Issue 12 - Incredibly Sad News

There are some occasions when things end up being bigger than football itself. This is one of those occasions. Issue 12 begins below.

Thoughts And Prayers

Unless you have been living in an internet blackspot for the past 24 hours or so, you will be fully aware of the news that has broken in Spain. News that has seen Diogo Jota lose his life.

Not only Diogo but also his brother Andre and with them both suffering the anguish of a deadly car accident, it is not only a football club that loses a star player but much more importantly, a family now says goodbye to two of its sons.

Cruel whatever the timing of an incident such as this, even more so when you account for Diogo’s wedding that took place at the end of June. The former Liverpool forward not only leaves a wife behind but also three young children.

Many tributes have rightly followed since the news broke on Thursday morning. Tributes that will be far more detailed and deeper than I can ever attempt to do. Regardless of the length or quality, none of them will do justice to the 28-year-old.

As always in times like this, it does not matter who you support - thoughts and prayers have a habit of closing the football divide for a few days. Rivalry pushed aside to form a united front.

That united front will pay its respects not only over the next few days but also when the new season begins in earnest. The Community Shield and Liverpool’s first game of the season - the Friday night opener at home to Bournemouth are going to be interesting for far different reasons now, even if the remit of winning games remains the same.

For now though, it is not about wins and losses on the football field, it is about the loss that club, family and community are having to deal with and although there are always pangs of sorrow when any celebrity death is announced, this cuts a little deeper.

Cloak Of Invincibility

Is it because we do not view footballers or sporting icons in general through the same lens as celebrities? Probably and the reason we do is because they are always viewed as invincible.

The weekend warriors who light up the stage for 90 minutes are held on arguably a higher pedestal than most and maybe because any active footballer’s passing also means that they leave us in the prime of not only the careers but their lives aswell.

A famous actor or musician will pass and although there may be sadness because you liked his or her work, there is something about the connection to football that makes it all the more raw when news such as is this announced.

Maybe because a footballer is such an intrinsic part of your life. You may have watched Heath Ledger in films on a regular basis or watched Amy Winehouse music videos at your own leisure but would they necessarily be a weekly pursuit of pleasure?

What makes the passing of Diogo Jota even tougher is that he seemed like one of football’s good guys. In a day and age where the connection to idols is looser than ever, the former Wolves player still offered the connection to many.

A connection that came with playing online FIFA until 1am and still being alert enough to score at Anfield the following afternoon. It felt like the Portuguese international was closer to us than many others. That closeness is now so far away.

Nobody had a bad word to say about him and why would they. A player who always played with a smile on his face. A player who even with his fair share of recent injuries was reverred by those who watched from the Kop and beyond.

Football is an incredibly rich game these days but suddenly it feels all the more poorer.
Life does go on and so will this sport but the start of the new season will undoubtedly be tinged with sadness for quite some time.

In times like this, it is very easy to focus on the passing of the name that has connected so many but at the same time, Diogo’s brother should not be overlooked either. Two men have lost their lives and two men will now rest in peace.

The Filter Five

Five other stories that are not as important as usual

Double Delight For England

After England U21’s kept held of their own version of the UEFA European Championships, it is now time for the senior Women’s team to start their bid for double dominance on the continent.

There is no doubt that Sarina Weigman did an incredible job to deliver home glory three years ago and it could be argued that following up on that same success in Switzerland will be a greater achievement.

No Mary Earps to call upon after her hasty retirement, the same scenario for Fran Kirby - even if the announcement was not so much of a shock. Add the withdrawal of Mille Bright and it is fair to say that preparations have been far from plain sailing.

However, those preparations should not deter from England’s hopes of winning the trophy once again. It is difficult to land European success, even more so when it comes to defending the honour.

Should England make it two from two, you do wonder what Sarina does next. With the flow of money in the club game not as plentiful, there is no obvious move to make to the WSL. Maybe stay for two more years and bow out the 2027 World Cup regardless of result? We shall have to wait and see.

Morecambe Not Wise

Not good news if you are a Morecambe supporter. A statement that could easily applied to any time in the past 24 months but the past 24 hours have highlighted how desperate the situation is.

Set for a takeover at the end of June, the team that now finds itself in the National League after relegation to League Two has been hung to dry by a current owner who simply will not sell up.

Jason Whittingham is the man in question and although a sale to the Panjabi Group has already been announced, the actual act of handing over the keys in exchange for money has been stalled time to time again.

To the point where Morecambe’s board of directors were planning to take control out of the hands of Whittingham by forcing the club into administration. The only problem being that Morecambe’s owner decided to dissolve the board instead.

A powerplay when holding on to the last vestages is the biggest play in the desperate playbook. There are huge similarities with this story and what happened at Bury a few years ago.

Fit and proper person? The EFL are not fit enough themselves. How they allow someone such as Whittingham control of a club lacks common sense. Then again, the EFL rarely make sense themselves. A dire situation for Morecambe fans it must be said.

Cracks In The Palace

Still no news regarding Crystal Palace’s bid for Europa League entry. The longer this is played out, the less confident supporters of the South London outfit will be.

Barry More

No not the disgraced light entertainer but Villarreal forward Thierno Barry who could be set for a move to Everton. The 22-year-old has a release clause of £34.5m and is keen to move to the blue half of Merseyside.

Is this the heir apparent to the crown that Dominic Calvert-Lewin now leaves behind. More importantly, where does someone such as DCL end up. Is a drop down to the Championship plausible or does this have Leeds or Sunderland written all over it,

Le Gravy Train

The Saudi gold rush continues and it is Alexander Lacazette who is the latest name to move to the Middle East. The French international leaves a Lyon side in crisis behind and now plies his trade for NEOM SC.

And yes, I’ve never heard of them before today either.

Admin

Right, that’s the end of issue 12 - slightly shorter than usual but I think the reasoning is obvious.

The sprint to 50 subscribers begins, I want to and I will get that knocked off by the start of the season with your help. You have read, subscribed but now also tell a friend.

Also, continual feedback is certainly going to help drive this forward. If you want to take the time to tell me what you liked, what you didn’t like and/or what you want to see.

My email for correspondence is

[email protected]

Issue 13 will be out on Tuesday July 8th

Thanks for reading

Dan