AND THEN THERE WERE EIGHT
Almost anything can be classified as nostalgia these days. If you squint hard enough down, even the most mundane or objectionable things can be rebranded in sepia-tinted. Why does Football Daily yearn for Andy Townsend on co-commentary (when Ally McCoist is such an obvious upgrade) and still get a kick out of seeing the Continental Tyres logo every time it walks past a parked car? Perhaps because football, and life, was better back in the day: free-to-air Big Cup, referees making honest and understandable mistakes in a fast-paced game, Darren Bent scoring against Liverpool via a Liverpool-branded beach ball. None of these things would be possible in 2024. And football now is poorer for it.
Modern Big Cup, now behind a considerable paywall or showing in pubs selling £7 Tin, has never been more predictable, dominated by elite superclubs with the GDP of a small country. This season’s groups went as expected (yes, including Manchester United finishing last), as did the first knockout round: Copenhagen and Real Sociedad were sunk by the elite squads of UAE and Qatar, an exciting Leipzig side got Real Madrid-ed at the Bernabéu and even the best draw of the round between the champions of Spain and Italy – Barcelona and Napoli – felt like a tie between two spent teams that have long since gone off the boil.
That’s not to say there weren’t any nice snippets. Jadon Sancho continued to rediscover his mojo at Dortmund, Arsenal v Porto was a delight and Diego Simeone went on such a rollercoaster during Atlético’s shootout thriller with Inter that the only surprise is that he didn’t leave the Metropolitano with a large teddy, candy floss and vomit all over his all-black suit ensemble. But ultimately there were no shocks, despite Lazio and Porto threatening to send Bayern and Arsenal packing down the Big Cup-branded tunnel marked Do One!
But if a general lack of jeopardy was the bad news, the good news is that now we have eight powerhouses left in the quarter-finals. Minnows they are not and just like the bread you used to eat, Friday’s quarter-final draw is unseeded, meaning anyone can face anyone. Real Madrid and Manchester City are inevitably the teams to avoid and Dortmund are probably the weakest team, but every tie should be a cracker. So, that’s something to cling on to as we approach next season’s 36-team Big Cup that is so complex that the bright minds at Uefa are needing to bring in our robotic overlords to do the draw. Hurrah!
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Join Michael Butler and Rob Smyth from 5.45pm GMT for all the evening’s Big Vase last-16, second-leg action, including … Rangers 1-2 Benfica (aet, agg: 3-4), West Ham 2-1 Freiburg (aet, agg: 2-2, 5-4 on pens), Brighton 2-1 Roma (agg: 2-5) and Liverpool 3-1 Sparta Prague (agg: 8-2).
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Seeing Tom speaking to the paramedics, the people who saved his life was a bit emotional. He’s able to hold his new-born baby because of them. Sometimes it’s important to have a bit of realism and that maybe brings home a little bit of what’s important” – Luton boss Rob Edwards reflects on Tom Lockyer’s emotional return to Bournemouth, where the player met with and thanked the medics who saved his life 89 days ago, before their restaged Premier League game. The lowly Hatters then roared into a 3-0 half-time lead before Andoni Iraola’s side staged a wild comeback to win 4-3.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
Perhaps there was a time, pre-Premier League, when football for so many was ‘the greatest thing in the world’ (yesterday’s Football Daily). These days at the elite level it falls well short as we witness obscene wage levels, VAR, increasing foreign ownership creating strife for many supporters, TV ruling all and ignoring supporters, plus more unnecessary kits. Why? Simply to gouge even more money from fans. When, some weeks, you can witness an obscenely-paid player not caring too much about their performance on the pitch, you can probably say it is no longer the greatest thing in the world” – Russell Pulford.’
Re: yesterday’s Memory Lane photo of Jimmy Nail and Alan Shearer (full email edition). See yesterday’s cryptic crossword on Big Website, and 4 down: ‘Oz actor’s prepared for punch (4,3)’ = Nail set. Spooky, huh?” – Michael Bland.
Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Michael Bland.
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