Something Good
Or We Are Back, So Back
Kick Off
Hello friends. Yes, I’m here. A day late and a dollar short but I’m here.
So, let’s talk about what’s been going on in football over the past week.
Firstly, shout out to my guys, who all did me proud this weekend, finally! I can’t be bothered to go and check but it feels like forever since they all pulled it out of the bag in the same weekend.
We’ll speak about the Milan game later but let’s start in Germany with Dortmund.
Is it a coincidence that they’ve picked up their game since Jadon Sancho re-signed on loan until the end of the season? Probably yes, but let’s not reality get in the way of a feelgood story, which is what it is. There are of course two sides to every story and it is probably the case that Jadon was difficult at United, but who among us hasn’t been defiant when we’re feeling like we’re being hard done by at best, persecuted and scapegoated at worst. Given everything else that happens within Manchester United it’s hard not to side with Sancho and to believe his side of the story.
So to see him arrive back where he played the best football of his career, to see him happy and immediately impacting the game (providing an assist on his first appearance) is the kind of fairy-tale story we need when everything else in the world, and football specifically, seems so depressing and tainted with nastiness.
Of course the win was against Köln who have been terrible this season and of course they are in fifth having so nearly won the Meisterschale last year, but fingers crossed this is the turnaround Dortmund need to finish, at least, in the Champions League places (to be clear when I say ‘at least’ I mean fourth, I don’t for one minute think they could win the league this year!)
The team most likely to win the league this year is Bayer Leverkusen. Under Xabi Alonso they’re having an amazing time in the league, similar in some ways to Arsenal last year, where they can dig in and get results when needed (they had their ‘Bournemouth’ this weekend, coming back from going behind twice to win 2-3 against Leipzig), but in all honesty I think they have better strength than we did to go on and actually seal the deal. I like to think this is what I’m going to call the “Xhaka Effect”. He had one of his best seasons in an Arsenal shirt last year and I still miss him every day, is it a coincidence that Leverkusen are storming the league since he joined? [yes, yes it is, please don’t write in]
Back in England, the aforementioned Arsenal got wins in both the Premier League and the WSL, as always you know where to go for all your WSL needs and those places can give you all the analysis and so on that you need. On may part, I’m just glad we won.
As for the men, I’m still in a weird place with them. I feel such huge amounts of weariness when I see we’re on TV and I’m not sure how to shift this. As I’ve mentioned before this is definitely an across the board feeling with football but it’s quite a specific feeling with Arsenal Men, which I also know I’m not alone in. I almost want to pretend they don’t exist and just find out about how the games have gone at the end of each gameweek.
However, having said that, it was wonderful to win so convincingly, with goals from Gabriel, Trossard and my favourite, an og off the back of a goalie’s head, and two beautiful goals for my beautiful Brazilian son Gabriel Martinelli. I think he’s one of our best players but it worked so well to have him come on late and seal what was already a very good win, even if some delusional Palace fans thought Hodgson did a good job… [the last part of the tweet says “Their outside centre backs are pressing THIS high in Arsenal's half as Ødegaard/Havertz drop deep. Amazing on so many levels.”]
https://x.com/drewjanda/status/1734274493529628889?s=20
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Liverpool cemented their position at the top of the league with a 0-4 against Bournemouth, who had to play the last few minutes with 10 men after Max Aarons was forced off with all their subs having been used; Sheffield United scraped a draw against West Ham in a game that had two red cards and really shouldn’t have given the Blades anything; Brentford beat Forest 3-2 with a NARRATIVE GOAL for the returning Ivan Toney who was treated like a man coming back from a near career ending injury or who had suffered some huge wrong, not a man who broke the rules and was punished for it (discussions of what drove him to it, the fact he ran out in a shirt sponsored by a betting site and ways of rehabilitating addiction notwithstanding). The weekend and the world’s longest gameweek, was rounded off last night with a draw between Brighton and Wolves. It was not a great game.
In Spain, which I feel like I should be paying more attention to, given the season Girona are having, all the top dogs won, including Girona who spanked Sevilla 5-1.
I claimed Dortmund had their ‘Bournemouth’ this weekend but perhaps it’s more accurate to say that Real Madrid did, given that they went down 0-2 to the bottom side, including a first minute goal, only to snatch a 3-2 win in 90+9.
Also snatching a late win were Barcelona, a team I considered my Spanish side for a while but I’m going to be honest, have lost faith with, for many reasons. I need to stay true to my heart here and go with Betis who I also liked alongside Barça and sadly it was them who Barcelona beat, throwing away their 0-2 lead to allow Isco to score two quick fire goals, only for Betis to collapse in time added on leading to a 2-4 loss.
God knows what’s going on in France, PSG are top and now 8 points clear so any excitement has gone from that league, although it is fun to note that the team who decided to employ Benjamin Mendy are bottom. (Of course this means nothing as PSG are also fielding a rapist ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
Finally then, to Italy. It was a reduced program, because Inter and Napoli played in the Supercoppa yesterday, which Inter snatched at the death, and other reasons I’m not sure of (only six games were played, at most two should have been postponed for the Supercoppa so I’m not sure why the other two didn’t happen).
Post Jose Roma won against Verona; Juve and Empoli both won 3-0 against Lecce and Monza respectively, and Frosinone beat Cagliari 3-1, while Genoa beat Salernitana 2-1.
But the game we’re going to talk about, both because it involves my guys and because it was controversial, is AC Milan’s win over Udinese.
Whilst not wishing to ignore the very real racism that happens in this country on a regular basis at all levels of society and increasingly at football matches (see what happened at Sheffield Wednesday to Coventry goalkeeper Kasey Palmer just this weekend), Italy has a reputation for racism, racism that is even perpetuated publicly by a Black player’s own club (see the Osimhen situation with Napoli’s official TikTok last year.)
Around the 33rd minute of this game the match was temporarily suspended after keeper Mike Maignan walked out of his goal and made his way off the pitch. He was stopped by his team mates and the referee as they tried to find out what happened, and then the entire team left the pitch.
It came to light that Udinese fans behind the Milan goal were making monkey chants at Maignan who, instead of simply reporting it and taking it, made the point with his feet and frankly, more power to him.
It only took a few minutes for the team to come back onto the pitch and then, clearly distracted, they let in an equalising goal, following the lead they’d taken after Ruben Loftus Cheek scored not long before the incident.
In the second half, Udinese took the lead via Florian Thauvin but then super subs, Luka Jovic and Noah Okafor scored on the 83rd and 90+3rd minute to seal both the game and the moral victory.
The fact we still have in-ground racism, that we have to talk about it and think about it, in 2024, is disgusting. That we’ve ever had to is vile. It is sadly not surprising, but is very depressing.
Maignan received widespread support, as he should, but I will leave the last word to him, in a post which is too long to screenshot so please click through and read his statement yourself.
Half Time
For 2024 I’m going to mix this section up a little bit. When there’s issues to be spoken of, which I haven’t already covered in any other section (viz Maignan and Palmer above), I will. Things often happen that need a longer platform than a tweet, that can’t be distilled into 280 characters, on those occasions this will be for that, although after three years of TWUTAB it does feel extremely repetitive and as if there’s nothing left to say on any of the major issues affecting football which keep coming up again and again. But sometimes there is and this is where you’ll find it.
On other weeks, when I either cover an issue in another section or don’t feel qualified or willing to talk about it at length, I’m going instead to use this part to talk about non-football things, what I’ve been reading, listening to, watching, places I’ve been or things I’ve bought or eaten. I won’t wang on about them, just some short recs or pics and links etc. For what is Half Time for, than a break from the game?
So my recs for this week are, firstly, True Detective: Night Country. It’s only two episodes in, showing as it is weekly, as series should, but it’s a return to what it feels like True Detective should be: a weird murder/death in a weird, desolate place populated with weird incestuous (in the wide sense not the literal sense) characters with strong folkloric and supernatural elements. It’s great.
The other recommendation is the podcast Bad Gays. It’s intellectual, interesting, funny and will definitely teach you something or give you information about someone you weren’t aware of. You can find it on Spotify here, or *podcast host voice* wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Full Time
Please enjoy this selection of tweets etc. that I enjoyed over the past week:
I read this article about Jake Humphrey and to quote my own tweet, it’s a good read but hasn't really changed my opinion on him. He says a lot of good stuff, should be commended for backing Karen Carney but I dunno, his relentless positivity doesn't gel with me and he keeps saying 'triggered' and it feels wrong.
https://x.com/ConorMummery/status/1748269154963009715?s=20
https://x.com/JamesMartin013/status/1748262942691180774?s=20
https://x.com/SeanManning_1/status/1748906213419401469?s=20
https://x.com/oeste/status/1749106422921490694?s=20
https://x.com/EflSimpsons/status/1748633778430308464?s=20
https://x.com/bryansgunn/status/1748622083431485577?s=20
https://x.com/FootyScran/status/1749513191091003618?s=20
https://x.com/_emilyoram/status/1749187469852004813?s=20
Shirt of the Week
Two jerseys this week. Firstly, Mike Maignan’s whole goalie kit to go with Milan’s controversial bisexual kit, which I adore and which I think looks incredible on the pitch.
This goalie kit though is outstanding. A gorgeous fluorescent orange with amazing fluorescent red lightning all over it. Stunning.
Secondly, and with some annoyance, Man City’s special edition Year of the Dragon kit. At the risk of repeating myself, it’s hard to do a white shirt well, but this is beautiful. Not only is it just a lovely shirt, the central badge is great, I will not hear any chat that central badges are sacrilege.
Of course I cannot condone anyone who purchases either of these because they’re made by Puma who are a longstanding member of the BDS boycott list, but on a simply aesthetic basis, they’re wonderful.
Thirst Trap
This week I’m afraid I may appear to be following the lead of that nadir of media organisations, the Daily Mail, who, I found while, ahem, researching this section, have also done an article on him. Their article quotes unnamed Twitter users and rambles on for ages which I won’t be doing...
This week’s Thirst Trap is Luton Town’s Rob Edwards.
He ‘hit the big time’ last week after his post match interview went ‘viral’ with everyone astonished at how good looking he is. To which I say where the fuck have you been? Honest to god have you not got eyes? He looks that way after every post match interview, he looks like that on the touchline and in pics. But let’s face it, the way he laughs at the beginning of that video was bound to bring in a new audience.
Of course, Arsenal fans took offence to his new found fame and yes, Arteta is handsome but this tweet sums it up. I read this while in hospital waiting to have my blood pressure taken and an ECG done lol.
So anyway, welcome to the Hall of Fame Rob, everyone else, get in the queue, I’ve been here years <3
And there we have it. Another week, another TWUTAB. I was so stuck when I opened this post but then the words began to flow so who knows, maybe we actually are back!
Anyway, I hope you have a lovely week. It’s my birthday on Monday *cough* so no issue then, but maybe one on Tuesday, we’ll see. Until then, adiós!