It’s time to wrap this blog up now but be sure to join Rob Smyth later on for minute-by-minute coverage of Arsenal v Manchester United. And given that it is … wait for it … DONG! … five-o’clock, I’ll leave you with today’s edition of The Fiver, which includes poor Thierry Henry, players wearing nappies and a motivational masterclass from Craig Levein. Have a good weekend.
It’s UAE 0-0 Australia at half-time in the second Asian Cup quarter-final.
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Timothy Weah, the son of Liberia President, George Weah, has has said he was frightened before making his goalscoring Celtic debut because fans in Britain are so expectant:
I was really scared coming to Celtic because I have heard so much about UK football being tough, the fans expect so much. I was always confident that I would get the hang of things but being young and inexperienced, you come here and there is a lot of expectation and I have to get going because the fans expect so much, coming from PSG and with the name that I have. The debut goal was awesome and I just want to score more goals for the fans and continue to help my team. There is literally nothing I can describe that’s better than scoring at Celtic Park.
He has a point about expectancy doesn’t he? It’s one of the factors that has led to the atmosphere steadily getting worse at many grounds where fans turn up, fold their arms, and sit back hoping to be entertained. I’m not saying that’s the case at Celtic, where the Green Brigade in the standing section have helped liven things up, but just generally there is that feel in many British grounds compared to some of those on the continent where it feels fans still want to have a little fun.
Get yourself in the mood for tonight’s humdinger in the FA Cup with this brilliant Joy of Six on Arsenal-Manchester United showdowns, by Rob Smyth, including “the night on which Ferguson finally located United’s G-spot.” Read on to discover which night that was.
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Some live action shots from the Emirates, where someone appears to be playing tug of war with a very thin piece of rope.
This quiz is worth doing just for question nine, which is particularly damning for two well-known pundits:
West Ham will help Mark Arnautovic pack his bags and wave him away from the London Stadium if they receive £45m. Here’s Jacob Steinberg’s story:
Everton do an awful lot of good work to raise awareness of social issues, be it buying a house to help homeless people, supporting foodbanks or raising money to improve mental health services in Liverpool. Here’s André Gomes doing his bit …
Australia kick off against United Arab Emirates in their Asian Cup quarter-final in a few minutes’ time. The winner will face Qatar in the semi-final but it is worth bearing in mind that questions have been raised about the eligibility of some of Qatar’s players. Probably one to keep an eye on …
Update on Qatar situation: AFC spokesman has confirmed that Almoez & Bassam were registered on the basis of documents which complied w/ Article 7 of FIFA regulations. So, in order to be eligible, the documents must demonstrate that both have a parent or grandparent born in Qatar.
— Scott McIntyre (@mcintinhos) January 25, 2019
Further update on Qatar players Almoez Ali & Bassam Al-Rawi: AFC refuses to tell me whether the players qualify by clause 7b or 7c (which means they must demonstrate that at least one parent or grandparent was born in Qatar), and tell me to contact Qatar FA.
— Scott McIntyre (@mcintinhos) January 25, 2019
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Rafael Benítez doesn’t sound like he’ll be putting out his best XI against Watford in the Cup. He knows his club need to guarantee juicy Premier League TV cash if the club are ever to sign another player again.
It’s so important. With all the money involved in the Premier League, everyone knows that if you want to grow, if you want to be better, you have to guarantee this money for the next year. To stay in the Premier League is really, really important, but at this stage, if we can go through, we will try to do it. We’re playing at home. Will it be the strongest team in terms of match-fitness? Maybe not. Will it be a team, in my opinion, that can go through or can win the game? Yes, I think so.
Pep Guardiola turned up for his press conference sounding a little out of breath. Are there stairs to climb at City’s training ground? He’s asked about whether City can scoop four trophies this season. He’s having none of it.
Whenever I see the word fantasy, Baby D kicks off in my head like it’s 1994 again.
Roy Hodgson was a bit prickly when asked about potential interest from the Bundesliga leaders in Wilfried Zaha.
There has been absolutely no dialogue whatsoever between Borussia Dortmund and Crystal Palace Football Club. If I am going to comment every time a club is linked with Wilf Zaha, I will be talking about it for a long time. Wilf signed a long-term contract with Crystal Palace. He’s very much our player. I’d be very surprised if there were any clubs out there who wouldn’t think he’s very good, but that doesn’t mean to say they are going to try and buy him.
You can read more from Roy in this here transfer roundup, which confirms that Bakary Sako is back at Palace, where he is touching his toes and coughing for the doctor before joining on a short-term deal from West Brom:
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Afternoon readers. Thanks to Nick for getting the weekend started. Some bad news for South Korea fans now in the form of good news for Spurs fans. Qatar have beaten South Korea 1-0 and knocked them out of the Asian Cup! That’s quite the shock, all right, but it does mean that Son Heung-min should be back in London and scampering around for Spurs sooner rather than later.
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I’m going to take my leave now. It’s been a pleasure. And it’s about to get even pleasurable for you people now that Gregg Bakowski is here to steer you home for the next couple of hours.
Leandro Paredes was linked with Chelsea earlier in the transfer window, but he’s now joined Paris Saint-Germain. Crushing BLOW for the Stamford Bridge side as they MISS OUT on LEADING TARGET. Here’s a story about the deal he actually has signed:
That’s it – Qatar are in the Asian Cup semi-finals and will face Australia or UAE! Son Heung-min is coming back to London, in great news for Tottenham and false-nine fans.
Qatar lead South Korea! Spurs might get their wish, and the World Cup 2022 hosts might edge to within a game of a huge final for them – Abdulaziz Hatem has scored 12 minutes from time to make it 1-0!
Transfer news! Victor Moses to Fenerbahce!
Good luck at Fenerbahce, @VictorMoses! 👊
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 25, 2019
It’s a hefty 18-month loan deal. Moses has been a curious case – the right man at the right time for Antonio Conte, but in the wilderness before and since.
Anger growing in France over decision to call off search for Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson. Nantes coach Halildodzic calls it ‘a total disgrace’. French League to respect wishes of Sala’s family: no tributes / minute’s silence this weekend. They still have hope he is alive
— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) January 25, 2019
The only sure thing here is that the situation is just awful for all it affects.
It was quite a time for the returning oldie shot-stoppers last weekend, wasn’t it? Speroni went back into nets for Palace and we saw Artur Boruc keep a clean sheet – thanks mainly to Andy Carroll – for Bournemouth shortly before his own 39th birthday, too.
Julian Speroni will retain his place in goal for Crystal Palace against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday despite his high-profile error against Liverpool last weekend, with neither Vicente Guaita or Wayne Hennessey deemed fit enough yet to return to the first-team.
Palace secured the young Brazilian goalkeeper, Lucas Perri, on loan from Sao Paulo this week, but the 21-year-old only took part in training for the first time on Friday and will be given time to settle. “I only met Lucas this morning,” said Roy Hodgson. “[The sports director] Dougie Freedman found him on his travels in South America and he made a good impression, so we have loaned him with an option to extend that contract.
“My first impressions back up the impressions Doug had when he met him and saw him play, but it’s a bit early for me to start singing his praises too highly. I’ve only had one training session with him. I’m happy to have a player of that type and quality, a youngster anxious to succeed here in England. Good 21-year-old goalkeepers are hard to find.”
Speroni, 39, will be making his 405th appearance for Palace in all competitions in what is likely to prove his final season after a 15-year stint at Selhurst Park.
I’m going to this one. I don’t know about “strong favourites”, but Palace will definitely fancy it. Spurs won’t fancy exiting both domestic cups in the space of 72 hours though – even if it’s not exactly their fault, it won’t be a great look and will write a few headlines.
Which game are you going to this weekend, and why?
Please do read this – our obituary to Hugh McIlvanney, a master of his craft, by Kevin Mitchell:
Here’s a line from the Press Association relating to the awful case of Emiliano Sala. The search for him and his pilot has stopped but Lionel Messi is among those asking for it to continue:
“Lionel Messi has joined calls for the search of the missing plane carrying Cardiff striker Emiliano Sala to be resumed. Guernsey Police called off the search for Sala and pilot David Ibbotson on Thursday afternoon, but the player’s former club Nantes led calls from across football for it to be resumed.
“Barcelona star Messi, writing on his Instagram story, said: ‘As long as there are still possibilities, a hint of hope, we ask you please continue to look for Emiliano. I send all my strength and support to his family and friends. PrayforSala.’
“Messi’s message was accompanied by a photo of his fellow Argentinian.”
At half-time in the Asian Cup quarter-final it is goalless between Qatar and South Korea.
Can I trouble you with some more Higuain chatter? This time it’s from Gianfranco Zola, who is of course Maurizio Sarri’s assistant. He gave today’s pre-match press conference. Talk about rotating for the cup!
I’m sure there are big expectations. I’m also sure Gonzalo is used to it. He’s played for big clubs: Real Madrid, Juventus, Napoli. I’m sure he can handle these expectations. He’s always produced good numbers wherever he’s been. He’s a player who can score in many ways so we hope that he can bring his qualities to this team - at this moment it is very much necessary
He’s coming late, but he’s coming in a team that plays a system he knows very well, so this is a big advantage. Here there are the type of players who will help him to do what he can do best. The conditions are good.”
Really nice from Stuart James, this, with Newport manager Mike Flynn and Tony Pulis’s brother Raymond. Newport face Middlesbrough tomorrow:
You read Andy Hunter’s piece with Accrington a little earlier – now here is some hot-off-the-wires bullishness from their excellent manager, John Coleman:
I wouldn’t be surprised if we beat them. I’d be delighted but I wouldn’t be surprised. We’re pleased we’re at home, that gives us more of a fighting chance. Derby are the favourites and rightly so, but I was intrigued by how readily all the pundits and the commentators were to write us off.
When I was watching that replay [against Southampton], it didn’t matter who was going to win that game, they were going to have a walkover against Accrington, according to the pundits. There’s a little bit of motivation for our players to try to prove them wrong. Lots of people have written us off time and time again and they’ve been left with egg on their faces. We do enjoy trying to confound them.
When it all boils down to it, it’s 11 v 11 on Saturday. It’s not their fans versus our fans, it’s not that the fact that they’re a top Championship side with a load of money. At the nitty gritty it’s 11 v 11 and they’ve all got two arms and two legs so we’ll just get on with it.”
The Championship is where it’s happening this weekend, no resting your best players, Farke ball and a win versus Sheffield United please many thanks :).
Yes, a huge game at Carrow Road between Norwich (second) and Sheffield United (fourth, three points behind them). Two sides that you might have expected to fall away, but really haven’t. I think Norwich need to tighten up at the back if they’re to stay the course, but they’ve been mightily entertaining so far. The Blades have, too. What price a goal from former Ipswich striker David McGoldrick?
It’s not about football but please have some more McIlvanney brilliance:
Which parent should Watford fans choose? Javi Gracia has waded into that one, and may also be talking about league vs FA Cup:
Who do you prefer? Do you prefer mummy or do you prefer daddy? It is the same. If you ask Watford supporters whether they want to reach the final or finish seventh, they will say they want to be first in the league, and to win the FA Cup, not seventh. That is our ambition, and that is our target.”
Which relative does that make the League Cup? Or the EFL Trophy?
Gonzalo Higuain, about whom Eden Hazard speaks a few posts down from this, could well make his Chelsea debut against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday. He might need some time to get up to speed but I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do: Higuain is a proper gladiator of a number nine and an absolutely explosive finisher, and I’ve loved watching him down the years. Marcus Christenson wrote really nicely about him earlier in the week:
I am always one of the first people to get tired of big clubs’ fans obsessing over minutiae at the expense of what is a vast, wondrous, infinitely textured world of football – but I’ll put it out there that Spurs would probably quite like Qatar to beat South Korea. It could mean they get Son Heung-min back for the Watford game in midweek and, given their current absentee list, that could be valuable.
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Chris Sato emails: “I have also been watching a lot of the Asian Cup. I was impressed with a very young Vietnam side, especially their number 10, who could conceivably make the grade in Europe. Iran look the team to beat, though Japan have been rotating their team through the tournament and are probably just getting into their stride.”
South Korea v Qatar kicks off shortly.
What’s more important – Liverpool winning the league or Daniel Sturridge getting a new contract? Might be a tough one to you, but for the man himself (talking to BBC Radio 1 Extra) it’s a no-brainer:
I’m staying focused on right now. You’ve got to live in the present, you can never live in the future. I’ve been at Liverpool a long time and I’m happy too. I want to try and help bring the team some success, to win a trophy with them would be amazing. We’ve come close before, finals, almost won the Premier League before but we didn’t quite do it.”
I’m back, but far more importantly this is the great Hugh McIlvanney *nailing it*:
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) January 25, 2019
Those French Fries were, like me in a playground dust-up, entirely insubstantial so I’m nipping out for a sandwich – back in 10, but we’ll see you right if anything important breaks in the meantime.
Here, meanwhile, is some embargoed Spurs reaction from last night.
Danny Rose on whether the weight of an 11-year trophy drought is proving insufferable:
No. Not really. Obviously we know that we haven’t won a trophy in a while but we are not driving into training thinking about it. We are not training thinking about it. We’ve lost now and it’s not the first thing we are thinking about. We are fully aware that we want to win something but because it has not happened it doesn’t mean it is not going to happen any time soon.”
Rose on Harry Fernando Llorente:
First of all I am over the moon for Fernando. I hope it has shut a few people up. It’s a good header from him and we are over the moon and because he probably hasn’t featured as much as he’d like but now he is going to get a lot of game time with Harry out and its nice that he’s scored in the right net now and we hope he continues.”
Harry Winks on the angst of missing out on another final:
Yes. It’s horrible. To get this close to a final and to lose on penalties is always harder than probably losing in 90 minutes. Everyone is proud of ourselves. The way that we fought, the way that we showed our character. It just wasn’t our night.”
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Eden Hazard is relishing the prospect of playing alongside Gonzalo Higuaín at Chelsea and believes the Argentinian can have a similar positive effect to the departed Diego Costa at Stamford Bridge.
Higuaín, who has joined from Juventus on an initial six-month loan with an option for a further 12 months for a fee of 18m Euros, was presented to the crowd prior to kick-off in the Carabao Cup semi-final win over Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night and could make his debut in Sunday’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Sheffield Wednesday. His arrival will allow Hazard to revert to his preferred left-sided role, and should add to the armoury of a side who have scored only 13 goals in their last 12 topflight games.
“For me, as a winger, I like to play with top players,” said Hazard. “With Chelsea I had the chance to play with one of the best in Diego Costa for three years, and Higuaín is one of the best. I also like to play with Olivier (Giroud) when he is playing, with Alvaro (Morata) when he was playing. I just try to have fun with my striker, playing the give and go. If the striker just goes deep, I am going to be in trouble, but Giroud understands this, and that’s why I like to play with him. He is more like a team player than just a striker who scores goal.
“Diego was sometimes not this kind of player who you can play a 1-2 with, but in the box he was amazing. He would score a goal and you won and at the end you would have three points. That’s what we need. Higuaín is this kind of player. He can also link with the wingers and the midfield, but he can also be the proper striker. He has scored a lot of goals, when you see his career: Real Madrid, Napoli, Juventus, he has always scored goals.
“This season we have been playing well, but sometimes we miss the one guy just to score one goal. So we had a couple of games where we played well but we didn’t score. We finished with zero goals, but we created a lot of chances. But Higuaín can do that. He is a top striker who can score everywhere.”
Sounds as if Arnautovic will at least be reintegrated properly after the transfer window has *slammed shut*. But what a situation ...
There’s still some doubt over whether Marko Arnautovic will be involved against AFC Wimbledon tomorrow night. Manuel Pellegrini says the West Ham forward has been training well after being dropped against Bournemouth last week, but the wantaway Austrian’s return in the FA Cup isn’t guaranteed. If he’s still moping about not being allowed to move to China, he probably won’t be selected.
Millwall v Everton looks a very interesting tie to me. Marco Silva – neither the second coming nor a fraud, both of which have been variously proclaimed, but just an OK-ish manager – is under pressure and won’t want to lose at the Den. But towering, goalscoring centre-half Jake Cooper hopes he will!
I am living in Vietnam and have been fortunate enough to be able to follow the Asia Cup. It has been an interesting tournament so far with a good many open attacking games and little in the way of cynical play acting.
Sadly, Vietnam went out to Japan last night but had done tremendously well to reach the last eight. VAR which is only being used from the quarter finals onwards had a great influence on the game used to rule out one Japan goal and then to award them a penalty. Iran are also looking strong having breezed past China in last night’s other match.
Tonight’s South Korea vs Qatar game will be intriguing. Korea are traditionally one of the stronger Asian sides but Qatar have an exciting side and a striker with huge potential in Almoez Ali. Expect Australia to go out against hosts UAE in the later match.
Thanks for this (genuinely). Could we see a UAE v Qatar semi-final, then? Imagine!
There is nothing wrong with rotating your squad for the FA Cup, says Chris Hughton, manager of mid-table Brighton:
There will always be that balance and as a manager you have to make decisions, and these are big decisions. For where we are at the moment, it’s still very much about stability in the league and picking up league results.
When you change a team and you use your squad, it’s not always just about making sure you don’t pick up injuries because you know you’ve got a game on Tuesday night. It’s about the squad and players that are not in the team at the moment that are training hard every day.
There is a big value for the squad to keep them involved and for them to be playing some games. You would have players that are very, very close - maybe been on the bench but haven’t played so much - that would be thinking, ‘if I can’t play a cup game on a Saturday against so-and-so then it’s going to be very difficult for me’.”
This is massively worth eight minutes of your time, I really can’t recommend it enough. Watch it and then tell me if *you* can do it on a freezing night in Nunavut:
Excited by that, Palace fans? Sako has a hammer of a left foot and is a real talent when fit – not a bad one to have up your sleeve and, as Dominic says, he can cover more than one position.
Crystal Palace are to re-sign the Mali international, Bakary Sako, from West Bromwich Albion with the player currently undergoing a medical at the Premier League club’s Beckenham training centre. Sako had departed Selhurst Park last summer after three injury-affected seasons in south London. Indeed, he had suffered a badly broken ankle in his final appearance for the club, at West Ham a little under a year ago.
Palace had still been keen to re-sign the free agent once his contract expired in July, but had already filled their 25-man Premier League squad by the time the summer transfer deadline passed. Sako instead returned to the Black Country, where he had previously excelled for Wolverhampton Wanderers, with West Brom in the Championship but only returned to full fitness in late October and has been restricted to two league starts, scoring a solitary goal in the FA Cup third round victory over Wigan.
Sako, who scored six goals under Roy Hodgson last season before that fracture at the London stadium, will return to provide cover both up front and wide, with Palace effectively taking on the last six months of his contract. The 30-year-old’s arrival on a short-term deal will end Palace’s interest in re-signing Yannick Bolasie from Everton.
More news: I’m eating, or more correctly eating *from*, a packet of French Fries. I don’t even like them much – I didn’t realise they still existed! But the canteen had them and my eyes lit up in some sort of weird nostalgia trip. It’s like being in the school playground (or a comments section, haha etc) again.
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More on Burnley: they have defensive issues, namely at right-back, for the game at City, so we might see James Tarkowski fill in there again. Another chance for City’s kids to make hay? An email from Will, here:
“Having watched Burton v Man City and seen numerous 12-year-olds make their debut. I was wondering if any will be rewarded with a place against Burnley on Saturday. Allow them to be tested by a Premier League team who are not 9-0 down. Who do you think is most likely to feature from the academy?”
Ummm ... that Poveda lad?
You’ve had a coffee or two now, so get your emails in. What’s occupying your mind ahead of this weekend? Keep it clean and loosely football-ish.
This is in today’s paper and it’s excellent, so do take a few minutes for it: Andy Hunter spends a day with Accrington Stanley, who are more than a punchline in a milk advert these days!
Will Burnley sign anyone to help with their relegation battle? Possibly, not probably, says Sean Dyche:
It’s forever difficult. Possibles, not many probables, at the moment, and that’s just the way it is. January is very tough, everyone knows that, we don’t say it just to throw a line out there, I think it just is.
We want the pressure. I wanted to bring in more in the last window. I made that clear to everyone, not because I don’t trust my players or rate them, because I do, but there’s only so much pressure as a manager you can put on players.
There’s a different kind of healthy pressure which comes with new signings, with capable signings, because I was a player and you look around and think ‘I’ve got to look after myself’. That can enhance performances.”
Given how our "defence" handled Ched Evans on Tuesday get your money on a record West Ham FA Cup win and Carroll hat-trick.
For anyone that missed it, the Dons allowed Evans two goals in a woeful 3-0 home defeat to Fleetwood on Tuesday. They did a little better than that against West Ham in the League Cup a few months back, losing 3-1 ... what chance a significant improvement for the third tier’s bottom side when they face off again in the FA Cup?
There’s more than one thing to look forward to this weekend. I’ll be specific: there are 10 things, and they are below.
Leonardo Jardim’s return to AS Monaco is due to be made official today, according to RMC.
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) January 25, 2019
Yesterday I saw a suggestion that, even while out of work, Jardim still sees many of the Monaco players when he pops out to buy his (presumably diamond-encrusted) croissants every morning, so they won’t need to spend much time catching up.
You might not know it because it’s all but impossible to find on TV in the UK, but the Asian Cup is currently happening. It’s at the quarter-final stage and there are two games coming up today: South Korea v Qatar and UAE v Australia. If I can catch sight or sound of either, I’ll keep you in the loop about how they’re going. By all means send some thoughts about this shortsightedly blackouted competition, too. It’ll educate us!
On the subject of Pellegrini – has he calmed the Arnautovic storm for now? Doesn’t look like the Austrian is going to get his China wish at the moment, and if he does then the Hammers will have precious little time to replace him. But what impact will dropping him last weekend have?
Manuel Pellegrini is up with the lark ahead of West Ham’s visit to AFC Wimbledon. And he has words of advice for youngsters Declan Rice and Grady Diangana, who have both signed new deals recently:
Diangana deserves it, he has taken a step with the squad of our team – he was in the under 23s before and now he is working every day with our squad. I think he has a lot of quality and we will see an important player in the future of this club. Now his development will depend on his ambitions and his mind, to try to improve every day.
I try always to tell young players that they are in the most dangerous part of their careers, when they think that they have arrived but they have not arrived yet. They have started arriving, but they must improve every day working with professional players.
Fortunately for me in all the teams I managed before I’ve had young players to try to develop their qualities. I hope West Ham will be exactly the same. Declan started improving a lot, he played last season, now we have Grady to help to be an important player for West Ham.”
Juan Mata couldn’t sign for Arsenal ... could he? Sort the wheat from the chaff in today’s Rumour Mill:
Last night we heard the very sad news that Hugh McIlvanney, a genuine legend of sportswriting and inspiration to so many, has died aged 84. A number of memories and tributes are gathered here – and you can leave your own below the piece:
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Where’s it all gone wrong for Thierry Henry then? I was down in Monaco last week to watch them play Nice, spoke to him briefly and got the impression he felt things were coming together a little. But I also sensed frustration at quite a few things: his players, the league in general, VAR ... is it the case, perhaps, that there’s a bit of the Roy Keane there? A man who can’t necessarily tolerate the weaknesses or foibles of others?
Hello world
Here we ... here we ... here we jolly well go! It’s time to get our Friday on and it’s a busy one. Our main focus, in terms of matches at least, is the FA Cup fourth round – with Arsenal hosting Manchester United tonight and plenty more spread throughout the weekend. I’ll start us off by showing you the fixtures:
Friday: Bristol City v Bolton; Arsenal v Manchester United
Saturday: Accrington Stanley v Derby; Shrewsbury v Wolves; Middlesbrough v Newport; Swansea v Gillingham; Newcastle v Watford; Brighton v West Brom; Doncaster v Oldham; Manchester City v Burnley; Portsmouth v QPR; Millwall v Everton; AFC Wimbledon v West Ham
Sunday: Crystal Palace v Tottenham; Chelsea v Sheffield Wednesday
Monday: Barnet v Brentford
But we can talk about anything else that takes our fancy, too. Thierry Henry is about to be shown the door at Monaco! Chelsea are in the League Cup final! There are some vital Championship games tomorrow, including Norwich v Sheffield United at the top! Tell me what’s getting you talking ahead of this footballing weekend – email address and Twitter are above.
Crystal Palace must be strong favourites for Sunday given spurs youth team will be the only players fit enough to play.