The English Football Thread

communicate · December 1, 2020

4 hours ago, Jason said:

JESUS CHRIST! Even Alisson is now injured with a muscle issue. What is Klopp even doing!?

Maybe complaining about var and schedule too much

Atomiswave · December 2, 2020

MoroccanBlue · December 2, 2020

Harry Kane injured

Vesper · December 2, 2020

Imagining Jose Mourinho’s Arsenal

https://theathletic.com/2229858/2020/12/01/jose-mourinho-arsenal-tottenham/

There is another timeline. A timeline in which, when Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur meet in the north London derby on Sunday, Jose Mourinho emerges from the tunnel not with a cockerel on his chest, but a cannon.

In that timeline, Mourinho leads out a team with Mesut Ozil installed as key playmaker and captain, with a 39-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading the line. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is not wearing the white of Tottenham, but patrolling the Arsenal midfield alongside Thomas Partey. And David Luiz is long, long gone. Hold your nose, grit your teeth and wonder: just what might a Jose Mourinho Arsenal side look like?

When Unai Emery found himself coming under substantial pressure as Arsenal head coach in October 2019, the name of Mourinho was loosely linked with the post. As it was, circumstance prevented us from finding out how real any interest might be — nine days before Emery was sacked, Mourinho was appointed at neighbours Tottenham.

Many fans were relieved. The idea of Mourinho as Arsenal manager was anathema to many. His association with Chelsea and Manchester United, as well as his pernicious war of words with Arsene Wenger, have made him persona non grata at the Emirates Stadium. For these supporters, Mourinho at Spurs was a perfect match made in hell — the club’s most despised manager in the dugout of their most loathed rivals.

There were dissenters, though — fans so desperate for an upturn in fortunes that this was a Faustian pact they were prepared to strike. Those blasphemous voices were quietened when Arteta lifted the FA Cup. At that point, the team appeared to be on an upward trajectory. Fortunes have changed somewhat since then: Arsenal now appear to have hit a wall, and Mourinho’s Tottenham are riding high at the top of the Premier League.

It’s impossible to know how a different manager might fare with this squad, but it is nevertheless an entertaining exercise to explore. So how might Mourinho have tackled the Arsenal job?

The PR battle

Imagine the press conference. The preening, the smirk, the backhanded compliments about his predecessors. Mourinho might have the media eating out of his hand, but his first task would be to try and win the minds (the hearts being surely beyond reach) of the Arsenal supporters.

An easy win might come when assembling his backroom staff. He’d want someone alongside him on the bench with cult status at Arsenal, someone with whom the supporters immediately identify.

Fortunately, there was someone on the Arsenal staff already primed for such a position: Freddie Ljungberg. Although Arteta took Ljungberg on as part of his staff, he spent matches watching from the stands while the Spaniard consulted with his assistants Steve Round and Albert Stuivenberg on the sidelines. Mourinho might have chosen to bring Ljungberg into his inner circle to help build a bridge between his staff and the supporters.

The star

“Mesut is a massive player for this football club. As I said before, what I want is to understand how they are feeling and what they need. Of course, he’s a massive player. I work with him and I know when he clicks, what he can bring to the team. It’s my job to get the best out of him.”

It’s easily forgotten now, but these were the words Arteta said about Mesut Ozil in his first Arsenal press conference. The likelihood is that Mourinho would also have sought to rehabilitate Ozil’s Arsenal career — although potentially with greater success.

Mourinho and Ozil share a strong bond. The former Real Madrid manager is one of the few coaches to have struck the delicate balance between carrot and stick required to get the best out of the playmaker. In his autobiography, Ozil recounts an episode that demonstrates Mourinho’s demanding management style. Real were leading Deportivo La Coruna 3-1, and Ozil returned to the dressing room at half-time expecting praise. Instead, he was met with a barrage of criticism.

“You think two beautiful passes are enough. You think you’re so good that 50 per cent is enough,” Mourinho is reported to have said. When Ozil responded by throwing his shirt on the dressing room floor, Mourinho bit back again. “Oh, are you giving up now? You’re such a coward. What do you want? To creep under the beautiful, warm shower? Shampoo your hair? To be alone? Or do you want to prove to your fellow players, the fans out there, and me, what you can do?”

Ozil has admitted the incident forced him to reconsider his performances, and he subsequently produced the best football of his career. The pair spent three years together in La Liga, with Ozil scoring 19 league goals and making 54 assists. Ozil then joined Arsenal, and when he was criticised during his first season in England, Mourinho rode to his defence, demonstrating a nuance to his understanding of the player. “I learned with him because we were together for quite a long time, that he’s a very sensitive boy,” the coach explained. “He needs confidence. He needs trust. He needs to feel that people are with him. When he’s on the pitch, every time he touches the ball, the ball goes beautiful.”

There is a myth that Mourinho is not willing to tolerate classic playmakers. Ozil, along with Deco at Porto and Wesley Sneijder at Inter Milan, would beg to differ. Mourinho might be one of the few managers around with an understanding of how best to motivate and manage Arsenal’s mercurial No 10.

The new arrival

Ozil isn’t the only expensive singing Mourinho would have sought to settle immediately into his team. In the winter of 2019, Nicolas Pepe was experiencing a difficult first few months since his club-record move from Lille.

Pepe is a player Mourinho knew well. Shortly after the Ivorian joined Arsenal, the coach told Sky Sports: “Last season after I left United, I went a few times to Lille because my friend is the coach there (Christophe Galtier) so I know quite a lot about his qualities.

“They were playing 4-4-2 and he was the right-sided player. He knows how to defend — to play in the 4-4-2 as the right winger, you know how to defend, not only that area but also the inside.

“He does that very well. When he has the ball and also without the ball, he is very effective and very direct. He’s very cool in front of the keeper and I think this boy has fantastic potential. If they are to play three in midfield with him, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the front, looking to the movements, I think they can make it a real force.”

Mourinho’s best teams have tended to feature dangerous goalscoring wingers. At Chelsea and Tottenham, Arjen Robben and Son Heung-min have been particularly effective exponents of cutting in from the wing. Pepe, at least in theory, fits the template.

There would still be Pepe’s adaptation and acclimatisation to consider, but in that respect, Mourinho might have had an ace up his sleeve. When he joined Tottenham, he immediately recruited 30-year-old Joao Sacramento as one of his assistant coaches. Sacramento’s previous role was at Lille, where he would have worked alongside Pepe. Perhaps between them, they could have found a way to unlock his potential.

The transfer market

In the January 2020 transfer window, Arsenal were not in a position to make signings that required substantial fees, hence agreeing to loan deals for the defensive pair of Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares.

But Mourinho might have had his eyes on another January signing; one available on a free transfer. Would he have dared to make a move for the out-of-contract Zlatan Ibrahimovic?

Mourinho’s teams have tended to have a pivotal centre-forward as their spearhead — the “Drogba” role. A year ago, Mourinho dismissed the idea of signing Ibrahimovic for Tottenham on the grounds they already had Harry Kane. Neither Lacazette nor Eddie Nketiah, however, quite fit that physical profile.

Ljungberg would probably require some convincing given the pair’s turbulent history — Ibrahimovic called his former Sweden team-mate a “prima donna” in his autobiography — but the veteran striker would also offer Mourinho a valuable dressing room lieutenant. He would be a pair of eyes and ears among the players. He can still play too, as his 10 goals in six Serie A appearances this season suggest.

This whole exercise is, of course, a flight of fancy, but for those among you who’ll say the idea of Arsenal signing an ageing player, with history at a rival club, on a highly lucrative contract is just plain unrealistic, may I present Exhibit A: David Luiz. And Exhibit B: Willian.

It’s entirely plausible that some of Arsenal’s other transfer business would have played out the same. Willian is a player Mourinho admires enormously. Arsenal’s interest in Thomas Partey, for example, dates back to at least 2018 — it was driven as much by the executives and scouting department as by any coach. Similarly, Brazilian centre-half Gabriel had been watched extensively by the club’s scouting department for a full year before he moved to London. Both Partey and Gabriel fit Mourinho’s model: powerful, athletic players in the spine of the team.

Arsenal scouts had also watched Hojbjerg at Southampton, with some senior figures particularly keen on the player. Perhaps Mourinho would have insisted on adding the Dane alongside Partey.

Of course, it’d be impossible to make those additions without allowing a few players to leave. Mourinho sold Luiz to Paris Saint-Germain after just 12 months together at Chelsea, and it’s difficult to imagine him urging the club to trigger Luiz’s renewal clause during Project Restart. Luiz and Mourinho have ideological differences when it comes to the art of defending, with the coach looking for a more “pessimistic” approach from his centre-halves.

“That is not just Mourinho (who likes defenders to be pessimists),” Luiz has admitted. “In Brazil, they say it, too. ‘Defenders must be pessimists’. I cannot be that. I am an optimist in my life. I’m positive. I always think and dream of the best things.”

It’s possible Mourinho would also have been more receptive to PSG’s overtures for Hector Bellerin — another defender perhaps regarded more highly for his technical quality than his defensive nous.

It’s possible Mourinho would also have been more receptive to PSG’s overtures for Hector Bellerin (Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

The team

Mourinho’s Spurs currently line up in a back four with two screening midfielders in front. In recent matches against Manchester City and Chelsea, we’ve even seen those two midfielders drop in to form a “back six”.

Partey and Hojbjerg would carry out the same roles in his Arsenal team, with the Ghanaian covering the channel between centre-half and right-back, and the former Southampton man on the opposite side.

Mourinho once described Kieran Tierney as “a young Monreal” and “a good character”, and he’s inevitably a likely starter. Tierney is also a good fit for Mourinho’s multi-functional approach. At Spurs, Ben Davies has occasionally been asked to tuck in as a third central defender, much like Tierney has at Arsenal. At right-back, perhaps the athleticism of Ainsley Maitland-Niles would appeal to Mourinho.

With Luiz gone, Gabriel’s most likely partner would be Rob Holding. Mourinho’s teams typically defend deeper, which would suit the former Bolton Wanderers centre-back’s style. Could he have been “the new Gary Cahill”? We can but dream.

Had Bernd Leno suffered the same injury he did last season, and Emiliano Martinez been granted a run in the team, one wonders if Mourinho would have reached the same conclusion about the destiny of the No 1 shirt. Martinez is arguably the more commanding penalty-box goalkeeper, a trait Mourinho tends to favour. He also likes the option to go long and hit the striker early, something Martinez’s excellent distribution facilitates.

Ahead of the defensive unit, we find a front-four diamond — a shape Mourinho employed at Inter and more recently at Spurs. Ozil would be creator-in-chief, with a winger on each side. To the right, Pepe, and to the left, Aubameyang, most likely. Mourinho is not known for indulging callow youngsters, so the chances are Bukayo Saka would not be exposed to quite so many first-team minutes.

If Mourinho asked Samuel Eto’o to play on the left wing, he’d probably ask the same of Aubameyang. Last year, Mourinho laid out his vision for the Arsenal attack: “Aubameyang probably likes to play in the middle because he feels if he’s in the middle, he can score more goals. But maybe he can score as many goals playing on the left. What happens at Liverpool is Roberto Firmino drops back, drops in between the lines, and then he gives more space for Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to attack these diagonals. I would see Aubameyang playing on that left side of Liverpool and scoring a lot of goals.

“At Arsenal, Lacazette doesn’t have that quality, but they have options. One is to play with two (sitting midfielders) and one No 10 that can feed the three without bringing Lacazette in between the lines.”

So it would be Pepe and Auabmeyang either side of a centre-forward — or perhaps a timeless Ibrahimovic would edge out Lacazette.

How different would it be?

Mourinho is a reactive coach who tailors his team to each opponent. For the majority of his reign, Arteta appears to have had a more defined shape and way of playing, even if it’s one that hasn’t always proved successful.

However, the two coaches do share some traits: there appears to be a strong emphasis on structure, shape, discipline and counter-attack. With similar groups of players, it’s possible the results would not be substantially different.

The main difference between Tottenham and Arsenal at present is that Spurs have found chemistry in attack. Perhaps a lot would come down to the Ozil situation. Arsenal desperately miss a creative playmaker, and if another coach could coax positive contributions from the German, it might unlock the attacking potential of this team. That may, of course, be easier said than done.

The key thing Mourinho has in his favour is obvious: experience. He has hit rough patches before and endured. His reputation may not be what it once was, but he does at least have a track record to call upon. Arteta must prove to himself, as well as his players and supporters, that he has what it takes to come through his difficult period.

It remains difficult to imagine Mourinho at Arsenal. Him joining Tottenham is presumably the final nail in that already snugly-sealed coffin.

Nevertheless, this weekend’s north London derby will force an inevitable comparison between the two managers. Win, and Arteta will quieten some of the doubters. Lose, and those few renegades may once again whisper: “What if?”

Vesper · December 2, 2020

Rejected by Reims to a force at Fulham – the rise of Frank Anguissa

https://theathletic.com/2225848/2020/12/01/frank-anguissa-fulham-villarreal/

Six months into life in Europe, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s dream of becoming a professional was hanging by a thread.

The midfielder, 19, had arrived at Reims on loan from Cameroonian side Coton Sport, training with the French club’s academy. It was a monumental learning curve: a new country, culture, food and, for a player who had never been a part of a professional academy set-up, a whole new way of playing.

As the season drew to a close, the hierarchy at Reims wanted to make a decision on his future. Anguissa had been recommended to the club’s president, Jean-Pierre Caillot, by friend and football agent Maxime Nana. The top goalscorer at the club, then in Ligue 1, was Cameroon international Benjamin Moukandjo, and Caillot was eager to tap into the Cameroon talent pool for their next potential star.

His coaching staff were not convinced. At a series of meetings, the club’s head coach and sporting director made it plain that they felt Anguissa was not good enough and he was let him go.

It was a decision they would regret.

Anguissa would prove them wrong and in double-quick time. Within two years, he had established himself in the Marseille first team and two years after that, he featured in a Europa League final and was signed by Fulham for €30 million. Today, he is leading the club’s fight against relegation after catching the eye of Europe’s greatest suitors during an impressive loan spell at Villarreal last year. For his country, he is set to star for Cameroon at a home African Cup of Nations in 2022.

This is the story of how he overcame rejection, going on to secure the faith of Marcelo Bielsa, become a “soldier” for Rudi Garcia and a then leading light for Javier Calleja in Spain, Toni Conceicao in Cameroon and Scott Parker in the Premier League.

This is the rise of Anguissa.

Before Reims, there was Yaounde. What made Anguissa’s transition to Europe all the more difficult was the fact that he hadn’t played for a professional team until joining Coton Sport, six months before he embarked for Europe. His football up to that point consisted of playing wherever or whenever he could, from the age of three. “It started in the street,” he told the documentary Le Coeur d’un Lion. “I would kick tin cans, an orange, a tennis ball, a small plastic ball, anything. Today, I only have good memories.”

Anguissa grew up with his mother (Juliette), father (Louis), two sisters and three brothers. His family were well-known in the suburbs of the capital and his grandfather, Belibi, was the chief of their neighbourhood, which is called Anguissa. The young footballer would know all the hidden paths to open spaces to play football, every street corner and sandy pitch. At school, he would hone his skills on a small field outside of class.

“Naturally, we had a problem,” said Roger Noah, president of one of Anguissa’s first clubs, AS Fortuna. “His mother did not want her boy to play ball because she wanted him to go to school. But he was firmly determined to play. Every day he would nag us to try and negotiate with his mum.”

Anguissa had talent and that ability took him to the G8 tournament, held in Yaounde over a week-long period every year. It consists of eight academy sides, roughly 160 players, all playing each other in two groups of four. Then, after the tournament, scouts and sporting directors from some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Porto, Villarreal, Torino, Lyon and Marseille, vote for the 22 best players. They then play each other in two matches, one on artificial turf to give a clear sense of their technical quality, and then at the national stadium.

It was here that former Marseille scout Jean-Philippe Durand set eyes on Anguissa. “I travel a lot in Africa and with some contacts in Cameroon and the Ivory Coast, we organise tournaments with young players. During one tournament, I saw Frank play,” Durand tells The Athletic.

“He was playing like a No 10. He was a very good player with the ball, but only playing when he had the ball. Never working in defence, but he was athletic and had good technique. So, after the first day, I went there and spoke with him, just explaining to him that in football, there are two different situations! Your team has got the ball, and the other team hasn’t got the ball.

“The day after, it was the final of the two best teams with the best players. During the final, he was fantastic with the ball and without the ball. At the end of the game, I went and said: ‘OK, this guy is interesting, because when you explain something to him, he is listening, and learning very quickly’.”

Anguissa was 16. For Durand, who has attended the tournament for 15 years, that capacity to listen and learn set him apart. The youngster had always been quiet, “reserved and collected”, as Noah put it. “As a little boy Frank, loved playing football,” his mother Juliette told Le Couer d’un Lion. “He was a little shy but he liked to listen”.

The ability to take on new information and apply it is crucial for a player hoping to make the grade in Europe.

“You need a strong mentality,” says Nana. “When you go to Europe, you leave your family, your friends. It’s a fight. You must be strong mentally.”

Durand agrees. “My best test is to give a player some advice,” he says. “Just to see after if they change something regarding my advice, as Frank did. I saw some top players in Cameroon, and you can speak with them one time, two times three times, they never change. You cannot work with a guy like that.

“When you will go to Europe, you will have different problems, with adaptation, with the food or with the way of training, everything. If he’s not intelligent enough to receive advice, and to change from the way of life that they have in Africa, he will not be successful.”

Anguissa was voted the best player and after consultation with Nana and Durand, he joined Coton Sport. With Marseille keeping a close eye, he went on loan to Reims, which was a difficult experience.

“It was hard for Frank, but a good learning experience,” a source close to the midfielder tells The Athletic. “It showed it wasn’t going to be gifted to him.”

Reims did not have the patience to work and develop Anguissa, who was tactically a long way behind his team-mates.

“In Reims, the trainers said to themselves: ‘We have young players who are practically ready, we don’t have time to teach certain tactical instructions to a guy from the village,” former Reims forward and international team-mate Moukandjo told sofoot.com “They didn’t give him a chance.”

Durand secretly went to watch Anguissa play for Reims’ reserve side and after leaving the club, his agent arranged for a trial at Ligue 2 side Valenciennes. It took their coach David Le Frapper less than a day to decide he wanted to sign Anguissa permanently.

“He said, ‘No, no, no I don’t want him on loan, I want a four-year contract — we can work with him’,” says Durand.

“And at this time, I said, ‘Oh no! That’s not possible, Marseille had done all the scouting, all the work for the player, in one, two, three years, I think he will be a good player for Marseille’. But if he signs a long contract in Valenciennes, we will have to pay three, four, five million in a couple of years. So I said to his agent, ‘The best way is that he comes directly to Marseille’.”

To sign for Marseille, though, they would need to convince their president, Vincent Labrune, but also their coach — Bielsa.

“Bielsa doesn’t believe in names,” a source tells The Athletic. “If you work hard, and meet his criteria, he will play you.”

With positive references, Labrune was persuaded, but to play for Bielsa, Anguissa would need a little more than just a recommendation.

Anguissa quickly won the trust of Bielsa and became a key player to Marseille (Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

Anguissa was brought in and for two weeks he did extra work with one of Bielsa’s assistant, Diego Reyes. The aim was to see if Anguissa could be brought up to speed. All the training sessions were filmed for review. Anguissa, though, was not alone. Former Real Madrid, Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Lassana Diarra faced the same treatment.

After two weeks, a file was compiled and Bielsa made his decision — Anguissa was given a shirt number, and was in.

“He signed a contract with a very low salary,” says Durand. “Labrune said the only thing that we want is that you train with the first team. Bielsa said, ‘OK, I will take him in the first-team group’. He started like that in Marseille, with a professional contract on the lowest salary of the top division. But after a couple of years in Marseille, he became a very good player, and even with a different coach, as we saw Rudi Garcia at the end, he was always in the first XI.”

Bielsa took Anguissa under his wing. “He believed in me and said, ‘You have a lot of quality, I am going to put you in the group,” Anguissa later said in an interview with Canal Plus. “If a youngster has potential, he can surprise the world.”

Almost immediately, though, Bielsa resigned due to a contract dispute, one game into the season. His successor, Michel, saw Anguissa’s qualities and handed him a debut in the Europa League against Groningen, two months after signing. An excellent assist for Lucas Ocampos in a 3-0 win showed that Anguissa was on the right track.

“At the beginning, we saw that he was a very strong player, good in the air, a lot of physical qualities,” says Franck Passi, who was assistant to Bielsa and then Michel, taking caretaker charge after both departed, the latter for a six-month period. “So he was good for the level of the team. He had to improve, technically and tactically. In the training camp, he was here just to listen. He was a very good student. He started to really play with Michel and me.”

Anguissa made 13 appearances during his first season, and under Passi and then Garcia from October 2016, he became a regular.

“We had 14 players leaving the club, and we didn’t have money, we had just €2 million to make a team,” says Passi of the summer of 2016. “For Marseille that was really amazing. I took some players like Bafetimbi Gomis, Florian Thauvin and Clinton N’Jie on loan with a buy option because we had no money. At that time, Frank started to really improve his game.

“The first day I put him on the pitch, I remember it was Angers, and I put him as a No 6 in front of the centre-half. He faced Cheikh N’Doye. He’s very tall, he was on loan from Birmingham City in England. That day, Frank did a fantastic job. At that time, I thought it was his position and still think it’s a great position for him. Because he has a lot of ability to cover all of the pitch, to tackle, to recover the ball. He thought he was a No 10 at first, and at the end, he was playing No 6 and No 8 (defensive and central midfield). For me, the job of Frank is fantastic from our 18-yard line to the 18-yard line of the opponent.”

Passi points to the contrasting fortunes of another talented young player at Marseille, Zinedine Machach. Machach was a slightly more attacking player but both players were vying for the same spot in the team. Machach had the upper hand but Anguissa has flown highest.

“I remember big competition between the two players,” says Passi. “It’s an important detail because I think Frank wanted it more than the other. He improved his game. He had more desire.”

Garcia, now in charge of Lyon, elevated Anguissa again when he came in. By now, Cameroon had caught wind of their young star impressing in Ligue 1. The Indomitable Lions had qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, to be held in January 2017, and called up Anguissa, only for him to turn them down.

“Frank felt he hadn’t helped to qualify the team for the tournament and it wasn’t fair on the other players,” a source close to Anguissa says. “The second thing, was Garcia called him and said, ‘I know they want to take you to Gabon, but if you go, we are dead. You do a fantastic job defensively, and are the balance of the team’.

“Frank didn’t want to let Garcia down, because he made him a key part of the team. His parents, the federation, everyone said you must go. He said no, ‘Garcia trusted me, I can’t let him down’.”

Those who know Anguissa describe his very loyal character. But it would come at a cost to his honours list. Cameroon won the tournament.

In 2017-18, Anguissa’s partnership with Luiz Gustavo in midfield at Marseille helped lead to success. “It was perfect,” says Durand. “Left-footed, right-footed. Very solid, very technical. It was top, and Marseille had a very good season when the two were playing together.”

There was still a rawness to his game but his numbers, particularly in the defensive third as outlined by Smarterscout, underlined his potential. Smarterscout is a site that gives detailed analytics on players all over the world, producing a score between 0-99, a bit like the player ratings in the FIFA video games but powered by real data and advanced analytics.

Fulham recognised his potential and swooped. They paid €30 million for the midfielder on deadline day before the start of the 2018-19 Premier League season. It would be a difficult debut campaign, one that offered little time to adapt and saw three different managers at the helm. Anguissa struggled without a pre-season with his new team and saw his campaign disrupted by an ankle injury in November too. It was only under Parker at the end of the season that he began to show glimpses of his talent.

“When he went to Fulham, I thought it was just a step for him,” says Passi. “After six months, I tried to bring him to Monaco. I was with Thierry Henry and we needed a defensive midfielder. I called him to ask if he was OK to come on loan for the last six months but he preferred to stay at Fulham as the team weren’t doing well.

“It’s difficult to judge a player when a team is relegated. If Frank is playing in a team with good results, he will be sure to show to English people what a great player he is.”

After the club’s relegation, it is understood that Anguissa told the club’s medical staff that he would see them next year in the Premier League on leaving for a year in La Liga.

At Villarreal, his reputation was only enhanced.

“Last season, he was outstanding,” former Villarreal manager Javier Calleja tells The Athletic. “He is ambitious and has all the qualities to be a top player. The thing that stood out above all was his professionalism. He always tried to bring the best from himself.

“My first impression of Frank was his physical condition, but when he went onto the training field with his team-mates, I was struck by his ability to conduct play, link up the play and his capacity to play box to box.

“We realised he complemented perfectly the central midfielders in our team, Santi Cazorla and Manu Trigueros. He did the physical work, he won duels, he understood the technical and the tactical side, which gave the side presence and allowed us to dominate games and gave us character in the middle of the pitch.”

Anguissa played a slightly different role, one that was dynamic and reliant more on his technical ability on the ball as well as his defensive work. His composure in possession and impressive dribbling skills helped transform Calleja’s side from shock relegation contenders in 2018-19 to European challengers as Villarreal finished fifth.

Calleja believes that Anguissa’s best position is not as a lone defensive pivot. Instead, his manager last season says Anguissa operates best in a two, or as a box-to-box midfielder.

“He has the ability to influence the attacking play and cover ground and enter the second phase of the attack,” says Calleja. “It limits him to play him too defensively. He is solid and intense in his defensive work, though.”

His form, which at one stage saw Anguissa register better dribble success rate numbers than Lionel Messi, led to reported interest from Real Madrid. Concrete or otherwise, Anguissa was one of the best performers in the division.

“As a professional, he works hard and is a good team-mate,” says Calleja. “He is capable of being a complete central midfielder. He can explode more in an attacking sense and constructs play and wins duels. When he was on the bench, it hurt him like everyone but he went about it in a good way. He is an excellent person.

“One of the things he can improve is to demand and believe in his ability to create. He can do that with goals and assist. Little by little, he is growing in confidence that he can help the team in this way.”

It was during Anguissa’s loan spell at Villarreal that Cameroon coach Conceicao, appointed in late 2019, began to work with the midfielder for the first time. The challenges of international football mean the Portuguese coach has limited time with his players. For Cameroon’s clash with Cape Verde in November last year, for example, some players arrived on the day of the game.

So for Conceicao, he relies on key players to, as he puts it, “hold the dressing room together”. Anguissa has quickly become one of those players.

“In my individual talks with the players, I understood that he was in fact a very loyal person, upfront in terms of saying what goes through his mind,” Conceicao tells The Athletic.

“He is one of those five or six players that every dressing room needs. They are really the spirit of the team. He’s one of the captains, and during the last match against Mozambique, when Vincent Aboubakar was subbed, he took on the captain’s armband. As such, he’s the extension of the coach’s voice on the pitch.”

That role will be all the more important for his country in the coming months, as Cameroon prepare to host the delayed African Cup of Nations. After their most recent victory over Mozambique, a game of no consequence as Cameroon are automatic qualifiers for next year’s tournament, Conceicao recalls how fans lined the streets to celebrate despite the game being held behind closed doors.

The manager believes pressure is something that motivates Anguissa as opposed to holding him back, something that bodes well for Fulham. “He’s a quality player,” Conceicao says. “In football, the collective is the most important, so you have to have players that work for the team. And although Anguissa is not a Messi or Ronaldo, he’s a player that has a lot of capacity to influence the match. He brings a lot of tactical culture and rigour to the team.

“He has got a really good passing ability, long and short, and is one of those players that makes the team tick without necessarily being the standout. As a coach and with all due respect to Fulham, which I know is a great club, Anguissa can reach an even higher level.”

Anguissa now has his sights set on helping to lead his country to glory on home soil, and building on a positive season with Fulham. Those comments by Conceicao about his ability were not made in isolation. The people The Athletic spoke to for this piece all agree; he has the potential to play for a top team.

Villarreal were keen to make his loan move permanent, and there was considerable interest from other sides playing in European competition, including AC Milan. But Fulham were able to push back on that interest, helped in part by the financial impact of the pandemic, which prevented any satisfactory offers being made, as well as resistance at the Cottage.

“The question was asked about letting him go, but Tony (Khan, Fulham’s director of football operations and vice-chairman) said: ‘We need him to come back because we are in the Premier League’,” says a source close to Anguissa. “We’re sure we didn’t make a mistake (when he was first signed). I think he has top potential — after last season, I’m even more sure of that!

“He has a very good relationship with Parker. He likes him. He trusts him, that’s why he will fight to do the job for the coach.

“When Parker arrived (as manager in 2019), everything changed,” Anguissa said in an interview with Canal Plus. “He gave me… I don’t know, I’ve never felt that before. He gave me so much confidence.

“Before a match against Liverpool (March 2019), he called me into his office at around 11 o’clock. He said to me ‘Frank, for me, you are a top player and today I want you to show the Premier League the player that you are’. Even today, every time I hear that phrase, I get goosebumps.”

Anguissa has since shown that he can play at a higher level, and those close to him believe he can easily fit into a top-four club in England or abroad. But it is understood that he knows his performances at Craven Cottage will dictate his future. “He must show he can help and fight like a soldier,” adds the source. “To help his club to have the best season possible in Premier League.”

For Fulham, the fact he has stayed has given the club a major boost in their battle to avoid relegation. He is a standout performer; of players to have played more than 500 minutes, he ranks sixth for ball recoveries per 90 minutes this season, while only Adama Traore, Allan Saint-Maximin and team-mate Ademola Lookman have averaged more successful take-ons than his 3.76 per 90 minutes. As he showed with an imperious display against Leicester City on Monday night, he is proving to be influential at both ends of the field. He is quickly becoming a player Fulham and Parker cannot do without.

His Premier League importance seems a long way from that first rejection at Reims. They must still wonder about what might have been.

“I am delighted for Frank, he deserves it,” said Reims president Caillot, speaking to Canal Plus shortly after his record-breaking transfer to Fulham. “We didn’t have experience of players from abroad like that. We lacked patience. If Reims had been able to make a small amount of money that would have been good, but too bad. You have to pay in order to learn.”

Vesper · December 2, 2020

The power shift: Negotiating with Premier League stars whose deals are expiring

https://theathletic.com/2232297/2020/12/01/premier-league-contracts-expiring/

The footballer in question is an established Premier League player earning more than £50,000 per week and open to signing a new contract. His club rate him, would like to keep him and are also prepared to give him a rise. There is just one problem and it is a potential game-changer: the player has less than seven months remaining on his deal.

The fact that the clock is ticking means that the balance of power in the negotiations has shifted so far in the player’s favour that his agent feels in a position to ask for a huge wage-hike for his client — almost half as much again.

At first glance, those demands appear unrealistic. Although the club fully accept that the player will have some reasonable options as a free transfer and increase his earning power, they cannot see anybody paying him as much as his agent has proposed. But what the agent knows — and the club know too — is that it will cost the player’s current employers an eight-figure sum to sign somebody else to fill that position. On top of that, there is no guarantee that the player who comes in will prove to be as reliable.

All of which plants seeds of doubt in the minds of people at the club and means that they now find themselves seriously considering an option that initially felt like a non-starter — meeting the player’s salary demands. In short, they are backed into a corner.

“It’s all about timing,” says a technical director at another Premier League club, reflecting on his own experiences in this sort of situation. “Some players will always slip through the cracks. But you should never let a player get into the last year of his contract who is a certain age, who you value. You’ve either got to sell them, or you’ve got to re-negotiate.

“As soon as it gets into the last year of the contract, the demand from the agent and the player outstrips what you’re able to offer. If it’s a player who’s got four or five years ahead of him, the agent is looking at it, saying, ‘What’s it going to cost you to replace him? It’ll cost you £15 million. Well, instead of you spending £15 million, give my player £10 million and…’. Then you turn around and say, ‘Hold on, we can’t do that’. But the agent says, ‘That’s what it’s going to cost you to replace him’.”

That sort of scenario is one of many that clubs will be dealing with over the coming weeks and months when they weigh up what to do with the players in their squad whose contracts expire at the end of the season, including the possibility of trying to sell one or two for a cut-down price in January.

The number of footballers currently in this position in the Premier League is close to three figures and includes Liverpool’s Georginio Wijnaldum, Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia at Manchester City, Shkodran Mustafi, David Luiz, Mesut Ozil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos at Arsenal, Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud and, remarkably, enough players to fill half a first-team squad at Crystal Palace.

In some cases, clubs are resigned to the fact that a player has no transfer value and will remain on the payroll until his contract expires on June 30. But with many other players, clubs have a dilemma on their hands as they try to strike a balance between short-term success and long-term planning, including what works best for the manager and what makes financial sense for the business.

“First and foremost, what is the player’s contribution like?” says the technical director, when asked what goes through his mind. “If it’s really good, like a Giroud, it’s a really, really tough call. You think: Why would I try and sell him in January? Why would we try and recoup a couple of million pounds when the value that he has to the team, one or two goals, might be the difference between getting in the Champions League or winning the league, or finishing two or three places higher, which is worth millions more. So some of it is a business decision.

“You’ve got other situations where you just want to get players off the books and let them go — someone who is a bad egg, not contributing anything, always injured. If someone comes in and offers you a bit of money in January, you snap their hand off because you’re thinking, ‘We can’t get this player off the books quickly enough’.

“But then the problem with that is quite often the agent and the player don’t want to leave in January because a transfer fee means they can’t command as much money for themselves. Sometimes the player is going, ‘No, no, no, I don’t want to be sold in January. I want to leave in the summer when I’m on a free, because that £3 million that the club was going to give you as a transfer fee, I’ll take that in the summer.’”

Wijnaldum will certainly not be going down that path at Liverpool. Highly respected at Anfield among the staff and the players, there is no prospect of the Dutchman leaving next month. He is a mandatory pick, able to play in a variety of roles and an influential figure on and off the pitch. From Liverpool’s point of view, five months of Wijnaldum’s playing time is worth far more to them than a knockdown fee.

The bigger issue revolves around the lengths that Liverpool are willing to go to keep Wijnaldum beyond this season, which is complicated by the fact that he turned 30 last month and, as it stands, will be one of the summer’s most attractive free transfers. Liverpool, in short, would need to make Wijnaldum one of the club’s biggest earners.

Could some of that money be used to invest in a new, younger midfielder? Is it time to give Curtis Jones a chance to flourish? Either way, it is hard to believe that Wijnaldum’s situation has crept up on Liverpool, given the meticulous way that the club go about their business under Michael Edwards, their sporting director.

A senior figure at another Premier League club is explaining how for many chairmen and owners it is all about managing risk when a player gets into the final year of his contract. To illustrate his point, he talks about an out-of-favour player at his club who is extremely well remunerated, almost certainly not going to be offered a new deal in the summer and already the subject of serious interest in January.

“I think some people at the club would say, ‘Just let him go, get him off the wage bill.’ But if we get two or three injuries, then there’s every chance that we’ll need him to play,” the source says. “And if he’s not there and we lose three games in a row, the chairman will panic and there will be, ‘Why the hell did we sell him?’ We save a few million (by selling him) but if we get relegated it’s going to cost us £60 million.”

According to one Premier League chairman, that sort of scenario comes up all the time, so much so that it leads him into a conversation about players who are signed and loaned at the start of the season purely as insurance policies. The sums involved — a £3.5 million package for a loan player who may end up hardly kicking a ball all season — will seem like madness to some but is deemed a price worth paying to provide peace of mind.

Whether through new signings or player retention, managers always push for depth in their squads but there is a greater desire to stockpile players this season than ever before because of the global pandemic and relentless fixture schedule. Inevitably, that sort of thinking will influence the decisions that clubs make in January as and when any offers are received for players who are soon to be out of contract.

The last thing that Newcastle United would have wanted to happen is for Dwight Gayle to leave on a free next summer (in an example of how important it is to move players on at the right time, Gayle was valued at £20 million little more than a year ago), but it is hard to see the club accepting a bid for the striker in January and running the risk of leaving themselves short of options up front for the remainder of the season.

Newcastle could have sold Dwight Gayle for £20 million last season (Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Although Manchester City are obviously operating on a totally different level to Newcastle, they are likely to hold on to Garcia for similar reasons. The Spaniard has made it clear that he has no intention of signing a new deal at City and is expected to join Barcelona, who had a bid rejected for him in the summer, when his contract expires.

City will not back down when it comes to their valuation of the player, even if that means they end up getting nothing for Garcia, who has started two Premier League games this season and gives Pep Guardiola an important extra option at centre-back.

Aguero is a different and unique case, bearing in mind we are talking about a player who will go down as one of the greatest in City’s history. Drawing comparisons with Vincent Kompany and David Silva, City said in the summer that it would be down to Aguero to decide when he leaves the Etihad.

Although Guardiola has since committed his future to City, there is no indication that the manager’s decision to stay will have any influence on what Aguero ends up doing. For the moment, the Argentinian’s priority is to get back on the pitch.

Giroud would like to do the same although, unlike Aguero, his lack of playing time has nothing to do with injury. Behind Tammy Abraham and Timo Werner in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, Giroud needs regular football to have any chance of starting for France in the European Championship finals in the summer.

As The Athletic reported last month, Chelsea are willing to consider allowing Giroud to leave in January as a reward for his service to the club. It feels like an unusual step for a club to take for a player who has not been with them that long (Giroud joined Chelsea in January 2018), but says much about how highly the striker is regarded as a person as well as a footballer at Stamford Bridge.

“I do believe that a player’s contract should never go to the last year, as a policy. But I don’t think I am inventing the wheel. Anybody could agree on that. Normally the contracts of the players are for five years. You need to have a clear idea of what you want to do with that player when he is in the third year, at the latest.”

That was Raul Sanllehi, Arsenal’s now-former director of football, talking in October 2018, only a few months after Aaron Ramsey had left the club on a free transfer. While Sanllehi was almost certainly right to think in that way, he was setting himself up for a fall by saying it in public. Privately, people in the game were staggered that Sanllehi came out with that statement, especially in an era of player power, and suspected it would come back to bite him, which it did.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had less than 12 months remaining on his contract when he agreed to a lucrative three-year deal in September 2020, a month after Sanllehi departed. Mustafi, who cost £35 million when he signed from Valencia, is set to leave on a free next summer. Sokratis, who cost £17.7 million two and a half years ago, will also be able to go for nothing. Then, of course, there is Ozil.

The good news for Arsenal is that the best part of £25-30 million will be wiped off their wage bill come the end of this season. The bad news is that they have spent a fortune on those players in fees and wages, had a minimal contribution on the pitch in recent seasons (in total contrast to someone like Wijnaldum at Liverpool) and will almost certainly get nothing back in terms of transfer fees. The latter is a worryingly familiar story when you consider what happened with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and Ramsey before.

Will Alexandre Lacazette end up being another name to add to that list? Lacazette has 19 months remaining on his deal, which means that he is in that sell-or-renegotiate window that is seen as critical to clubs when it comes to protecting their investment.

Arsenal turned down a significant offer for the striker in the summer, when his market value would have been higher than what it is now. So what is the plan for Lacazette beyond this season? Assuming Arsenal don’t give him a new deal, will he be sold in the summer or allowed to go on a free 12 months later?

None of this, it should be said, is easy. In Arsenal’s case, the huge amount of change that has gone on at senior level at the club in a short space of time — the appointments of a new chief executive and technical director, along with the exit of Sanllehi — certainly hasn’t helped when it comes to planning and decision-making. Arsenal have also had three managers since 2018.

That kind of upheaval makes it much more difficult to develop the “really healthy alignment between business and football” that one Premier League technical director says is the key to getting the big decisions around management of contracts right — something that Edwards at Liverpool and Marina Granovskaia, the Chelsea director, have a reputation for being all over.

Aside from Arsenal’s predicament, the current situation at Palace provides another interesting case study. They have 11 players out of contact, which is partly by design given that nine of them — Wayne Hennessey, Stephen Henderson, Joel Ward, Mamadou Sakho, Scott Dann, Gary Cahill, Patrick van Aanholt, Andros Townsend and Christian Benteke — will be 30 or older by the time next season starts.

For many Palace fans, it probably feels like this team is coming towards the end of its cycle, and maybe that applies to the manager too. Hodgson, 73, signed a one-year contract extension in March that will take him through to the end of this season. What happens beyond then is anyone’s guess and, arguably, makes decisions over player contracts even harder for those who have one eye on the long-term.

“A manager might be thinking, ‘I’m only interested in getting past this season because I’m being judged and getting paid on staying in the Premier League for this year. And I want this player because I know this player will keep me in the Premier League’,” says the technical director. “But then the club are going, ‘Yeah but he’s 31, 32, and we’ve got to be thinking about the next three or four years staying in the Premier League.”

Asked whether, financially, it is game-changer for a player to leave on a free transfer as opposed to being sold for a nominal fee in January when his contract is running down, an experienced intermediary replies: “Yeah, but actually, it’s a game-changer for the agent, because the agent could go from getting, say, eight per cent of the deal to suddenly being able to say, ‘I want a fee of £3 million’.”

To give an insight into how that works, he tells a story about an overseas player he was asked to close a deal on for a Premier League club. The player in question had six months remaining on his contract and the Premier League club thought they could get him for about £3 million, solving a problem position at their club immediately. The owner at the other end wasn’t willing to do business, however, and took the view that he would rather the player complete the season, even though he would lose him on a free transfer.

With no deal in place before the window closing, a pre-contract agreement was signed with the player immediately afterwards. As the player would be joining on a free transfer, the club saved £3 million, plus the player’s salary for six months. The ball was then back in the agent’s court and he asked to split roughly half of that figure with his client in the form of his commission and a signing on fee, meaning that they both benefited from the free transfer and so did the Premier League club too. “I actually thought they could have asked for a whole load more,” says the intermediary.

Ultimately, every club will do things slightly differently and it is worth bearing in mind that those dealing with the contracts will be working within the parameters that an owner sets. “Sometimes you’ve got money today and then not tomorrow,” the technical director adds. “Here’s an example. Apparently, one of the best at this is Mike Ashley at Newcastle. Mike Ashley goes, ‘Guys, there’s your money, that’s what it is in the pot, you aren’t going to get a penny more and you aren’t going to get a penny less’.”

Some Premier League clubs like to add a one-year option to the end of contracts. West Ham United, in particular, favour structuring deals in that way because it allows them to retain control and to decide later in the season whether or not to trigger the extension.

For the majority of players, though, the next six months is a journey into the unknown, with some standing to benefit a lot more than others once their current deal comes to an end. “Every one of these situations is a balance of power,” adds the intermediary. “It depends on who the club is, it depends on who the player is, and it depends on whether there is a market for him.”

Vesper · December 2, 2020

48 shots in two games: How Leeds attack like a top-four side

https://theathletic.com/2229037/2020/12/01/leeds-bielsa-attack/

The warning was there for the Premier League. Go back to weekend one of the season and listen again to Jurgen Klopp. It was only one remark but it comes to mind whenever Leeds United wade into Arsenal, Everton or anyone else in the division: “For 95 minutes, by the way.”

Klopp built his reputation on strong-arming opponents, by pinning them between the rock of gegenpress and the hard place of technical ability, but even he was drained by Leeds coming and coming at Anfield in September, right to the end of five added minutes. On Saturday, a short walk over Stanley Park, Leeds were at it again at Goodison Park: 1-0 up against Everton with 32 seconds of injury time to play and five of their players on the attack, in or near the edge of Everton’s box. Marcelo Bielsa’s version of clinging on.

It is exhausting when Leeds play like this and demoralising to discover that they are fit enough to think clearly and pass incisively for as long as it takes. The club’s past two games demonstrate why Bielsa was never going to back down on the tactical front after two heavy losses to Leicester City and Crystal Palace. Poor results are poor results but there is a difference between a Bielsa team who go under once or twice and a Bielsa team who are failing to function per se. There was no real deviation after Leicester or Palace, only changes to personnel, and the response was an avalanche of 48 shots on goal over two matches against Everton and Arsenal, sides who are nominally spoken about in ambitious terms. Who here was actually going for the top six? The evidence left you wondering.

Football like Leeds’ comes down to the law of averages. There will always be that infuriating evening, like Arsenal at home, where everything hits the frame of the goal and everything else finds Bernd Leno waiting to beat it away but luck does not hold like that for long.

And so to Goodison on Saturday where Everton almost got away with it but ran out of lives with 11 minutes to play. Carlo Ancelotti might like to think that minute 79 is the time when visiting teams start to worry about James Rodriguez and Richarlison; the time when protecting a point seems better than losing it.

What he encountered at the weekend was a Leeds side playing with five and six-man attacking lines and refusing to back off. At the very moment when Raphinha swept in the winning goal, Bielsa’s left-back was four yards in front of him, hovering in Everton’s “D”.

In the Championship, whether intentionally or not, Bielsa built a Premier League side. Leeds played at that level like many of the more effective teams in the top flight, with a concerted press and an attacking style which fixated on overloading the final third. As it happened, the tactics were always likely to be as well suited to a higher division in England. The biggest compliment paid to Leeds so far this season is the way in which other clubs are using them as a benchmark. You need to be good to beat Leeds. And you need to be better still to beat them convincingly. In short, they are not a team you would rush to meet too often. Arsenal and Everton, in wanting to let their quality talk, were overrun in a way which forced them to concentrate on their deficiencies.

The next two graphics, from Twenty3, give an example of how heavily Leeds pepper the opposition goal in comparison to a team like Arsenal.

Leeds’ shot map, shown first, is awash with efforts on target (all of them marked in red and goals marked with stars) and chances from different ranges.

Arsenal’s is more tentative and speculative and goes some way to outlining why their points tally after the first 10 games of the season is the club’s worst since the Premier League was formed in 1992. Leeds always play to win. Arteta either cannot or will not let the handbrake off, to the detriment of results and performance. There were questions about his future after Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.

So a quarter of a way into the Premier League season, and with 10 games gone, how are Leeds looking? At present, in an attacking sense, they look like a top-four team with performance indicators to prove it. They have created more chances in open play than any other team in the division and more big chances than all but three. They are nine shots on goal ahead of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City so far. Their expected goals (xG) total is second only to Liverpool and their expected assists (xA) second only to Everton.

Unsurprisingly, they have the second-highest carries of possession into the final third (Klopp’s Liverpool are just in front). Leeds are disregarding the conventional notion that promoted teams, at least to begin with, should be seen but not heard and it figures that defensively-minded units have fared best against them. Containment still feels like the optimum strategy.

Premier League chances (open play)

Containment is not Bielsa’s strength and never his priority but Leeds have reined in their xG against since the heavy losses to Leicester and Crystal Palace: 0.91 at home to Arsenal and 1.25 away to a stellar Everton frontline of Rodriguez, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

It is not a coincidence that Kalvin Phillips was absent from the worst of those results but back for the best of them. Phillips can marshal and tackle, breaking up attacks before they get serious, but he pins the opposition back with his passing from deep, quarter-backing Leeds with rhythm and vision.

His 94 per cent pass completion rate at Goodison Park (over 90 per cent in Everton’s half) would have been impressive on any evening but, in a frantic match which played out like a basketball contest, his precision was extraordinary. Graeme Souness commenting on Sky that Phillips needs to add goals to his game goes to show that for some people, nothing is ever enough.

Statistically, only Liverpool and Leicester have taken Bielsa’s team apart defensively. Palace scored four times against them but vastly exceeded a 90-minute xG of 1.35. Bielsa is always good at making these calculations in his head in real time. The losses to Liverpool and Leicester he took on the chin, without complaining about the outcome. The 4-1 scoreline at Crystal Palace he described as “exaggerated” (and the data firmly suggests that it was, even though Palace deserved to win).

Leeds are more porous than most of the sides in the Premier League but not by an alarming amount. And nobody is itching for Bielsa to rein his players in when they perform as they did at Goodison. It is simply the case that for a team so highly-strung, a small drop-off can come at a high price.

This is not his squad at its peak either. Leeds’ 48 efforts against Arsenal and Everton came from two games in which Rodrigo played a total of 20 minutes (and none at all at Goodison Park). Injury has deprived Bielsa the services of centre-back Diego Llorente since the Spain international signed from Real Sociedad in October. Pablo Hernandez has been missing for a month and Raphinha’s impact looks like growing exponentially. It could not be said that Saturday was Leeds at full tilt or full strength.

Life moves quickly, of course. One moment you are talking about victory over Leicester moving you into third place. By the end of that same week, you have conceded eight times in two games and are down in 15th. But most of what Bielsa created in the Championship has followed him to the Premier League, including the fear factor which served Leeds so well.

Managers know what he does but not exactly how he does it. They know what to expect but even with that knowledge, find it hard to get one step ahead of him. It was often said that the Premier League would be better off with Leeds in it. And 10 games in, it is.

Vesper · December 2, 2020

Diogo Jota interview: I was still paying to play football age 16

https://theathletic.com/2226851/2020/12/02/diogo-jota-liverpool/

Diogo Jota smiles as he recounts a tale that underlines just how far he has come. There was a time not long ago when the bright lights of the Premier League and the Champions League seemed like a pipedream.

“I was still paying to play football when I was 16 years old,” he reveals. “These days kids who are 14 or 15 already have professional contracts, which is a good thing, but that wasn’t the case with me.

“Until I was 16, I was just playing for fun really. I was lucky enough to have a team where we were all like a family. We played all together for like nine years. We did good things at our level at Gondomar.”

With nine goals in 15 appearances, the Portugal international has proved an instant hit at Liverpool following his move from Wolverhampton Wanderers in September for an initial fee of £41 million. He became the first player in the club’s history to score in his first four home top-flight matches.

During a crippling injury crisis, he’s been instrumental in keeping Liverpool’s defence of the Premier League crown on track and guiding them into the last 16 of the Champions League.

His dynamism, aggression and finishing ability have endeared him to supporters and team-mates alike, with assistant boss Pep Lijnders describing the 23-year-old as “a pressing monster”. Jurgen Klopp says he’s “easy to like”.

Jota believes his steely attitude and humble personality was shaped by the knockbacks he received en route to proving he could shine at the highest level.

He grew up in Massarelos in the Porto municipality and played his football in the youth ranks at lower league Gondomar, less than 10 minutes’ drive from Porto’s Estadio do Dragao.

When he moved on at the age of 16 in 2013, it was to a small top-flight club, Pacos de Ferreira. He made his senior debut at 17 and went on to score 18 goals in 47 games. It was a world away from the elite set-ups as clubs such as Porto, Benfica or Sporting.

“Although I did some training with the bigger clubs, I never stayed there,” Jota says. “So there were small setbacks as you always want to go higher. But in the end, it all worked out well. I think my journey shows that the secret is that you should never give up. That’s the main idea.

“Every experience you have, every setback, it always makes you stronger and that was the case with me. Of course, everything could be good now but it wasn’t before. You always have to keep striving for what you want to achieve.”

As a child, Jota had been inspired by Portugal’s run to the final of the 2004 European Championships, where a side including Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Deco were beaten by Greece on home soil.

“From as far back as I can remember, football has always been my passion,” he says. “I remember when I was maybe around six years old, my dad signed me up for swimming. I’d ask him, crying, whether I could switch to play football instead because it was on at the same time. I’d much rather be playing football than be in the swimming pool.

“My earliest memories are from the 2004 Euros when Portugal reached the final and unfortunately we lost. I was seven and I remember it well. Football has always been my passion.

“Cristiano Ronaldo was my hero. At that time, he was 19 but he was already playing at the Euros with so much quality. During my childhood, he was at Manchester United and Real Madrid. As Portuguese guys, we always looked upon him as our main reference.”

Jota was still a teenager when Atletico Madrid signed him from Pacos in 2016. He was desperate to show what he could do in Spain but after a pre-season under Diego Simeone, he was deemed surplus to requirements by the Argentinian and loaned out to Porto for the 2016-17 season.

He never played a competitive game for Atletico. Another loan, this time to Wolves, was followed by a permanent switch to Molineux for £12.3 million in 2018 after helping them win promotion to the Premier League.

“I don’t regret (going to Atletico),” Jota says. “They were playing in the Champions League final the season before. The opportunity to go there and have all the pre-season with them meant a lot to me and I learned a lot.

“Yes, I could have expected better but I don’t regret it. In the end, leaving was the best option for me at that time in terms of my career. Every experience you have allows you to develop as a player and person.

“Even if it’s not what you expect at the beginning, everything that happens in your life you can learn from and you can take advantage of it in terms of the experience.”

After three seasons at Wolves, he was ready to take the next step. On the day he signed for Liverpool in September, his message to supporters was: “They can count on me because now I am one of them and I will give my best.”

Jota has certainly delivered on that promise. One of his prized possessions is the match ball signed by his team-mates following his hat-trick against Atalanta in the Champions League in November.

New signings usually require a period of adaptation under Klopp as they get to grips with what he demands from them tactically. How has he managed to settle in so quickly?

“When you reach a new club, having an open mind is key to be able to adapt as quickly as possible,” Jota explains. “With the season underway already, it was up to me to find a way to get into the team and not the opposite. That’s what I did with the help of Jurgen.

“He’s a fantastic manager who took care of me. When I first arrived, he had a meeting with me and he explained how the team works. Then it’s down to the player to try to learn as fast as you can and to prove to the manager that you can be an important player for him on the field.

“Liverpool have a great squad and the captain Jordan Henderson was an important guy for me. He sent me a text message as soon as I knew I was signing for Liverpool and he has helped me.

“The Brazilian players speak the same language so people like Fabinho, Roberto Firmino and Ali (Alisson) have helped a lot too. Adrian too as I can speak Spanish as well. We have such a good team and that’s the basis for success.”

Jota is engaging company. We are talking over Zoom as part of a discussion chaired by The Athletic entitled Diogo Jota x Portugal: Modern Football Pioneers for Web Summit, an annual technology conference usually held in Lisbon.

He’s joined by Nuno Moura, the chief marketing officer for the Portuguese Football Federation, who is well placed to talk about Jota’s rocketing profile in his homeland.

Since making his senior international debut a year ago, he has scored three goals in 10 appearances for his country. He’s inspiring the next generation in the same way as he was inspired by Ronaldo.

“All fans here love Diogo. They are all super excited about the level he has reached at such a young age,” Moura says. “He’s playing for the current Premier League champions. He found a place in the team, he’s delivering and he’s scoring goals and playing well. It’s the same when he comes to the national team.

“There’s excitement not just because he’s an amazing footballer but also a very humble, hard-working guy. Everyone sees that and respects that. We hope things continue to work out spectacularly for him and hopefully, he can bring some of that success home to Portugal and help us to win some more titles.”

Jota spends much of his spare time playing football but Klopp doesn’t need to worry about burnout. He’s a lover of esports and, in particular, the FIFA and Football Manager franchises.

“Since my dad gave me my first PlayStation as a kid, it’s been like another passion of mine. I always played football on it,” he says. “I always liked games where you can manage your own team. In the world of esports, I feel like I can have three things all together — my passion for football, the competition of playing against other people and also managing.

“You can have a great world if you play responsibly. It can be a professional thing but for me, during my life, it’s been a proper hobby. I have time to do other things as well.”

Back in April, Jota was crowned champion of the ePremier League Invitational FIFA 20 tournament after beating Trent Alexander-Arnold with a golden goal in the final. A rematch is on the cards.

“I think Arnold is looking for revenge so we will see what happens in our next game,” Jota says. “I haven’t played against my other team-mates at Liverpool yet. We haven’t had enough time with all the matches.

“I also love managing games and I think Football Manager is the top one. I’ve been waiting for the release of the new game to start playing again. Now it’s out, I’m sure I’ll find something interesting to do, project-wise.”

Moura adds: “I’ve got to say, Diogo is one hell of a player, on the pitch and on the console! Although it’s only a hobby for him and he’s a professional footballer with a lot of responsibilities, he’s amazing. As well as winning the Premier League final, he’s also done very well competing against some of our players who are in the top 10 in the world for efootball. I know he’s a humble guy but he’s amazing on that console.”

Jota’s ambition and drive extend far beyond the pitch. He’s working on an exciting new business project in the esports sector, which he hopes to launch in 2021.

“I have a lot of free time and the quarantine made us all think,” he says. “I started looking at professional esports players and how they do things. I started playing better myself because I had the opportunity to look at them and learn with them. I started thinking, ‘Why don’t I get involved?’

“That’s what we are trying to do now. Me and my team, we are looking to find a way to get into this business. We are in the perfect conditions. I hope that soon this will be a proper thing.”

Portugal as a nation have long since punched above their weight and they hope that Jota’s rise to fame will help them continue in that vein with the European Championships to come next summer.

Having a forward-thinking football federation has certainly helped in the nation’s development of players. They boast their own TV channel and launched their own university, which has helped raise the standard of coaching at grassroots level, while esports is increasingly used to connect with young people.

“We are a country with a population of 10 million. If you look at the number of registered footballers we have in Portugal, it’s a little over 200,000,” explains Moura. “As you can see, we cannot afford to lose any talent. We need to nurture it. We need to be more efficient and work smarter than bigger nations.

“Portugal are currently the European champions and the Nations League winners but within the FA, we also have the current futsal European champions and beach soccer European and world champions. The success is being seen across all the different football formats and age groups.

“We’re seeing fantastic talent such as Diogo and these new generations coming through the ranks, showing fantastic quality. It shows us that the future can be bright but we need to stay ahead of the game.

“The growth in esports gives us the chance to engage with a very large community of young people who have a passion for the game. Today we have almost 300 registered clubs within the Portugal FA ecosystem and 30,000 individuals registered who play competitive efootball on a regular basis. We see it as a compliment rather than a competitor to traditional football.”

Jota nods in agreement.

It’s a busy time for the Liverpool attacker. Games are coming thick and fast and fatherhood is on the horizon. His girlfriend Rute is expecting their first child in February.

“It will be another big moment in my life,” he beams. “It’s almost there. I’m playing a lot of football at the moment and I will be around the time he’s born. But my girlfriend and I are looking forward to having that special moment in our lives.”

On Sunday there’s a reunion with old friends from Wolves. It will be the first time supporters have been allowed inside Anfield since March, with 2,000 permitted for the visit of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

Jota has enjoyed a flying start to life at Liverpool, but he admits there has been something lacking so far.

“I think football without fans is strange,” he says. “Obviously, when you play for a club like Liverpool, who have one of the best atmospheres in the world, it just feels like something is missing. We have a lot of these conversations with the staff and even with the players about the things we are really missing.

“Feeling the Anfield effect is the thing I am looking forward to the most. I can’t tell you how much. I’m just not able to get that feeling yet. But I hope that soon I can have it. Football without fans is nothing.”

Jase · December 3, 2020

MoroccanBlue · December 3, 2020

You'd think Spurs are 10 points clear rather than level on points with Liverpool and 2 points ahead of 2nd the way they are going about it.

NikkiCFC · December 3, 2020

10 games in 10 different times, is this going to stay when everything is back to normal?

Vesper · December 3, 2020

Manchester United and the blame game

We’re still unsure whether Neymar was trying to claim the match ball for scoring twice. Photograph: Dave Thompson/AP

Rob Smyth

THE BLAME GAME

The Fiver lives by a simple rule. When we mess up, it’s the world’s fault. When we do something right, it’s all on us. Sadly for the hapless, tactically clueless Ole Gunnar Solskjær, the opposite is true. The events of 2020 have provided incontrovertible proof that, when Manchester United win, it’s entirely down to Bruno Fernandes; and when they lose, it’s all because Ole’s still at the wheel, careering round another corner with a smile on his face.

The Fiver’s detailedish analysis of media coverage – traditional and social disgrace – confirms that, had Solskjær done his job properly and not been so embarrassingly out of his depth, United would have won 100% of their matches under his management. Instead the figure is 56%, only the third highest win ratio in United’s history and a despicable 4% below Lord Ferg’s. Solskjær showed his limitations again on Wednesday night by failing to secure a third straight victory against a team with a £361m forward line, and particularly by failing to foresee that a referee was going to send Fred off for a good tackle.

I thought about replacing Fred at half-time, admits Ole Gunnar Solskjær

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE

Join Barry Glendenning and Rob Smyth from 5.55pm GMT for hot clockwatch coverage from the latest round of Big Vase group games.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We’ve been wanting them to come back from day one. Even with 2,000 I expected it to be non-stop singing and pushing them. It was very, very quiet apart from some negative shouting. I get the players didn’t do very much to get them on their feet” – Charlton boss Lee Bowyer welcomes the return of fans to the Valley by holding them to account after the 1-0 defeat to MK Dons.

Fans apparently letting the home side hown, earlier. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

RECOMMENDED LISTENING

Some Football Weekly Extra for you.

FIVER LETTERS

“Can I point out that the social distancing sign in the Carrow Road bogs (yesterday’s main photo) is tautological? The sign reads ‘maximum occupancy not to exceed 13’ and clearly needs to lose the word ‘maximum’ or the phrase ‘not to exceed’” – Pete Green.

“I was explaining Andy Morrison’s rant about the greatest Goat (Fiver letters passim) to my brother. He, a health and safety officer, flew into a proper rage about the ‘morons’ who approach him every day to ask if a certain piece of equipment needs PAT (portable appliance testing) testing” – Marten Allen.

“All this Goat talk reminds me about this story of a village hall meeting being run by researchers into the paranormal. They asked if any assembled villager had ever had intimate relations with a ghost. At which point a man raised his arm and was invited on stage. He walked very slowly (on account of his age) and, when he finally arrived, was asked to share any memories. At which point he looked very surprised and responded with: ‘I’m so sorry, I thought you said [Snip – Fiver Taste Ed]’” – Tim Allen.

Send your letters to [email protected]. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Today’s winner of our letter o’the day prize is … Pete Green, who wins a copy of The Got, Not Got Football Gift Book – Every Fan’s Catalogue of Desires, by Derek Hammond and Gary Silke (postage available to UK only, sorry – Fiver Postal Ed].

NEWS, BITS AND BOBS

Almost nine months into the UK’s Covid-19 outbreak, Premier League suits have finally agreed a £250m support package to help EFL clubs survive.

The Premier League has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism.

Stéphanie Frappart has made Big Cup history, becoming the first woman to referee a match in the men’s competition as Juventus beat Dynamo Kyiv.

History, earlier. Photograph: Alessandro Di Marco/EPA

Barcelona’s interim president, Carlos Tusquets, would have let Lionel Messi go in the summer. “In terms of what you save on the wage bill as well as the money you make, it would’ve been desirable,” he honked.

Manchester City have hit back at Porto’s “ill-judged criticism” after an official club newsletter [tea-timely? – Fiver Ed] threw shade at Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva, among others.

And where are the top 10 teams separated by four points, with the top quartet all failing to win? It could only be the Championship.

STILL WANT MORE?

The Ibrox disaster: football’s forgotten tragedy. A harrowing but essential read.

The National Football Museum has pledged to devote 50% of its displays to the women’s game by 2022. Suzanne Wrack finds out more.

Barney Ronay on Ole and United.

Raúl Jiménez featured in 86 consecutive Premier League games for Wolves. Ben McAleer looks at how they’ll cope without him.

Montpellier’s English forward Stephy Mavididi tells Ed Aarons how Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry helped him find his feet.

A player who has to succeed, even if it’s only for the sake of commentators everywhere. Photograph: Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images

From homesick teenager to Arsenal’s new star defender; the rise of Gabriel.

Tumaini Carayol calls in at the Valley, where 2,000 Charlton fans at least got to enjoy free hot chocolate.

Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO!

NOT ANOTHER

Vesper · December 4, 2020

Chelsea hero labels Man Utd transfer "absolutely crazy" as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer slammed

World Cup winner Frank Lebouef has questioned the coaching abilities of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after PSG won 3-1 at Old Trafford on Wednesday night

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/man-utd-solskjaer-transfer-chelsea-23111161

Former Chelsea defender Frank Lebouef has hit out at Manchester United's "absolutely crazy" decision to sign Donny van de Beek after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer failed to start him in the 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

France 1998 World Cup winner Lebouef says the Dutch midfielder should have been given a start by Solskjaer considering that Paul Pogba was only on the bench as well.

In the event, Pogba came on for Marcus Rashford shortly after Fred had been sent off in the second half, with Van de Beek following five minutes later as a replacement for former PSG forward Edinson Cavani.

"If you don’t have Pogba, you have Van de Beek," Leboeuf told ESPN FC.

"You have to really wonder why they bought Van de Beek during the pre-season.

"Because that’s absolutely crazy. And that’s some bad coaching."

Lebouef added that he wasn't too impressed with PSG's display in the game, with their third goal ensuring that they now hold a better head-to-head record over United in the group stage.

"I think a draw would have been fair. It wasn’t a good game," he added."We didn’t see the difference when Fred was sent off. That’s when you can see that Paris is not at the top and it’s not that Manchester United was good, it’s just Paris Saint-Germain was poor.

‘We didn’t see a good game because we saw clumsiness, we saw stupid tackles, we saw very awkward decision from the referee about Fred (the first half yellow card). It was very strange.

"Even Manchester United who are losing 2-1 at home, should have been more interested in only losing 2-1. The 3-1, the last goal from Neymar is very, very important for Paris Saint-Germain and it can also be very important for Manchester United.

"I don’t understand why they wanted to score goals when they were 10 against 11. There were many things to say and it’s hard to say something very specific on what we saw.

"It was crazy in a way that it was so poor that it was that crazy!"

Vesper · December 4, 2020

What happened at latest Premier League meeting with regards five substitutes rule change

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been vocal with his desire to give managers the ability to make five substitutes in Premier League matches amid the current packed fixture schedule

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/what-happened-latest-premier-league-23112099

Jurgen Klopp’s frustrations over Premier League substitutions are set to continue - after no clubs raised any issue with the current situation at Thursday’s Premier League meeting.

As it stands, there will be no introduction of return to five substitutions for the remainder of the season.

A number of managers, including Klopp and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, have voiced their frustration at only being allowed to make three subs during the 2020-21 campaign.

Premier League clubs had been allowed to make five changes during Project Restart last season.

But the Premier League twice voted against continuing with five subs before the start of the current campaign.

Since then, the EFL have voted and changed things, allowing managers to make five subs in matches if they see fit.

And despite Klopp’s recent claim that 15 of the 20 top-flight managers are in favour of making the change, it was not on the agenda at Thursday’s meeting, nor was it brought up.

The impact of fixture congestion and the enhanced number of muscle injuries - comparative to recent seasons - had led to suggestions that change could be afoot.

When it was last voted upon in September, the proposal gained only nine votes.

After losing James Milner to injury at Brighton on Saturday, and with Andy Robertson playing to the final whistle despite struggling himself, Klopp claimed the backing of 14 other managers.

He also took aim at Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder, following his “world-class politician” jibe; Wilder has been adamant in his backing for the current system, because he believes it benefits his side.

"Chris Wilder says I am selfish. I think all the things he says are selfish," stated Klopp, speaking to BT Sport on Saturday.

"I was in a similar situation as he is when I worked at Mainz - all about staying in the league.“But they now have three subs, and one point, if I’m right, so there’s no advantage or disadvantage.

"If I had five subs today, I bring on Kostas for Robbo, to save Robbo. It's about saving players."

What was on the docket on Thursday was further talks over what fans must do when they return to grounds.

The first Premier League match with supporters in attendance will be West Ham vs Manchester United on Saturday.

A number of sources state that the Premier League will go further than the Government's demands with fans being made to wear face masks at all times ,temperature and ID checks, and strict enforcement of social distancing.

Vesper · December 4, 2020

A feelgood vibe not seen in north London since Springsteen rocked N7

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!

Fans back at Arsenal, earlier. Photograph: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Getty Images

Niall McVeigh

@niallmcveigh

HATCHETS AND BOGEYMEN

The Fiver is a cynical soul, but even we had to at least attempt a smile at the sight of 2,000 Arsenal fans turning up for Big Vase action on Thursday night and – checks notes – actually cheering on Mikel Arteta’s team, creating a feelgood vibe not seen at the Emirates since Bruce Springsteen rocked N7 back in 2008. But wait, who’s this? It’s bogeyman José Mourinho, trudging wearily into view. Mourinho has never lost at home to Arsenal in the Premier League and won’t fancy starting on Sunday, when startled Spurs fans will return to see their team in title contention for the the Norf La’hn derby.

Is Mourinho happy to see them back? “It depends on the fans. Do they want to go to the most beautiful stadium in England and enjoy that? Or do they want to go to play the game?” Mourinho barked, hurling shirts at bewildered punters outside Craven Cottage. Harry Kane missed the knockabout 3-3 Big Vase draw against Lask, so will Arsenal’s other bogeyman be fit for Sunday? “I’m not sure,” Mourinho said. “He’s having treatment but I could be doing some bluff and pretend he’s in trouble, but he’s not and I think he’ll play.” Whether Mourinho is bluffing, double-bluffing or simply bluffing himself, we’re not sure – but Arteta has his own issues up front, namely the disappearance of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang moments after signing a fat new contract in September. “When your top scorer is not scoring goals of course you are concerned,” Arteta muttered, showing the kind of analytical chops that have him marked out as the next Marcelo Bielsa.

Arsenal return reminded me that matchdays are such a precious ritual | Tim Stillman

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We are disappointed with the behaviour which doesn’t represent the standards the team upholds. The player is remorseful and has now left the club” – Charlton confirm that Madelene Wright is no longer an Addicks player after videos emerged on social media disgrace SnapTok showing her allegedly inhaling from a balloon at a party and drinking champagne while driving.

FIVER LETTER

“Re: pleonasms (Fiver letters passim). I keep seeing correspondence regarding the use of unnecessary words in phrases. It’s like deja vu all over again” – David Mills.

“I think Porto are still upset with Manchester City (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs) because their fans sang to Hulk: ‘You’re not incredible’” – Paul Ruffley.

Send your letters to [email protected]. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Today’s winner of our letter o’the day prize is … Paul Ruffley, who wins a copy of The Got, Not Got Football Gift Book – Every Fan’s Catalogue of Desires, by Derek Hammond and Gary Silke [postage available to UK only, sorry – Fiver Postal Ed].

RECOMMENDED SHOPPING

Available at our print shop now, Tom Jenkins’s pictures of the past decade.

Including this classic. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

NEWS, BITS AND BOBS

It took only those 2,000 socially distanced Gooners to get Ainsley Maitland-Niles pumped up like Technotronic. “It is just great to have that sound back,” he whooped after Arsenal’s 4-1 Big Vase win over Rapid Vienna. “That atmosphere, that is our 12th man so it was great to have the fans back.”

In insert-your-own-punchline news, Ed Woodward has distanced Manchester United from a European super league. Meanwhile, United are to install 1,500 rail seats early next year as they prepare to trial safe standing at Old Trafford.

Nice have bundled Patrick Vieira through the door marked Faire Un after a five-match losing streak. “Patrick put all his heart and professionalism into his service for Nice over the last two and a half years of their collaboration,” cheered the club, somewhat damningly.

Olivier Giroud reckons if he keeps scoring four goals a game he probably won’t need to leave Chelsea to book his place in France’s Euro 2020(ish) squad. “I am pretty sure I can get some more game time and stay at Chelsea,” he blabbed. “I want to win trophies with Chelsea so basically that’s it.”

The current longest-serving Premier League manager, Sean Dyche, has been growling at hacks who asked whether he was surprised to have lasted so long at Burnley. “I believe I know quite a lot about what I’m doing!” he roared. “I don’t think it’s easy for English and British managers at the moment to get 200 games in the Premier League.”

Motherwell are up to third in the Scottish Premiership after securing a pair of 3-0 wins over Kilmarnock and St Mirren due to admin bods finally getting round to sorting the paperwork for Covid-19 call-offs.

And Robert Lewandowski has been boasting about how a sizzling night in the sack with Big Cup has made him want to win it all over again. “I took it with me to bed!” kissed-and-told the Bayern forward. “It was in my room and, for a few hours, my trophy.”

STILL WANT MORE?

Suzanne Wrack reports on South Sudan’s daring drive on women’s football.

It’s Friday so, in a break with tradition, here are 10 things to look out for in the Premier League this weekend.

Here you go. Composite: Bradley Ormesher NMC; AFP/Getty Images

Drinking Tin under a railway bridge and then watching Arsenal in the flesh reminded Tim Stillman that matchdays are a precious ritual.

Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO!

THUNDER, THUNDER, THUNDER, THUNDERSNOW!

Vesper · December 4, 2020

Friday December 4 2020

Football Nerd

Burnley and Leeds United are Premier League outliers

By Daniel Zeqiri

Fans enjoy debating styles of play, with teams given credit for trying to play the 'right way', but how can we actually measure this rather nebulous concept?

One statistic becoming more widely quoted is Opta's Build Up Attacks: sequences of 10 or more passes that end with a shot or touch in the box.

This metric can help determine which teams attack in a more continuous, possession-based way and which create opportunities from shorter, direct moves.

Build Up Attacks Against can indicate which teams disrupt opponents through proactive defending and which employ a more passive approach.

Sean Dyche's Burnley for example, have completed fewer build up attacks than any team in the Premier League, just five in nine games, which is no surprise given they prioritise gaining territory rather than mastering possession.

Chelsea have established themselves as one of the most technically impressive teams in the division, their 40 build up attacks one clear of Manchester City's 39.

I analyse where each Premier League team stands in this interesting metric here.

Want more sport in your inbox? Sign up to receive our Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal newsletter

NikkiCFC · December 4, 2020

Three teams that got relegated last season are top3 at the moment in Championship. Derby last on the table...

Special Juan · December 5, 2020

That United kit is fucking horrid.

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Manchester United and the blame game

Rob Smyth

THE BLAME GAME

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE

QUOTE OF THE DAY

RECOMMENDED LISTENING

FIVER LETTERS

NEWS, BITS AND BOBS

STILL WANT MORE?

NOT ANOTHER

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Chelsea hero labels Man Utd transfer "absolutely crazy" as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer slammed

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What happened at latest Premier League meeting with regards five substitutes rule change

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A feelgood vibe not seen in north London since Springsteen rocked N7

Niall McVeigh

HATCHETS AND BOGEYMEN

QUOTE OF THE DAY

FIVER LETTER

RECOMMENDED SHOPPING

NEWS, BITS AND BOBS

STILL WANT MORE?

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Football Nerd

Burnley and Leeds United are Premier League outliers

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