Vesper

Chelsea Football Club has released the following update regarding Dario Essugo… https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/injury-update-dario-essugo Midfielder Dario Essugo has undergone successful surgery today on his thigh. The 20-year-old sustained the injury whilst on international duty for Portugal's Under-21s. Medical assessments confirmed surgery would be the required course of action and Dario will now begin his recovery at Cobham, supported by the club's medical department.

Chelsea striker Liam Delap expected to return to training in November, no surgery required after hamstring injury https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6587974/2025/09/09/liam-delap-injury-update-Chelsea/ By David Ornstein and Simon Johnson Sept. 9, 2025 Chelsea striker Liam Delap is expected to begin training again in November, with his anticipated return to play coming shortly after ahead of the busy festive fixture schedule. No surgery is required on the hamstring injury Delap sustained against Fulham and his lay-off is estimated at approximately 10 weeks from the time of the injury. Delap pulled up during the first half of Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Fulham on August 30 and was replaced by Tyrique George. After the game, head coach Enzo Maresca said he feared Delap would be out for up to eight weeks. The England Under-21 international’s injury caused Chelsea to recall Marc Guiu from his proposed season-long loan at Sunderland. That came after the club had informed Bayern Munich they would not be sanctioning the proposed loan of Nicolas Jackson to the German club, before a deal was ultimately struck on deadline day which includes a conditional obligation for the Bundesliga champions to make the move permanent. Delap is set to miss the beginning of Chelsea’s Champions League league phase campaign, which includes a trip to Bayern Munich on September 17, while Maresca’s side also play Premier League champions Liverpool on October 4 and travel to Tottenham Hotspur on November 1. Delap joined Chelsea for £30million from Ipswich Town at the start of summer. He featured in six games for his new side at the Club World Cup, scoring once, and had started two of Chelsea’s opening three Premier League games. As well as Delap, Chelsea also recruited Joao Pedro from Brighton & Hove Albion ahead of the Club World Cup. The Brazilian has so far featured as a No 10, a No 9 and on the left under Maresca. Chelsea return to action following the international break against Brentford on Saturday. ‘A blow for the player and Chelsea’ Analysis by Chelsea correspondent Simon Johnson Losing Delap for such a long period of time is a blow for the player and Chelsea. Delap may have been outshone by fellow new forward recruit Joao Pedro so far as the 5-1 goal ratio indicates. But the striker, bought from Ipswich Town for £30million in June, was providing the team with some much needed physicality and showing his importance. The schedule is now becoming much more intense with the start of the Champions League next week and head coach Enzo Maresca would have hoped to share the workload between both of his options. Chelsea have recalled Marc Guiu from his loan at Sunderland to fill the void after deciding not to stand in the way of Nicolas Jackson’s departure to Bayern Munich before the deadline. As The Athletic explained last week, Guiu is a player who is highly regarded by Maresca and club personnel. It is a great opportunity for him of course, but he does not have as many games at the highest level as Delap has managed. With Chelsea facing Tottenham Hotspur on November 1, that means Delap is surely going to miss a minimum of 11 fixtures and even after he is fit to feature again, will surely need a few weeks to get back to being 100 per cent. Delap has ambitions of making the England squad for the 2026 World Cup, but there is now a very strong possibility that he will not get a chance to impress head coach Thomas Tuchel until the March international break next year.

Ange Postecoglou appointed Nottingham Forest head coach after Nuno exit https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6425702/2025/09/09/ange-postecoglou-nottingham-forest-manager/ Ange Postecoglou has been appointed Nottingham Forest head coach after Nuno Espirito Santo was relieved of his duties. Postecoglou will be in the dugout for Forest’s visit to Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday, with the Australian set to be joined by several of his former Tottenham Hotspur coaching staff. The 60-year-old emerged as a leading contender to replace Nuno at the City Ground, having parted company with Spurs in June — weeks after winning the Europa League title with the north London club. “We are bringing a coach to the club who has a proven and consistent record of winning trophies,” Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis said upon the appointment. “His experience of coaching teams at the highest level, along with his desire to build something special with us at Forest, makes him a fantastic person to help us on our journey and achieve consistently all our ambitions. “After gaining promotion to the Premier League, then building consistently season after season to secure European football, we now must take the right step to compete with the very best and challenge for trophies. Ange has the credentials and the track-record to do this, and we are excited he is joining us on our ambitious journey.” Postecoglou has been out of management since leaving Tottenham. He had contact from Al Ahli who considered him a candidate for a managerial change but it was not pursued, while he was contacted by Brentford, who appointed Keith Andrews, about replacing Thomas Frank this summer. Postecoglou’s dismissal came after leading the north London club to a first major trophy in 17 years with victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final. However, the club finished 17th in the top flight, and their total of 22 losses was the most of any team not to be relegated in a 38-game Premier League season. Postecoglou guided Spurs to their first trophy in 17 years in May (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) Postecoglou spent two decades managing in Australia across multiple clubs and the nation’s youth sides, before coaching the Australia international side between 2013 and 2017. He went on to coach Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos, with whom he won the J-League title in 2019, and winning five domestic trophies — including the Scottish league title in each season — across two seasons at Celtic. He guided Spurs to a fifth-place finish in his first season in charge in 2023-24, but the following campaign saw a notable drop in domestic form despite winning the Europa League title. What You Should Read Next Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest exit feels unnecessary, potentially damaging and all just pretty sad For a little while, on the surface at least, Nottingham Forest seemed like it was a relatively serene place to be. Not now Nottingham Forest owner Marinakis had recently praised Postecoglou, who has Greek heritage and previously managed Panachaiki in the nation’s lower divisions. “What I want to say about Ange is that he has spoken about Greece many times, he is proud to be Greek and in the great success he had with Tottenham by winning the Europa League, he spoke about Greece,” Marinakis said of Postecoglou when presenting the head coach with an award in Greece in July, as cited by Neos Kosmos. “A man who not only does not hide his origin but is also proud of it. What he achieved, he did with a team that has not won any titles, it has had a very difficult time in recent years. In this huge success that the whole world saw, he promoted Greece.” Nuno had led the club to a seventh-place finish last season, and qualified for the Europa League following Crystal Palace’s demotion to the Conference League — the first time Forest will play in Europe for 30 years. The Athletic reported on August 23 that a major fallout had occurred between Nuno and Forest’s new global head of football Edu , with their relationship in a potentially irreparable state. What You Should Read Next Revealed: Nuno’s row with Edu at the heart of his Nottingham Forest unhappiness A row between Nuno and Edu at Nottingham Forest has sparked recent discontent over the state of the club's squad The internal conflict had been ongoing for months, and in that time Nuno was outspoken in the media about his relationship with Forest owner Marinakis, saying ahead of his side’s match against Crystal Palace it had “changed” and that they were “not as close”. This was followed by Marinakis saying Nuno was the right person for the job a week later. Nuno had also spoken about his disappointment with the club’s summer transfer business, saying he was “very worried” about his squad on the eve of the new campaign. The club moved quickly in subsequent weeks to complete a club-record deal for Omari Hutchinson from Ipswich Town, while also signing James McAtee, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Douglas Luiz among their 13 summer incomings. Forest have picked up four points in their opening three Premier League matches, with Nuno’s final game in charge the 3-0 home defeat to West Ham United prior to the international break. Additional reporting from Guillermo Rai Will Forest get the dogmatic or pragmatic Postecoglou? Analysis by The Athletic’s Duncan Alexander The question for Nottingham Forest is which Ange Postecoglou are they going to get? Will it be the early Tottenham-era Ange, the high-line enthusiast who won the Premier League manager of the month award in his first three months at the club, who saw his team score two or more goals in each of his first seven games in charge and who made the best start after 10 games (winning eight, with two draws) of any manager in the competition’s history. Could it be the mid-era Ange, who saw a squad increasingly susceptible to injury, particularly in defence, and who recorded more defeats (22) than any other non-relegated side had ever done before in a 20-team season. The resulting 17th-place finish was Tottenham’s lowest since they were relegated from the English top-flight in 1977. Or are Forest banking on getting the (very) late-era Ange, the man who saw the opportunity of once again winning a trophy in his second season, and did so by getting Spurs to repeatedly shut up shop in the latter stages of the 2024-25 Europa League. His side had three shots in the final against Manchester United and scored with the only one that was directed on target. It was light years from his initial approach in 2023 but it showed a level of pragmatism and nous that Forest — now in the Europa League themselves — could certainly benefit from.

link please

zio-shill Lammy ffs Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza, government concludes, shifting it's position on the issue A letter from David Lammy, sent when he was foreign secretary, says the war does not meet the criteria, though he calls Israeli bombing ‘utterly appalling’ https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/israel-war-gaza-not-genocide-david-lammy-22wdsmt90 The UK does not consider Israel’s actions in Gaza to be genocide, David Lammy has said in a significant shift in position on the issue. Until last week the UK government had maintained that the question of whether Israel had committed genocide was a matter for the courts and not for national governments to determine. However, in a letter to the chair of the international development committee last week Lammy said that an assessment carried out by the Foreign Office had concluded that Israel’s actions did not constitute genocide. • Spain PM Pedro Sánchez issues arms embargo on Israel for ‘genocide’ The letter, sent before he was replaced as foreign secretary in the cabinet reshuffle, said: “As per the Genocide Convention, the crime of genocide occurs only where there is specific ‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group’. The government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent.” It is the first time the UK government has explicitly said that it does not consider what is happening in Gaza to be a genocide. In May, Hamish Falconer, the minister for the Middle East, told MPs: “It is the UK government’s long-standing position that any formal determination as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent court, not for governments or non-judicial bodies.” Lammy said last year: “This government is not an international court. We have not — and could not — arbitrate on whether or not Israel has breached international humanitarian law.” His letter was in response to a strongly worded letter from Sarah Champion, chair of the international development committee, who demanded answers on how the UK’s policy of continuing to supply parts for F-35 fighter jets that have indirectly been sent to Israel complied with its international duty to prevent genocide. This is a crucial period of diplomacy in the Israel-Gaza war for Sir Keir Starmer, who is set to recognise the state of Palestine later this month unless Israel meets strict conditions. On Monday the prime minister met Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, in Downing Street and on Wednesday he will welcome the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog. Tensions have been heightened following a rush-hour shooting on Monday in Jerusalem, the deadliest terrorist attack in the city in recent years, in which six people were killed. In his response to Champion, Lammy, who became justice secretary and deputy prime minister in Starmer’s reshuffle, said the government had “carefully considered” the question of genocide. He said that despite the government’s conclusion, Israel’s actions in Gaza had been “utterly appalling” given the high number of civilian casualties including women and children and the “extensive destruction” caused. Lammy said Israel “must do much more to prevent and alleviate the suffering that this conflict is causing”. Lammy said that the Foreign Office had carried out several assessments on the question of genocide, including when the government decided to exempt British-made parts for the F-35 jet from the suspension of 30 arms export licences to Israel. The UK government suspended export licences to Israel last September because of a risk of British-made weaponry being used in violations of international law in Gaza. However, it exempted the supply of British-made components for the US-produced F-35 fighter jets because it was part of a wider Nato defence programme crucial for maintaining international peace. More than 1,300 entertainment industry professionals, including A-list actors and directors, have signed a pledge refusing to work with Israeli film institutions which they say are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”. Olivia Colman, Aimee Lou Wood, Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo were among the actors to accuse “many governments of enabling the carnage in Gaza”. “The world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, has ruled that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza, and that Israel’s occupation and apartheid against Palestinians are unlawful,” they said. The pledge was published by Film Workers for Palestine and claimed that the “vast majority” of the Israeli film industry has never endorsed the rights of the Palestinian people.

Nottingham Forest part company with head coach Nuno Espírito Santo Nuno had led Forest to historic European qualification Head coach recently admitted tensions with owner https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/sep/09/nottingham-forest-part-company-with-head-coach-nuno-espirito-santo Nottingham Forest have parted company with their head coach, Nuno Espírito Santo, after a year and eight months, with Ange Postecoglou strongly linked to the vacant position. Nuno’s departure just three games into the season comes after the emergence of tensions with the owner, Evangelos Marinakis, over the past fortnight. “Nottingham Forest Football Club confirms that, following recent circumstances, Nuno Espírito Santo has today been relieved of his duties as head coach,” said a club statement in the early hours of Tuesday morning. “The club thanks Nuno for his contribution during a very successful era at the City Ground, in particular his role in the 2024-25 season, which will forever be remembered fondly in the history of the club. “As someone who played a pivotal role in our success last season, he will always hold a special place in our journey.” Nuno confirmed before August’s Premier League match at Crystal Palace, that his relationship with Marinakis had deteriorated over the summer. “I cannot say that is the same, because it’s not the same,” Nuno said. “The reason behind it, I don’t know … I think everybody at the club should be together but it’s not the reality.” Nuno’s tenure at the City Ground was highly successful, the Portuguese steering Forest to safety in his first season after replacing Steve Cooper in December 2023. The following season, he led the team on an unexpected push for Champions League qualification, spending much of the campaign in the top four. Forest finished seventh, securing a Conference League spot which became a Europa League place when Crystal Palace were demoted by Uefa. The former Tottenham manager Postecoglou is reportedly a frontrunner to succeed Nuno. The Australian has been out of work since being sacked in June after overseeing a 17th-place finish in the Premier League last season, despite ending the club’s trophy drought with success in the Europa League. While Nuno’s relationship with Marinakis proved the Portuguese’s undoing, the Greek businessman has in the past expressed his admiration for Postecoglou, who is of Greek heritage. “What he achieved, he did with a team that has not won any titles, it has had a very difficult time in recent years. In this huge success that the whole world saw, he promoted Greece,” Marinakis said when presenting him with an award in Greece following his Europa League triumph. “We must thank him especially for this and we wish him well, although we are sure that he will do well as he has the ability. Wherever he goes, the successes will come.” Having led the club into Europe, Nuno departs the City Ground as the club’s most successful manager since Frank Clark, and they sit 10th in the Premier League table.

Axel Disasi agreed to return to Monaco from Chelsea on loan before a deal collapsed https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2025/axel-disasi-agreed-to-return-to-monaco-from-Chelsea-on-loan-before-a-deal-collapsed/ According to a report from Foot Mercato, Axel Disasi (27) agreed personal terms with Monaco ahead of a potential return to the principality club from Chelsea in the final days of the transfer window. The France international was set to return to the Ligue 1 club on a season long loan without an option to buy. Despite an agreement being reached between Les Monégasques and the former Aston Villa loanee, the deal ultimately collapsed due to the Premier League club’s loan quota becoming full. Ultimately, this led to the 27-year-old staying put in the English capital. Several clubs showed an interest in signing the former Monaco defender during the summer transfer window, but a move never materialised for the Frenchman. Despite the transfer window being closed in most leagues, it remains open in Turkey and the Middle East. However, no clubs are yet reported to be interested in making a move for Disasi. Get French Football News understands that Monaco did not pursue a move for the Chelsea defender. GFFN | Liam Wraith

Chelsea player turned down chance to join Juventus this summer A Chelsea player reportedly rejected a move to clubs like Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus this summer, and fans won’t be thrilled with it. https://theprideoflondon.com/Chelsea-player-turned-down-chance-join-juventus-summer Since the change in ownership, Chelsea have focused on bringing in youngsters and developing them into stars. As a result, in recent years, the Blues have reduced their spending on signing and giving high salaries to experienced players. And even when they have, it has often turned out to be a mistake. Out of those few brought in since, only one individual remains at Stamford Bridge as of now. We are talking about Raheem Sterling. Throughout the summer, Chelsea tried to find a solution for the player, but their efforts went in vain. And here they are, handing the Englishman a lucrative salary, reported to be in the region of £300,000 per week, for training at Cobham. Enzo Maresca has already made it clear that the player doesn’t feature in his plans for the future. Various clubs including Fulham, Crystal Palace, and West Ham had shown interest in the player. Now reports have confirmed that Sterling rejected a move to two more European giants, and fans won’t be thrilled to hear about it. According to BBC, Chelsea brought Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus to the table. Although Sterling was interested, his desire to remain close to his family took precedence. Raheem Sterling passed up on chance to leave Chelsea for Bayer Leverkusen or Juventus Chelsea signed Sterling from Manchester City in 2022 for a fee believed to be around €56.2 million. But his time at Stamford Bridge has never met expectations. Sterling, who was considered one of the best players in the Premier League not too long ago, has lost his form and with it a place in Chelsea’s squad. He isn’t expected to get any first-team minutes unless he finds a new destination. The English winger was sent on loan to Arsenal last season but failed to impress there as well. As a result, Mikel Arteta's side decided against permanently signing the player. Anyway, this example shouldn’t discourage Chelsea from further pursuing experienced players moving forward. Rather, it should serve as a reminder to think twice before handing out massive wages and transfer fees in future deals.

New Banksy mural appears at Royal Courts of Justice https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgrq0r0y878o A new mural by elusive street artist Banksy has appeared on the side of the Royal Courts of Justice building in central London. It depicts a judge in a traditional wig and black robe hitting a protester lying on the ground, with blood splattering their placard. While the mural does not reference a particular cause or incident, its appearance comes two days after almost 900 people were arrested at a London protest against the ban on Palestine Action. The artwork was quickly covered up by large sheets of plastic and metal barriers. Court officials told the BBC the work would be removed. The Metropolitan police said it had received a report of criminal damage and that enquiries would continue. A spokesperson for HM Courts and Tribunals said that the Royal Courts of Justice was a listed building and that it was "obliged to maintain its original character". The spot Banksy chose was on an external wall of the Queen's Building, part of the Royal Courts of Justice complex, on the usually quiet Carey Street. On Monday it was busy with onlookers taking pictures of the recently hidden patch of wall. One of two security officers outside the building said they did not know how much longer they would be required to stand guard, adding, "At least it's not raining." The Bristol-based street artist shared a photo of the wall art on Instagram, which is Banksy's usual method of claiming a work as authentic. The artist captioned the picture: "Royal Courts Of Justice. London." Labour peer Baroness Harriet Harman said she believed the work was a "protest about the law" without specifying which legislation she meant. "Parliament makes the law, and the judges simply interpret the law," she added. "I don't think there's any evidence, in terms of the right to protest, that judges have been clamping down on protests beyond what Parliament intended." Banksy's stencilled graffiti is often critical of government policy, war and capitalism. Last summer, the artist began an animal-themed campaign in the capital of nine works, which concluded with a gorilla appearing to lift up a shutter on the entrance to London Zoo. Other notable works included piranhas swimming on a police sentry box in the City of London, and a howling wolf on a satellite dish, which was taken off the roof of a shop in Peckham, south London, less than an hour after it was unveiled. London Zoo removes Banksy work for 'safekeeping' Police investigate removal of street sign in Peckham as alleged theft Banksy piranhas to find new home in London Museum Banksy has in the past also been known for his work in the West Bank. In December 2019 he created a "modified Nativity" at a hotel in Bethlehem which showed Jesus' manger in front of Israel's separation barrier, which appeared to have been pierced by a blast, creating the shape of a star. Israel says the barrier is needed to prevent infiltrations from the West Bank but Palestinians say it is a tool to grab land.

yes, I have seen that too not sure what team he would chose I would go with Real, but I am not privy to Guehi's thinking on the choice

we could put a cheeky bid in, in January, IF (big if) Guehi would agree to come back here, which, based off multiple other posters' replies, seems to not be the case 😞

Liverpool will not make a move for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi in January. The Reds failed in a £35m move for the 25-year-old England international last week and would only sign him now when his contract comes to an end next summer. (Times)

just because you do not like it does not mean it is irrational and I will post what I want, within the bounds of TC TOS

I blame Boehly from the start for signing him for insane money (given his age and decline) and salary I also fully admit (always did) that we are contractually obligated to pay Sterling but there is nothing irrational about keeping him away from the rest of the team

I didn't say do not pay him. We have to. But I see no reason for him to be around the club facilities. I also, if the only buy-out the he will accept is 100 per cent of what we owe him (and the prick could then 'double dip' on his pay packet for the next 2 years, as his new club would also pay him a salary), then I say just let him rot until July 2027.

Sterling needs to be banned from all Chelsea property. He is refusing a buyout (I do NOT want to pay him anything remotely close to the £34m he will earn and let him walk now) and also he is refusing all transfers unless it's a London club and he gets his full current salary, which will likely never happen. Just freeze him out for the next 2 years. Further reduce his career. What a shitshow. What a horrid buy, what a horrid decision to pay the plonker £85m in salary. One of the worst transfers in EPL history.

A Sitting U.S. Senator Just Unapologetically Declared the U.S. a White Homeland America, he says, isn’t an idea—and isn’t for everyone. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/09/eric-schmitt-white-nationalism-national-conservatism-conference.html On Nov. 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the greatest speeches in American history, the Gettysburg Address. It opened “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” On Tuesday, Eric Schmitt, the junior senator from Missouri, declared that Lincoln was wrong. “What is an American?” This was the question Schmitt posed at the fifth annual National Conservatism Conference in Washington. His answer is that the nation is fundamentally not based on the idea of equality or freedom or any other ideal. Nor is it accessible to people of all races and religions. It is fundamentally, he told an assembled crowd, a white homeland. The white Europeans who settled America and conquered the West “believed they were forging a nation—a homeland for themselves and their descendants,” he said. “They fought, they bled, they struggled, they died for us. They built this country for us. America, in all its glory, is their gift to us, handed down across the generations. It belongs to us. It’s our birthright, our heritage, our destiny. If America is everything and everyone, then it is nothing and no one at all. But we know that’s not true. America is not a ‘universal nation.’ ” The implications of this vision are serious. This is a repudiation of our Constitution and the core of a national identity that includes all its citizens. It means that to be American is not about citizenship at all. “What is an American?” Schmitt asked. It is a white person. America is a white homeland that organically binds together white people of the past, present and future. And its policies must be guided for their benefit if they are to succeed. “A strong, sovereign nation—not just an idea but a home, belonging to a people bound together by a common past and a shared destiny.” Schmitt makes clear that the problem of immigration is not that people violate the rules or that the rules are not enforced. It is about immigration per se, about non-Europeans stealing the birthright of the descendants of America’s original white Christian settlers. This includes German settlers like Schmitt’s ancestors, a group at one time considered nonwhite, but not the Black slaves who built much of the country and whose roots here largely predate his own, nor countless other ethnic groups who have made significant contributions to this nation. “We Americans are the sons and daughters of the Christian pilgrims that poured out from Europe’s shores to baptize a new world in their ancient faith,” he said. “Our ancestors were driven here by destiny, possessed by urgent and fiery conviction, by burning belief, devoted to their cause and their God.” Their idol, he declares, is Andrew Jackson. “Their trust was in the Lord,” but their cause was not necessarily more righteous. They destroyed the Native Americans, he claims, because they were superior in strength and perseverance. This is a fascist vision of natural selection favoring the group with racial and cultural superiority. Make no mistake. This is a revolt against Lincoln, a revolt against the idea of a nation built on the proposition that all men are created equal. “America is not just an abstract proposition,” he repeats over and over, clearly referencing Lincoln. The left, he asserts, is “turning the American tradition into a deracinated ideological creed,” an idea literally stripped of its racial foundation. It is stealing the country from the “real American nation”: the pilgrims, the pioneers and the settlers who “repelled wave after wave of Indian war band attacks” to build this country. “It belongs to us. It’s our birthright, our heritage, our destiny.” Nonwhite people do appear in his vision, but only as the usurpers of our white nation and its resources. They are the “Indians,” whom he portrays as savages who succumbed to the superior ability of their white destroyers. They are Barack Obama and his supporters, who scorned the white patriots for remembering a country “that once belonged to them.” They are the people tearing down Confederate statues and removing Confederate names from buildings, streets, and forts, turning “yesterday’s heroes into today’s villains.” They are the people behind the “George Floyd riots,” as he describes them, “anarchists [who] looted and defaced and tore down statues and monuments all across the country.” Here, it is quite clear who constitutes “us” and “them” in this Manichaean vision of the American nation. “When they tear down our statues and monuments, mock our history, and insult our traditions, they’re attacking our future as well as our past,” he said. “But America does not belong to them. It belongs to us. It’s our home. It’s a heritage entrusted to us by our ancestors. It’s a way of life that is ours, and only ours, and if we disappear, then America, too, will cease to exist.” Even Christianity itself is eclipsed here. Christianity is meaningful only as a marker of the whiteness of the people who embody it. There is no gratitude here, except for the white founders who bequeathed this nation to their biological descendants by achieving its manifest destiny and taking it. There is no obligation here. No grace. No Christian mercy. No reckoning with past crimes, and particularly not with the dispossession of Native Americans or the enslavement of Africans, both of which are literally celebrated. That conference—despite the protestations of its founder, the Israeli scholar Yoram Hazony—has been promoting blood-and-soil nationalism since its first iteration in 2019. That year, University of Pennsylvania Law professor Amy Wax argued, “Our country would be better off with more whites and fewer nonwhites.” She worried about our “legacy” population, white Americans, being overrun by nonwhite immigrants who, she said, innately lacked the capacity to adapt to Western culture. In 2024 the senior senator from Missouri, Josh Hawley, gave the keynote speech at the conference. Hawley celebrated Christian nationalism as the core idea animating America. He warned against “cosmopolitans” and “globalists,” both famous tropes for Jews, threatening our country. This year, Schmitt, a sitting senator, outdid them both. Schmitt opened by reiterating the antisemitic tropes of his senior colleague. America is threatened by the “elites,” he declared, “who rule everywhere but are not truly from anywhere.” This is the “rootless cosmopolitan” trope at the heart of modern antisemitism. They serve “global liberalism” and “global capital” and support mass migration, he continued, a nod to the “great replacement” theory, which blames Jews for replacing white Americans with nonwhite immigrants. Though he repeats his predecessor’s implicit antisemitism, he went even further with his explicit advocacy of the U.S. as a white homeland. This speech, and this conference, demonstrates once again that the MAGA coalition’s endgame is about not just fighting illegal immigration, affirmative action, and “DEI.” It is about not just the alleged destruction of nonracial civic nationalism by liberals and their proactive efforts to achieve equity. It is ultimately about a white (Christian) nationalist vision of America that claims ownership of power and resources for white (Christian) Americans alone. All others are here on sufferance and must remember their place as such. That a sitting U.S. senator should make such a speech without shame or pushback by his party highlights the extent to which it represents where that party now stands.

Memphis Depay becomes Netherlands' record scorer in Lithuania win https://www.espn.co.uk/football/report/_/gameId/724995 Memphis Depay became the Netherlands' all-time leading goalscorer in the World Cup qualifying win over Lithuania on Sunday. Corinthians forward Depay, 31, scored his record-setting 51st international goal in the 11th minute, surpassing Robin van Persie's tally. Depay wasn't done there, scoring the winner as Netherlands snuck past Lithuania 3-2 after a spirited fightback from the hosts. The Dutch were 2-0 up after Quinten Timber's strike before goals from Gvidas Ginetis and Edvinas Girdvainis got Lithuania level in an entertaining first half. Then, with half-an-hour remaining, Depay nodded home a Denzel Dumfries cross to hand Ronald Koeman's side the win. Depay played for PSV, Manchester United, Lyon, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid before moving to Brazil last year. He made his Netherlands debut in 2013 and scored his first goal against Australia at the 2014 World Cup.

Interview: Florent Malouda This Sunday is now named 'interviews with the Chelsea legends' day! https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/interview-florent-malouda We had an exclusive interview (through our man Darko) out with former Chelsea cult hero Ramires today that’s now out on the home page. And although this one is not our exclusive, we now have an interview in full with another hero of the stands at Stamford Bridge, Florent Malouda! Florent Malouda: Chelsea are ‘paying the price’ with injuries, Garnacho could replicate Palmer impact with Blues and Isak will harm Ekitike’s development Chelsea are paying the price for injury problems after Club World Cup “I think that was almost expected because even during the Club World Cup, you had players complaining about the schedule and about the fact that there was almost no recovery after the season. “The Chelsea team performed well at the tournament, but now they are paying the price. “This is where the depth of your squad is tested. So we also have to take into consideration the fact that there's going to be a World Cup next year. So for all international players, it will be challenging, a long, exhausting season. “They must look after themselves, and they must accept also not to play every game to be able to lead the team to trophies, because competition is getting higher, intensity of the game is getting higher and you're always at risk to lose your key players for a lot of games.” Chelsea’s other players need to step up and match Cole Palmer’s level “Cole Palmer is the key player. He has proven he has the shoulders for this. Now it's about building his physique to play every game. Every time he's fit, he's an impact player with a big impact on positive results. We definitely need him. “With Champions League and international football, there will be high demand and strain on him. Other players need to step up and match his level so danger can come from everywhere. “When we play a team, they almost always try to block Cole Palmer and his impact on the result.” Enzo Maresca needs to be careful with Cole Palmer and managing his minutes “Enzo Maresca needs to be very careful with Cole Palmer and I think he is careful with the way he manages him, but you must play your best players. Obviously, Cole Palmer is young, but in the manager's position, you want results. “It's not like you have time and you can spare a few games here and there. You need to have your best players, and sometimes your best players are not in their best physical form, but they still have an impact on the team. So he manages him well. “I think he will try to give him some rest. There's a World Cup coming, but the priority is to perform for the club.” Alejandro Garnacho could follow the Cole Palmer trajectory but he has to deliver unlike Jadon Sancho “Alejandro Garnacho has talent and could follow the Cole Palmer trajectory, he even has a similar price tag. It's about delivering, unlike Jadon Sancho who wasn't able to show his talent and make a difference. What you expect from a player like Garnacho is how he's able to be consistent in performance and have an impact. “For me, it also comes with personal ambition. It's a done deal, but it shouldn't be seen as an escape from Manchester United. His ambition should be to become a world-class player at a top football club like Chelsea. “That's the kind of mindset we expect from him, and of course, being an impact on the offensive part of Chelsea's game.” Hugo Ekitike’s experience at PSG will help him compete with Alexander Isak “Will Alexander Isak impact the development of Hugo Ekitike? Yes, but great players adapt all the time. You have to renew yourself. You have to almost develop a toolbox. “There's always your favorite position, but in modern football, you also have the defensive part of the game where you need to be involved. That doesn't stop you from being at your best level. Especially with young players, that's what's difficult to get, you need to give to the team first. “It doesn't matter the position. Then, with the relationship you create with the players around you, you will get the chances to score back because he's a natural goal scorer. “He's a real threat, and he has this experience at PSG with a lot of stars, so he knows how to navigate in a dressing room full of stars. But his main thing is he wants to be on the pitch, he wants to improve his stats, deliver, and answer to the expectations around him.” Hugo Ekitike has his own style - he’s not similar to Thierry Henry “Does Hugo Ekitike remind me of Thierry Henry? No, I think he has his own style. Comparing him to past players doesn't help him. He's a tall, fast player and a threat in front of goal, capable of making a big difference on his own. “He's not the type of player who depends on a particular style of play, he can make a difference independently. That's what's good about young players like him – they're fearless and confident enough to unbalance any defensive system. So that's a good option to have. The difference is always consistency. “When you mention a player like Frank Lampard for example, you know he's going to score 20 goals every season, no question. So it's about how a young player with a price tag like this transitions into a world-class player who consistently scores 20-plus goals in the Premier League.”

Players Arteta has brought to Arsenal since he was appointed in 2019. Over £1.3 billion gross spend, with only 1 FA Cup (the Covid game, with Anthony Taylor assfucking us) and 2 Community Shields to show for it. Gabriel Martinelli Pablo Mari David Luiz Cedric Soares Gabriel Magalhães Thomas Partey Martin Ødegaard Aaron Ramsdale Takehiro Tomiyasu Albert Sambi-Lokonga Nuno Tavares Auston Trusty Gabriel Jesus Fabio Vieira Jorginho Matt Turner Marquinhos Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson Oleksandr Zinchenko Leandro Trossard Jakub Kiwior Declan Rice Kai Havertz Riccardo Calafiori David Raya Mikel Merino Eberechi Eze Viktor Gyökeres Martín Zubimendi Noni Madueke Cristhian Mosquera Christian Nørgaard Kepa Arrizabalaga Jurriën Timber Ben White Piero Hincapié

Watching Andorra: like a month made up entirely of Tuesday afternoons England’s opponents’ entire game involves trying to stop football happening. A draining existence, but one they have become rather good at https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/sep/06/watching-andorra-like-a-month-made-up-entirely-of-tuesday-afternoons “And here are the best bits from tonight’s 2-0 win.” All things considered the stadium announcer at Villa Park probably deserves some kind of civic heritage award for his fine work preserving the dry gallows humour of this part of the Midlands. What was this occasion exactly? Ninety minutes of light cardio? A day to marvel, perhaps more than ever before, at the contrast in tone and staging between the basic product of club and international football? By the end this World Cup qualifier felt closer to a piece of mid-range pageantry, some kind of trooping, a march past, one of those tedious, formularised affairs where the whole point is plumage and horsery and shiny buttons, and where the only thing to say, in between drifting off into a revery on your own mortality is, yes, well, we do at least do these things very well. The only job was to win and England won. It was a good warm up for Serbia, probably, in that nobody got injured. The most interesting thing about this game was that it wasn’t dross, or terrible, or an outrage. It was simply unmemorable, a single slab of textureless substance, like a month made up entirely of Tuesday afternoons. The only moment of any note came on 65 minutes, as Andorra slackened just enough in the business of getting in the way, leaving space on the England right for Reece James to curl in a really nice dipping cross. Declan Rice nodded it down and inside the far post to make it 2-0. Otherwise, this was … what exactly? What does a good game against Andorra look like? There must be goals. The goals must come regularly, leaving no time to sigh and feel the sun begin to sink in the sky. No crushing sense of futility please. We are England. And Villa Park was full at kick-off, a light fizzy fun place. Ebe Eze started in the No 10 role, with licence to drop deep, press high, go wide, lay out a china tea set on a picnic blanket, basically anything that might present some kind of variety. He was energetic at first. But breaking down two lines of static human flesh is such an odd, bespoke task. How many times has Eze had to do it? With 24 minutes gone he was involved in the move that led to Noni Madueke’s whipped cross being deflected in for an own goal. After which England settled into an endless battering of the pads, the entire game condensed into a 30 yard space in front of the Andorra goal. Madueke had a good game, in as much as he looked like he was enjoying it a bit. Elliot Anderson was good on the ball, and seemed unafraid of the experience. Harry Kane touched the ball 12 times in 90 minutes. He basically wasn’t there, seemed to dematerialise, to become a gas. And really Andorra were the spectacle here. They did almost nothing except smother and obstruct. But given England are ranked four in the world this was arguably their best away result since the 2-0 defeat against France’s world champs in October 1998. This is not just a strange team, but a strange concept, a strange notion of what sport is. Andorra’s entire game involves trying to stop football happening. Understandably so. They have the fifth smallest population of any Uefa country. They are here simply to assert their status as a flag and a set of borders. To be Andorra is to be filler, football mastic, a semi-necessary prop, a plastic croissant on a morning talk show. It must be a genuinely draining existence. Every moment is a matter of spoiling, taking energy out. From minute one, Andorra basically want this thing to stop, the entire game a protest against the existence of this activity. And yet they must still take part in it. From the opening seconds here they pulled and jostled and nipped and got in the way. England won a free-kick with a few seconds gone and three times the ball was rolled just wide of the man taking it, really excellent, fearless shithousery. But what kind of life is this? Why is it happening? Koldo Álvarez has been Andorra’s manager for 15 years. It took him 49 games to get his first win. Andorra have scored in two of their last 25 games. The only team they regularly beat is Liechtenstein. Maybe they just need to take that Liechtenstein mentality into every game, dance like everybody’s Liechtenstein. But there is still a vision there. Andorra are good now at losing respectably, albeit in a way that makes all human life seem essentially pointless. The last real shellacking was Portugal 7-0 five years ago. Watching them you wondered what their training sessions look like. Do they need a ball? Or a goal? Do they even need to be in the same place? Lads. Just go to the park and jostle someone. How do they scout players? People who refuse to move down the train carriage. Man-spreaders. Seat hoggers. Yes. This guy, this guy is one of ours. In the end what took place here has zero relevance to the moments that will define Thomas Tuchel’s time as England manager. The job is to work out how to beat France, Spain or similar in a knockout game. This is what England generally fail to do. But it would be unfair to say England learned nothing from this experience. They learned about the slow drift of a September Saturday, and about the oddly heartening limits of this game. Andorra may be laughably outmatched amateurs. But space is still space. Incision must still be earned. Tuchel has seemed a little puzzled at times by the job at hand. Here is a man whose entire life is the overthinking of football, asked now to contemplate the underthinking of football, pragmatism, simple stuff, arms round the shoulder, fingers crossed. Perhaps there were small signs. Anderson was a good pick. Tuchel spoke well afterwards. And even this kind of win, a deathly win, a win to be endured, is still also a win.

It is thought Axel Disasi is now more open to Turkey than heading to the Middle East. (Ben Jacobs)

Barcelona are ready to enter the race to sign Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi on a free transfer next summer with Liverpool and Real Madrid already interested in the 25-year-old. (Sport )