Right that’s the end of today’s football blog. Thanks to all who have engaged, especially those who emailed in your questions. It’s always a pleasure to field them and to keep this blog populated.
I’ll leave you with this timely piece by Jacob Steinberg on Lee Carsley. Enjoy your weekends, folks.
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall has urged his side to put their disappointing midweek Champions League trip to Bayern Munich behind them ahead of their Women’s Super League clash with Chelsea.
A late hattrick from former Chelsea forward Pernille Harder saw the Gunners defeated 5-2 in Munich on Wednesday night, just days after a frustrating goalless draw in the league to Everton.
Reflecting on the Bayern defeat, Eidevall said in his latest press conference: “I think it’s the same as I said after the game, our first half is in many parts a decent game of football from our side.
“We’re really disappointed with how we acted in the last 15-20 minutes in the game and I think the last two goals we conceded should not happen like that.
“That of course leaves us with a bitter feeling; it’s a tough learning point for us to take but we need to do that in order to get to where we want to be and we need to look forward to tomorrow.”
Arsenal are sixth in the table coming the Chelsea game and Eidevall is excited about the challenge.
“The games that they have played, you can see that [Chelsea] set a clear trademark on how they’re playing, both in and out of possession,” he added. “I think they look like a really good football team, so it’s going to be a match between two really good football teams and we look forward to that challenge.” PA
Is Mauricio Pochettino international football’s most high-profile manager? He’s not won too many trophies, as his critics often point out, but he can certainly give the USA a boost.
Here’s the Stateside assessment of Poch’s first squad via Alexander Abnos and what it says about the brave new future.
Oh no.
More United stuff. Captain Bruno Fernandes admits he has to take more responsibility for his lack of goals.
The 30-year-old has not scored in his past 15 club appearances, stretching back to April, and accepts he has not met his own exacting standards.
“As for the club, I want to improve as soon as I get there, and make sure the goals start coming again,” Fernandes told Portuguese media while on international duty preparing for their Nations League match against Poland.
“I have to take responsibility for that too, because I’m a midfielder who scores a lot of goals, and over the years, I’ve always been at a very high level in terms of goals and I have to live up to that, with those expectations.
“I also have my own standards, I don’t hold back on that. I haven’t scored for the club yet and I hope that as soon as I get there I can score and help the club get back to winning ways and to a good level.” PA
Some Manchester United news. And some good news at that. Kobbie Mainoo is reportedly on the brink of a new contract. That’d be richly deserved.
It’s hard to believe it was less than 12 months ago Mainoo burst onto the scene with a memorable Premier League debut against Everton. Since then he’s scored an FA Cup winning goal, broken into the England team, and starred at a tournament, becoming integral for club and country, all by the age of 19.
'Forever a Blade' – Sheffield United tributes to Baldock
Sheffield United owner Prince Abdullah and chairman Yusuf Giansiracusa also paid tribute to Baldock on Friday morning.
“Like all Blades, we received the news of George Baldock’s tragic and premature passing with overwhelming sadness,” a statement read. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, as well as his friends and all who knew him, not least the Sheffield United family.
“George played every minute on the pitch with passion, commitment and the ability associated with our football club, and his role in our campaigns to achieve two promotions will live long in our memories and the history of the club.
“George served United with distinction – he remains a Blade.”
I’d encourage you all to watch this moving tribute to George Baldock by his former manager.
Manager Chris Wilder has shared the following tribute to George Baldock. pic.twitter.com/GFgsh1ggvp
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) October 11, 2024
And as sure as night follows day, Football Daily has landed and it starts with an England-related apology.
Speaking of Lee Carsley, as we are quite a lot, England’s Under-21s are in action tonight, under the studious eye of interim boss Ben Futcher.
They’re taking on Ukraine at the Vitality Stadium.
I promised no more England emails but this one comes from Graham Potter. Whether it’s THE Graham Potter or not, who knows?
Southgate’s caution is what protected England’s pretty average defence from the kind of calamity we saw last night. Imagine what a top class team would have done to an England so top heavy and unstructured, trying to shoehorn players in at the expense of any kind of system or method. Last night ought to kill off all the clamours for such obvious nonsense.
Yes, the attacking balance was wrong in the summer – notably on the left – but the front-to-back balance, erring on the side of caution, gave us a platform for the attack to succeed or fail. There was no platform last night; just a loose, open, unstructured shape that exposed a back five who are simply not world-class, have never played together and looked all at sea. England fans seemingly remain as deluded as ever. It’s Palmer or Saka on the right, it’s Palmer, Foden or Bellingham at 10, it’s not all four of them in the same team, no matter how talented they are individually.
Part of me thinks Carsley had a free hit – he likely wants to stay back with the U21s and not the fearsome spotlight of the top job – to bow to the pressure from the media and fans and prove that throwing stars at the pitch and asking them to just “do your thing” wasn’t ever going to work.
This is a lovely chat between Marc Cucurella and Sid Lowe but I’m afraid that horrendous ‘Cu-Cu-Curella’ drunken post-Euros song is stuck in my head whenever I read or hear about the Spain left-back. Sorry, Marc.
On the Football Weekly Extra podcast …@maxrushden and @MeulensteenPien discuss the pressures Jude Bellingham might be feeling after England's defeat to Greece in the Nations League https://t.co/Fbi3iX0dw3 pic.twitter.com/DwqtZ9IKsx
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) October 11, 2024
While we’re on the subject of Wales and managers, these quotes from Rob Page, speaking to the BBC’s Football Daily podcast, hit hard.
“When you get the sack, you don’t want to leave, it’s not your choice. It was a hard one to take. It took me a little while to come to terms with it, if I’m honest. Nothing surprises you in football.”
On his future, he added: “I’m looking forward now to my next challenge. I’m quite open.
“I loved international football, but if there’s an opportunity to go back into the domestic game, and it’s the right opportunity that fits for both parties, then I’d absolutely consider it.”
If you’ve ever asked ‘whatever happened to Player X’ consider all of those questions answered, here, as we check in on our NextGen 2021 batch:
Craig Bellamy is excited about his second international break with Wales.
“Hopefully we’ve been able to build on the first camp,” he says ahead of tonight’s clash with Iceland. “We’ve been able to spend more time with one another and do more work out on the pitch but also in meetings.
“We will see if it’s able to push us up again. It’s been really positive from not just players but everyone. Everyone is full of energy.
“We have a group of players who know what elite is and there’s a certain standard you have to abide by to be able to do that and these players are doing that.
“I’ve got to be honest, I’m excited. I know this group was good and I knew it was bold to take the manager’s job. I have to be honest, I was excited after the first camp but this camp has gone up again.”
I won’t include too many more England-related emails for fear of over-saturation (and perhaps boredom for those who aren’t English). Consider this your last warning before a Three Lions amnesty for an hour or two.
Updated
The England chat continues to pour into my inbox.
Mandy Leeson says let’s not overreact re Carsley: “The Nations League is the perfect opportunity to experiment. This experiment may have been woefully misguided and a huge gamble, but it showed that he is not frightened to take a risk. Don’t write him off just yet.
”And Lee, if you’re reading this, you either need to play Bellingham further back if you want to play all three together, or you’re going to have to alternate. We need a team who play for each other and know their job, rather than an array of outstanding individuals. Good luck!”
Reports in Spain are suggesting Barcelona have postponed their return to the Camp Nou until March 2025, having initially thought (or hoped) the stadium could be ready to host games in November or December this year. Even February looks too soon, with ESPN reporting that possibility is “increasingly unlikely”.
Here’s how it’s supposed to look:
Barcelona's Camp Nou upgrade looks incredible 🔥pic.twitter.com/p7xfF2T1U3
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 23, 2023
And here’s what it looked like as of yesterday:
Los primeros asientos del Spotify Camp Nou 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/Wn7hTkAktn
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) October 10, 2024
Save of the month as well? Oh, go on then. André Onana has been one of the few Manchester United players to start the season well.
Andre Onana wins September's Save of the Month award for his incredible reactions against Crystal Palace! ⚡️#PLAwards | @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/8mHTiHLkMd
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 11, 2024
Forest’s reply to their hefty FA fine is in – they will, predictably, appeal it. A statement from the club reads as follows:
“Nottingham Forest Football Club is extremely disappointed with the decision of the Regulatory Commission to impose a £750,000 fine in relation to comments posted on social media following our Premier League fixture against Everton on Sunday 21 April.
“We are particularly concerned that The FA, in its submissions, sought a sanction ‘in excess of £1,000,000’.
“We believe that this request, along with the subsequent fine, is wholly disproportionate and the club will be appealing the decision.”
At this point I’m duty bound to include a picture of the corner flag at the City Ground.
Updated
Scotland take on Croatia in Zagreb on Saturday night and Ewan Murray reports on the Scots’ rising new star.
Chelsea have completed a double scoop of September’s player and manager of the month awards, with Enzo Maresca’s unbeaten month as Stamford Bridge supremo enough to earn him the latter. (Yet another Pep Guardiola snub).
Maresca would be nowhere, of course, without Cole Palmer who has deservedly been named the Premier League’s best player for September.
The goal of the month? It’s this howitzer:
What. A. Strike. 🤤
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 11, 2024
Jhon Duran's long-range effort against Everton has won September's Guinness Goal of the Month award! #PLAwards | @AVFCOfficial pic.twitter.com/vXs31jRuJZ
A classic bit of trolling (presumably) from Pedro on email:
People seem to forget that Greece have won a major tournament a lot more recently than England have. Maybe England should have been considered underdogs here and a loss isn’t really that surprising.
Whereas John Young is backing Carsley:
Unlike Southgate, who did well to apparently bring about a more relaxed and amenable culture, but who was in thrall to structures and systems and had a problem with talent that he couldn’t quite fit (most notably Trent & Jack), Carsley recognises that the current crop of England players contains an immense amount of talent and he seems determined to get the Bellinghams, Palmers, Grealishes, etc playing together in the same team.
Sure, we came unstuck against a workmanlike and enthusiastic Greek side, but Carsley’s determination to pick the most talented players available and to achieve the balance that was so sorely lacking in the England Euros squad, make him, as far as I’m concerned, undoubtedly the right man for the job.
Of course, if we fail to beat Finland on Sunday, Ireland at Wembley and the Greeks in Athens I’ll eat my hat.
Nottingham Forest fined for 'VAR is a Luton fan' comments
Nottingham Forest have been fined £750,000 and warned over their future conduct after posting comments about VAR Stuart Attwell on social media towards the end of last season.
The club had denied the comments, made in April after during their quest to stave off relegation, brought the game into disrepute by implying bias and/or questioning the integrity of match officials. An independent regulatory commission found the Football Association charge proven.
Forest felt they should have been awarded three penalties during a defeat at Everton last season and after the game, they posted on their official X account: “Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept.
“We warned the PGMOL that the VAR (Attwell) is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times. NFFC will now consider its options.”
Updated
Even at 32 and after all he’s been through… Christian Eriksen is still integral to club and country at the highest level. But will he remain at United?
🚨🇩🇰 Christian Eriksen when asked on Wednesday by @EkstraBladet if he has spoken to Manchester United about continuing past this season:
— Stretford Paddock (@StretfordPaddck) October 11, 2024
"No, we are not there at the moment".
He has not yet confirmed whether he will be staying or going. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/8wFhIjtsse
Back to England fallout and Carsley chat and Rick Harris adds a few thoughts on an email entitled ‘what is a team?’. Very meta, Rick.
It was crystal clear in the first half that the decision to play triple number 10s was a total brain fart. As England came out after the break we saw Bellingham as top dog telling Palmer where he wanted him to play, and then there was little Phil Foden scurrying along behind shouting ‘Hey, Jude what about me?’
Greece were clearly hugely motivated by the sad death of George Baldock but more importantly they were a coherent team with every player knowing his job and working to support his team mates. England by contrast had an experimental left back, a continually out of position right back, a holding midfielder (Rice) who thinks he should be a playmaker (he shouldn’t), a total absence of on-field leadership (Stones is not captain material), three guys vying for the ‘creative genius’ role, and wingers who saw no point in taking on their full backs to get to the goal line because there was no striker to cross to.
The Carsley experiment has failed. Just hope the FA can poach Eddie Howe.
Just our Manchester football correspondent out asking the big questions this international break. Respect.
Is cheese on toast underrated???
— jamie jackson (@JamieJackson___) October 11, 2024
“We will never forget him.”
Ireland’s Liam Scales has urged his countrymen to believe they can succeed where England failed against Greece on Sunday.
Scales and the Republic head for Athens on a high after Thursday night’s dramatic 2-1 win in Finland, the first of their Nations League B2 campaign at the third attempt – and a maiden victory for new head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson.
However, they will have little time to reflect that as they face a Greek side fresh from stunning the Three Lions at Wembley.
Looking ahead to the game at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Celtic defender Scales said: “Obviously it’s a tough fixture, we have struggled against them in the past.
“But we are going in on a high now and we need to make this a mentality, a winning mentality, that we can go away to tough places and take wins. That’s how you are going to qualify for tournaments, so that’s the way we need to look at this game.
“We have played them enough to know what they are like and it’s just about going out there and being solid and hopefully winning the game.”
From Macclesfield with love, thanks John.
So what’s the pick of tonight’s (slim) international offering? Iceland v Wales could be tasty; Germany go to Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Dutch are in Hungary. You can find buildup to some or all of those games to come.
Time to hand over to the Poynton prince, Dominic Booth.
Manchester City to appoint Hugo Viana as sporting director
Per Will Unwin
The former Portugal and Newcastle midfielder is set to move to the Premier League champions early next year with City envisaging a lengthy handover period that would see Viana work alongside Begiristain before he takes over the role at the end of this season.
When it became clear that 55-year-old Begiristain was set to depart after 12 years working for City, the club embarked on an extensive search for a replacement. Viana has won many admirers for the work he has done at Sporting, helping them to win two Primeira Liga titles in his six-year spell there. Viana has become known for sourcing young talented players from around the world. He has overseen the sales of Manuel Ugarte, Matheus Nunes and Nuno Mendes in recent summers to help bring in healthy transfer fees for players.
Rob Kelly gets in touch too: “A thought for the blog - perhaps England’s players just aren’t that good. How many of them could we say are good enough to change games when we’re up against it? It’s all very well looking brilliant for Arsenal/City/Liverpool when you’ve got Haaland, Odegard or VVD to controlling the game but when these guys play for England, suddenly the onus is on them - and as we saw in the summer, they don’t really know how to react.
“It’s all a bit of a worry with Kane’s star seemingly fading. How often have his predatory instincts bailed us out over the past eight years? Without him, I wonder if we even have a genuinely world class player who can take the team up a level and turn a very poor defeat into a narrow, undeserved win. Bellingham seems to be the best hope on that front but he’s still quite young.
“I’ve also got a theory on whether we really ought to be using ‘lesser’ players from smaller clubs who actually have to take responsibility week in, week out, but I’ll leave that for another day.”
Krishna gets in touch: “Should an animated logo of a knee-jerk replace the Three Lions. The general public, fans and even experienced reporters appear too quick to condemn or deify a manager after just one unfavorable/ positive result.”
“And also the whole narrative of “England lost” taking centrestage is depriving the Greece team the accolades they deserve - more so given the difficult mental trauma thay played the game with (probably that is what made them go that extra mile and win it for Georgie).”
The second point is well made.
She blinded me with science.
Unlike last season when their 20.8 shots-per-game average was the highest in the league, Liverpool’s high xG this season is not so much due to shot volume. Slot’s Liverpool have averaged 15.3 shots a game in the Premier League, only averaging fewer under Klopp in 2018-19 (15.1). It was busy at both ends for Liverpool in 2023-24 as their 10.9 shots faced last season was their highest average under Klopp. That’s come down to 9.1 this season.
Are they looking after the ball better now, as Slot wanted them to? Liverpool average 570.1 passes a game in the Premier League this season, lower than every full Klopp season. However, although they are attempting fewer passes, their accuracy (86.6%) is higher than in any league campaign under the German. Liverpool’s average possession of 60.3% is their lowest since 2015-16 but is still the third highest in the Premier League this season behind only Manchester City (63.5%) and Tottenham (62.4%).
WSL record appearance-maker Jordan Nobbs interview here:
You have to give yourself a pat on the back. You’re not sitting there counting the number of games you have played. But I think I did see how hard I had worked to get there. I want to enjoy those in football and not just let them pass by.
Lee Carsley decides to end his job interview.
A Stateside view of Jurgen Klopp’s new job.
Peter Cormack 1946-2024
A real star of the 1970s, for Hibs and Liverpool.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of former midfielder Peter Cormack, aged 78.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 11, 2024
Rest in peace, Peter.
Everyone at Hibernian FC is deeply saddened by the passing of former Hibee Peter Cormack at the age of 78.
— Hibernian Football Club (@HibernianFC) October 11, 2024
Rest in peace, Peter. pic.twitter.com/H1G3cDUg16
Cormack’s Liverpool pomp here.
Last night’s Football Weekly – it was recorded last night – is here.
Should the game have gone ahead?
Some quotes from Dominic Solanke, who came on against Greece and set up Jude Bellingham’s goal.
It was good, it would have been a lot better if we managed to get the win tonight, but it didn’t quite go to plan. We didn’t play how we wanted to. I am over the moon to be out there, last time was a long time ago so a lot has happened since then but I was happy to be out there.
It was amazing, every cap for your country you need to cherish it because there is so much competition, so it is another cap.”
On our day we are good enough to beat anyone, we have got good players all over the pitch. Some games are difficult, we didn’t quite manage to get it right. We are lucky enough to have another game in a few days so we have a chance to go out there and get a win. We need to rest and recover and go again.
Jacob Steinberg was unsparing with his ratings from Wembley.
Elsewhere, great win for Ireland in Finland. If you can, try and find Robbie Brady’s goal. Here he is speaking in Helsinki.
🗣"Winning games is the only way you're going to build confidence."
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) October 11, 2024
🗣"There's millions of pounds of talent in that dressing room."
Robbie Brady reacts after his Man of the Match display against Finland.
Football on Off The Ball with @WilliamHillIre pic.twitter.com/jS3jz6a24k
Updated
Then, that very odd press conference from Lee Carsley:
“I was quite surprised after the last camp in terms of the job’s mine and it’s mine to lose and all the rest of it,” the 50-year-old said. “My remit has been clear. I’m doing three camps, there’s three games left and then hopefully I’ll be going back to the 21s. It’s had almost no impact.”
Carsley, who stepped into the senior role following Gareth Southgate’s departure, was asked to clarify his comments on three more occasions. “I said at the start I wouldn’t rule myself in or out,” he continued. “That’s still the case. I’m more than comfortable in my position, where I am. The remit was clear. I’m comfortable and confident with that. After the first camp I didn’t get too excited or believe too much. I’m very aware that this job is one of the best jobs in the world.”
Let’s start with Barney Ronay’s withering verdict.
No doubt Carsley has the best intentions with these games, one of them being to try and get the England job by making people like him and think he’s a new thing. But this was also the most shapeless, weirdly arrogant attempt to reinvent the basic notion of international football against a team that can actually play.
Preamble
So then, Lee Carsley may not be the answer. And England will never play a false 9 again, after doing without once since 1872. What an odd, and actually rather exhilarating defeat to Greece that was. First of all, congratulations, Greece. If that one was for George Baldock, then all credit to them. It’s quite amazing they managed to put together such a coherent performance.
Meanwhile, England were the opposite of coherent. A mess, frankly, and here’s where the recriminations begin. Carsley will take the blame, and Gareth Southgate will be yearned for. Not easy, this, is it? There’s Finland to play yet but Carsley’s post-match words seemed to suggest he’s happy to go back to being Under-21 manager. So there’s a vacancy. And that’s where the fun starts.
All that, and the various international reaction, plus the continuing adventures of Manchester City’s lawyerball team/the Red Cartel (delete as applicable). And whatever else we can find.
Join us.
