ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET … OH
It’s been a far from perfect start to the season for the Queen’s Celtic. Points dropped at Kilmarnock. Coronavirus quarantine breaches. A sense that Pope’s Newc O’Rangers are finally approaching a level of basic competence and could sustain a title challenge until the end of September, or whenever Leeds make off with Ryan Kent. Ah well, at least they tried. And now another hammer blow, with yet another Big Cup fiasco that in one fell swoop makes the European record of Brendan Rodgers look a little better in comparison. Yep, that bad.
And so we can add Ferencvaros to the ever-expanding list of Big Cup qualification embarrassments: Cluj, AEK, Malmö, Maribor, Artmedia Bratislava, Basingstoke Town and Arsenal. Last night’s 2-1 defeat ensured the Queen’s Celtic’s earliest Big Cup exit since the Artmedia incident that nearly did for Gordon Strachan at the get-go in 2006, and arguably the most shocking since Liam Brady’s side Neuchâteled the bed 5-1 against Xamax in 1991. No wonder Neil Lennon was expressing “anger and frustration” after the game. And before and during it. And, come to think about it, last month and last year, plus he’s got some pencilled in for next week. But you get the general point.
Celtic hit the Champions League buffers and Neil Lennon questions attitudesRead more
Lennon pointed to a lack of commitment from some of his squad, who have been “making waves to leave the club. Get your mentality right, get your attitude right. If some of you don’t want to be here, leave. I’m putting this out there because it’s been bugging me for a long, long time.” All of this was delivered in a thin-lipped low seethe, the most dangerous of all the seethes. For goodness’ sake don’t catch his eye, just keep walking.
Exactly who Lennon was referring to remains unclear; Odsonne Édouard has been linked with a £30m move to Aston Villa, while old pal Rodgers is looking to entice Callum McGregor to Leicester, but captain Scott Brown insists “for me the lads want to be here”, so your guess is as good as ours. At least there was some good news to celebrate, with the club landing Motherwell midfielder David Turnbull on a four-year deal on Thursday. That’s got to improve the mood, right? Maybe cancel those seethes planned for next week. Maybe.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“People will miss out on the entertainment, but at the end of the day it’s entertainment. There are other things going on which are essentially life and death, which should be a bigger part of any conversation that exists today” – Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onouha, now at Real Salt Lake, on why MLS players have joined US sports’ wave of protest against racial injustice.
View image in fullscreenNedum Onuoha takes a knee before the MLS game against the Colorado Rapids. Photograph: David Zalubowski/AP
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Football Weekly Extra will be live and direct over here soon enough.
FIVER LETTERS
“If Everton do overcome objections to building a stadium on Liverpool’s waterfront, surely it should be named after the last great team to be resident there: The Richard & Judy Stadium. Not particularly disliked yet ultimately lightweight; period of success in the late 1980s followed by many failed attempts at reinventing themselves? It’s a no-brainer” – Paul Buller.
View image in fullscreenRichard and Judy: name a more iconic duo. We’ll wait. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian
“After Wednesday’s last line and a link to Lemar’s 50/50, I couldn’t help but think of other football sayings that appear in music. How about Ghostface Killah’s Nutmeg or Hall & Oates’ One on One? Any others?” – Paul Jordan.
“Having read Big Paper’s review of Ted Lasso I was struck by the following sentence: ‘British sitcoms thrive on characters struggling against mundanity and the bleakness of their lives.’ So when can we expect series one of The Fiver?” – Chris Hilson.
Send your letters to [email protected]. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’the day is … Chris Hilson.
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
Paul Pogba is out of the France squad after testing positive for Covid-19, according to manager Didier Deschamps. Meanwhile, Pogba’s United teammate Aaron Wan-Bissaka is in quarantine after flying back from Dubai.
Chelsea’s pre-season plans have also been disrupted by positive tests, with several players in self-isolation after taking trips abroad. Frank Lampard has also ended his day-long drought without a signing, with defender Malang Sarr joining on a free.
Gareth Barry has announced his retirement from playing football after leaving West Brom. The 39-year-old also played for Manchester City, Aston Villa and Everton, making a record 653 Premier League appearances.
Mikel Arteta has offered an update on that new contract for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. “We have some really good talks with him and his agent and I am pretty confident we will find an agreement soon. That’s my feeling,” Arteta mused, adding that a move for Lille defender Gabriel is still in progress.
Administrators at Wigan Athletic are confident of securing a takeover deal with one of four interested parties before their deadline of 31 August. “We will, in my opinion, start the new season,” said Gerald Krasner. “I’m confident enough to approach the EFL today to say we believe one of the bids will come to fruition.”
Bayern Munich, famed exemplars of modesty and restraint, will not be buying Lionel Messi this summer. “We can’t pay a player of that size,” gasped Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. “It is not part of our policy and philosophy.”
Wilfried Zaha has taken a look at Mr Roy’s big transfer plans at Crystal Palace and said thanks, but no thanks. The winger is still determined to leave this summer.
Goalkeeper and trophy ceremony hype man Pepe Reina has joined Lazio on a free transfer from Milan, after ending his six-month spell at Aston Villa.
And Leo has made his move … Brighton’s Leo Östigard, that is. The Norwegian defender has joined Coventry on loan. “He’s a player with brilliant pedigree,” chirped Sky Blues manager Mark Robins.
STILL WANT MORE?
Ben Fisher talks to players, a manager and an owner about how the EFL’s new salary cap plans will affect them.
View image in fullscreenEFL compo action! Composite: Getty Images, Shutterstock, Reuters, PPAUK
The Community Shield, a week after the Champions League final, at an empty Wembley? Paul Wilson isn’t feeling it.
Sid Lowe discusses Lionel Messi’s long goodbye and why Barcelona will never be the same.
Remember when Arsenal beat Liverpool at Wembley to seal their first Double? No? The good news is that Richard Foster does.
Check out the latest summer deals in our men’s and women’s summer transfer interactives.
Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO!
