✍🏼 FIFA agent regulations delayed... 😬

Gm football fans. Route One here.

Let’s get into it, shall we…

Today’s newsletter includes:

• ✍🏼 Deep dive… FIFA agent regulations delayed

• 📈 FPL… lessons from last year’s winner

• 🌟 ESR’s first start in 499 days… what’s next?

RESULTS

🗞️ MORNING BRIEF
Everything you need know

🚨 City OUT of the Carabao Cup after Newcastle win 1 - 0. Alexander Isak’s goal in the 53’ separated the sides.

🌟 Looks like Man United got over Sancho pretty quickly as they prepare January transfer swoop for Serge Gnabry, currently playing at Bayern Munich.

🤧 Reece James charged by FA for using foul and abusive language towards an official after the Blues’ defeat to Aston Villa.

🔴 Arsenal increasing pressure for Ivan Toney to join… offering Eddie Nketiah as part of a swap deal.

🔵 Everton’s owner, Farah Moshiri, received more than £400m from Russian billionaire, Alisher Usmanov, just before he was placed under sanctions. Full story in The Guardian.

💰 Chelsea confirm Infinite Athlete as the club’s new front of shirt sponsor.

🗞️ Antony has returned to the UK and will meet with Greater Manchester Police amid allegations of domestic abuse. Denying all claims against him, the winger is fully cooperating with police enquiries.

🤕 Injuries… Saka out with foot injury, Trossard out with hamstring injury, Sambi Lokonga out for several months with hamstring injury…

DEEP DIVE
FIFA agent regulations delayed...

Premier League clubs alone paid £318.2m to agents for the 12 months to March 23… and Championship clubs spent a collective of £36.3m.

Well, FIFA are trying to get in the way of this… BUT they face an uphill battle.

In fact, it has been reported that the introduction of new rules for football agents has been delayed.

What are the proposed rules?

Well, the National Football Agent Regulations (NFAR) covers a lot of ground, but the main points are…

1. FIFA wants to limit agent’s commission to 3% of player salaries over £161,000

2. The rules will limit payments to agents for brokering transfers to 10% of the fee

3. Agents need to pass the FIFA exam by October 2023

Agents across Europe have also expressed concerns about the compulsory FIFA exam… apparently it’s too hard…

Agents who sat the exam in Birmingham this month complained of technical difficulties.

Why the delay?

// 4 agencies - CAA Base, Wasserman, Stellar, and ARETE - issued proceedings challenging their introduction

// The Association of Football Agents (AFA) wrote to the FA in August asking for more time to respond to the consultation

// FIFA face difficult legal challenges to pass the new rules

A decision on the new rules is expected by November 30. Watch this space…

FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE
Advice from last year’s FPL winner… 🌟

The best person to take FPL advice from? Easy. The god damn champ.

Last year’s winner published a ‘22/23 season e-book called “Winning FPL” and here’s what you need to know…

1. Don’t focus on the current template, always try to predict the next template so you don’t miss the boat.

2. Trust your eye, rather than stats. Watch a player before transferring them in… stats can often be retrospective. It takes time for stats to show patterns, the eye test is timely.

3. But, when looking at stats, look for:

   • xGoals

   • xAssists

   • xGoal Involvement

   • Penalty box touches

   • Shots on goal

   • Heat map

4. When picking a captain, think about players that:

   • Have a fixture at home against a weak side

   • Nailed for 90 mins

   • On pen/set pieces

   • Prioritise midfielders (even during the Haaland meta)

   • Talismanic player (everything goes through him)

5. Chip strategy

   • Wildcard - use your first wc as late as possible and only use when you need more than 4 transfers

   • Free hit - use on a double GW, ideally.

   • Triple captain - choose the best player against the best fixture but in a double GW

   • Bench Boost - play it with the wildcard to maximise usefulness

Here’s the framework to live by. Read it. Then read it again. and again.

Tomorrow, we’ll share our tactics for GW7…

SORRY, WHAT??
Villa players air concerns…

• Villa players have told club chiefs that they’re unhappy with this season’s ‘wet-look’ shirts. They claim the shirts are weighing them down…

• The club has a multi-year deal with Castore and it remains unknown whether this issue will impact that deal

• Newcastle triggered an exit clause with Castore which was meant to run till 2027 so they could switch to Adidas

Separately… Villa will change their crest again next season after admitting that this season’s shirts have “not had the impact which had been hoped”.

At least they’re honest… 😬

CARABOA CUP
ESR starts first game in 499 days…

“I was really emotional,” Arteta said after the crowd’s reaction when ESR was subbed on after 69 minutes against PSV.

In 33 league appearances, Smith-Rowe registered 10 goals. He looked vital to Arteta’s plans…

Yet, Smith-Rowe had not made a start for the Gunners for 499 days…

The Telegraph analysed why:

1/ Injuries have plagued the early part of his career… that’s a given

2/ Arsenal’s tactics have evolved. With Arteta preferring inverted full-backs, the need for width on the flank has become more important

3/ Similarly, Arteta sees ESR as a playmaker in the middle, not as a “pure winger”

But, with a good performance vs Brentford in the Caraboa cup, Arsenal fans will be wanting to see more of him in the league…

BIG-GAME PLAYER
The puzzle section

Today’s quiz is League Cup themed…

• Which player has played in the League Cup final six times, representing three different clubs?

• In 2004, Bolton reached the Carling Cup Final. Who were their opponents?

• Which soft drinks company sponsored the League Cup from 1992 until 1998?

Wednesday’s answer:

The 2022-23 Premier League

1. Which goalkeeper kept the most clean sheets? De Gea

2. How many of the league’s 10 top scorers were English? 6

3. How many different managers took charge of a Chelsea game last season? 5

MEME