That’s all for today: We’ll bid you farewell on a day when Mikel Arteta issued an apology (of sorts) to Chelsea, Ian Holloway admitted that watching The Terminator gave him a pathological fear of computers and Pep Guardiola vowed not to stay in (what others perceive to be) his lane when it comes to speaking his mind. Enjoy the weekend’s sport, wherever it may take you!
Burnley: The Clarets host West Ham in a must-win game tomorrow and are staring down the barrel of a third relegation in three Premier League seasons. Will Unwin reports …
Celtic: Speaking ahead of his side’s Scottish Cup match against Dundee tomorrow, Martin O’Neilll confirmed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will undergo a medical tomorrow and will sign short-term deal until the end of the season.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has been a free agent since leaving the Turkish side Besiktas in August and has not played a competitive football match since May but has been training with his former club Arsenal in order to keep fit.
“I spoke to him this morning,” said O’Neill. “I think he wants to come and and I think he’s coming. I would have assumed he’s gotten a number of options.
“I think there was even talk about Arsenal, where he is training, might take him on because they might pick up a couple of injuries, so I’m delighted that he’s going to come, so he says.
“So I think he’s doing a medical tomorrow and all being well, I’m hoping that he signs on. This boy is here to try and play and try and get into the team and try and get as fit as possible as quickly as possible. I think it would be nice to have him here with the squad just for at least these couple of months.”
Sunderland: Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka has been denied what could have been an emotional and eventful return to the Emirates Stadium tomorrow due to an ankle problem that has kept him out of his side’s last two games. Despite his injury, Xhaka is expected to travel with his teammates to provide moral support.
“There is no major update at the minute but his presence around the team is still really strong,” said Regis Le Bris. “We look forward to having the best version of him back soon.”
Sunderland’s head coach also offered an update on deadline-day signing Nilson Angulo, the 22-year-old Ecuadorian winger who joined the Wearside club from Anderlecht. “He’s played a lot, so he’s fit,” said Le Bris. “Now it’s a case of connecting with the team and the squad. He could be available for Saturday.”
Scottish Cup: Tomorrow’s match between Aberdeen and Motherwell has fallen victim to the weather and been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Pittodrie.
“In order to minimise disruption for both sets of supporters, it was agreed between all parties to host a preliminary inspection,” read a statement on Aberdeen’s website.
“A match official carried out an assessment at 2pm today and given the current condition of the pitch, and with no prospect of improved weather in the next 24 hours, an early decision has been taken to postpone tomorrow’s Scottish Cup tie.”
Aberdeen’s Scottish Premiership match against Celtic, which was due to be played on Wednesday night, was also postponed due to adverse weather conditions.
Aston Villa: Ther club’s Europa League adventures means they’re don’t get too many uninterrupted weeks of training but while Unai Emery likes to keep busy, he was glad to have a long run-up to tomorrow’s game against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
“I prefer to play a lot of matches but when we can have some weeks free to work or to recover some players after they have been injured, the circumstance makes sense if we want some space to work and be free for matches,” he said.
“We are trying to set our new players. Of course, with Leon Bailey and Douglas Luiz [who are back at the club] it’s easier but they need again to adapt quickly to the demands we have. Tammy Abraham, he needs to adapt again quick about how we are setting our standards. Alysson, too, is coming back progressively.”
An email: “I’ve enjoyed the James Milner chat, he’s worth spending words on,” writes Jeremy Boyce. |It seems to have never made a difference to him changing clubs and managers. He always gives 100% of himself wherever and for whoever, humble and modest despite his many honours, keeping himself in shape. We’re a long way from Sir Stanley numbers but he’s a credit to all 40 year old teenagers everywhere, including that one.
“Of course he started his career at Leeds, who are in action tonight against fellow strugglers Forest. Who’d have thought we’d be saying that today given their great histories and rivalries. And Cloughie. Lest we forget, Cloughie had left Derby for Brighton, and was then poached (to fill the Revie vacuum) by the Leeds he had always criticised, for a reign that lasted all of 44 days before he left and went to Forest, who he led to serial glories.
“For all that I like Farke and Dyche (decent blokes and managers by all accounts), what would either of these two give for a bit of Cloughie magic this evening?”
Fulham: “The environment is good,” said Marco Silva, of a squad that is only missing three players – Sasa Lukic, Oscar Bobb and Rodrigo Munoz – through injury ahead of tomorrow’s match against Everton at Craven Cottage. “The feelings are very good. You can feel it during the week, how competitive it will be in the future.
“That competition, the sound, everything is different. That is nice to see with all of them around and all of them competing for the position. Of course, there is going to be tougher, more competitive sessions, things that you can work in many different ways as well. It is a very good feeling for me, for my staff and even the players they feel it, that is going to be good.
“If you have normal solutions, you can start the game the way you want to start and to make changes if we have to throughout the game. It is always very good if you look around yourself and you see solutions there to have an impact.”
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Aston Villa: Unai Emery’s side travel to Bournemouth tomorrow and with Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans and John McGinn all absent, the Spaniard has been talking about having to shift personnel around the centre of his midfield.
“We have a key structure in place with those players,” he said. “Now, with Amadou Onana [returning] he was not 100% last week, Lamare Bogarde is doing his task and helping us a lot, but he needs to continue to get better.
“Ross Barkley coming back is very, very important. He knows us and he has the skill needed to play as a number 8 or 10. In two months we have changed a lot in the middle. We must build again a strong structure in that key position. We have enough players and we must do it. And we need everybody’s help to get it.”
Crystal Palace: “He has a similar profile to JP [Mateta],” said Oliver Glasner of Palace’s new signing, Jorgen Strand Larsen. “We wanted a tall and physical number number nine and Jorgen has a great mentality and a great character. He has shown it this week in training that he has this feeling inside the box.
“We trust in him. We’re always looking at the profiles and the character of the player, and Jorgen shows both – that’s why we had a huge effort to get him into the building. He’s shown it this week in training.
“He’s hungry to score goals, and of course he needs to get the ball in the right areas, but he has this feeling where to move in the box – he’s scored a few nice goals.”
With Glasner having confirmed that Mateta will not be available for Palace’s match against Brighton on Sunday, Larsen is expected to make his debut for his new club. Daichi Kamada and Borna Sosa are both back from injury, while Adam Wharton returns from suspension.
Ian Holloway: "I've watched the Terminator"
Ian Holloway has renewed his war on “horrible computers” after his Swindon Town side were thrown out of the Vertu Trophy by the English Football League owing to an administrative error.
The League Two club fielded two ineligible players in last month’s victory against Luton – Ollie Clarke, who was serving a ban, and Aaron Drinan, who was not named on the team sheet – and at the time Holloway acknowledged it was a “major whoopsie”. Luton have now been reinstated into the competition and will face Plymouth in the quarter-finals.
Asked about the EFL’s decision at his press conference on Friday, Holloway’s answer to the opening question was 14 minutes long. Last week, responding to football authorities, the 62-year-old referenced “horrible computers that will take over the world”. On Friday he added: “Have you seen me with a computer? Oh my god ... Can you turn that on for me? I mean, it’s just not me. I’ve watched The Terminator – I’m scared of them.
“I have seen some things this season where I am even more determined to be who I am, and I stand up for the people without a voice, and I believe that I have done that now.”
The Swindon manager, renowned for his colourful turn of phrase, says he has spoken with Howard Webb, the PGMO’s refereeing chief, about the factors behind the error.
Sky Sports took the unusual step of sending a reporter to Holloway’s media conference on Friday afternoon. “I wish it wasn’t me … but that’s probably why you’re here, if I’m being brutally honest. I haven’t seen you at one of my talks before … We’re junkies for news, aren’t we? And is it good news? No. We’re all over it, aren’t we? So, maybe I should’ve saved it for my next book if that many people clicked on it last week.”
Holloway said the team-sheet error represents his biggest calamity across 46 years as a player and manager. “My most embarrassing day in football. English football is my life. Always has been, always will be. And I think I’ve carried the flag with passion. I take full responsibility for Swindon Town’s complete and utter exclusion from a cup competition.”
So that’s that, then.
Crystal Palace: While Dwight McNeil was enduring no end of frsutration in his bid to join Crystal Palace on deadline day, Jean-Philippe Mateta’s head could also be found in the tumble-dryer as his attempt to leave the club for AC Milan came unstuck due to a medical issue. Palace head coach Oliver Glasner has had his say …
“I’ve learned to accept situations,” he said. “My wish of course, and everyone at the club, would have been that JP gets what he wants and we get Jorgen and Dwight McNeil into the building and Marc Guehi’s replacement into the building.
“This is what everybody was working on until the final seconds. At the end of it the club tried everything with huge offers and huge bids for a Marc Guehi replacement but clubs said they don’t sell on deadline day.
“With JP it was a little bit earlier. Credit to the club that they without getting any money for JP spent a big fee on Strand Larsen. On the other side, McNeil was the last one we thought we could finalise but in the last minutes the terms of the deal changed again and the deal failed. I expected him and planned for him in the next day’s training.”
Arsenal: Despite their lofty league position of eighth in the table, the bookies have Sunderland as 14/1 outsiders to win at the Emirates tomorrow. Arsenal have not lost at home to a newly promoted side in any of their last 42 games, winning 37 and drawing five.
“As always, we’ve tried to prepare every weekend,” said Arteta. “Every opponent is different and bring very difficult challenges and we need to face them and we’ve been doing that for a lot of months now.
“And that’s the thing that we have to continue to do and play with our hunger and commitment every single game. Because if we do that, we have a big chance to win our games.”
Arsenal: Some injury news from Arteta’s press conference …
Bukayo Saka’s hip is “much better” but he won’t be available tomorrow.
Martin Odegaard will be back in “a matter of days”.
Jurrien Timber is back to full fitness and available for selection aganst Sunderland.
Mike Merino will “be out for a few months”.
Max Dowman will be out for a few more weeks.
Mikel Arteta: "We apologise"
Speaking before Arsenal’s match against Sunderland at the EMirates tomrrow afternoon, Mikel Arteta has been asked to address Liam Rosenior’s comments about his side’s apparent lack of respect for Chelsea during the warm-up for their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg on Tuesday night.
The Chelsea head coach took exception to the fact that one or more Arsenal staff encroached on his team’s half of the pitch while players were getting their pre-match sweat on.
“I don’t know, it’s his opinion and we respect everybody,” said Arteta. “At any point, if one of the staff members did that, we apologise. It’s very common in football. With the keepers they need to kick long balls.”
I won’t lie – I’ve heard more sincere apologies and who can blame Arteta for appearing to be bemused by what appears to be a big storm in a small teacup?
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Jhon Duran: The Colombian striker has just signed for his third club in just over a year since leaving Aston Villa. The 22-year-old was sold to Saudi Pro-League side Al-Nassr for £64m, only to be shipped out on loan to Fenerbahce six months later.
After a short and unproductive spell in Turkey, Duran has forced the cancellation of his loan and is currently en route to northern Russia to sign a short-term loan deal with Zenit St Petersburg. Duran has four-and-a half years left on his deal with Al-Nassr and is reported to be paid £321,000-per-week.
Everton: The club’s out-of-favour midfielder Dwight McNeil thought he had secured a permanent move to Crystal Palace on deadline day, only for the deal to collapse late doors apparently due to Palace’s failure to file the necessary paperwork on time.
McNeil’s partner, Megan Sharpley, subsequently posted an angry message on social media, claiming her distraught boyfriend had been treated cruelly and “toyed with until the final minute”. Plenty of people sympathised with the couple, while a lot of others … didn’t.
“Dwight’s fine,” said Moyes, when asked about it today. "He’s in and he’s training as well so Dwight’s OK. We understand exactly where it went wrong, how it broke down. He knows everything about it and there’s no problems there.
“I wouldn’t talk too much about it, but let me tell you 100% it had nothing to do with Everton Football Club, that’s for sure. It does happen and players have to live with it. It wasn’t that we didn’t want it to happen. We had given permission for Dwight to go and have a medical and do all of the things required for it, so it was very hard to do much more than we have done.”
Everton: Ahead of his side’s mid-table clash kerfuffle against Fulham at Craven Cottage tomorrow, David Moyes has been discussing his side’s January business. Everton signed Tyrique George on loan from Chelsea, to provide cover for Jack Grealish, who is expected to miss the rest of the season.
“If we are honest we would have liked to have done more if possible but it wasn’t for the want of trying, that’s for sure,” said Moyes. “I think he [George] has settled in fine. He’s had a few days training with us now. He’s an exciting young players who will hopefully be able to show us that in the coming weeks and months.”
“He’s played a lot of first-team football for Chelsea. He’s still a young player, obviously, but he gives us some back-up with the injury to Jack Grealish, so it [George’s signing] gives us an extra player as well, which was required.”
Hello everybody. And a happy Friday to one and all.
And with that, and a host of managerial press conferences and football news to come, Barry Glendenning is here for the afternoon session.
Wolves signed two players on transfer deadline day, Adam Armstrong and Angel Gomes: “Adam has played at this level which is important to say. Both players are happy to be here, and have something to prove.
“Adam a striker but versatile as he can play across the frontline. Great attitude. Finisher. Someone who can score. Makes sense for the here and now and going forwards. He’s a really good player.”
Armstrong will fill the boots of Jorgen Strand Larsen. Feels like Wolves cashed out as a Premier League club rather than take a further hit when in the Championship. On the departed Norwegian, Edwards kept up his ever positive vibes: “I have nothing but positive things to say. He’s the ultimate professional, who always gave everything and that’s all that you can ask for anyone. The deal worked out well for everyone in the end.”
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Transfer news: the Wolves manager Rob Edward has confirmed the imminent exits of Emmanuel Agbadou & Jhon Arias. The latter is going back to Brazil to Palmeiras; he was a Fluminense player at last summer’s Copa Gianni.
It is reported Arias had this to say when he left Flu: “I was never a bloke who was driven by money, by the power of money. I always moved according to my convictions. I’m certain that, if one day I return to Brazil, I’ll return to Fluminense.” Awkward?
Agbadou is heading to Besiktas. Neither signing worked out. Wolves’ summer business was disastrous, all things told.
More on Bournemouth’s future, with Iraola sidestepping questions on his own future: “I try to help the club sign the best players we can. Some players we tried to sign but failed. The market isn’t the most important thing for me, the most important thing for me is the performances, how we can continue to build and get points.”
Rayan’s debut for Bournemouth at Wolves last week gave rise to considerable praise, from these quarters in particular. His manager, Andoni Iraola, is not taking any credit. Rayan will face Aston Villa tomorrow.
Iraola: “No it’s not about me. I don’t sign players. I always say that. I don’t sign players. When the club does, you have the hope that these players will be successful but you never know. When you sign players, especially when they are young and come from different environments you never know.”
Walid Regragui, the Morocco coach who led the hosts to losing the final of this year’s AfCon, and to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, is reported to have resigned. It had been expected he would depart after Brahim Diaz’s penalty and all that.
City will not push further for Marc Guehi to play in the Carabao Cup final, according to Pep Guardiola: “No, the rules are the rules and I understand. Antoine [Semenyo] can play and Marc don’t play is the rule, that is OK. Can we agree or disagree? That is not the point.”
Guehi signed for City after the first leg of the semi-final with Newcastle, and that’s the loophole he has fallen foul of. The EFL relaxed the rules on being cup-tied this season.
Conrad Williams gets in touch: “I’ll tell you what would speed up the process surrounding Man City’s financial shenanigans. Make it so a team under scrutiny is not allowed to buy or sell players on the transfer market until any allegations are dealt with.”
Not sure m’learned friends in the legal profession would allow that to happen, along the lines of being innocent until proved guilty. Should City get a bad outcome, it will be instructive to see what other clubs have to say about them carrying on regardless.
And Guardiola is asked again about his future, giving the usual answer: “No, because I have one more year contract. (So you’ll stay until end of 2026/27?) The question on that was one month or two months ago, you were not here, and I’ll tell you again: It’s the same answer that I answered two months ago [I’m staying]...”
More Guardiola on politics: ““OK, you focus on being a journalist as well. You cannot talk about economics, because you are not a journalist specifically about economics, right? You focus on football, [so] don’t talk about that, don’t talk about that, don’t talk about that. That’s why. “They want [me] to remain silent, that is what the world wants, right? Be silent, and don’t say anything. I think it’s completely the opposite. But, anyway, it is what it is...”
His comments earlier this week received this response:
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Guardiola was asked about his comments this week on war in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, among others: “To be honest I didn’t say anything special. I don’t feel that. I think why should I not express how i feel just because I am a manager? So I do not agree but I respect absolutely all opinions. What I said basically is how many conflicts there are right now around the globe or around the world. How many? A lot, right? I condemn all of them. All of them. When innocent people are killed, I condemn all of them.”
Pep Guardiola is the first manager to speak this afternoon. He’s been asked about the 115 charges, giving this terse reply: “It’s out of my hands, we’re waiting for the resolution.”
A familiar story though one well told by Will Unwin.
January was a quiet month, only James Ward-Prowse joining on loan from West Ham, making him ineligible for this weekend’s critical fixture. A striker was sought but not found at a club whose joint top scorers are Jaidon Anthony and Zian Flemming on five. Those two were signed on permanent deals after loans last season in the Championship, a division their capabilities are more suited to.
The Opta statistics show that Simons’ underlying numbers have improved significantly over the past six matches. For example, he created 17 chances in them compared with 24 in his first 23 Spurs appearances. His shot count has multiplied.
The curious case of Jhon Duran, not long ago the hottest property around, continues with a loan move to Zenit St Petersburg. Russian clubs are still banned from Uefa competition. Tottenham were linked with him towards the end of the winter window. Aston Villa cashed out Duran to Al Nassr for £71m. Al Nassr is, of course, the club of wantaway teenager Cristiano Ronaldo, 41.
Oxlade-Chamberlain poised to join Celtic
Transfer news: It appears Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will join Celtic. The Ox is still just 32, and was released by Besiktas in the summer. He has been training with old club Arsenal, though no deal was expected to play for former teammate Mikel Arteta.
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Michael Carrick’s Manchester United take on another club he played for on Saturday. Carrick joined United in 2006 from Tottenham for £16m and was rather pointedly given the No 16 shirt by Sir Alex Ferguson: previous occupant, Roy Keane.
“I’ve got really fond memories of Tottenham and being at the club. I was there for only a short time when you look back, but I really enjoyed it. Good team, Martin Jol was the manager and there was a lot of things I learned at the club in that short period of time.
“But, I’ve said it enough times, coming here was a jump and a big jump at the time. I certainly felt that pretty quickly and then I think once you step inside this place as a footballer, it turns you. So, pretty much from the first day walking into the dressing room and meeting the manager, from then on in that was me.”
It will be a weekend of Premier League and EFL initaives.
Premier League With Pride brings together the ongoing LGBTQ+ work the League and clubs carry out across the year to help deliver long-term change. All Premier League matches between 6 and 12 February will be dedicated to ‘With Pride’, aligning with LGBTQ+ History Month.
A collaboration with the Gay Times celebrating LGBTQ+ fans from all 20 Premier League clubs will also be published to mark the launch of Premier League With Pride.
In the EFL: “Every single EFL game up and down the country will kick off one minute later than scheduled, but why? To mark Heart Month, all 36 fixtures across the Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two between 5–9 February will kick off one minute later than scheduled. It forms part of the ‘Every Minute Matters’ campaign from Sky Bet and The British Heart Foundation, with support from the EFL. There are more than 40,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year, and eight out of 10 of these will happen in the home. And tragically, less than one in ten people survive, often because those around them lack the skills or confidence to perform CPR.”
Krishna gets back in touch and sets out this Cristiano Ronaldo timeline.
2009 – Real is my dream. That is where I want to be. Moves
2018 – I feel disrespected. No strategy. Moves to Juventus.
2021 – OT has always been my home. That is where I belong.
2022 – ETH does not know his elbow from his nose. This place is toxic. Moves to (cough) Al Nassr
2026 – The club is not spending enough. China or USA USA USA! ?
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank has been impressed by Michael Carrick’s start to his caretaker stint in charge of Manchester United but believes comparisons between the two clubs are unfair given the Old Trafford side have no European commitments. He had this to say at his Friday press conference to preview Saturday’s 12.30pm kick-off.
It is maybe a nice little context to say that Man Utd don’t play European football. I think we can all acknowledge there is a little bit [extra.] It is an extra challenge, [but] something we embrace and we are happy with. I think let’s judge us when we are on the same challenges. The ambition is that we want to do very well and carry on with the good performances and beat Man United. I think [Carrick] has had a great start. It seems like there was injected a little bit of energy into the team. I think it looks like some of the players are in a good place.”
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Exactly three years ago, 10 paragraphs on the Premier League website set the cat among the pigeons. Under the nondescript heading “Premier League statement”, football’s richest and most popular domestic competition announced unprecedented disciplinary charges against Manchester City, champions of the two previous seasons (and the two to come). We are still waiting for the outcome.
Club president departs West Brom
A sacking of sorts: West Bromwich Albion have confirmed the departure of club president Andrew Nestor. The American, initially appointed the club’s sporting director, has been blamed for a series of failings that have led the club facing the prospect of dropping into League One. Last month Albion, in the Championship relegation zone, turned to Eric Ramsay as head coach, to succeed Ryan Mason, who took charge last summer. Nestor was a longtime ally of Albion owner and chairman Shilen Patel. Albion confirmed Nestor’s exit in a pithy 76-word statement.
More Eddie Howe, asked directly about his future: “That is a surprise to me. As I said to the question earlier, I give my best every day to the football club, to all the players and staff to try and be the best version of myself to inspire the team to win games.
“That is the only thing in my thoughts. I don’t tend to look too far ahead. I try and prepare and plan for the club to move forward in every sense. My individual future is not really relevant.”
Quiz of the week: I guessed my way to a rather decent 12/16.
Virgil van Dijk has hit out at ex-pro pundits in an interview with, er, Gary Neville, ahead of Sky’s broadcast of Liverpool v Manchester City.
For me personally, I can deal with it, but I’m a bit worried for the next generation. I feel like the ex-top players have a responsibility to the new generation. Criticism is absolutely normal and part of the game, and I think it should stay that way. But sometimes criticism also goes into being clickbait, saying things to provoke things, and without thinking about the repercussions for a mental side of players, and especially the younger generation, who are constantly on social media.
Is Virg ruling himself out of a career in punditry?
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Mathys Tel is back in Tottenham’s Champions League squad for the knock-out phase of the competition. Thomas Frank has also recalled the fit-again Radu Dragusin and added the January signing Conor Gallagher as part of the three permitted changes.
Dropping out are Brennan Johnson – who has moved to Crystal Palace – Ben Davies and Rodrigo Bentancur, who are injured. Still out are Yves Bissouma and the injured duo Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison. There is no room for the club’s other January signing, the 19-year-old left-back Souza.
Tel was left out at the start of the season only to return for the fifth game of the league phase against Slavia Prague as a replacement for Dominic Solanke. Frank then put Tel back out for the final two league matches when he was allowed to recall Solanke, who had recovered fitness. Spurs are through to the last 16 where they will play Juventus, Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid or Club Brugge.
Krishna gets in touch: “James Milner deserves all the praise for sheer longevity. However the mention of Milner only brings me this from Barney Ronay
He ran the length of the field from one end to another, like a swimmer doing laps, unaware that a match was going on around him.
Newcastle play Brentford and Eddie Howe, with his team in 11th, is coming under a modicum of fire. He’s been carrying out his press duties this morning: “I think naturally you can lose focus on the games that we’ve had. Paris, Liverpool and Man City for any team away from home in a really short period of time - all back off three-game, six-day weeks, so the lads were going into them not in the best physical condition - for any team that will be difficult.
“Watching those games, the scorelines look pretty bad but I think the games were very different, all could have been different. We have to acknowledge that and we have to protect the confidence of the players because if you carry that baggage into the next game then that can be difficult.”
Howe defended Anthony Elanga, too. Elanga got the consolation goal against Manchester City: ““He has done a load of good things that could have led to goals but I was just really pleased that he got the reward of the goal. I am delighted for him and hope it is the start of many. There is no doubting his ability, so it’s a really good thing for him.”
Slot praises Wirtz's 'biggest improvement'
Slot has praised Florian Wirtz, who has been in great form of late:
“I think it’s all, first and foremost, always credit to the player because he has to do the work not only on the pitch, also in the gym. And then as a manager, even if he is maybe physically struggling a little bit in the start, you need to keep on playing him because that’s the only way players can improve.
“He is an example of that where I had many of them this season. So, I think he did not even improve that much on the ball because from the start he was special on the ball.”
“Maybe now he has a better connection with his team-mates because he played more and more together. That’s also what you get if you play them more and more together. But off the ball I see the biggest improvement with him and with some others.
“That combination makes you ready for the Premier League, because the Premier League is about both. It’s not only on the ball, it’s also definitely off the ball.”
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Looking ahead to Liverpool v Manchester City, Arne Slot seems to be getting his excuses in early.
James Milner, should he play for Brighton against Crystal Palace on Sunday, will equal Gareth Barry’s all-time Premier League appearance record of 653. His debut was on 10 November 2002, as Leeds beat West Ham 4-3. Milner replaced Jason Wilcox – whatever happened to him? –
Interesting stat via Opta: “Also featuring in Milner’s debut game was Nigel Winterburn for West Ham. Winterburn was born in 1963 and made his own top-flight debut the same year Milner was born.”
He’s played for 21 managers, and is, of course, seven years older than current boss Fabian Hurzeler. Milner was 52 years younger than Bobby Robson, who he played for at Newcastle. The boy from Horsforth, a small town on the edge of Leeds, passed his 40th birthday last month.
Let’s start with Cristiano Ronaldo, 41 on Thursday, who has caused some turmoil at his club, Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo is reported to be discontented with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) for failing to invest in the team in the winter window while rivals Al-Hilal - also 75% majority-owned by the PIF – brought in his former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad.
Preamble
Here we go, as the song goes. The Premier League turbine keeps turning, and here comes a weekend that kicks off at Elland Road this evening, and concludes with Liverpool v Manchester City, a meeting of the two formerly dominant teams when both are at a crossroads.
Friday 6 February
Leeds United v Nottingham Forest, 8pm
Saturday 7 February
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 12.30pm
Bournemouth v Aston Villa, 3pm
Arsenal v Sunderland, 3pm
Burnley v West Ham, 3pm
Fulham v Everton, 3pm
Wolves v Chelsea, 3pm
Newcastle United v Brentford. 5.30pm
Sunday 8 February
Brighton v Crystal Palace, 2pm
Liverpool v Manchester City, 4.30pm
Lots of other stories from round the world of football to follow. Join us.
