Soccer Day by day | Liverpool, rigid sheep farmers and why a change can do you good

IT JUST HITS DIFFERENT

There’s a story a few sensible previous man who lived, a few years in the past, excessive within the Indian mountains. Each day the person ate the identical meals, not simply the identical breakfast or the identical lunch however the very same factor for each single meal, each single day, like Mariah Carey. He ate solely this one factor, and although the exact particulars have been misplaced within the mists of time that factor was primarily rice so it was already fairly boring – not only for him, but in addition for the particular person whose job it was to arrange his meals. Finally the prepare dinner confronted him. “Why do you all the time eat the identical factor?” the prepare dinner requested. “Are you not as bored of consuming it as I’m of cooking it?” The previous man shook his head. “It isn’t the identical meals,” he mentioned. “How can I eat precisely the identical factor twice? Each day is completely different.”

4 years in the past this month the Guardian ran an article by the Welsh sheep farmer Wilf Davies about his life. “I’ve a routine, similar to nature,” he wrote. “That extends to what I eat. I’ve had the identical supper for 10 years, even on Christmas Day: two items of fish, one large onion, an egg, baked beans and some biscuits on the finish. For lunch I’ve a pear, an orange and 4 sandwiches with paste. Once I go to the grocery store, I do know precisely what I would like. I’m not occupied with different meals. I’ve by no means had Chinese language, Indian, French meals. Why change? I’ve already discovered the meals I really like.”

The film-maker Christian Cargill learn this text and thought it was a story the world wanted to listen to, making Davies the central character in his quick movie Coronary heart Valley. “There was a narrative there that wanted to be instructed,” Cargill mentioned. “I believe it’s a common message. It’s a message of hope. It’s a message of appreciating our place and daily we’ve on the planet. Some folks might choose him and say he’s not experiencing new issues. After we mentioned that with him he mentioned, ‘I get to have my favorite meal each single day. What could possibly be higher in life than that?’ I believe that claims all of it.”

Speaking of consuming an infinitely repeating menu of principally equivalent stuff, the Premier League is again – and what, certainly, could possibly be higher in life than that? The current worldwide break pressured an unwelcome pause in our Daviesian food regimen, leaving us all completely determined for motion to restart. “I positively am as a result of it has been 15 or 16 days, and even longer, since I final managed a sport,” mentioned Liverpool-based tactician Arne Slot. For Slot this sad interval adopted one other sad interval wherein his facet misplaced successive video games to be booted out of the Greater Cup and flub the Milk Cup, however maybe it has labored to his group’s benefit. Perhaps generally, Slot mused, change is good. “It was possibly a superb second,” he mentioned. “You go to your worldwide group and issues are new once more. Perhaps that helped as effectively. It’s good when gamers go to a distinct surroundings.”

On Wednesday Slot’s champions-in-waiting host native rivals Everton, whose current enchancment has certainly saved them from going to a distinct surroundings of their very own, within the type of the Championship. The final Merseyside derby led to February in a 2-2 draw and with Slot being despatched off, a humiliation the Dutchman is refusing to rule out repeating. “I’m hoping I’ll act otherwise however I can’t promise,” he mentioned. “What I’m positive about is that I might be so, so, so stunned if I ever expertise eight minutes of so many controversial selections to our drawback once more.” And certainly he won’t. In any case, how can he have that have once more? Each day is completely different. Now it’s time for a sandwich with paste.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

I don’t actually have a look at social media [abominations] or the media an excessive amount of. As soon as I’m away from the pitch, I deal with having fun with myself and my household and pals, and I believe that permits me to be at my finest. It’s about having folks round you that help you try this. Mine can be my canine [Brody]. Once I come away from the pitch, I take the boys for a stroll. They’re my little sons. That’s the best way I take care of myself and swap off” – Chloe Kelly tells Sophie Downey about how her household – and furry buddy – assist her address being within the highlight now she’s again within the England fold.

Re: Reminiscence Lane (yesterday’s Soccer Day by day, full e mail version). I reckon it have to be Chelsea v Blackburn at Stamford Bridge on 31 January 2007. Chelsea received 3-0. They used to assault in these days, earlier than José grew to become a cantankerous previous git” – Mike Grant (and some different beginner sleuths).

Might I counsel that could possibly be Artur Jorge on the bench. I can’t discover any proof of Créteil, of whom he was then supervisor, having such a Blackburn-esque shirt though they do play in blue. FC Grenchen anybody? Can we care?” – Simon McMenamin.

Via some detective work with my colleague Adam Thoroughgood, we expect we’ve recognized what match the nonetheless on the Nokia N73 is from. We initially thought the wording on the bench mentioned Chelseafc.com and was a nonetheless from a possible sport in opposition to Blackburn, nevertheless as this could be a equipment color conflict we couldn’t discover a sport the place each Chelsea and Blackburn wore their house shirts. From Googling on equipment web sites I discovered that Porto wore a Blackburn-style half-white/half-blue shirt within the 2001-02 season. This led us to suppose the wording on the bench was Uefa.com so can be from a European sport. Wiki instructed us José Mourinho grew to become Porto supervisor in January 2002, which then restricted it to 4 potential Large Cup video games. We didn’t suppose it regarded just like the Bernabéu or Sparta Prague benches, and thru watching the Panathinaikos sport on YouTube, José’s coat regarded too rain sodden in that sport for it to be that one. So it leads us to imagine the picture of the good-looking, resplendent-coat-wearing José on the Nokia is from Porto 1-2 Actual Madrid on 27 February 2002” – Michael Pilcher.

You need us to determine a match from a blurry picture on a near-20-year previous cellphone? OK, go on then. The equipment seems to be like Porto’s 2002 strip and I believe it says Uefa.com behind the dugout so possibly a Large Cup match? I’m going to stay my neck out and say it’s Actual Madrid v Porto on 19 February 2002. And the headless chap within the foreground is Carlos Secretário. In all probability. The subsequent thriller is why choose a four-year previous photograph to promote a brand new cellphone” – Jon Gregory.

Ship letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. In the present day’s prizeless letter o’ the day winners are … Michael Pilcher and Adam Thoroughgood (as a result of we expect it’s at Porto). Phrases and situations for our competitions, when we’ve them, could be seen right here.

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