The Warm-Up: United offer Martial a new deal...which is undeniably funny
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Updated 30/08/2018 at 07:31 GMT
Got a manager you don't want? Simply go against every opinion he has, and wait for him to do you a favour...
Jose Mourinho, right, speaks to Anthony Martial
Image credit: PA Sport
THURSDAY’S BIG STORIES
Martial new deal: the ultimate powerplay
It’s probably not news for anyone who has watched them play recently, that Jose Mourinho isn’t the most popular man at Manchester United. The way they have crumbled in the face of any sort of adversity, those shots of Ed Woodward looking ostentaciously disgusted by the whole thing, fully aware that the cameras would be on him, the general demeanour of the manager: all is not well at Old Trafford.
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‘Family always comes first’ - Martial defends Man United absence
Image credit: Eurosport
Apart from anything else, it’s clear that the club simply don’t trust Mourinho’s judgement: not signing the centre-backs he wants is one thing, but giving a new five-year contract to a player he patently doesn’t rate and wanted to sell in the summer is another entirely.
Because that’s apparently what is going to happen: a fresh contract is on the table for Anthony Martial, the player who Mourinho firstly hasn’t picked much, and secondly when he has picked has essentially made clear that he’s doing so because he has little other alternative.
All of which is pretty funny. Very funny, in fact. Undeniably funny. But it does beg the obvious question, which has been asked for a few weeks now: why bother employing a manager who it seems like you barely trust to make a cup of coffee, never mind pick the players or run the team? Are they worried about who else they could get in? Are they concerned that they might look foolish having given Mourinho himself a new deal in January?
Either way, if they’re trying to nudge Mourinho out, to make him so sick of what’s going on that he ups and leaves, they might be disappointed. This is, after all, a stubborn man who lives to annoy people. And those people might be Manchester United.
Newcastle lose, but does Rafa win?
Newcastle are out of the Carabao Cup, beaten 3-1 embarrassingly by Championship side Nottingham Forest. But was it actually embarrassing? After all, in comparison to the £22million Newcastle spent this summer, Forest lashed out something closer to £25million, so in terms of resources you can understand why Rafa Benitez’s boys might struggle with an opponent with such financial muscle.
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Kenedy of Newcastle United and Ben Watson of Nottingham Forest joke after the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United at City Ground on August 29, 2018 in Nottingham, England.
Image credit: Getty Images
Newcastle were actually a bit unlucky. After Daryl Murphy gave Forest the lead early on, they left it until the last minute before Salomon Rondon equalised, before all hell broke loose in added time. First Forest scored a second through Matty Cash, before Ayoze Perez was wiped out in the penalty area, which apparently did not constitute a foul. Forest then sealed things through a frankly delightful chip by Gil Dias.
But might all this actually be a boon for Rafa Benitez? Might it simply prove his point that with the squad he has available to him, he’s essentially bringing a butter knife to a gun fight? He’s out of a cup competition, but might this actually prove more useful to the Newcastle manager in the long-run?
Farewell, Deuce…
At 35-years-old, rapper and part-time US international, plus former Fulham and Tottenham forward Clint Dempsey, has decided to hang up his mic and boots. He announced his retirement yesterday, and we could write many words in tribute to a fine player and someone who seemed like a good guy.
But instead, let’s just enjoy his goal for Fulham against Juventus in the Europa League. Good luck, Deuce…
IN OTHER NEWS
Boy, these clubs really are going all-out since Yaya Toure’s agent complained they didn’t get him a birthday cake. A card and a gift voucher would probably have been fine, PSG, but we’re sure Thomas Tuchel appreciates the sentiment.
HEROES AND ZEROS
Heroes: Brighton
You might be aware of a campaign that has been gaining a little ground recently called ‘On The Ball’, which is designed to get football clubs to put free period products in their ladies’ toilets. Brighton yesterday became the first Premier League club to join the scheme, the latest in a long line of ways they have provided an example of how to run a model community football club.
Zeros: Men with questions about the above
Hats off to Brighton for this one, but if any men are tempted to ask the question “This is so unfair – what do we get for free?” The answer simply is: not having periods and meanwhile, that will be 50p for every sheet of toilet paper you use in a public bathroom. Cheers.
HAT TIP
Welcome to the life of the third-choice goalkeeper, football’s version of the perpetual understudy. You are at every training session, standing in as the hapless target as strikers try to impress the coach by firing rockets at goal. On matchday, you train and travel with the team, knowing that unless the extremely unexpected happens (both the first-and second-choice keepers pull out) you’ll be watching from the stands, or at best, the bench. The next week? Maybe a reserve game, otherwise the same routine, again.
On ESPN, Tom Hamilton writes about that most restless of souls, the third-choice goalkeeper.
RETRO CORNER
It was 14 years ago this very day that Newcastle sacked Sir Bobby Robson. Here they are in happier times – their 2002/03 Champions League run.
COMING UP
Big evening for Burnley. But which way would they like it to go? They face Olympiacos in the second leg of their Europa League qualifier at Turf Moor, 3-1 down from the first game but given how they’ve been playing so far in 2018-19, they might be best advised just to very quietly slip out of the whole thing, for the benefit of their season.
Tomorrow’s Warm-Up will be brought to you by Tom Adams, also set to sign a new deal at Eurosport against his boss’s wishes.
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