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Hello! Always be wary of Premier League managers talking about team news.
On the way:
😇 The truth about injury updates
📺 Who has the best pundits?
👦 Man Utd top for young talent
⛔ A very short managerial reign
Insult to injuries: Can we trust managers to tell the truth?
(Getty Images; design: Dan Goldfarb)
The Premier League is back on the agenda today with a flurry of pre-match press conferences — and there will be one thing on everybody’s minds.
After a two-week international break, where players have limped out of fixtures, left national team camps early to be assessed, or withdrawn from squads entirely, injury news will make the headlines.
But can we trust a word managers say?
Stretching the truth on player availability has become par for the course. Be it ruling players out who are in line to start or suggesting someone could be fully fit when they’re as likely to feature as your humble newsletter writer, managerial bluffing is often wrapped up in mind games with the opposition.
Arsene Wenger and Steve Cooper have admitted lying about injuries in the past and, in some respects, it is understandable: an attempt to gain a competitive advantage by throwing opponents off the scent on team selection.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who says he “doesn’t want to make it easy for anyone”, has become notorious for his vague answers. Bukayo Saka started and scored in their draw with league-leaders Liverpool last month — he’d been described as “very uncertain” to feature by Arteta. Martin Odegaard’s availability against Tottenham Hotspur in September? “Let’s see.” He had an ankle ligament injury and wouldn’t play again until November.
Some managers take the opposite approach. Marcelo Bielsa was so transparent during his time at Leeds United that he’d announce his starting line-up ahead of the game. One day, he told reporters he could no longer do this after being reprimanded in the street by a supporter for giving opponents the upper hand — but then added: “Between you and me, it’s going to be the same team.”
Could it be different?
The Premier League’s approach to injury news is in stark contrast to the NFL. The league requires teams to list players’ levels of participation in training and there are injury reports ahead of matches where players are described as either questionable, doubtful or out.
There is in-game injury reporting and teams can face disciplinary action if they are not compliant. In 2019, the Pittsburgh Steelers were hit with a $75,000 (£59,000) fine for falling foul of the rules.
While there are reasons for and against this approach, it is unlikely to be adopted by the Premier League any time soon. One thing we do know, though: Bielsa is NFL ready.
Arteta was coy over an injury to Saka (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Who to believe for FPL?
One group who would benefit from greater transparency in injury reporting is Fantasy Premier League players.
Ahead of Gameweek 12, Abdul Rehman has assessed which Premier League managers’ fitness updates you can rely on — Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou and Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler are clearly allies of the FPL community. Arteta, Eddie Howe and Pep Guardiola? Not so much.
News round-up
Global GOOOOAAAAAAAL! Rating punditry around the world
(Getty Images; design: Dan Goldfarb)
Tim Spiers has been assessing the state of football punditry. From Europe to South America, it’s quite the varied field.
Key takeaways included a grim incident in which former Fenerbahce player Serhat Akin was shot in the foot when leaving a TV studio in Turkey, while we also learnt that Brazilian fans cannot fathom why commentators from other countries do not scream “GOOOOOAAAAAAL!!” — and coverage in the United States via CBS Sports was hailed as the best around.
Show Viz
Fans love local academy graduates, proudly serenading their team’s youth products with chants of “he’s one of our own”. The definition of a “homegrown player”, however, is anyone who has spent three years at the club between their 15th and 21st birthdays and can encompass players signed from across the globe.
Manchester United led the way in game time for such talents last season, accounting for 28.2 per cent of their Premier League minutes, and continue to do so this term (above).
United are followed by Liverpool, with both clubs benefitting not only from their academies — Kobbie Mainoo, Trent Alexander-Arnold et al — but from their ability to attract the brightest youth talent from elsewhere. Liverpool signed a 16-year-old Harvey Elliott from Fulham in 2019, while Alejandro Garnacho joined United from Atletico Madrid’s academy the following year, with both falling into the homegrown bracket.
Having signed promising 16-year-old Chido Obi-Martin from Arsenal this summer, United’s pulling power endures, and likely so will their ability to field homegrown players.
Something for new head coach Ruben Amorim to build on.
Around The Athletic FC
Catch A Match (Times ET/UK)
UEFA Women’s Champions League — Group D: Hammarby vs Manchester City, 12.45pm/5.45pm; Group C: Arsenal vs Juventus, 3pm/8pm; St Polten vs Barcelona, 3pm/8pm — all DAZN.
And finally…
How badly can a first day at work go? Spare a thought for Simone Bentivoglio, who was hired by Italian fourth-tier side Piacenza, took one training session and was then relieved of his duties.
He became Piacenza’s second managerial sacking of the day.
(Top photo: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
