GM football fans. Route One here, the Snickers of football newsletter - because you’re not you when you don’t get your football news.

Today’s briefing is a ~4.5 min read:

1. Everton and Nott’m Forest charged with FFP rule breach 🚨

2. John Beck: the weird and wonderful 😆

3. Extra time: Thierry Henry roasts Spurs 🔥

Morning Brief 🗞️

Sky News

Everton and Nottingham Forest charged with breaching Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules. More on this story below.

FIFA

Lionel Messi wins The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award and Aitana Bonmati wins The Best Women’s Player award.

The Guardian

Kevin De Bruyne’s tactical vision swings the title race towards Manchester City, says Jonathan Wilson.

Teamtalk

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen for Manchester United to sign Everton centre-back Jarrod Branthwaite. Sources stated that there is no desire to sell him for a small fee.

POINT DEDUCTION IMMINENT 🚨

Welcome back to another episode of Deducting Points Until A Team Gets Relegated Premier League Edition.

That’s right… Everton could face yet another points deduction this season. 

This time, they aren’t alone. Nottingham Forest are also in the firing line. 

Why? The Premier League has charged Everton and Forest with breaching profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

Now, the league has referred the case to an independent commission to consider the latest charge.

Ok, so the rule is in place for good reasons, right? To stop clubs from going beyond their means and collapsing… yada yada. 

But, Router, let’s look at the rule carefully. PSR allows… 

• Clubs to lose a maximum of £105m over a rolling 3-year reporting cycle; 

• Or £35m per season over the same period. 

Hmm… spot the problem? 

In 2013 - when the rule was enacted - £105m would’ve got you… 

• Mesut Özil - £42m

• Fernandinho - £30m

• Nemanja Matic - £21m 

You could even throw in a Christian Eriksen for £11.5m and have change to spare. 

These days… £105m gets you Moisés Caicedo. In other words, football inflation is real - and PSR limits should be adjusted to reflect this.

The worst part? May 24 is the backstop date for any appeal. The season finishes on May 19, meaning clubs might not know their final league position or even what division they will play in the following campaign. 

R1 take: If the EPL wants to be The Best League In the World, then competition is paramount. PSR must be adjusted… ASAP!

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JOHN BECK: WEIRD & WONDERFUL 😆

If you search John Beck’s name online, you won’t find much these days.

But he’s the father of ‘route one’ style football… so we thought it was only right that we retell his story.

Let’s briefly set the scene.

*play Back to the Future theme tune*

It’s 1989…

Beck retires after 500 English League appearances for five different clubs.

Within a few months, he managed his last club Cambridge United, a mid-table Fourth Division side.

He gave his players strict orders to hoof long balls and only - and we mean, only - play down the channels. And it wasn’t long until success followed.

In his first season (89-90), United…

• Won the Fourth Division playoffs.

• Reached the QF of the FA Cup.

Then, in the following season, his side…

• Won the Third Division title.

• Reached the QF of the FA Cup… again!

That’s two promotions in a row.

If it weren’t for their loss to Leicester City in the playoff SF in the following season, Beck might’ve become the first and only manager in English history to achieve three consecutive promotions.

But he’s a little controversial

So, you know that route one style we mentioned? Well, Beck asked that the grass be overgrown on the flanks. This meant that the ball would hold up after his defender’s speculative ball.

Sure. Perhaps he tried to gain a tactical advantage here and there. Everyone does it.

But what about the time he…

… moved the opposition dugout so that the manager was unable to see the action…

… or when he would make sure that the visiting side were given half-inflated balls, or sometimes rugby balls, for their warm-up…

… or when he asked his players to kick the opposition’s changing room walls as they performed a war cry?

Safe to say… Beck rustled some feathers during his time as manager. It’s no wonder that his favourite quote belongs to the American philosopher-poet Ralph Waldo Emerson: “To be great is to be misunderstood.” 

EXTRA-TIME ⏱️

Lionel Messi wasn’t in attendance to collect his award at The Best ceremony last night. So… his former teammate Thierry Henry collected it and took a jibe at Tottenham. Easy Titi.

This throw-in was bad… but the fact it leads to the opposition scoring makes it the worst of all time.

Joe Cole appears on The Obi One Podcast. He talks about winning over Jose Mourinho, the story behind his Ferrari and regrets from his club career.

The story of Fabio Paim never fails to amaze us. From playing with Cristiano Ronaldo and set to become the best footballer in the world to watching Portugal train behind prison bars.

MEME 😆

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