Who will get their hands on this in May?Photograph: Zac Goodwin/PA
LAD V DAD?
Three days into December and Football Daily has already polished off the advent calendar. The lack of self-discipline and short-sightedness is as astounding as it is predictable and part of the reason we are writing tea-timely emails rather than hoovering up any of the FSA awards, dished out on Monday night to our so-called counterparts. Enjoy the gongs, journalists. I hope they make you happy. Dear Lord, what sad little lives. Christmas should be a time for joy but for those of us floundering, it can also be a difficult time to negotiate. Just ask Everton fans: fresh from having their tails handed to them at Old Trafford, the club now face a crucial relegation clash at home to Wolves on Wednesday, before a set of festive fixtures trickier than Football Daily’s Christmas lights: the Merseyside derby at home to Liverpool on Saturday, before games against Arsenal, Chelsea and on Boxing Day, Manchester City. That Christmas Day hangover is going to hit different.
At least the FA Cup third-round draw was relatively kind to the Toffees, who were handed a home tie against Peterborough United to bring in the new year. The mid-table League One side shouldn’t pose any problems to Sean Dyche – assuming he hasn’t already been booted through the large Goodison door marked Do One by that stage, but the game does also throw up the prospect of Ashley Young, 39, playing against his son, Posh forward Tyler, 18. Not only does this mean that there is a cosy, family narrative to this otherwise forgettable game of association football, but also the possibility that Everton fans could suffer further ignominy as their right-back, nearly in his 40s, is given another runaround by his offspring. “WOW………. Dreams Might Come True #FaCup #GoosebumpsMoment #YoungVsYoung,” tweeted Young Snr at the news of the draw, seemingly unaware that it could be his son that puts him into retirement.
Everton aren’t the only top-flight team at risk of an upset. In a repeat of this Wednesday’s Premier League clash, Manchester United face the unenviable trip to Arsenal. Could there be anything more Spursy than getting turned over at Tamworth? Will City’s dismal run extend to January, when Salford City cross Manchester to visit the Etihad? Gary Neville, co-owner of the League Two club, will certainly hope so. And Leeds will play neighbours Harrogate Town for the first time in their history. Absolutely mouthwatering, those little advent chocolates. And the FA Cup draw wasn’t bad either. Roll on January.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Join John Brewin at 7.45pm for minute-by-minute updates from the Lionesses 2-1 Switzerland in their international friendly, while Scott Murray will be on deck at 8.15pm for live Premier League coverage of Leicester 2-1 West Ham.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Maybe Mo [Salah] knows more about the 115 accusations that are done so he expects [Manchester City] not to be in the Premier League next season. Maybe I’ve said already too much about the joke I’ve just made. So that will probably get the headlines. But it was a joke, I repeat, a joke” – it’s the way Arne Slot tells ‘em, as he reverses quick-style after claiming Salah may have played his last match against Manchester City. Let’s see how that is reported in certain places over the next 24 hours.
THE TOP 100
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Part one of our list revealing the 100 best female players in the world is live; peruse numbers 100-71, here.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
As a resident of Tamworth and knowing how tight The Lamb ground is, I’d just like to give the Spurs fans some advice and maybe a word of warning: yes, there is more parking just to the west by the Snowdome indoor ski slope, but it’s all downhill from there. Yeah, that sounded better in my head” – Anthony T.
Re: yesterday’s Football Daily letters. I’m crushed by your treatment of Mark McFadden. I thought it’d win a prize, but just didn’t happen. I thought his rhyme scheme had a nice patter. In the end, though, it just doesn’t matter. Chris Jersan’s fine note got him the swag. Perhaps the result was always in the bag. But the biggest question from both letters will be a surprise to no one. Will Pep, in fact, head for the door marked Do One?” – Mike Wilner.
Football Daily visitors to the fair city of Dublin should make a pilgrimage to the area around Abbey Street, Amiens Street, Capel Street, Dorset Street, Henry Street, Mountjoy Square, Marlboro Street, North Wall, O’Connell Street, Parnell Square, Summerhill and Talbot Street. It’s centrally located and all the doors therein include the post code DO1” – Simon Mazier.
Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is …. Simon Mazier, who lands their very own piece of Football Weekly merch. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.
RECOMMENDED LOOKING
Dust off the old Bricusse and Newley songbook: it’s the Fifa Man, ol’ Gianni starring front and centre in this week’s David Squires cartoon.
RECOMMENDED SHOPPING
It’s out on Thursday but you can order your copy of David’s latest tome, Chaos in the Box, at a £3 discount, right now.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
The latest edition of Football Weekly is here, here, here. They’re chatting about Frank Lampard’s Coventry and all things Football League. And the Women’s Football Weekly pod squad also gather for their latest show.
JUST THE TICKET
Rival fans in Manchester and Liverpool united at the weekend to protest against rising ticket prices. The headline-grabbing figure was a hike from a minimum £40 to £66 for a home admittance to watch Manchester United, which led to understandable fury in M16. Nice one, Big Sir Jim! So we were pleasantly bowled over by news out of Brentford, the Bees launching a new initiative to make it more affordable for young fans to attend Premier League games. The Gen10 scheme will see junior away supporters pay no more than a tenner to watch the team in action on the road. And because they’re decent eggs, rival clubs’ away fans who are under 18, will pay the same to watch their side play at the Gtech Community Stadium. “We’re putting young fans first to ensure they can watch their team on the road by keeping football affordable and accessible,” cheered chief suit Jon Varney. “Clubs have the power to make the game more affordable for everyone … and we want to play our part. We hope other clubs follow this initiative.” Brentford are also subsidising the cost of junior away tickets at league matches where the host club charges more than £10.
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
Nine men have been arrested following reports of tragedy chanting at the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia has struckjust the 900-plus sponsorship deals across the sporting laundrylandscape and made dozens of formalised agreements with football federations as it readies to be rubber-stamped as the 2034 World Cup host.
Marc Guéhi and Crystal Palace have been given a formal reminder of FA rules after the defender wore a rainbow armband with “I love Jesus” written on it. In related news, Ipswich have revealed captain Sam Morsy chose not to wear an armband in support of the LGBTQ+ community due to “his religious beliefs”.
Everybody hurts, sometimes … and Ruud van Nistelrooy is no different. The new Leicester manager says he was saddened by the way Manchester United discarded him after appointing Ruben Amorim. “I was disappointed, yeah, very much so, and it hurt that I had to leave,” sniffed Van Nistelrooy. “The only job I would take as an assistant was at United because of the bond that I have with the people in the club and the fans. But in the end I got my head round it.”
In surprise news, West Ham are not considering David Moyes as a replacement for Julen Lopetegui, whose future is under growing pressure after the home shellacking by Arsenal. They like the cut of Sérgio Conceição’s jib instead.
Rebranding news: the Women’s Championship could be renamed as Women’s Super League 2 from next season onwards, in a move that would involve the second tier reverting to its previous name.
And Sarina Wiegman – perhaps while placing a few tacks on dressing room benches – says she wants her England players to feel “uncomfortable” so they can learn new things before Euro 2025. “You want everyone to compete at the highest level, to compete against opponents but also compete with each other,” roared the Lionesses’ manager before their friendly against Switzerland. “That’s what you need to become better, and that’s uncomfortable.”
STILL WANT MORE?
Since Erik ten Hag departed Manchester United it has become apparent that Amad Diallo might, in fact, not be worse than Erik ten Hag’s Antony. The young Ivorian can become a key member of Ruben Amorim’s first team in a new wing-back role, reckons Ben McAleer.
Virgil van Dijk is irreplaceable, writes Barney Ronay, so Liverpool might as well avoid replacing him until they have no choice.
And in September 1987, Liverpool defender Steve Nicol scored a hat-trick away at Newcastle as Kenny Dalglish’s men stormed to the title. Steven Pye remembers perhaps the club’s greatest-ever squad.
MEMORY LANE
Summer 1991: Leeds reach the top flight for the first time in 17 years and Gordon Strachan celebrates in grand style, donning an old Melchester Rovers kit to pose for a photo with the club’s legendary centre-forward and player-manager, Roy Race.
GUESS WE’LL SEE YOU ON FRIDAY