On the ball – guess the footballer
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
Key events
But hey, back to Amorim.
Here’s a comment, BTL on “10 Things …”, from Basilides:
“Despite some marginal improvement in the stats (except goals for, goals against and points gained) Manchester United are stuck in a downward drift that is now going on for over a decade. While the root cause is the hollowing out by the Glazers it’s not helped by a continual switcheroo of manager for whatever is the ‘flavour of the month’ at that time. Apart from the lack of investment in facilities in the club’s the complete inability to set up a decent Director Of Football organisation since 2005 is the main reason that the directionless floundering has continued at United for so long.
“It’s very hard to see how Amorim survives – his method works well when he has one of the best squad of players in a league – he had this in Portugal – but he doesn’t have this in England and it’s not going to happen any time soon. Even if he does get the best out of this squad it would only be getting to the levels of Brighton, Crystal Palace or Bournemouth (which I would take in an instant right now) but United are supposed to be (and spending on transfers and wages as if) one of the biggest clubs in the world. The problem is if Amorim goes, who steps in that would do better with this completely all over the place squad? Iraola? Glasner? Howe? Potter? Solskjær? Ten Hag? Big Sam?”
Warnock?
In the Championship, Wrexham v Birmingham kicks things off at 8pm today.
See the second-tier fixtures here.
Top of the table Middlesbrough head to sunny Portsmouth (3pm tomorrow), Coventry go so Sheffield Wednesday (12.30pm tomorrow), third-placed QPR go to Bristol City (also tomorrow 3pm). Millwall fans, not to mention the manager Alex Neil, will want a response when they host West Brom after the midweek thrashing by Coventry.
It’s been an absolute smorgasbord of soccer content on here today.
Here are the football-related pieces we’ve published, including the Sports quiz of the week, in case you missed anything earlier:
The nice people at Reuters have sent a Barça bulletin:
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal will be sidelined for “two to three weeks” after aggravating a groin injury. The 18-year-old winger, who had been called up for Spain’s World Cup qualifers against Georgia and Bulgaria, will not be part of the national squad after the issue flared up after the Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
The injury has caused Yamal to miss four games already this season. He sustained it in September’s international break when Spain faced Turkey and Bulgaria, igniting a row between club and country.
The Barcelona manager, Hansi Flick, said the Spain team “should take better care of players”, comments that clearly provoked Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.
De la Fuente said on Friday he “was surprised by the German manager’s comments, given he is a manager who has also coached a national team. I thought he would have had more empathy.”
The timing is cruel for Yamal, who had just returned from his previous three-week layoff to help Barcelona beat Real Sociedad last weekend, before playing 90 minutes against PSG.
“The groin problem for Lamine Yamal has returned following the game against PSG. The player will miss (Sunday’s) game against Sevilla and his recovery time is estimated at 2-3 weeks,” Barcelona said. Yamal has made five appearances for Barça this season, scoring twice.
Daniel Harris
Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation is not the cause of Manchester United’s struggles. United are recovering from decades of exploitation and the squad, fair in some areas and abominable in others, is only in mid-rebuild.
Nevertheless, there are structural weaknesses inherent within the setup – most particularly underloads in midfield and out wide – which must be mitigated. But Antonio Conte managed it at Chelsea just as Oliver Glasner has done at Crystal Palace because, once a match begins, the players run about; what that looks like is dictated not by starting position, but principles.
What are you up to this weekend? Reading the Guardian, and consuming all kinds of our sports content? Yes, I thought so.
Thanks to Sky Sports Football for this handy statistic:
Manchester United managers: first 33 league games
Louis van Gaal 65pts
José Mourinho 64pts
Erik ten Hag 63pts
Alex Ferguson 61pts
David Moyes 57pts
Ole Gunnar Solskjær 56pts
Ruben Amorim 34pts
Ouch.
As for Amorim, Noah emailed earlier, wondering if Manchester United simply cannot afford to sack him.
“If you consider all the layoffs of staff and other cost-cutting measures, as well as Amorim’s win record, his repeated attempts at begging to be fired …
“That makes me wonder if United are in serious financial trouble and cannot afford to actually pay the cost of sacking him.”
I suppose the financial difficulties are well-documented, and Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos are struggling compared to a few years ago … but the club does generate an eye-watering amount of cash, too.
I fancy they do see Amorim as the right man for the long-term, even if it doesn’t look that way now.
Is Ange Postecoglou the villain of the piece in the Forest panto?
Barry Glendenning investigates in today’s Football Daily:
Oliver Glasner, the Crystal Palace gaffer, was asked about Adam “The English Pirlo” Wharton missing out on selection by Tuchel.
“He explained that he wanted to keep the same squad. We have to accept it,” said Glasner. “We try to do the best of it. He’ll have a few days to rest, which is good for him, because we have a tight schedule.”
Thank Heavens, it’s time for the predicted lineups in His Majesty’s Premier League this weekend:
Will Unwin
Manchester City’s men’s and women’s teams will wear black armbands and hold a minute’s silence at their respective fixtures as a mark of respect after the terrorist attack at a synagogue in the city on Thursday.
Meanwhile, my take on England, Tuchel, and reporters trying to manufacture a headline or two about Jude Bellingham’s omission: I know this is controversial, but why not just accept that Tuchel picks the team, and the squad, let him get on with it, and stop trying to stir the excrement? Wishful thinking, I know.
Thanks Barry.
For some reason, this piece by Jonathan Liew – after Ange Postecoglou’s sacking by Tottenham in the summer – came to mind earlier.
“There may never have been a manager better at defining his own terms of achievement; a managerial reign so evidently built upon a towering silo of nuclear-strength bullshit.”
Handover: And on that amusing note, that’s all from me but Luke McLaughlin is here to see you down the home straight. Have a great weekend and good luck to your team, whoever they might be, unless they’re Manchester United, who are playing the mighty Sunderland.
Everton: An Everton-supporting pensioner has been banned from the club’s new ground after appearing in court charged with theft from Goodison Park, according to the Liverpool Echo. Following Everton’s penultimate home game of the season against Ipswich in May, he and other match-going co-conspirators are alleged to have tried to liberate and steal a row of seats from Goodison Park as mementos.
The man in question, who I won’t name in the interests of sparing him further blushes, had his charges dropped after it was revealed in court that he had reached an informal resolution with the Everton to make a donation to their charity. He has also been banned from their new stadium until at least the end of this season. Upon hearing about the ban, Judge Neil Flewitt KC wryly observed that this “may or may not be a punishment”.
Zing!
Everton: It should go without saying that Everton’s manager has been asked about Jack Grealish’s latest omission from Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad and the Scot says he still thinks the Everton winger can force his way into the German’s thinking ahead of the World Cup, if he can maintain the levels of form he has shown since moving to Merseyside on loan.
“I am glad I don’t pick the England team because the England squad is a great group of players to choose from, really top players all around the country,” he said. “Jack is one of them, he is in really good form but I am glad I don’t pick the England team. He is showing the levels he can get too and we are hoping he continues with that. I believe he will be ready, he needs to continue on scoring goals and making assists.”
Everton host Crystal Palace at Hill Dickenson Stadium on Sunday.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Having secured their first point of the season with a draw at Tottenham last weekend, Vitor Pereira will be hoping his side can beat Brighton at Molineux on Sunday so he can visit his local, the Inn at Shipley, for a couple of long overdue celebratory pints with Wolves fans. While Brighton are no mugs and every game is difficult when you’re bottom of the table, the visitors’ up-and-down form so far this season means a Wolves victory wouldn’t be a massive shock.
Pereira has told reporters that Toti Gomes is out with a dose of the flu, while Jorgen Strand Larsen is “still struggling”. He also said that the Wolves summer signing Tolu Arokodare, who opened his account against Everton in the Carabao Cup, is also a little way off full fitness.
“Larsen is is struggling with injury, he needs to be fully fit,” he said. “He’s not the Larsen that you used to see pressing, fighting, because got some pain and he’s struggling with his injury. He’s trying to help the team in this important moment, but he’s not in his best level.
“Tolu, because the pre-season was without games when he started to work with us he was not ready to start a game. But we needed him to start at Newcastle. He tried his best, scored a beautiful goal against Everton, but he is not yet in his best shape.”
Cardiff City: Rubin and Joel Colwill grew up vandalising their mother’s fixtures and fittings, perfecting two-touch moves in the garden and sleeping in bunk beds in the family home. Now the Welsh brothers are starring for the club they both support. Interview: Ben Fisher
Scottish Premiership: With Hearts top of the table after six games, Rangers in a state of total chaos and Celtic looking far more vulnerable than usual despite having dropped just four points, the sight of the Scottish Premiership table is almost certainly prompting double-takes all over the world as things currently stand.
One of four unbeaten teams in the division, Motherwell currently sit fourth and could really put the cat among the pigeons with a win over the reigning champions on at Celtic Park on Sunday. The Steelmen have not won at Celtic’s ground in almost 10 years but their head coach Jens Berthel Askou says his side are bang up for the challenge this weekend despite being rank outsiders.
“I think there’s opportunities in any league, every year, if you do things right,” said the Dane in his pre-match presser. “And if you are consistent and brave and stick to what you believe, (that) is what will bring you success over time. Knowing that we are competing against clubs who have had more time together than us, who have more resources than us, it’s no excuse to not be competitive and ambitious. And that’s what we try to do.
“We know it’s going to be really, really hard to get a top position in the league when the league is over but we are going for it with everything we can. And Sunday is going to be a big game for us to show that we are serious when we say we are here to compete. It’s the key message every time we go to play a football game. We want to win and we try to set up the team with the belief that they can win. We try to play the way we play, with respect for the opponent and what their strengths are.
“Obviously, Celtic is a top team that has many strengths that we have to deal with. But it’s also a team that, like everyone else, there are possibilities. If we find our best level, then we have the ability to hurt any team in the league.”
Tottenham Hotspur: While Andrews is plotting City’s demise, his predecessor at Brentford has been singing the praises of Leeds United, who host Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur in tomorrow’s lunchtime kick-off.
“I think Leeds have done very well since they have got promoted,” said the Dane, whose side have drawn their past two league games and go into tomorrow’s encounter on the back of a Champions League draw against Bodø/Glimt they were extremely fortunate to scrape. “Elland Road is one of the best games to go to because the atmosphere is always great. Clearly, they have been very good at home. They give very little away in open play. It could be 90 minutes back and forth.”
Frank told reporters that Cristian Romero is fit and available for tomorrow’s match after missing out on the trip to the Arctic Circle with a foot injury. Dominic Solanke has undergone a surgical procedure on a foot issue of his own and will be out until after the international break, while Randal Kolo Muani has been back on the grass for the past couple of days “so that’s good news”.
Brentford: While tactically outwitting the current iteration of Manchester United managed by Ruben Amorim is hardly up there with splitting the atom, Keith Andrews did exactly that in fine style when Brentford beat them at the Gtech Community Stadium last Saturday. Andrews will be hoping for a repeat performance against Pep Guardiola and Manchester City when their team coach pulls up at the famous bus stop in Hounslow on Saturday.
“It is us as a club and our team against theirs,” said the Dubliner at his pre-match press conference. “It is about the players and how we can prepare them to go into a really, really tough game against a top, top manager and top players who have world-class ability. It is about how we can nullify that and stop that, as well as cause them real problems.”
Brentford winger Fabio Carvalho should be in contention on Sunday having missed the win over United with a minor knee injury, while Reiss Nelson has also resumed training following an illness.
Sunderland: Speaking of Regis, despite his side’s splendid start to the season in which they have already picked up 11 points and established themselves as genuine title contenders, the Frenchman is not satisfied and thinks his side players to give him more.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow afternoon’s statement win against Manchester United, Le Bris said his side will need to “upgrade their performance” at Old Trafford. “It’s better to start with confidence and points and the feeling that we can be competitive in the league, even if it’s tough and every game is different,” he said.
“It’s really clear that it is collective work and everyone has their own role and it’s important to value, even the small tasks. I still believe that we’ll need to upgrade our performance to be competitive in Manchester. They are strong, create many chances from everywhere, direct play in behind, set-pieces, with talented players. So for us the only thing we can control is our way of playing, the way we want to play this game, to face this challenge, being aware that it will be tough.”
Sunderland’s most recent victory at Old Trafford came in May 2014, when the Swedish midfielder Sebastian Larsson scored the only goal of the game.
Nottingham Forest: Just six games into his tenure as Forest head coach and Ange Postecoglou can’t buy a win for love or money and already looks like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Asked what it is he thinks he needs to do to get Forest back to winning ways, he had this to say.
“As i said last night, we are not dealing with key moments in games very well. Certainly last night we conceded a really poor first goal from a set-piece. We have got back into the game and then literally from kick-off they have had a set-piece and we just didn’t deal with it well.
“We are having to chase games a fair bit and while we are creating opportunities we are not being as ruthless as we can be to see out games. It’s a combination of things that we need to fix.”
With games against Newcastle, Chelsea, Porto, Bournemouth and Manchester United coming up, it will intriguing to see if the Australian will be given more than a month to fix it. A win at St James’ Park against a Newcastle side who have been fairly inconsistent this season would certainly help his cause.
Personally, I think Forest fans have jumped the gun in calling for Postecoglou’s head already. While I was delighted to see my team, Sunderland, beat them last weekend, I thought Regis Le Bris’s side were lucky to take all three points. Sunderland scored from a free-kick that should never have been awarded, Forest played better on the night and but for the heroics of the Mackems’ goalkeeper Robin Roefs, they would probably have won quite easily. Other opinions are available.
Fan group criticises ‘unacceptable’ World Cup ticket prices
World Cup ticket prices: England fans have criticised the “astonishing” price of tickets for next summer’s World Cup – which could rise further with demand. Tickets first became accessible on Wednesday to those selected in a draw held last month, with The Athletic reporting that $60 tickets (£44.60) – which Fifa said would be the cheapest on offer – were extremely scarce.
Fifa has not confirmed starting prices for the tickets beyond the cheapest group stage ticket and the most expensive for the final, but the England Fans’ Embassy estimates that a fan attending every England match if they made it to the final – even buying tickets in the cheapest category – would spend at least $3,180 (£2,364). Fifa is operating what it describes as variable pricing for the tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, meaning prices could rise – or drop – depending on demand.
“These prices are astonishing – $2,000 dollars for the cheapest final ticket is unacceptable,” said Thomas Concannon from the England Fans’ Embassy. “If fans are successful in obtaining a category four ticket from the first game to the last, that could set them back $3,180 dollars at least. That is more than double what Qatar cost.
“Combined with travel to the Americas and accommodation, this will be the most expensive World Cup for match-going fans we’ve ever seen by some distance. A healthy allocation of the lowest category of tickets should be made available to participating nations that are not affected by host city location or dynamic pricing. Additionally, participating nation tickets should be located in key areas directly behind the goals to provide the best possible backing to their teams. We’d urge the FA to work with other nations around the world to put pressure on Fifa to keep this World Cup financially accessible for matchgoing fans.”
The Athletic also reported on Friday that Fifa would charge a 15 per cent commission on tickets bought and sold on its official resale platform. They reported that some tickets were already on sale for tens of thousands of dollars. England need two more wins in qualifying to guarantee their place at the finals next summer.
Leeds United: Joel Piroe was the subject of interest from other clubs during the summer but the striker insisted he wanted to stay at Leeds and “perform in the Premier League”. Piroe has since got his wish but only up to a point. After starting against Everton and Arsenal, the 26-year-old has not been picked since playing in his side’s embarrassing Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday. He will, however, be delighted to hear that his manager has bigging him up no end ahead of Leeds’ match against Tottenham Hotspur ast Elland Road tomorrow.
“For me, he’s the best finisher I’ve ever worked with and there’s been some good finishers,” said Daniel Farke of the Dutchman. “If you want to have a player with the ball in front of his feet 20 yards out, then I would always go for Joel Piroe because he’s an unbelievable finisher and in these terms, really world class. Sometimes different skills are asked for. In the last (few) games, it was bit more than a few other skills that we needed in order to be effective as a team.
“And of course, it’s difficult because we won’t, can’t take it out of him to become a completely different player and I don’t want this because I want him exactly this way. He’s more a player who’s not like the physical target striker, where you play balls into him and he holds the ball. He’s smart in his movements when there is a bit more space. He can also play as a No10. Sometimes he can play behind one striker, who creates a bit space, and then he goes into the holes and finishes. I’m 100 per cent sure that during the season the skills and the strength of Joel Piroe will be needed, definitely.”
For now, however, it seems Piroe remains behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha in the Leeds pecking order.
That’s all from me for now – Barry Glendenning is stepping in.
Ange continues, on Forest’s travails. What is the plan and style he’s trying to implement?
“I’d be surprised if anyone hasn’t seen a change. Results to one side … There is plenty of evidence that we have changed fundamentally the way we go about things, in terms of the way we set up, the possession we have, the chances we create, how aggressive we are with and without the ball. That’s always a work in progress, and we are still in a stage of discovery around players …
“I would be very surprised if anyone thought it would be an overnight sort of thing. But because results haven’t followed there’s a question mark …
“I’ve always felt results are the paramount thing. I wouldn’t get the team to play the way I want unless I thought it would win games of football. That’s why I set up the team the way I do. I never sacrifice a result to develop a playing style … how quickly I implement things, that slows down as a process (when results are bad).
“It’s our lack of focus in key moments. Maybe that’s a consequence of the change in everything?”
“It’s raw and fresh,” Postecoglou says of last night’s European defeat for Forest. “We’ve reviewed it and given feedback to the players. That’s the reality of football … it’s really important we start to prepare for a difficult game on Sunday (Newcastle on away).
“We are not dealing with key moments in games really well. We conceded a poor goal from a set-piece (last night) … we’re having to chase games a fair bit.
“While again, we are creating opportunities, we’re not being as ruthless as we can be to see out games. It’s a combination of things we need to fix.”
Set pieces seem to be a big problem?
“It was disappointing last night … I wasn’t happy at half-time. In the second half they had six or seven more set-pieces and didn’t get “first contact” on any of them. We didn’t change anything, it was just a change of mindset.”
Does he feel under pressure going into the international break?
“Look, I get it. It’s a valid sort of assumption in modern football that there is always a a manager under pressure. That is just part and parcel of what we do – but I just don’t think that way.
“Put it this way. I knew I was going to get sacked at Tottenham three or four months before I did. And that didn’t stop me winning something. It doesn’t enter my head. My responsibility lies with making sure this football club progresses … if I worry about what’s going to happen next week, I’m not performing the role I’ve been given … the things I control are the environment, training, the way we play … and I’m very strong in my belief that we’re not too far away.”
Ruben Amorim is asked why Manchester United fans should keep the faith, given ongoing poor form and results.
“It’s not time to say,” he says. “It’s time to show. I can look at the games in this year (season), for me, they are completely are different. There are some things that are the same … it’s other things we cannot change.
“We show “that thing” in certain games. In certain games we are not the same team in certain details. I have nothing to say in this moment. My job is to prepare the team, and let’s go for the next game.”
“It’s a crazy world we are living in at the moment,” says the United manager, Ruben Amorim, of yesterday’s deadly attack on the synagogue in Manchester.
“A lot of these things happening. Of course our sympathy for the victims. We will pay tribute to the victims tomorrow. But it’s a crazy world in this moment.”
Amorim’s side host Sunderland at 3pm.
The Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso has recalled midfielder Bryan Cristante for this month’s World Cup qualifiers against Estonia and Israel, but Liverpool’s Federico Chiesa has again been left out. Per Reuters …
Gattuso has included the uncapped Fiorentina midfielder Hans Nicolussi Caviglia and Bologna forward Nicolo Cambiaghi, along with Milan defender Matteo Gabbia.
Cristante has played 43 times for Italy, but the Roma player has not been a part of the current campaign, with his last cap coming at Euro 2024. Chiesa’s last cap also came at Euro 2024 and, while the winger has only come off the bench in the Premier League this season, he has scored twice for Liverpool.
Italy have won both games since Gattuso took over, a 5-0 thumping of Estonia last month followed by a dramatic 5-4 win over Israel. The Italians face those two sides again as they bid to reach the World Cup having missed the last two tournaments. Norway top Group I with 15 points, six ahead of Italy who have a game in hand.
Israel are level on nine points with the Italians and have played a game more. The group winners qualify automatically, with the runners-up going into the playoffs. Italy are away to Estonia on October 11 and host Israel three days later in Udine.
Tomorrow is Arteta’s 300th game in charge of Arsenal.
“All I can say is thank you. I enjoy every minute of it. I hope many more to come.”
What would make the next 300 games a success?
“Even with this win-rate (over 50% during Arteta’s tenure) we haven’t won major trophies. This level is not enough. That is what we will try to focus on doing.”
Arsenal injury update: “We weren’t too concerned about Gabriel,” Arteta says of the defender who was withdrawn against Olympiaco. “That hasn’t changed.
“Hincapie will be available after the international break … this (game) came too fast.”
Is he proud of England manager Thomas Tuchel praised Myles Lewis-Skelly? Yes! He is!
“Very much. Coming from Thomas, someone I know very well, for him to describe Myles in that way – credit to his family, to the boy, everyone involved with his development …
“He is professional in the way he engages with the team, you can always count on him.”
Arteta is here! The Gunners are playing West Ham tomorrow.
Will Unwin
Ange Postecoglou is yet to taste success, becoming the first Forest head coach in a century to fail to win any of their first six games. There was a poisonous atmosphere at the City Ground on Thursday night as they succumbed to the second-best team in Denmark. When supporters are calling for your sacking after 23 days, it is fair to say things are not going well. On Friday, though, there were no plans to dismiss Postecoglou.
Please, please, please send me an email.
Postecoglou. Arteta. Moyes. All these legends and more still to come.
The best moment from Pep’s press conference had to be this, though:
Reporter: “Rodri came off the other night, and you conceded that late equaliser.”
Pep: “Are you suggesting they scored because Nico González was in the pitch and not Rodri? How do you know that?”
Reporter: “I can’t prove it.”
Pep: “Me neither. So, change the subject.”
Classically snippy Pep!
Re: today’s hot topic. I felt Postecoglou was a bizarre appointment for Forest given Tottenham’s Premier League struggles last season. From what I’ve seen recently (a bit of the defeat by Sunderland and a bit of last night’s debacle) Forest are attacking in incredibly predictable fashion, are relatively easy to defend against, and have basically fallen apart as a defensive unit. It’s all a long way from the glory days of last season.