We’ve gone a bit heavy on United this week. Apologies to the red half of Manchester…


P.S. Here’s the updated P/L. If you feel like now is a good time to join The Big Six Club for all the tips, including from the Champions League, it’s just £3.99 a month. ~

______

🗓️ 25th October 2024

🦡 Fulham (vs Villa) became the first team in PL history to miss a penalty, score an own goal and give away a red card in the same game.

🇺🇾 Darwin Nuñez (9) has made more successful tackles than Declan Rice (7) in the League this season.

🦁 Chelsea haven’t won a Sunday 4:30pm kick-off since January 2022 (D5, L4). Luckily they play at 2pm…

🌟 James Milner has played for the three teams that sit 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the Champions League table (Liverpool, City, Villa).

🟨 Only two 2nd yellows have been given for delaying the restart in 160 PL games. Both to Arsenal players.

🫥 However, according to Opta, Arsenal average 5.39 fouls per yellow card this season – more than the other five ‘Big Six’ clubs.

Paul Scholes has summed it up pretty well below…

United’s decision to end their ambassadorial contract with Sir Alex Ferguson is a massive PR own-goal.

They allegedly pay him ~£2 million per year to represent the club, roughly what Antony earns every 10 weeks.

He was the last tangible link to their success-laden era.

Now begins a new chapter. Another couple of years in the wilderness and their claim as the most successful club in England could feel very 2000s Liverpool.

Drawing to Porto, Twente and Fenerbahçe in the Europa League shows that Man United are hard to beat, according to Erik Ten Hag.

It also shows how far United’s expectations have fallen.

The Red Devils haven’t won a game in Europe for 12 months, sit 12th in the table and there are a dozen more reasons why Erik Ten Hag shouldn’t be in a job.

So why are they sticking with him?

We’ve spoken about this before, but United are in very dangerous territory.

Dump Ten Hag and the project has to start again. Keep him and you risk investing more into a sunk project. Both options are expensive.

Typically, when a team is in this situation and the owners persist with the manager, it’s because there are signs that the project is evolving.

But there’s nothing going on with United. Tactically poor and the players look bored.

It’s just quite bleak.

And the fact that ETH kept his job off the back of an FA Cup Final win suggests the owners haven’t worked out their long-term plan yet.

The light at the end of the tunnel is that with every passing day, Antony’s contract gets shorter.

_______


After the game, José Mourinho was furious with the refereeing and had this to say.

🗣️ “I think the best thing I have to do is when I leave Fenerbahçe I go to a club that doesn’t play UEFA competitions. So you find a club in England from bottom of the table, needs a coach in two years, I am ready to go.”

The odds on him joining United have already halved… 😂

A couple of young English players to keep an eye on over in North London.

Mikey Moore exploded down the left wing for Spurs with a performance that James Maddison described as Neymar-esque. The vid above is just a glimpse. The weight of that pass is absurd.

Meanwhile, this weekend we might get to see a bit of MLS in action (Myles Lewis-Skelly) as Arsenal take on Liverpool. With The Gunners’ defensive injuries, there’s a chance this diamond academy star gets to face up to Mo Salah…

Speaking of diamonds 💎👂🏾

F R I
20:00 Leicester vs Forest Sky Sports

S A T
17:30 Everton vs Fulham TNT Sports

S U N
14:00 Chelsea vs Newcastle Sky Sports
16:30 Arsenal vs Liverpool Sky Sports

If you want to receive all the tips AND regular Champions League editions, you can upgrade to The Big Six Club for just £3.99 a month.

That’s an afternoon latte you don’t need. 😉

All the best,
The Big Six