OFF THE BANDWAGON?<\/p>\n
Having started the season playing badly but still managing to emerge victorious from every game, the widespread assumption was that Liverpool would inevitably get their act together, improve their performances and continue said winning streak. On the contrary, their level of performance has dipped even further and, in the process, they have become the first team in English top-flight history to win their opening five matches and then lose the next four. And while there\u2019s no getting away from the fact that four consecutive Premier League defeats constitutes something of a crisis for the reigning champions, Football Daily is simply not prepared to accept that a team comprised almost entirely of whey-faced youngsters and senior reserves getting knocked out of Fizzy Cup by Crystal Palace<\/a> should in any way be lumped into the same bracket as previous defeats. A cursory glance at both team-sheets before kick-off on Wednesday night suggested anything other than defeat for Liverpool\u2019s C team would constitute an upset and have little or nothing in common with Arne Slot\u2019s actual first team getting beaten in consecutive league matches by Palace, Chelsea, Manchester United and Brentford.<\/p>\n Having taken his players on away trips to London, Istanbul, London, Frankfurt and London again in five of their six matches leading up to this defeat at Anfield, Arne Slot decided that, with big games against Aston Villa and Real Madrid coming up, the tie against Palace was an ideal time to give most of his senior players a collective duvet day. His decision not to include them on the substitutes\u2019 bench at least, in case of everything going sideways, subsequently attracted criticism, presumably from the kind of people who habitually turn up to and hang around their workplaces during their officially designated downtime, appropriately dressed and ready to step in just in case whoever happens to be providing cover for them isn\u2019t up to the job. \u201cIt\u2019s always a blow to lose a game, especially when it leads to going out of a competition but it\u2019s the same selection I did last season in these rounds,\u201d sighed Slot<\/a>. \u201cOur performance against Brentford, two days after we played Frankfurt away, I saw a team that struggled with \u00adplaying three games in seven days.\u201d<\/p>\n While Liverpool\u2019s players might be struggling to cope with their current match schedule, it\u2019s nothing compared to what Palace could face as their reward for swatting Slot\u2019s kids aside: a potential scheduling nightmare. Drawn to play their quarter-final away at Arsenal, the congested calendar and lack of vacant midweek slots throughout December means Oliver Glasner\u2019s side look likely to be forced to play four matches across three competitions in just eight days<\/a>. While the EFL is reported to be in talks with stakeholders and the clubs involved to find a workaround, as things stand, Palace will play Manchester City, Arsenal, KuPS Kuopio and Leeds in a novel Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday Premier League, Fizzy Cup and Tin Pot triathlon, during which they\u2019ll barely have time to get their kit washed, let alone catch their breath and recover between games.<\/p>\n QUOTE OF THE DAY<\/p>\n \u201cI would get up at five, drive the route, finish my shift at four-ish, train, get home at eight. When I did my coaching badges, I worked nights. People see all this now, but not what\u2019s behind it\u201d \u2013 Espanyol\u2019s Manolo Gonz\u00e1lez gets his very entertaining chat on with Sid Lowe<\/a> to talk about how he went from being a bus driver to a leading coach in Spain.<\/p>\n The Manolo himself. Photograph: Pablo Garcia\/The Guardian<\/p>\n The piece on Shamrock Rovers (yesterday\u2019s Football Daily<\/a>) produced a flood of memories concerning this historic club. I recalled standing on the terraces of Glenmalure Park in the 1960s and 1970s as a regular supporter during many successful seasons. Sadly, the ground was sold in 1987 for property development. The Hoops remained homeless for 22 years before the construction of Tallaght Stadium, the finest in the league, became their home to this day. One shudders at the thought of the nature of the diatribe one minority shareholder would concoct in response to any calamitous collapse. Oh yes<\/a>, it\u2019s that man again with a fondness for investing in green-hooped league monopolisers, Dermot Desmond, with 25% of the shares\u201d \u2013 John Weldon.<\/p>\n The recent Football Daily focus on the revival of long-throw merchants brings to mind Stoke City v Hull City in November 2008, when Tigers stalwart Dean Windass was booked while still on the bench<\/a>. He chose to warm up energetically on the touchline alongside Rory Delap in a vain effort to distract the master of the long throw\u2019s superhuman hurling of the ball into the Hull box. Despite Windass\u2019s indignant protest (\u2018I was only warming up, ref\u2019), on the second occasion he was rewarded for his efforts with a yellow card. Windass is also remembered as the only player in the Scottish Premiership to receive three red cards in one game while being on the pitch for just 20 minutes, playing for Aberdeen against Dundee in 1997<\/a>; a second yellow and automatic red for enthusiastic tackling, the second red for subsequent abuse metered out to the ref; and the third for an assault on the corner flag on his way off. Class act\u201d \u2013 David Burnby.<\/p>\n Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com<\/a>. Today\u2019s letter o\u2019 the day winner is \u2026 David Burnby, who gets a copy of A History of Football in 100 Objects<\/a> from the Guardian Bookshop, which has loads of other great football reads, too. Get shopping!<\/a> Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here<\/a>.\u200a<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED LISTENING<\/p>\n Football Weekly Extra is here for you, so get listening<\/a>.<\/p>\n BHOYS II MEN<\/p>\n Turns out the answer to finding someone to live up to Martin O\u2019Neill\u2019s glorious Parkhead legacy is \u2026 Martin O\u2019Neill<\/a>. Back at crisis club Celtic, the 73-year-old \u2013 once again clad in tracksuit rolled into socks and prowling his technical area in studded boots \u2013 showed the magic touch hasn\u2019t deserted him. A 4-0 defeat of Falkirk lifted the gloom and cooled the embers of major shareholder Dermot Desmond\u2019s flamethrowing of Brendan Rodgers, still keeping his own counsel after Monday\u2019s dramatic departure. O\u2019Neill\u2019s powers extended to a wobble from Hearts, who could only draw 2-2 at St Mirren, closing their Scottish Premiership lead to six points. \u201cI was concerned before the game, but that\u2019s just a trait of mine,\u201d roared O\u2019Neill. \u201cThat\u2019s something to do with my dreadful insecurity problems.\u201d The calls for him to take the job beyond an interim period have already begun.<\/p>\n Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney get their touchline celebrations on. Photograph: Ian MacNicol\/Getty ImagesRECOMMENDED PLAYING<\/p>\n The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game<\/a>, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android \u2026 so what are you waiting for? Get stuck in!<\/p>\n NEWS, BITS AND BOBS<\/p>\n The news on Michelle Agyemang\u2019s injury is not good<\/a>, with an ACL confirmed for the Lionesses striker, on loan at Brighton from Arsenal. \u201cI am so grateful for all the kind words and the support from everyone,\u201d she said. \u201cRecovery starts now.\u201d<\/p>\n Liam Delap has become the sixth Chelsea player to be sent off in nine matches after being dismissed in the 4-3 Worthington Cup win at Wolves<\/a>. \u201cI take full responsibility for my actions,\u201d he sobbed after two yellows in seven minutes. \u201cI will behave next time.\u201d Enzo Maresca\u2019s advice: \u201cGrow up.\u201d<\/p>\n Max Dowman is now Arsenal\u2019s youngest ever starter at the age of 15 years and 302 days, helping them to a 2-0 Carling Cup defeat of Brighton<\/a>. \u201cFor him everything is natural, for him everything is OK,\u201d tooted Mikel Arteta. \u201cIt\u2019s the way he plays and that\u2019s the secret, that he doesn\u2019t make a big fuss of it.\u201d Comparative pensioner Ethan Nwaneri, 18, opened the scoring.<\/p>\n Max Dowman in action against Brighton. Photograph: David Price\/Arsenal FC\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The Gunners will now entertain Crystal Palace in another Eze derby for the Littlewoods Cup quarter-finals<\/a>, Cardiff are to host Chelsea, Manchester City will play Brentford after swatting aside Swansea<\/a>, and holders Newcastle next face Fulham after giving Spurs the boot<\/a>.<\/p>\n Serbia have handed their managerial reins to former Real Oviedo manager Veljko Paunovic in the wake of Dragan Stojkovic\u2019s resignation. \u201cVeljko Paunovic has shown from day one that he puts the interests of the national football team above all else,\u201d whooped local FA suit Branko Radujko. \u201cHis priority was not a contract or financial terms, but to immediately make himself available and take over the team.\u201d<\/p>\n And Eden Hazard, still just 34, and Gary Neville \u2013 whatever happened to him? \u2013 are the latest inductees in the Premier League Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED SUBSCRIBING<\/p>\n Prefer pictures to words? Well, Big Website has a brand new weekly newsletter on the way, highlighting the very best sport photographs around. You can subscribe here<\/a>. But please do still stick with your faithful Football Daily, too.<\/p>\n MOVING THE GOALPOSTS<\/p>\n In our sister email, Moving the Goalposts \u2013 sign up here<\/a> \u2013 Firdose Moonda welcomes newcomers Malawi and Cape Verde to next year\u2019s Wafcon<\/a>.<\/p>\n STILL WANT MORE?<\/p>\n Will Unwin hears about the road less travelled from Chelsea to Swansea to Roma to Liverpool to Milan to Sampdoria \u2013 among others \u2013 that took Fabio Borini to \u2026 Salford City<\/a>.<\/p>\n There he is. Photograph: Joel Goodman\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Ed Aarons looks at Max Dowman\u2019s journey<\/a> from Billericay to making history with Arsenal.<\/p>\n Leander Schaerlaeckens spent thousands of bucks and met the many ghosts in the machine of buying tickets for the Geopolitics World Cup. His main question is: who can afford to attend this<\/a>?<\/p>\n And while the end of the Igor Tudor period was inevitable, Juve\u2019s reformation will take time, writes Nicky Bandini<\/a>, with Luciano Spalletti next in line.<\/p>\n MEMORY LANE<\/p>\n