Lots of noise around Bruno Fernandes and his suitability as a captain of Manchester United, part of it led by my colleague Oliver Holt.
“Excellent player, never a leader in a million years,” said the most important sportswriter of Daily Mail on X.
It is a general opinion. I mean, United and their supporters really want a skipper who is so upset by a referee who wipes against his shirt for a penalty that he then lands his spot kick in the river Theems?
But consider this simple question. If not Bruno for the United bracelet than who?
Certainly from Sunday's team magazine there are no credible candidates.
Harry Maguire? United tried and failed with that. Luke Shaw? Can he be familiar to stay fit? Casemiro? Not really. Matthijs de Ligt? Maybe, but the Dutch defender always looks like the type that has everything to take care of his own game, let alone everyone.
In this context, the argument is clear to Bruno and it is weighed by the fact that the Portuguese attacker turned out to be worthy last season.
The 30-year-old will never be perfect. Occasionally he remains too emotional and too full when it comes to referees.
But good captains lead by what they do and the levels of performance and dedication of Bruno last season gave an example that – others were able to follow – would have led from Ruben Amorim to a Premier League to a Premier League that was a way higher than their gloomy 15th.
Cates' flawless Motd debut but is the brand diluted?
There is no doubt about Kelly Cates' family tree as a broadcaster and her debut as one of the match of the day trio of rotating hosts was just as flawless as one would expect. The show will miss some fame and experience of Gary Lineker, but not that of his sometimes suffocating ego.
But it did a bit to see Cates Fronting Sky's Sunday afternoon match between Fulham and United in Craven Cottage.
Match of the Day remains the flagship football program of BBC, a tailor -made piece of television.
Did the fame of Cates in the all-wasting world of satellite football reporting the MotD brand a bit?
I personally think it does that.
Fulham -hierarchy relaxed about marco's moans
Fulham -manager Marco Silva is unhappy with the fact that his club did not sign and said the players he wants this summer. They will not be too stress at the boardroom level.
Silva is a coach who continues to improve the year after year, but he also has the habit of pushing the boundaries and testing the patience of those for whom he works.
When he was associated with the Tottenhambaan last June, Mail Sport spoke with a senior official at the club who just laughed.
“We are used to this with Marco,” he said.
'These stories come and go and strangely enough they usually start in Portugal.
“But in the end they sit down and Marco stays here … what a very good contract is indeed!”
The evolution of Man City is clear, a title challenge is not
An early seasonal quiz question.
Of the 11 Manchester City players who started the Home Premier League campaign from last season a year ago with the Home Premier League campaign, how many did the many survive to play against Tottenham on Saturday?
Unbelievable, the answer is only three. Rico Lewis, Ruben Dias and Erling Haaland.
If that does not tell us how many things have changed in the city, nothing will do and whether Pep Guardiola can develop a title challenge in the midst of all that evolution.
Certainly, the city manager has questions to answer about his goalkeeper.
New signing James Trafford must have a deep list of qualities. City signed him, Newcastle wanted to sign him and England manager Thomas Tuchel is a famous fan. Trafford will be in the team for next month's matches against Andorra and Serbia when Tuchel reveals it this Friday.
But sometimes Trafford looks so far from the completed article that it is frightening. The last time he was in the Premier League with Burnley two seasons ago, he was bullied in the air and lost his place. On Saturday when City lost 2-0 to Spurs, he was with his feet everywhere in the store. Nothing inspired trust.
Joao Palhinha is back at home in the Premier League
Tottenham earned their victory against City and it is encouraging to see their Brazilian forward Richarlison -Front and Center after a few personal and professional problems in recent years.
But it is Thomas Frank's step to strengthen the center of his team that is in the heart of Spurs' excellent start of the new season.
Frank's predecessor Ange Postecoglou made much of last season's defensive injury problems to end 17th in the Premier League, but always seemed to be less likely to discuss how opposing teams could pour through his midfield that could stand almost without against each other when Spurs lost the ball.
All good teams must have some sort of reliability in their core and the partnership of Rodrigo Bentancur and the new signing Joao Palhinha are the platform on which Frank's Nieuwe Tottenham is being built.
Spurs -fans are right to be linked to the losing of Ebereechi Eze to Arsenal. They ran for too long. But Frank is no one foolish. He arrived in Tottenham from Brentford after firing Postecoglou this summer completely aware of what the real problems were.
Palhinha was excellent during his time in Fulham and I expect him to be in the north of the capital.
It will not be that Eze Ebereechi replaces Crystal Palace
Arsenal will need even more than they thought after injuries to Bukayo Saka – as expected to have a month of football – and Martin Odegaard against Leeds and his smile of gratitude and almost disbelief because he was introduced to the crowd on Saturday was a great moment.
How Crystal Palace deals without their star player, on the other hand, is rather scary.
Of the 115 games that the FA Cup winners have played in the Premier League since August 2022, their profit percentage with Eze is 36 percent in the team. Without him? 6.7 percent.
Au.
Clinical Coventry set statistics to the sword
Still with statistics, the performance of the day outside the Premier League was undoubtedly the one who defeated Frankard's Coventry QPR 7-1 to become third in the table.
Lampard continues to do an excellent job and the fact that there were nearly 30,000 in the Arena of the Coventry Building Society is an indication for forward progress.
Nevertheless, Coventry's XG (expected goals) from Saturday's game was only 1.27. Out of their eight shots on goal, seven went in !!
Sometimes it's just your day.
Loyalty is all for Evangelos Marinakis
Nottingham Forest Manager Nuno Espirito Santo sounded like a man who tried to put a lion back in his cage after the draw of his team in Crystal Palace.
“There will be a resolution,” he said with regard to the issues with owner Evangelos Marinakis that he chose to make public last week.
“It's going to be fine.”
Time will learn, but Marinakis has his fingers in every part of that football club and if he feels light, Nuno will soon be on the road at a certain moment. For Marinakis loyalty is just everything.
Last season the Daily Mail spent time with two of the best and most familiar allies of the forest owner in Greece.
Asked how hard they tried to intervene when Marinakis was about to do something that they considered an error, they looked a bit stunned.
“Errors?” said one.
“Mr Marinakis makes no mistakes.”
West Ham must hold Jarrod Bowen
West Ham will be in the forest next Sunday and that already seems like a determining game in the gloomy Graham Potter era. How happy he is still to have his captain.
With his former teammate Mohammed Kudus now at Spurs and other skilled forward players such as Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo this summer, it is completely astonishing that a player who is as talented as Jarrod Bowen is not on everyone's list.
Liverpool wants Aleksandar Isak and Newcastle Yoane Wissa. If someone wakes up with some bowen about the remaining days of the transfer window, West Ham will really get into trouble. Without their captain they will almost certainly go down.