Vesper

Video: Lukaku on football heroes, Napoli advice and ‘overwhelmed’ by fans https://football-italia.net/video-lukaku-on-football-heroes-napoli-advice/ (the video has English working subtitles) Romelu Lukaku reveals how Vincent Kompany inspired his playing career, meeting his football heroes, asking Dries Mertens for Napoli advice and being ‘overwhelmed’ by his welcome. Lukaku speaks several languages fluently, including Italian, and sat down with the Napoli YouTube Channel to talk about his life. He confessed to always supporting RSC Anderlecht and the most emotional moment was his debut for them, something he had been “dreaming of since I was six years old. “When I saw Vincent Kompany make his debut, I thought if he can do it, then so can I. Like me, he has Congolese origins, his father is from Brussels, he was in the youth academy. When he debuted, it gave me the extra push to do it too. “When I made my first appearance, my next thought was all about scoring goals, which I did in my second game.” Lukaku’s father was a player at the lower level of Belgian football and that meant his family moved around a lot. “I was very timid as a child, I didn’t talk much to people, as I was so focused on football and quite distant. When I see you are open with me, I will give you my soul, but if I see something else, I am stand-offish. “Football is my work, but also my passion, I try to watch as much as I can.” Icons who inspired Lukaku Lukaku was asked who were his heroes in football growing up and rattled off a list of great names. “Didier Drogba was my idol as a kid, then Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Anelka and Eto’o. I have been fortunate enough to meet four of those five in my career.” The striker made the transfer from Chelsea over the summer for €30m, confirming that Serie A is his spiritual home after experiences at Inter and Roma. It is also a reunion with his former Inter boss Antonio Conte, who got the best out of him during his career when winning the Scudetto, and he knew Belgium international Mertens would have valuable advice. “When it first hit the internet that there was contact, straight away I saw the Instagram messages pour in from Napoli fans! I spoke to Dries, who I have known since I was 17 years old, and already had a trusted friend who could prepare me for life here. “You can sense that you represent an entire city and its population. It’s a fantastic feeling. It gives you energy every day. When I see players, physiotherapists, waiters, all those who work here, they are all true Neapolitans and love the club. This makes you feel good, but is also a big responsibility.” When he first arrived, Lukaku was presented to the fans at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona ahead of his debut goal in the comeback win over Parma. “It was overwhelmed by my presentation. It was incredible, I was like: wow! I felt such a different atmosphere and a truly positive energy. I scored, but we won, which was the most important thing.”

Antonio Conte wins the Manager of the Month Award for Serie A in his second month in charge as Napoli head coach. Massive impact so far as Napoli are currently leading the Serie A table.

it is insane that we still do not have a single LB on the squad ffs pick one from these: Tyrick Mitchell Lewis Hall Ben Chilwell Rico Henry James Justin Archie Brown

England https://thedailybriefing.io/i/149749467/england England release official squad andDominic Solanke has been called up! Noni Madueke, Angel Gomes, Dean Henderson and Rico Lewis are part of the squad. James Maddison, Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford, Jarrod Bowen have been left out.

UEFA release the Champions League Team of the Week for Matchday 2 https://thedailybriefing.io/i/149749467/champions-league

Jhon Durán was really, really close to Chelsea last summer https://thedailybriefing.io/i/149749832/jhon-duran-was-really-really-close-to-Chelsea-last-summer Jhon Durán is one of the best young strikers in Europe in this moment, but he's almost never starting for Aston Villa. Every time he enters the pitch he’s making an impact, scoring impressive goals and what he's doing is fantastic. Against Bayern he scored the winner on an historical night for Aston Villa, but Jhon Durán was actually really, really, really close to becoming a new Chelsea player at some point over the summer transfer window. It was before the beginning of the Euros. In that moment, early June, Chelsea and Aston Villa almost agreed on every part of the deal, which included Conor Gallagher. He was a priority target for Unai Emery and for Aston Villa but the real issue in this story was Conor Gallagher rejected the move. Particularly because of the timing as he wanted to represent England. The deal collapsed, but Jhon Durán was a really strong candidate for Chelsea. Let me also say credits to Villa, because when West Ham and other clubs wanted to sign the player, the club always said £50 million pounds or nothing. They rejected several approaches, several proposals for £42m plus an academy player, £42m plus a sell on clause… several proposals from other clubs, but Villa decided to keep Durán. Not an easy decision to make because there was important money on the table for a player who is not a regular.

Gleison Bremer is out for the season but Juve won’t replace him until January https://thedailybriefing.io/i/149749832/gleison-bremer-is-out-for-the-season-but-juve-wont-replace-him-until-january It's a sad day for Juventus. Although it was an amazing night for them in the Champions League against Leipzig, there was a very serious injury to Gleison Bremer. A torn ACL and meniscus means that the season is over for a fantastic player. He will be back stronger I'm sure, but for Juventus it means some kind of emergency option for the centre-back position. Obviously they have Gati and Kalulu and they can maybe adapt Danilo, but they need one more centre-back. There were rumours about Sergio Ramos, because he’s probably the biggest name on the free agents market available right now. What I can tell you is that the current position of Juventus is to not go and sign any centre-backs. No contacts are taking place yet, Juventus will take their time, it happened not even 20 hours ago... no rush, no panic. So, despite the stories surrounding Ramos and any other centre-backs, Juventus will consider entering the market in January but not before. They will discuss options with Motta and pick the best one.

Nothing in Frenkie de Jong to United/Chelsea rumours https://thedailybriefing.io/i/149749832/nothing-in-frenkie-de-jong-to-unitedchelsea-rumours There are no movements expected in January for Frenkie de Jong despite contractual rumours in the Spanish media, it's completely quiet. There's nothing in it. He's still very happy at Barcelona and fully focused on recovering his best form after the injury. All the rest - Chelsea, Man United - is just speculation, nothing else. I repeat, no transfer movements around de Jong.

Ben Chilwell will move in January but Josh Acheampong is staying at Chelsea https://thedailybriefing.io/i/149749832/ben-chilwell-will-move-in-january-but-josh-acheampong-is-staying-at-Chelsea It's too early to comment on where Ben Chilwell will end up next. This is gonna be a topic for December because now it's still quiet. Chilwell is training at the best level possible to help Chelsea and to be as professional as usual. There are no contacts ongoing with any club yet, but the plan is for Chelsea to sell/offload Chilwell in January, that’s true. Staying with the Blues, there's no "situation" at all with Josh Acheampong. He's a Chelsea player, considered part of the project and an important talent, and he’s also really appreciated by Enzo Maresca and his staff. No story, no talks with Newcastle or any other club, nothing. Acheampong is one of the players trusted by Chelsea and there are no movements ongoing.

Fabrizio Romano confirms Chelsea plan to sell £50m star, as January transfer to unbeaten giant awaits https://www.teamtalk.com/Chelsea/fabrizio-romano-confirms-Chelsea-plan-sell-50m-star-january-transfer-atletico-madrid-awaits Chelsea plan to offload left-back Ben Chilwell at the earliest possible opportunity and an unbeaten European giant are reportedly showing ‘strong interest’ in making a move. Chilwell does not feature in Enzo Maresca’s plans, with Marc Cucurella first choice and ably backed up by summer signing Renato Veiga. According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea’s plan is to sell Chilwell in the January window. Romano wrote on X: “The plan remains to part ways in January with Chilwell expected to be one of the players set to leave Chelsea.” The 27-year-old cost roughly £50m when bought from Leicester City back in 2020. The Blues will struggle to recoup a fee close to that sum, though they do reportedly have a suitor ready to splash the cash. Reports claim Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid are showing ‘strong interest’ in Chilwell and a mid-season transfer is being targeted. Atletico have started the new campaign in fine fashion and following Angel Correa’s last-gasp equaliser against Real Madrid last time out, they’re one of just two unbeaten sides in LaLiga after eight games (four wins, four draws). The other is Real Madrid (five wins, three draws). Chilwell has Premier League interest too Chelsea sought to offload Chilwell over the summer, with the defender part of the so-called ‘bomb squad’ of stars Maresca had no intention of using. Chilwell has featured just once this season on the back of failing to secure a transfer away. His only outing came in the EFL Cup thrashing of League Two side Barrow. In the event Chilwell were to join Atletico Madrid he’d link up with former Blues teammate Conor Gallagher. The all-action midfielder signed to the tune of £34m and has started Atletico’s last five matches in LaLiga, scoring two goals during that span. Chilwell may yet have options to remain in England, with the Sun detailing Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town’s interest in mid-September. Both Premier League sides are said to be ‘tracking’ Chilwell, though given his lack of game-time there hasn’t been a great deal to observe of late. Chelsea quoted new Duran fee / Ipswich alternative eyed In other news, Chelsea are still chasing Brazilian wonderkid Joao Pedro Chermont despite seeing a bid rejected. The Santos sensation, 18, is a right-back by trade and his contract contains a hefty €70m (£58.8m / $77.2m) release clause. Elsewhere, TEAMtalk can confirm Chelsea also retain hope of prising Jhon Duran out of Aston Villa. The Blues tried and failed to sign the Colombian hotshot last summer, though in lieu of his spectacular form this term, Villa are now demanding upwards of £80m. Finally, we can exclusively reveal the Blues are weighing up a swoop for former Manchester City striker, Liam Delap. The 21-year-old completed a £20m move to Ipswich Town in July and has scored three goals in six Premier League matches for Kieran McKenna’s side so far. Chilwell can follow in Lineker, McMananan, Beckham footsteps A move to Atletico Madrid would see Chilwell reunite with England teammate Conor Gallagher, who left Chelsea and joined Diego Simeone’s side in a £34million deal in the summer transfer window. Kieran Trippier is the only other Englishman to have played for Atletico and he helped the club win the LaLiga title in the 2020/21 season. Overall, 23 English footballers have played for a club in La Liga and Chilwell could be about to follow in the footsteps of some iconic figures. The likes of Laurie Cunningham, Gary Lineker, Steve McManaman, David Beckham and Jude Bellingham have all won trophies in Spain. But not every Englishman has been a success in La Liga as Jonathan Woodgate, Jermaine Pennant, Stan Collymore and Peter Barnes all endured difficult stints in Spain.

he just ruptured his thigh 2 days ago in the same CL game he scored a hat trick in is out for at least 4 to 6 weeks

remember this yoiung Gker's name Kauã Santos he was superb last night for Eintracht https://hofoo22.fooroomtyv.com/embed/1aAb6WuPPONiN

btw, I think it is General Shop (as in general store) not generator shop

lol, madness

https://www.mailplus.co.uk/edition/sport/sport-comment/378699/move-over-bellingham-time-to-give-red-hot-cole-a-run-at-no10 AT a recent UEFA coaches’ conference, it was put to England’s Lee Carsley that he has too much creative talent at his disposal. Nice problem to have, as they say. For now, Carsley’s greatest puzzle is how to fit the gilded trio of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer into the same team. In naming his squad for forthcoming Nations League games against Finland and Greece, Carsley confirmed that he envisaged a moment down the line when he would be doing it. There are those who may baulk at the idea of Bellingham, Foden and Palmer strung across the field behind captain Harry Kane. They may wonder about a vulnerability out of possession. They may question whether we should have a ‘flyer’ on one side of the field. Anthony Gordon or Bukayo Saka, perhaps. They are all sound arguments. England have an opportunity at the moment, though. There is almost two years before the World Cup in North America. Having been relegated to level B of the Nations League, England’s opponents — Finland, Greece and the Republic of Ireland — are not daunting. If there is a time to dispense with caution and experiment a little, then it may soon be upon us. And this feels like Palmer’s moment. In a fast-forward year, he has established himself as one of the most astonishingly exciting attacking talents in Europe. Chelsea paid Manchester City £40million for Palmer 13 months ago. What would his value be now? Three times that? Where he plays for England is more complicated. He has done much of his damage for Chelsea from the right. I would like to see him play at No10, just behind Kane. Get your best player on the ball as often as possible. At the moment, that player is Palmer. No 10 is Bellingham’s position, of course, and the Real Madrid superstar is the England squad’s alpha male. Asking him to move or to be a ‘finisher’ from the substitutes’ bench would be an interesting call from Carsley. These are the decisions that international managers are tasked with making, though. Welcome to the game, Lee Carsley.

Peter Crouch raves about ‘fantastic’ £12m Chelsea player after his display vs Gent https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/match-coverage/peter-crouch-raves-about-fantastic-12m-Chelsea-player-after-his-display-vs-gent/ Peter Crouch singled out one Chelsea player for big praise after Thursday night’s win in Europe against Gent. Chelsea are up and running in the Conference League group stages with a 4-2 victory tonight at home to Gent. Enzo Maresca displayed the strength in depth within the Blues squad by making 11 changes to the starting line-up. Despite the alterations, it was another eye-catching result from Chelsea to make it five consecutive wins for the club across all competitions. Renato Veiga, Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were all on the scoresheet for the hosts at Stamford Bridge. Journalist Simon Johnson claimed via X that Maresca celebrated the most when Dewsbury-Hall scored, which is no surprise given the pair’s time together at Leicester City last season. READ MORE: Five things we learned from Chelsea’s 4-2 victory against Gent Peter Crouch impressed by Renato Veiga Peter Crouch really liked the individual display from Chelsea’s Renato Veiga in midweek versus Gent. The 21-year-old left-back put in another commanding performance both on and off the ball. In particular, he scored his first goal for the club with a brilliant header in the 12th minute. “I haven’t seen a great deal of him (Veiga), but Joe Cole was telling me what a good player he was. I saw it tonight,” Crouch said on TNT Sports 1 (10:17pm, 3 October). “I thought he was fantastic, another fantastic player to have in the squad. A player who looked like he was enjoying himself and playing with a smile on his face. “He finds himself in a lot of space [for his goal]… It was a fantastic header.” A new cult hero is born It’s pretty obvious to us that Veiga is quite quickly become a real favourite with Chelsea supporters during his debut season in English football. The £12m summer signing (BBC) is putting in some excellent performances to win over the fanbase. Veiga got a goal and assist against Gent as he was rewarded for the attacking intent he shows. We equally enjoy just how aggressive he is in his defensive work, too. The Portugal international is turning out to be the ideal cover for Marc Cucurella at left-back, but he’s also shown he can cover in midfield or central defence is needed as well. At the age of 21, Chelsea have pulled off a genius transfer with Veiga in the most recent window.

“It was my decision” – Forgotten €20m man details why he stayed at Chelsea this summer https://Chelsea.news/2024/10/cesare-casadei-opens-up-on-decision-to-stay-at-Chelsea/ Cesare Casadei has revealed that it was his decision to stay at Chelsea this summer and said he couldn’t be more proud to play for the club. Casadei has very much been a bit part player since he joined the Blues from Inter Milan in 2022 and he’s subsequently had loan spells at both Reading and Leicester, where he worked under now manager Enzo Maresca. The Italian is going to struggle to get minutes in the Premier League and the cup competitions represent his best chance of match action. Casadei wanted to stay at Chelsea this summer Casadei got his first action of the season as he started in the 5-0 win against Barrow in the Carabao Cup and he could feature in the Europa Conference League against Gent on Thursday night. Some might be surprised that the 21-year-old is still at the club as he was expected to be one of the players that would move on, but he revealed in the pre-match press conference ahead of the Gent game that it was decision to remain at the club this summer. “It was my decision [to stay and not go out on loan],” he told reporters as cited on X.com. “The last season was not easy for me. I was thinking what was the best solution for me. But the moment I spoke to the manager, I was 100% sure the decision to stay would be best for me. “I never had the idea to [leave] permanently. I spoke with the manager, he told me what he thinks, I had no doubt. “I always wanted to play for Chelsea, one of the biggest teams in the world. I could not be more proud to play for Chelsea.”

Maresca’s comments about Casadei show he’s ready to reinvent midfielder https://Chelsea.news/2024/10/marescas-comments-about-casadei-show-hes-ready-to-reinvent-midfielder/ Enzo Maresca spoke to the TNT Sports cameras ahead of kickoff in tonight’s game against Gent, and his comments about Cesare Casadei were very interesting. It was quite subtle, but when asked what the Italian brings to his midfield, Enzo revealed quite a lot about his thinking. It seems that the youngster, more known for his attacking ability, is now considered a number 6 option in this B team, which otherwise lacks midfielders happy to sit deeper. “His physicality is strong… he can help us off the ball, in the way we press,” Maresca explained. “On the ball he is improving a lot. He’s doing well with us.” What Maresca’s tell us about his new favourite We can infer quite a lot from that. Firstly that the real reason Casadei was brought in against Barrow and again today is because of his capabilities off the ball, or defensively more generally. He’s tall and strong, which is important in this B team which is otherwise composed of quite a lot of small, tricky attacking players. Secondly, of course, that Casadei’s play on the ball isn’t up to standards – not yet anyway. That much has been obvious since he signed, but given his eye for goal most people saw him being used further forwards as a sort of support striker, rather than deeper as a destroyer. Maresca seems to really think he’s got something to work with in Casadei, whose opportunities have gone from 0 to B team regular in the space of just 3 games. Their time together at Leicester in the first half of last season seems to have given the former Inter academy player a headstart on some of his colleagues, and given Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo want to stay fresh for league games, using Casadei as a deep midfielder seems a clever solution from Maresca.

'Chelsea thought I was too expensive four months ago - now I'm worth twice as much' Chelsea's summer transfer mishap could end up costing them millions. https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1956976/Chelsea-jhon-duran-aston-villa Chelsea pondered signing Jhon Duran during the summer and they may pay the price for pulling the plug on a £40million move. The Aston Villa striker has come racing out of the blocks this season and his rapidly-rising stock received another boost on Wednesday night, when his audacious finish earned the West Midlands side a Champions League victory over Bayern Munich. Not even Erling Haaland can match Duran's Premier League strike rate of a goal every 39 minutes so far this season. And the Manchester City striker also comes out second best when pitted against the Colombian's 40-per-cent conversion rate - which is particularly astonishing given the variety of goals the Villa man scores, such as his long-distance screamer against Everton last month. Despite his heroics in front of goal, Duran is still playing second fiddle to Ollie Watkins at Villa Park. But he may not be for long, with top clubs sure to come sniffing around in January. All of them will be quoted top dollar by Villa, who would turn a monster profit on the £18m they paid to Chicago Fire almost two years ago. In fact, Duran has reportedly been slapped with an £80m price tag ahead of the winter window. That eye-watering sum would be painful for Chelsea to cough up if they reignite their interest, having passed up the opportunity to sign Duran for half that during the summer. The saga reached its peak in June, when the Blues were given permission to discuss personal terms with the 20-year-old after an extensive period of scouting. Villa were believed to be willing to sell in order to boost their profit and sustainability position but the switch did not progress beyond that point. Strong interest from West Ham also amounted to nothing, and Villa will now be thanking their lucky stars. There were murmurings about attitude problems last season but Villa captain John McGinn claims the youngster has got his act together, and it is paying dividends on the pitch. "I was quite hard on him last season," said the Scotsman in August. "Just about his attitude and how he can improve that, but in all fairness I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I think the coaching staff and players have been pleasantly surprised too about how he has handled it all. "He has all the attributes to be a world-class striker and we’re seeing glimpses of it now. He doesn’t seem to have let anything in the summer affect him. Maybe the penny has dropped for him. The way he is around people, around the staff - it has improved a lot and it’s great to see."

How important is matchday revenue to Premier League clubs? https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5776720/2024/10/01/premier-league-tickets-match-day-revenue/ Aston Villa will welcome Champions League football to Villa Park for the first time on Wednesday when they host Bayern Munich. After 41 years away, the mood ought to be one of celebration. This is a fitting first home fixture back in Europe’s premier club competition — it is a mouth-watering re-run of the 1982 European Cup final, in the tournament’s previous iteration, which Villa won 1-0. The Class of ’82 are sure to be revisited, not least with the game coming so soon after the death of Gary Shaw, one of that team’s stellar talents. But the club’s return to this level will be tinged with anger and disappointment, too, given the price hikes for fans in attendance. Villa revealed ticket prices for their group fixtures would start at £70 ($94) for adults, rising as high as £97. The lowest-priced ticket for those without season tickets will set them back £85. Around 27,000 of the 42,640 capacity at Villa Park is made up of season ticket holders. The club refused a request from their fan advisory board (FAB) to cap prices at £70 and came under criticism from supporters who pointed to the lower prices for the Premier League’s other clubs involved in the competition. Liverpool and Manchester City’s most costly tickets are priced lower than the cheapest at Villa, who have also increased general admission matchday tickets by an average of 12 per cent. The Villa Supporters Trust called the ticket structure “extremely disappointing” and urged a rethink, without success. Villa’s president of business operations Chris Heck defended the pricing. “Achieving our sporting ambitions while complying with financial stability regulations requires difficult decisions,” he said. “Financial fair play rules prohibit owners from covering shortfalls to finance this ambition, so we need to generate as much revenue as possible through sponsorships, merchandise and ticket sales to ensure that we can keep the club where it rightfully belongs — competing (and winning) at the top of English and European football.” As clubs increasingly seek to diversify their revenue streams, the proportion of their income made up by matchday ticketing is changing. But despite record income from TV deals, prices are still on the rise. Of the 20 Premier League clubs this season, 19 upped the price of a season ticket to watch their men’s team, with Crystal Palace the outlier. Season ticket holders, who purchase an annual pass that guarantees them a seat for all 19 of their club’s home league matches, pay less per game than supporters who buy individual match tickets. The prices for individual games also change depending on the opposition, with games split into different categories. Clubs have faced a backlash after raising the price of tickets both directly and by stealth with the reduction or alteration of eligibility for concession bands, while tickets for individual matches have risen at several clubs. Protests were held by fans of several Premier League clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Fulham. At Chelsea, there were price rises of five per cent on general admission matchday tickets, with the club citing inflationary pressures as justification after 13 years of price freezes. Their season ticket prices rose by eight per cent. Brentford’s season ticket prices rose by 10 per cent, newly promoted Ipswich’s by eight per cent and Nottingham Forest’s by around 24 per cent — although changes to the banding and eligibility make this higher in some cases. Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters faced rises of between 17 and 23 per cent for adults, with some under-21 prices rising by as much as 46.6 per cent. At Southampton, again restored to the Premier League, there has been a hike of 15 per cent. West Ham United supporters petitioned their club over a decision to limit the availability of concession tickets and maintained their protests at their Carabao Cup tie at Liverpool last week, while Tottenham fans railed against the decision to raise season ticket prices by six per cent, which will generate an extra £2.5million to £3m per year. That figure pales into comparison with income from broadcasting rights. Typically the revenue from gate receipts includes the takings from matchday hospitality, although this is not specified in clubs’ accounts. “Matchday income is still a core revenue function,” Dr Dan Plumley, senior lecturer in sport finance at Sheffield Hallam University, tells The Athletic. “But what we’ve seen at the top end of the Premier League and the elite is that it’s probably less important to them in their revenue mix picture because it’s a bit more balanced. “You’ve only got broadcasting and then commercials to throw into the mix of the main three. The biggest clubs in the Premier League are less reliant on matchday income and their commercial income is probably now outstripping broadcasting. “But if you were to drop down a little bit and into the lower tier of the Premier League, you’ll find that broadcasting money makes up probably 60 to 70 per cent of some clubs’ income. “If you’re looking at how you can generate a little bit more revenue then moving the age brackets around, offering fewer concessions and making more people fall into what we might term a ‘general bracket’ — which is normally the highest priced tickets, depending on where you sit in the stadium — is one way of doing that.” Bournemouth have the lowest proportion of matchday income at £5.4million compared to overall revenue of £141m, equating to just 3.8 per cent. At Brentford, the figures are 6.8 per cent of a £166.5m revenue, while Villa took £18.7m on matchdays from a £217.7m revenue — 8.6 per cent. At the other end of the scale, and ignoring Ipswich (more on their 36.7 per cent figure later), Arsenal have the highest proportion of the established Premier League clubs at 22.1 per cent where £102.6million income represented 22.1 per cent of their £464.6m total. Tottenham’s 21.4 per cent — £117.6m from £549.6m — was close behind. For Arsenal, that was an increase from £79.4m a year earlier. The notes in their accounts reference the return of European football to the Emirates as a contributory factor, with four Champions League matches staged at home. Although this only meant one further home fixture than the previous season (they had played three Carabao Cup matches in 2021-22), the prestige of the Champions League meant higher prices were charged and therefore greater revenue received. Arsenal noted that it was the first time matchday revenue has returned to more than £100m since the 2014-15 season. It shows how matchday revenue is affected by not only the number of home fixtures played in a season depending on successful cup runs, but also the type of fixture and potentially the level and glamour of the opposition. Inevitably the more in demand a match is, the more clubs will charge for tickets. Returning to Ipswich Town’s position at the top of the table above, their 36.7 per cent is an outlier because they received significantly less from broadcasting rights due to their participation in League One in 2022-23, the season to which their latest set of accounts refer. That does, though, demonstrate the greater importance of gate receipts the lower down the pyramid you go. Deloitte analysis revealed that, across the Premier League, revenue increased 14 per cent to £867million in 2022-23. Broadcast revenue primarily drove that rise but, with a record average league attendance of 40,291, there was a 14 per cent increase in matchday income. That is a result of clubs increasing prices, rising attendances and more matches for clubs who progressed deeper into European competitions. Manchester City won the Champions League that season, while West Ham won the Europa Conference League. GO DEEPER Premier League ticket prices are rising - but how do they compare? “We will unfortunately (see clubs continue to increase prices),” says Plumley. “That won’t appease the traditional match-going fan. What we’ve seen is that they’ll not do it in drastic steps. They do it in a way where it will slightly tip up. “There’s examples that are kind of out of the ordinary. Villa is a good example of squeezing a little bit because of the Champions League, because of the amount of time they’ve had out of that main European competition. “They know that people are going to want to be part of it and, therefore, they’ll feel they can justify those prices. “The other side of that equation is always, ‘Where does it stop?’. As long as there are bums on seats, if somebody isn’t prepared to pay the ticket price but somebody else is, then clubs will think, ‘We’re still filling the ground and you’re still paying the prices’. It will be a collective look at the fanbase, not on an individual level. “It’s very easy to add several million over eight games, especially if you’re targeting corporate hospitality. “This upsets fans because Villa will take around £50m from the prize pot and the TV contract and the English Premier League position in the European football market. So people ask, ‘What’s an extra few million?’. But the other side of that equation is that money possibly funds someone’s wages for the year, or investment in the infrastructure. ‘We can use that money to do X, Y and Z’.” The other factor which limits clubs’ ability to generate income on match days is their stadium size. Bournemouth (£5.4m) and Brentford (£11.3m) have the lowest matchday incomes of any sides in the Premier League during this accounting period. The Vitality Stadium and Gtech Community Stadium hold 11,307 and 17,250 spectators. The latter, completed in 2020, has more capacity for higher end seating which makes up a chunk of the matchday income at clubs. That is becoming ever more important as clubs try to squeeze money out of fans in every way they can. Watching football has become about more than just the 90 minutes of the game. Clubs are trying to encourage fans to spend more in the stadium rather than outside while offering more premium experiences, such as tunnel clubs. Football is becoming an event. “The only way you can put the revenue line up is by either charging a little bit more for the tickets, expanding the stadium or building a new one. The latter two are really costly,” says Plumley. “It is a business-focused industry and pushing up the revenue line is really important to clubs. They’ll find a way to do this as much and as often as they can. Yes, they’ve got to be careful, but the reality is that we’ll see more of those tactics (increasing ticket prices directly and by stealth). There’s a fear of missing out.” While it may be dwarfed in comparison to broadcast income, matchday tickets will continue to play a relatively small, but significant, part in Premier League clubs’ ability to generate income. That is likely to spell bad news for match-going supporters. GO DEEPER Revealed: The results of our Premier League season ticket survey

Should Chelsea be worried about their discipline problem? https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5808802/2024/10/02/Chelsea-discipline-yellow-cards/ Chelsea are well on track to beat their numbers from last season. Normally such a statement would be regarded as a good thing, a reason to be optimistic. Chelsea are eight points better off at the same stage — six fixtures played — so results and performances are certainly providing cause to be so. However, this is a piece highlighting a negative that needs to be addressed by head coach Enzo Maresca — and soon: the team’s poor disciplinary record. In 2023-24 Chelsea broke a Premier League record for most yellow cards received in a single season. When Malo Gusto received the club’s last booking in the 78th minute of their final game against Bournemouth, it took their tally to 105 (plus four reds), beating the previous best (or worst depending on how you see it) of 101 set by Leeds in 2021-22. There were only two matches in the league campaign where Chelsea did not get a card (Manchester United away and Tottenham at home). Those grim numbers were achieved under former head coach Mauricio Pochettino, but things do not seem to be improving under Maresca. Chelsea sit top of the bookings table again with 21 accrued in half a dozen fixtures. That works out as an average of 3.5 per game and if this rate is maintained, it would see the club end up with 133 by the end of May. According to whoscored.com, it also puts them in fourth spot among the top five leagues in Europe. It can be argued that the numbers have been skewed by the Bournemouth fixture last month when referee Anthony Taylor booked eight Chelsea players. It was not one-way traffic as Bournemouth fell foul of the official six times themselves, meaning the 14 yellows (not including the two shown to the two head coaches), is another Premier League disciplinary record with Chelsea’s name on it. But while some of the transgressions could be dismissed as a bit harsh that night, there were incidents where Taylor will argue he was not left with much choice and had to apply the letter of the law. Nicolas Jackson and Jadon Sancho were both punished for dissent. Renato Veiga was booked because he jumped into the crowd to celebrate Christopher Nkunku’s late winner. But Bournemouth is not the only match where Chelsea have fallen foul with the referee. So far they boast a 100 per cent record in the Premier League in terms of at least one player being booked per match. Here is a breakdown of their wrongdoings in the six league fixtures they have played: When The Athletic raised this topic with Maresca a week after the Bournemouth game, the Italian downplayed it. “I don’t think it is a discipline problem at all,” he said. “The Bournemouth game was the kind of game because of the pitch, because of the game, sometimes you are required to make some fouls. “I don’t think it’s about that. The day after, I watched Arsenal and Tottenham and I think in the first-half there were seven or eight yellow cards, so the average was there. “Have I spoken to the players about it? No, no, absolutely (not). It was a normal game and some of the yellow cards were probably avoidable from the referee, but he decided to go another way.” Maresca’s views will have been treated with a lot of sympathy from a fanbase that is not shy in expressing their frustration whenever Taylor is in charge of one of their games — the events of the 2017 and 2020 FA Cup finals alone are usually met with swear words by the regulars at Stamford Bridge. But Chelsea have not reached such large numbers of yellow cards over the last 13 months due to just one strict match official. They do need to look in the mirror. As Maresca concedes, in a fast, tough, competitive sport, fouls do happen and on many occasions, a yellow card soon follows. But Chelsea are guilty of picking up a lot of ‘cheap’ bookings too. Look at this table below where we have taken away all the yellow cards shown for fouls since the start of last season. There are far too many for needless offences which could be easily avoided: Football is an emotional game and players are not robots so no one should expect their players to be angels for 90 minutes every week. But 23 cards for dissent, with five already this season, is definitely far too many. There is a bit too much time-wasting going on as well. Chelsea are not an overly physical team. Statistics compiled by Opta show they average 10.5 fouls per game. Only Brighton, Manchester City and Brentford make fewer. Their average for tackles is just 16.7 per match, which ranks them 16th in the Premier League. This shows that Maresca’s side are getting booked more than they should for how they play. Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana, two of Maresca’s regulars in defence, are already on four bookings. Premier League rules dictate that you have to serve an automatic one-game ban if you get five in the first 19 fixtures. There is a two-match ban should you reach 10 yellows in 32 fixtures and a three-match ban for 15 yellows before the end of the season. Jackson serves as an example of how you can avoid trouble when you put your mind to it. The striker was one of Chelsea’s worst offenders last season with nine yellow cards in the first 24 league matches. But he then went 11 league games (15 all competitions) without further punishment to avoid the two-game suspension. Maresca has responded modestly to any questions regarding whether Chelsea can challenge for the title, saying there is a lot to improve in attack and defence. Trying to reduce the yellow card count should be added to the list.

Was Cole Palmer meant to be this good? https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5812068/2024/10/03/cole-palmer-Chelsea-manchester-city-analysis/ On a cold, rainy morning in March 2016, Kevin Betsy, then England Under-15s coach, travelled to Warwick University. He was there to watch an under-14 Premier League international tournament featuring academy teams who had come through regional qualifiers across the country, as well as a select group of invited youth sides from some of Europe’s elite clubs. One of Betsy’s priorities was to get a closer look at Manchester City, who boasted several of the country’s brightest prospects born in 2002. It did not take long for one of their attackers to catch his eye: Cole Palmer, playing in a shirt and shorts that looked much too big for him, already possessed many of the technical skills that are lighting up the Premier League at Chelsea but was physically a world away from what he would become. “He was probably the smallest player on the pitch,” Betsy recalls of Palmer in an interview with The Athletic, “but very efficient, with outstanding technical quality. “He had a lovely feel when receiving the ball, and he was able to dribble in tight spaces and then find combination passes in and around the box.” Those attributes have become all too familiar to Premier League defenders since he made his debut for Chelsea in the competition in September 2023. Palmer’s 43 direct goal involvements (28 goals, 15 assists) in 39 league appearances for Chelsea even put him ahead of Manchester City’s goalscoring phenomenon Erling Haaland since the start of the 2023-24 season. He has been established as a legitimate contender to be considered the best attacker in England. So rapid has been Palmer’s rise to superstardom since leaving City for Chelsea in a deal worth up to £42.5million ($56m) a year ago, that many are asking if anyone in football expected him to be this good. The answer is not entirely straightforward, not least because it takes in the physical challenges of adolescence that can alter the trajectories even of the most talented prospects in the unforgiving environment of elite academy football. City saw the same qualities in Palmer that would later become obvious to Betsy when they signed Palmer to their academy at the age of nine. “He stood out just in terms of how comfortable he was on the ball,” Scott Sellars, the club’s former head of academy coaching, tells The Athletic. “He never looked flustered and always looked like he had answers, even as a young boy. He had a great way of dropping his shoulder and going past people. I never like to use the word ‘natural’, but he had that ease of receiving, dribbling and decision-making at a very high level from a young age.” The memory of watching the 10-year-old Palmer dominate a youth tournament in Germany for City sticks with Sellars more than a decade on. “It was very frantic, small pitches, people frightened to make a mistake, and Cole would just get the ball off the goalkeeper and dribble past people — past one, past two, past three,” he says. “He was only small by comparison to the other players, but he had that ability to keep going past people, inside and outside. “We made a compilation video about a year later trying to show the talents we had in the academy, and the philosophy and methodology at the time, and Cole was in a lot of it because of his ability. That was the type of player we were looking to create: the player who could handle the ball and solve problems.” But it would be an exaggeration to suggest that Palmer stood head and shoulders above the many other bright talents in City’s academy at the time — in part because he did not stand head and shoulders above any of his peers for the majority of his youth career. Most grew up and bulked out much earlier and faster than he did, meaning Palmer endured no shortage of frustrating days as he waited for his body to catch up with his talent. “From age 13 to 16 is really difficult for the smaller, more technical players, and they can get lost and not have as much success as when they were younger, because it becomes a bit of a physical mismatch at times,” Sellars says. Betsy had no reservations about including the small, slight Palmer in his England Under-15 squad, and offered a reassuring voice when it came to the physical difficulties he was experiencing. “Cole’s technical ball manipulation meant he was able to out-feint or jink a player quite easily, but the player would catch up with him purely because of physicality,” he says. “We identified that he would grow really well in his body in the next two to three years and it wouldn’t hinder his progress. It’s just, when you’re trying to deal with not being able to accelerate and beat a player one-versus-one because they’re physically stronger than you, that can be difficult for a young player. You might lose confidence.” Palmer’s ironclad self-belief ensured that did not happen, backed by his father Jermaine, the keen amateur footballer who had helped him refine his immaculate touch with hours spent in the park before City found him. “His dad was strong in terms of believing in his technical ability over his size,” Sellars says. “He had great support from his family.” Betsy moved up to coach England Under-16s the following year, and Palmer made only one start during what he has since admitted was the most testing stretch of his career. “Physically, we had to manage him very delicately when he came on England camp, because he was going through a lot of growth and maturation,” Betsy says. “You can’t play significant minutes in a two or three-game international week. That comes with the player understanding the condition their body is in at that moment, and Cole was fully in the loop on that.” Not everyone at City was convinced that Palmer would develop enough physically to make it at the top level. There was a lively internal debate about whether to offer the diminutive 16-year-old a professional contract that was eventually settled by Jason Wilcox, then the club’s academy director, who never wavered in his belief that he was too talented to discard. “When we went to watch him at City Under-14s, Under-15s, Under-16s, Cole wasn’t always the standout player,” Betsy says. “He had a huge champion at the club in Jason. He was a huge fan of Cole. There were a couple of times we went to watch and Cole would be on the bench or wasn’t playing as well as he would have liked, but we were very convinced and Jason was very convinced that Cole would be the player that they and England believed.” Even if City had made a different decision, it is unlikely that Palmer would have fallen far with his body of work at academy level. “I was at Wolves (as technical director) when he was 15, 16, and I would hear other people saying Cole might not get a scholarship,” Sellars says. “Behind the scenes I was saying, ‘Well if he doesn’t, give me a call’.” A drastic growth spurt in his late teens validated Wilcox’s faith and transformed Palmer into the player now shining in a Chelsea shirt: listed at 6ft 2in tall, but with the touch in tight spaces and blend of technical skills more readily associated with much smaller attacking midfielders. With that physical development came an uptick in Palmer’s on-pitch production, both for City’s elite development squad — where he worked with Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca in 2020-21 — and for England Under-21s, becoming a key contributor in qualification for the 2023 European Under-21 Championship. City were convinced enough of his elite potential that when Southampton enquired about signing him in the summer of 2022 their interest was immediately rebuffed. Their analysis had indicated that he would be well suited to playing as a goalscoring No 10 in coach Ralph Hasenhuttl’s 4-2-2-2 system, but they were told that Palmer and Phil Foden were the two academy prospects who were off the table in transfer discussions. It was a different story when Chelsea came calling a year later, ready to make a significant up-front investment in Palmer as well as offering a clearer path to the regular game time he craved after struggling to complete his first-team breakthrough at City. “The only thing Cole was waiting for, from the outside perspective, was minutes,” Betsy says. What has happened since has exceeded even the most optimistic projections — and not just in terms of Palmer’s goals and assists. “I always felt in central areas he would score,” Sellars says. “He was always calm, composed, never flustered. It was just a case of him getting stronger. I thought he would grow, but I never thought he would be as tall as he is.” “Manchester City recruited Cole at under-9 because of the huge talent they saw in him, and the same with England at under-15,” Betsy adds. “It was a slow burn in terms of his progression, purely because of his physical characteristics, but that comes with time and patience. “No one has got a crystal ball in youth development — there are so many variables — but we had huge belief in Cole and that he could be one of the stars of the future for his club and country.” Palmer is very much a star of the present at Chelsea and, with a contract that commits him to the club until 2033, a foundational pillar of the young team taking shape at Stamford Bridge.

FIFA proposes early transfer window for Club World Cup teams including Manchester City, Chelsea https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5815944/2024/10/03/transfer-window-club-world-cup-teams/ Next summer’s transfer window could open two weeks earlier than usual to allow teams competing in the revamped Club World Cup to sign new players, FIFA has announced. A FIFA Council meeting on Thursday unanimously approved a proposal to give national associations the option of an “exceptional registration window” from June 1 to June 10, which would close five days before the start of tournament in the United States. World football’s governing body said it took the measure to “address technicalities and equalise inconsistencies created by differences in registration periods and domestic-season timings” for the 32 competing teams. If the English Football Association (FA) was to take up this option, the Premier League’s two Club World Cup entrants, Chelsea and Manchester City, would, in theory, be able to strengthen their squads for a tournament that is, strictly speaking, still a part of the current season. The Athletic has contacted the FA for comment. If the option was taken up across Europe, the likes of Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid would also be able to make early signings, which could be tempting in a summer when there are some huge names potentially out of contract. For example, Liverpool trio Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, and Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-Min could all be looking for new challenges. And, in another tweak to usual rules, FIFA will let teams replace any players whose contracts expire during the Club World Cup by opening a “restricted in-competition” window from 27 June to 3 July. This is meant to address the situation that Manchester City may face with Kevin De Bruyne, or Bayern with Alphonso Davies or Joshua Kimmich, all of whom have contracts that currently expire at the end of June, halfway through the tournament. However, what is more likely, should any of those players, or players in a similar position, not sign new deals between now and June, is that they will agree to two-week extensions to cover the tournament’s duration. “The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will kick off a new era for club football across the world, with the top teams competing to be crowned the official FIFA club world champions,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino. “These regulations will ensure that the best possible conditions are in place in order for all 32 participating clubs and the best players in the world to shine at the highest level.” In recent seasons, the summer transfer window in Europe has opened in mid-June but FIFA did amend the rules in the summer of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic extended the extended season into August. FIFA this week confirmed the 12 stadiums that will stage the inaugural Club World Cup. 2025 Club World Cup stadiums: Full list MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, N.J.)* Meredes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte) TQL Stadium (Cincinnati) Rose Bowl Stadium (Los Angeles) Hard Rock Stadium (Miami) GEODIS Park (Nashville) Camping World Stadium (Orlando) Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando) Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) Lumen Field (Seattle) Audi Field (Washington, D.C.) *denotes 2026 World Cup final venue GO DEEPER The Club World Cup Cup has venues at last - but so many questions still remain

they do not care look at some of the other buys so many of us lost our minds over and they did it anyway