And my assistant Pete Krawietz turns 50 today, so another big football brain has an important birthday.
Fort William have appointed the first manager of South Asian heritage in senior Scottish football. He then became reserve manager at non-league Hesketh Bank, before becoming first-team boss.
This disincentive is reinforced by the way in which football squads are built. Cover is often thin. A lot of the time there is a clear drop-off in quality between the first eleven and the bench. And Leeds were already improvising in the absence of Kalvin Phillips. To be clear, we're not accusing Leeds in particular of doing anything wrong: we're sure they followed the protocols as written and we're sure no other club would have done different. But the structure and competitive logic of the sport actively works against the principle of 'if in doubt, sit them out'. Take the idea of removing an important player with an hour to go, just to be on the safe side, and try and squeeze it into the Premier League. It doesn't go.
This will be the fifth encounter between the finalists at Afcon and the first such meeting since 2006, with Egypt winning 2-1 in the semi-final on their way to lifting the trophy that year.This is how Egypt line up:
Luke Shaw - 6Completely abandoned any defensive duties and single-handedly tried to lift a lethargic England attacking display in the latter stages and was often the most advanced player.
She added: 10-0 is pretty nice to have on your birthday so thanks to the squad. Sometimes we were a little sloppy and sometimes we need to be tighter on the ball.
Lukaku, in contrast, appears to be Chelsea's weapon of last resort, not truly trusted by his manager and with confidence fragile.
I am happy to be here to achieve these kinds of trophies. I am looking forward to Saturday to try to make history and continue making the fans happy and ourselves also.
Only the injured Paul Pogba is unavailable at St James' Park, with interim manager Rangnick admitting he has major selection decisions to make after 25 outfield players trained on Wednesday.
The problem is that Nick Pope had little more to do at the other end in this Molineux stalemate. Wolves had 16 shots in this one but still lacked that cutting edge.
Last week, the Spanish government cut the isolation period for those who test positive for Covid from 10 days to seven. That means that Torres should be able to return to action next Monday ahead of his mooted debut against Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Supercopa de Espana.
It was very untypical and killed the game for us. We were not aware of the danger in these moments which is also very strange for us.
Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho provided the extra brush strokes but it was Phil Foden who was the game's true artist, an ocean of calm and skill amid occasional mayhem, having a hand in City's first three goals before a substitution that even brought grudging applause from some Leeds fans.
Just before the break, Toney cleared a Callum Wilson effort off the line but in what was a topsy-turvy game, Brentford restored their lead when Frank Onyeka's strike deflected in off Lascelles.
Romelu Lukaku scored the opener for the Blues before Kai Havertz converted the winning penalty in the 117th minute.
We more than deserved the victory but we know we can do better and better. In these types of games you might not be so brilliant, but the simple things we missed, not the complicated ones.
But Tottenham rested on their laurels and failed to add to their advantage which allowed West Ham a route back in.
His consortium includes Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, American PR executive Barbara Charone, British businessman Jonathan Goldstein and British journalist Daniel Finkelstein.
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PSG are not open to letting him leave in January, either permanently or on loan, but they will likely have to show that there is a pathway for him to earn further opportunities if they are to keep hold of him going forward.Edouard Michut is an important player for the club and this is not just talk, explained ex-PSG midfielder Yohan Cabaye in December when speaking to RMC in his role as sporting coordinator of the club's academy.
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With his future as a Gunner increasingly in doubt, he has been linked with Newcastle among other clubs.
But I haven't heard them being linked with Diego Carlos. If you are a Newcastle United fan I think you are going to have to wait until this weekend.
The Hammers were not fluent, did not put together quick-passing moves and never really looked like creating chances.
How he needed this. Rashford is not the only one to have struggled to hold down a place in United's attack, of course.
There is no 100 per cent in this business but I think it is pretty likely I will stay for a little bit longer because other coaches are there at other clubs.
They delivered a resilient display as they were beaten 1-0 at Liverpool on Saturday - but at Carrow Road, the onus was on Gerrard's team to set the tone against a side with the worst defensive record in the division.
Fifa has revealed that $500.8m (£377.45m) was spent on agent fees in international transfers alone in 2021, and that 95.8% of that money was paid by European clubs.
Klopp: This is my best Liverpool squad Liverpool have already won the Carabao Cup and are still fighting in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup - and it is all down to the new-found squad depth at Klopp's disposal this season.
Of Brighton's 20 shots, 14 were off target - the joint-highest tally of the season, along with Arsenal in their defeat to Brentford on the opening weekend of the season.
This was not a backs-to-the-wall show of defiance. From virtually the first whistle, Burnley tore into Southampton. They should have been in front before Connor Roberts' magnificent opener, and scored again before Nathan Collins' header.
Correa's life was not at risk but his career certainly was, and it took six months of rehabilitation before he was able to move to Atletico for light training, followed by another long wait of nine months before finally making his debut in August 2015.
We didn't have the presence today or the composure to dominate the situation so that is what I'm most annoyed with.
As one of the most respected strength and conditioning coaches around, he has become a talent in his own right in the football industry.
Barcelona have confirmed that Sergio Aguero will give a press conference on Wednesday, in which he is expected to announce his retirement from football.
This stadium was built on the site of an old ground with the same name - with over 80% of the construction materials reused or recycled - including from the initial ground.
Celtic's Jota has been directly involved in eight goals in nine Scottish Premiership appearances this season (4 goals, 4 assists), although he has only one assist and no goals in four such games at Celtic Park.
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Asked if he thought Manchester City could be caught, Carragher told Sky Sports: No, I think Manchester City will win the league, I don't see Liverpool or Chelsea cutting that gap.
Happy new year to those of you that suffer under the tyranny of calendar time, and a pleasant, continued, unmeasured existence to the rest of you. Tom Adams will be here on Monday with the first Warm-Up of 2022.
His lack of experience as a number one is not dissimilar to Gerrard before his arrival and Sky Sports News has learnt he would be open to opportunities.
Hopefully I can continue to impress them. I always give my all and I try to affect the game as much as I can.
