It's time to go now
I can confirm that, as soon as you’ve finished reading these words, your weekend will have STARTED. Just a little bit of admin to get through first, then off you trot. Here’s a round-up of the biggest stories we’ve enjoyed together over the last *gulp* eight hours:
Jose Mourinho says that he and Ed Woodward are getting along very nicely:
Hugo Lloris has been charged with drink driving:
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City aren’t at full tilt yet:
Roy Hodgson has serious beef with Harry the Hornet. Don’t ask, just read:
That’s where we are. Have an excellent weekend of football and, of course, anything else you choose to entertain yourselves with. Thanks for all your interaction, and we’ll chat again soon. Bye!
Here, before I forget, is today’s Fiver – courtesy of Barry Glendenning. It has a Tony Pulis theme, so please be drawn in by that:
Aaaaand ... England Under-20s have beaten France 4-2 in the shoot-out! They finish third in the world and congratulations to them, that’s a superb achievement and augurs well. Not a bad summer for England penalties, all told.
Breaking news here – a Roma fan has been jailed for violence that occurred before the Champions League match with Liverpool last season:
France U20 v England U20 will go to penalties ...
The evening is drawing in. If you’re to send in your hot pre-weekend observations then you’ve not long – but you still have time. I’m off to Fulham v Burnley on Sunday, that’s my observation. I see a draw in that one: Burnley tired, Fulham needing much more time to gel.
Tottenham have made a short statement about the earlier Hugo Lloris news. A spokesman said: “The club takes matters such as this extremely seriously and it will be dealt with internally.”
Frank Chibundu Agu reminds me that I’ve been remiss in providing updates of France U20 v England U20 – it’s currently 1-1, with 20 or so minutes left ...
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This, when it happens as it surely will, is going to be absolutely fascinating:
Thierry Henry not yet Bordeaux manager. But club are already making plans to stage a special presentation at the stadium. TH 'reassured' over club's ambition after being told he'll have €80m to spend over 3 years (L'Equipe)
— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) August 24, 2018
I suspect a few of us wouldn’t mind covering that – Bordeaux is *great*.
“I join you in wishing Loris Karius all the best at Besiktas,” says Peter Oh, at this point completely ingenuously. “He’ll certainly get plenty of love. Vagner Love, for starters,” Peter then concludes.
Just need to hear Mauricio Pochettino coating off Gunnersaurus in pre-north London derby mind games three months from now and then all our lives are complete.
Want to read about Roy Hodgson issuing a stern warning to Watford’s “disgraceful” mascot, Harry the Hornet? You’ll bee wanting to feel the buzz here:
If Karius does indeed get confirmed at Besiktas, let’s hope it goes well for him. I think the way people spoke about him after the Champions League final was, in many cases, absolutely abhorrent. Social media makes us too used to speaking about people, real people, as if they are pieces of meat – when none of us are so different from one another. Sermon over.
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Michael Aquilina is a Charlton fan and I am glad to hear from him. Here’s his email in full:
“It is a real shame what is happening to our club. My experience growing up as a Charlton fan was of the glory days of the Premiership under Curbs. The demise has been rapid under Duchatelet for a club that was once lauded as a medium sized Premiership team to aspire to. The atmosphere is toxic and the swathes of empty seats on match day is extremely depressing, we are lucky to get 6,000 fans in a 27,000 seater stadium. I admire the fan movements and the imagination of the protests, unfortunately they do not seem to bother Duchatelet and do not seem to yield any real progress, despite being fleetingly picked up by national news organisations.
“The Australian takeover seems to have been in negotiations for months with little factual information given to the fans, I really do fear for our future. Despite a glimmer of hope surrounding this potential takeover it must be remembered that when Duchatelet took over we were close to administration, I can’t imagine a crumbling League One side is a smart investment for any potential investors and I can’t see them doing it out of passion for the club, so there is no guarantee that life will get any rosier even if Duchatelet’s disgrace of a reign came to an end.
“Unfortunately we are not in a unique position there are a number of clubs across the EFL in precarious ownership situations, it does make you think what the EFL are actually doing about this in terms of regulating fit and proper ownership of clubs and this most recent scandal at Charlton really highlights a lack of duty or care from the top of the club.”
It’s not so long ago that Charlton were an exemplar for mid-size clubs looking to get up, stabilise and be governed well. What’s happened in recent years is such a shame and shows no sign of getting any better. If you don’t think it could happen to your club then believe me, it could.
Il est arrivé !
— Amiens SC (@AmiensSC) August 24, 2018
Saman Ghoddos est un joueur de l'Amiens SC.
#7 pic.twitter.com/HlNQLSiDg5
Good signing from earlier today, although it continues the break-up of the Ostersund side that stole hearts last season. Thought Ghoddos might have been able to improve on Amiens, but it’ll be interesting to see how he does – wonderfully gifted forward.
Here’s more from Jurgen Klopp’s press conference earlier. He’s talking about Loris Karius – Besiktas’s objet d’amour – and the prospect of his departure:
It’s a normal thing in football. It happens to managers: as a manager you usually don’t need that much time between one game and another to get the sack! It is not the sack, it is only change. That’s football, no problem with that.”
Another match preview – they’re all in the handy link within this link – can be found here. Prep yourself for Liverpool v Brighton:
Interesting for VAR buffs – or just anyone who feels it’s unworkable in its present form. Here are some tweaks being made in the Bundesliga this season. It looks like an improvement. I covered the Women’s Hockey World Cup a few weeks back and was particularly impressed with how clearly the decisions – as well as the process and the reasoning – were communicated to fans.
NEW: 3 changes to VAR in @Bundesliga_EN announced by 🇩🇪@DFB and @DFL_Official
— The IFAB (@TheIFAB) August 24, 2018
- Message for stadium spectators after review (4 graphics = 4 match-changing decisions)
- 3 perspectives for TV viewers (replay, referee, VAR center)
- Quick information for broadcaster/commentators pic.twitter.com/TXGyZt3lan
It’s Juventus v Lazio on Saturday night – and that means it’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s home debut. Here’s Massimiliano Allegri on the prospect:
Cristiano Ronaldo trains very competitively, he takes nothing for granted and is a champion, building his own success over the years through hard work and sacrifice. He is a great example for the younger players and he raises our overall quality. Ronaldo is bringing a great enthusiasm to Italian football, I see all the people that are waiting outside Continassa, but regardless of the excitement we still have to win games. We haven’t won anything just by signing him, we have to show that on the pitch.”
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“I appreciate Nemanja Gudelj’s refreshingly restrained assessment of his new club, one he’d ‘heard of before’, says Peter Oh. “None of that phony stuff about it being the club of his boyhood dreams.”
Yes, he hedged it nicely there. Yer Robbie Keanes should take note.
Nice, this, from Richard Foster. Forty points isn’t the be all and end all!
England Under-20 women have just kicked off against France in their World Cup third place play-off – I’ll let you know how they get on. The final is between Spain and Japan later.
After it emerged that the hated Duchatelet regime had banned staff from eating crisps without permission, beleaguered Charlton fans plan to hand out packets of these tomorrow... pic.twitter.com/M3IRakvEYO
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) August 24, 2018
Things are ... not looking great at Charlton currently. Any Addicks in the house?
Transfers are still happening on the continent:
Sporting sign Serbian midfielder Nemanja Gudelj on loan. "I'd heard of Sporting but only when I got here did I realise the magnitude of the club." https://t.co/b1nZZs1bHM
— Tom Kundert (@PortuGoal1) August 24, 2018
Palace are in decent shape for the trip to Watford, although Aaron Wan-Bissaka is of course suspended. Squad here: Hennessey, Guaita, Speroni, Ward, Tomkins, Sakho, Kelly, Riedewald, Van Aanholt, Schlupp, Townsend, McArthur, Milivojevic, Kouyate, Meyer, Puncheon, Kaikai, Ayew, Zaha, Sorloth, Benteke
Meanwhile Nuno Espirito Santo – the Premier League’s best-bearded manager of 2018-19, unless you want to propose another – ain’t changin’ nothin’ for the champions’ visit:
We don’t know how to play another way. There are two ways to react to Leicester, we react by changing or not. We will not change because we want to build something. It’s important we keep doing the same thing we train to do, as we want to achieve. Adapt, of course, because you are facing a good team, but don’t change. When you build something you have to truly believe in what you’re doing.”
Manchester City go into their game against Wolves on Saturday with six points out of six and the best goal tally in the Premier League table, yet Pep Guardiola claims his league leaders are still some way from operating at maximum efficiency.
“We are not fully fit yet, we are not far away but we still need more time to regenerate,” the City manager said. “We didn’t do a pre-season, then we played the Community Shield after a few days. We tried to send a lot of messages about strength and tactics this week because we are not in the best condition. Players are complaining about muscular problems – that’s why Claudio [Bravo] is out and Kevin [De Bruyne] before.
Fernandinho had big problems after the last game. Hopefully after the international break we’ll be better.”
With De Bruyne out for three months with a knee injury Guardiola lost his No 2 goalkeeper for a similar period when Bravo ruptured an achilles tendon in training, forcing the club to recall 19-year-old Aro Muric from loan at NAC Breda. “We know Aro, he trained with us all last year,” Guardiola said. “Aro will be our second-choice goalkeeper after Ederson, Grimmy [20-year-old Daniel Grimshaw] our third. Aro has an amazing potential as a goalkeeper, he’s got a great work ethic, he’s huge [6ft 5in] and he’s so young. We knew the second team here would not give him proper competition, that’s why we sent him to Holland to play the big teams. Maybe here he will be able to play in some of the cup matches. We trust him, no doubt about that.”
City played Wolves in the Carabao Cup last season, when the then Championship side held them scoreless before going out on penalties.
Guardiola was impressed. “Wolves destroyed the Championship last season,” he said. “It was incredible the way they won it, playing in that attractive way. We know how tough it will be at their ground after last season and we want to be humble, to give our opponents every respect.”
Jurgen Klopp believes James Milner could have another six years left at the highest level providing the Liverpool midfielder avoids injury.
The 32-year-old has been in commanding form at the start of the new season, dominating against West Ham United on the opening day and setting Liverpool on their way to victory at Crystal Palace on Monday from the penalty spot.
Asked whether Milner was improving with age, the Liverpool manager replied: “Since I worked with him it was always good. He started in different positions, different systems; he was full-back, now he is in midfield, but all our players are influential. That’s how it should be.
“With Milly for sure, age is no issue. He is a naturally skilled boy, he’s such a sports guy, he is good at each sport he tries. In life, if you are 32 in any company in the world they would tell you to wait a few years then get a real job! In football it’s like you’re already close to retirement. Our players can play until 36, 37 even 38, and because of his physical abilities I am pretty sure Milly is one of them if he is lucky with injuries. The end is not to see, and his desire to improve is exceptional. Is it the best moment of his career? Better ask him.”
Rafa Benitez isn’t worried about Kenedy, whose parent club Newcastle face on Sunday, being blighted by that late penalty miss at Cardiff. It was so bad, it ended up being good:
In terms of his quality, he’s very confident, so we were talking about that and the decisions he was making in the game, and it’s something that’s important for a young player to understand, to learn and then to move forward. He’s fine now, he’s been training well. It’s been a bad experience, but a good experience in the end.”
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Tuchel on Danny Rose: "I will not comment on transfer rumours. I will simply say that I came up against Tottenham Hotspur 3 years ago & it took me 3 days to work out how best to combat him." #PSGSCO
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) August 24, 2018
Could PSG still make a play for the out-of-favour Spurs man?
My favourite part of Dyche’s post-Olympiakos press conference was when a Greek journalist told him: “You were awarded a penalty that not even Prince William would have awarded.”
If you were waiting for Dyche to make an equally off-beam reference to a Greek god in response, you’d have been waiting some time.
Sean Dyche is ... not happy. Video here!
Big potential signing for Stoke – they’re giving a medical to Ryan Woods, the excellent Brentford midfielder, who would arrive on loan with a view to a permanent deal in January. They’ve started the season badly; Brentford have begun it well (without even needing to call upon their want-away star). But this one appears to be happening and Swansea, who had also been in the mix for Woods, will be particularly disappointed if so.
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“Might not be the most glamorous league, but I’ll go today to Dolíček to watch one of the multiple Prague derbies: the kangaroos of Bohemians 1905 versus the powerhouses of Sparta,” writes Jose Coelho. “I expect a messy and entertaining match. I hope to catch a glimpse of Panenka (the one from the penalty), as he is such a colourful character and the main director of Bohemians.”
Keep them coming ...
Yes, I’ve just seen some footage of that Mourinho press conference. He doesn’t have to want to be there, obviously, but made it nakedly obvious that he wasn’t in the mood. Five- or six-word answers, little more – wouldn’t even offer any stock platitudes about Spurs when asked. “I’m not going to comment.”
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Jose Mourinho was not a happy chappy in today's #MUFC pre-match press conference - turned up early & answered 13 questions in four minutes 19 seconds
— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) August 24, 2018
Draw your own conclusions ...
José Mourinho has stated his relationship with Manchester United executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, is fine.
United host Tottenham Hotspur on Monday in their first match since a dismal 3-2 dismal defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion. The manner of the loss has caused further scrutiny of Mourinho and his team.
The manager began the season unhappy at not acquiring a centre-back of choice, with Leicester City’s Harry Maguire among his targets. This occurred because of the stance of Woodward and his board that Maguire and others on Mourinho’s list were no improvement on the centre-backs in his squad.
Mourinho, asked whether his relationship with Woodward was fine, said: “Of course. No [problem].”
After the defeat at Brighton, Paul Pogba admitted his attitude had been wrong. Mourinho would not be drawn on whether this was frustrating. “Paul said [this] – he has to answer for his words,” he said. “If you want any explanation about Paul’s words you must get him and ask him.”
“Germany won’t be the only stadia with people in,” says Neil Hanratty. “I’ll be at the Stade Velodrome to see if Marseille can bounce back from their loss to Nîmes with a home win against Rennes.”
You lucky man – what a wonderful venue, and city, to be in.
A more detailed take on that Hugo Lloris situation:
off to watch @kicker_BRA vs @fortuna_koeln on Sunday. Both teams having a slow start to the 3.Liga in Germany @NickAmes82
— Wayne Symes (@waynesymes) August 24, 2018
Enjoy, Wayne! Judging by the emails and tweets I’m getting, Germany’s will be the only stadia with any fans this weekend.
Jurgen Klopp says Dejan Lovren unlikely to return from injury until after the international break.
— Andy Hunter (@AHunterGuardian) August 24, 2018
Fresh Liverpool news on Lovren, who I can reveal was adored by all of us who crossed his path at the World Cup for his willingness to speak at length into outstretched dictaphones after games. He was great fun.
PA: Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been charged with drink driving after being stopped by officers in Gloucester Place, in Marylebone, central London
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) August 24, 2018
More on this as – and if – it develops ...
Maurizio Sarri has spoken! And, courtesy of transcriber extraordinaire Dominic Fifield, here are his words. I like the line about the party and the war:
Hazard starting?
“I don’t know. I think that Eden is ready for 50-60 minutes. I don’t know for 90 minutes. But he can start.”
Does he want to start?
“Maybe. But I think it’s more important, my mind.”
He’s happy with that situation?
“I am happy with him. He wants to play. I think it’s the right way to think for him. But I have to think for everybody.”
Is he definitely staying at Chelsea?
“I think so. I am the coach of a very good team. I am the coach of a very great club. And so I think that such an important club cannot sell a very important player without the possibility of buying another very important player at the same level. So I think that Eden will stay with us for all the season.”
On Ruben Loftus-Cheek:
“It was only a decision about the positions. I chose to put on the bench two wingers and only one midfielder. I have spoken with him twice this week, after I spoke with the club. So I think that Loftus will remain with us. We can speak again about his situation, but I think only in December.”
But you want to keep the players happy... any more changes to be done?
“For me, it’s very important... I like it very much when the team are able to work very well during the training. When the team is trying to improve. When the team is able to work on mistakes. They are professional. So, off the pitch, they are able to eat in the right way, rest in the right way. I don’t want to impose anything (on them).”
Are you working on the defending?
“Every week. I am not worried about the defensive phase because, when I arrive at a new team, usually I have problems with the defensive phase for two or three months. So I think it’s normal for me.”
Ever switch to a back five?
“No, I am not able to play with five defenders, because we are trying to defend by looking only at the ball. In this way, if I defend with five defenders, I lose immediately metres on the pitch. I am not able. I tried five years ago, but it’s not my way.”
On Gary Cahill:
“I think that, in this moment, for a defender it’s more difficult to play in my team after only 20 days of training. It’s easier for an offensive player. For a defender it’s more difficult. So I think that, at this moment, he needs to have a lot more defensive training with us.”
Spoken to him about that?
“Yes, but I told him that needs to be patient now. But that he is very important for us.”
Premier League? Surprises?
“No. In Italy, it’s a war before the match. But during the match I think that, in Serie A, after 20 minutes 2-0, the match is finished. Here, it’s a party before the match but a war during the match. I prefer here.”
On Rafa Benitez:
“First of all, I think I have to say thank you to Rafa because, when I arrived in Naples, I had immediately the feeling that the team was almost ready to play my football. And if I arrived after another coach, maybe for me it would have been more difficult. So I have to say thank you to him. I know he’s a very good coach. We know that, on Sunday, it will be very difficult for us. We know that these opponents are very dangerous for us. In the last season, Chelsea lost 3-0 I think at Newcastle. Manchester United lost there too. Arsenal lost there as well. So we know everything. We know it will be a very difficult day for us on Sunday.”
On Mateo Kovacic
“I think Mateo and Eden played very well in the last 30 minutes, but I think also that, in that moment, the intensity of the match was going down. But I think, like Eden, Mateo is ready to play for 60 or 65 minutes.”
Wish you could have signed him permanently?
“I think, now, it’s too early to say yet. I like him very much, so I hope that he will remain here in the future.”
Confident you have the players defensively to play the style you want?
“In life, I’m not sure about everything. But I think that I have my opinion. My feeling is that, in this team, I have very intelligent players. So they can improve in one month, I think. I think they will be able to do it very well in one or two months. No more.”
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In more team news, first of all, Huddersfield have a clean bill of health to face Cardiff! And David Wagner has rubbished the insane suggestion that it’s win or bust. Straw men being swatted away everywhere today!
It is not like this. If you win a cup final you have a trophy, if you lose a cup final everything is over. It is an important game, because it is the next one. We are focused on us and our work to do everything as good as we can. Then we want to bring this energy and intensity into the John Smiths Stadium.”
How very rude, Nick, I ate it delicately and decorously. Although, I believe, in certain cultures it’s de rigueur to slurp your meal as loudly as possible to denote maximum enjoyment.
Anyway, we’re at something approaching Peak Press Conference Time so there should be various managerial pearls coming your way very soon.
And with that, Nick Ames looks like he’s finished scoffing and quaffing his lunch, so it’s back to him. Take care of him for the rest of the day.
Mauricio Pochettino speaks.
#thfc Poch says winning at Old Trafford is all about mentality after 4 straight defeats there. "We must believe. In football, if you don't believe you lose before you arrive. We're confident – just like we were confident in last 4 years! Most important is our mentality."
— Dan Kilpatrick (@Dan_KP) August 24, 2018
They will need some belief. The last time Spurs scored at Old Trafford in the league was in 2014: they’ve lost their last four games there without finding the net.
Match preview time. Here’s the skinny on Arsenal v West Ham. Who’s going to play? The answers lie within.
You may have noticed that Mario Balotelli has decided to stay at Nice, despite interest from Marseille, and indeed China. And here he is, speaking about it:
I had the intention to leave and the club knew it. I understand the fans but they need to understand my side. Nice are not playing in Europe, Marseille are playing in Europe. It’s nothing to do with the supporters, I look at what is best, in the end I stay here.
It is my choice because nobody tells me what to do. I do what I feel and what I want... the final decision in my career is always mine. I can have people who give me advice but the final decision is always mine.
I had a big offer of money from China but not for now... I want to play the Euro 2020 for the national team and if I go to China that would be difficult.
He also said that new Nice manager Patrick Vieira changed “80 per cent” of his decision.
Thanks Nick. This is Nick. And here is Jonathan Wilson, on how Sergio Aguero has gone all-in with Pep Guardiola’s methods. Features a lovely picture of the two men, and of course some lovely numbers:
The finishing has always been outstanding. Agüero has scored 204 goals in 295 appearances for City in all competitions, including 146 in 208 Premier League games, five times getting more than 20 in a season. He has surpassed Eric Brook as City’s all-time leading scorer. Only nine players have scored more Premier League goals than him (none at a higher ratio of goals per game) and Les Ferdinand (149) and Michael Owen (150) could be surpassed in a couple of weeks. Another 18 goals would take him past Jermain Defoe and Robbie Fowler to sixth in the list. Another 30 and he surpasses Thierry Henry as the player to have scored most Premier League goals for a single club.
Talking of lunch, I’m going for mine. Another Nick – Mr Nicholas Miller, to be precise – will be your spirit guide for the next half-hour or thereabouts.
It’s almost lunchtime – well it is here anyway – and what’s better at lunchtime than a quiz? Nothing, that’s what! So here is Paul Campbell’s sports quiz of the week – learn some stuff here and impress with it in the pub a few short hours from now:
Interested in hearing from fans lower down the leagues, obviously. Anyone watching that Boro-West Brom game later? The Baggies seem to have cut loose a little under Darren Moore – Matt Phillips is on fire – but Boro are flying high and have a certain Tony Pulis at the helm. I suspect history will judge Pulis’s time at The Hawthorns better than currently seems the case. Do you?
Is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang enduring a BARREN RUN? Or perhaps even a CRISIS? No, of course he isn’t – he missed a couple of chances against Chelsea, that’s all. But in this day and age the smallest thing becomes a Thing and risks becoming entirely self-fulfilling, so here’s Unai Emery feeling obliged to respond to a question about his striker, and here too is me reproducing those comments and being part of the very problem I describe:
Aubameyang needs to find the confidence, then to score and score another. The strikers, they need, I know a lot of strikers in my career and it’s about the moment, they need [to be in] the moment, and he’s the same. But I’m sure now that Aubameyang, Lacazette, Danny Welbeck, they will score more goals in here, for us, in Arsenal. Last year, Aubameyang scored goals here and for that I spoke with him more times and I have given him my confidence with his work. He is going to find goals. The first six months for him here is good and he was doing goals last year and for that I am sure he is going to do the same this time.”
The brilliant Marcela Mora y Araujo has interviewed Tata Martino – once of Barcelona, now of Atlanta United. It is worth your time:
Here’s some more Warnock, in our second attempt to jog Charles Antaki’s memory – he and his lads are Huddersfield fanboys, it turns out!
James and William, my two boys, were with me at the end of the season, and we were jumping up and down when they stayed up at Chelsea. Not for selfish reasons about us wanting to get promotion, but just because we wanted Huddersfield to stay up. It was a remarkable achievement and it does show you what can be achieved. It gets more difficult. Even the money Huddersfield have spent is quite remarkable compared to a few years ago. We’re at the bottom end of that and we have to try and creep up and catch them up.”
Here’s the Manchester United women’s captain, Alex Greenwood, ahead of their home curtain raiser against Reading:
“It’s an absolute honour to not only lead this football club, Manchester United, but this group of girls. What a fantastic group we’ve got and everyday there’s massive improvement and we’re gelling really nicely. I really can’t wait to lead this team out in front of our home crowd on Saturday. I think we’ll play a style of play that will keep fans coming back.”
And on the revitalised club’s prospects of success:
First class, it’s the best [infrastructure of a club] I’ve been at. I think it’s partly the reason why this club didn’t have a women’s team in the first place. They wanted to do things properly and when they say what they want to do properly, they meant it. We have the best of everything. We have no excuses on matchday not to deliver a performance. We have the best staff, we have the best facilities that we need, and we have the best coaching, in my opinion. I think we have no excuses when it comes to going out and winning football matches.”
@NickAmes82 First football match I ever saw was Hertha Berlin in the Olympic Stadium. Have a great time! You can't beat Spandau ball, eh? (I've been sitting on that pun for 30 years ... )
— Hubert O'Hearn (@BTBReviews) August 24, 2018
And what a time to unleash it! I watched Hertha play Schalke there two or three seasons back, admittedly as part of a stag do – I recall slurring excitedly to a group of nonplussed compadres about the merits of a young(er) Leroy Sane.
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Shaun Dyche made six changes last night – suggesting he wants his bread buttered firmly on the Premier League side, which is another of those cases that makes you wonder what the point of anything actually is. The likes of Joe Hart, James Tarkowski and Aaron Lennon could step back in against Fulham though. Can this lot work their way to a first EePeeEll win of the season? Hart, Heaton, Lowton, Taylor, Tarkowski, Mee, Gibson, Ward, Bardsley, Long, Cork, Gudmundsson, Hendrick, Westwood, Lennon, Vokes, Barnes, Wood, Walters, Vydra.
Are you going to a game this weekend? Tell me about the game. Especially if it’s a slightly offbeat one. Panini Cheapskates has gone in high with his offering but if you’re checking out a great prospect in the Latvian second division then this blog is all yours.
In the absence of your fondest Grant Holt memories, and just to scare Charles Antaki further, here’s what NEIL WARNOCK has to go with against the Terriers. Aron Gunnarsson isn’t ready to return quite yet; looks like another couple of weeks for him: Etheridge, Smithies, Peltier, Richards, Cunningham, Morrison, Bamba, Manga, Bennett, Arter, Damour, Ralls, Camarasa, Paterson, Mendez-Laing, Hoilett, Murphy, Reid, Zohore, Ward, Madine.
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A former Premier League striker and leading figure in Norwich City’s hall of fame retires ... with a word for the h8rs and the doubtrs:
— Grant holt (@Grantholt31) August 24, 2018
“Ought there have been a trigger warning?” asks a terrified Charles Antaki of my harmless Neil Warnock update. “When I saw the words ‘Neil Warnock’ I realised that he had appeared in a dream I had last night. Fortunately I remember nothing about it other than that it was deeply creepy and upsetting (which is of course unfair since apparently he’s a very nice man). But it might portend something for Cardiff fans, though why it came to me, and not one of them, I don’t know.”
Not quite enough info yet for me to try and unpack that for you, Charles, but let us know if – say – Tony Pulis appears next time you go for some shut-eye.
Panini Cheapskates have emailed us about a football weekend with a difference:
“What’s in store this football weekend, you ask? Something truly extraordinary might be taking place here in a quiet corner of Oxford. My club Union Street is hosting a small 6-team tournament over the Bank Holiday which I think may be in with a shout of having the most eclectic lineup ever boasted by a single tournament:
One bog standard Division 15-ish outfit (us, the hosts)
A team of footballing archaeologists
Two German teams who run mainly on alcohol
A women’s team playing their first *ever* 11-a-side games
And ... actual former Dutch Champions Be Quick 1887 who took the title off Ajax in 1920
“We have almost no idea what to expect from this shambles. Wish us luck.”
Now this is more like it! Can *you* brag of a more rag-tag lineup than this?
Neil Warnock is talking. Cardiff, who’ve played some fairly nice stuff to far without really finishing it off, have an abundance of striker to choose from and he says he’ll give them all a go in the near future. Can they stay up?
Here’s a Liverpool story for you – they aren’t for sale, but they’d not say no to a little more cash!
“I have big expectations for Jadon Sancho at Dortmund this year,” announces Jonathan Bennett. “He’s only just turned 18, but looks a real talent - my hope is that he will establish himself in the Dortmund team by Christmas and be an England star by the end of the season. Too much pressure? Let me just mention that at his age I was had already set myself the goal of achieving a perfect score in Donkey Kong Bowling on the GameCube. It’s all about belief.”
I’d taken Notts County down to the Conference in Championship Manager, so you’re both well ahead.
Jack Wilshere is up against his old club tomorrow. Emotions to run high! Here’s Jacob Steinberg on how Noble’s injury might help him. Personally I think it’s going to end up being either/or between Wilshere and Noble, don’t you?
Everton news for that trip to Bournemouth – Morgan Schneiderlin, Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes are injured while Phil Jagielka is suspended. Might Kurt Zouma play? Could we catch a glimpse of Bernard? Contenders here: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Zouma, Baines, Gueye, Davies, Walcott, Sigurdsson, Richarlison, Tosun, Stekelenburg, Kenny, Digne, Holgate, Baningime, Lookman, Calvert-Lewin, Niasse, Bernard.
Victoria Bainbridge writes with a broader view from Germany:
“It’s certainly not right to say all the talk in Berlin is of Hertha BSC. No more than the talk in London is all about, say, Arsenal. In the east, fans of 1. FC Union would certainly have something to say about that crazy notion! Neither are really greatly “Berlin” teams, in some ways, one out towards Spandau and the other in Köpenick. There are other teams here who are more central and one’s reported as linked to foreign investment (Viktoria Berlin 1899) so the usual speculation is increasing.
“Hertha are stable at the moment but, if they need a coaching change, I know the man for the job, to try to raise the profile. A man who was seen there before his most recent appointment, who is perhaps a bit unsettled now, and who clearly prefers big city life (even moaning about Manchester basically not being London in his time after arriving). Hertha’s a US venture capital supported outfit now, but you’d not really know.
“Anyway, the Bundesliga may be starting but we are long since up and running lower down. We’re on matchday 3 in League 2, and had round 1 of the Cup (Pokal). Those of us in league two have been joined by big names Hamburg (soundly thrashed 0-3 at home in their opener by Holsten Kiel) and Cologne. There are other games tonight. I will be at Darmstadt 98, hosting MSV Duisburg. Looking forward to my first game of the season.”
Lovely stuff. Hope to get over there and catch a few games during the season (in fact I always fancied Darmstadt but haven’t they got rid of that massive terrace now?), whether in the line of work of pleasure. I’ll be in Munich for Germany v France in a couple of weeks, but not sure that really counts.
Updated
A reminder to get your emails and tweets in – what’s in store for your football weekend?
Should Dunk not make it, then in from the start will come Leon Balogun. It’s a prospect that doesn’t faze Chris Hughton!
He’s played at a high level and I have no worries or concerns on that one. It’s always a big position and a big relationship your central defenders, particularly when you’re going to Anfield and you know you’re very much going to be tested. He has made a very good impression from day one. I think what helps is that he’s an experienced player.”
Brighton team news for that trip to Liverpool – Lewis Dunk faces a fitness test while Bruno, Jose Izquierdo and Florin Andone are all out. Can they build on their doing-over of Manchester United? Some of these men will have the answer: Ryan, Button, Steele, Bernardo, Bong, Duffy, Dunk, Balogun, Schelotto, Suttner, Bissouma, Stephens, Propper, Kayal, Knockaert, March, Gross, Jahanbakhsh, Locadia, Murray.
Have your ears feasted on Football Weekly Extra yet? No? Then let them:
Bournemouth play Everton on Saturday – so Eddie Howe has been waxing lyrical about Marco Silva:
I think Marco’s done well with the team that he’s inherited. He’s only been there a short time but I think he’s made definite changes to their way of playing. You can see that they’re implementing new things and doing that really well. They’ve had two good results so far, another team in form so I think it will be a very attractive game. I think you will have two teams playing a good style of football.”
Speaking of Burnley – they’ll want to have cleared their heads from last night’s controversial defeat to Olympiakos in time for the trip to Craven Cottage. Early indications are that they’re not taking to the Thursday-Sunday routine brilliantly, although I’m not sure they’ll have to worry about that for much longer.
Fulham team news – they have Denis Odoi back from suspension for Sunday’s showdown with Burnley, but must do without Tim Ream, Floyd Ayite and Alfie Mawson. They’ll choose from these chaps: Fabri, Chambers, Le Marchand, Christie, Bryan, Sessegnon, Odoi, McDonald, Cairney, Schurrle, Seri, Mitrovic, Rico, Fosu-Mensah, Kebano, Johansen, Cisse, Vietto, Kamara, Zambo Anguissa.
What are this morning’s red-hot football rumours? Don’t ask me – ask Barry Glendenning:
“With the Bundesliga race pretty much over already,” emails Tim, “all talk here in Berlin is about the new stadium planned for Hertha. Can’t come too soon, their fans are passionate (and scarf skirt enthusiasts) but struggle to half-fill the Olympiastadion for most games, which always makes for a strange atmosphere of intense passion mirrored by loads of empty blue seats.”
Yep – in a stadium that held, say, 50,000 fans Hertha would be quite a proposition. I would *love it* if Berlin could boast a fearsome football team. Hasn’t quite happened yet but the potential is enormous.
Team news is filtering in, club by club, so we’ll bring you the best of it. Mohamed Elyounoussi could be back in action after a hamstring injury when Southampton play Leicester. Mark Hughes’s pack of cards is thus: McCarthy, Gunn, Hoedt, Bertrand, Vestergaard, Stephens, Soares, Lemina, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Redmond, Austin, Elyounoussi, Ings, Targett, Yoshida, Hojbjerg, Gabbiadini, Armstrong, Long.
Some early team news – West Ham will miss Mark Noble for the trip to Arsenal tomorrow, as he has a back injury. Presumably that wasn’t picked up while wading through treacle to catch Callum Wilson last weekend. Andy Carroll, Manuel Lanzini and Winston Reid remain absent; the tools Manuel Pellegrini has to select from look a little bit like this: Fabianski, Adrian, Fredericks, Zabaleta, Ogbonna, Diop, Balbuena, Rice, Cresswell, Masuaku, Obiang, Wilshere, Sanchez, Antonio, Yarmolenko, Snodgrass, Arnautovic, Perez, Hernandez, Anderson.
It’s not such a good start to Friday for Nick Daws. Scunthorpe have just sacked him ... which seems slightly harsh given that he was only appointed to the role “permanently” in May, and had picked up four points in four games. It might have something to do with their most recent result, though: a 0-5 home reverse to Joey Barton’s Fleetwood!
Have you seen All Or Nothing – the Man City version – yet? I have resisted ... but I might be more tempted to watch a documentary about Sunderland’s 2017-18 season. Yes, this is actually a thing. What would you call it, given the chance?
Happy Friday
Gott sei dank, es ist Freitag! One for our Bundesliga lovers, there, as Germany’s big boys get cracking this weekend – tonight, in fact, with Bayern Munich hosting Hoffenheim. Title race ahoy? Possibly not, but one can dream!
Needless to there’s more than your fill of English action coming up over the next few days too. Man City travel to Wolves! Liverpool host Brighton! Tottenham travel to Manchester United for the final throes of a super soaraway Bank Holiday weekend! And there will be football played in the Championship tonight, with Middlesbrough up against free-scoring (do not adjust your sets!) West Brom.
So we’ll be looking ahead to all that and more – there’ll be press conferences to catch up on, snippets of team news, the usual ephemera that blow into our paths and cause fleeting mirth during a given day. Do join in by sending your wit and pith to the addresses given above – and let’s get this Friday started!
