid to recapture the title . Everton vs Man United (April 26) Reverse fixture: 2-1 United . Radamel Falcao appeared like a tiger to pounce for the winning goal at Old Trafford but the once-feared predator has experienced the wilderness since. Defeat at Goodison Park did for David Moyes last season although the ground does hold happier memories for United. But Everton are in a scrap themselves. Defeat this weekend and a victory for QPR or Burnley could leave Roberto Martinez's men just three points off the dreaded drop zone. Surely that would be the wake-up call Everton need to spark their season into life at long last. Prediction: 1-1 . Romelu Lukaku could cause United problems if he can carry his European form into the Premier League . Man United vs West Brom (May 2) Reverse fixture: 2-2 . Twice United came from behind to salvage a point at the Hawthorns, with Daley Blind’s measured effort the point-clincher. West Brom are a tougher nut to crack these days under Tony Pulis but the need for victory will weigh heavy on the hosts. The Baggies were also one of the teams to spring a shock at Old Trafford last season, when Saido Berahino and Morgan Amalfitano stunned David Moyes. Expect Berahino to score at Old Trafford again, but United to have the edge with more to play for than their visitors. Prediction: 2-1 United . Tony Pulis has transformed West Brom's fortunes and his side will be a stern test for United in May . Crystal Palace vs Man United (May 9) Reverse fixture: 1-0 United . Juan Mata, remember him? The Spaniard popped up for the winner in the season’s earlier game, an example of United at their most stubborn - performing poorly but still grinding out a win. Another illustration at Selhurst Park would do just fine. But that is easier said than done, with Alan Pardew having galvanised Palace since his return to Selhurst Park. Silencing the Eagles' ferocious home support in a big game towards the end of the season is no easy task - just ask Liverpool. But surely Van Gaal can squeeze a win here. Prediction: 1-0 United . Juan Mata scored the only goal of the game when United hosted Crystal Palace earlier in the season . Man United vs Arsenal (May 16) Reverse fixture: 2-1 United . A smash and grab to make John Dillinger blush, United stole three points from the Emirates in a game they ought to have lost. Angel Di Maria and Wayne Rooney showed a fleeting impression of understanding too. Arsenal have since shown that they know how to win at Old Trafford, thanks to the Danny Welbeck-inspired win in the FA Cup on Monday in which United struggled to get break down their opponents and were outfought as well as out-thought. But Monday's FA Cup defeat has pained United. That Welbeck was the man to deliver the knockout blow stings even more. Expect revenge. Prediction: 2-1 United . Danny Welbeck scored the winner as Arsenal dumped United out of the FA Cup earlier this week . Hull vs Man United (May 24) Reverse fixture: 3-0 United . The last time United visited the KC Stadium on the final day Sir Alex Ferguson fielded an inexperienced side having wrapped up the title and with a Champions League final against Barcelona on the horizon. How times have changed. Steve Bruce’s side could be safe by then and less motivated. But if they're not, this fixture becomes loaded full of danger - for both sides. You would back the United of old to win this encounter every time, but can you say the same about Van Gaal's version? Prediction: 1-0 United . Total predicted points: 74. United won the title with just one point more in 1996/97 but the parameters have shifted since then. Last year under Moyes they finished seventh on 64 points, while Arsenal came fourth on 79. Close call on whether 74 would be enough this time.

Manchester United's only remaining goal is to finish in the top four . The club have been absent from European competition this season . But Louis van Gaal's side face four of the top six in their next five games . United have not beaten a top-half Premier League side since December . CLICK HERE for all the latest Manchester United news .

 final by the unfancied Swansea, United have endured a calamitous league campaign since a 6-1 defeat at Liverpool in April, with only one win in 10, just one Champions League victory in six and only two defeats in this season’s competition by a combined score of 10-4.
Ozil will help Arsenal keep a lead and keep United’s season on track.
What was once a seemingly assured march to the title has been shattered. A five-point gap that seemed insurmountable on a match day now seems no longer than a small hurdle but also a mirage as United face City on Saturday, hoping their old foe will drop a point. With City facing Chelsea, United cannot afford defeat.
But there is also a small consolation prize, which is that qualifying for the Champions League should be achievable. The League Cup defeat by Swansea will be viewed as a freak result, but United’s season has become so strange that one loss in nine now does not feel like a mirage but reality.
And that will have felt like a lifeline. Even the most ardent Old Trafford optimists would have known that this season was only ever going to be the transition back to success – a phase to bridge the gap to greatness under David Moyes next season. United’s most likely Champions League route will come through qualifying, although a failure to qualify will still have its own benefits, namely the ability to sign players next summer.
But if United were to fail to progress through the Champions League or in next season’s Europa League, there is an argument that it would be easier to rebuild a team. United have already shown they will break the club record for outlays, splashing £100 million this summer and a further £10 million on Henrikh Mkhitaryan. That investment can only pay off if Moyes is given money to spend this summer too, and an unqualified failure to make next month’s final in Stockholm could be a step in the right direction.
For one, it would provide the club’s owners with evidence to demonstrate that investment was required to make United an attractive prospect to potential signings. With players of the quality of Toni Kroos, Raphael Varane, Mats Hummels and Sergio Ramos all linked with a move, United need to convince them they can get Champions League football next season.
And for another, it would also provide an opportunity for Moyes to make signings who would not need time to adapt


London (CNN)London teenager Brusthom Ziamani only converted to Islam in April last year. But by August he was arrested on suspicion of plotting to kill a soldier, police officer or government official, with a 12-inch knife and a hammer found in his backpack. Ziamani was convicted in February of "engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts" and sentenced Friday at the Old Bailey to 22 years in prison. It's a case with chilling echoes of the shocking murder by two Islamist extremists of soldier Lee Rigby, mowed down and hacked to death with a machete on a street in Woolwich, in southeast London, in May 2013. On the morning of his arrest, Ziamani had told his former girlfriend he intended to attack and kill soldiers. He also showed her the long-bladed knife and the hammer in his bag. Police who had searched his home two months previously had found a handwritten letter in which he glorified the murder of Rigby, and stated that "we should do a 9/11, 7/7 and a Woolwich all in one day." Police said Ziamani, who was unemployed, had come under the influence of a banned London-based terrorist organization "that it is believed played a major role in influencing and shaping his radical views." That organization is Al Muhajiroun, also known as ALM. Handing down the 22-year sentence, Judge Timothy Pontius said the police had put together a "formidable and unassailable" case against the teenager. "Ziamani's coldblooded deliberation under the malign influence of ALM, of whom he was a willing student, showed in court that he was far from the naive adolescent that the (defense) tried to portray him as," he is quoted as saying in a police statement. "He is a man of intelligence and independent and articulate mind. He was within hours of carrying out his intention of murdering a soldier, police officer or government official to imitate the horrifying savagery carried out by the killers of Lee Rigby." The letter that came to light when counterterror officers from London's Metropolitan Police searched Ziamani's address in June gave an insight into an extremist mind-set that already had violence in mind. Found in a pair of jeans, according to police, the letter was messily written with many misspellings. In it, he tells his "beloved parents" that what he's about to do is an obligation for Muslims and asks them to forgive him for all the stress he's caused them in the past. "I'm a changed person," he said, saying he has to act to help his "brothers and sisters" in Syria and Iraq. Because he does not have the means to get to these countries, he will wage war against the British government here instead, he said, adding that it would give the authorities "a taste of there (sic) own medicine." Ziamani admitted writing the letter and was arrested on suspicion of committing a terrorism offense. He was released on bail, allowing police to continue their inquiries. Police believe he converted to Islam in April 2014 and point to his postings on social media as evidence of his rapid radicalization. In May he posted "Land of democracy = Evil," and in July he posted, "Forget the protests, the only way to liberate Muslim lands is Jihad." On June 20, Ziamani had used his phone to visit websites researching the locations for army cadet bases across London, police said. While Ziamani was out on bail, officers tasked with trying to divert vulnerable young people from the path to radicalization tried to meet with him three times, but he declined to engage with them, police said. Commander Richard Walton of the Counter Terrorism Command welcomed the sentence, saying he was "relieved an extremely dangerous individual" had been removed from the streets. "Ziamani was an impressionable young man who became radicalized, then rapidly developed an extremist, violent mind-set," Walton said. The work of police and intelligence officials had "probably prevented a horrific terrorist attack taking place on the streets of London," he said.

Brusthom Ziamani gets 22 years in prison in plot to kill a soldier, police officer or official . Police found a knife and hammer in Ziamani's backpack when he was arrested .

, pepper spray and an imitation gun, along with a cache of bomb-making equipment.
He also had a list of targets, including an Islamic bookstore, a military officer and police, a gay rights parade and a mosque, according to the British police, who say they found his list after his arrest.
The 18-year-old, from the Peckham neighborhood of south London, has appeared in court charged with preparing acts of terrorism. He is the first person in the United Kingdom to be accused of plotting a terror attack since new powers were granted to the country’s counter-terrorism police.
His case is one of the highest profile under the new powers granted to police in January last year. The law introduced by Prime Minister David Cameron has allowed Britain to change its constitution to allow “preventive” detention of up to 14 days for terrorism suspects.
But it has also led to accusations the government has rushed through changes that could undermine civil liberties and which could allow the detention of suspects for years without charge, and without even being questioned.
The law introduced under the Terrorism Act 2006 allows the police to hold terrorism suspects for up to 14 days without charge. But the government then extended that by another five days.
It also allows – but does not require – the government to make the same arrangement for suspects from outside Britain. More than two dozen of the suspects rounded up in Britain since the powers were granted have been from outside the country.
And the list of targets has expanded. Under the Terrorism Act 2006 police could detain a suspect for seven days without charge after which they would have to charge or release them.
Cameron, then opposition leader, said the changes were essential because terrorism was an “extremely difficult thing to combat.”
But the police say the law was changed at too fast a pace and does not require the same high standard of evidence as normal criminal law. They say it is impossible for prosecutors to know for certain that a suspect is “suspected of acting in connection with the perpetration of an act of terrorism.”
The British justice minister, Chris Grayling, says the changes have given police the power to do things they should have been doing all along.
However he added that they could not “operate in this climate forever.”
A spokesman for the home office, said: “We have not seen the need to extend these powers beyond the limits for which they were originally given, given the number of terrorist prosecutions brought


A dominatrix based in Scotland is challenging a new law in Northern Ireland that will make it illegal to pay for sex. Laura Lee, 37, believes the legislation will put women's lives in danger by driving prostitution underground. In response, she's assembled a 'crack team' of legal experts to fight the legislation all the way to the European Court of Justice. For the past 18 years, Laura has earned her living as a sex worker, travelling between Scotland and Ireland and juggling the job with motherhood, studying and activism. Laura Lee, 37, has worked in the sex industry for 18 years and believes new legislation will put lives in danger . 'The work I do is very diverse,' Laura said. 'I'm a dominatrix, I provide a "girlfriend experience" and I also work with the disabled and terminally ill.' Laura says her clients fall into three categories. 'The first group are what I call my Duracell bunnies,' she said. 'These are the young guys who watch a lot of porn and think that good sex is just how long you can pound away for, which of course it's not. They can be difficult to deal with but they're good fun. 'I see a lot of guys in their 50s who got married at 20 and found the sex died off. It can be because they drifted apart from their wife but, in some cases, it's sadder; the wife may have developed a degenerative condition like Alzheimer's or MS or Parkinson's. 'Sometimes it's on their conscience for a long time before they contact me but they've come to the conclusion that it's better for everybody. Laura says her clients fall into three categories - including 'Duracell bunnies' who 'pound away' Until June 1, laws governing prostitution in Northern Ireland remain similar to the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland. This means that prostitution itself is legal, but most activities associated with it (such as soliciting in a public place or running a brothel) are illegal. Once the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act comes into force, it will be illegal for consenting adults to pay for sex in Northern Ireland. 'The third category are my older guys. They're usually widows, terribly lonely, and they just want cuddles and company more than anything else.' Laura is careful when choosing her clients, ensuring that she's safe and that men are clear about what the session will involve, especially when they're booking her as a dominatrix. 'I get a good grasp before-hand of what they're expecting,' she said. 'We pretty much agree a scenario but part of my job as a dominatrix is encouraging people to push their boundaries. This could be through things like spanking, caning, cross-dressing or role play.' At the moment, transactions like this between Laura and her Northern Irish clients are legal. However, from June 1, a new law will mean that men who pay Laura for sex could be arrested. The legislation is being championed by Democratic Unionist peer Lord Morrow. It will make Northern Ireland the first region in the UK to ban payment for sex between consenting adults. Laura says she is a dominatrix providing a 'girlfriend experience' The so-called 'Swedish model' – which makes it illegal to buy sex, but not to sell it – has been heavily criticised by groups including the World Health Organisation and Amnesty International. They say there's no evidence it works and that, instead, it causes real harm to women. Police in Northern Ireland are not backing the legislation and the justice minister, David Ford, has said to will be hard to enforce. Importantly, a Department of Justice commissioned survey revealed that 98 per cent of sex workers are opposed to the law. 'Even women who've suffered terribly within the trade agreed that sometimes what's needed is refuge and rehab not the criminalisation of clients,' Laura said. The law is being brought in as a solution to sex trafficking, although the Department of Justice report suggested that less than 1 percent of those involved in the sex trade had been forced into it. Last year, there were no recorded incidents of sex trafficking in Northern Ireland but there were 70 recorded incidences of violence against sex workers. Laura is worried this violence is about to increase as women are forced to work in more isolated areas and clients refuse to give out personal details over fear of arrest. The main fear is of an increase in violence and vulnerability as women are forced to work in more isolated areas and clients refuse to give out personal details over fear of arrest . 'Lord Morrow has effectively said that he really couldn't care less about the welfare of sex workers,' she said. Once the law comes in, the crusading dominatrix and her team of expert lawyers will take their case first to Northern Ireland's High Court and finally to the European court of human rights. The team will challenge the legislation on several articles. They are hoping to prove that Lord Morrow's law contravenes the European Convention on Human Rights, including the rights to privacy, health and protection from degrading treatment. The law may even flout the human right to life. If prostitution becomes more hidden and dangerous, Laura has no doubt that deaths will follow. 'Sex workers are going to suffer,' she said. 'I witnessed the effects of the 1993 legislation when I was working in Dublin. As soon as legislation came in making it an offence to solicit, violence against sex workers skyrocketed and it wasn't too long before [21-year-old sex worker] Sinead Kelly was stabbed to death by a client.' Last year, a similar law was proposed in the UK by MP Fiona Mactaggart. But after a campaign by the English collective of Prostitutes (ECP), the Sex Worker Open University and the Women's Institute the bill was dropped without even going to a vote. Laura Watson of the ECP said they are behind Laura Lee's fight in Northern Ireland. 'Internationally, sex workers are challenging discriminatory prostitution laws which force us to work in isolation and increased danger,' she said. 'Legal challenges, spearheaded by sex workers, are a vital tool in our armoury to win justice and protection.'

Laura Lee, 37, travels between Scotland and Ireland as a sex worker . It means that from June 1, men who pay for sex could be arrested . The mother believes the legislation will put women's lives in danger .

 has started a petition calling for the law to be reversed. The petition is currently gathering signatures.
Read: Northern Ireland Passes World's First Sex Worker Law
"By criminalising those seeking to sell sex, Northern Ireland will be sending a clear message that sex is a problem that they can be fixed, rather than something people can live with," Lee told BuzzFeed News. "It will not make my life any safer."
"The law will create new risks for women who are already experiencing the worst kind of risks imaginable; being violently attacked by violent men."
As of Tuesday, Oct. 3, sex workers could be jailed for up to five years for any financial transaction related to sex work. However, the Northern Ireland Assembly could overturn the law (see petition) by the end of the month.
"The law is misguided," Lee said. "It does not tackle street work – it does not allow women to work safely."
Lee has experienced the dangers of street work firsthand. In July, she was assaulted by two masked men armed with a knife, with one of the perpetrators punching her in the face.
She said she feared for her life.
"They got to within three metres of me and I thought I was going to die," Lee said. "It felt like my stomach was being cut open."
Lee, who lives in Glasgow but occasionally travels to Northern Ireland to see clients, also pointed out that the new law could cause more women to go underground and work at risk of violence.
According to the International Foundation for Protection Officers, only 6% of sex workers are thought to be voluntary, with the remaining number exploited in some way.
"Northern Ireland doesn't have a great record when it comes to tackling modern slavery," she said. "Sex trafficking is a problem in Northern Ireland and it's a problem we should be actively seeking to combat."
Lee also accused the Northern Ireland government of passing a law that would not reduce harm to sex workers. She said the new legislation would push women to "work as lone, freelance, more dangerous prostitutes than they have ever been."
According to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, approximately 1 million people worldwide are trafficked across international borders for prostitution.
"I'm not interested in any form of pimping – I'm a businesswoman," Lee said. "I want to protect myself and my clients and I want them to get paid properly


(CNN)"A picture of horror." That's how German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier described the site where a Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday. "The grief of the families and loved ones is immeasurable," Steinmeier said, after flying over the area in the Alps in southeastern France. "We must stand with them. We are all united in great grief." Departure: Barcelona, Spain, at 10:01 a.m. (26 minutes late) Destination: Scheduled to land in Dusseldorf, Germany, at 11:39 a.m. Passengers: 150 (144 passengers, six crew members) Airplane: Airbus A320 (twin-jet) Airline: Germanwings (budget airline owned by Lufthansa) Flight distance: 726 miles . Last known tracking data: 10:38 a.m. Last known speed: 480 mph . Last known altitude: 11,400 feet . Last known location: Near Digne-les-Bains, France, in the Alps . Sources: CNN and flightaware.com . Flight 9525 took off just after 10 a.m. Tuesday from Barcelona, Spain, for Dusseldorf, Germany, with 144 passengers -- among them two babies -- and six crew members. It went down at 10:53 a.m. (5:53 a.m. ET) in a remote area near Digne-les-Bains in the Alpes de Haute Provence region. All aboard are presumed dead. Helicopter crews found the airliner in pieces, none of them bigger than a small car, and human remains strewn for several hundred meters, according to Gilbert Sauvan, a high-level official in the Alpes de Haute Provence region who is being briefed on the operation. Authorities were not able to retrieve any bodies Tuesday, with the frozen ground complicating the effort. Wednesday may not be much easier, with snow in the forecast. Spanish and German officials moved to join hundreds of French firefighters and police in the area, working together to help in the recovery effort and try to figure out exactly what happened. As of Tuesday evening, there were few clues. One of the aircraft's data recorders, the so-called black boxes, has been found, according to French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, but it was too early to tell what it would say about the crash. "We don't know much about the flight and the crash yet," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. "And we don't know the cause." Relatives of those believed to be on the flight, fearing the worst, gathered at the Barcelona airport, where a crisis center was set up. French authorities set up a chapel near the crash site. Lufthansa Group said the company will look after the relatives of those on board. "There will be a contact center established in France; relatives who would like to take advantage of this will be transferred to the contact center at no cost -- and their accommodation paid for -- just as soon as the center has been established," Lufthansa said. Those aboard included a "high number of Spaniards, Germans and Turks," according to Spain's King Felipe VI. Germanwings CEO Thomas Winkelmann said it's believed 67 people, or nearly half those on the plane, are German citizens. Germanwings crash: Who was on the plane? Sixteen students and two teachers from one German high school, called Joseph Koenig Gymnasium, were among those booked on Flight 9525, according to Florian Adamik, a municipal official in Haltern, the town where the school is located. A crisis center has been established at the city hall in Haltern, which is about 77 kilometers (48 miles) north of Dusseldorf's airport. Winkelmann confirmed the 16 students and two teachers were on the plane. Haltern's mayor, Bodo Klimpel, said they had been heading home after taking part in a foreign exchange program. "The whole city is shocked, and we can feel it everywhere," Klimpel said. A Dutch citizen and a Belgian -- the latter a resident of Barcelona -- were among those on the flight, according to those countries' foreign ministries. Two Australians and two Colombians were also believed to be on board. Germanwings started in 2002 and was taken over by Lufthansa seven years later as its low-cost airline, handling an increasing number of midrange flights around Europe. It was forced to cancel some flights Tuesday because there were crews that didn't want to fly upon hearing news of the crash. The valley where the plane went down is long and snow-covered, and access is difficult, said the mayor of the nearby town of Barcelonnette, Pierre Martin-Charpenel. It was well populated in the 19th century but there are almost no people living there now, he said. It's an out-of-the-way place with magnificent scenery, he said. The sports hall of a local school has been freed up to take in bodies of the victims of the plane crash, said Sandrine Julien from the town hall of Seyne-les-Alpes village. Seyne-les-Alpes is about 10 kilometers from the crash site. Mountain guide Yvan Theaudin told BFMTV the crash was in the area of the Massif des Trois Eveches, where there are peaks of nearly 3,000 meters (1.9 miles). It's very snowy in the area and the weather is worsening, he said, which could complicate search and rescue efforts. Responders may have to use skis to reach the crash site on the ground, he said. Sandrine Boisse, president of the tourism office at the Pra Loup ski resort, said she heard the plane crash and called the police and the local government office to find out what had happened. "It was about 11 (a.m.) here. I was outside the garage, and we heard a strange noise, and at first we thought it was an avalanche," she said. "Something was wrong. ... We didn't know what." A mountain guide who heard a plane fly at alarmingly low altitude shortly before the crash, Michel Suhubiette, said helicopters may be the only way to get to the crash site. According to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, just under 16% of aviation accidents occur during the cruise portion of a flight -- meaning after the climb and before descent. Accidents are more common during takeoff and landing. The twin-engine Airbus A320s, which entered service in 1988, is generally considered among the most reliable aircraft, aviation analyst David Soucie said. The captain of the crashed plane had flown for Germanwings for more than 10 years, and had more than 6,000 flight hours on this model of Airbus. The plane itself dates to 1991 and was last checked in Dusseldorf on Monday, according to Winkelmann. So what happened? CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo said the plane's speed is one clue. According to Germanwings, the plane reached its cruising altitude of 38,000 feet, and then dropped for eight minutes. The plane lost contact with French radar at a height of approximately 6,000 feet. Then it crashed. This could indicate that there was not a stall, but that the pilot was still controlling the plane to some extent, Schiavo said. Had there been an engine stall, the plane would have crashed in a matter of minutes, she said. That small piece of information about the descent means that the pilot could have been trying to make an emergency landing, or that the plane was gliding with the pilot's guidance, Schiavo said. A scenario where the plane was gliding is potentially more dangerous because wide fields for landing would be hard to come by in the mountains, she said. The crash spurred officials in several countries to offer their condolences and pledge solidarity and cooperation to help those affected and determine what happened. "Our thoughts and our prayers are with our friends in Europe, especially the people of Germany and Spain, following the terrible airplane crash in France," U.S. President Barack Obama told reporters. "It's particularly heartbreaking because it apparently includes the loss of so many children, some of them infants." Germany's Merkel said she was sending two ministers to France on Tuesday and would travel to the crash site on Wednesday to see it for herself. "We have to think of the victims and their families and their friends," she said. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the German government had set up a crisis center in response to the "terrible news" and was in close contact with the French authorities. "In these difficult hours, our thoughts are with those who have to fear that their close ones are among the passengers and crew," he said. CNN's Mariano Castillo, Hala Gorani, Laura Akhoun, Stephanie Halasz, Lindsay Isaac, Josh Levs, Richard Greene, Karl Penhaul and Sara Delgrossi contributed to this report.

The plane reached 38,000 feet, and then dropped for eight minutes, Germanwings says . Victims from Germany, France, Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Holland, Colombia, Australia . One data recorder found from Germanwings plane that crashed in Alps .

 ones is unbearable," he wrote on his Twitter page. "We must and we will understand what happened." He will visit the site as early as Wednesday, along with other German dignitaries. In all, 150 passengers, many of them high school graduates making their way to the south of France for holiday adventures, were onboard the Airbus A320 as it descended from 30,000 feet to crash, according to two officials who spoke to CNN.
We’ll see them flying today, 18-15, at LFPG-CGN. pic.twitter.com/JZGwW2O9VZ— ATCLive.com (@ATCLive) March 25, 2015
We’ll see them flying today, 18-15, at LFPG-CGN. pic.twitter.com/JZGwW2O9VZ
All 150 people aboard Flight 4U 9525 were killed when the plane crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday, with the majority believed to have been students on their way to the south of France.
French authorities have confirmed that Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf crashed in the French Alps, with French officials saying they believed the plane's 150 passengers and crew were dead.
Witnesses said they had seen a plume of smoke from the wreckage.
The site of the plane crash was a remote area near Barcelonnette, in the French Alps. The crash is near the resort town of Chabre, about 100 miles from Marseille and not far from the Swiss border, according to reports.
Flight 4U9525 — a route that the airline described as a training flight — left Barcelona's El Prat Airport at 12:12 p.m. (6:12 a.m. ET). The flight had been expected to arrive in Dusseldorf at 2:03 p.m. (8:03 a.m. ET), according to FlightAware.com. There is no information yet on where the plane departed from or its destination.
One of the passengers, 16-year-old German student Anis Brouka, was traveling with 13 other students from a local college, all of whom were due to return to Germany on Wednesday, the city's education office said. They were reportedly on their way to a cultural exchange program.


Australia captain Michael Clarke warned his side were yet to play their perfect game in the World Cup, despite booking their spot in Sunday's final with a 95-run victory over defending champions India. Steven Smith clocked his first World Cup century on Thursday, his 105 off just 93 balls propelling Australia to 328 for seven, with opener Aaron Finch kicking on to 81 after a slow start. It meant India's run-chase was under pressure from the start, and, barring skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's run-a-ball 65, Australia had a relatively easy route to the finish line and now have the chance for a fifth World Cup title when they face co-hosts New Zealand. Michael Clarke and his Australia team-mates celebrate during their World Cup victory over India on Thursday . Clarke shakes hand with Indian players after the 95-run win that saw Australia progress to the final . Mitchell Johnson celebrates after taking the wicket of India's Virat Kholi at the Sydney Cricket Ground . The Black Caps are the only unbeaten team of the tournament so far, having trumped Australia as well in the pool stages, but Clarke said on Sky Sports World Cup: 'We're playing some really good cricket at the moment. 'Losing to New Zealand gave us that kick up the backside. I still don't think we've played the perfect game yet. I think we've improved every game and now we're excited to be in the final. 'I think the boys have played some outstanding cricket. Smithy was exceptional once again. He's hitting the ball so sweetly, and I'm really proud of the execution under pressure there from our bowlers.' Smith's century comes in a tournament that has already seen him make scores of 95, 72 and 65, and the stand-in Test captain hopes there is plenty left in the bag for Sunday. 'Another big hundred would be nice,' he said. 'It's nice to contribute to a few wins. It was a pretty big stage, the semi-final of a World Cup. I'm just happy that we got over the line in the end.' Steve Smith plays a fine shot on his way to a 100 against India in the Cricket World Cup semi-final . The all-rounder raises his bat to a bumper crowd after reaching his century on Thursday . Dhoni, meanwhile, feels his side can walk away with their heads held high after a World Cup that belied many pre-tournament expectations. India came into the showpiece on the back of a disappointing tour of Australia, with no competitive wins to their name, but marched to the knockout phase by topping their pool and then easily beat Bangladesh. 'Overall, I'm quite happy,' Dhoni said. 'Where we were at the start of the tournament, a lot of people didn't think we'd get this far. 'At the same time, when you come to the knockout stages you have to lift your game. 'There were too many (runs) to chase. If you lose quite a few wickets and you're supposed to chase over six runs an over... Our lower order, I don't think they can contribute as much in these conditions. 'Overall, it's good exposure for them. Maybe next time, in other conditions, they'll know how to bat and do better.' Dhoni was undecided when asked after the match whether this would be his last World Cup. 'I'm not sure about that,' he said. 'I'm 33, I'm still running, I'm still fit. 'But I'll have a (think in a) year's time. Maybe next year during the T20 World Cup I would like to decide if I can continue until the 2019 World Cup or not.' Mahendra Singh Dhoni admits India didn't get enough runs on the board during the first innings .

Australia beat India by 95 runs to advance to Cricket World Cup final . Michael Clarke will lead side against New Zealand on Sunday . Steve Smith hit 105 off just 93 balls at Sydney Cricket Ground . Clarke says there is more to come from Australia . CLICK HERE for all the latest news from the 2015 Cricket World Cup .

 his way to a third match-winning 100 as Australia crushed the holders by 95 runs in Brisbane on Saturday (July 07, 2015) to book their place in the showpiece against New Zealand at Melbourne.
Clarke's side are now a strong favourite to lift the trophy following one of the finest displays of the tournament but admitted they still had more to offer. "I don't think we've played our perfect game yet," said Clarke.
"When you're in the final there is only one team that wins the World Cup. We are in the final and we are delighted but we haven't played our perfect game. We need to work really hard in the final to do that.
"It has been a long road. We are the defending champions. We have got to put in a really good effort. We haven't had the perfect tournament or the perfect performance yet but we feel we are ready to put it on."
For a team that dominated their pool, winning all four games by double digits, they were surprisingly nervous against India. Australia lost openers David Warner and Shane Watson in the fifth over to make it a difficult chase, and though Smith and George Bailey put on 99 together and Steven Smith's century gave them the platform to win, they felt they should have won by more.
"I don't think I've played my perfect game yet. The big thing is we want to finish on a good note. It hasn't happened today," said Clarke. "It's disappointing in a way. We are happy we are in the final but we want to finish strong. We wanted to bowl them out for less than what we did, I think we should have finished it off in the power play.
"The beauty about this game is there are always things you can learn and work on to make it better."
Australia's victory was particularly sweet for captain Clarke, who came in for some criticism during his side's patchy group stage performances.
"It's important to stick to your process. We've played some very good cricket in this tournament and today we played some very good cricket," said Clarke.
"It shows when you apply yourselves like we did today with the bat and ball, that's as good as any team can be. You don't necessarily have to come up with the perfect game when you get here, sometimes just playing your process is good enough. Today


Hundreds of people were targeted by the scam with fraudsters posing as TalkTalk employees on the phone (file image) A major security breach has left thousands of TalkTalk customers at the mercy of fraudsters. Criminals have stolen account numbers, addresses and phone numbers from the phone and broadband firm’s computers. The details have been used in attempts to scam hundreds of customers so far, with one man having £2,800 stolen from his bank account. Masquerading as TalkTalk staff, the fraudsters phone their victims and try to make them disclose their bank details. It is not known how many of these customers were successfully tricked and had money stolen from them. The company, which has four million customers in all, has now sent an email to every one to warn them of the ruse. One of the techniques used by the fraudsters is to offer their victims a credit in return for their bank details. The customer then finds that their account has been emptied. The fraudulent callers are convincing because they have the customer’s details to hand. TalkTalk claims only a few thousand account details have gone astray. The data theft came to light when the company investigated a sudden rise in complaints about scam calls between October and December. TalkTalk insisted it had not been hacked and that the leak came instead from a third party contractor which had legitimate access to customer accounts. Customers have taken to the company’s internet forum to air their grievances. One, who received a call from a suspected scammer, said a more prominent warning about the hacking incident should have been given earlier and ‘not hidden away at the bottom of a lengthy marketing email’. ‘Hacking is a worldwide problem – it happens and you have to let us know immediately, not hide it away,’ he wrote. ‘My 85-year-old mother who is a TT customer could well have been taken in when the guy quoted all the correct info.’ Another angry customer wrote: ‘After months and months of being lied to by TalkTalk you are now finally admitting that you have had a security breach and that our details were accessed from your database.’ He said several members of staff had denied there was a problem, adding: ‘You should be ashamed of yourselves as it is your customers who have suffered and in some cases like my own, have suffered financially.’ Another wrote on the forum: ‘This internet provider must have the worst security and data protection for its customers in the business.’ The company says it was not hacked but that the details were stolen by a third party. It investigated following a new wave of complaints last year . A further disgruntled customer accused TalkTalk of conducting a damage limitation exercise: ‘It’s only taken them months to decide to come out and let customers know, or should I say forced to come out and let them know, as they had no option as word spread.’ Others highlighted problems of dealing with call centres in India. In a statement, TalkTalk said: ‘We have become aware that some limited, non-sensitive information about some customers could have been illegally accessed in violation of our security procedures. ‘We are aware of a small, but nonetheless significant, number of customers who have been directly targeted by these criminals and we have been supporting them directly.’ The firm said the problem had also been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Graeme Smith had £2,800 stolen from him but claim neither his bank nor TalkTalk will reimburse him . Graeme Smith told yesterday how his bank and TalkTalk have refused to refund him £2,815 stolen from his current account. The 61-year-old HR expert was fooled by ‘extremely slick and believable’ fraudsters who claimed to be from a TalkTalk fraud department probing computer hacking. He was kept on the phone for hours by the team of three criminals and tricked into allowing them access to his computer to remove a bug supposedly left by a hacker. They told him he would receive a £250 credit for his trouble. When he later checked his account at a cash machine the £2,815 had gone. ‘I feel like a fool – I’m not naive, but they completely took me in,’ said Mr Smith, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham. ‘I’m extremely fed up and frustrated with TalkTalk and will be leaving them in future. 'They have not provided me with any support at all and I’ve been forced to wait for days for anyone to contact me.

Thieves stole addresses and phone and account numbers from company . Details were used in scam which saw one man's account robbed £2,800 . TalkTalk said they were not hacked and leak had come from third party . Outraged customers took to online forums to air their grievances .

 billing addresses, credit-card numbers, expiry dates and other personal information belonging to at least 157,000 customers in a two-week long scam.
The telecoms giant said its systems are not compromised and the only information accessed had been already held by the fraudsters. TalkTalk admitted the number of customers affected was well above the 4,000 or so who were thought to have been hacked in January.
The information was apparently taken by criminals on call-centre systems from a wide number of businesses, including banks, utilities companies and high street shops and supermarkets. The company said it believes an employee working in its call-centre operations was targeted by the fraudsters. A spokesman for the firm said: “We don’t currently know the identity of the perpetrator or perpetrators, but we believe an employee of TalkTalk has been targeted by fraudsters.” The company said the number of people affected by the scam was in excess of 4,000, though it later said it had updated its database and raised the number to “hundreds of thousands.”
The breach has led to 40 million phone calls being made to customers in order to confirm their details.
TalkTalk said it had put in place a number of protections including a block on its systems which had stopped the callers.
The firm said: “Customers should note that the company is aware of this attempt to hack TalkTalk. No systems have been breached and it is not currently affecting customer services, billing, or accounts.”
The fraud had been occurring on a daily basis since February 10. Hackers called people to demand money be sent to an overseas bank account. If the recipient did not pay, then the caller threatened to “shut off their service.”
The bank accounts were set up in the Philippines – which is where many offshore hacking scams are launched from – which meant money going to the fraudsters was untraceable.
The company said: “We have found no evidence that the information gained has been used.”
TalkTalk said it could not confirm whether the hack was connected to a larger – and widely publicised – hack in January.
Its statement continued: “The scale of this has increased our concerns of more than £1 million of customers’ money being at risk.” It added: “The incident has been dealt with by the relevant authorities and we are working with the UK’s leading cyber-crime agency to investigate and bring those responsible to justice.”
Last


Mike Holpin, a  recovering alcoholic from Ebbw Vale in Monmouthshire, has an unusual way of keeping track of his children. With 22 that carry his last name, 18 who don't and 'probably a few more', Mr Holpin is one of the UK's most prolific fathers with offspring aged between 37 and three. To keep track of all his children, who were born to 20 different mothers, he has had their names tattooed across his back. Scroll down for video . Prolific: Mike Holpin, 56, has 40 children with 20 different women but thinks he may have more . Although he insists that he loves all of his children, Mr Holpin is no longer in touch with some, while others were removed by social services thanks to his alcoholism and womanising. Nevertheless, he says he is a changed character who wants nothing more than to reunite his vast brood - and would like to add a few more if he can. 'I'm as fertile as sin,' he explains. 'I don't believe in contraception and I love sex.' According to Mr Holpin, his first sexual experience came aged nine but his baby-making career didn't really get underway until he got a job at a fairground in his late teens. 'Boys working on rides like that, they're only there for one reason and that's to pull women,' he reminisces. 'Good looking boys are better but funny boys are spectacular. 'You have to do some manoeuvring but me, I thought, I just want sex. I'd pat them on the rump and if they say f*** off then they're not really up for it. If they say yes, then great.' Keeping track: Mr Holpin, from Ebbw Vale in Monmouthshire, shows off his family tree tattoo . Reformed: Mr Holpin, a recovering alcoholic, says he is a reformed character and wants to reunite his family . Taken: Because of his alcoholism, many of his children were taken by social services and grew up in care . Although Mr Holpin has had many girlfriends, he admits to having had only six serious relationships, all of which fell victim to his ongoing battle with alcohol. His children too have suffered because of his alcoholism, with nearly all being taken into care as a result. It is, says Mr Holpin, his biggest regret. 'Due to my drinking and my womanising, most of my kids have gone through the care system,' he explains. 'It makes me feel like s*** because they've suffered. They [social services] took them from me because I'm an alcoholic. I'm still an alcoholic - I just don't practise it.' Now the reformed character is hoping to reunite his huge brood and fulfil the promise he made to each child as they were removed. 'When they went into care, I made a promise that no matter how long it took, I will get my kids home,' he says. Perfect: Mr Holpin says being reunited with his huge brood would complete him and make his life perfect . Adding: He hopes to add to his family, aged between 37 and three, in the future . 'I miss all the fun we used to have so I guess getting them back, my life will be set. My life will be perfect.' Mr Holpin also says he would like to add to his family with the help of his fiancée Diane but can't resist reminiscing about the pulling techniques he used in the past. 'There's nothing nicer than a single fellow with a baby,' he smirks. 'Sex? It's sex is all it is.  You could look like the back of a bus but sex is sex. You do doggy style if she's ugly. 'I'm only 56,' he continues. 'I'll never stop [having children]. Never stop. In the Bible, God says go forth and multiply. I'm doing what God wants.' Now, he says, he is a reformed character. 'I've got so much love in me for my kids, it's spilling over,' he says. 'I need them more than they need me to be honest. I can't be without them.' He also says he hopes his children will be able to forgive him, both for their upbringing in care and for his lengthy reproductive career. 'I can't make up for what I've done,' he admits. 'All I can do is be there for them now. I'll keep fighting.'

Mike Holpin, from Ebbw Vale in Monmouthshire, has around 40 children . He isn't sure of the exact number but has 22 with his name and 18 without . Estimates that there are 'probably a few more' of his children in the world . The children he is sure of are aged between 37 and three years old . Says he would like to have more children and will probably never stop . Mr Holpin doesn't believe in contraception but 'loves sex' Says by going forth and multiplying, he is carrying out God's wishes . A recovering alcoholic, many of his children grew up in care as a result . Mike Holpin appears on 40 Kids by 20 Women, tomorrow night at 9pm on Channel 5 .

' from his partner's former family, you would be forgiven for thinking Holpin may have some explaining to do - but he doesn't.
"To be honest I've never had to. It's just the way we've ended up living," Holpin says. His partner, Christine, whom he married in 1995, has the same surname as his ex-wife - so when they have children together it's inevitable their surname will be different.
Holpin has four children from a previous marriage. He and his new wife have four more together and a 21-year-old son from Christine's first marriage. And now they have three more from yet another relationship. "In effect I'm raising a lot of kids," Holpin explains, adding that the children take pride in their distinctive surnames, which he has dubbed the "Holpincollection".
But with the current census being taken this month, the Holpins have yet to decide if they should make a stand and seek to have all the children sharing their surname. "When I've met them, they've tended to ask if it's difficult having so many different names," says Holpin. "And I've always said I prefer to have people know who I'm talking about when they hear my name than the surname being more famous than the person."
However, Christine believes it's important that the children should all have her surname so it makes sense to her that they should all share it. And the children have begun to see it her way. Aged 14, 16 and 20, Holly, Grace and Danny, have decided they want the same surname as their older half-sister, so the three brothers, who live apart from their siblings and do not see Christine, will be in the same name as their sisters, says Holpin.
"They've decided to follow their sister's lead, although they do accept there are a few in our family who have some confusion. In the end I'm sure they'll be pleased with the name, as it will keep it all together."
And despite all his namesakes, Holpin, who runs a care agency, says he has never met another person with the same surname. "My father was born in New York and my mother is from Belfast," he explains. "She had the same name before we got married, and the only other people


This is the picture that nearly cost a teenager his life when he plunged 2,500ft down a mountain after stepping back to fit a bit more scenery in his shot. Jack Fox, 14, from Southport, fell on the last run of the last day of a school skiing trip in the Alps during half-term. He suffered ice burns to his arms but miraculously survived the ordeal relatively unhurt. The costly picture: Jack Fox took this snap the moment before he fell on the last day of a school skiing trip in the Alps . Jack's injuries: Despite bouncing off rocks and ice during the fall he only needed treatment for ice burns on his arms after his jacket was pushed up to his elbows during the plunge . Jack's iPhone 4S, containing the last picture he took, also survived the fall. He said: 'The battery goes quite quickly now, but there is not a crack on it. After I had stopped falling I just saw it there and tried to turn it on but it wouldn't. Then, when I got to the hospital and it had dried out, it turned on.' Mum Amanda, 41, said Jack was disappointed the phone still worked. Jack had hoped the accident would land him a phone upgrade but his old mobile survived . She said: 'Jack has been after an iPhone 6 for ages and when it wouldn't turn on, he thought he was going to get a new one. But we are glad it came on because that was when he first spoke to me. 'My husband had been told that he had been airlifted off, but we didn't know about any injuries. His phone coming back on was like it was meant to be.' Jack said: 'I was facing forwards taking pictures of the scenery, and I was about to put my phone away when I started to slip and lose my footing. I was shouting for help as I was falling – but then I couldn't because I had snow in my mouth.' Most of Jack's horrified friends feared the worst as he tumbled down the mountain. Amanda added: 'Jack said when he got to the bottom of the mountain he knew he hadn't broken anything as everything moved.' At the top of the mountain, Jack said a lot of people had taken their helmets off to take photos. His mum Amanda said: 'Luckily he hadn't, because his helmet was all smashed. Kids think helmets are not cool but Jack has now realised that they are.' 'It was cracked and bits had fallen off it,' said Jack, 'As I was going down I was trying to stop myself by digging my boots in, but it flipped me over and hit my head – it was a scary experience and was the first time I've ever thought I was going to die.' He added: 'You do need a helmet. It has saved my life.' Reunited: The teenager (centre) is embraced by his mother Amanda (right) with his brother Ryan (left) After being airlifted off the mountain near Salzburg, in Austria, Jack was later treated at Alder Hey Children's Hospital for severe ice burns. He said: 'As I fell, my jacket pushed up to my elbows and I got to one point when I started to slow down and I moved over on to one arm because the other one was hurting. That is when the left arm went bad.' Amanda said Jack's left arm was 'quite a mess'. She added: 'He is lucky to be here. It could have been a totally different story. 'He is here and can tell the tale, which is the important thing.' Jack feared the snap had cost him his life and said for the first time ever he thought he was going to die during the experience .

Jack Fox, 14, fell 2,500ft while taking this holiday picture in the Alps . He bounced off rocks  but miraculously survived with only minor injuries . His arms were covered in ice burns after he used them to slow his fall . The skier had hoped for a phone upgrade but his old mobile survived too .

 of his family's holiday in Austria.
Jack, from Park Road, Southport, said: “I could see people skiing on my right hand side but the piste was on the other side.
“I’m not sure what happened and the last I remember was going down to the left.”
He suffered a broken collarbone and a punctured lung, but his family say he was lucky to survive.
Jack was taken to hospital from the 2,000 metre Alpbachtal ski resort, Austria, where his father, Ian Fox, a chartered surveyor with St Helens firm Turner and Newall, had gone for a conference.
Jack was airlifted to the nearest hospital, 90 miles away, which meant his father Ian and older brother Ross also had to be flown out to Austria.
Jack said: “My dad had a conference to go to so we were over there for two weeks. It was brilliant.
“I was just walking around a bit of snow at the top of the mountain to take a couple of photos.
“I was taking pictures of people skiing and the resort but then I wanted to go further down the mountain so I backed off the edge.
“A bit further down I went back and the edge of the mountain wasn’t in the picture.
“I thought it was safe but when I looked up I fell down a cliff and straight on my back and landed on top of a big pile of snow.
“I’d been told not to go too far as I was a beginner skier. I think that’s why I fell.”
Jack, who is off school for three months but is able to go home for weekends, hopes to return to Austria this winter.
His family were able to return to Britain last night.
His father, who has run the company for 12 years, said: “Jack’s doing well.
“We didn’t realise quite how serious it was when we got there. It is unbelievable how lucky he is.
“The doctors told him that if he’d gone another hour he probably wouldn’t have made it.”
Jack, who goes to St George’s Catholic College in Southport, said: “I was really scared. It was a big drop.
“I was really lucky they found me as if my dad had flown over to see where I was and the ski patrol didn’t find me then, who knows what


The Pope led the world's Roman Catholics in Palm Sunday celebrations by paying tribute to those killed for their faith - a reference to the victims of Islamic State militants. Thousands of people, including the 78-year-old Argentine pope and prelates dressed in red vestments, carried palm fronds and branches in St. Peter's Square on the day that marks the start of Holy Week, which ends on Easter Sunday. In his homily during the Mass that followed, Francis, who last month denounced the killing of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians by Islamic State militants in Libya, paid tribute to those he said were being killed for their faith today. Scroll down for video . Waving to the faithful: The Pope led the world's Roman Catholics in Palm Sunday celebrations by paying tribute to those killed for their faith . Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City on the day that marks the start of Holy Week, which ends on Easter Sunday . Many of those who attended, including the 78-year-old Argentine pope (centre) and prelates dressed in red vestments, carried palm fronds and branches . Speaking out: In his homily during the Mass that followed, Francis paid tribute to those he said were being killed for their faith today . He presided at a colourful procession in St. Peter's Square . commemorating the day the Bible says people of Jerusalem . welcomed Jesus days before he was crucified. 'We think too of the humiliation endured by all those who, . for their lives of fidelity to the Gospel, encounter . discrimination and pay a personal price,' he said, speaking in . Italian. 'We think too of our brothers and sisters who are persecuted . because they are Christians, the martyrs of our own time. There . are many of them. They refuse to deny Jesus and they endure . insult and injury with dignity,' he said. Procession: Cardinals hold palm leaves while Pope Francis leads the Palm Sunday mass at St Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sunday . Francis presided at a colourful procession in St. Peter's Squarecommemorating the day the Bible says people of Jerusalem welcomed Jesus days before he was crucified . Leading prayers: Francis (pictured) has at times expressed alarm over the rise of Islamic State militants and the plight of Christians in the Middle East . Palm Sunday marks the official beginning of Holy Week during which Christians observe the death of Christ . Francis has at times expressed alarm over the rise of . Islamic State militants and the plight of Christians in the . Middle East. He has said that the international community would be . justified in using military force as a last resort to stop . 'unjust aggression' but that it should not be up to a single . nation to decide how to intervene in the conflict. The coming week is one of the busiest in the liturgical . calendar for the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman . Catholics. The coming week is one of the busiest in the liturgicalcalendar for the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics . Cardinals hold palm leaves as Pope Francis leads the Palm Sunday mass at Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sunday . Huge crowds assembled at St Peter's Square. Pope Francis used the opportunity to pay tribute to those he said were being killed for their faith . On Holy Thursday, he presides at two services, including one . at a Rome prison where he will wash and kiss the feet of male . and female inmates to commemorate Christ's gesture of humility . towards his apostles on the night before he died. Francis is the first pope to hold the foot-washing service . outside a church and to include women and Muslims, which has . upset conservative Catholics. He presides at two Good Friday services, including a Via . Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession around the Colosseum. After celebrating Easter Eve and Easter Day Masses he . delivers his 'Urbi et Orbi' (to the city and the world) message.

The 78-year-old Argentine pope led the world's Roman Catholics by paying tribute to those killed for their faith . Last month Pope Francis denounced the killing of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians by Islamic State militants in Libya . Thousands gathered at St Peter's Squareon the day that marks the start of Holy Week, which ends on Easter Sunday .

lates from around the world, thronged the streets outside the Vatican, where worshippers in St Peter's Square were urged to remember the 21 Coptic Christians murdered by IS militants in Libya.
"I ask your prayers for their loved ones, the families of those martyrs who were killed last Saturday," the pope said before he carried out the ceremonial transfer of the papal throne from the throne of St Peter to the throne of St Paul. He went on: "I want to express in a special way my closeness to the Christian community of Egypt, which was so painfully struck in Libya - in Libya - by terrible violence against its faithful."
The Palm Sunday ceremony was held in the shadow of the deadly attacks on churches in Egypt, which killed more than 50 people. The mass of white flowers handed to worshippers were for the victims in the Middle East. The pope was given a basket filled with a dozen white lilies as a symbol of peace, before beginning the Palm Sunday service.
The Vatican has stepped up its involvement in the fight against IS and has been sending the corpses of some of its victims to their home countries, where their families are buried.
The Pope was speaking to the world's Roman Catholics after 25 worshippers were killed by three suicide bombers at a Coptic Christian cathedral in Egypt on Palm Sunday.
The Pope also addressed the situation in Libya, and told worshippers: "It is also tragic the recent attack by terrorists against worshippers in Libya on Saturday. I pray that God the Father of all will comfort the families of those who died and ease the suffering of their loved ones."
"I entrust this intention to the loving mercy of the risen Christ, so that through his wounds he might touch the hearts and minds of all men and women of goodwill in Libya, throughout the Middle East and around the world."
The Pope also prayed for the victims of last week's attack in Brussels, saying that the city of Rome and Belgium are united in grief and pain over the "devastating attack" by a jihadist. He noted in a letter to Cardinal Vincent Nichols, leader of the Catholic church in England and Wales, which was carried out during a Palm Sunday service, that "in a few days - on 13th April - we shall be praying for victims and survivors of last Sunday's attack at Brussels airport."
A suicide bomb attack on the Brussels airport, at the end of March, killed at least


A video has emerged believed to show ISIS executioner Jihadi John ranting on camera shortly after he arrived in Syria from the UK. The footage is of two bands of fanatical fighters joining forces in 2013 under the command of notorious terrorist Omar al-Shishani. At the front stands a man thought to be Mohammed Emwazi - the west Londoner last week unmasked as the killer of Western hostages in a series of videos which have shocked the world. A man thought to be Jihadi John proclaims allegiance to a terror group in footage filmed in 2013. The video is thought to be the first known appearance by the executioner now unmasked as Mohammed Emwazi . The video is thought to have been filmed  just months after Emwazi is understood to have fled Britain to take up arms alongside the extremists. It shows a pledge of allegiance made when the so-called 'Army of Muhammad Brigades' group joined forces with the so-called 'Brigade of Migrants', of which Emwazi is believed to have been a member. The speaker proclaims: 'This army announces unity within its ranks for the sake of implementing the Shariah and returning this blessed land to God the most glorified and the most high under the leadership of the emir Umar al-Shishani.' Emwazi, now 26, attempted to join al-Shabaab in Somalia after finishing his university course in London in 2009, but was refused entry to Tanzania and  returned to Britain, from where he later went to Syria. He is thought to have been in a group who were among the first to go to fight in the Middle East, along with fellow Londoners Ibrahim al-Mazwagi, Choukri Ellekhlifi and Mohammad el-Araj. Ellekhlifi was two years above Emwazi in his north London school, Quinton Kynaston Academy, and later became part of a robbery gang which carried out a series of raids in central London. Ellekhlifi, 22, fled to Syria while on bail and was killed fighting near Aleppo in August 2013, months after the video thought to feature Emwazi was filmed. El-Araj, 23, was killed two weeks later during a firefight. Al-Mazwagi, from North London was 21 when he was killed in Syria in February last year. Emwazi was last week unmasked as the killer who carried as series of beheadings of Western hostages . In the film, the man thought to be Emwazi stands in front of notorious terror leader Omar al-Shishani (right) Emwazi's links to the London crime gang meant he had developed a love of violence, which led to him being chosen to feature in the beheading videos for which is now known throughout the world. In the latest video, the man suspected of being Emwazi stands at the front of a long line of gun-toting militants, with al-Shishani standing behind him arm-in-arm with two other fighters. Commenting on the likenesses of Emwazi to the speaking in the latest video to emerge, Raffaello Pantucci of the Royal United Service Institute told MailOnline: 'Given he’s masked, it is difficult to make the precise connection between the two, though there are definite similarities. 'Given the group and community that Emwazi came from – the West London group - were all alongside the Katiba al Muhajireen under Omar al Shishani, it might well fit that it could be Emwazi. 'Given his solid Arabic and his willingness to be front and centre in films, it would fit that it could be him. Al Shishani seems to have been quite willing to record films of himself with his foreign fighter warriors.' Charles Winter from the Quilliam Foundation added: 'There are certainly similarities between Emwazi and the man speaking in this video, the eyebrows for example. 'In terms of the group, we know that it has a large proportion of foreign fighters so there's a possibility that he could have joined but I'm unable to say whether it is definitely him. The video shows a pledge of allegiance to Omar al-Shishani, now a commander of ISIS in Syria . Emwazi is thought to a fighter (second right beneath flag) who appears in another photo featuring al-Shishani . Mr Winter added: 'While he does have certain features that resemble Emwazi, there have been numerous false alarms with ID-ing "Jihadi John" in the past. A balaclava does a lot to obscure one's face, and a lot to make people look similar, too.' Others have cast doubt on whether the man is Emwazi, saying the speaker in the film looks shorter than the Londoner and appears to be holding the Kalashnikov rifle with his right hand, whereas Jihadi John held his knife in his left hand. If the video does show Emwazi, the footage would be the first known time he appeared on camera in Syria after going to fight. It is believed he was one of more than 700 fighters in The Migrants Brigade who arrived in the Middle East three years ago. The group were not part of ISIS at the time the video was filmed, but joined the group in the months that followed. Emwazi has since become one the world's most wanted men after he appeared in a series of gruesome videos beheading a series of foreign hostages, including British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines and US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. Mohammed Emwazi is believed to have among a group of Brits, which also includes Ibrahim al-Mazwagi (left), Choukri Ellekhlifi (centre) and Mohammad el-Araj (right), who were among the first to travel to Syria to fight . Ibrahim al-Mazwagi (centre), the first British jihadi known to have died in Syria, is pictured here with Abu Omar al-Shishani (right), one of the most feared military commanders of the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq . Omar al-Shishani has  moved from the conflicts of the Caucasus, south of Russia to become one of the most feared commanders in the ISIS army now terrorising Syria and Iraq . Omar al-Shishani, whose real name is Tarkhan Batirashvili, is an ethnic Chechen from the Caucasus nation of Georgia, specifically from the Pankisi Valley, a centre of Georgia's Chechen community and once a stronghold for militants. He fought in the brief conflict between Russia and Georgia in 2008 and became a jihadist after being discharged from the Georgian military on health grounds after contracting tuberculosis. After recuperating and being refused re-enlistment, he was arrested for stockpiling weapons and jailed in September 2010. Following his release, he travelled to Istanbul in Turkey in March 2012 to join Chechen rebels in the Syrian conflict. The red-bearded fanatic became the commander of the Brigade of Migrants, which was initially aligned with al-Qaeda's Jabhat al-Nusra. The group merged with other jihadists in March 2013 to form the Army of Emigrants and Supporters, a larger and more structured group with a religious council. In May 2013, Shishani switched to supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and has become the group's military commander in Syria, leading it on an offensive to take over a broad stretch of territory leading to the Iraq border. Numerous reports of his death since then are thought to be untrue.

Video shows two bands of militants joining forces during Syrian war . Jihadi John believed to have been member of one of the groups involved . Man who looks like British-raised ISIS execution makes proclamation . Experts highlight similarities between speaker and Jihadi John . He swears allegiance to group run by notorious terrorist Omar al-Shishani . Al-Shishani also appears in the footage, arm-in-arm with other fighters .

, Mohammed Emwazi.
The video shows a young Emwazi with what appears to be a UK or EU accent speaking in a heavily accented French. He tells those watching that he has had to stay in the “caves” for nearly two years. However, a French official said that he did not know how the video was made, or when, and that Emwazi’s “cave” is “in the middle of a desert”.
It has been reported in France that Emwazi is missing a finger on his left hand – which he showed the camera when pointing at one of the fighters, apparently asking who he is.
The video also features interviews with the men, who discuss their experiences in the French and British forces. They also talk about how to handle the media when communicating with Western powers.
“The western media is not always on our side. We have to talk to them, so we don’t look like animals,” one of the men can be heard saying in the footage.
The last image in the video shows a “Jihadi John” standing in a field. It is unclear how long he has been back in Syria for, and it is likely that it was only a brief visit to the region. It is the only evidence that has emerged of the extremist since he was pictured for the first time in June 2014.
At this time, it is believed that he is using an alias and that he is using the name Abdul al-Hindi. It is believed that he has been back to the UK several times to “counsel those who are contemplating coming”, but the Ministry of Defence has denied this, saying that they are “working to eliminate the threat he poses to our national security”.
The man who is believed to be Emwazi was captured by American and British forces last week, however, the Americans have yet to identify the man.
The man who is believed to be Jihadi John is believed to be hiding under the alias ‘Abu Muhajir al-Britani’ and is believed to have been living in London for around five years.
Emwazi left the UK for Lebanon in 2009, but returned after his identity was revealed by the BBC.
He is a known extremist and a British citizen. He was originally from west London, and is believed to be living in Syria.
He was said to be heavily involved in the kidnapping and torture of Western host


It is the favourite winter holiday of the middle and upper classes - a week in a European ski resort, with days spent exploring the mountain slopes and evening tucking in to local food. But for some, the time spent at some of the highest spots in Europe is focused more on drinking, sex and partying into the small hours. Welcome to the Andorran resort of Pas De La Casa, where it seems holidays are all about boarding, bargain booze and budget holidays. Scroll down for video . Pas De La Casa is all about boarding, bargain booze and budget holidays . Channel 5 documentary Brits on the Piste has looked in to the antics of the workers who spend the winter season in the mountains and the holidaymakers who visit. And the series, currently airing, has proved so popular that viewing figures doubled over the first two episodes. With Pas De La Casa having the reputation as having the one of the best nightlife scenes of any ski resort, it's certainly an eye-opening experience. The four main bars, that are packed out during ski season, are The Milwaukee, Underground, Paddy's Bar and The Shamrocks. From downing shots in the bars, to having an early morning skiing lesson with 'Dreadlock Dave' and partying with DJ Craig, the 'Pete Tong of Pas', all things are covered. And it's not just the visitors behaving badly. The 30 or so British workers at the resort will often drink and part as much as the tourists, with one worker admitting she will have about '20 shots' while working behind the bar. Fellow barman Danny admits that in the previous season he slept with 15 girls, but says he is aiming for 22-25 this season. Despite the cold weather, there's always time to take to the Jacuzzi, and these tourists from Wales take the plunge . Following a night on the tiles, it wouldn't be wise to miss your early morning ski lesson with 'Dreadlock Dave,' pictured here with bar worker Beth . It seems skiing is not particularly high on the agenda for visitors, despite the high costs of booking winter holidays. Two lively party girls from Ireland find themselves on holiday for five days longer than they planned in episode three, while competitive Craig organises an alcohol-fuelled snowman-building competition, and three hungover resort workers go heli-skiing. 'We were meant to book it for five days,' say the two Irish visitors. 'But we hit the wrong button on Ryanair and we're here for ten.' 'Everyone keeps saying to us 'you're total p*******s and you're not going to make the slopes,' but realistically probably all we'll make is one day on the slopes.' Group trips are particularly popular at the bargain resort. Fierce drinking battles between Team Essex and Team Bournemouth - a groups of friends who had swapped sand for snow to party hard - take place in the resort's bars. Both sides of life at the ski resort are show here, from necking beers and shots on a wild night out, to a moment of romance as Joe proposes to his girlfriend Michelle on the slopes . A group of party animals from Yorkshire get into the spirit to celebrate one of their birthdays . Meanwhile three brothers from Kidderminster, who are travelling to the resort for the first time without their parents, are under no illusions what they're there for. Engineer Scott, 19, says: 'This year we're allowed to go mental, completely mental. Just go out there and get smashed, every night, just drink hard and ski harder.' Twenty bottles of Jägermeister and a further 20 of vodka are sold every night in the resort's bars, so it's little wonder party animals flood the venue. The resort is very male-dominant, with 95 per cent of those who stay there being men. And where alcohol and pride is concerned, this can lead to a tense atmosphere at time. Episode four shows how things can take a turn for the worst as skiing takes a back seat for most of the holidaymakers, replaced with drinking, vomiting and fighting. A group of lads from Leeds talk through how the drinking games fit into skiing. This pair from Essex are forced to show their drinking prowess when they come up with some rival holiday-goers from Bournemouth . 'If you fall over it's a shot, if you fall over coming off a ski-lift that's two shots, if you mack (take) somebody out that's a pint,' says Byron. 'If you're sick that's five shots,' adds his friend Johnny. 'It's just a vicious circle basically.' The show also explores those much-discussed resort relationships, from bar workers Danny from Paddy's and Milwaukee's Beth. Despite being on, off and then on again, the pair work out how they are going to surprise each other for Valentine's Day. And in the latest offering, the other side of life at the ski resort is revealed when Joe from Stevenage pops the question to his girlfriend Michelle, complete on bended knee in the snow. Brits on the Piste is shown on 5* and the next episode is Sunday, March 8 at 11pm.

Documentary claims resort is about bargain booze and budget holidays . Pas De La Casa Skiing doesn't get in the way of endless shots and beers downed in bars . But you better not let a hangover get in the way of a ski lesson with 'Dreadlock Dave'

 points in the Alps carries the risk of life and limb.
Each year about 12,500 people take a break in the Alps. It is an industry worth about €3bn (£2.3bn) a year. The skiers come from countries such as Britain, Scandinavia and the Netherlands, but also from the US, Russia and Australia. One in 25 skiers is injured.
Among the more dramatic incidents this winter, a Briton died in France while skiing and three Britons have been reported missing in the Pyrenees region, where a Briton died last week when a tree fell on her group on the mountain. In Norway, an English couple who had been living and working in London were seriously injured and their nine-month-old baby killed after a ski lift accident.
In Britain, ski injury figures have rocketed since the early 1990s, according to the Health and Safety Executive. Between 1985 and 1993, there were 44 skiing and snowboarding accidents reported, according to a study by the British Medical Journal. In 1994 the number rose to 106, and in 1996 the figure was 149.
Among these, the most serious cases were those involving a spine injury. There are thought to be about 10,000 injuries each year, but because of the high number of injuries not recorded there are believed to be as many as 10 times that number.
The causes are diverse. Accidents on the mountain are caused by a number of factors: "The mountains are difficult places," said Andy Smith, director of ski and winter sports at the CIC insurance company. "They are vast places with natural hazards. The skier themselves is part of that hazard."
The number of incidents attributed to weather, including avalanches, has been increasing. Mr Smith said that "the British do tend to go off-piste, and they don't carry avalanche equipment, while the French tend to go to the prepared slopes. The French also tend to be more skilful. We have a very serious ski season."
Most of those involved are in their 20s or early 30s. Mr Smith said this is the peak time for skiing and because of this, many of the skiers involved are British. They have not had training in the mountains that comes to people growing up there.
"The people who most suffer from the hazard are the most likely to go to the mountains," he said.


Terry Gibson is sitting in a restaurant in Wimbledon, recalling the 12 absurd and wonderful chapters of his life that were spent in this part of town. ‘It was nuts,’ he says. ‘You didn’t need Fash and Jonesy to lie about what went on — the reality was mad enough.’ In time, Gibson will come back to the sore point of how the Wimbledon side of the Eighties was represented in a recent documentary. Terry Gibson laughs whilst recalling his eventful spell playing for Wimbledon's Crazy Gang . He will address the myth that the Crazy Gang was ruled by the bullying of John Fashanu and Vinnie Jones, even if there is a memory of the former stripped to his underpants and covered in baby oil ahead of a dressing-room fight. But, for now, Gibson wants to laugh rather than seethe. The little striker, who won the Cup, once told Alex Ferguson where to go and pocketed £200 for scouting Pablo Zabaleta, wants to present a fuller picture of life at Plough Lane. ‘I remember Dennis Wise,’ he says. ‘Just after we won the FA Cup in 1988 players were getting sold and he was desperate for Bobby Gould to give him a big move. We went on a trip to Sweden and he’s bought a load of fireworks. Back at the hotel, Wisey is letting them off from the fifth floor into a crowded street. The locals are running for cover. Unbelievable. Bobby knew he was trying to force a move and wouldn’t budge. Just another day at Wimbledon.’ The Wimbledon players celebrate having won the 1988 FA Cup at Wembley against favourites Liverpool . Gibson poses for the camera when speaking to Sportsmail's Riath Al-Samarrai about his career . Gibson laughs. ‘There was a time when Fash was telling the newspapers he was getting threatening letters at the training ground,’ he says. ‘We all knew it was rubbish so one day I cut out letters from a newspaper, like in the films, and spelled, “Meester Fash, we are watching your every move”. I slipped it in his pocket and when he found it he starts panicking. He disappears with his big mobile phone and the next day’s papers say Fash has had another threat. He always was a drama queen.’ Gibson adds: ‘My first day at the club, I saw Wisey pinching the Volkswagen badge off Vinnie Jones’s dad’s truck. Vinnie was panicking that his dad was going to kill him. ‘There were a lot more laughs than people might have thought based only on the documentary.’ John Fashanu, in action during his Wimbledon playing days, was certainly a character in the Crazy Gang . Gibson, like most associated with the programme, The Crazy Gang, has taken exception to claims from Fashanu that he was ‘the leader’ and ruled by fear. ‘The truth is we tolerated Fash,’ says Gibson, who spent six years at the club. ‘He was a bit of a clown. He was the perfect player for us but he always tried to present himself as something he wasn’t, even then. ‘Yes, you had to be very tough to survive at the club. Grown men would cry. But there was so much more to how Wimbledon achieved what we did. For Fash to imply he controlled our dressing room with intimidation is just false. ‘Of course there were fights but Fash exaggerated. Jonesy told the story about Fash locking the dressing room and throwing an unnamed player against a bench and splitting his leg open. Stitches, etc. Gibson was former team-mate Lawrie Sanchez's assistant at Wycombe, Northern Ireland and Fulham . ‘The lad was Robbie Turner and, as I remember it, Fash strips to his pants and covers himself in baby oil. They slipped around a bit and no punches were thrown. Yes, Robbie badly injured his calf on the bench but it was not split open with blood everywhere. ‘The stories were all embellished. It was no Mafia, it was more a boarding school of very naughty boys.’ A deeper perspective is found in Gibson’s new book, Giant Killer. It’s a wonderful autobiography, self-written across three years. The book charts his rise from Tottenham, to Coventry, to Manchester United and on to the high points at Wimbledon, before Gibson became Lawrie Sanchez’s assistant at Northern Ireland, Fulham and Wycombe. The 52-year-old, in action for Wimbledon (right) works for Sky Sports, commenting on Spanish football . ‘The game changed a bit in those three decades,’ he says. ‘When Spurs signed me as a kid they offered my parents a holiday and I was hoping they would choose somewhere abroad — they asked for this camp in Dovercourt! At least the club sent a limo.’ It was at Coventry that Gibson played alongside Sam Allardyce and Stuart Pearce. ‘We went to Bisham Abbey once,’ Gibson says. ‘Pearce and Micky Adams were sharing and Ashley Grimes was in with Sam. We’d all had a drink one night. ‘Somehow Micky and Pearcie got into the others’ room at something like 3am and tossed all their gear in the courtyard. Sam and Grimes go to fetch it but get locked out in the rain. God, they were out there for maybe an hour. Sam was getting all this abuse, Pearcie and Micky calling him a northern so-and-so and laughing at him, saying, “No wonder Millwall got rid of you”. Wimbledon players in training during the Crazy Gang era with Fashanu (centre) and Vinnie Jones . ‘Next thing there is a huge crash. Sam has found a fire extinguisher and thrown it through their window. I can still hear Sam saying, “Oh s***. I didn’t mean it. It slipped”. Priceless.’ After three good years at Coventry, Gibson joined Manchester United for a difficult 18 months, in which he repeatedly felt ‘belittled’ by Ron Atkinson. ‘You could see the glow of his sunbed from the training pitch,’ Gibson says. ‘He just picked on me for reasons I never understood.’ At one point, Gibson pulled out of a move to Watford because he correctly anticipated Atkinson would be sacked and a fresh start might await. Atkinson’s exit meant Alex Ferguson’s arrival. ‘Alex was always honest with me — a good man,’ Gibson says. ‘I got the hairdryer once after a reserve game and told him to shove it all up his a***. Gibson endured a difficult 18 months at Manchester United (left) and was brought to Wimbledon in 1987 . ‘The next morning I went to apologise and he said he admired my spirit. I liked him but it never worked out for me at United.’ Gould brought Gibson to Wimbledon in 1987 — the manager allegedly ate 12 sheep testicles to get Sam Hammam to sanction the move — and his playing career re-started. ‘I could have done a book on Wimbledon alone,’ he says. In retirement Gibson went on to form a fine coaching partnership with Sanchez at Northern Ireland, which included capping Jonny Evans from United after ‘my son realised from playing Championship Manager on the computer that he was eligible for us’. Gibson has detailed his eclectic career in a book called Giant Killer, which is available at terrygibson.london . In a career of surreal moments, it seems about right. There was also a £200-a-week scouting position for Manchester City in Spain that saw him recommend Zabaleta. ‘The club did OK out of it,’ he says. These days the 52-year-old commentates on Spanish football for Sky and is happy to be out of the thick of it. ‘I think I’ve had probably enough of that craziness in my life,’ he says. He’s probably right. Terry Gibson’s book Giant Killer is available at www.terrygibson.london .

Former Wimbledon striker Terry Gibson talks about the Crazy Gang . Gibson helped Wimbledon beat favourites Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final . The 52-year-old commentates on Spanish football for Sky Sports .

 to play football; they just went home to Watford. They just didn’t feel the same about the game. I knew nothing about the world; I didn’t think about what was going on in the country. It was an amazing bubble.’
Gibson is 45 years old; this year marks the 30th anniversary of his famous, and often misunderstood, strike for Wimbledon Football Club. On this side of 30, it’s hard to imagine how anyone could have been upset by Gibson’s standoff with Wimbledon chairman Jack Greenham. They met in a cafe in Wimbledon Village. Greenham told Gibson he was sacked. Gibson took him to the cleaners. ‘I had 18 months’ pay, which at that time was over a million pounds. They tried to argue that I’d earned my money in different ways. But I argued that the only way to make money was to win games and go up the divisions. I was the most successful manager Wimbledon ever had. I won promotions and the FA Cup. I’m proud of that, and I don’t regret it for a moment.’
These days the only thing he regrets is letting Wimbledon become ‘the worst-kept secret in football. It was so embarrassing that we were allowed to play in League Two. I wish I had taken the chairman to court. If I hadn’t, it wouldn’t have gone on so long. Then I could have been managing now and not worrying about money.’
At that moment his phone rings. It’s Andy Thorn, who managed Gibson at Manchester City and, briefly, at Molineux. Thorn is now the manager of Cardiff City and Gibson is an analyst for Radio Five Live. ‘Are you coming to London?’ asks Thorn. Gibson looks across at his girlfriend, Gillian, who is busy feeding their baby son, Henry, through a baby sling. ‘Maybe we should,’ he responds. Then he looks at his watch. ‘I’m going to have a beer first,’ he says. ‘Do you want one?’
‘No,’ says Thorn, ‘I’ll call you. You’ll have finished this then.’
Thorn is interested in the ‘Triumph Over Triumph’ book Gibson has written, as much as he is in his life story. He has just signed a two-year contract at Cardiff. It’s another opportunity to show Gibson’s credentials.
Gibson has done a