Happy Boxing day to you ALL!
How was your Christmas" We had a good one. My brother and dad bullied me back into UK drinking habits and I am feeling the pain. Brits never stop, they don’t forgive fly-tipping, and they move at Martinelli-like speed on the drinks. Tough comeback for me.
Gotta say, personally, going to Boxing Day games has never been my cup of tea. The games feel like a bloated hangover; no one is really in the mood, and you can end up with some unfestive moments. Like Newcastle having trouble with Forest right now (2-1 down after a great finish from Chris Wood).
I’m happy to watch others fall to those moments today. Villa vs United could be very spicy. EtH under huge pressure, Unai Emery on top of the world… it’ll be very interesting to see if there’s has a new ownership bounce. We’ll talk about that Radcliffe deal at another date, seems very interesting, though not particularly game-changing. Arsenal news is in short supply at the minute. We have some problems to deal with. Kai Havertz is out injured, so there are some decisions to be made against West Ham.
My heart says this would be a great moment to bring Emile Smith Rowe into the mixer. He’s been sitting on our bench for a few games now, he’s perfect for a team that’ll defend hard, and try to constrict space. Emile, at his best, is an output monster, and we’d all love to see if he can do what Granit and Kai have showed us over the last year...