He’s still a force at 34. United want to rebuild their central midfield but Casemiro’s a tough act to follow. The Premier League prides itself on pace and physicality but there is always a place and space for intelligent players like Casemiro, who read the game so well. So here’s a look at five players who also delivered in their 30s. The passing of the years is also the accumulation of experience.

Gary McAllister was 35, a year older than Casemiro, when leaving Coventry City for Liverpool in 2000. He was on a free, many felt his career was winding down but he enjoyed momentous times in those 87 appearances. McAllister scored vital goals in that first season, converted his penalty in the League Cup final shootout, then scored one, contributed to three and won man of the match in the Uefa Cup final – at 36. He also guided Liverpool into the Champions League. “My most inspirational signing,” Gerard Houllier said.

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But Dalglish had a reason. Parkes was part of the fabric of Rovers when the Scot arrived a year earlier to begin the Jack Walker revolution. Parkes embodied the club: committed, sleeves rolled, hard working, down to earth. He’d been there since 1970 when he’d signed from Buxton for £5,000. The midfielder gave everything on the pitch for 12 years, played 409 games, scored 46 goals and was stopped eventually only by a broken leg. Parkes then gave everything off the pitch, becoming a first-team coach under Bobby Saxton, then caretaker when Saxton left in 1986 (three wins, one draw, two defeats).

In the modern era, the likes of Parkes are increasingly rare: player, coach and repeated caretaker at the same club. People move around more often. People also get moved on as new owners and/or new managers come in. Loyalty and longevity are less prevalent. Parkes’ career was different – he became a byword for devotion.

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In the latest episode of The Football Boardroom, Christian Purslow and I look at Arsenal, why Arteta deserves to be backed and will be, the roles of Andrea Berta and Richard Garlick, and why this summer must be about two elite-level signings – and what that means to wages.

Talking of Rice, Karren Brady did a very good deal when negotiating with Arsenal. Christian and I also discuss the boardroom exit of one of football’s most high-profile executives after Brady announced her departure from West Ham. What is her legacy at West Ham? Especially after her 2013 promise of a “world-class stadium with a world-class team”. They’ve announced substantial losses and the team fight relegation. And it’s a poor place to watch football. New episode … links below, hope you enjoy it. Today’s blog follows later.

English football has a duty of care to young coaches like Rosenior, more than that shown by some clubs. It would be good if Dan Ashworth, overseeing the FA’s drive to develop England managers of the future, invited Rosenior into St George’s Park, even if simply for a chat and the offer of some guidance. The experienced Ashworth makes a good sounding board.

Whether there’s a role with the England age-groups is another matter, or whether Rosenior even wants that, but it’s important for coaches to know they are not alone. There should be a support network for them. The League Managers Association offers that. Rosenior could pop upstairs to the LMA office while he’s at St George’s Park.

Rosenior is a good TV pundit, and will doubtless have offers to return to the studio, but the English game needs home-grown coaches. In talking to other managers, Rosenior can reflect on obvious elements he needs to work on such as dealing with powerful players. Messaging is also so important in management. Rosenior’s press conferences were a bit too odd at times. Some of the new-age techniques, the huddle and respecting the ball, again created an image of a manager working from a psychology manual. Rosenior is such an interesting character, who has experienced a lot in life, yet much of his time at Chelsea he seemed to have morphed into someone else. He wasn’t himself, and quickly lost the belief of some players.

The 41-year-old can also reflect that the history of Chelsea managers in their monied era is that dismissals lead only to pauses in careers, not ends. Frank Lampard certainly shows that life goes on. It’s water under the Bridge. It’s Chelsea with its powerful players and inexperienced owners. The clock was always ticking.

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All managers and situations are different. Lampard has his playing CV, the memory of a bright start at Derby and Chelsea, and plenty of media support to ensure he continued to get interviews. After his initial stint at Chelsea, Lampard was still out of work for a year before stepping in at Everton and keeping them up in 2022. Chelsea again came calling, this time as caretaker for 11 games, eight lost, and he was gone.

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Chelsea’s board says it will conduct a period of “self-reflection” before appointing the latest permanent head coach. Christian and I discuss the latest episode in the Stamford Bridge soap opera and who should also bear responsibility - owners, sporting directors and players as well as the dismissed Rosenior. And who should be next in the hot-seat? Links here, hope you enjoy it. Usual blog out later.

Hoddle will be 70 later next year. Time flies. Looking back on his first acquaintance with Wenger, Hoddle set the scene by explaining he came to Monaco from England where, certainly outside of Tottenham Hotspur, his playmaking style was never fully appreciated. “I was playing against the tide in England,” he said. The game was direct, the ball moved on sharply because of some of the challenges thudding in, and fans wanted the ball in the goalmouth quickly. Hoddle’s game was more refined. As was Wenger’s approach to the game.

“We were playing Red Star Belgrade in pre-season, and Arsene said to me, ‘you will play the No 10’. Music to my ears!” Hoddle duly caressed the ball around. At half-time, Wenger had words of praise but also one observation delivered almost as an admonishment. “Glenn, you are coming back too far too deep.” Even more music to Hoddle’s ears. Wenger had Claude Puel in midfield to do the dirty work in deep midfield, the screening and ball-winning. Hoddle simply got on the ball, striking up a productive understanding with Mark Hateley as Monaco won Ligue 1.

It must have been poignant hearing and seeing Hoddle and Wenger for the Spurs and Arsenal fans in the room last night, and for fans generally. Plenty of talent is being produced in this country, as a glance at the potential No 10s for England this summer confirms: Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer. And just consider those creative players who might not even get in Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man squad for the World Cup: Phil Foden and Morgan Gibbs-White while James Maddison is only just returning from long injury and Jack Grealish is out. None is in Hoddle’s class, of course.

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I was on the panel and listened to understandable anger expressed about ticket price increases, an issue sadly prevalent across the game. Clubs alienate loyal supporters at their peril; the atmosphere dips (which worries broadcasters) and fans spend less at the club store and food outlets in protest. It’s a false economy by clubs, bad optics, and loosens the connection between owners and fans.

Fans also voiced disappointment that there was “no feel or sense”, as one fan put it, of it being Everton’s home when going to the ground. This is hardly an insurmountable problem, it’s about club and fanbase liaising. Arsenal’s success with the Emirates exterior was mentioned by Everton fans. Arsenal worked with fans. Along with other reporters, I sat through one presentation of potential designs and it felt significant that the event took place in the boardroom. Arsenal took fans’ concerns seriously, and wanted to get the imagery right. They have done.

Emirates gradually acquired its distinctive exterior imagery, currently in its second plumage. Statues rose of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Tony Adams, Herbert Chapman and Ken Friar. It felt a significant moment, almost a rapprochement, when the Arsene Wenger statue was finally installed, a sign that club and its greatest manager were together again after his painful departure.

Everton fans also mentioned the Shed Wall at Stamford Bridge showcasing Chelsea legends. By 2018, each picture of a player came accompanied by a QR code so visitors can receive bios, stats and quotes of Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and other greats in 10 different languages.

Hill Dickinson Stadium needs greater “Evertonisation” in the words of one fan last night. Large crests are great but they need murals and a museum. Visitors, let alone supporters, want to feel they are immersing themselves in the history of the game as well as going to a game. Everton’s history deserves celebrating: founder members of the Football League, founder members of the Premier League, and one of the most unique names in world football.

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The Champions League schedule was actually kind to Arsenal. Arteta’s Premier League leaders got drawn on a route to the last four via Bayer Leverkusen, fifth in the Bundesliga, and Sporting Lisbon, second in Portugal’s Primeira Liga (and a Portuguese side have not been champions of Europe since Jose Mourinho’s Porto in 2004). Arsenal now face the far greater threat of Atletico Madrid, who won at Barcelona in their quarter-final. When it comes to schedules on the table, Diego Simeone can point to playing 51 games already this season, only three fewer than Arsenal.

Arsenal’s schedule should be less draining as they spend plenty of the game focused on well-rehearsed set-pieces. There’s a lot of hanging around. Maybe they are drained because their football isn’t uplifting, certainly nothing like the exhilarating tie between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid with 73 efforts on goal and 10 goals over the two legs.

Maybe if Arteta released the handbrake at times, Arsenal would feel freer and less drained. It’s more than “schedule”. It’s about managerial mindset. Look at how Paris St-Germain, Liverpool’s nemesis, play under Luis Enrique, the reigning Coach of the Year in the Ballon d’Or. Front foot.

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The Premier League doesn’t have the best players; they are scattered around the Continental elite. Bayern have Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz (all ex-PL). The ousted, outraged Real boast Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham. Atletico have Julian Alvarez (ex-PL). Barcelona, beaten by Atletico, have the joyous Lamine Yamal and the unfortunately injured Raphinha. PSG have Ousmane Dembele, Kvicha Kvaretskhelia and Vitinha.

Superstars in the Premier League? Erling Haaland, certainly, even the moody Bruno Fernandes. Mo Salah until this season. In Ballon d’Or voting last year, I had only one Premier League-based player in my top 10 – Salah (fourth) behind Dembele, Yamal and Vitinha. Maybe the elite players look at the English “schedule” and prefer the Continent. The money is the same at their level.

The Premier League can boast the best marketing and best intensity of competition, and the latter is where Arteta’s “schedule” point rings most true. Kane benefits from a winter break. Declan Rice doesn’t. The midfielder is Arteta’s most important player and captained the side against Sporting. Rice has contested 2,675 minutes of Premier League football this season. That’s 10 hours more than Kane. And that’s only one of the numbers thrown up this week.

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Hutchinson’s sad passing at 86 yesterday brought plenty of deserved plaudits for his clever response to the Bosman ruling and inspired, high-profile recruitment. Hutchinson could see the way football was going. On May 21, 1995, Hutchinson gathered Chelsea’s chairman Ken Bates, vice-chairman and backer Matthew Harding and manager Glenn Hoddle at the Marriott near Slough to decide a new approach to recruitment. What became known as the “Marriott Accord” laid the foundations for the modern Chelsea.

Gullit came from Sampdoria on a free, and suddenly the No 4 shirt worn by Vinnie Jones a couple of seasons earlier was being graced by one of the greats of the game, a former Ballon d’Or winner. One of his old shirts, signed by Gullit, is on prominent display in the club museum at the Bridge. Gullit’s arrival in 1995 felt like the advent of a new era. In a way, it was the launch of the new Chelsea, initially under Bates, who once described Hutchinson as his best ever signing, and then accelerated by Roman Abramovich. Chelsea’s current BlueCo owners could do with some of Hutchinson’s wisdom and decisiveness in the transfer market.

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In the latest episode of the Football Boardroom, Christian Purslow and I look at the costs, wages, ownership models, thoughts of PL2, broadcast revenues, regulation and why PL clubs aren’t voting yet for the New Deal. Christian experienced it while CEO of Aston Villa in the Championship.

Hope you find the episode interesting… it can be found here…

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Footballers have traditionally enjoyed, even loved golf. Harry Kane plays off three, works with a golf apparel manufacturer and last year revealed he’s hitting a driver 301 yards. The golf365 website established that “would rank him 90th on the current PGA Tour season”. Kane hits a 6-iron to 204 yards and 3-iron to 247 yards.

Gareth Bale brought in course designers and landscapers to recreate Amen Corner at Augusta, the Postage Stamp at Royal Troon and the 17th at Sawgrass in his presumably spacious back garden at his home in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The list of footballing golfers is long. Andrei Shevchenko played off two and has had a house on the Wentworth estate. Julian Dicks played in tournaments in Spain. Scratch golfer Jimmy Bullard went into regional qualifying for The Open last year but failed to progress after a three-over-par 74 at Rochester & Cobham Park in Kent.

Peter Odemwingie, no stranger to high-profile drives, birdied the first in his qualifying attempt last year but also failed, eventually carding a 10-over 82 at Enville, near Stourbridge. The striker got into golf while at West Brom and pre-season training at a golf resort chosen by Roy Hodgson. Odemwingie has now qualified as a teaching professional.

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Beyond the crest and shirt colour it was hard to see much connection between the Liverpool that set out for damage limitation over in Paris last night and their bolder forebears. When Liverpool went to Parc des Princes for the 1981 European Cup final against acclaimed opponents, the Real Madrid of Juanito, Santillana and Laurie Cunningham, they played with belief and famously won through a goal from “Barney Rubble”, their left-back, Alan Kennedy. He’s an unlikely club legend but, in many ways, the epitome of Liverpool’s identity – courage. He scored in big games. No fear. Sammy Lee – fearless. Ronnie Whelan – fearless. Sadio Mane – fearless. That was their nature - and also the tone set by their managers.

Shamefully, there was fear in Liverpool’s performance last night. The five-man defence assembled by Arne Slot screamed damage limitation. It was like he didn’t trust them not to make mistakes so crammed the defence, including Ryan Gravenberch attempting to shield in front of them. Further forward, there was little sustained pressing. I spoke to Graeme Souness recently and he laughed at the suggestion that pressing was a modern invention. Liverpool were pressing through Ian Rush in the 1980s.

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1. Jennings let so much go. In the age of VAR, smoke would have been coming out of an overworked Stockley Park. PGMO would have been posting constant updates of decisions on its X match centre from the second minute. The FA would have cancelled all leave in its disciplinary department. Eddie Gray gave David Webb the runaround in the original game at Wembley, and the Chelsea defender was determined early on to curtail the Leeds winger’s threat. So he wiped Gray out. Gray got up and played on.

Webb then went in two-footed on Allan Clarke. Peter Osgood clattered Jack Charlton. Charlie Cooke took out Billy Bremner. Eddie McCreadie could have been sent off twice, particularly for a high boot on Bremner that bordered on kung fu. Ron Harris went full “Chopper” on Gray. Osgood went in late on David Harvey. Chelsea were as filthy as so-called “Dirty Leeds”.

For Leeds, Bremner, Charlton, Gray and Norman Hunter could all have walked for assorted offences. David Elleray, going through the footage in 1997, said he would have sent off six players and dished out 20 yellows. Twenty-three years on, Michael Oliver re-watched the game for the Telegraph and explained he would have shown 11 reds. Their reactions reflect the end of leniency and rise of strictness.

2. The physical and mental resilience of the players was formidable. Familiarity bred commitment. The replay was the teams’ sixth meeting of the season (two in the league, two in the League Cup and these two in the FA Cup final). Yet there was little rest or rotation. Only one sub allowed (and Don Revie didn’t even use his). When Mick Jones barged into Peter Bonetti, Wolstenholme described the challenge as “almost X certificate” yet Bonetti limped on. No subs for goalkeepers in 1970. Observers rightly point out the difference in pace between then and now – quicker now, testing the stamina - but there were fewer stoppages in 1970.

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Narrowing the focus solely to Premier League games, the elite division of English football has celebrated many epics since 1992/93. Everyone will have their favourites: whether Sergio Aguero deciding the title; Manchester United recovering from 3-0 down to win 5-3 at Spurs; Michael Owen settling the Manchester Derby in the sixth minute of stoppage time; Leicester City triumphing at nearest rivals Manchester City en route to the fairy-tale title; Cole Palmer’s two injury-time goals to give Chelsea a 4-3 win over United. Throw in the efforts of Mourinho’s Chelsea sides, Wenger’s Invincibles, Ferguson’s indomitables and the Kloppites and there is such a choice.

But for sheer drama and significance, a game that you could watch for 90 absorbing minutes, starting with Robbie Fowler’s early opener and climaxing with Collymore’s late winner, Liverpool 4 Newcastle 3 has to be the greatest Premier League game. It even has its own Wikipedia page running to 2,567 words. It’s worth a trip down memory lane 30 years on.

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The wider Chelsea community contributed to a substantial five-figure sum raised for the Stoll Foundation, helping veterans, and the Barons Court Project. It showed the big heart still at Chelsea, fans thinking of others, helping out. Such initiatives go on at all clubs. The Chelsea Sleep-Out just felt particularly well-timed given events at the club.

As the fans bedded down, they could have been forgiven for thinking what on earth was going on upstairs? Is anyone actually in charge there? Is there any leadership, moral or otherwise? This is far from exclusively a Chelsea issue, as much a reflection on trends within the Premier League. The elite division has become far more about the pursuit of personal gain, whether financial or ego, than principles. But it is a theme most obviously being played out at Chelsea. The Americanisation of English football takes place while local fans help the disadvantaged in the surrounding community. It’s a sport of two halves…

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He was asked about mood amongst the players, Harry Kane taking corners, and he became increasingly weary. “I’m getting boring,” he sighed during one answer. Hodgson concluded, “I have nothing more to add, I’ll leave you to your stories and thank you for your time.” With that, Hodgson vacated the broadcast room, and hurried across the car-park. One problem. He still had the waiting writers to deal with. I chased after him; in fairness, not the fastest foot race in the history of English sport. On catching up with Hodgson, I realised he really wasn’t in the mood to talk any more. He felt he’d said all he had to say.

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