Vesper

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

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.

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.

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 )

from all I have seen, he is pretty meh

that first goal we scored was absolutely cracking

Jamal Musiala dubbed irreplaceable 'like Messi' by German icon after shock World Cup qualifying defeat to Slovakia Musiala suffered a devastating long-term injury Germany humiliated by Slovakia without the star Matthaus compares Musiala’s value to Messi's https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/jamal-musiala-dubbed-irreplaceable-like-messi-by-german-icon-after-shock-world-cup-qualifying-defeat-to-slovakia/bltdea6d504f505c7c8 Jamal Musiala has been dubbed irreplaceable "like Lionel Messi" by German icon, Lothar Matthaus, after a shock World Cup qualifying defeat to Slovakia. The Bayern Munich midfielder fractured his fibula and damaged ankle ligaments following a brutal collision with Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the Club World Cup. The 22-year-old was stretchered off in Atlanta, visibly distraught, and Bayern later confirmed he requires surgery that will sideline him for several months. WHAT HAPPENED? For all the star names on Julian Nagelsmann’s teamsheet, Germany looked disjointed and fragile from the outset. Slovakia smelled blood and pounced. The opener came after Florian Wirtz was easily robbed of possession on the flank. David Hancko surged forward into the gaping space, combining with teammates before slotting past the exposed Oliver Baumann. The second goal was even more damning. David Strelec toyed with Antonio Rudiger before unleashing a thunderbolt.

The BookKeeper: Real reason for Premier League PSR complaints is the 217% rise in costs https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6594343/2025/09/05/bookkeeper-real-reason-psr-complaints/ As the dust settles on another chaotic summer of extravagant Premier League spending, there’s time to take a step back. To look at things with less emotion. To remember we’re all here to watch talented footballers actually play the game, not just wonder where their short, peripatetic careers may take them next. Alternatively, there’s also more time for everyone to bemoan profit and sustainability rules (PSR). Grumbles about PSR have been a theme of the past three months. As Premier League spending ballooned over the £3billion mark — more than the other four main European domestic leagues combined — PSR and its supposed influence remained a constant in the background, a grim reaper bearing a calculator rather than a scythe. How we’ve arrived at PSR taking up such prominence in footballing discourse is, mostly, not a result of rules tightening. Domestic PSR loss limits have not changed since they were introduced in February 2013. The story is different in the three UEFA competitions, and nine English clubs had to consider their approach with continental rules in mind, too. More broadly, the driver of PSR’s fame is club activity. Despite collective Premier League revenues nearly doubling since PSR was introduced, cost increases have been higher: wages are up 115 per cent; non-staff costs, excluding depreciation, have risen 143 per cent; player amortisation, or the annual cost to clubs of transfer fees, increased from £549million a decade earlier to £1.7bn in 2023-24, a 217 per cent rise. Those three cost categories consume 64 per cent, 24 per cent and 27 per cent of revenues respectively. Add them together and you can see why clubs are making losses: 64 + 24 + 27 exceeds 100 per cent of revenues, and that’s before we include any interest costs, which also impact PSR calculations. In 2013-14, eight Premier League clubs posted an operating loss; in 2023-24, that figure was up to 18 of the 20. Hence, clubs are turning to the player-trading model long pioneered, and more recently supercharged, by Chelsea. They led the way with £294million in sales this summer, an amount only previously surpassed by Monaco in the 2018 window, when they sold Kylian Mbappe to Paris Saint-Germain. Just as Premier League clubs broke spending records, so too selling ones fell: £1.8billion was made from player sales, over £400m more than the previous high mark, set just a year ago. This was the third summer running where outgoing transfers topped £1bn. It can be linked to PSR. Clubs running operating losses require player sales to improve their bottom line. Chelsea have done it for years, Manchester City, too. Selling members of your squad represents an immediate boost to financials; of course, if such deals are used to fund more transfer spending, they need to be repeated. Bournemouth became only the ninth club anywhere to pass £200million in sales in one window, and while that was in part them being picked over by wealthier clubs, it also served as a balancer to the hefty spending they’ve undertaken since their December 2022 takeover. Wolves might have had some PSR concerns in June before Manchester United spent £62.5m on Matheus Cunha. The division’s ‘Big Six’ dominated spending again, though that was hardly new. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and the two Manchester clubs accounted for 49.3 per cent of gross spending, having averaged 47.9 per cent in the previous 10 summers. More tellingly, those six teams contributed 67.1 per cent of the division’s £1.3billion net spend this summer. That was well above the recent 48.4 per cent average, and reflects a theme of the window: the richest clubs raided the rest of the division. Of the ‘Big Six’ clubs’ £1.5billion spending this summer, 39 per cent of it went on players at one of the other 14 Premier League sides. The only time this percentage has been higher since City joined the informal ranks of that group was in 2009, at the outset of their Abu Dhabi project. How much of this summer’s leap is down to the rules and how much is just the natural order of football is open to interpretation. For better or worse, the richest have long been able to wrest stars from the less well-off; there is, though, a welcome debate to be had about how much PSR solidifies the status quo. Taking the most heated transfer of the summer, Alexander Isak’s move from Newcastle to Liverpool, there’s a fair argument that the deal had little to do with PSR, at least insofar as we all agree some restraints should be in place. Without any rules at all, there’s a possibility Isak would still be at Newcastle, surrounded by more of the world game’s best and most highly remunerated players courtesy of the vast wealth of the club’s Saudi Arabian owners, challenging for titles already. But that’s a rather larger discussion. In the world as it is, the rules hardly precluded Newcastle from giving Isak what he appears to have wanted financially. He was being paid over £150,000 a week, doubling which would have loaded £9million extra onto the St James’ Park wage bill. But extending his contract would have reduced amortisation costs by around £3m if he signed a new five-year deal. The extra £6m committed annually on the Swedish striker could have been covered, for two seasons, by the £12m that was generated by selling Sean Longstaff to Leeds United. Newcastle, for their part, have been less vocal about PSR this summer than in the past. Where a year ago they were left selling players right up to their accounting deadline, this time they entered the window with much less to worry about. The sale of Isak, a deal The Athletic estimates has generated around £80million in accounting profit, has only helped their position further. They might bristle at losing their best player, but sales like Isak’s can set a club up for years. What You Should Read Next ‘He demands urgency’ – Newcastle’s new CEO David Hopkinson in the words of people who know him The 54-year-old Canadian is described as a ‘perfect choice’ to lead a ‘challenger club’ like Newcastle - this is who he is and what he faces Perhaps this summer’s most common complainants have been Aston Villa. Manager Unai Emery, in his opening-game programme notes, stated the rules have “become a limitation for the clubs that are doing good management, who’ll never be allowed to dream”. On a gross basis, Villa were the Premier League’s lowest spenders. Emery is more articulate than many, and debating the fairness of the current system is a worthy endeavour, but even that snippet was rooted in a generous interpretation of ‘good management’. Villa have ambitious owners, but were they to walk away tomorrow — highly unlikely, but precisely what these rules were brought in to help mitigate against — the club would be in serious trouble. They’ve been big sellers recently, but it follows a five-year net spend of over £400million. Villa have received £365.7million in owner funding in just the past three seasons, much of it to help staunch big day-to-day losses (2023-24 operating loss: £145.3m). That they can require such funding and still remain within the rules suggests those rules need tightening, not relaxing. Between their 2018 takeover and the end of 2023-24, Villa spent 132 per cent of income on wages and player amortisation costs. Of clubs to play in the Premier League in that time, only Nottingham Forest (138 per cent), Everton and Leicester City (both 133 per cent) racked up higher ratios. All three have been either punished for domestic PSR breaches or remain subject to charges. Villa were on guard against PSR issues this summer too, but it was on the European stage where their real concerns lay. Already in a Settlement Agreement with European football’s governing body UEFA, they faced an uphill struggle meeting the organisation’s squad cost rule (SCR), which directly limits spending on wages and transfers. It drove their relative lack of expenditure. With that rule assessed to the end of December for this calendar year, the summer offered the last chance for clubs to get their houses in order. Arsenal were also known to be working with SCR in mind, and they were keen to make more sales than they ultimately managed. Their heady net outlay suggests they pushed spending to the limit. Yet even as nearly half the division now have to comply with rules specifically targeting player spending, clubs ramped things up anyway. In part, that is to do with another bumper Premier League TV cycle starting this season, but the reported fees remain jaw-dropping. They are also underestimates. Research by The Athletic over the three Premier League seasons 2021-22 to 2023-24 finds combined transfer fees paid by clubs per their accounts exceeded those listed on Transfermarkt, a website which tracks player movement globally, by an average of 24 per cent, a disparity largely generated by agent payments and the four per cent transfer levy the division applies on all incoming deals. Apply that uplift to this summer’s reported spend and you arrive at a total of £3.9billion. On a macro level, it is hard to make the case that clubs have reined things in. Naming PSR as the primary cause behind everything that unfolded this summer would be foolish. There are myriad factors impacting transfer activity. But it was certainly a factor and, though many complaints appear rooted in self-interest, there’s growing reason to agree that change is needed. At UEFA level, that change has already come, with tighter loss limits and a new regulation directly pointed at squad spending. The Premier League, eventually, is expected to adopt the latter, too. But prorating three years of player profits down to 12 months, as UEFA’s rule does, reduces the immediate efficacy of successful trading in the market, the very strategy that poorer clubs increasingly rely on to climb the ladder. Moreover, this window showcased the perils of linking any limits to revenue, as SCR does — it naturally allows the highest-earning teams to keep spending more. That has long been the case but as income gaps widen, it only further enables those at the top. In 2013-14, when domestic PSR was introduced, the difference between the average revenue of the ‘Big Six’ and the remaining 14 Premier League sides was £205m. A decade later, in 2023-24, that gap was £405m. This summer’s activity helped reinforce the view that the current system emboldens the already richer. It is true all the way down. Newcastle, outside the ‘Big Six’ but battling to get in and mostly clear of PSR troubles, completed each of the four biggest deals by an English club not in that group, signing players from Stuttgart, Forest, Brentford and Villa. Those four Newcastle moves were among the 10 largest ‘non-Big Six’ transfers of the summer globally; for reference, Real Madrid managed three. Football has, in many ways, long been like that. The rich use their muscle; the poorer must be more innovative to succeed. Getting rid of rules to allow a couple of clubs into the former category wouldn’t boost competitive balance. Tightening them further, and de-linking cost controls from revenue, just might. But with each passing summer of enormous transfer spending, the chances of turning the boat around fade ever further. (Top photos: Newcastle summer signing Jacob Ramsey, left, and Chelsea newcomer Alejandro Garnacho; by Getty Images)

PSG manager Luis Enrique rushed to hospital for emergency surgery after cycling accident https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-15071009/PSG-manager-Luis-Enrique-rushed-hospital-emergency-surgery-cycling-accident.html