Hartlepool United midfielder Mark Shelton has signed a new contract to remain with the League Two club.

After signing on loan in December 2019, Shelton signed on a full-time basis in 2020 and has made 94 appearances.

"I am delighted to agree a new deal. We have had some great success over the last few years and we want to continue that into the new season," he said.

"I spoke with [boss] Paul Hartley last week and I am excited to get started."

Peterborough United have signed free agent Ben Thompson on a two-year deal.

Thompson, 26, most recently played for Gillingham after joining the League One club in January until the end of the 2021-22 season.

The midfielder previously made 174 appearances for Millwall between 2014-2022 after coming through the Lions' academy.

Thompson's two-year contract with League One Posh includes the option of an additional year.

"Ben is a player we have admired for a long time," said Peterborough manager Grant McCann.

"He can play as a number eight or as a number 10 and is everything we love from a midfield player. He is aggressive in everything that he does, he plays on the front foot and has a great ability to drive at people with the ball."

Notts County have appointed former Swindon Town manager Luke Williams as head coach.

Williams, 41, succeeds Ian Burchnall, who left Notts in May to take charge of League One side Forest Green Rovers.

He most recently worked as Swansea assistant manager, leaving his job in Wales in February for personal reasons.

"All the building blocks are here, we just need to go to work and try to get the club up the divisions," Williams told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"It feels like this is a club on the push, a surge, and I wanted to be part of that."

A statement from County said Williams "fully understands the pressure and expectation that comes with this role".

Williams will be the third manager to try to get Notts County back to League Two, after the club were relegated from the English Football League for the first time in their history in 2019.

The Magpies have reached the National League play-offs in each of their three seasons in non-league football, with Grimsby Town dramatically ending County's latest promotion bid on the way to sealing their immediate return to the EFL.

Former Exeter, Brighton and Swindon midfielder Ryan Harley has been named Williams' assistant.

"Between them they have the right management skills and experience of all EFL divisions, as well as the National League, which we believe will help us achieve our goal of promotion and getting back to where we feel we belong," a statement from the club said.

Williams' stint as Swindon manager ended following the club's relegation to League Two in 2017 at the end of his first full season in charge.

A year earlier he had impressed enough as caretaker boss of the Robins to earn a five-year contract.

After leaving the Wiltshire club he was appointed head coach of Bristol City Under-23s, where he stayed for two years before taking the job as Russell Martin's assistant at MK Dons.

He followed Martin to Swansea in August 2021, only to leave six months later.

Burnley have appointed former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany as manager.

The Belgian, 36, was in charge at Anderlecht for two years before leaving by mutual consent in May, having led them to third the Belgian top flight.

Burnley sacked Sean Dyche in April and replaced him with interim boss Mike Jackson, who was unable to prevent relegation from the Premier League.

"I'm excited by the challenge ahead," Kompany said.

"Burnley Football Club is a truly historic English side and it is an honour to be appointed first-team manager.

"I've been impressed by the board's vision for the club which aligns with my own and I look forward to playing my part as we enter an important season."

Former Belgium defender Kompany spent 11 years at City, where he won 10 major trophies, including four Premier League titles.

His appointment comes amid Burnley's financial troubles. They received a £65m loan with American finance company MSD Holdings, a "significant proportion" of which now has to be repaid after falling out of the top flight.

Burnley have not specified the length of Kompany's contract.

The previous time the Clarets went down from the Premier League, in 2014-15, Dyche stayed in charge and led them to the Championship title the following season.

Kompany's managerial history
Kompany returned to boyhood club Anderlecht as player-manager in 2019, his first coaching job.

However, he relinquished managerial duties after only four games to concentrate on playing, with the club having won only two points. They went on to finish eighth.

Kompany retired from playing and took over as manager in August 2020, after which Anderlecht won 41, lost 19 and drew 30 of his 90 games.

Anderlecht finished fourth in his first full season in charge and this season finished third, 11 points behind champions Club Bruges.

Anderlecht chief executive Peter Verbeke said Kompany was an "essential part" in rebuilding the club.

"He brought professionalism and expertise and has also been important in the development of young players," Verbeke said.

Burnley chairman Alan Pace said: "Vincent is a proven leader and I've been very impressed with his ideas for Burnley Football Club, his appetite to succeed and his focus on leading the club back to the Premier League.

"Vincent has shown impressive credentials in leading one of Belgium's biggest teams back to European football and a cup final last season and we've been excited by his philosophy, approach and ambition for the club."

Well this is already a "must win" match for Scotland players, many of whom looked like their season was over v ROI and lacking conviction and impetus to win that match in Dublin. One can only hope that Clarke can find the right team and players who can take on and beat a fairly weak Armenia side. They won't do it if they show up with the same shit attitude and tactics deployed in Dublin.

Blackburn Rovers have appointed Jon Dahl Tomasson as head coach on a three-year deal.

The ex-Denmark, Newcastle and AC Milan forward succeeds Tony Mowbray, who left the Championship club after five years when his contract expired in May.

Tomasson, 45, joins Rovers having won two consecutive league titles with Swedish club Malmo FF.

Blackburn finished eighth in the second tier table last season, six points outside the play-off places.

Chief executive Steve Waggott told the club website: "It has been a long process, but we are really pleased to have eventually secured the services of such a young and ambitious coach in Jon."

"I'm really proud and excited to be taking over as head coach of Blackburn Rovers - a club with a lot of tradition and also great ambition," Tomasson, who won the Champions League during his time with AC Milan, said.

"We have a young team here, and also a great academy, and the owners have a clear vision, which is to develop players and become a sustainable Premier League club over time, so I'm really happy to be involved in this exciting new chapter for the club."

Rovers appointed Gregg Broughton as their new director of football last week.

Broughton has taken responsibility for football strategy at the club, including the first team and academy as well as recruitment.

Despite a promising start to 2021-22 that had seen them as high as third, Blackburn faltered badly in the second half of the campaign and missed out on a top-six spot.

The club have now spent 10 years outside English football's top flight, the past four in the Championship after Mowbray led them back to the second tier at the first attempt following their relegation to League One in 2017.

Analysis - 'Tomasson taking on big job'
BBC Radio Lancashire sports editor Andy Bayes

The appointment of Jon Dahl Tomasson at Blackburn Rovers was looking likely over the last five days or so.

They were linked with Daniel Farke, Carlos Carvalhal, Gareth Ainsworth, Michael Beale and Duncan Ferguson over recent weeks, but it is Tomasson, who was out of the game after a two-year spell with Malmo, who has been given the opportunity of replacing Tony Mowbray at Ewood Park.

The Dane is new to the Championship, and it's 25 years since he last arrived on English shores as a Kenny Dalglish signing for Newcastle United. His spell with the Magpies lasted for a season before more successful spells with Feyenoord, AC Milan, Stuttgart and Villareal.

As a coach, he's had a successful period with the Danish national team, helping them reach Euro 2020 as assistant coach, before securing back-to-back league titles for Malmo in Sweden, and perhaps more impressively, negotiating four qualifying Champions League qualifying rounds to reach the group stages.

Blackburn Rovers is a big job. The club haven't reached the play-offs in 10 years since relegation from the Premier League and it remains to be seen what level of financial backing will come from the club's owners in India.

Recruitment will be the key with out of contract departures and last season's loanees returning to their parent clubs. Some big weeks await new director of football Gregg Broughton and the newly appointed head coach.

Can hear alarm bells ringing from here, given the names of Bolton and Oldham in his previous connections

Former Watford owner Laurence Bassini is hoping to complete a takeover at Championship club Birmingham City.

Blues have been looking for new investment, with a number of parties keen to take charge at St Andrews.

BBC Sport has been told 52-year-old Bassini is travelling to the Midlands with the intention of finalising a £35m purchase of the club.

Birmingham have spent 11 successive seasons in the second tier since they were relegated from the Premier League.

They are currently Chinese-owned, by Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited, who have been in place since 2016.

Bassini is no stranger to controversy, having been banned from football for three years in March 2013 after being found guilty of misconduct by an FA commission.

He subsequently had talks about potential involvement at Charlton, Bolton and Oldham when they were suffering financial issues.

It is not thought Bassini intends to sit on the Birmingham board, but any deal would be subject to English Football League scrutiny.

I do not mean this disrespectfully to any other team and I understand pre-season is to get some legs into the team and try things out. but surely to try things out, the opposition need to be a little challenging? Unless we are talking about the U23 team, I am not certain our line up for pre-season of Northampton Town, Crewe, Oxford United and Stevenage, will provide enough of an challenge to try things out or for that matter get any real sharpness into the team, lets remember these are not F.A. Cup ties. Also I am always a little nervous about the risk of injury to player, who might be that split second faster than a lower league player. We normally play 1 or 2 games against lower league teams, but so far all of them and we normally only play 4 or 5 pre-season, it seems we have everything to lose and nothing to gain.

On a slightly different story, £15 to watch Stevenage in a pre season friendly?

Shrewsbury Town forward Ryan Bowman hopes to be ready for the start of pre-season training despite having heart surgery last week.

Bowman was taken to hospital after experiencing palpitations during a game against Ipswich Town last October.

He was back in the team a week later but it was decided he would have an operation at the end of the season.

"The procedure was called an ablation. It helps maintain a normal hearth rhythm," he told the club website.

"The recovery time is better than we all initially thought it was going to be.

"I need to stay off my feet for a week or 10 days then gradually get back to light jogging and build myself up so I'm hoping to be able to get straight into pre-season training with the lads if all goes well."


Report
Bowman was able to make 47 appearances in 2021-22, having joined from Exeter City last summer, and finished as the League One club's second highest scorer with 13.

"It's like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders since the operation, I've always had mild palpitations and an irregular heartbeat but nothing as extreme as I had it in the Ipswich game so to know that it won't happen again is a big relief for me," he added.

Cheltenham Town manager Michael Duff is leaving the club to take over at League One rivals Barnsley, reports BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

The Robins have confirmed Duff would be leaving the club after four years in charge "to pursue a new opportunity".

Duff led the Robins to the League Two title in 2020-21 and the club's highest-ever league finish last season.

Barnsley were relegated back to League One after finishing bottom of the Championship last season.

"Although not entirely unexpected, this is a blow for Cheltenham, who have seen the club stabilise and then grow under Duff's leadership," BBC Radio Gloucestershire's Cheltenham reporter Peter Matthews said.

"Unsurprisingly, Duff was a target for a number of clubs. Cheltenham now will be working very quickly to activate the shortlist they've already drawn up to try to find the successor."

Cheltenham chairman Michael Bloxham said it was "a disappointing day" for the club as Duff had "done such a tremendous job for us".

"Michael made it clear to us that it was a very difficult decision for him," Bloxham told the club website. "We did all we could to try and keep him at the club but ultimately this new opportunity is one that he feels it right for him at this stage of his career.

"I know it would not have been an easy decision to arrive at because Michael has built up a very special bond with our club and his family all live locally so it will be a big wrench for him to leave but as an ambitious young manager, we completely respect his decision."

Duff is set to become Barnsley's sixth manager in less than three years.

After Daniel Stendel left in October 2019, Gerhard Struber took over and helped the Tykes avoid relegation from the Championship on the final day of the season.

Valerian Ismael then led the South Yorkshire club to the play-offs the following season, where they lost to Swansea City in the semi-finals, before leaving for West Brom.

His replacement Markus Schopp lasted barely four months and Poya Asbaghi was unable to arrest the slide last season as Barnsley finished with only six wins and a total of 30 points.