⚽️THE MANCHESTER DERBY: A City Fan Reflects on Nearly 70 Years in Sky Blue
Man United travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to face Man City.
It’s derby day in Manchester this week, as United go to City in what Erik ten Hag will insist is not a lamb-to-slaughter scenario. The champions demolished Luton Town in the FA Cup in midweek and are in some imperious form, while the Red Devils caught a fat L at home to Fulham last time out in the Premier League. A 1-0 cup victory over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday will be scant comfort, particularly when the manager is publicly litigating TikToks.
The Manchester derby has been this way for years, but it was not always so. There was a time when City did not triumph over their rivals in any competition for more than a decade. It’s that experience of City fandom—and the rise of the Citizens after a nation-state takeover—that I wanted to get into with Colin Shindler, this week’s guest on THE FOOTBALL WEEKEND podcast. He’s the author of Manchester United Ruined My Life, a bestselling memoir that ties his experiences as a City fan to the heartbreaks of his life beyond football. Shindler joined me for a frank discussion of his nearly 70 years as a fan of the Sky Blues, from the days of Mike Summerbee and George Best to those of Sergio Aguero and Pep Guardiola:
You can also check it out on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Acast.
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THE HEADLINES
➡️Paul Pogba has been banned from football for four years by an Italian anti-doping tribunal after he tested positive for testosterone in September. He says he will appeal, but it could be a fatal blow to the 30-year-old’s perplexing career. He won Serie A four times and the Europa League once, but it was all window-dressing to his achievements at the 2018 World Cup, where he led a star-studded French team to glory. At times, he was the most dynamic, scintillating central midfield player in world football, an all-action force of nature with cultured technique and serious power. He relished an opportunity to strike from 30 yards. He was an audaciously inventive player, but injuries and indifferent form spoiled too many seasons. Now he may not have any seasons left. It’s a footballing tragedy.
➡️Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said Fulham were “out of order” for posting a TikTok mocking Bruno Fernandes’s fake-injury antics during United’s 2-1 defeat to the London side last weekend. The Dutchman demanded an apology for the post, which was captioned, “So glad he’s ok… 🙄”
➡️In another black eye for England’s match officials, Nottingham Forest’s Felipe grabbed the aforementioned Bruno’s neck during this week’s FA Cup tie and received no sanction. United’s Casemiro was sent off for the same action earlier in the season. Not all chokes are created equal, it seems.
➡️Everton have had their 10-point deduction for breaches of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules reduced to six on appeal, a boon to the Toffees as they try to stave off relegation. In less encouraging news, there were already doubts around 777 Partners’ takeover of the club before The Athletic reported this week that a key source of the firm’s funding is about to dry up.
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SATURDAY
TOTTENHAM vs CRYSTAL PALACE (10am ET, 3pm GMT)
There are six quality games in the same match window this week—I’ll be keeping an eye on BRENTFORD vs CHELSEA, NEWCASTLE vs WOLVES, EVERTON vs WEST HAM, and FOREST vs LIVERPOOL—but this London derby could be fireworks. Spurs are always a good watch, playing some nice stuff and conceding plenty of goals themselves, while Palace have a new manager in Oli Glasner and (perhaps) a new lease on life.
LUTON TOWN vs ASTON VILLA (12:30pm ET, 5:30pm GMT)
Villa travel to Kenilworth Road as they continue to stake their claim for a place in the Champions League next season. Unai Emery’s men are just six points off Arsenal in third, but they’ll be more concerned with Tottenham and the race for fourth place. Luton is a difficult place to go, and the Villans aren’t the biggest side. They may struggle to cope with the physicality of Rob Edwards’ team.
SUNDAY
ARSENAL WOMEN vs TOTTENHAM WOMEN (7:30am ET, 12:30pm GMT)
It’s the North London Derby in the WSL, as third-place Arsenal host sixth-place Tottenham. The Gunners are looking to keep pace with Man City and perennial champions Chelsea at the top of the table, while Spurs haven’t won in the league in over a month. But a derby is a derby, and Tottenham won the reverse of this fixture at their place in December.
BURNLEY vs BOURNEMOUTH (8am ET, 1pm GMT)
It really feels like they could have put one of those six great fixtures all piled up on Saturday in this match window, but I’m not in charge. Burnley are a poor side, picking up just five points from the last 30 available, though things aren’t so rosy for Bournemouth at the moment either. Andoni Iraola’s side are winless in their last seven with just three points to show for it, and they’re slipping and sliding down the league.
MAN CITY vs MAN UNITED (10:30am ET, 3:30pm GMT)
As Colin and I discussed in today’s show, it’s hard to see any outcome but a home victory for the Citizens here. United are actually in some decent form as far as results, cracking off four wins in a row before last week’s disastrous defeat at home to Fulham, but they just aren’t very good. Their 36 goals scored this season have them tied for 13th in the league. (Luton have scored 35, and they’re in the relegation zone.) City haven’t lost since December 6 at Aston Villa, and they’ve picked up 26 of the last 30 points available. Still, a derby is a derby…
NAPOLI vs JUVENTUS (2:45pm ET, 7:45pm GMT)
Napoli are following up a Scudetto with a stinker. Their season has been almost unconscionably mediocre: they’re in ninth, an astonishing 29 points behind champions-in-waiting Inter Milan, though they are still very much alive in their Champions League last-16 encounter with Barcelona. Their opponents here have lost a step, too, however: Juve were right on Inter’s tail until a string of poor results over their last six league matches, taking eight points from 18, and now they have to concentrate on shoring up their place in the Champions League next season. Still—we’re saying that a lot this week—these are two giants of the Italian game, and there will be some fabulously talented players on show.
ATHLETIC CLUB vs BARCELONA (3pm ET, 8pm GMT)
The late game of the weekend sees the Basque giants of Bilbao host the somewhat sleepy giants of Catalunya. It’s been a strange season for Barcelona: some high-profile defeats to their hated rivals have seen them crash out of domestic cup competitions, but they’re still kicking in the Champions League and they’ve quietly climbed up La Liga. They’re two points behind cinderellas Girona in second and eight points clear of Athletic Club, who are in the hunt for a Champions League place of their own. They’ll back themselves at the San Mamés, a real cauldron in the de facto capital of Basque country.
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THE FPL STOCK MARKET
It’s time for a check-in with The Weekenders. We’ve made some moves:
Normally, I try to serve up some off-beat picks you may not have considered. But at this crucial stage of the (real and fantasy) season, here are some must-haves in my view:
⬆️Mo Salah (£13.0m) or Erling Haaland (£14.4m): Barring injury, these two are almost guaranteed to be the most productive players from now until May. Personally, I feel picking Haaland is like using Kirby in Super Smash Bros, but there are no extra points for playing with Link. (Or Fox, my other go-to. This whole section is for the Millennials.)
⬆️You probably want some Arsenal players involved, and Gabriel (£5.3m) and Bukayo Saka (£9.2m) are the most consistent performers. David Raya (£5.0m) is a sneaky pick as well. Gabriel in particular is just a no-brainer: his six-point strikes from defense are devastatingly frequent.
⬆️You also want some cheap gems, like Joachim Andersen (£4.7m)—assuming Palace are indeed revitalized under the new manager—and anyone in Aston Villa’s midfield: penalty-taker Douglas Luiz (£5.6m), Leon Bailey (£5.6m), or John McGinn (£5.5m). Also look at Pascal Groß (£6.5m) and Simone Adingra (£5.0m) at Brighton, Yoane Wissa (£5.6m) at Brentford, Anthony Elanga (£5.1m) at Nottingham Forest, or Pedro Neto (£5.8m) at Wolves.
⬆️For more Villa, Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) has dramatically risen in price, but he just keeps on scoring. You need him in the squad. Cole Palmer (£5.7m) is another skyrocketing stock you probably can’t afford to miss out on.
⬇️I finally sold Julian Alvarez (£6.6m), so he’ll surely score a hat trick against United this weekend.⚽︎