THIS IS FUN
British pride is a complex thing. We are a deeply shameful nation at the heart of it – colonialism, Brexit, the Royal Family, Richard Keys, your neighbour’s Christmas cheer – but normally self-deprecating enough to get through the day without screaming into a pillow. Fortunately, there are a few things where the British are still world leaders. We have the best plugs on the planet, seamlessly combining functionality, safety and design into three perfect tips. There is no more elite snack than Monster Munch pickled onion. David Attenborough is still letting other TV presenters go. Oh, and there is the Premier League.
Football Daily has long fought against the endless, self-indulgent marketing nonsense of a certain broadcaster who preaches that football’s inception was in 1992 and that England has the Best League in the World™. But sometimes the Premier League pulls it off. Sometimes Sundays are really Super. And when that happens, the best thing to do is sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the ride.
24 goals were produced in Sunday’s five Premier League matches. Although Sky chose to show the snooze-fest West Ham 1-1 Crystal Palace, there were four other blockbuster offerings featuring more late drama than Football Daily’s toddler’s bedtime routine. For anyone beyond the blue side of Manchester, it was a joy to watch City get outplayed by a depleted Tottenham, who somehow managed to score three goals at home to the Major Cup champions despite having an xG of just 0.49 with Ben. Davies and Emerson Royal in central defense. Liverpool scored twice at Anfield and still needed two more to take the lead in a seven-goal thriller against Fulham in the closing minutes; 10-man Chelsea somehow managed to beat Brighton 3-2 at Stamford Bridge. Even Bournemouth – Aston Villa put in an excellent performance, finishing the match 2-2 with Ollie Watkins equalizing in the last minute.
Another reason to bring the Premier League years back to our screens this afternoon. Some advice for future Sky Sports commissioners in 2030: You could do a lot worse than rehiring Georgie Ainslie (née Thompson), writing her some lines like this: “There was more disruption for rail passengers in December but Trent Alexander-Arnold ‘s strike that made Fulham pay” and beam some vintage highlights of 2023-24 into our future living rooms. Sunday was a great day for Barclays, you split it no matter what. Continue the midweek action.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“He sleeps in a separate room before games… we talked about it and he did really well” – Rangers boss Philippe Clement will not be popular with Abdallah Sima’s partner after crediting him with securing a two-goal game. – made the striker win by encouraging his performance to be a less responsible father.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
I hope the football authorities go easy on Erling Haaland for his disgraceful ‘WTF’ outburst on social media; he was simply expressing what millions of people thought about his failure to hit a barn door in the first half. So give the man a break” – Christian Goldsmith.
38 goals in 10 Premier League games this weekend may excite fans, but in my opinion it highlights the poor quality of the goalkeepers we have. With Van der Sar, Cech, De Gea, Reyna, Lloris, Given, Hart, Lehmann and others, such a total would not be normal; 3.8 goals per game is worthy of an interscholastic cup. Give me those hard-fought 1-0 wins or the thrilling 0-0s on any given day in these goal fests! – Krishna Moorthy.
Finally some things for us pedants: Hamburger SV were not European champions 30 years ago (Friday’s Football Daily), but were European champions in a much more distant 1983. In 1993, they were already in a long period of mediocrity before things got even worse, and in 2018 they were relegated to the 2nd German division for the first time in their history. By the way, since the year you mentioned, in 1993 they still had good players like the legendary Yordan Letchkov and the 6ft 6in striker Karsten ‘Air’ Bäron” – Bogdan Kotarlic (and others).
Can I be one of your 1,057 readers who asked if Christopher Waltz is in any way related to Oscar-winning Vienna-born actor Christoph Waltz (Friday’s Football Daily)? Ah, luckily there are astronomy enthusiasts among you: knowing that we know that we know, and knowing that we do not know that we do not know, that is true knowledge” – David Bebb (and no one else).
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. The winner of today’s letter of the day is… Christian Goldsmith, who received a copy of Pretty Polly: The History of the Football Shirt, published by Pitch Publishing. Visit the amazing football book shops here.
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