Everton in Moyes talks, Sainz hit with six-game ban and FA Cup news: football – live | FA Cup

Ruben Amorim: “I want to keep all my players, especially the talented ones”

Mansfield Town’s tie at home to Wigan Athletic has also fallen foul of the weather, and has also been rescheduled for Tuesday evening. “Frost covers have been on the playing surface all week in an attempt to protect the pitch,” the club said. “However, with temperatures reaching as low as -7°C in the early hours of this morning and not forecast to rise above freezing within the next 24 hours, an early decision has been made to postpone the game.” Mansfield were due to be playing Exeter City in League One on Tuesday, and that match will now be played on a date still to be decided.

Preston North End’s FA Cup tie against Charlton Athletic has been postponed due to a frozen pitch. But fans won’t have to wait long for it to be played: it has been rearranged for next Tuesday, 14 January, kicking off at 7.45pm. All match tickets will remain valid for the new fixture.

Mikel Arteta has held his press conference ahead of Sunday’s game against Manchester United. Here’s what he said about whether the club are considering new signings this month. To summarise, he’s giving nothing away:

We always have discussions about how we can improve the team. Always, whether the market is open or closed. Those discussions are always open. It’s always a possibility, if we believe it’s somebody who’s going to make us much better.

Here’s Ange Postecoglou’s update on Bentancur:

And all good. He is back home. He is fine. He is feeling good. We’ll obviously follow the protocols now. I think it is a couple of weeks where you have to make sure everything is okay.

It’s fair to say that much worse was feared when Bentancur was stretchered off during Wednesday’s 1-0 Carabao Cup semi-final first leg win over Liverpool.

Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola is holding his press conference ahead of tomorrow’s game against West Brom, and he’s bemoaning the injuries suffered by both Evanilson, who fractured a metatarsal last week, and Enes Ünal, who has torn an ACL in training and is out for some months:

This situation changes everything because it’s two very important players, the play in the same position, we don’t have any other player. It’s a very difficult situation. It’s something a lot of teams are experiencing. Probably this week has been the worst because of the specific position of the players injured, but I hope we can continue performing.

Alexander Isak’s goal against Liverpool has been named December’s Premier League goal of the month.

Union Berlin have appealed a decision to award Bochum victory in last month’s league game, claiming it “opens the door to fraud and dirty tricks”. Here’s the Associated Press report:

Union Berlin is appealing a decision by the German soccer federation’s sports court to award Bochum a 2-0 victory after Bochum’s goalkeeper was struck with a lighter during their Bundesliga match in December.

“It’s bad enough that people repeatedly throw objects onto stages, into indoor areas or onto the pitch at concerts or sporting events. Unfortunately, there’s nothing that any event organiser can do to prevent it,” Union president Dirk Zingler said late Thursday.

Earlier, the sports court had awarded Bochum a victory over Union instead of the 1-1 draw that the teams played out. That game was nearly over when Bochum goalkeeper Patrick Drewes was struck by the object thrown from the crowd in added time. Referee Martin Petersen suspended the game and led both teams off the field after Drewes sat down and received medical treatment.

Bochum did not want to restart the game, but it resumed nearly half an hour later, with striker Philipp Hofmann replacing Drewes for the remaining three minutes. Both teams agreed not to try and score – which was also an issue for the court.

“Such agreements contradict the basic principles of sporting competition,” court chairman Stephan Oberholz said.

Oberholz said Union was responsible for “a weakening of the Bochum team” as the item had been thrown by a Union supporter. But Zingler feels otherwise.

“The actual unsportsmanlike scandal took place on the pitch and in court today,” Zingler said, suggesting Bochum had made more of the incident than warranted.

“Whether there is an impairment or weakening for one side, whether the game is abandoned or continued, must always be the sole decision of the referee,” Zingler said. “If the beneficiary party can declare themselves as weakened, we no longer need impartial referees and the door is open to fraud or even dirty tricks. The disadvantaged parties will never be able to prove the opposite.”

Moyes talks with Everton progressing

Andy Hunter

Hello world! Let’s crack on with it, shall we? News has filtered in from Tottenham that Rodrigo Bentancur will miss just a couple of weeks with concussion. That would rule the midfielder out of four games: this weekend’s FA Cup tie at Tamworth, Wednesday’s derby at Arsenal, and trips to Everton in the Premier League and Hoffenheim in the Europa League.

And with that, it’s time to hand over to Simon Burnton who will take you through the next part of the afternoon.

Sainz given six-match ban and fine for spitting

Major League Shame.

Eddie Howe has not given up hope of keeping in-form goalkeeper Martin Dubravka at Newcastle beyond the end of this month.

The 35-year-old Slovakia international has been heavily linked with a January move to Saudi Pro League side Al Shabab as he enters the final six months of his contract on Tyneside. However, the speculation comes at a time when Dubravka has has conceded just two goals in seven games in all competitions – all of them victories – while deputising for the injured Nick Pope to help the Magpies place one foot firmly in the Carabao Cup final and climb into the Premier League’s top five.

Asked if Dubravka wanted to stay, head coach Howe – who confirmed talks were ongoing – replied: “Martin’s been in a difficult situation. Like any player that is coming out of contract in the summer, with every player that I’ve ever worked with, there’s always that feeling of doubt.

“He will naturally want some conclusion to his future, whether that’s a new contract with us, whatever the outcome. But he’s certainly played very well and I’ve been really pleased with him. He’s more than played his part in our recent run of fixtures. Again against Arsenal, I thought he was very, very good, so hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement with him.”

While a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia may appeal to a man who celebrates his 36th birthday next week, the emotional pull of staying at St James’ Park remains strong, and his tears during an extended stay on the pitch after Tuesday night’s 2-0 victory at Arsenal was viewed by many as a goodbye.

Howe, who faces a decision over whether or not to rest Dubravka for Sunday’s FA Cup third-round clash with League Two Bromley, said: “I know how much Newcastle means to him and you can see that emotionally, he’s very invested. Of course, all those things will be playing a part in his decision-making and our decision-making and hopefully there’s a successful outcome at the end.”

Intriguingly, Howe declined to enter into discussion over whether or not Pope, who is back in training but not yet ready to play, remains his number one. He said: “It’s always in a state of flux. It’s always changing and moving because that’s down to the player’s performances.” (PA news agency)

Arsenal’s interim head coach, Renée Slegers, is among the candidates in the final round of interviews to find a permanent successor to Jonas Eidevall. And rightfully so after 10 wins in 11 since stepping in. Full story here.

FA Cup-third round shocks. Another from the archives. Oh Djimi. Still, a Champions League winners’ medal was a decent way to finish off the season.

Burnley 1-0 Liverpool – 18 January 2005

It was Reds boss Rafa Benitez’s first taste of the competition in his maiden season at Anfield, and when he rested a number of his first-choice players, Steve Cotterill’s Clarets were given all the encouragement they needed.

The game was won in the second half, when a low cross from Richard Chaplow prompted Traore to attempt a 360-degree drag back at the far post but unfortunately for the Frenchman he miscued it completely before ending up wrapped in the netting along with the ball. (Source: thefa.com)

Everton fan Matt Hobbs writes in about Sean Dyche’s time at Everton.

“It’s entirely fair to say that Everton have lost four games in 16 in all competitions and that they have kept five clean sheets. It’s also fair to say they won eight games in total in the entirety of 2024 and scored 30 open-play goals fewer than any other ever-present Premier League club since the start of last season.

“As ever with numbers, context is everything: Everton haven’t lost all that often because they don’t try to win. They collect clean sheets because they don’t attempt to score. Dyche deserves huge credit for steering Everton through the murkiest of waters, particularly amid the multiple points deductions of last season, but as a result he refused to deal whatsoever in the most valuable commodity of any football supporter: hope.

“Belief starts with the manager and it has become increasingly apparent that Dyche simply doesn’t believe that this squad is capable of more. Only time will tell if he was right but the football is so utterly joyless that this Everton fan in particular believes it’s worth trying to find out.”

We have ourselves a beer debate. More Xb than Xg perhaps.

Bill Preston writes: “I don’t want to be that person, but are you sure on your calculations? Assuming you are correct that the average man drinks 850 pints a year that’s almost two and a half a day. There’s 46million over 18s in the country. Assuming half are men; that’s 23 million multiplied by 850pints which is 19.5 billion pints. The UK made only 6 billion pints between 20022 and 2023 (statista). Do we really import the balance?”

FA Cup third-round shocks. Probably best not mention this to David Moyes, now a 1/7 favourite with the bookies to return to Everton.

Shrewsbury 2-1 Everton – 4 January, 2003

The Shrews were battling it out at the bottom of the Football League when they faced an upwardly-mobile Everton team challenging for Europe and boasting a young Wayne Rooney in their ranks. But David Moyes’ side were dealt a shock as the Toffees came unstuck thanks to a brace from Nigel Jemson on the banks of the River Severn.

His first was a measured free-kick in the first half, and after Niclas Alexandersson had levelled things up, it looked like a replay at Goodison Park was on the cards. And with just a minute left on the clock, Jemson glanced home a header to seal a fourth round tie with Chelsea. (From thefa.com)

In the men’s FA Cup third round we had a father-son story; in the women’s FA Cup fourth round there’s a tale of two sisters. It’s told by Suzanne Wrack here.

Here’s an offer: Pitchers Sports Bar in Tamworth are offering free beers for life to any Tamworth player who bags the winner in their FA Cup tie against Tottenham on Saturday.

Bar general manager Jason Pegg said: “We’re huge supporters of Tamworth FC, and this weekend’s FA Cup match against Spurs is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the club and the community. What better way to show our backing than with a little fun? A winning goal means more than just a place in the record books – it’s the stuff of legends. We want to be part of that excitement, and what better way than offering free beer for life to the player who delivers the magic moment?”

Would Ange be in the mood to accept an invite from the Tamworth hero?

By the way, I’ve crunched the numbers. The average price for a pint of beer in Tamworth is £4.50. The average bloke gets through 850 pints a year. If the Tamworth hero sticks to that – ignoring the NHS recommendation of 14 units per week and his manager telling him not to turn up to training pissed – and necks free beers for the next 50 years he’ll have saved himself 50 x 850 x £14.50 = £191,250. My god. Have Pitchers thought this through?

Here’s the bottom of the final Premier League table last season…

• 17th Nottingham Forest

• 18th Luton

Fast forward to the current day and Forest are third in the Premier League table and Luton 20th in the Championship. That’s quite the contrast and too much for Luton’s owners, who parted with boss Rob Edwards yesterday.

That Liverpool tie is featured in our double digit lowdown of the weekend’s FA Cup ties. Read all about them here.

Liverpool host Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup on Saturday (12.15pm) and, guess what, Arne Slot is aware of that advert.

“I don’t know that much as I am only here half a year but I do know about the milk advert! There was a clip about it. I know people from this area also play for this club. And I know a lot about the team which today I’ll know even more about it.”

Accrington are currently 19th in League Two if you were wondering although they’ve won their last two games.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot didn’t exactly fuel the Kavratskhelia rumours in his press conference earlier this morning.

Talking about the Georgian star, the Reds manager said: “When you said they are linked with clubs, we are all linked! Kavratskhelia, it is January, and I said after West Ham, don’t disappoint me with links. That is what is happening now 99/100 at the end of the window. Almost all of these stories are untrue, so what can I comment about? The rumours keep going but no comments from my side.”

Napoli have placed an $82m price tag on the winger apparently.

It’s January. It’s time to gossip. Plenty of transfer links flying around here, courtesy of Simon Burnton.

Back to Everton’s game last night and the father v son storyline never emerged as Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson refused to bring on Tyler Young to play against Dad Ashley. Keeping it in the family, surely the explanation would have got a nod of approval from Darren’s old man.

“It was very difficult to leave Tyler on the bench but I’ve got to do what I think is best for the team,” the Peterborough boss explained. “As much as I wanted Tyler to get on, if the game had been 2-0 at that point I would’ve put him on, but at 1-0, I had to get a forward on. I’ve got to try and get something out of the game and do what is best for my team. One of their players had a pop at me which was bang out of order. We are not a charity case.”

Jonathan Wilson reflects on Sean Dyche’s Everton exit. The numbers are surprising and perhaps currency for Dyche when he seeks future employment. But the style of football was, let’s be honest, utterly abysmal.

• Everton have lost only four of their past 16 games in all competitions.

• Everton have kept five clean sheets in their past eight games and in the past month held Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City to draws.

So what now for Everton? It looks like David Moyes is coming back. José Mourinho is not under consideration despite rumours. More here from the busy Andy Hunter.

Preamble

Let’s start with Thursday night’s FA Cup third-round results.

Everton 2-0 Peterborough
Fulham 4-1 Watford
Sheffield United 0-1 Cardiff

Andy Hunter was at Goodison Park where fans had plenty to digest after Sean Dyche was shown the door marked Do One just hours before kick off.