Pep Guardiola makes NINE ‘hopeful’ demands as third Eddie Howe ‘sack decision’ made | OneFootball

Once we get past ‘isn’t it a popular footballer birthday?’, we reach some bombastic nonsense after Man City v Newcastle.

We are also keeping our beady eyes on Luke Edwards.

Demand and deliver

We’re not saying it’s a really quiet day but the top story on The Sun‘s football homepage is that February 5 is a really strong day for football birthdays.

Elsewhere, there is a focus on Pep Guardiola’s Marc Guehi situation that belies just how difficult it was to extract a narrative from Manchester City reaching yet another League Cup final. Especially when the mainstream media really does not like to discuss any pressure on Eddie Howe.

Demand?! We know this leans into the ‘isn’t Pep Guardiola really awkward and entitled?’ narrative but the Mirror bombast their way to this headline and then quickly admit it is a ‘request’ and quote the Manchester City boss using the word “hopefully” an astonishing total of NINE times. It doesn’t sound like a demand.

Over to the Daily Mail, where the headlines qualify as long reads…

BANS is objectively funny. He’s not banned; he’s just not eligible to play. Neither is Mediawatch. And yes, we’re fuming.

News just in: ‘The EFL will not change its rules to allow Marc Guehi to play for Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, Sky Sports News understands, despite appeals from Pep Guardiola.’

SSN are a little slow on the uptake because we ‘understood’ that last night. Because it was so very clearly a ‘hopeful’ punt designed to change the rules in time for City’s next January splurge ahead of their next February League Cup semi-final.

Eddie Howe sack decision made twice a week

Back to Eddie Howe though and we have eagle eyes on Luke Edwards in the Daily Telegraph, who tells us that ‘Howe is arguably one of the most secure managers in the Premier League’.

As Edwards spent the whole summer biting the face off anybody who suggested Alexander Isak might leave Newcastle, we are holding a massive pinch of salt in our sweaty mitt.

But for now we concentrate on headlines like this one – ‘Newcastle ‘Make Decision’ On Eddie Howe Sacking After Carabao Cup Defeat’ – from SPORTbible.

First, those quote marks.

a) They are not quoting anybody, which used to be integral to the use of quote marks.

b) What an absolute load of shite.

Does every club ‘make a decision’ about whether to sack a manager after every single football match? Is there a poll on the senior leadership WhatsApp?

According to this particular website then yes; West Ham have ‘made a decision’ on Nuno Espirito Santo’s sacking several times (still no?) while Liverpool made Arne Slot sack decisions in October and November, so they are surely due another.

And now Newcastle, who also made a ‘sack decision’ in November and December. And the evidence for this latest ‘decision’? A lengthy interview with Newcastle CEO David Hopkinson on talkSPORT a few hours before the Carabao Cup defeat.

Now we’re not saying that Howe is about to be sacked on the strength of a pretty inevitable defeat and cup exit, but can we please not pretend that said defeat prompted a ‘decision’.

And as for this in the Evening Chronicle…

Question: Can you ‘hit back’ 24 hours before a pundit’s comments have been made public? After four seconds of consideration we are plumping for ‘no’.

Also…we’re not the greatest fans of Sherwood but he literally said, “I think Eddie has done a brilliant job since he’s come in and I’m not sure anyone could have done any better.”

He also said “some of the people making decisions at these football clubs don’t know football”, so it’s little wonder that Hopkinson ‘hit back’ 24 hours before. He obviously saw it coming as clearly as Newcastle’s first Premier League title by 2030.

(Most) read it and weep

It is a quiet day so we almost have to admire this from the Express, whose MOST READ article this morning is this doozy:

Arsenal news: Ethan Nwaneri’s early Marseille exit as teenager called out

The ‘early exit’ was a half-time substitution. And the teenager who was ‘called out’ was James Wilson, formerly of Hearts and now of Tottenham. ‘Arsenal news’, folks.