by 29 DAYS LATER
Farewell then, Troy Deeney. The footballer/coach/pundit/rent-a-quote has resigned from his job at Forest Green Rovers, bringing to an end one of the least successful managerial spells in history. Deeney was ushered out of the door marked Dean One (Stroud railway station, five miles) after six games and zero wins in 29 days. Having first taken over as player-coach at Nailsworth in August, Deeney was put in charge on 20 December following the humanitarian dismissal of former manager David Horseman. He in turn replaced Duncan Ferguson, another high-profile appointment that failed spectacularly. Could interim head coach Hannah Dingley be better than the two men who succeeded her? With four wins in 26 league games between them, the bar is lower than the club’s gas bill.
Ahead of his first senior game, Deeney said: “We might be 91st out of 92 league clubs at the moment but I’m determined to make an impact straight away.” By the time Rovers faced Swindon a week later, they were in 92nd place – and Deeney was shown a red card during a 2-1 win. Owner Dale Vince promised the January investment would have the club “looking upwards again, towards League One and beyond,” but after a home draw with Wimbledon, Deeney seemed less convinced that. “In my head [this] 18 months ahead, not a random Wednesday in December,” he said. “They understand I’m going to make mistakes but we’ve taken it down to a basic level of understanding.” Something was clearly lost in translation, as after Saturday’s home win against Harrogate, Deeney delivered a masterclass in how not to inspire a struggling squad.
In a post-match interview for the ages, Deeney compared his squad to babies and prisoners, and said he would rather “watch Antiques Roadshow” than his team. Deeney saved his cruelest critic for Fankaty Dabo, a player who received racial abuse after missing a penalty for Coventry in the Championship final. “Six months ago that kid had a kick to go to the Premier League. Now he won’t get a game in the National League,” Deeney said. “He looks like he goes with the ball with his shins … He’s faster than everybody but he runs over every play.” The backlash was even faster. Chris Sutton said the verbal attack on Dabo was “disgusting”, and Vince wasn’t impressed either. “It’s not the way to coach a team of people,” he said. “It was hard, it was wrong. I think it was a mistake.” To be fair, the mistakes were what Deeney promised – and he looked in vain to backtrack on the comments.
“Now and again my emotions get the better of me – but that’s because I love so hard,” he added. Within 48 hours, Deeney had fallen in love, via a short statement from the club. A four-match ban for his red card at Swindon, handed out on Wednesday, may have been the final straw for Vince. After getting banned in his first game, Deeney didn’t stick around long enough to attend. All clouds and all. In the end, it fell 15 days short of the two most reliable benchmarks for crashing and burning: Brian Clough’s famous 44-day spell at Leeds, leaving Liz Truss in charge of the country for 1,057 hours. The question is: could store-bought iceberg lettuce last longer than Deeney’s did? At this point, we wouldn’t bet on Vince trying to find out. But with Forest Green seven points from safety and on a run of 10 wins in 72 league games, New Green needs Houdini, not Troy Deeney.
STATEMENT OF THE DAY
“I said six months ago, if I hurt anyone or let them down, I apologize. My faith has never changed, never will. I haven’t changed as a person” – Jordan Henderson, at his Ajax reveal, revealed that his position of not apologizing to the LGBTQ+ community has not changed since the summer either.
LIVE ON A BIG WEBSITE
It’s a big one in Afcon with champions Senegal taking on Cameroon. Join John Brewin for the red-hot 0-0 draw (well, it’s Friday) at 5pm GMT.
DAILY FOOTBALL LETTERS
Thank you for the timely reference to Kurupt FM (Yesterday’s Football). Many times I’ve watched John O’Shea play defense or Darwin Núñez flash volleyball (or read Football Daily) and thought: ‘Yup, people don’t do anything…’” – Mike Wilner.
Why should Ivan Toney suddenly pretend he’s not interested in the chance to play for a title contender (Football in the past)? Many people mocked Harry Kane as unambitious for staying so long at Tottenham. Brentford was very good for Toney, but he was also exceptional for Brentford. As Bees fans, if he helps us stay up this season, you couldn’t beg him to move in the summer … at the right price” – Russell Wallman.
Re: Roger Noble’s letter on VAR (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). Wait just a second. Is this the worst alias ever from another Noble who is known to write frequently in this email? I think we need to know” – Patrick Fahy-Noble (and 1,056 others).
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s letter is about the winner of the day… Russell Wallman, who offers a copy of The Africa Cup of Nations: The History of an Underappreciated Tournament, published by Pitch Publishing. Visit their football bookshop here.
HEYYYYYYY, HEY BABY, OOH-AH …
Yes, he is Manchester United’s great Bebé, compounding his legend even more this 40 yard free kick for Cape Verde in their 3-0 win over Mozambique in Afcon. That result could mean bad news for Egypt or Ghana.
GED THE CONSTRUCTION
Steven Gerrard has just been handed a two-year contract extension at Al-Ettifaq because, erm, he’s done such a good job, right? Not exactly. The Aston Villa legend’s achievements so far include: not beating the club’s mark by signing Jordan Henderson to the extent that the famous LGBTQ+ campaigner has already given up and fled to Amsterdam; taking his team to ninth place – just 28 points behind Saudi leaders Al-Hilal at the halfway point; and looking funny in melting. But according to Gerrard, it’s about the future that really matters. “We had to implement new infrastructure, like building a new training ground in stages and building a new stadium,” he said, sounding like a boss. “But a lot has been achieved.” Yes.
NEWS, YEAST AND BOBS
Reading’s dire financial situation has seen the team revamp training to avoid under-the-floor heating costs, with the crisis-hit League One club looking to “save pennies”.
FIFA is yet to act on an independent investigator’s recommendation in November that the president of the Gabonese FA should be immediately suspended, with Pierre-Alain Mounguengui currently at Afcon in Ivory Coast.
Jürgen Klopp doesn’t know how much the striker Mo Salah was playing for Egypt against Ghana, or whether he will be sent back to Liverpool for a medical. “It depends on the diagnosis,” sighed Klopp. “He’ll have an ultrasound and an MRI and then we’ll know what’s there and we’ll see and make plans, but it’s too early. [at the moment].”
South Korea’s quest for a first Asian Cup title in 64 years has been hit by the news that first-choice goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu has been ruled out for a generation. “As an athlete I know how much it hurts to be injured,” Jürgen Klinsmann said about it. “But there are 25 other players in the squad!”
Good news for Iraq, who booked a last 16 place by beating Japan 2-1.
Antoine Griezmann’s dancing feet are the talk of Madrid after he helped himself to a goal in extra time and typically dominated another Derby thriller as Atlético sank Real 4-2 and bounced back to the Copa del Rey quarter finals.
Thomas Frank has confirmed that Ivan Toney is like an unlit rocket spring as he prepares to make a comeback against Nottingham Forest. “He’s joking [it],” said Frank. “He’s like an eight-year-old boy, he just wants to go out and play. Just that pure joy of playing football. I am looking into the eyes of a player who is very committed, very excited. He will start tomorrow, he will lead the team out, he will be the captain … he will be ready.”
Emma Hayes is not concerned that Sam Kerr’s ACL injury will end Chelsea’s bid for a fifth consecutive WSL title as the season resumes. “There are excellent players in our team who can contribute to the goals, as was the case with Mia [Fishel] when she came off the bench,” Hayes said. “No matter who you are, everyone has to take responsibility.”
Unai Emery could be third time lucky after Aston Villa had two bids laughed off by Middlesbrough for nippy forward Morgan Rogers.
West Ham are sniffing around deals to take Kalvin Phillips and Emile Smith Rowe on loan from Manchester City and Arsenal, respectively.
And Bayern Munich will try to lure Kieran Trippier away from Newcastle this month, with Thomas Tuchel keen to continue his quest to fully season the German champions.
STILL ABOUT MORE?
“I never understood why anyone would want to be a referee. Now I can,” writes Suzanne Wrack, who spent an enjoyable day at the PGMOL training camp to file this special report just for you.
After a dozen name changes, multiple mergers, liquidations, stadium moves and relegations, Racing Club de France could be on their way back. Raphaël Jucobin reports.
Ten things to watch out for this weekend in the Premiership … and beyond.
Rumor mill! Rumor mill! Rumor mill!
And how could AI help stop the climb? Julia Ranney logs in to investigate.
MEMORY LANE
Hard at work in July 1935: Brentford goalkeeper James Nicholls swings a 14lb hammer to break the concrete as he helps build crushed barriers at Griffith Park after their promotion to the First Division.
WHERE IS THE Ballon d’Or going?
