Slot filled

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Awards

Introducing: The Route One Awards

I looked at today's date this morning and… WTF. Where did the season go?!

The 2023/24 season has flown by quicker than the Premier League’s chances of securing a 5th Champions League spot.

But, don’t worry. Just in case you missed any of the action, we’re gonna hit rewind and do something special to wrap up the season.

Introducing… rolls out the red carpet... The Route One End-of-Season Awards. 

I know, I know. There are still T-4 weeks left of the season. But we need your help preparing for the big event.

So, here’s the plan:

First, the “award categories”. We have a few ideas like…

• Routers Player of the Season.

• Ballon d’Flop (the biggest flop of the season).

• VAR-y Bad Decision (the worst VAR decision).

• Rouskas Award (for the best goal).

… but we want to hear from you, the Routers, on which categories you want to see. 

So…. STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING THIS VERY SECOND. (That’s right. Forget the coffee. Forget the passive-aggressive email your manager sent you. Forget the kids…. ok ok, keep an eye on the kids). 

Hit “reply” to this email and send us your best ideas for award categories.

Next week, we’re going to announce the final categories and then we’ll open up the awards for nominations from you.

Tell your friends. Tell your Mum. Tell your pets. It’s going to be a good time. 

Plus… 

Pep Guardiola confirms that Erling Haaland will not be available for Manchester City’s visit to Brighton tonight (More) 

Two Premier League players have been arrested following an allegation of rape (More)

The majority of Premier League clubs want to introduce a hard spending cap, and the motion will be voted on Monday (More)

MD34 Summary

Everton 2 - 0 Liverpool

→ Only two Everton managers - Carlo Ancelotti and Sean Dyche - have won a Merseyside derby against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

→ Everton ended their 12-game winless run in Merseyside derbies at Goodison Park.

→ Liverpool have gone 1-0 down in 15 different Premier League games this season.

Manchester United 4 - 2 Sheffield United

→ Harry Maguire’s goal was the 1085th scored in the Premier League season, the most in a 20-team campaign.

→ Sheffield United have now conceded 90 Premier League goals this season, the most in a 38-game season.

Crystal Palace 2 - 0 Newcastle

→ In nine appearances, Jean-Phillipe Mateta has scored more goals under Oliver Glasner than he did under either Roy Hodgson in 35 games or Patrick Viera in 44 games.

Liverpool’s Next Manager

Slot to fill

Yesterday, Liverpool opened talks with Feyenoord over their manager Arne Slot to take over from Jurgen Klopp.

Don’t worry, this isn’t the usual clickbait rumour mill that we’re used to.

David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano confirmed Liverpool’s interest… 

… and they’re like the girl at school who knew all the teacher’s staff room gossip. So, it’s safe to say, Slot is a serious contender to fill Klopp’s big shoes.

Is Slot a good option for the Reds? Let’s break it down. 

1/ Stylistically perfect 

For Klopp and Slot, there’s only one way to defend… from the front. 

Since 2021/22, only Feyenoord have won the ball more than Liverpool in the final third.

So if Klopp’s side presses like George Foreman punches, then Slot’s are like Mike Tyson.

If you want to know his managerial style, check out this viral clip here. 

2/ Success? 

Short answer: yes. Slot led Feyenoord to their second Dutch league title last year.

This year, he’s already won the Dutch Cup and he’s only second to PSV in the league - with a fraction of his rival’s funds.

(And, if you’re wondering, Ajax are 24 points behind Slot’s side - crazy, I know)

3/ Ahead of the curve

Slot changed the rules for the ‘rondo’ - the drill where players keep the ball while a smaller group aim to intercept - so that: the ball can’t go above the knee, players can’t return the ball to the same player and they’re only allowed one touch.

Why? To help the players ‘scan’ better to find options.

He also reduces the size of the pitch to 40 metres in training the day after a match.

Why? To prevent players from running above 20kmph, which is proven to increase the likelihood of injuries. 

Route One take: It’s going to be hard to replace Klopp - and any manager will struggle. But, as styles go, Slot is a good option for Liverpool and there will be no teething issues if he continues his attacking, aggressive style.

Off The Pitch

🐴 Cavalry horses run loose through London (Watch)

😳 US Congress passes bill that could see TikTok banned (More) 

🐈 A missing cat has been found after 5 years and making a 2000km journey home (More) 

👁️ Restoring sight is now possible with optogenetics (More)

🤖 A hospital in the UK has started to use AI to treat stroke patients (More) 

🎾 Emma Raducanu suffers early exit at Mutua Madrid Open against world no 2 (More)

✈️ Thousands of flights to and from Europe affected by suspected Russian jamming (More)

Around The Football World

🇪🇸 La Liga president Javier Tebas has announced that La Liga will play official league fixtures in the USA from the 2025-26 season (More)…

… Xavi has agreed to remain as Barcelona manager until the end of his contract in 2025 (More)

🇩🇪 Ralf Rangick has confirmed he has been contacted by Bayern Munich about potentially being manager (More)

🇦🇷 Carlos Teves has been hospitalised with chest pain in Argentina (More)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Celtic fans are unhappy with the news that John Beaton will be the referee for Dundee FC vs Celtic after he awarded a ‘controversial’ penalty to Rangers (More)

🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé is happy to play in the number 9 position at Real Madrid, leaving the left wing to Vinicius (More)

Extra Time

Bayern Munich’s home kit for next season has been leaked…

… and so has Manchester City’s, featuring odd details.

Anthony Gordon wants to dine with Donald Trump.

Everyone’s talking about Kylian Mbappe’s assist.

Which team has spent the most days on top of the Premier League table this season?

Is Solanke ready to step (back) up to a top-six club?

Love was in the air at the Emirates after Arsenal’s win against Chelsea.

FPL Bonus: Not every FPL pro had a great gameweek 34. 

Game Face On

Rank the following players in order of the number of freekicks they’ve scored in the Premier League, highest to lowest. 

• Laurent Robert

• Frank Lampard

• David Beckham

• Thierry Henry

• James Ward-Prowse

• Ian Harte

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

FOOTBALL

EPL: Brighton vs Manchester City (20:00 BST, Sky Sports)

SNOOKER

World Snooker Championship (13:00 BST, BBC Two or Discovery+)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer…

• David Beckham - 18

• James Ward-Prowse - 17

• Thierry Henry - 12

• Laurent Robert - 11

• Ian Harte - 10

• Frank Lampard - 9

“[Chelsea] have a YouTube team together. Like they've looked at clips and put it together and gone, 'this team can play. Look at these’.”

-Paul Merson