THE NUMBERS GAME
Forget about Michael Carrick. Don’t dwell on Women’s Bigger Cup. Fret not about Pierre Sage. No, the big football story of the day is Big Website’s Ultimate 1-50, a rundown of the male footballers best associated with each squad number. It’s lighthearted reading designed to entertain, maybe even inform, and perhaps spark a few memories and a touch of debate. Or, if you prefer, a rage-bait waste of time that shames the internet. Where the hell is Roy Keane! How dare you leave out Bobby Moore! And Pelé? A list without Pelé? I don’t want to live in a world where there are lists without Pelé. Such is the world these days, though surely a certain amount of respect is due to an exercise that shuns Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane but can welcome in Salvatore Sirigu and Mateusz Klich. And true, it might be a challenging read for those (and, let’s be clear, we’re absolutely definitely not referring to ourselves here, no sirree) old enough to have been brought up in an era of 1; 2, 5, 6, 3; 7, 4, 8, 11; 9 (big man), 10 (little man). The days of two substitutes who wore Nos 12 and 14. The days of a quarter of wine gums in your pocket and misty rain drifting across the floodlights and … oh my god Asamoah Gyan is wearing No 3 and playing up front. This is not a drill. Repeat this is not a drill. Burn it all down, the game’s gone. There is something about it all that does invoke strangely strong reactions, but every day is a school day. So, yes, there remains a hallowed aura around 1-11 but even some of the game’s greats – we’re looking at you Gerd Müller and Johan Cruyff – are best associated with numbers outside of the traditional undectet. And, as Jonathan Wilson brilliantly illustrates here, there’s a risk of being a bit Eurocentric when it comes to numbering – Argentina’s tactical evolution, for example, meant their traditional back four lines up 4, 2, 6, 3, with the No 5 in central midfield. Brazil too has No 5 as the defensive midfielder, with the standard back four as 4, 2, 3, 6. And don’t get us started on Hungary at Wembley in 1953 – Nandor Hidegkuti, you rascal! So do yourself a favour and dig into today’s offering. You might learn something. Or you might just get really, really cross about Curtis Jones. Either way, it’s win-win.
RECOMMENDED VOTING
The FSA Awards are fast approaching folks and, though Football Daily has been cruelly overlooked yet again, Big Website has been nominated for a gong as well as Football Weekly, Women’s Football Weekly and Suzanne Wrack. If you want to show your support by casting a vote, you can here.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Join Billy Munday for piping hot MBM coverage of Inter 1-3 Manchester City in the Women’s Bigger Cup from 8pm GMT.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If I look back on my own personal experience as a professional player, when I won the [Rumbelows] Cup I played with a broken ankle for 90 minutes, so that gives you the answer if I want to win or not. Let’s be honest, selling off the World Cup behind the back of the Fifa Council, the whole Fifa family, it’s a full betrayal. Morally and ethically it is unacceptable. And if [GIanni Infantino] had the balls, he would go out in front of 200 cameras, put his hands up and say ’yes, I made a mistake, I resign’” – Ramon Vega gets the battle-fever on as he talks about the combative qualities he hopes can transform him from underdog to top dog when he stands in the Fifa presidential election.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
Appreciate it’s all highly subjective but quite how you can give the all-time No 17 shirt to Kevin De Bruyne without so much as a mention of the legendary Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu is beyond me. What other player has gone from non-league to Premier League with the same club? OK, it’s a bit niche but a far more worthy winner in my completely unbiased (honest guv) opinion” – Kev Goddard.
All this talk of 4-4 draws (yesterday’s Football Daily) is very intoxicating for Chesterfield fans of a certain vintage. First up, the 1992 draw at Anfield where we threw away a 4-1 lead after a Liverpool comeback inspired by Istvan Kozma (no, really). Dave Lancaster scored two that night and observed that he had thought beforehand there might be eight goals in it, but not that we’d score four of them. And then in 2004 at Saltergate against Grimsby, where we threw away a 3-2 lead to go 4-3 down, before equalising with a last-minute penalty thanks to David Reeves. The attendance that day was 4,444. Makes you think …” – David Ede.
To stop managers continually going outside their technical areas, why not erect a ‘banners and poles’ surround, the sort of thing you see on pavements outside pubs and cafes? If the idea sounds a bit too simple, just mention the opportunity of more advertising space” – Peter Storch.
If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day goes to … David Ede. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.
RECOMMENDED LOOKING
Our man David Squires takes us behind the scenes as Manchester United’s leading minds try to control the narrative.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Wrap your ears around the latest Women’s Football Weekly where the panel discuss (again) how good at football Bunny Shaw and Alessia Russo are and the repercussions for Chelsea’s draw against Everton. And here’s Football Weekly, too.
OH BROTHER!
John Aloisi has been shown through the door marked ‘做一个’ at Chengdu Rongcheng after overseeing one of the most spectacular title bottle-jobs in recent history, somehow turning a 12-point lead into a second-placed finish in the Chinese Super League. Chengdu needed only one win – or even a draw – from their final four games to secure their first-ever league title. Instead, they lost all four. Yikes! Sunday’s 3-2 defeat by Shandong Taishan completed a collapse so wild that even the most pessimistic supporters might have struggled to see it coming. Dalian Yingbo were more than happy to take advantage, beating Tianjin Jinmen Tiger 3-1 to claim their fifth consecutive victory and draw level on 52 points. Having beaten Chengdu home and away, they took the title on head-to-head record. Aloisi, had made a flamin’ excellent start after arriving in January, guiding Chengdu through a 12-game unbeaten run. But the wheels didn’t just fall off at the finish – they rolled into another postcode. The former Australia international has now skedaddled, along with members of his coaching staff. The club’s chief suit and general manager have also called it a day, making Monday something of a clear-out. And if that wasn’t enough family drama, Zhejiang FC also announced the departure of Aloisi’s brother Ross, after finishing ninth. Ouch. A weekend to forget for the Aloisis.
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
Manchester United’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, and chief suit, Omar Berrada, are expected to tell Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe that Michael Carrick has got no lives left and should be sacked.
Rui Pinto’s lawyers are in talks with British authorities over a potential cooperation agreement under which the Manchester City whistleblower could help to expose serious financial and sporting crime in the UK.
Iraq has barred a plane carrying the Iran team from landing at Basra airport, a decision by the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority linked to US sanctions imposed on Iranian airlines, two Basra airport officials said.
Borussia Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha has responded to criticism of goal celebrations linked to an evangelical network by saying they’ve been misunderstood and are not meant to promote “intolerance, discrimination, or hate in any form”.
Ben White has shrugged his shoulders at being booed by England fans after he ended his international exile. “Everyone can do whatever they want,” the defender drawled.
Former Manchester United and Scotland midfielder Lou Macari has been given an MBE for his work helping homeless people in Stoke-on-Trent. “I walk through Stoke these days and when people stop me they don’t want to talk about football or the World Cup, they want to talk about the homeless situation,” he told the BBC earlier this year. “At this stage of my life, and as an ex-footballer, this gives me great satisfaction. It’s not about winning and losing. It’s a complicated environment, and people recognise that you’re doing your best, and that’s all you can do.” Chapeau, Lou.
Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany returned to the club’s training ground on Tuesday for the first time since he collapsed during a session last month.
The seven-times Super Bowl champion Tom Brady has ended his three-year involvement as a minority investor in Birmingham City.
And in an emotional press conference, CF Montreal’s founder and owner Joey Saputo refused to rule out relocation as he announced the club is up for sale.
MOVING THE GOALPOSTS
In our sister newsletter, Manasi Pathak highlights the work being done by Sisters in Sweat, a community organisation co-founded by a former Spurs midfielder that has 20,000 Indian women playing sport across 10 different cities. Have a read here and if you want Moving the Goalposts in your inbox twice a week, sign up here.
STILL WANT MORE?
Manchester City’s Kerstin Casparij gets her chat on with Suzanne Wrack about the relief of winning the double and needing a “sense of normality” while in the spotlight.
Manchester United and Manchester City dominate the news cycle with stories so strange and vast they threaten to consume the rest of the league, writes Barney Ronay.
And David Hytner reports on Josh King, the teenager armed with an impressive academic record and experience as a rugby fly-half who is vying for Thomas Tuchel’s attention.
MEMORY LANE
It’s the men’s international break, so let’s take a look back at a rather distinctive figure on the touchline: a kilted linesman keeping watch during England v Scotland at Bramall Lane, Sheffield on 4 April 1903. Scotland ran out 2-1 winners, coming from behind after Vivian Woodward gave England an early lead. Finlay Speedie equalised in the 57th minute before Bobby Walker struck the winner just two minutes later. The result saw Scotland finish level on points with England and Ireland, with all three nations sharing the 1902-03 British Home Championship title. The match was also the first international football fixture ever filmed, although the footage is now lost.
