Joël Matip has signed a new contract at Liverpool, described as a ‘long-term deal’ in the club’s official release but reported to be for five years. “It’s a great feeling to be a longer part of the club,” the central defender said. “It’s really just a great feeling.”
And that concludes the blog for the day. Thanks for reading and thanks to Gregg for his sterling efforts before.
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Pep Guardiola has been complaining that English clubs play a lot at Christmas, and his Manchester City team in particular. Due to TV scheduling, City will kick off against Sheffield United on December 29 just 44 hours after the final whistle in their game against Wolves on December 27.
Quoth Pep: “Since I came here every season it’s happened the same. The broadcasters are the bosses in this situation.I love to play on Boxing Days, in wintertime, when everybody is stopped and families, kids go into the stadium and enjoy the game. I like it. But the problem is the same. We don’t protect the players, the system doesn’t protect the players. It is too much, honestly, it is too much.”
Only Newcastle and Manchester City have lost to Norwich this season.
More on Bulgaria’s ‘handling’ of Monday’s racism in Sofia.
The Fiver is here. The Fiver is here. The Fiver is here.
Time for the football romantics’ corner of love, as per PA Media. Or Filthy Lucre Corner, to give its full name.
A multimillion-pound sponsorship dispute between Liverpool FC and sportswear giant New Balance has reached the High Court.
The club is being sued over its alleged refusal to honour the terms of its reported £40 million-a-year deal with the company, which expires in May 2020.
Under the terms of the deal, New Balance is entitled to renew its sponsorship if it matches the terms of any competitor’s offer to sponsor Liverpool kit.
But the current European champions, who have been offered a £30 million-a-year five-year deal by American sportswear giant Nike, argue that New Balance cannot match Nike’s offer in relation to the marketing and distribution of Liverpool products.
Opening New Balance’s case on Friday, Daniel Oudkerk QC said his client was “one of the world’s leading sports footwear and apparel manufacturers with annual revenues exceeding three billion US dollars”.
He added that Liverpool, who are currently top of the Premier League, “has enjoyed very significant success on the pitch” in recent seasons, which he said had been reflected in record sales.
“It is anticipated that the club’s home kit will once again be the club’s highest selling kit at 2.9 million units (sold),” he told the court.
Mr Oudkerk told Mr Justice Teare that the key issue in the case was whether New Balance had matched “the material, measurable and matchable terms of a third-party offer”.
Liverpool argues that New Balance has not matched Nike’s offer, which includes a commitment to sell licensed products in “not less than 6,000 stores worldwide, 500 of which shall be Nike owned”.
But Mr Oudkerk said New Balance has “approximately 40,000-odd retail doors globally”.
Mr Oudkerk submitted that, after the club received Nike’s offer in June, it initially refused to disclose the terms of the offer in order to get New Balance to “effectively bid blind” - and then proposed terms “based upon a £60 million annual payment”.
In his written case, Mr Oudkerk argued that Liverpool dismissed New Balance’s offer to match terms as the club was “wedded to Nike”, and that “it appears that the club had resolved to reject the New Balance match come what may”.
He added that Liverpool “appears to have considered the renewal option inconvenient”, pointing to a WhatsApp message between two of the club’s directors in which one said the clause “just absolutely screws us”.
Guy Morpuss QC, representing the club, argued that the claim was “really an attempt by New Balance to use a matching clause for a purpose for which it was never intended”.
He said New Balance’s contention it could distribute Liverpool kit to 40,000 stores was “a myth”, adding that the company had “grossly overstated” the number of stores it could distribute to.
Opening Liverpool’s case, he said: “We make no secret of the fact that we were trying to use Nike’s (offer) ... as a stick to beat New Balance with to try and get a higher fee out of them.”
Mr Morpuss added that that was an “entirely legitimate commercial tactic”.
He said that “what New Balance needed to do if it was not going to offer us the additional money, up its annual fee, was it needed to actually come forward and genuinely match the terms that Nike offered”.
He said the “main point” in issue was “could they (New Balance) match the distribution that Nike was offering: 6,000 stores, 500 of which were owned and operated by New Balance?”
“The idea that New Balance would even get football kit into anything close to those 40,000 stores is utterly fanciful,” Mr Morpuss said.
He explained that, under the terms of its offer, “Nike was paying us a lower fee than New Balance (but) Nike is guaranteeing distribution and it is paying us a royalty” of 20% of net sales of Liverpool products.
Mr Morpuss submitted that New Balance had “pretend(ed) they can match so they can pay the lower fee, but not actually match”, and said the company had “a record of telling Liverpool things that were wrong”.
In written submissions, Mr Morpuss said the club “frequently complained to New Balance” about its “repeated distribution failings over a seven-year period”.
He argued that New Balance’s claim to be able to match Nike’s 6,000-store offer was “inconsistent with New Balance’s historic performance” and “manifestly implausible”, adding that the company had used “a series of artificial devices to pretend that it could reach the 6,000 figure”.
Mr Morpuss said that many of the 6,000 stores New Balance claimed it could stock Liverpool kit in only sold footwear, giving the example that 250 of the proposed new 307 stores in Japan were “for accounts to carry footwear only”.
He submitted: “The above are not the actions of a party to a relational contract seeking in good faith to double its distribution.
“They are the actions of a party seeking cynically to put small amounts of non-core LFC products into as many stores as possible so as to be able to argue that artificially it has satisfied a requirement to have LFC products in 6,000 stores.”
The hearing is due to conclude on Tuesday and Mr Justice Teare is expected to reserve his judgment.
Here’s a preview of that Kanté-less encounter at Stamford Bridge.
It has been reported by Sky that Krasimir Balakov, Bulgaria’s coach, has resigned after Monday’s match against England in the wake of the racism incidents that almost led to the game being abandoned. Balakov, in post-match, denied that any such incidents took place.
Borislav Mihaylov has also confirmed he is resigning from his role as president of the Bulgarian Football Union, while in another development, Sky Sports News understands the entire BFU Executive Committee has stepped down.
Wolves are bang in form, while Saints most definitely are not. Here’s the preview for their match tomorrow.
Frank Lampard’s Chelsea are not happy that N’Golo Kanté will not be able to play for Frank Lampard’s Chelsea this weekend after getting injured while playing for Didier Deschamps’ France. Some harsh words from Super Frank for the man he succeeded in the Chelsea midfield back in 2001.
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Here’s a turn-up for the books, as found by colleague and Leyton Orient ultra Martin Belam. Going to a different game to the one you were supposed to is a real rite of passage for any football fan.
Madness. UEFA have banned Ajax fans from their UCL game at Chelsea. 2,000 say they already booked travel/accommodation. The alternative football in London that night? Leyton Orient vs Brighton U21 in the cursed EFL Trophy. And they say they are coming! https://t.co/4iCLnXjsLR
— Martin Belam (@MartinBelam) October 18, 2019
Poor, poor Ole has had to issue his latest declaration that he is the right man to be Manchester United manager. It’s all getting a bit sad.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past fortnight you’ve probably heard that Liverpool will match Manchester City’s 18-game run of successive wins if they beat Manchester United on Sunday. It would be a remarkable achievement for Klopp’s side but Paul Wilson thinks it would also be a sign that the Premier League’s USP – it’s competitive nature – is not all it’s cracked up to be.
Right, I’m handing over to John Brewin now. He will guide you into the weekend. Thanks for your emails. Bye.
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Two freewheeling teams meet at Villa Park. Here’s your Aston Villa v Brighton match preview:
“I’d like to see a behind-the-scenes documentary on Newcastle’s 2008-09 season when Kevin Keegan quit due to Mike Ashley and his cronies’ meddling,” writes Ben Blatch-Hanlon. “That, the appointment of Joe Kinnear, the ultimately-futile decision to bring in Alan Shearer to try and rescue them from relegation … plus any chance for further public airing of just how awful Ashley has been for Newcastle is always welcome.” A fine choice Ben.
Photograph: Paul Thomas/AP
Roy Hodgson reckons no one should read too much in to his Crystal Palace impressive side’s start to the season that has lifted them up to sixth. They face all five teams ahead of them in the next five games. Gulp!
I don’t think Pep needs to worry about any team he faces but it will be nice if he shows us respect. We know we are going to be stretched, we know it is going to be a challenge but we are very up for that challenge. You can only do what you can do with the games that have been put in front of you. We face a tough period of games. We are going to be hard stretched going forwards so it is going to be hard to keep that point accumulation up. We have a little bit of a cushion. You are going to get periods like this during the season. You always get spells, it is up to us to produce the level of football we think we can produce and keep picking up points.”
If you could watch a behind-the-scenes documentary of any season in history, which one would it be? I would have quite liked to have seen just what the hell was going on at Palermo in 2015-16, when they went through eight managers (I think), including the same boss twice.
Under-pressure Everton manager Marco Silva reckons the home match against West Ham is a “must-win” game that can be a turning point for his troubled Toffees, who lie 18th in the Premier League.
For us as a club all the matches must be must-win matches. That is the mentality we are trying to create. It has to be a turning point for us, because we have all the conditions to do that, full confidence in our players to be able to play in our stadium as well, and I think it is a good start to the match, thinking of it like a must-win. At the moment we are not in the best moment with confidence really high, but we have to go for this match thinking it will be a must-win game.
And here’s your match pack for Crystal Palace v Manchester City:
Get your Leicester v Burnley match preview, right here:
Well, this could be an interesting season to document.
Tottenham Hotspur is to be the focus of the latest Amazon Original docuseries All or Nothing, charting the Club's journey during the 2019/20 season.#THFC ⚪️ #COYS
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 18, 2019
Maybe it will have footage of the cosy dinner Poch spoke about being invited to yesterday:
When you receive a text from the player inviting you and the coaching staff for a dinner only two things can happen. [It’s] because they want to say goodbye. Or because they feel that they love you and they want to show that they are with you. And I think it’s the second.
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Frank Lampard has confirmed that N’Golo Kanté is not fit to face Newcastle – and he’s not happy with France that the player was not released back to Chelsea earlier for treatment:
We communicated before the first international break. It was clear that he wasn’t fit to play the second game and he sat on the bench. I think it could have been handled better. I understand that when a player is on international duty that they are their players, but it was clear that he wasn’t fit.
Perhaps it is just to spice up the buildup to Sunday’s match, but Sky are reporting that Manchester United will make a serious attempt to sign Emre Can in January. Can has hardly played for Juventus this season and was furious after being left out of their Champions League squad. On the up side, all that spare time has allowed him to pick some autumn essentials:
Ryan Grubb has emailed in with an opinion/admission. “I agree about playing Adrian on Sunday. While Alisson is a far superior player it will take a while for him to get back up to speed. The nightmare of under hit backpasses with Rashford bearing down on him woke me up in the middle of the last night. Not the worst hypothetical football dream I have had but certainly not the best. Perfectly normal for a grown man to still dream about football, am I right?” of course it’s all right. I still dream of scoring in front of the Kop. I’m 40 years old.
Meanwhile, Hubert O’Hearn is a worried man:
@GreggBakowski Call me paranoid or call me skeptic, but now I'm afraid for Liverpool. I can think of about 8 occasions where EVERY pundit picked the same winner. And, every time, the upset happened. "Nobody believes in us!" is a profound motivator.
— Hubert O'Hearn (@BTBReviews) October 18, 2019
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The other subject that made Guardiola animated was the release of the Christmas fixture schedule, which has given City three games, against Wolves, Sheffield United and Everton, in six days. Liverpool, meanwhile, have Leicester, Wolves and Sheffield United over eight days.
It is what it is. Since I came here it happened the same. The concept is not about in this period. I love to play on Boxing Day and at winter when families and kids can go to the stadium and enjoy it. The problem is the system doesn’t protect the players. Another day we will have more recovery than the other ones. It is what it is. Maybe the broadcasters are fans of other clubs. If we have to play tomorrow, we have to play tomorrow. We have to play, we’re going to play.
Pep Guardiola was in enigmatic form in his press conference. He seemed non-plussed by many of the footballing questions he was asked but did confirm that Kevin De Bruyne is fit again and Benjamin Mendy is training but won’t return against Crystal Palace. Sergio Agüero is fine but “the car is not” he also says.
He was most animated when asked about the protests in Barcelona:
Millions of people would not work to give support to the people. The international community must help us to solve the situation in Spain. Personal friends [of mine] are in jail for nine years for asking to vote. Hopefully, Europe can make a step forward and help us.
Daniel Farke will want to see a reaction from his Norwich players after the 5-1 humbling at home by Aston Villa. He has Tim Krul available again and confirmed he will play at the Vitality Stadium. “The injury situation is much better. Tim Krul will play tomorrow. Kenny McLean and Todd Cantwell are available. Max Aarons returned without any problems. Sam Byram’s ankle problems are sorted so he’s available. Alex Tettey is back and available, so is Tom Trybull. Also available is Onel Hernandez,” he confirmed. On his team’s horror show against Villa and how they will respond, he said:
We will be much more competitive than we were two weeks ago. If you lose a game you always want to get back on the pitch, but the break helped us because we had so many problems. Onel Hernández was our best winger in terms of goals and assists last season, so he’s been a big miss for us. The break helped us to settle and recover, so it came at the right moment. We know there are tough days when you have so many problems at this level. We’re probably favourites for position 20 in the league, but we won’t accept that. I agree we have conceded too many goals, I’m not naive. You have to be solid in defending, whether you play football 20 years ago or now. It’s not easy for the players who have to defend who aren’t used to playing those roles, or playing through pain.
And here’s Klopp on the racist abuse that England’s players were subjected to in Bulgaria:
The [England] players showed on the pitch a sensational response. You want to show the right reaction and make them suffer in the right way. It’s not important who laughs first. It’s important who laughs last and the players did that. [The racism] was disgusting. Nobody wants to see that.
Klopp wary of 'banana skin' after hype
Jürgen Klopp has not been impressed with how much his Liverpool team has been built up before the visit to Manchester United. He’s talking about you Danny Mills!
When you make a combined line-up and have 11 players of Liverpool - it’s like a joke, like building a banana skin. The world at the moment is a circus and we are at the centre. I’m not influenced by it. I am 100% sure of the strength of Man Utd. I’m quite optimistic we have a chance. History in this case is not important but it gives us a sign. We like to create and use atmosphere in our stadium which is incredibly helpful but Old Trafford is not too bad in that respect. They will be on their toes. I don’t think there are lot of teams who want to play against us at the moment.
Klopp saw off Mourinho with Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat of Manchester United last season. On Solskjær’s job security, he has this to say:
I have no clue about his position. I don’t have an opinion about that. Man Utd is a massive club and nobody is really ready to wait. With all the things you said about them in the last few weeks it has no influence on them. They are desperate to change the situation. It’s not important what you write. It’s important what the board and Woodward tell him. I have no opinion. I’d like every manager in the world to have as much time as possible to change things. But you can’t compare situations to when I came in and he did.
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We will hear from Jürgen Klopp shortly. Hopefully, he is in better form than he was in training recently.
— Anfield Archives (@anfieldarchive) October 18, 2019
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Right, I’m fed and watered. Thanks to John for the cover. Chelsea go into their home game against Newcastle on the back of four wins on the bounce in all competitions. No wonder Frank Lampard has a spring in his step:
I feel like we are moving in the right direction but I always get nervous saying it because it is a catalyst for over confidence. The last month was good and we had some good results. The international break always worries you slightly because will we forget the good things we were doing that made us get good results and we can’t forget the fact we can do much more. It’s competitive at the top of the league and I don’t think the league has given itself and real form yet other than Liverpool who are deservedly right up there and City but the rest of us are trying to bridge that gap.
Mauricio Pochettino became a fan of Ingerlund, or those Tottenham players of his who were playing for them last week in the international break. Pochettino was pleased Harry Kane and Harry Winks were able to enjoy the winning feeling again. Kane, got three assists and a goal against Bulgaria, and Winks was handed a start in midfield.
After the disappointment on Friday, it was good for England, Southgate, the coaching staff and of course the players to feel that confidence,” he said. It was fantastic for them to finish with a great result and to build their confidence. Of course, it was a tough game after Czech Republic and people were down. For our players, it continues the negative dynamic. I was hating watching the game thinking, ‘We need to win, we need to win’, putting on my England shirt! After Friday, it was tough but then Monday was better. The best medicine is to score, assist, feel the victory and for sure that is going to help our team.
Spurs host winless Watford on Saturday.
It’s going to be tough. We will fight against us, play against us. We are our own worst enemy,” he said. Then after the opponent. I am so happy, the players react in a very good mood. We have talked a lot, individuals and collective. I was talking with the staff in a very honest conversation as always in these situations, trying to find the best way. In the end our interest is Tottenham. Our objective is to put Tottenham in the place that Tottenham deserve to be.
Sid Lowe spoke to Manchester City’s Welsh-sounding Spanish anchorman.
Right, I’m off to grab some lunch. I’ll leave you with John Brewin while I’m gone.
If you like numbers in the blocky colourful form that kind of tell you things, this might be up your street:
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Could this be the last Everton match Marco Silva takes charge of?
In case you missed it last weekend, Andy Hunter wrote a great piece about Silva’s Everton woes, which worsened when his long-time assistant manager João Pedro Sousa left to manage Famalicão in Portugal. Famalicão’s rise to the top of Primeira Liga is evidence of just how influential he was in Silva’s team and how much he has been missed.
Here’s the story on the postponement of Barcelona v Real Madrid:
We’ve not heard from Jürgen Klopp yet but one of the questions I expect he will be asked is whether he will bring Alisson back into goal at Old Trafford. I think he might be minded to stick with Adrián for this one. As good as Alisson is, Klopp may be tempted to keep things exactly as as they are for such a big match in case Alisson suffers from a little bit of ring-rustiness. Maybe it’s less risky to bring him back in at Anfield, though the next game there against Spurs is hardly a routine one.
More arrests made in Bulgaria over racism at England game
Five more men have been arrested over the racist behaviour which marred England’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria. The five men were detained at the First District police station in Sofia while a further five were searched at a different precinct in the Bulgarian capital, taking the total number identified to 16, a spokeswoman for the ministry of the interior told the PA news agency. Six supporters were arrested on Wednesday, with four already having been banned from attending any sporting event for the next two years and fined 1,000 lev (around £440). One individual faces a pre-trial hearing on Friday and could be remanded in custody.
Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores claims there is no panic over the club’s poor start to the season. Sanchez Flores was brought back to Vicarage Road last month after the team, then under the stewardship of Javi Gracia, claimed just one point in their opening four Premier League games. Yet the Spaniard claims it is far too early to be writing off his rock-bottom side after they have taken only two points in four league games since.
“I don’t like to talk about that. This really is a big problem in football sometimes – [people] regard seasons finish in September-November,” he said. “But to finish the season is in May. It’s 30 games ahead. So it’s impossible to think about what would happen. The only thing we can do is to work on the opposite side - not thinking that it was finished.”
And with Watford taking on Tottenham on Saturday, he also had some nice things to say about Mauricio Pochettino, who has been feeling the pressure himself after the 3-0 defeat at Brighton:
Of course now is this is a difficult moment for him and for the team but for me he is best coach in the last four years. Everyone knows how tough Tottenham are. Just remember three months ago they were playing in the final of the Champions League.
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Stephen Phone reminds us all that the M62 exists: “Why are they always on about the East Lancs Road? They know there’s a big eff off motorway connecting the cities now right (although admittedly less handy for getting to Anfield)? I feel an early goal for the Pool tomorrow may open the floodgates. I just don’t see Man Utd being able to dig in. But then again I always want an early goal yet somehow this Liverpool keep calm and just grind out the results. Almost as if they’re mentally prepared better and secure if the knowledge that they are better than most other teams and will find a way. Cheerio!”
Let’s be honest, you want some Rob Smyth or Scott Murray to read to get you in the mood for a Manchester United match. So, here’s Rob on why Solskjær deserves more R-E-S-P-E-C-T at United:
And enjoy this Joy of Six by Scott Murray from 11 years ago on some great ding-dong battles down the years, including my personal favourite, Liverpool 3-3 Manchester United from 4 January 1994.
The FA has announced that AFC Wimbledon manager Wally Downes has been fined £3,000 and suspended from all football and football-related activity until 14 November, after admitting breaching FA betting rules. Downes placed five bets on matches between 30 November 2013 and 30 January 2014, and three bets between 16 March 2019 and 12 July 2019.
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Sky are giving Manchester United v Liverpool a huge buildup: a “TWO DAYS TO GO” countdown clock, a divide-crossing commentator in Paul Ince and mention of just how many miles down the East Lancs Road Liverpool is from Manchester every other minute. It’s going to be 0-0 again isn’t it?
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Leicester take on Burnley on Saturday and much of the talk before the game has been about James Maddison’s visit to a casino after being released by England because he was ill. Criticism of Maddison is ridiculous but that’s what happens when modern football meets Twitter. Brendan Rodgers has been defending the player:
The kid went away with the international team and took ill while he was away. He wanted to stay and hopefully be ready for the second game. But the England medical staff – which I can understand, as he had flu and they didn’t want that to spread to his teammates – decided it’s best for him to leave the camp. So he leaves, gets some tablets with our guys at the club, then he feels better. He watched the game at home on his own on the Friday and then goes out at half-time – probably he’ll make better decisions in his life but he went to a casino on his own to sit and watch the second half by a poker table. The suggestions are he left England purposelessly and then goes to a casino but that’s totally not the case at all. But his eyes have been opened now to the wider world in terms of what he did. He knows in hindsight he’s made a mistake.
El Clásico postponed over fears of civil unrest
Some big news from Spain, where the first Clásico of the season, which had been scheduled to take place at Camp Nou on 26 October, has been postponed because of fears of civil unrest amid pro-independence protests in Catalonia. La Liga organisers had proposed that Barcelona v Real Madrid be moved to the Bernabéu, an idea that was not received well by the Spanish champions, but the match has been put back to a later date now. We’ll have a story on this shortly from our Spanish correspondent, Sid Lowe, who had hinted earlier that a more likely date for the game to be played was in the week before Christmas. The clubs must agree a new date for the match to take place before Monday.
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Of course, it was Newcastle United’s Matty Longstaff who inflicted the 1-0 defeat on Manchester United before the international break. Steve Bruce says he’s minded to start Matty Longstaff again when Newcastle travel to Chelsea.
I don’t think I’ve witnessed as good a debut, not just because he scored the goal that caps it off but it was the whole way he played in the whole game. It was terrific. Well, you can imagine what the kid’s been like - it’s like a kid in a sweet shop. It’s been quite refreshing for all of us to witness the interview. That’s why I picked him. His interview beamed out of the television, what he’s all about. It brought a refreshing humility to us all again and it was a wonderful debut from the kid.
The Longstaff brothers are what this world needs right now! If you want more heartwarming words on the Geordie duo, read this piece by Louise Taylor, who spoke to them recently.
Solskjær also confirmed that David de Gea is not likely to feature against Liverpool but his injury is not as severe as they thought it might be.
I don’t expect him to play but it wasn’t as bad as feared. When I saw the game I thought he would be out until the next international break, because we’ve had some long-term muscle injuries.
On the subject of Paul Pogba being photographed talking to Zinedine Zidane, Solskjær had this to say:
He’s recovering, he’s mending, he’s been on a few days off working but he’s away from here, and it’s a pic, when you’re at Manchester United I don’t have any problem with that at all. Paul is part of our plan, he’s been playing through the pain barriers and has been criticised left, right and centre. But when he came back [against] Rochdale and Arsenal he wanted to play — was too painful, he had that scan, he’s on the way back.
Paul Pogba is definitely out of the match with an ongoing ankle issue but Anthony Martial and Aaron Wan-Bissaka could return against Liverpool with question marks hanging over the likes of Jesse Lingard, Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot and Mason Greenwood.
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'I've never felt this job is too big for me'
Ole Gunnar Solskjær has been speaking in his press conference to preview the match against Liverpool on Sunday. He was asked a question about the direction the club is taking under him and he was honest enough to say that by trying to bring through younger players, the club is suffering at the moment but that he doesn’t think the Manchester United job is one he can’t handle.
No, I’ve never felt it’s too big for me. I’m confident in what we’re trying to do and with my staff, I’ve been so impressed. The improvement is there to see. We need to start winning games, start scoring goals and we need to create more chances because at the back we’ve looked solid. But we haven’t been adventurous enough and taken enough risks. The best teams around take more risks and more runs in behind. Maybe the boys when they lose confidence they play safe and it’s my duty to say it’s not safety. I speak to Ed [Woodward] loads of times and we speak regularly. We’ve spoken so many times. We do have a plan and we have made some decisions in the short-term that would harm us, but in the long-term would benefit us and that’s part of the plan. Results are always the main thing and we can move forward quicker with results and performances. I am sure we will get there. But there’s planning for the next transfer window and summer transfer window.
In the Scottish Premiership, Celtic have the chance to leapfrog Rangers at the top of the league when they play Ross County on Saturday before Hearts host Rangers on Sunday. Rangers will be on a high after Steven Gerrard and striker Alfredo Morelos scooped the manager of the month and player of the month awards for September. Gerrard spent the international break turning out for Rangers legends against Liverpool. Rangers legend?
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Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has had his say on the racist abuse suffered by England’s players in Bulgaria. Cherries striker Callum Wilson was the subject of abuse in Sofia but Howe believes Wilson has not been affected by it:
It was incredibly disappointing to see. I watched it live, It was a tough watch. You could sense what was happening. Callum and the rest off the England players handled it with real class. Callum’s fine. He’s a strong character. Unfortunately it’s nothing new for him to have to deal with. Mentally, he’s fine.
Aston Villa and Brighton meet on Saturday having both enjoyed morale-boosting wins before the international break. Villa thrashed Norwich 5-1 at Carrow Road, while Brighton put a discombobulated Spurs to the sword with a 3-0 home win. Villa will be missing midfielder Jota, who has had surgery to repair a hernia, while Brighton have a healthy squad to choose from after Leandro Trossard and Shane Duffy stepped up their recoveries and are now available after injury. Villa manager Dean Smith says he is wary of the threat posed by Seagulls teenager Aaron Connolly, who scored twice against Spurs:
We’ll have to watch out for him. He’s a player with huge potential, he’s certainly hit the ground running with his first start and two goals against the Champions League finalists. Our defenders will know enough about him certainly for the game on Saturday. This league can punish you in the flash of an eye. It would have been very easy for me to walk into the dressing room after the (Norwich win) and say, ‘right, I’ll see you on Friday’. No, it was, ‘keep to the plan. Sunday, Monday off, work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday’.
Meanwhile, Villa striker Wesley has been enjoying some sightseeing on his time off:
There’s no doubt that Manchester United v Liverpool is the weekend’s biggest game but not since the mid 1980s has the gap between the two sides been weighted in Liverpool’s favour as much as it is before Sunday’s 4.30pm kick-off. Leaders Liverpool are 15 points clear of 12th-placed United after only eight games. Ed Woodward has admitted that the club’s recruitment policy has been dysfunctional since Alex Ferguson’s departure.
Both clubs have US owners. David Conn has done a forensic job of investigating the Glazers’ running of Manchester United and compared it to the job being done by Fenway Sports Group at Anfield. If you’re a United fan, it will get your blood pressure up:
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Good morning!
Hello. So the Premier League returns after the international break – and what an intriguing weekend we have in store. The results two weeks ago have left so many questions lingering. How will Manchester City respond after their shock defeat by Wolves? Will Liverpool see off Ole Gunnar Solskjær at Manchester United? Will Marco Silva be sacked if Everton don’t beat West Ham? Can Brighton build on their 3-0 win over Spurs? And Mauricio Pochettino’s side aren’t so low on confidence that they will lose at home to rock-bottom Watford, are they? Our writers have set it all out for you in much more comprehensive style in our Premier League weekend preview piece here. Go on, have a read:
I’ll bring you the injury news and more as the day’s press conferences swing into action where I’m sure some managers will have something to say about the appalling racist abuse of England’s players when they played against Bulgaria last week, too, as well as their empowered and hugely impressive response to it.
The full list of fixtures are as follows:
Saturday (3pm BST unless stated otherwise)
Everton v West Ham (12.30pm)
Bournemouth v Norwich
Aston Villa v Brighton
Chelsea v Newcastle
Leicester v Burnley
Tottenham v Watford
Wolves v Southampton
Crystal Palace v Manchester City (5.30pm)
Sunday
Manchester United v Liverpool (4.30pm)
Updated
