And that’s about it for today’s blog. Mo Salah is Liverpool’s all-time leading scorer against Manchester United with 10 goals, nine of those coming in his last five. Marcus Rashford has scored six times against the Merseysiders but all of those were at Old Trafford.
So maybe it’s set up for Roberto Firmino to come off the bench and score the winner in what is all set to be his Liverpool v United farewell.
Striking differences. Salah not reaching double figures yet is a surprise. His numbers are certainly hit by Liverpool not being awarded a penalty yet in the Premier League this season.
Andy Madley takes charge at Anfield on Sunday. He gave penalties in his first two Premier League games of the current campaign – including one for Fulham against Liverpool – but hasn’t pointed to the spot in each of his last 14 top-flight matches. Due one?
Two #PL stars collide at Anfield 🌟 #LIVMUN pic.twitter.com/9dbW86wuaL
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 3, 2023
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Football Daily is out and, ahead of Sunday’s showdown at Anfield, John Brewin runs the rule over those not-at-all friends in the north, Liverpool and Manchester United.
“Last week’s goalless draw at Parish’s Selhurst Colosseum was so lacking in entertainment and spark it made a Graham Potter press conference look like An Audience With Robin Williams. A midweek swiping aside of Wolves was better, but soft rock when compared to Jürgen Klopp’s most paint-stripping heavy metal thunder.”
Stephen Long emails in: “Bobby Firmino never quite makes it into the best Liverpool 11 of all time. If the formation is Klopp’s 4-3-3 with the false nine that Bobby made his own, I think you have to go with Dalglish in the “Bobby position”, flanked by Salah on the right and Rush or Mane on the left. If it’s a conventional 4-4-2 there are too many in the front two ahead of Firmino. But he has been absolutely fundamental to Liverpool’s success in recent years and I don’t think I’ve seen a player who plays with such joy. He’ll always be a Liverpool legend.”
Yes, a tough gig getting a place up front in an all-time Liverpool XI. Probably fair to say that Bobby – “does he also answer to Roby, Bob, Rob, Bobcat, Robbo (not you, Andy), Bobby Boy, Robbie, asks Peter Oh” – would be a very useful squad player if the all-time Liverpool XI broke the space-time continuum and started out on a league campaign.
Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil has been buttering up opposite number Mikel Arteta ahead of their 4-0 defeat to Arsenal this weekend.
“He was intelligent on the pitch. You can generally tell in the way that they play that they’re going to go on to be managers,” mused the Cherries boss. “You can see they have a real tactical awareness of what’s going on around them. Not always the case, but with Mikel that was definitely the case.
“He’s done a fantastic job, very impressive. Obviously a big job to get so early on. I don’t think they started too well, if I remember rightly, when he first went in. There were maybe a few questions being asked. So to have turned it around and had the team in the place he has them at the moment – very, very impressive.
“Having watched them a lot this week, no surprise that they are where they are and they’re clear at the top. They’ll be difficult to catch I’m sure but, from our point of view, we go there, we try to be well organised, we stick to our plan and we use ways that we feel we can hurt them.”
Roberto Firmino’s fake shirt removals were also a nod to his past because the daft fella kept getting booked for going topless.
In April 2017 following one such skin-revealing induced yellow, a number of publications revealed that the Brazilian had been booked a staggering seven times for such a celebration since the 2012/13 season. And yet he was doing the pretend to whip it off routine when he scored his first goal for Liverpool back in November 2015. The timeline is muddied. Let’s just celebrate his kookiness.
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The latest Football Weekly pod to listen to if you’re driving or sprawled out on the sofa watching old episodes of Bagpuss and feel it really is time for some fresh air.
This is Tuesday’s as Max, Barry and Jordan Jarrett-Bryan speak to the CEO of Level Playing Field along with a host of fans, journalists and charity ambassadors about the match-day experience of disabled fans, how – if – things have changed and how important media representation is.
More Roberto Firmino. Thud. Pick that one out!
If this IS the end for Firmino at LFC, there's far too many memories. He's one of our greats. I'll never forget this turnaround at Stoke though. The NOISE out of this strike, you could hear it in the ground. https://t.co/YUAi9RHqTD
— David Easson (@DavidEasson) March 3, 2023
I also don’t think I’ve ever seen a player consistently indulge in such odd goal celebrations. The Stoke one was quite mainstream but many of his others were strange performance art that would play out something like this: pretend to take shirt off, wag a finger as if to say no, beckon teammates over, dodge a pretend obstacle, smile, point to ear, run at a strange angle, do a little dance. Wonderfully confusing.
Premier League and PFA renew call for temporary concussion substitutes
This from PA Media:
The Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association have jointly written to football’s lawmakers to express their continued support for the introduction of a temporary concussion substitute trial.
Despite backing from the UK football associations, the International Football Association Board rejected a trial when it met at Wembley during January.
The World Leagues Forum and world players’ union, FIFPRO, had both written to the IFAB calling for a change at its annual general meeting in London on March 4.
Ahead of the IFAB AGM, the Premier League and the PFA have also added to the calls for a review of the decision. The letter is co-signed by Premier League club doctors, who have given their support for the trial.
PFA head of brain health Dr Adam White said: “This letter, from the players’ union and the Premier League, shows that we are united in our efforts to improve how brain injuries are managed during games.
“At the PFA, we’ve talked to our members. The results of a recent consultation are clear, with nearly 80 per cent of players supporting a trial for temporary concussion substitutes. This feedback reflects what we see as a common-sense next step to prioritise player safety.
“There is a real difficulty when football’s lawmakers prevent us from taking the necessary steps to protect players. We believe it’s a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed.”
Supporters of temporary concussion subs say allowing medics more time to assess a player away from the pitch will pick up more concussions and reduce the risk of a concussed player being sent back out to play.
In rejecting the trial, the IFAB said it wanted to keep temporary concussion subs under “active review”, but is focused on strengthening the existing permanent concussion sub protocol, which is being trialled indefinitely in competitions around the world.
World governing body FIFA sees permanent subs as being safer and wants clubs and national teams to follow the ‘suspect and protect’ principle.
There is widespread acceptance that the existing protocol is not being followed properly in all cases, with numerous high-profile examples over the last 12 months of players returning to action when they were patently struggling.
Peter Oh writes in: “Big fan of Roberto Firmino here. I’d like to pay homage to the Liverpool legend with this no-look message:
‘Thank giu for the memtkekes’
“No doubt he was one of the big dentality, er, mentality monsters who brought so much joy and success to Anfield in recent years.”
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Maybe this explains Chelsea’s lack of goals: a weird, boots curse. They’ve all become Billy Dane dithering in front of goal.
This is what happens when Billy doesn't wear Dead Shot's old boots! One of our 1976 Tiger covers... pic.twitter.com/CZx50IpuJ3
— Barrie Tomlinson (@BarrieEditor1) March 3, 2023
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Some sobering numbers for Chelsea fans to digest as they prepare for Leeds on Saturday and then Dortmund on Tuesday night.
Kommen Sie bitte, und listen to Kraftwerk…
Chelsea have won just two of their last 15 Premier League games under Graham Potter (D6 L7). It’s their fewest wins over a 15+ game period in the competition since winning two of 19 between December 1994 and April 1995 under Glenn Hoddle.
Chelsea have scored just 23 goals in 24 Premier League games this season, their lowest at this stage of a campaign since 1993-94 (22).
Borussia Dortmund won’t be resting players ahead of their second leg against Chelsea on Tuesday night when they host RB Leipzig this evening.
Oh no, such action is a nein nein as there’s a Bundesliga trophy up for grabs. The title race in Germany is a thriller this season with the top five separated by just five points.
Dortmund are only behind Bayern on goal difference (admittedly +43 to +18 in Bavarians’ favour) and would go three points clear with a win. Leipzig could pull to within a point of Bayern and Dortmund if they grab the three points.
And here’s a thing. Leipzig beat Dortmund 3-0 back in September while they stunned The Yellow Wall with a 4-1 away win last season, Chelsea-bound Christopher Nkunku getting one of the goals.
Dortmund, though, have won nine games in a row in all competitions, a run that includes a 1-0 first-leg victory over Graham Potter’s men last month.
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Staying with Nigeria and this is an odd line from Sean Dyche about Alex Iwobi, who is being linked with Fenerbahce, with the Turkish SuperLig transfer window still open until Sunday.
“Well, I’ve seen him today and he seems to be quite happy at the moment. I can only go on what my eyes tell me,” said Dyche.
Maybe Iwobi was bluffing and goes back to looking grumpy when Dyche’s back is turned.
Funny player Iwobi. Barney Ronay wrote this memorable line about him ahead of September’s Merseyside derby, saying Iwobi had been “transformed from strolling about the pitch like a man playing a game of tennis ball three-and-in with a sausage roll in one hand to a maniacally busy ball‑winning deep forward.”
Perhaps the visits to Gregg’s have gone back up since then as Iwobi has one goal in 30 games for club and country this season. But, to be fair, he tops Everton’s assists charts with seven (have Everton even scored seven goals this season?), five clear of second-best Dwight McNeil.
Great piece here from Ed Aarons on the new documentary – Super Eagles ‘96 – about the Nigeria team of the 1990s.
That’s tonight’s viewing sorted. I watched Nigeria’s second-round clash with Denmark in the 1998 World Cup at Chicago O’Hare airport. They lost 4-1 and I felt very sad on the flight home. But that move Jay Jay Okocha had when he rolled his studs over the ball one way and swayed the other. Glorious.
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Thanks Tom. Let’s start by looking at Bobby Firmino and his legacy: the no-look goal, plenty of glorious assists and some very white teeth.
The BBC interviewed his dentist, Robbie Hughes, a couple of years ago. He said this. “When it comes to choosing colour we have shades 4, 3, 2, 1 – with one being the whitest. Roberto seen the chart and asked for “maximo” – beyond one! We created that colour for him.
“Coutinho attended around the same time, it must have been a discussion around the dinner table. Lucas introduced them, they both decided they wanted to do something.
“When Jurgen came to see us he basically said he liked Roberto’s teeth. He wouldn’t want to go quite as white but he liked his teeth.”
Right, it’s time to pass the baton on to David Tindall, who’ll see you home. Have a good weekend.
It’s the Women’s League Cup final on Sunday, with Chelsea facing Arsenal, whose manager, Jonas Eidevall, has urged his team to seize the occasion. “It’s a great opportunity to win a trophy, let’s do our best and enjoy the occasion.” Chelsea knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup last week, with Sam Kerr again on the scoresheet. Asked if he had a plan for Kerr, Eidevall responds: “I think Sam Kerr is of course a very good player but whenever you play a team like Chelsea you can’t focus on only one player, you see the number of touches she had last week was not a lot but we need a collective effort.”
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De Zerbi given one-match touchline ban
Just in from PA Media:
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi has been handed a one-match touchline ban following his red card against Fulham last month.
The Seagulls manager was shown the card in the tunnel following his side’s 1-0 defeat two weeks ago after confronting referee Darren England.
De Zerbi, who has also been fined £15,000, said of England afterwards: “I think he’s not a good level of referee. But I think the referees in the Premier League are not enough for this very important league.”
Unai Emery’s been speaking and reckons Gareth Southgate could do worse than include Ollie Watkins in his next England squad. competitive. “He deserves to be in the England squad but he has to keep improving,” says the Aston Villa manager.
Asked about what he’d done to coax the striker’s current hot streak, Emery credits the players himself. “At the beginning he was the first one who wanted to change, who tried to improve and develop individually, and doing omore things than just score goals, But he has to keep challenging himself individually.”
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Graham Potter speaks: And he begins with some fitness news – Thiago Silva is “making progress” but is still around six weeks away from returning, Édouard Mendy is also improving along a similar timescale. Reece James is a doubt for tomorrow’s game against Leeds with a tight hamstring and while César Azpilicueta is also on the mend, head-injury protocols will keep him out.
Potter dismisses the idea that the forthcoming games against Leeds and Dortmund are make or break. “I dont tend to look at games like that, we just need to improve our results, and that’s my responsibility, I accept that.”
“In training, I’m seeing a lot of positives day to day but they haven’t translated themselves into results. Our performances have not been as bad as results but in terms of training and how theyr’e becoming stronger and growing that’s all positive.”
Asked about doubts over Mason Mount’s long-term position at the club, Potter replies: “For us he’s been great to work with, he’s suffering like the rest of us – but I’m not thinking about the summer I’m thinking about tomorow’s match and getting out of the bad run we’re in.”
On tomorrow’s opponents, he adds: “We know Leeds have played with that intensity and that’s something we have to deal with and understand what the opponents bring, but we’ve got to play ourselves and assert ourselves.”
Sean Dyche meanwhile has scoffed at the idea that Everton’s trip to Nottingham Forest should be singled out as a “must-win” match. “Every game should be a must-win in my opinion, going to Arsenal was a must-win, that’s my approach,” he roars. He says Dominic Calvert-Lewin is “recovering getting stronger” and “we’ll see” if he has any involvement at Forest. Questioned about transfer window regrets, Dyche responds: “That’s irrelevant now, gone, I’m just working with the players we’ve got, working on improving as a side, as a unit.”
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While I was listening to Guardiola and Arteta, Patrick Vieira was talking about trying to drag Crystal Palace out of their current listless run of form, and not over-relying on Wilfried Zaha. Here’s PA Media’s account:
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira has warned his players they cannot rely on the returning Wilfried Zaha alone to get them where they want to be.
The 30-year-old Ivory Coast international is back in the fold for Saturday’s Premier League trip to Aston Villa after missing the last four games with a thigh injured suffered against Newcastle in January.
The Eagles have lost only once in Zaha’s absence but have drawn their last three matches and, while the striker will provided an added cutting edge, Vieira is adamant that his is only one of his side’s weapons.
He told a press conference: “He doesn’t take the pressure off other players, it is more just one strength that we have in the squad.
“Of course, Wilfried can score goals from individual quality or individual talent that he can show during games.
“The responsibility of the players around has to be massive as well. We can’t put all our hopes on only one player. I want everyone to take responsibility, I want everyone to perform as best as they can.
“There are lots of players who can give more to the team to allow Wilfried or the other players around to score goals.”
Zaha has trained for the last two weeks and Vieira is hoping his return helps Palace to build upon draws with Brighton, Brentford and Liverpool.
He said: “Having Wilfried back is one more weapon. There is no doubt about his confidence and his self-belief, and the quality he has in front of goal.
“But if we want Wilfried to score those goals, we need to create opportunities, create chances and the team has to perform well.
“If we manage to keep the quality we have shown in the last couple of games, we will get three points.”
Palace are 12th in the table after last Saturday’s 0-0 home draw with Liverpool, four points behind Unai Emery’s men, who won 2-0 at Everton last time out, and Vieira knows things will get no easier this weekend.
He said: “It’s been really challenging. It’s a tough run, but you have to play those teams. It is difficult, of course, one after the other, but I strongly believe there are no easy games in the Premier League – especially when every point is important.
“We have to focus on ourselves, how we can improve between the Liverpool and Villa games. There were a lot of positives to take from Liverpool to challenge ourselves, to build confidence and to perform.”
Spurs have announced that Antonio Conte will be back in the dugout at Wolves tomorrow, hoping to coax a response to that midweek Cup exit.
Staying in the north-west, Jonathan Liew has written on the current state of Liverpool and Manchester United as they prepare to lock horns:
And so to the latest instalment of a fixture that has never simply been about football. In a sense, Liverpool and United have spent most of their history defining themselves against each other, tussling for supremacy, measuring their progress in their rivals’ chagrin. But perhaps the most intriguing element of the current dynamic is the way in which each has sought to mould itself in the other’s image.
Firmino confirms Liverpool exit this summer
Roberto Firmino is set to leave Liverpool on a free transfer this summer after deciding not to extend his highly successful, and influential, Anfield career.
The Brazil international, signed for £29m from Hoffenheim in 2015, is one of several Liverpool first-team players out of contract at the end of the season.
Jürgen Klopp had wanted to retain a player who has been instrumental in Liverpool’s revival and was in excellent form before a calf injury interrupted his campaign in November. Firmino, however, has informed Klopp he will not be signing an extension and will be seeking a fresh start in the summer.
Here’s Andy Hunter’s full report:
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It’s a mark of these times that so many of the weekend’s press conferences have a “no comment” segment about murky political or finance matters. And Pep Guardiola pulls down the shutters when asked about La Liga chief Javier Tebas’s criticisms of Manchester City over their financial fair play charges. “No comment. I’ve made my statement to the club and the lawyers and that’s it.”
Away from all that, Guardiola welcomes City’s impending FA Cup quarter-final against Burnley, who are running away with the Championship under Vincent Kompany, who Pep predicts will manage City one day: “I’m very impressed with the consistency Kompany has shown in the Championship, given the amount of games. Personally I’m delighted with what he’s doing ,all of us will be happy he will be back in the Premier League. His destiny is to be manager of Man City – it’s written in the stars. He knows the club, our fans, the environment.”
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Some nuggets from Mikel Arteta, who talks of Arsenal being “in a good place” and looking forward to tomorrow’s home game against Bournemouth. He also tells the assembled that Gabriel Jesus is “not far off” being ready to return from injury. “I don’t want to give a timeline but he’s dong certain things with the team [in training] and certain things without. We’re not very close but we’re in a good place with him I think. We were concerned at the state of the injury but Gaby has been through that before, his mentality is incredible and our medical team have done a good job with him
Asked about the state of contract talks with Bukayo Saka and William Saliba, the manager says: “Every player is very important, some players have contractual circumstances and we are trying to deal with them but I don’t want any distractions and when there’s news I’ll announce it.”
Roberto Firmino’s decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the current campaign is confirmed, and we’ll have more on that shortly. And here’s a lamentation from Joel Whitaker:
Gutted at the fact Bobby Firmino is leaving Liverpool! The biggest “changing of the guard” moment yet. Sadio Mane was amazing for us and will forever be a Liverpool legend - losing him was of course the start, but Bobby for me defines Klopp’s Liverpool. He was key to both the Champions League winning side and the title winning season, brilliant both at pressing and the more technical aspects of the game. He’ll leave as one of the club’s best ever No. 9s for me, which is some mean feat given who there is to choose from.
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More from David Moyes, beyond that standard-issue deadbatting of The Newcastle Question we reported earlier, and he’s been pouring praise on West Ham’s opponents tomorrow, Brighton.
“I think we’ve all been impressed with Brighton over many years because of their build, their model,” Moyes said. “I think there are models throughout Europe which are interesting and exciting to look at. I always talk about the Red Bull model and how well they’ve done it with their clubs.
“I don’t know how many years they’ve been at it for, maybe 10 years now, Brighton, you see the players they’ve bought in are younger.
“They’ve been able to go out and buy young players who are maybe not ready, give them a few years before they put them in the team and they’ve got so many good young players coming through now. Credit to Brighton as a football club and how they’ve done it. Not everybody does it the same, but how Brighton are doing it is a very good job.”
A spot of Leeds team news, for their game at Chelsea tomorrow, and the new manager, Javi Gracia, could give club record signing Georginio Rutter his first Premier League start at Stamford Bridge.
More from PA Media:
Rutter started in Tuesday night’s FA Cup defeat at Fulham in place of Patrick Bamford and Gracia has hinted at pairing them together in a two-pronged attack at Stamford Bridge.
Gracia said: “It’s an option, a real option, to play with two players up front. In the last game I’m happy with the way Georginio played.
“Now, speaking about the next game, I think it’s a good option to play two players up front, whoever it is, with Georginio, with Patrick, with Rodrigo, with (Brenden) Aaronson, with all the attackers we have in the club.”…
Luis Sinisterra, Pascal Struijk, Liam Cooper and Max Wober all missed the Cup tie at Fulham through injury and remain doubtful for Saturday’s trip to the capital as Leeds seek their sixth league win of the season
More thoughts on Eddie Howe and Newcastle’s I-Can’t-Believe-It’s-Not-The-Saudi-Government ownership issue, from Matthew Dony.
As Joe Pearson rightly say, someone higher up should be available for the ‘awkward’ questions. And, more to the point, they could be available. There’s nothing to stop them from attending press conferences and fielding questions, or holding a separate session. They know these questions are going to come, but they seem happy to leave it to Howe. If I was in his shoes, I would be unhappy at that level of support. I’m not giving him a pass; It is certainly correct for him to be questioned about his role, and his willingness to work within that environment, but if I were him, I would demand more visible support.
Thanks John. And we begin with news that Roberto Firmino intends to leave Liverpool at the end of the season, according to Sky Sports News. The old order changeth. More when we get it.
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Handing over to Tom Davies for the next while. Thanks for reading.
Erik ten Hag has been speaking ahead of the big one.
I have been to Anfield. I am looking forward to it. I know the ambience and the atmosphere will be great. It will be hostile against us - we like it. It is of course a test to be facing Liverpool but we are really looking forward to it. We know these players - my squad, my team - will be prepared to go with fight and confidence. We know it is going to be difficult. We know we have to suffer. We have to sacrifice to get a good result.
Liverpool has really good management, with a really good way of playing, good philosophy and good strategy. So no, I don’t think so. But we are not talking about other clubs. We are talking about us. I think we are going in a good direction with our philosophy, strategy and culture. We have to keep progressing - it is all about that.
It is about the future, it is about now. We face a fantastic opponent and we are looking forward, so it is all about us getting the right preparation to be ready for that game.
Back in August, he was staring down the barrel of three defeats and yet Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-1, and won well, and that set the foundations for this season’s progress.
A labour dispute between the governing body and its women’s team had plunged the run-up to the Women’s World Cup into turmoil less than 150 days before the quadrennial tournament kicked off.
The Olympic champions played last month’s SheBelieves Cup under protest after facing the threat of legal action because of their plans to strike over pay equity concerns and budget.
More on Newcastle, from that FT conflab, some words from Newcastle director Amanda Staveley.
Transfer tittle-tattle corner. According to a Sky Deutschland reporter, Roberto Firmino will leave Liverpool this summer.
💥 Excl. News #Firmino: He will LEAVE Liverpool after 8 years! It’s decided! The player has informed #Klopp personally & today. It was a good talk. He won’t extend his contract. He will leave the club as a free agent in summer.
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) March 3, 2023
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 with #LFC so far! @SkySportDE 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/zaeGV2ThzY
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David Moyes has been speaking ahead of West Ham’s visit to Brighton, and was asked about the Newcastle situation. Again, as a true football man, he straight-batted in the style of Ted Dexter.
I haven’t the political mindset to know exactly what it is all about but we work under stringent rules here and you hope people assessing the owners always get it right. I have to believe Newcastle are fine.
Joe Pearson emails in from Indianapolis on the subject of Eddie Howe. “Since I woke up at 4:30 this morning (getting old sucks), here I am. About Eddie Howe. I don’t know what journalists expect him to say. He has no standing or influence on who the owners are, so he’s right about that. It’s fair to ask him if he feels morally compromised in taking the job, but I think that’s about as far as it goes. In a sense, this is case in point about Conte’s complaint that it’s only the managers who have to face the press, when someone higher up should answer these kind of questions. But what do I know?”
It’s a fair point, but I think with Eddie Howe, it’s the wilful ignorance and avoidance of the question, the idea that he knows there is something morally “off” in taking money and being the frontman for the Saudi Arabian ownership. And yet, he can’t say that. We know that, he knows that but the question has to keep being asked. The current story shows the ownership is opaque, and he’s the frontman. That’s part of the job, and his inability to answer proper questions is all part of the dance, too.
This from Thursday, Amanda Staveley telling the FT Business of Football summit: “The undertaking was that Saudi Arabia would not control the club. That undertaking has been and is being honoured.”
So, yeah, let’s see, right.
Anyone remember Enzo Fernández? Played well during the World Cup. He went to Chelsea for a record fee. And then…disappeared down the same hole all the others did.
Great quiz from the estimable Rob Smyth. I got 25/30. Beat that.
Birmingham training ground damaged by fire
Per PA Media
Birmingham have been forced to close their Wast Hills Training Ground following a fire in the early hours of Friday morning.
A club statement said there were no injuries during the incident, but the facility has been closed until further notice, disrupting preparations for Saturday’s Championship match away to Wigan.
The statement said: “The club can confirm that Wast Hills Training Ground has suffered damage as a result of a fire. Hereford and Worcester Fire Service attended the scene and remain on site following the discovery during the early hours of Friday 3 March. No one was injured.
“Staff and players have been contacted and the facility remains closed until further notice. The club will continue to liaise with the emergency services and will make no further comment at this time.”
The Club can confirm that Wast Hills Training Ground has suffered damage as a result of a fire.
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) March 3, 2023
A shocking story from Argentina.
Gunmen left a threatening message on Thursday for Lionel Messi and opened fire at a supermarket owned by his in-laws in his hometown of Rosario, police said.
Nobody was injured in the early morning attack, and it was unclear why assailants would target the Argentina star or the supermarket, which is owned by the family of his wife, Antonella Roccuzzo.
Police said two men on a motorcycle fired at least a dozen shots into the supermarket in the early hours, and left a message on a piece of cardboard that read, “Messi, we’re waiting for you. [Rosario mayor Pablo] Javkin is also a drug trafficker, so he won’t take care of you.”
Eddie Howe sidesteps Newcastle ownership question
In a not-at-all shocking development, Eddie Howe has straight-batted questions on Newcastle’s ownership.
The club have been thrust into the spotlight after court papers filed in the United States claimed chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is a minister of the Saudi Arabian government – raising questions over the Premier League’s confirmation that it had received “legally-binding assurances” of the separation between the state and its Public Investment Fund, of which he is governor.
Did Eddie want to talk about that? TL:DR: no.
For me, my job is training the players, trying to get them in the best physical, mental, tactical condition to win the game. The minute I deviate from that is the minute I go into dangerous waters for me and I waste energy in areas that don’t help the players. For me, my main job is to coach the players and get them in the best place possible.
Obviously the focus comes on me because I’m sat in front of you every week. But I don’t think – as I’ve said many times – it’s a conversation for me to necessarily brief on these matters because I’m not really qualified to do it.
I’ve had very open communication from the day that I joined with various people connected to the board. But my conversations with them are all football-related, at no stage has it ever gone political. That’s not my area, I don’t want it to be my area, I want to concentrate on how I can improve the team, what tools do I need to do that and the relationships with those people around me at the football club are very important.
Now obviously if I felt there was a time I needed to ask a question, I could. But I haven’t done that.
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There are nine other matches this weekend, each of them given a mini-preview like this.
The weekend begins with the “nothing to see here” derby, which could actually be quite watchable. Newcastle and Manchester City thrashed out a frantic 3-3 draw at St James’ Park back in August, with the hosts briefly leading 3-1 in the second half only for Erling Haaland to lumber in like an angry ice giant and, with the help of Bernardo Silva, secure a point. While Newcastle’s form has drifted in recent weeks and they are coming off the back of defeat to Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final, they will still make for tricky opponents. Despite the prospect of a much-hyped meeting with Arsenal at the Etihad next month, City – masters of the inexorable winning streak – know the title will be decided by consistency as opposed to one climactic victory and, as such, every dropped point from here on out could be decisive. Will Magee
Erik ten Hag will be speaking later but there’s off-field matters afoot at Manchester United.
It is understood that if no agreement is reached before the end of the season this may put a deal in jeopardy. The new owner would ideally want to put in place a transfer policy for the summer window.
Thani and Ratcliffe are intent on moving forward a process that has stalled as the Glazers hold out for a price closer to their £6bn valuation. Thani, via his Nine Two Foundation, and Ratcliffe, who owns Ineos, have bid no more than £4.5bn.
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Liverpool have not had a single Premier League penalty this season, and for 32 matches, and their fans are beginning to ask why, with things going a bit tinfoil. Jürgen Klopp certainly doesn’t know.
We still had second most possession, second most shots on goal. Stats wise, we are there. We are often in opposition box. I have no clue how that can happen but it happened.
Jürgen Klopp has been speaking ahead Liverpool’s match with Manchester United, and about their north-west rivals.
It’s what I enjoy most [this type of game]. Around these games we pull ourselves out of the sometimes not-so-nice reality, that is when football is the most important for those 90 mins, I love that. The whole world will watch.
It’s impossible to be positive about something at Man Utd when you are Liverpool manager but I am happy for Rashford. He is playing incredible. Speed, calm, a mix of everything.
They have had a better season so far but thank God it means absolutely nothing on Sunday. We have to make sure we show it is still incredibly difficult to play against us. We have to make sure they realise that.
I couldn’t be less interested in what Man Utd are doing, I just respect it. I see them when we analyse them and we will try to cause more problems than [the August game].
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Meanwhile, this is the big sports news story on the agenda. When is state ownership not state ownership?
A brief filed in a court case involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf describes the PIF as “a sovereign instrumentality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” and Rumayyan as “a sitting minister of the Saudi government”.
The development appears to have stirred longstanding fears of many clubs about the PIF takeover. When it was signed off, the other 19 clubs demanded an emergency meeting with the league, wanting to understand why the deal had been approved. They had previously believed it was blocked and were stunned to learn via the media that it was to be waved through.
Preamble
Welcome once more to our weekly, rolling look ahead to an action-packed weekend. After all that fun in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, the Premier League retrieves the focus. It’s a bumper Saturday, too, with Manchester City v Newcastle a chance for the champions to put Arsenal under pressure, while Eddie Howe’s team have to revive themselves after Wembley.
Saturday 3pm kick-offs: Arsenal v Bournemouth looks a gimme for the league leaders though they are facing opposition fighting for their lives. Aston Villa v Crystal Palace is about as mid-table as it gets even if the Eagles haven’t won in 2023. Brighton v West Ham gives the Seagulls chance to do the double over the Hammers. Their manager in their early-season win was Graham Potter. Whatever happened to him? Well, Chelsea v Leeds is a must-win for both Potter and Javi Gracia. Wolves v Tottenham sees two wildly inconsistent teams and one of them is in the top four.
Saturday’s late game, Southampton v Leicester, is a big, big game as, if you haven’t noticed it, Brendan Rodgers’ team are dropping into relegation problems, where Saints have been all season.
Then, with Nottingham Forest v Everton seeing Sean Dyche returning to the club where he started his life in football and really needing to find a goal, above all everything, it’s the showpiece of Liverpool v Manchester United, the two biggest clubs in English football, and something of a role reversal of recent years with United in the ascendancy.
All that and the latest news and press conferences throughout the day.
