Cooper’s Forest deal, Klopp praises Arteta, England v USA: football countdown – as it happened

And that’s it for today. Thanks, as always, for reading and enjoy the weekend.

Team news and predicted lineups for all 20 Premier League teams in one handy article, you say? Ch-Check It Out.

How good are Newcastle? The table shows them in seventh place. About right? Some analysis and number crunching here from PA Media which we’ll condense into bullet points. In summary: strong against the rank and file; shite against big teams.

• Newcastle have amassed 57 points in 39 Premier League matches during the year since the Saudi takeover. This amounts to their best 39-game spell since December 2012 - a run that comprised a fifth-place finish under Alan Pardew in 2011-12.
  

• The Magpies rank seventh in the top flight on a points per game basis over the past 12 months, behind only the ‘big six’ of Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United.
  

• The Magpies have a superb record against clubs outside the ‘big six’ in the past 12 months, winning 14 and losing just two of 26 matches for an average of two points per game.
  

• In stark contrast, they have suffered 10 defeats in 13 meetings with the ‘big six’, with their solitary win coming at home to Arsenal towards the end of last season.

Fancy a quiz? Football features in 50% of the questions. You can surely beat my 6 out of 10.

Steve Davis and James Collins will be the men in the dugout for Wolves at Chelsea this weekend. Under-18s head coach Davis was placed in temporary charge along with Collins, who has the same role with the under-21s, following the sacking of Bruno Lage.

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Some background From Reuters on how that came about…

Davis said of his conversations with Wolves chairman Jeff Shi: “I was watching my grandson in Keele University on Sunday and late afternoon I got a call to come down Monday and meet with him just to discuss things going forward.

“At that point I wasn’t aware of the situation. Then James was told a little bit later because we had a game against Man City in the Under-21s. We then spoke to each other just to see what we thought and then Monday we spoke about what we were going to do for the rest of the week.

“I’ve supported this football club since I was six, so over 50 years now. I can’t describe how it feels. My dad took me as a boy back in the 70s.

“I remember a lot of very, very good teams. This is probably one of the most talented groups I’ve seen technically. Having been here for a week, they’re fantastic people as well.”

Davis has been pleased with the reaction of the players and he and Collins will look to put their stamp on things this weekend, which could include a first start for striker Diego Costa, who made a difference off the bench against West Ham.

“The spirit’s been good, we’re really pleased with the response,” said Davis, who managed Crewe for more than five years before joining Wolves.

“We look for commitment, we look for something different, a reaction, and we’ve got that. Hopefully we’ll be brave in our selections.

“It is a chance to change things but if you change too much in a short space of time it can lead to a bit of confusion, so we’ve tried to run along the same sort of lines but we’ve just tried to add little things, get them smiling and enjoying it. It’s a difficult situation.

“They’re top players. I’ve worked with top players and played with top players in the past so I’ve not found it any different really.”

Wolves will be without Ruben Neves, who serves a one-match suspension having picked up five yellow cards this season, but Hwang Hee-chan is fit again.

Chelsea boss Graham Potter with some injury updates on defender Wesley Fofana and midfielder N’Golo Kante.

“Wesley’s knee is not as bad as we thought so that is good. It will be a few weeks I think but considerably better than it could be,” Potter told reporters ahead of Saturday’s Premier League home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

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“A possibility (to play before the World Cup), depending on rehab.”

Kante has not featured since mid-August due to a hamstring problem but Potter insisted he was in no rush to bring the France international back.

“Kante is doing more and more integration with the team. Not ready for the weekend, but getting closer and closer,” he said.

“There’s nothing we can do, the injury happened. We have to make sure when he’s back, he’s back for good, and strong. It’s something we have to deal with.”

Wolves’ visit will mark the return of former Chelsea striker Diego Costa to Stamford Bridge, where he won two league titles and a League Cup during a three-year spell.

“We have a lot of respect for him and his career. He’s at Wolves and he’s going to come and be ready to play,” Potter said of 33-year-old Costa, who scored 59 goals for Chelsea.

“I followed his career from afar and I’ve got a lot of respect for him. They have a lot of good attacking players so we have to be ready.” (Reuters)

An update from that terrible story in Argentina.

The government of Argentina’s Buenos Aires province said it has fired the head of a security operation carried out on Thursday outside a soccer stadium, which resulted in violent clashes and the death of a fan.

Police fired tear gas outside the stadium during a league match between Gimnasia La Plata and Boca Juniors, which then drifted into the stadium making it difficult for players and spectators to breathe, causing people to leave in a state of panic.

Province security minister Sergio Berni told local television the fan had died of a heart problem as he was leaving the stadium.

Some 10,000 people had been waiting outside La Plata’s Juan Zerillo stadium unable to watch the match, according to security personnel, with another 20,000 already filling it inside.

Argentine authorities said on Friday police used rubber bullets and tear gas to force the fans back as they tried to force their way inside.

Players were seen covering their faces, while supporters entered the field as they tried to escape the tear gas. The Argentine top-flight match was stopped after nine minutes.

The province government said it was clear the operation was not able to provide security to those who attended the match, and that it was investigating whether the incident had been caused by overbooking.

“The Governor has instructed the security minister that the head of the operation be removed immediately and that all the evidence is placed at the prosecutor’s disposal,” it said.

“My two-year-old son couldn’t breathe,” ESPN quoted Gimnasia player Leonardo Morales as saying. “We feel desperate and worried about all the people in the stands.

“We were playing a normal football game and it turned it into this and the feeling that our relatives almost died,” he said.

The incident comes five days after a stampede at a soccer game in Indonesia killed at least 131 people when fans tried to flee a riot and tear gas fired by police in one of the world’s worst sporting disasters. (Reuters)

It’s 5pm. What a perfect time for The Fiver!

West Ham boss David Moyes believes there is still plenty more to come from striker Gianluca Scamacca.

The £35 million summer signing made an impact off the bench to grab the goal which secured a 1-0 away win over Anderlecht in their Europa Conference League tie on Thursday evening.

That came after the Italy international last weekend produced a fine half-volley to net the opener in a 2-0 win over Wolves as the Hammers claimed only their second Premier League victory of the season.

Having now got off the domestic mark to add to previous European strikes, Moyes believes the 23-year-old former Sassuolo forward can continue his progression.

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“He is 23, a young Italian striker in the Premier League and I think he is coming along really well,” Moyes said.

“His goals give you confidence, the centre-forwards will tell you that. His form is getting better all round.

“His fitness is something he knows he has got more to come and to do more. It is always good when there is room for improvement and progress to be made, but he is doing a good job at the moment.”

West Ham’s win over Anderlecht means they have now won four of their last five matches in all competitions, and Moyes is hoping for more of the same when they host Fulham on Sunday.

“I think it’s huge if we can continue to build that momentum,” he told a press conference.

“We want to get on a run of victories. Clean sheets are a good place to start and I can sense that we are a little bit better at the moment.

“We are beginning to see performances from a lot of the players we have brought in, and we knew they could give us that.

“In the early games of the season we may have hit the bar or so, and we may have not got things right, but there are signs that things are getting better.”

Moyes confirmed winger Maxwel Cornet will again miss out on Sunday’s game as he recovers from a calf problem which forced him off during the first half of the win over Wolves.

The Ivory Coast forward, though, is not expected to be out for an extended spell.

“He has got a small calf strain. I don’t think it is as bad as we first feared, but it will keep him out for a few days,” Moyes said.

“Elsewhere, we have got a few knocks and niggles, but hopefully we will be OK by the time we get to Sunday’s game.” (PA Media)

Trent Alexander-Arnold shares a birthday with Vladimir Putin today. Not sure who’s come in for more criticism of late.

Patrick Bamford could make his first start for Leeds in almost two months after being declared fit for Sunday’s trip to Crystal Palace.

After a succession of injuries limited the striker to just 11 appearances last season, Bamford has also suffered a disrupted start to this term.
His last start for Leeds came away at Southampton on August 13 but he was withdrawn with an adductor injury, and has made only two substitute appearances since.

But head coach Jesse Marsch said on Friday the 29-year-old is fit to face one of his former clubs.

“I think Patrick is fitter and he’s trained well this week, and I think he’s ready to go,” Marsch said.

“So I think there’s a high likelihood that he’ll be ready from the start.”

Bamford’s return will be a welcome boost as Marsch must shuffle his pack given Luis Sinisterra’s suspension following a red card in the 0-0 draw against Aston Villa.

If Bamford plays, Rodrigo could drop back and Brenden Aaronson move to the right-hand side, although Marsch also backed young Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville to fill that role if required.

Summerville, 20, has impressed since making his debut at Newcastle a year ago but all nine of his league appearances to date have come from the bench.

“First of all, it’s worth noting that we feel that Cree Summerville is in the best form since I’ve been here,” Marsch said.

“So he certainly becomes a factor whether from the start or off the bench.

“Even if you’re not in the XI, the most important thing is that you’re ready to come and make an impact off the bench.”

Leeds will be facing a Palace side hovering just outside the bottom three with six points from their seven games to date this term, but Marsch said that was a false position for Patrick Vieira’s men.

“When you talk about the start Palace have had, I think you have to talk about the opponents they’ve had - Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle,” he said.

“I think if you ask me they’ve played pretty well through that phase.
“It’s a hostile environment down there. Very difficult, they unbalanced us almost the entire match. Tactically we have to be much cleaner.

“(Wilfried) Zaha’s number one. A very good footballer, incredible in transition, clever around the goal. If you pay too much attention to him then (Odsonne) Edouard can have a big match. There’s so much attacking talent in this team.

“We need to manage specifically when we have the ball that they’re not getting out in transition and hurting us. We feel we’ve created a good match-plan.” (PA Media)

Manchester City have been fined £260,000 and given a warning over the pitch invasion which followed their Premier League title win in May.

Fans poured onto the pitch after City came from 2-0 down against Aston Villa to win 3-2 and clinch the top-flight crown on Sunday, May 22.

City admitted a Football Association charge that they “failed to ensure spectators... conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and refrained from using threatening and violent behaviour while encroaching onto the pitch after the final whistle”.

The sanctions were imposed by an independent regulatory commission during a hearing.

A City fan was given a four-year football banning order in June for entering the field and taunting Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen after Ilkay Gundogan had scored the Blues’ decisive third goal, which kept them ahead of Liverpool in the race for the title.

Inquiries are ongoing into a reported assault on Olsen that occurred during the mass pitch invasion after the final whistle, with City issuing an apology to Olsen over that incident on the day of the match and pledging to issue an indefinite ban to the individual responsible.

The end of last season was marred by pitch invasions at Premier League and EFL fixtures.

Last month Everton were fined 300,000 as fans came onto the pitch at the end of their match against Crystal Palace where the Toffees secured their Premier League status.

Sheffield United forward Billy Sharp was headbutted by a pitch-invading supporter during his side’s play-off semi-final defeat at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground.

Data released by the Home Office last month showed there were 441 pitch encroachments at matches in England and Wales last season, an increase of 127 per cent compared to 2018-19, the last complete season unaffected by Covid-19 restrictions. (PA Media)

Poor old Lionel Messi. Not only has he been knocked off the top of the Forbes highest-paid footballer list, the Argentine forward is also out of Paris St Germain’s Ligue 1 visit to Stade de Reims on Saturday with a calf injury.

“He asked to be replaced during the Champions League game [against Benfica on Wednesday]. He has a little problem with his calf but he will be back to training on Sunday,” PSG coach Christophe Galtier told a news conference on Friday.

There are more injury woes for PSG as fullback Nuno Mendes will be out of action for three weeks with a muscle injury while Kylian Mbappe is suffering from a throat infection.

The France forward, however, is expected to be included in the squad, Galtier said, though he could be on the bench, allowing 20-year-old Hugo Ekitike to be handed another start.

Unbeaten PSG lead the standings with 25 points from nine games, two ahead of second-placed Olympique de Marseille, who host bottom side AC Ajaccio on Saturday.

After coming under fire for their alleged excessive use of planes to travel to Ligue 1 games, PSG will this time travel by bus for the 150km journey to Reims, Galtier added. (Reuters)

Erling Haaland content. Erling Haaland content. Erling Haaland content.

• Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has scored 14 goals in eight Premier League games, netting a hattrick in each of his last three appearances at the Etihad. It’s just one goal fewer than the Citizens’ top league scorer netted last season (Kevin De Bruyne, 15).

• Man City’s Erling Haaland is averaging a goal once every 48 minutes in the Premier League so far, the best rate of anyone to score more than once in the competition’s history. Meanwhile, he’s also found the net with 42% of his shots (14 goals, 33 shots), the best conversion rate of any player with at least 20 attempts (since 2003-04).

Thanks Luke. Barry just putting the finishing touches to the Fiver so we’ll have that soon. In the meantime, let’s focus on the man of the moment.

That’s all from me for today. David Tindall is stepping into the breach until stumps. Bye!

Brighton will check on midfielder Moises Caicedo ahead of new manager Roberto De Zerbi’s first home game in charge against Tottenham. Caicedo is being assessed on an unspecified fitness issue which forced him out of training on Thursday, but De Zerbi is hopeful he can be involved.

Enock Mwepu is not expected to feature again, having returned early from international duty with Zambia after falling unwell, while fellow midfielder Jakub Moder (knee) is a long-term absentee.

Tottenham will be without Emerson Royal due to suspension. The Brazilian defender was sent off in last weekend’s loss at Arsenal and will now serve a three-match ban.

Spurs remain without forwards Lucas Moura (calf) and Dejan Kulusevski (hamstring) but defender Ben Davies (knee) returned to action away to Frankfurt in midweek and could start. (PA Media)

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If you fancy a squizz at this weekend’s fixtures, they can all be found on here, on the page helpfully entitled ‘Fixtures’.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé has emerged as the world’s highest-paid football player, according to Forbes magazine, the first time a player other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo has topped the list in eight years.

Mbappé, 23, is estimated to earn $128m (£115m) for the 2022-23 season before agents’ fees, a record for Forbes’ annual rankings, with PSG teammate Messi second at $120m (£115m) and Manchester United’s Ronaldo ($100 / £90m) occupying third spot.

PSG’s Neymar ($87 / £78m) and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah ($53m / £47m) rounded off the top five.

Erling Haaland, who has made a blistering start to his Manchester City career after joining the club from Borussia Dortmund in the close season, makes his debut in the top 10 with earnings of $39m (£35m). The rise of Frenchman Mbappé and Norwegian Haaland, the only players under the age of 30 on the list, signals a shift in the global game, the Forbes report said, as Messi and Ronaldo edge closer to the end of their glorious careers. (Reuters)

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Pep Guardiola has said it is too soon to say whether Kyle Walker has a chance of playing at the World Cup. Walker, the Manchester City and England right-back, had groin surgery earlier this week after being forced off injured against Manchester United last Sunday.

Walker now faces a race against time to recover fitness ahead of the tournament in Qatar, which begins in six weeks. The City manager Guardiola said: “The same as the doctor said - he’s out for a few weeks.” Asked if it was too early to make a judgement about the World Cup, Guardiola said: “Yes.”

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Everton’s James Tarkowski (left), Conor Coady (centre), Dwight McNeil (second right), and Salomon Rondon (right) during a training drill that no doubt involved plenty of banter.

Who, I hear you cry, is second-left with his back to the camera? Don’t know, if I’m honest.

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7 Oct 202210.18 EDT

Suzanne Wrack

The Lionesses’ showdown with the world champions, the USA, on Friday was the fastest-selling England game – men’s or women’s – at the new Wembley.

Tickets went on sale on 2 August, two days after England’s victory over Germany in the final of the Euros, and sold out in less than 24 hours.

We’ve had a few Steve Cooper quotes already after he penned a new deal at Nottingham Forest that runs until 2025. Here are more, courtesy of our friends at PA:

“It is good that there is clarity to my contract situation because I know there have been a lot of questions over the last few weeks and months so it puts an end to them,” Cooper said. “Everyone who knows me knows how much I have loved and am loving my time at Forest, everyone knows how important it is to me. If I am being really honest, my real focus is about winning a football match. Obviously we are on a poor run of form, let’s not hide away from that. That is the thing that is in my mind more than anything.

“It puts clarity on speculation. No one had ever questioned how much I love it here and want to be here, that has never been in question. If there is talk about that it can stop. It doesn’t mean we are going to win the next match and everything is going to be OK.
“It has put an end to the questioning and that is great.”

The Welshman insisted he never listened to speculation, saying: “Rightly or wrongly, I am not a media follower. I am probably not as informed as what has been said or not said as much as everyone else, but internally there have only been normal conversations. We were obviously disappointed after Monday’s game with the performance and the result. The conversations we have had with the owner and the chief executive have been around that. They have been normal, wider issues that have been reported. I can’t say I have been in any conversations like that.”

Cooper also vowed to pay the fans back for their support: “My main message, being a leader is about dealing with difficult times,” said Cooper. “I want them to see that I am going to be the guy standing at the front and be the guy that people look at first. And in this difficult time I and my team are going to work harder and be hungrier than before because that is the least these supporters deserve. Incredible support from the fans, which makes me even hungrier to do well.”

Crystal Palace need a mindset shift if they want to stop conceding late goals in close games, said Patrick Vieira.

“It’s something we’re looking at closely to try to find the best way not to concede those goals, because those goals are stopping us from taking points that we deserve. When you look at our performances themselves, especially the last game against Chelsea, we deserved to get the points in that game.

“There are some mindsets we need to work on to change that. It is about coming from the bench, coming from me as well as a manager, but this is something we have to resolve if we want to win football matches. But, since I’ve been here, we’ve had issues with different parts of the game that we managed to work on and we will improve. I don’t have any doubt in that.” (PA Media)

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Thanks, David. Hello everyone.

And on that bombshell, I’ll hand back to Luke McLaughlin again.

From the archives: “He should be shot, it’s as simple as that.” Tommy Smith had little time for refs.

New Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi made an instant impression after overseeing the 3-3 draw at Liverpool last weekend. Next up for the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar manager is a home game against Spurs. Some quotes here on that Anfield thriller, settling in, and his high regard for Antonio Conte’s side.

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“I never speak about the result, but my teams always play with courage and braveness.

“I want my team playing to make the game with personality and the right mentality to build the right condition to win the game.

“It is a difficult moment for a lot of things, for the language, for the new staff, the new team, for the new ideas.

“I would like to put more ideas in, but I don’t want to change that much, but of course I want to put my hand (on the squad).

“If (owner) Tony Bloom and (chief executive) Paul Barber have chosen myself, it means they want to see the team playing with my idea of football.

“At the same time you have to deal with not changing too much, but also how to put my ideas on top.”

On Spurs: “I think Tottenham are in the right condition to win the Premier League.

“It’s not easy, because there’s (Manchester) City, Liverpool, Chelsea, but in the transfer market they bought very good players and after one year to work with Antonio (Conte) I think they are able to win the Premier League.

“The squad is better than one or two years ago. If he doesn’t play (Dejan) Kulusevski, he plays Richarlison, if he doesn’t play (Pierre-Emile) Hojbjerg or (Rodrigo) Bentancur, he can play (Yves) Bissouma.

“Tottenham are a good team, not only the first 11 - but 20 or 22 players.”

I can’t say I’m overly aware of William Saliba being compared to Virgil van Dijk but Mikel Arteta was asked about it in his press conference.

So Mikel, could he become as good as VVD? “Wow, that’s a really big question. I am really happy with where he is at the moment. He is Saliba, he’s no-one else and he needs to make his own career.

“The way he has established himself, the composure and leadership he has shown on the pitch has been really good.

“And then that he has done it in a really natural way without any flashing lights, just being himself. He’s very quiet and at the same time very confident.”

Fulham fans and fantasy managers take note: Aleksandar Mitrovic is a doubt for Fulham’s Premier League match at West Ham on Sunday.

The Serbia international, who has scored six times in the top flight this season, was withdrawn in the first half of Fulham’s 4-1 defeat against Newcastle last weekend with ligament damage in his foot.

Manager Marco Silva hopes the injury to his star striker is not serious, but admits he faces a race against time to be fit for his side’s clash at the London Stadium.

“He is still a doubt,” said Silva. “He was outside this morning, doing some work, getting better. We will assess him tomorrow, and then take a decision for the match.” (PA Media)

Transfer Ivan Toney in? £7.3m to Mitrovic’s £6.8m.

Some actual quotes from actual, and still, Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper after he put pen to paper on a new contract.

“It puts clarity on speculation. No one had ever questioned how much I love it here and want to be here, that has never been in question.

“If there is talk about that it can stop. It doesn’t mean we are going to win the next match and everything is going to be OK.

“It has put an end to the questioning and that is great.”

More Everton but this time it’s off the pitch news. Take a read while I fight my ridiculous Pavlovian desire to write Orville.

This week the club has been the subject of more takeover talk, with the LAMF Global Ventures Corp special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) - led by Los Angeles film producers and investors Jeff Soros and Simon Horsman, advised by former Everton director Keith Harris - reportedly having held preliminary discussions.

It is the second such approach after talks between another American-based consortium, spearheaded by former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon, broke down over the summer.

Boss Frank Lampard insists he is not distracted by off-field matters.

“It’s something that I probably don’t know enough about, and certainly can’t affect apart from doing my job well,” said the Toffees boss.

“My job is to coach this team and build relationships with the fans and those above me.” (PA Media)

Everton have the best defensive record in the Premier League (yes, really) but goals still remain thin on the ground. So, here’s some good news then: Dominic Calvert-Lewin could be back for the visit of Manchester United.

The England international sustained a knee problem on the eve of the opening weekend, but after a couple of false starts, with manager Frank Lampard holding him back to give him extra time to improve his fitness, he looks set to re-join the squad for Sunday’s game.

“Yes, he’s in contention,” said Lampard. “We’ll have to see how match-fit he is, but in terms of the injury he’s better. It’s a really good boost.

“He’s a good player for us, pivotal in us staying in the league last year and we want to get him playing regularly.”

Defenders Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate, neither of whom have featured because of ankle and knee injuries, are also on the road to recovery.

“They’re training with us. Yerry joined us in the past couple of days, Mason came in today for part of training. They’re both working hard to get back (to full fitness).

“This weekend comes too soon probably for both of them, definitely for Mason, but we hope with a good week’s training next week they can be in contention from then on.”

Over to David Tindall, who’s had his sandwiches, for the next hour.

7 Oct 202208.59 EDT

Jamie Jackson

Erik ten Hag wants Manchester United to be nastier and smarter as the manager attempts to make them challengers again.

After United came from behind to beat Omonia Nicosia 3-2 in Thursday’s Europa League group match, Ten Hag said he believed they have to add an edge to their play and be more streetwise to avoid needless yellow cards. He referenced Diogo Dalot’s booking for a challenge on Jack Grealish in the opening moments of Sunday’s 6-3 loss at Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola is asked about Erling Haaland. Is it a shame he won’t be at the World Cup?: “He’s young, he will have another opportunity in five years. It’s a shame for the fans.”

Did Pep Guardiola see the poll asking for Haaland to be banned from football, he is asked: “As a joke it’s good.” But he doesn’t laugh and is stony faced. Which is quite correct response of course.

Guardiola is then asked about his smile on the touchline after one of Haaland’s goals in midweek: “He has an incredible sense [for where the ball will go] … he goes one second before the ball arrives. How can I teach him? It’s complete instinct, it’s natural … he did it in Germany, in Norway, he’s doing it here. Thank you so much for choosing us and to all the people involved to bring him he. What a talent we have.”

(Then speaking not about Haaland but in general): “… Every player can improve. The only thing to never stop, until we die, is to improve.”

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Jesse Marsch speaks before Leeds’s meeting with Crystal Palace: “We know that going down to Palace will be difficult … the table is really compact and a lot of mid-table teams are very close to each other … we’re trying to be a mid-table team and not a bottom of the table team … we need to focus on the moment and the match. I think Patrick Vieira is a fantastic manager and they have a very talented team. We’ll be ready.”

The Football Association is awarding Jack Leslie, the first black player to receive an England call-up, a posthumous honorary cap. The inside left, who scored 137 goals in 400 appearances for Plymouth between 1921 and 1934, was called-up to the national team in 1925.

But Leslie would disgracefully be denied an England appearance due to the colour of his skin after selectors discovered his heritage. The Argyle favourite died in 1988 and is to be immortalised by a statue that will be formally unveiled outside Home Park on Friday. The FA chair Debbie Hewitt has also confirmed that Leslie has been posthumously awarded an England cap 97 years after his call-up.

“Jack Leslie is a true football legend who, through his own adversity, has positively shaped attitudes and behaviours to identify and remove discrimination from football,” she said in a statement.

“The FA is awarding Jack a posthumous honorary cap, to recognise his unique contribution and set of circumstances - and to right the historical wrong. I had the privilege of meeting Lesley, Jack’s granddaughter, at a recent international game at Wembley, where we had the opportunity to recognise the family’s determination, courage and resilience to have Jack’s story told and through the efforts of Lesley and her sisters Lyn and Gill, to change perceptions in football and more broadly in society.

“We have made progress in recent years to ensure that English football is more diverse and inclusive and a game for all. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Jack and to his family for comprehensively and consistently driving positive change through football. We are pleased to support this campaign and to recognise Jack’s career.” (PA Media)

“Hey Luke, Forest chat-boards are jubilant with this morning’s news,” emails Ben Watson (no relation) about Steve Cooper.

“No-one saw it coming, what with all the Benitez/Dyche/Nuno speculation, but everyone’s delighted. It’s one in the eye for football shithousery in general.”

I met THE Ben Watson in a supermarket on the Algarve in 2013 just a few weeks after his goal for Wigan won the FA Cup final against Manchester City. He stopped for a chat and was very friendly. He told me that even though he was on holiday he was going for a run or to the gym every day. Anyone else got any Ben Watson stories?

What’s going wrong at Liverpool? We asked several supporters for their views:

7 Oct 202208.16 EDT

Jacob Steinberg

Chelsea are expected to appoint Christopher Vivell as their technical director after the German was sacked by RB Leipzig on Friday.

Patrick Vieira, the Crystal Palace manager, was asked about his Leeds counterpart Jesse Marsh, with whom he has a bit of history from the MLS.

“The people outside invented this,” Vieira said. “There is no negativity between Jesse and myself. There is huge respect.”

Cheers David. Mikel Arteta has spoken before the match against Liverpool on Sunday.

“I’m very conscious that we can get much better,” Arteta said. “The challenge now is to do it every three days. You always want to get better, you always want to improve.”

Any team news? “No. We have another training session, and we will know more tomorrow.”

Is the pre-World Cup programme too much? “We know that the fixtures we’ve been given have no precedence in this League because of the World Cup ... if you have robust players, who can play every three days, it’s much easier. We have to ‘taste’ and see how it goes.”

On the Arsenal fans: “[We must] keep giving them more reasons to be be more impressed and support the team ... the atmosphere is fantastic and we want to keep having those moments together.”

On Liverpool’s drop in form: “What Liverpool have done in the last five years doesn’t need any ‘presentation’.”

Luke has been fed and watered so I’ll hand you back to Mr McLaughlin for the next stretch.

A sentence I never expected to write – Arsenal can go 14 points above Liverpool with victory at the Emirates on Sunday.

But here’s Karen Carney offering some hope for the Merseysiders.

The Opta stats also give visiting fans some extra optimism and suggest a start for Diogo Jota.

• Arsenal have won one of their last 14 Premier League matches against Liverpool (D4 L9), a 2-1 home win back in July 2020. They’ve lost their last four in a row but have never lost five league games in a row against Liverpool.
  

• Arsenal are on a run of 13 consecutive Premier League matches without a clean sheet against Liverpool, conceding 39 goals in those games. They have only had one longer run against an opponent without a clean sheet in the competition: 14 versus Man City (ongoing).
  

• Liverpool’s Diogo Jota has six goals in eight Premier League appearances against Arsenal, including five in four for the Reds. He is averaging a goal every 67 minutes against the Gunners, the best ratio of any player in Premier League history against Arsenal to play at least 200 minutes against them.

7 Oct 202207.50 EDT

Ben Fisher

The full story on Steve Cooper signing a new contract at Nottingham Forest until 2025.

Erling Haaland’s goalscoring numbers are pretty daft and he goes into the weekend way clear at the top of the Premier League’s Golden Boot charts:

14 Erling Haaland
7 Harry Kane
6 Aleksandar Mitrovic
5 Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus, James Maddison, Roberto Firmino, Ivan Toney, Leandro Trossard

True, Manchester City have an easier game than most this weekend – home to Southampton - but the discrepancy in the odds for some of the leading strikers to score a hat-trick is quite something.

Haaland is just 9/2 to bank his fourth straight home Premier League hat-trick although, at his current rate, that seems fairly generous!

Looking at other hat-trick odds, the shortest I can find is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at 40/1 to net a treble in Chelsea’s home game with Wolves. Darwin Nunez is 80s to bag a hat-trick at Arsenal while Gabriel Jesus and Mo Salah are both quoted at 66s. Harry Kane is 50/1 to wheel away in celebration three times at Brighton.

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou admits it will be a challenge to fill the void left by Callum McGregor as the “influential” Celtic captain prepares for a lengthy period on the sidelines.

The Hoops are still waiting to learn the exact extent of the knee injury that forced the Scotland midfielder off in Wednesday’s 3-1 Champions League defeat by RB Leipzig in Germany.

However, manager Postecoglou did confirm on Friday that “it’s not a short-term one”.

“There’s a reason Callum is the captain,” he said. “He’s a fantastic player who contributes to the way we play our football. He is influential on and off the field so you can’t just replace him with one person overnight.

“That just doesn’t happen. It’s about other people filling in the breach. We missed him for a few games last season, it’s just something we have to cope with.

“I’m disappointed for Callum more than anything because he’s very influential and he wants to be involved all the time. His performances have been super but we just have to deal with what’s ahead of us.

“The one thing I know about Callum is whatever timeline they give him, he’ll try and come back earlier. That’s what happened last year with his cheek fracture. He got the mask on and played.

“He’s been around long enough to know this is part of being a professional footballer. You’re not always going to play 70 games a year. Injuries will happen. He’s just been unlucky the other night. He’s a professional on and off the field and he’ll tackle his rehab as determined as anyone.” (PA Media)

From the Timmy Mallet collection? This is quite the thread. Well worth 10 minutes of your time over lunch.

Former Olympiakos head coach Pedro Martins has turned down the chance to take over at Hull City. The Portuguese attended the club’s win over Wigan on Wednesday after holding talks with the club. He was offered a two-a-half-year deal with the option for a further years.

Martins flew back to Portugal on Thursday morning before deciding against accepting the role. He is keen on the vacancy at Wolves.