Midnight at the oasis
THERE was uproar over Priti Patel’s plan to bar English and Welsh fans from Qatar if they were arrested for hooliganism between now and the World Cup. The hapless Patel hasn’t got much right in her time as Home Secretary and she’s wrong with this idea. I say let them all go to Qatar, where I have a feeling should they rock the Kasbah they’ll be treated somewhat differently by the Qatari plod and justice system than they are at home.
How did they manage that?
Palace, Everton, Bournemouth to start the season, Fulham, Villa, and Everton at home, with United and Brentford away making up their next five games. It’s not inconceivable that the Goners could be top of the table with eight wins from eight at the end of that run. What I want to know is how on earth did the fixtures computer randomly come up with that fixture list? Even when things get serious in October when they play Spurs, Liverpool, and Citeh, all three of those games are at the library. Unbelievable Jeff!
Money for nothing (And your kicks for free)
“A fabulously entertaining match featuring six goals and countless more opportunities in front of a raucous appreciative crowd.” Sounds good doesn’t it? But apparently the writer of the aforementioned quote wasn’t entertained by it, because Newcastle and Manchester City are owned by two of the most repressive countries on the planet.
Said writer is also distressed by the fact that both sets of fans aren’t boycotting the clubs but are instead celebrating the dirty money that is has been their good fortune to come into.
Personally I’m getting tired of the hypocrisy regarding Newcastle and Citeh because the last time I looked mega Arab money has been or still is lavished on Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United, while Liverpool are in bed with the freedom-loving Chinese, amongst others.
You think betting is unhealthy? Then better start boycotting the following: Fulham, Brentford, Leeds, Southampton, West Ham, and Wolves, along with most clubs in the Championship. Ultimately sponsorship money is paid to further the sponsor’s company.
Whether that sponsor is a country or a business is immaterial. The American owners at Chelsea, United, and Liverpool aren’t in the game for love, they’re in it for the dollars. That’s the way of the world and the Geordies and the Mancs shouldn’t be excoriated for just following their, in most cases, lifelong club.
Team of the week
Dean Henderson Forest, Ivan Peresic Spurs, Adam Webster Brighton, Davinson Sanchez Spurs, Kieran Trippier Newcastle, Tyler Adams Leeds, Aleksandar Mitrovic Fulham, Ivan Toney Brentford, Wilfried Zaha Palace, Jack Harrison Leeds, Allan Saint-Maximin Newcastle.
Manager: Jesse Marsch Leeds. When the American took on Marcelo Bielsa’s bucket, many Leeds fans were sceptical but the way he set Leeds up to play against Chelsea was masterful. Chelsea just couldn’t cope with the high-energy pressing game that Marsch devised.
Player of the week: Allan Saint-Maximin. This team of the week would certainly be an interesting and highly entertaining watch with three left wingers plus a left wing back who played like a dedicated left winger. I think most would agree that there are few better sights in the game than a flying winger getting to the byline before unleashing a perfect cross into the centre just begging to be put away by your team’s strikers. I went for the Newcastle player simply because every time he’s on the ball you expect something to happen and last week against the best team in the country and arguably the fastest defender in Kyle Walker he was unstoppable.
Goal of the week
There were a few decent strikes last week but I do love an unstoppable free kick, so Kieran Trippier’s top corner swerver for Newcastle against Citeh takes the honours.
Whingers of the week
Thomas Tuchel and Jürgen Klopp. According to Tuchel, Chelsea outplayed Leeds and only lost because while the players flew to the game, the coaches had to take the bus, which obviously explained why the Leeds players collectively ran 11 kilometres more than Chelsea.
Klopp, meanwhile, reckoned that his team battered Manchester United and absolutely deserved to win the game rather than lose 2-1. Personally I thought that having a midfield pairing with a combined age of 68 might have had something to do with the result.
Gareth Southgate thought for the week
One thing England have going for them is their depth at right back, but after last weekend’s games, what with current number one Reece James, apparent number two Kyle Walker, and the player most thought should be first choice Trent Alexander-Arnold all being given the run around, I would suggest that last weekend was especially good for Kieran Trippier’s England prospects.
This week’s games
Premier League today 2:30; Southampton vs United. 5pm; Brentford vs Everton, Brighton vs Leeds, Chelsea vs Leicester, Liverpool vs Bournemouth, Citeh vs Palace. 7:30; Arsenal vs Fulham. Tomorrow 4pm; Villa vs West Ham, Wolves vs Newcastle. 6:30; Forest vs Spurs. Tuesday 9:30; Palace vs Brentford, Fulham vs Brighton. 9:45; Southampton vs Chelsea. 10pm; Leeds vs Everton. Wednesday 7:30; Arsenal vs Villa, Bournemouth vs Wolves, Citeh vs Forest. 9:45; West Ham vs Spurs. 10pm; Liverpool vs Newcastle. Thursday 10pm; Leicester vs United.
Selected Championship today 2:30; Sunderland vs Norwich. 5pm; Blackburn vs Stoke, Huddersfield vs West Brom, Middlesbrough vs Swansea, Watford vs QPR. Tuesday 9:45; Birmingham vs Norwich, Cardiff vs Luton. 10pm; Watford vs Middlesbrough.
Selected Scotland today 5pm; Rangers vs Ross County, St Mirren vs Hibs. Tomorrow 2pm; Dundee United vs Celtic. 5pm; Hearts vs St Johnstone.
F1
Belgian Grand Prix tomorrow 4pm.
And finally
Last week’s question: what do Aris Salonika, Ajax, Fortuna Dusseldorf, and Atalanta have in common? The answer is they are named after Gods or deities. Aris is a variant of Ares the Greek God of war, Ajax in Greek mythology was a hero of the Trojan War, Fortuna is unsurprisingly the Roman Goddess of fortune luck and fate, while Atalanta, depending on which myth you choose to believe, was either a great huntress, wrestler, and/or runner.
This week: there are three different song titles in this week’s column, name them.