Good morning. Here is your briefing. Let’s start with some good reads
Tim Sherwood is back and now he’s weighing in on the Proper Football Man vs Air-Conditioned Boffin Holy War. You know you want to read it. Don’t pretend that you’re above this sort of thing. It’s here, in the Daily Telegraph.
And with that in mind, there’s an interesting read on the Premier League’s perceived aversion to scouting the lower leagues from Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail.
There’s a lovely piece on the sadness of the stadium move here from Danny Taylor in the Guardian. What happens to those left behind? (Spoiler: They’re ruined)
Football 365 have their monster-sized Winners and Losers column here. Poor old Arsene.
The Four Four Two best 100 players in the world countdown begins today. You can keep up with that here.
And finally, we’d be delighted if people could film the reactions of their Newcastle-supporting friends as they read this story for the first time. It will be better, and markedly more hygienic, than all that two girls one cup stuff a few years ago.
ON YOUR TELLY THIS WEEK (Assuming that you live in the UK)
There is so much football on this week that it’s impossible for you not to find something here that you want to watch. Unless you don’t like football and you’ve somehow ended up on this page by accident, in which case we’re really sorry, there’s nothing for you here, but thanks for the click. If you get home from work swiftly tonight, you can catch Sassuolo vs Fiorentina on BT Sport Europe at 1800 and then, as the kids would have it, enjoy the double drop with Napoli vs Inter immediately afterwards. If you get home slightly later, you can still get a double bill of football, as long as you’re okay with the Portuguese league. Watch Sporting Lisbon vs Belenenses at 1900 and then Braga vs Benfica. That’s on BT Sport 2. Alternatively, if you want to keep it English, then poor Bolton Wanderers, without a win since September 12, take on scientific calculator-wielding Brentford on Sky Sport 1 at 1945.
It’s Middlesborough vs Everton in the League Cup on Tuesday night and you can watch that on Sky Sports 1 at 1945. But perhaps you’ll be tempted by a French football double bill on BT Sport Europe! First there’s Angers vs PSG at 1800, then you’ve got Nantes vs Lyon at 2000.
Liverpool go to Southampton for their League Cup tie on Wednesday and that will be on Sky Sports 1 at 1945. If you don’t like that, why not check out a few of the players that the big clubs will be paying £20m+ for in six months by watching Porto away at Uniao de Madeira on BT Sport 1 at 2000. Alternatively, there is…another French football double bill on BT Sport Europe! Watch Monaco vs Caen at 1800 and then Lille vs St Etienne at 2000.
You’ll be addicted to French football by now, but regrettably, there is only one fixture on Thursday. Rennes vs Marseille at 2000 on BT Sport Europe. Perhaps instead you might fancy Reading vs QPR over on Sky Sports 1. Perhaps not.
Traditionally, the first week of December is a frugal time, a final chance to preserve your bank balance and your liver before it all kicks off. If that’s your plan, you’ll be pleased to know that Friday night is packed with European football. For German football, watch Schalke vs Hannover on BT Sport 2 at 1930. For French football, because there hasn’t been nearly enough of that on the telly recently, watch Nice vs PSG on BT Sport ESPN at 1930. For Italian football, watch Lazio vs Juventus on BT Sport Europe at 1945. For English football, watch Ipswich Town vs Middlesborough on Sky Sports 1 at 1945. For the BBC’s continuing obsession with anything even vaguely connected to Manchester United, watch Salford City vs Hartlepool on BBC 2 at 1955. Alternatively, go to your regular Friday night pub and stare aghast at the part-time holiday drinkers who now infest the place you once thought of as some kind of sanctuary.
Full TV listings can be found over here on the Live Football on TV page.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
When I had my first ever conversation with a professional footballer, not an interview, a proper conversation, I was startled. Young and naive, I held certain things to be true and, from his laughter, it was clear that they were not. Footballers, and this is a generalisation of course, are not fond of fans, they are not fond of their managers and they are certainly not fond of each other. They are highly driven, highly competitive individuals with egos that could repel bullets. If they were not, they would never have made it. I never really recovered from that conversation and so it is with some hesitation that I point you to The Secret Footballer: Access All Areas. It is not a pleasant read. Whoever he is, he can come across as arrogant and mean-spirited with views that may be a little problematic for some. In other words, he’s very authentic. But while he’s unlikely to win many friends with this effort, and he may not retain any in the game after this book, he’s intelligent, sharp-witted and, above all, fascinating. You won’t want to put this one down.
SITE OF THE WEEK
Remember analogue cameras? The disposable ones that you’d buy from Boots to document a night out at the Rat & Parrot? The ones upon which someone would always snap a blurred image of their own anonymous penis because when you lived in Essex in the 1990s, certain things were horribly inevitable? Fortunately, someone has come up with a better use for them. Goal Click wants a roll of film from footballers in every country on earth, taking pictures that symbolise what football means to them. Check out their work here.
FROM OUR VAULT
Yesterday was Mike Walkers’ 70th birthday and what better way to celebrate than with this fantastic long read from Daniel Brigham back in July. Take ten minutes out of your life and remind yourself (or indeed educate yourself) of a time when Norwich City were actual, real life, bona fide title contenders. Oh, what a time it was to be alive.
BEST NON-FOOTBALL THING
Squirrels.
If you’d like to recommend something for next Monday’s briefing, (particularly a non-football thing, we struggled again this week) get in touch by emailing [email protected]
