And that concludes the blog for this Friday. Thanks ever so much for reading.
On our Top 100 female footballers.
Barcelona dominate with 13 players in the list, Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas taking a hard-to-argue-against victory with 3,136 points, 293 points clear of Vivianne Miedema, who finishes as the runner-up for the second year running, ahead of former winner Sam Kerr.
Forty-six of our 83 judges had Putellas as their No 1 with Miedema the next best with 15 winning votes. The two Champions League finalists dominate the top 10 with six Barcelona players joined by three Chelsea players as well as Miedema from Arsenal.
Here’s today’s chortlesome chunks of Fiver, centred on this comedy classic.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 10, 2021
When football managers joke we hacks guffaw like Del Boy has just fallen through the bar.
In which Pep Guardiola’s City take on Wolves, having an incredible season....
Let us recall it was Mikel Arteta testing positive that stopped the Premier League in March 2020. There seems to be some concern about what may happen now. Rightly so.
Statement from League Two Mansfield Town.
Mansfield Town Football Club has today issued a lifetime ban from One Call Stadium to a spectator found guilty of racist abuse during the club’s mid-week match at home to Carlisle United.
A 31-year-old male was sentenced to a total of six months and two weeks in prison when he appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 09 December 2021.
He was also ordered to pay £100 in compensation and handed an eight-year football banning order after pleading guilty to assault and racially aggravated public order offences.
Mansfield Town completely condemns the use of racist language and instances of discriminatory or prejudiced behaviour will not be tolerated at any game at One Call Stadium.
Anyone who is found guilty of such an offence will be banned from the club for life.
Any such behaviour has no place within our stadium, our Club, our community or our game.
The club has today issued a lifetime ban from One Call Stadium to a spectator found guilty of racist abuse during the club’s mid-week match at home to Carlisle United.https://t.co/ertTagpnJF
— Mansfield Town FC (@mansfieldtownfc) December 10, 2021
Big news from Spain here. Per Reuters.
Spain’s top soccer clubs have approved a 1.994 billion euro investment from private equity fund CVC Capital Partners in the first deal of its kind in Europe, though four clubs - including Barcelona and Real Madrid - opted out.
On Friday 37 clubs voted in favour of the “LaLiga Boost” deal that buys CVC an 8.2% stake in a new company that will get revenues from LaLiga broadcasting and sponsorship rights.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao and Ibiza voted against the deal, one source close to the negotiations told Reuters. There was no immediate official statement from those clubs or details on their next moves.
At least 32 of the 42 teams from the Spanish first and second divisions needed to back the plan. On top of the four objections, one other club abstained from voting, the source said, without naming the club. La Liga had said the deal would be worth 2.7 billion euros when it was first unveiled in August. The lower 1.994 billion euro figure announced on Friday reflected the opt-outs and will be shared among the participating clubs and paid over a three-year period, the league said.
A source close to Real Madrid told Reuters the club will begin legal action against La Liga as they threatened when they announced their objection in August. The objecting clubs will not take any share of the CVC investment, though they will continue to receive their allocated share of TV rights money, La Liga said
La Liga assembly voted through the CVC deal today. Real Madrid representatives at the meeting said the club will continue legal action to block deal. La Liga say first 400m euro tranche of 1.98 billion euro deal arriving in weeks. Spanish FA also trying to block it. pic.twitter.com/lc6rackmi0
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) December 10, 2021
Jamie Jackson’s news story on those Erling Haaland developments - or lack of them.
Asked how soon a move would happen, Raiola said: “Maybe this summer, maybe the summer after. But there is a great chance that Erling will leave this summer.”
Guardiola closed down a question when asked about Raiola’s comment. “Next question,” City’s manager said. “Don’t ask me about that – I’m not going to answer.”
Preview of that emotional return for Steven Gerrard, with some further history at stake.
Liverpool can equal a club record of scoring in 31 successive matches, set between April 1957 and January 1958, should they find the target again. A home win would take Klopp over the 500-points mark as a Premier League manager.
Some Pep Guardiola classicism here, where he praises Manchester City’s opposition to stratospheric levels. Here, he is talking about *Wolves* who are eighth, have won one in five, and scored just one goal in doing so.
They scored 12 goals and conceded 13 and are so stable. They played more between the lines last season, it was always tough in the last years when we faced Wolves and tomorrow will be no exception. When you have played 15 games and you can take a look at goals scored, goals conceded - their balance is stable, few on both sides. Always when we face Wolves it has been a tight game. They have structure, pace up front and good character. Wolves are having an incredible season so far. But at the same time we are in a good position to continue our run in the Premier League.
PEP 💬 They scored 12 goals and conceded 13 and are so stable. They played more between the lines last season, it was always tough in last years when we faced Wolves and tomorrow will be no exception.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 10, 2021
Updated
Count Max Allegri has blasted his Juventus players. Per Reuters.
Juventus currently need five shots to score a goal and must improve their finishing, coach Massimiliano Allegri, while revealing that Arthur Melo will miss their Serie A clash with Venezia after turning up late for training. The Turin club, who are fifth and seven points outside the top four, have scored 22 goals this season, the lowest number of the top 12 sides.
Their issues finding the net were laid bare during a 2-0 league win over Genoa last Sunday, when Juve had 27 shots to the visitors’ zero, but took until the 82nd minute to put the result to bed with a Paulo Dybala strike.
“We need to be calmer and more clinical in front of goal. Our current finishing percentage is too low for Juventus. To score a goal we need five chances,” Allegri said.
Quiz! Quiz! Quiz!
I got 9/11. Beat that.
Updated
More on that Steven Gerrard destiny comment from Jürgen Klopp.
This looks to be a game affected by Covid, though not much pointing to a postponement at this stage. A question to which I have no answer - and nobody probably does - if Omicron is much more transmissible, then how might that affect sport? Worth noting it’s actually summer in South Africa though also that Omicron has not been mentioned in either the case of Spurs and Norwich, who happened to play each 0ther last week. I shall park the amateur virology there.
Well, that was quite a buildup from the legendary Barry Glendenning. I shall be your guide through the press conference banter and weekend previews until I can give no more.
That’s all from me. Have a great weekend and no less a journalistic titan than John Brewin will take you through the rest of the afternoon’s news.
Benitez calls on Digne to prioritise team
Rafael Benitez has told defender Lucas Digne he must put the team ahead of himself. The Frenchman was dropped from Everton’s squad for Monday’s dramatic late victory over Arsenal which ended a run of eight matches without a win. His omission prompted speculation of a fall-out between player and manager.
Digne, Everton’s only recognised left-back, has trained with the squad this week but Benitez would not confirm whether a return against Crystal Palace on Sunday is on the cards.
“It is clear - the manager decides,” he said. “He has been training today. It is a normal situation with the player training and we will see tomorrow if he is available or not.
“We need all the players around because that increases the competition, but at the same time everyone has to be focused and realise the priority has to be the team. What he has to do is ensure he continues working hard and the team is ahead do any individual.”
Pep Guardiola on Erling Haaland
Manchester City: After Mino Raiola, the agent of the Borussia Dortmund striker, mentioned the Premier League winners as a possible destination for the Borussia Dortmund striker, Manchester city boss Pep Guardiola was asked about the likelihood of the Norwegian inrternational joining the club. “Next question,” said the City manager. “Don’t ask me about that. I won’t answer.”
Football press conferences: They’re peculiar events where any gag, however lame, cracked by the bloke at the top table is greeted by howls of raucous, obsequious laughter by the assembled journalists.
Comedians should use PL press conferences as dummy runs to build their confidence https://t.co/6EzlVUkyyW
— Adam Crafton (@AdamCrafton_) December 10, 2021
Klopp says Gerrard destined for Liverpool job
As Steven Gerrard prepares to take Aston Villa to Anfield tomorrow, it should go without saying that Jurgen Klopp was asked for his take on the returning hero during his own press conference.
“Wonderful story, I can imagine how his feelings are,” he said.
“Stevie is already an experienced coach and knows how to approach games but probably had no idea how to approach it when he steps in the stadium and dugout.
“It’s not easy for a world-class player to become an outstanding manager, but it’s possible and it looks like Stevie has all the skills you need. I’m really happy for him.”
Gerrard has been touted as a long-term successor to Klopp and the German was asked if he believe the former Liverpool captain is destined to manage the club in the future.
“Yes, absolutely,” he said. “The only thing is when is the right moment for that. I think it will definitely happen and that is good for everybody.”
Rangnick confirms Pogba talks
Manchester United: Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick says he spoke to injured midfielder Paul Pogba this week but expects the France midfielder to be a further four weeks away from a return to action.
The 63-year-old said he held a phone conversation on Tuesday with Pogba, who is undergoing warm-weather recovery work in Dubai following a thigh injury suffered on international duty last month.
“He is better to come back today, and then we will get to know each other in person on Sunday,” said Rangnick. “We had a telephone call for about 10 or 15 minutes. He told me he is getting better but obviously he is still not fully fit, so it will take another couple of weeks until he is fit for training again and then of course he has been idle for quite some time, so I guess it will take another couple of weeks to get match-fit.”
Pogba’s United future seems to be an almost constant source of speculation, and his current deal with the club expires next summer.
Southampton: Speaking ahead of his side’s match against Arsenal on at the Emirates tomorrow, Southampton boss Ralp Hassenhuttl has said it was “not perfect” for him to publicly criticise the professionalism of his goalkeeper Alex McCarthy following Saints’ draw with Brighton last weekend.
McCarthy injured his hamstring during the game and enlisted outfield players to take his goal-kicks because his movement was impaired. Hassenhuttl subsequently blamed the goalkeeper for Neal Maupay’s last-ditch equaliser, despite the fact it was the Austrian manager who left him out on the pitch playing with an injury.
With the injured McCarthy fearing he was not mobile enough to protect the entire goal, James Ward-Prowse raced back to provide cover and ended up playing Maupay onside.
Hasenhuttl said after the game that McCarthy “must be definitely more professional than that”, adding he would have replaced him with youngster Harry Lewis had he known about his hamstring issue. A hamstring injury that seemed quite apparent to everybody else in the ground.
“I was not perfect to do this after the game,” he said. “I didn’t have all the information I should have after the game and that is always an issue. I hadn’t spoken with everybody. I know more now about what happened on the pitch and I would do it differently. But now isn’t the time to speak about it. We took a few good things from the last game.”
McCarthy has been ever-present for Southampton in the Premier League this season but is facing three to four weeks on the sidelines. With Fraser Forster also sidelined by injury, the 40-year-old Willy Caballero is set to make his Southampton debut at Arsenal. The former Manchester City and Chelsea goalkeeper Caballero, who had been training with AFC Wimbledon to sustain his fitness since leaving Stamford Bridge in the summer, signed a short-term Saints contract on Monday.
Another “come and get my client” plea: It’s a big afternoon for agents hoping to make some extra money during the transfer window. First we heard from Mino Raiola, now Philippe Lamboley has his say ...
Anthony Martial wants to leave Man United in January, his agent Philippe Lamboley told @SkySportsNews: “Anthony wishes to leave the club in January”. 🔴 #MUFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 10, 2021
“He just needs to play. He doesn’t want to stay in January and I will speak to the club soon”. pic.twitter.com/R4e5C8T96T
Not the Premier League: As we approach Christmas, we’re getting towards that time of year where managers start complaining that their teams have to play football matches. Over to you, Ange Postecoglu.
“It’s a ridiculous amount of games we are having to play,” said the Celtic manager, who lost strikers Albian Ajeti and Kyogo Furuhashi to hamstring injuries during their final Europa League game.
A Europa League game, incidentally, both players could have sat out because Celtic were already out of the competition but guaranteed their spot in the Europa Conference League.
“And I guess it’s the way and the manner in which we play our football as well, it’s very demanding on the players. We don’t have the squad yet to cope with that and that’s putting stress on, which we have had to deal with pretty much the whole way through.
“We still have seven games to go, remarkably, between now and the break. Hopefully getting some game time for guys means they become options for us in terms of making them game-ready. Hopefully when the break comes we will get reinforcements and come out stronger.
“I do think it’s too many games. If we had a little more depth in our squad then potentially it wouldn’t be as much of an issue as it is right now. But there’s no doubt, if you want to maintain high-quality football and have players playing at their optimum levels, it’s too much to ask players to play every three days. But ultimately we want to be in the cup final and we want to be in Europe, so we just have to learn to cope.”
Listening to Ange’s lament, it’s difficult not to feel for Celtic, the poverty-stricken churchmice of Scottish football.
Good afternoon everyone. Mino Raiola has been on the wireless somewhere saying Erling Haaland won’t be going to Manchester United when he leaves Borussia Dortmund, because they’ve won significantly fewer Premier League titles than teams like Manchester City.
It’s quite the recency bias-based history re-write by Mino: Manchester United have won 13 Premier League titles compared to Manchester City’s five. If you factor in football that was played before the sport was invented in 1992, Manchester United have won 20 titles compared to Manchester City’s seven.
Raiola to @Sport1: "Erling Haaland will take the next step. Bayern, Real, Barcelona, Man City - these are the big clubs he can join. Man City won the PL five times, significantly more than Man United. When we moved to BVB, we all knew that this step would come". 🚨 #Haaland pic.twitter.com/favWzbr9LL
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 10, 2021
Anyway, that’s my morning’s work done: stay tuned for press conferences from Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle and much more. Barry Glendenning will coax you through the afternoon. Bye.
Here’s a fuller PA Media report on Gerrard’s press conference:
Steven Gerrard admits he will be happy to give up his hero status at Liverpool on his return as Aston Villa manager. Former Liverpool captain Gerrard enjoyed a stellar 17-year senior career there, guiding the Reds to Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup glory with his talismanic performances.
Gerrard - who scored 186 goals and had 145 assists in 710 appearances for Liverpool between 1998 and 2015 - returns to Anfield just a month into his reign as Villa boss with a “smile on my face” but determined to play down the occasion.
“The noise is for other people to get excited about, for me it’s about preparing the team in the best way I can to try and get a positive result for Aston Villa,” Gerrard said.
“Everyone in that stadium will know me well enough to know what I’m about and what I’m going to Anfield for. I’m going back to a club where I spent many years and it brings a smile to my face for a couple of reasons.
“One, I’ve got a good relationship with a lot of people at the club. I had a fantastic time there, a really good journey, I’m a local boy. It was the team I supported growing up and I will always support that team.
“But at the same time it brings a smile to my face because I’ve got the opportunity to go there and compete against a good team and a good manager and try to win the game. That’s my only focus. If I’m on the bus heading back down the M6 towards Birmingham and I’m not the most popular at Anfield, so be it.”
Gerrard has won three of his first games in charge of Villa, with the only setback being a 2-1 home defeat to champions Manchester City.
Liverpool present the same size of task as City did, with Jurgen Klopp - who put Gerrard in charge of the Reds’ Under-18 team at the start of his coaching journey - overseeing a run of six consecutive wins with 17 goals scored and only two conceded.
“Liverpool are in a fantastic place and on top form, we’re aware of the challenge and how difficult it’s going to be,” said Gerrard, who described 20-goal Mohamed Salah as “100 per cent the best player in the world now. But we’ve got to take confidence and belief from the start that we’ve made.
“We know how difficult Anfield can but other teams have gone there with a game plan and taken something out of the game. I will forever be grateful to Jurgen and the best bit of advice I got from him was take your own team and do it your own way.
“What identity you want to use, go and make your own mistakes away from the cameras. Evolve, start your own journey - and I’ll give you whatever support you need.
“That was golden advice for me as a player coming out of a long career who has ambitions to go into coaching and management.
“When I had that conversation I didn’t expect to be competing against him in that short space of time, but I’m looking forward to that challenge.”
Villa have beaten Brighton, Crystal Palace and Leicester to climb into the top half of the Premier League table. John McGinn has been at the heart of Villa’s revival and Gerrard has hailed the influence of the Scotland midfielder.
He said: “John been outstanding in every way on and off the pitch. He’s a real infectious character around the place and the glue in terms of the squad pulling it together. His performances have been high level, so I can understand some noise around John.
“I’ll be disappointed if that noise goes away because that means he’s not playing at that high level. But at the same time it’s clear from my point of view that I want to work with John for a long time. He’s very highly respected here and we see a big role for him and pushing Villa forward.”
Here’s a nice little picture essay to pore over, as we continue our Women’s FA Cup road to Wembley series, with photographer Sophie Grew capturing the essence of Wolves’ tie against Nottingham Forest, with the latter progressing:
Eddie Howe’s been talking ahead of Newcastle’s increasingly winnable-looking tussle with Leicester.
Howe has put Newcastle’s Christmas party on hold - who hasn’t? – as he plots a path out of Premier League relegation trouble. “I don’t think this moment is the time for the players to be having a Christmas party,” he said. “We have had a gathering this week of staff and players, a meal together, but I don’t think with: one, the fixture congestion; two, Covid and three, our league position, it is the time for that. I will be trying to get the message to them to focus on the work and the games. That takes priority over anything else.”
“We just have to look at the Leicester game in isolation, and it’s a tough game. It’s away from home against a very strong opponent, really well managed with some very good players. But we have to take confidence from our recent performances, the feeling that we had on Saturday and try to get that feeling again.
“You look at the work it took to win that match from the players, the physical outputs it took - we’re going to need to hit those heights again.”
A bit of Stevie G chat about his return to Anfield: “It brings a smile to my face for a couple of reasons,” he told his pre-match presser, “one because I’ve always had good relations with people at the club, I grew up suporting the club and I always will, but also because I’ve got the opportunity to take a team there and compete.
“The best advice I got [when retiring as a player] from Jurgen Klopp was to take your own team and do it your own way, and I’ll give you whatever support you need at any given time and that’s golden advice for a player coming out of playing and looking to go into management.”
Trinket news: Trent Alexander-Arnold has been named Premier League player of the month for November, as the great Year Of The Full-Back continues.
And here’s more on our chart-topper, a player a cut above in a team a cut above. As demonstrated again at Arsenal last night.
Updated
Meanwhile, our top 100 female players reveal is now complete. Discover, chew over, argue about, the top 10 here:
Norwich sweating on Covid test results
News in from PA Media that the Norwich head coach, Dean Smith, admits the club are waiting anxiously on Covid-19 test results before their home match against Manchester United. Norwich’s last game was at Tottenham, who have of course since been hit by a coronavirus outbreak that resulted in their games against Rennes and Brighton being called off.
Smith feels none of the current concerns within the Norwich squad are linked to the Spurs game, but nevertheless faces a nervous wait to get confirmation if any of his players will be ruled out of the United match because of a positive PCR result.
“We have got a couple of knocks and have got a couple of Covid-related issues that we are waiting on results for this morning,” Smith said. “I can’t really let you in on any names, but there’s a couple of players whom we are worried about, so we have tested and we will wait for the PCR results back on them.
“[They are] just feeling a little bit unwell, not likely to be linked to the game last week with Tottenham. It is just in general, I think [like] with the whole nation, [we are] holding our breaths at the moment.”
Updated
Steven Gerrard’s been speaking about the Covid situation: he says his Aston Villa players are to receive more information on Covid-19 protection as football attempts to prevent the new Omicron variant from disrupting the sport.
“I had a conversation last night with [the chief executive] Christian Purslow,” Villa boss Gerrard said. “He’s going to come down on Monday and address the players in more detail. But we have been told and warned that things are changing all the time. Just to be careful and look after ourselves.
“I obviously sympathise with Antonio [Conte, the Spurs manager]. It’s a concern for myself and every other manager. There was a situation here before I came and you’ve always got that lingering paranoia about the what-ifs.
“It is a virus that has not gone. We’re not through the woods and it’s changing all the time. So you’ve got to be as careful as you can because you don’t want to be in a situation where you’re losing players, which obviously affects points.”
Preamble
Morning everyone, as we gear up for the last weekend for a while on which fans can attend games without carrying out additional Covid precautions. One game has, of course, already fallen victim to the rise in cases – Tottenham’s match at Brighton. So stay safe out there.
Among the games going ahead, Steven Gerrard’s return to Anfield with his new Aston Villa charges will inevitably garner plenty of attention, and the impressive recent form of both sides suggests this could be one of the games of the weekend in any case. Villa played with verve and vigour against Leicester last Sunday, while Liverpool are banging them in for fun. We’ll have pre-match media conference news from both managers later.
Elsewhere, Chelsea v Leeds looks a tasty one on Saturday afternoon, not just because of the decades-old rivalry between the pair but the scratchy recent form of both make this a trickier one to predict than might be expected. And leaky Leicester will be licking their wounds after exiting the Europa League at Napoli, and will present Newcastle with a real chance for a second league win of the season.
Further afield, a Madrid derby on Sunday night rounds off our weekend, with Real eight points clear at the top of the table and the defending champions 10 points behind their city rivals. So there’s plenty to warm us all up.
