Tuesday cannon fodder: nepotism expansion credit

Premier League/England

Phil Neville urges top clubs to ‘throw open’ stadiums for women’s matches | Football | The Guardian
Phil Neville, manager of England Women, said clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea should ‘throw open’ their stadiums for women’s club matches.

Pochettino praises Van Dijk as Klopp admits fitness fears - Football365
Pochettino can see “why Liverpool paid more than £70m for Van Dijk”. But did he suffer a late injury?

EFL opt for no VAR in Championship play-off final - Football365
Video assistant referees will not be used in the Championship play-off final despite £180m being at stake.

Hillsborough jury given majority direction - BBC News
As we approach the 30th anniversary of Hillsborough, the jury adjudicating the case of two of the men being held responsible is given instruction.

Neville sums up Liverpool with three-word Man Utd ‘saying’ - Football365
Gary Neville concedes that “something’s just happening” at Liverpool, as it used to with United.

Why Tottenham need to sell Moussa Sissoko before it’s too late | FourFourTwo
The Frenchman’s miss against Liverpool may mask the improvements of a player who has, believe it or not, become a consistent performer.

Derby County’s shocking 2007/08 revisited: the Premier League’s worst ever season, told by those who were there | FourFourTwo
Eleven seasons on, Huddersfield have matched the Rams’ ignominious relegation after 32 matches. FFT revisits Derby’s 2007/08 campaign, the worst in Premier League history.

When Mark Hughes played two games in one day
Between stints at Barcelona and Man United, Mark Hughes starred for Bayern Munich. This is the story of how he played for Wales and Bayern in 24 hours.

Southampton boss Hasenhuttl blocks team hotel wifi to combat addictive gaming
kids these days and their vidya games amirite

Bolton players refuse to train for 48 hours after staff salaries unpaid again | Football | The Guardian
Remind me again how walling all the money in soccer off to a closed Champions League is good for the game as a whole?

Everton investigating after Jordan Pickford allegedly involved in fracas | Football | The Guardian
Jordan Pickford has some ‘splainin to do.

QPR sack manager Steve McClaren after tumbling down Championship | Football | The Guardian
A dismal run of form dropped them to 17th in the Championship and cost Steve his job.

Europe

Barcelona’s Messi ‘is not God’ but is a joy to watch - Pope Francis
Messi always has wine at his house. Just sayin’.

Gareth Bale has finally run out of credit with Real Madrid fans
The Welsh man was whistled for his poor performance against bottom-club Huesca in LaLiga.

Zinedine Zidane defends decision to play son Luca vs Huesca | SI.com
Zidane decided to give the 20-year-old only his second professional start.

Europa League: Dinamo Zagreb punished by Uefa for fans’ racism - BBC Sport
Dinamo Zagreb to play their next home European match behind closed doors as punishment for “racist behaviour” by their fans, Uefa has said.

MLS/Americas

U.S. Investors Behind Deal For Danish Soccer Club Revealed
NBA investors and entrepreneurs are part of the consortium that have bought a European soccer club to develop young American players.

Minnesota United players are kicking the tech habit. Now they’re bonding over a card game. – Twin Cities
Whist? Bridge? Three-card monte? The mind boggles. Boggle? Oh wait that’s not a card game.

Atlético Madrid reportedly to play in MLS All-Star Game | Pro Soccer USA
Spanish La Liga side Atlético Madrid will be the opponent at Orlando City Stadium, according to a report from SI.com’s Grant Wahl.

FC Cincinnati pull in crowds as MLS continues its knack for expansion | Football | The Guardian
The Orange and Blue are the latest expansion team to become a success with fans. Major League Soccer appears to have done its research.

Stejskal: Why Asia remains a relatively untapped market for MLS teams | MLSsoccer.com
None of the four East Asian countries export many soccer players, but are there other reasons?

Other

The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - News - England, Japan climb as USA retain pole - FIFA.com
The latest news on all of the changes to the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings prior to this summer's World Cup.

Demba Ba, Michu and Adel Taarabt: The footballers 'the streets will never forget' - BBC Sport
After Adel Taarabt finally makes his Benfica debut, people are reminiscing on social media about footballers whose stars shone brightly, if only briefly.