Neville ‘tantrums’ ‘won’t stop until he’s taken off Sky Sports and his Overlap podcast’

Gary Neville likely knew the reaction his comments would evoke, but did he know the furore ‘won’t stop until he’s taken off Sky and his Overlap podcast’?

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.

Gary Neville and free speech

Ah yes. When it’s saying the most hateful, racist and bigoted stuff about minorities such as black people, immigrants and trans women it’s just free speech but when it’s mean comments about white people and men it’s OH MY GOD THIS IS AN OUTRAGE THIS BIGOT SHOULD BE SACKED NOW!

This is very typical of the right-wing free speech brigade.
Dan, London 

Absolutely loved your evisceration of the right wing sh*trags and their latest nonsense.

But let’s be honest, it is no surprise is it.

These are the same people – Oliver Brown chief among them – who went after Gary Lineker for years, stamping their feet and having tantrums until they finally got what they wanted.

The nature of these people is such that they always have to have some fresh meat to satisfy their bloodlust. They are truly warped and damaged individuals who either genuinely believe in the ill informed weapons-grade bollocks they spout, or worse, they spout it because they don’t want to upset the people who write their pay cheques.

Like Lineker, Neville has a big platform. He has millions of people who listen to his views on a variety of topics. Some of those views terrify these people because the old media ecosystems of a select number of newspapers and 5 TV channels died a long time ago. Whereas back in the day they could just isolate anyone with a centre or centre left view, they can’t anymore. Social media scares them because they can’t control it. It’s sheer terror, raging against the dying of the light.

If Neville posted a video from his back garden erecting a flag of Yaxley-Lennon’s boat race on a pole, they’d be lauding him as a man of the people, a good old sort. But speak a few home truths they don’t like? Then look out.

The really disturbing thing? They won’t stop until he’s taken off Sky and his Overlap podcast. And that will happen. Because he’s their new burning effigy.

What a country we now live in, eh.
Andy H, Swansea 

Ru the day

Good mail from Dave in Manchester. Likewise, I wasn’t expecting anything great this season. However, the one thing I was hoping for was the beginnings of a side to build at least the next few years around. One involving Mainoo, Heaven, Yoro, Fredricson, Collyer, Amad, Amass – maybe even some of the next generation – with players like De Ligt, Bruno, Mount and Mazraoui to keep up quality, plus Dorgu and whoever we had as striker.

Sadly, instead of trust in and development of youth, they’ve been used as a scapegoat while the core of the team is the oldest and worst, the players we cannot get rid of – players far worse than the “bomb squad”; the likes of Dalot, Shaw, Casemiro, Maguire.

I don’t care who the manager is, whether they smile in press conferences or what system they play. I don’t even mind a few losses on the journey, but what I do care about is building a side for the future, and that work has to start now.

Continuing to pick Bruno at CM is misguided at best, but a central partnership with Casemiro rather than letting Mainoo, Ugarte or Collyer develop into the role is the definition of short-term thinking and a suicide note and should be considered as much.

Maybe he’ll finally change his ways. But just like every defence of Amorim, it’s entirely based on hypotheticals, and after nearly a year, that’s not enough.
Badwolf

It’s the remix to transition

So I keep hearing how other clubs need to click. Man City are transitioning. When Liverpool’s attack clicks, the league will feel it. So Arsenal’s attack will not click? or Chelsea’s attack? Basically, if you look at Man City 1st XI, basically the same team, bar Tejinders and Donnarumma. When you look at Liverpool’s 1st XI, same team, bar Wirtz, Isak, and Kerkez (I do not rate Frimpong, because whoever decided to buy a wing back who can’t cross or defend as a full back should be queried), and if you look at Arsenal’s 1st XI, basically the same team bar Zubimendi, Gyokeres, and Eze.

One of the managers has never won a league title, but I hear stuff like when Liverpool attack clicks, Man City are transitioning, someone even wrote in today, and I quote, “more familiarity in selection. Arsenal got in 8 new players !!!!!!. We need to click too. We need our medical team to sort itself out so we get our players back. We are a work in Progress. Remember, we have never won the league

As an aside, Wirtz was brought in to mitigate Trent’s deep-lying creativity;  most teams will get a deep-lying playmaker. its the logical thing to do as pure No. 10s are a dying breed, but Not Slot, he opted for a No. 10 who played his best and most productive football in his career in a team that had a deep-lying line-breaking playmaker (Xhaka), and did not get any DM with DLP characteristics, although Endo is not really fit for purpose. Secondly, Luiz Diaz left; he was marginally superior to Gakpo. Was he replaced? No. Slot decided Chiesa and Rio will step in, that way Gakpo isn’t challenged anymore, and I remember Elliot coming on for a tired Salah in Paris against PSG, that was also not replaced. I keep wondering why he did not get quality alternatives to his countrymen.

So in summary, about half of $1b spent on an EPL winning squad, leaving it short of a CB, a DM, and a wing forward of reasonable quality.
Kufre, Nigeria, mail so long, I actually got bored 

Arsenal overreaction

The reaction to Arsenal vs other teams is just amazing.  I’ve written emails into f365 this past year or two, only to just delete and think, nah, can’t be bothered to get involved.

As soon Arsenal win a penalty someone pipes up in the mailbox saying it started outside the box and we should never complain again.
The foul continued into the box and that’s why it was given. The initial contact outside the box wasn’t enough… and you should also know, it was Michael Oliver on VAR, so it had to be Stonewall to qualify.

No fuss regarding Paulinha at spurs celebrating a last minute equalizer with his shirty off vs wolves who had lost their first five. If that was an Arsenal player…

Same goes for Maresca going full Mourinho with a winner vs Liverpool like he’d won the league. If that was Arteta…

Last week we had the absolute gems from Newcastle fans saying Gabriel should have been sent off for some handbags with Woltermade and completely ignoring LaScelles going full Nic Cage/John Travolta and trying to swap faces with Gyokeres.

The list is endless. I actually dont have any issue with over exuberant celebrations,  or the tribal ignorance. I get it, go mental, defend your club, you’ve won a game and show you care, but the absolute double standard is amazing to see.

Also, one last unrelated point. Im pretty sure Will Ford and Stewie Griffin are the same person.
Strevs, AFC,  Canada 

Cringey Mikel

Heard a bod called Gilbert Enoka on t’wireless today. World class coach who worked with the All Blacks for years no less. In his humble opinion, after being shown Ickle Mikel’s light bulb speech, he politely eviscerated it (after stifling a chuckle). He cited the example of the All Blacks’ manager being asked if the team talks he used to do were more for himself than the team. The team, when asked whether they were even paying attention, told him they weren’t taking the slightest bit of notice. So they stopped, because the manager had enough humility to do so, and because it wasn’t adding anything to the overall objective: Win (not the dog Mikel).

The underlying theory being that if you need to cosplay David Brent in the moments before the players go out for kick off, then something is wrong in your match prep. Obviously most managers do some sort of brief team talk, but very few that I am aware of do the kind of cringe whiteboard work that Legohead loves so much.
RHT/TS x

Why Liverpool haven’t bottled a five-point lead

Of course pointing at Arsenal when you are dropping points is not the game and that mailbox contributor should wind it in. But I wouldn’t say that you can lose a 5 point lead in gameweek 7. Teams play each other at different times in the season and earn their points at different times. I am of course very much looking forward to playing a promoted team, an Ange Postecoglou team and West Ham at home.

Whilst it is a Rafa fact that Liverpool are playing badly, when did a visit to Stamford Bridge become a 3 point banker? Even if Liverpool were playing very well, there is no reason to expect 3 points from there. Same for Glasner’s Palace away. Galatasaray was what it was. A one nil loss to a weak pen in Turkey in a phase of the Champions League where the prize for coming top of the league is playing PSG. Its just about getting to the next phase. The team with the most points in the group, now league phase, rarely win the tournament.

But Liverpool are playing badly. There’s very little coaching time this time of the season. Its 2 games a week, international break, 2 games a week and now another international week. Although Slot won’t be with his players, hopefully he and his brain trust can work something out otherwise City are starting to look dangerous and we could be looking at third! (It wasn’t that long ago that we would be celebrating third)

Arsenal second obvs.
Alex, South London

Some Tickers fanmail

Isn’t Dave Tickner so insufferable? Can’t he just go off and write full time for the Arse website or something?
Shunt

Sir Jim’s lump of coal

Threatening United fans with the prospect of Southgate for Christmas is a shrewd piece of bribery, designed simply to quell the unrest until November, so as to (inevitably) sack Amorim on the cheap.

Quite possibly Sir Jim’s smartest penny pinching move yet.

Because he can’t seriously be contemplating Gareth.

Can he?
Chris (MUFC). 

Refereeing

Having watched my fair share of refereeing across the planet over the years I fail to find merit in the request for foreign referees to be brought into the premier league as standards in general are no better.

The problem domestically is the PGMOL who act as sort sort of overarching do all governing body, facility provider and union.

If the premier league or FA took control of employing and providing referees to games, including training and development then the PGMOL can become something else such as a union.

Currently they are a really odd monopoly of a body who seems to act firstly to protect their staff (like a Union which they are not). But they also provide the training and choose who works on which match in what position  (ref, var etc.)

The league own the product so they should be the employer, definer of standards and provider of training for refs. My supervisors at work are not employed by a third party company.

Additionally VAR staff should not be referees, they should be a different kind of staff, fully trained for their very specific tech based role.

Rambling message but I’ve a stinking headache and it’s this or work.
Nick, Kent.