Gm football fans. Route One here, the only football newsletter that will volunteer to be your 5-a-side goalie.

Today’s briefing is a ~4 min read:

1. Storytime: the time Robbie Keane punched Edgar Davids 🥊

2. Around the World in 60: Xabi Alonso matches Pep Guardiola’s record 🫡

3. Fantasy Premier League: 11 reasons to embrace the DarWINNER spirit 📊

Psst… if you’re enjoying R1, share us with friends, family and colleagues.

Morning Brief 🗞️

Robbie Keane Proved He Was Spurs’ Main Man With One Punch… 🥊

Robbie Keane is not someone to mess with. 

In the 2003-04 season, Keane had proven his worth to Tottenham Hotspur fans. With Spurs narrowly avoiding relegation that season, it was Keane’s 14 league goals that kept them up. 

He was the main man at Spurs in 2004. 

Not only was Keane respected but the Tottenham dressing room feared him.

While some players take up golf in their spare time, Keane preferred boxing. A hobby which reflected his aggression and fearlessness on the pitch.

Former Spurs manager Martin Jol was worried about this: "Keane was working out as a boxer so he was quite good... [which meant] we had a big problem."

In 2005, another abrasive character Edgar Davids joined Spurs.

Davids joined from Inter Milan after successful stints with Barcelona, Juventus and Ajax. When he joined Spurs, teammate Jamie O’Hara remembers Davids thinking “he was the guy and the main man.” 

This didn’t sit well with Keane. And it led to the pair often clashing in training as both battled for a starring role.

In other words, Spurs had a power struggle. 

During one training session, tensions boiled over after the Dutchman berated Keane. Though the pair hadn’t met eye-to-eye on many occasions, the other players knew this time was more serious. 

Following the initial war of words, Davids made the first move to confront Keane. 

But, before he knew it, Keane threw a monstrous punch. Davids dropped to the floor. 

That’s right, Champions League winner and former Barcelona man, Edgar Davids, hit the floor at the Chase Lodge training ground.

The Spurs players fell silent. Everyone in north London stood by for Davids’ response.

Davids proceeded to pick himself up and… walked off. 

O’Hara recalls when Davids, with his tail between his legs, “came in the next day to greet Keane, ‘morning, Robbie…’”

To everyone’s surprise, Davids had no response to Keane’s first and final blow.

The power struggle at Spurs was over and Keane continued as top-dog. 

Davids would only last two seasons at Tottenham before heading back to boyhood club Ajax. Perhaps the punch knocked the enthusiasm out of him.

The moral of the story: don’t mess with Robbie Keane. And, if you do, learn how to box first.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 60 SECONDS 🌍

🇮🇹 Cesc Fabregas has entered his first managerial role at Serie B side Como. He previously played for the club in August 2022 for one season before announcing his retirement.

🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen returned to the top of the Bundesliga with a 4-0 home win over Union Berlin. Xabi Alonso’s side have taken 31 points from a possible 33 this season, equaling the record set by Pep Guadiola’s Bayern Munich 2015-16.

🇹🇷 Jonjo Shelvey takes inspiration from Harry Kane after scoring an insane goal from the halfway line for Turkish side Caykur Rizespor.

🇮🇹 Federico Dimarco chipped the goalkeeper near the halfway line for Inter Milan. The fight for the Puskas Award is heating up.

🇪🇸 Nico Williams does not want to leave Athletic Bilbao and will renew his contract with the Spanish club. Aston Villa’s hopes of signing the 21-year-old in January have been put on hold.

🇧🇷 After Coritiba scored a later-winner in the Brazilian top-flight, the match descended into chaos as fans had a mass brawl on the pitch.

FPL: 11 REASON TO EMBRACE THE DarWINNER SPIRIT 📊

Darwin Nunez has been in red-hot form.

His chaotic style and inconsistent minutes have somehow led him to be a top-scoring FPL asset.

Below are all the 11 reasons you should embrace the chaos and look to transfer him in ASAP (well, probably after he plays Manchester City in GW 13.)

1. NPxG - Darwin has 0.73 per start. That is 5th in the league and narrowly trailing Haaland at 0.78.

2. Salah Partnership - Mohamed Salah and Darwin Núñez are the duo who have created the most chances between themselves (19) and assisted each other the most times (5) in the Premier League this season. Salah is arguably the best player in the league, anyone who forms a partnership with him is automatically boosted as an FPL asset.

3. Minutes - Adding to this, Jurgen Klopp is beginning to favour Darwin. Despite Jota and Gakpo being available, the Uruguayan has played back-to-back 90 minutes in the league for the first time.

4. Liverpool Attack - Liverpool has the highest NPxG this season.

5. Upcoming Fixtures - Liverpool face Fulham, Sheffield United and Crystal Palace in three of their next four games. Fulham ranks 11th for xGoals Conceded at home. SHU and Crystal Palance rank 16th and 11th for xGoals Concded away.

6. Previous Returns - Darwin has 10 attacking returns this season in the league despite only playing three full 90 minutes this season. With his minutes increasing, in theory, so too should his returns.

7. The Eye Test - The eye test shows that he is creating big chances. If he can sharpen his finishing, he'll be able to make better use of these chances.

8. Second Season Syndrome... not quite - Darwin spent two seasons at Benfica - netting 14 goals in his first season (similar to his first Liverpool season, 15) then 34 goals in his second. He's on track to match this in all competitions this season.

9. Fun - Darwin is a fun player to watch, hold and support. Explosive FPL asset that makes the game exciting.

10. Differential - Darwin was selected by 16.4% of managers. Especially for managers looking to catch up on points, he is a good option.

11. Player Comparisons - Darwin beats all comparative strikers in terms of underlying stats apart from Wilson for xG (injury prone + rotation risk) and N Jackson (weak finisher).

EXTRA-TIME ⏱️

Chelsea legend Eidur Gudjohnsen has been flying high since retiring in 2016. No, seriously, he’s training to be a pilot.

Salah and Nunez have created the most chances between themselves in the Premier League. They have created 19 chances and assisted each other five times this season. A dangerous partnership is developing.

32 points on your FPL bench. A bitter pill to swallow for any manager. Our thoughts are with him.

Barcelona will be remembered forever and Real Madrid’s will be forgotten. That’s according to Gerard Pique. The former Barcelona centre-back believes Real Madrid's most recent Champions League trophy will be forgotten. He said they were inferior in each round and their win was a “miracle.” Obviously, his view is completely objective. 😂

Joel Matip was outraged. The Liverpool defender was upset with the referee following Brentford winning a free-kick. To be honest, we love the drama of his outburst.

MEME 😆