Chelsea win opening Club World Cup game | Grealish to Napoli? | WSL to expand
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Welcome to Back Pages, bringing you everything you need to know about the biggest sports stories making the headlines in the morning's newspapers. I'm Dharmesh Sheth and joining me are The Independent's Miguel Delaney and Martin Ziegler from The Times. Welcome along to you both. Yep, welcome along to you both, Miguel and Martin. Again, let's start then with The Guardian and Chelsea's opening Club World Cup match.

And yes, it was a victory, but the fans stayed away. We'll come to the fans and the attendance in just a moment. But Miguel, let's start with you. From what you saw, was that a team wanting to be there or going through the motions?

I think that's probably a little bit hard to judge this early because I think the expectation even amid the obvious context of exhausted European squads is they're probably going to build into the tournament slowly. I think it's generally accepted the group stages are obviously weaker. Chelsea have that win now that I mean almost kind of puts them halfway through and

LAFC, I think they're actually, they gave a decent account of themselves. There's obviously a quality gap as illustrated by the wages of the teams, illustrated by the levels of the players and even the fact, I suppose, that Hugo Lloris very much towards the end of his career is the star of the LAFC team in goal.

But there was almost maybe that sense of the teams, or certainly Chelsea, treating as kind of half post-season, half pre-season, or maybe a third post-season, a third pre-season, and a third kind of building up for this actual tournament. In terms of the actual football, I thought the main takeaway was really just a delapse impact there.

I know Jason Bratt was just reading his report there and the Telegraph has gone in on that about how it feels like the most significant aspect was when the lap came on for Jackson and immediately kind of gave a bit more impetus to Chelsea. I felt the same watching the game myself. He gives the team a focal point and maybe a greater kind of directness. And he obviously set up a goal as well.

But, yeah, I think that the general consensus from the reporters there has been to actually win this tournament, Chelsea would have to up it considerably. But I think that's going to be the case with many of the European teams until they get to the knockout stages. Yeah, Martin, picking up on what Miguel said there, we can have a look at the Telegraph. And the headline is about Liam Dillap. Dillap shows he is a future of Chelsea with striking cameo. So...

This is potentially, I mean, we know it's going to be a huge season for Chelsea, but a potentially huge one for the player himself because it's starting with the Club World Cup with his new club. It could potentially end with a World Cup with England, couldn't it?

Yeah, I mean, a lot of people see him as a potential long-term successor to Harry Kane in England. I mean, there's certainly not that many English players in that position of his age that are coming through. So it's whether he can take that opportunity. He'll need to grab it with both hands and he'll need to have a really good season with

with Chelsea and get past Jackson so that he's a number one choice for a start. So there's a lot of work for him to do. But yeah, I mean, even in that half hour cameo he had today, he certainly showed lots of desire and intent. And I suppose whether the other players are quite as fired up for this tournament, maybe they weren't, but he's certainly got a point to prove.

Point to prove. I wonder if the tournament itself has a point to prove, Miguel. There were good crowds in the other games, but let's talk about the attendance for this Chelsea game. The optics don't look too good for FIFA on this one, does it? No, I mean, there is a context to be fair, which is they put it at 3 p.m. in the middle of a working day, not at a weekend.

And it's why it's still despite that. I mean, the official attendance figure was around 22,000 from the images I've seen and even some of the footage during the game that felt general. But again, you know, you can't really it's a bit difficult to judge from certain camera angles.

and so while I think the 3pm kickoff gives it allowance it still feels a gap given that well it was two years ago in this exact stadium that Chelsea and Newcastle filled it who knows maybe given some of the discussion around this tournament had they billed it as a kind of a lucrative pre-season friendly rather than an opening group game like this maybe there would have been a bit more but I suppose some of this fits into like a lot of the debate we've been having around the tournament and

I mean, I think there are, despite the controversy, I think there are merits to it. It's a good idea. I think most of the debate has obviously been around how that idea has been implemented and some of the kind of decisions taken around it, the motivations around it, and the way it's just been imposed in the calendar. And hence you have a game like this where...

you know, it's been times for a European audience that actually is maybe the audience, bar obviously Chelsea fans in this game, maybe the audience that actually cares the least. I think we're seeing the greatest pickup in South America given they want their teams to, you know, give a really good account of themselves and also maybe restore a bit of pride given Europe now basically very quickly takes so many of South America's best players. Similarly, we saw a send-off of the Japanese team, Euro Reds,

But yeah, it's got issues. We've only had one game so far where both teams have scored. There's been two mismatches, although one of those surprisingly was between two of the major European teams in Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid. And it's still, despite some merits, it hasn't quite escaped that sense that it's still just a kind of a, you know, it's a tournament that's been imposed on football and is very much finding its feet.

How it's being imposed on the calendar, says Miguel Delaney-Martin. Just more generally, we heard some interesting quotes, didn't we, from the Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, that because of this tournament, the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool, who won't be involved in this tournament, and have got a bit of time off now before their pre-season really kicks into gear, they will have the advantage next season when it comes to the title races. Has he got a point?

I think that's sort of fairly widely accepted actually because we know that the Manchester City and Chelsea asked for Premier League if they could delay the start for their return to the Premier League and were refused permission to do that so

Clearly, these clubs feel that they're going to be at a disadvantage. And it just makes sense, doesn't it? Because if they get to the final, it's only five weeks before the Premier League starts. And so how long a break are the players going to have? Will they have to be back in for pre-season? It's going to be really hard going for them. And especially those who were involved in the Euros as well last year. It must feel like it's the never-ending football season.

You say never-ending football season, it feels like a never-ending transfer window. It opened, it closed, it's open again, Miguel. An interesting story in the Telegraph concerns a man who's not at the Club World Cup with Manchester City. That is, of course, Jack Grealish and a potential move to Napoli. Is this a good move potentially for all parties?

I think it's a good move, just on the transfer window, I suppose. Not necessarily it's never-ending, but given we all work in it, it's the noise is never-ending. And not just from journalists. But I mean, I suppose there's been some noise from Grealish or about Grealish in the future for some time.

I mean, the most obvious point here maybe is how Napoli has proven, you know, it's offered a resurgence. I don't want to say a resurgence because Scott McTominay was a good player at Manchester United, but it's really allowed him to go on to another level. I mean, he's won Serie A's most important player last season. Billy Gilmore has been a valuable player for Napoli as well.

uh he's going greelish should he go to napoli he'll obviously have a someone he knows well given kevin de bruyne has eventually after a few different offers he's joined napoli too

Now, we've seen they can work together very well, as they did in City's 22-23 season. And, I mean, given the charisma Grealish has, given Napoli's historic love of a player with a bit of flair, that maybe Grealish hasn't got to express as much lately as...

at City and the most obvious example here in terms of that sort of playmaker is Diego Maradona Grealish has I mean okay he's not Diego Maradona but he's got his own charisma about him and it feels like the sort of place that he'd fit in that he'd really enjoy and we might see his confidence return because he obviously hasn't been the same Jack Grealish lately we've discussed it on the show we can see it in his numbers for City lately at least in appearances I mean as that story points to

The one issue, and maybe I suppose a debate that Greta's going to have to have with himself and his camp, is over wages. Because he obviously has, he's on a very healthy wage at City. Given he's not in the team right now, any potential clubs really won't want to go to that level. But in terms of kind of, I suppose, the football benefit from this, I think there's a lot of obvious pluses to this. Napoli move on, of course, lifestyle pluses as well.

Yeah, a lot of obvious pluses, Martin. It's an interesting project, isn't it, at Napoli? And it probably would encourage someone like Jack Grealish to think, well, I've seen Scott McTominay go there, I've seen Billy Gilmore go there and go there and win the Serie A title. As Miguel rightly explained there, Kevin De Bruyne will be there too. It feels like a good fit.

There's got a lot of glamour to it in Napoli, hasn't it? Going back to the Maradona days. So I think it could be quite tempting, especially for somebody like Grealish, he's a showman on the pitch, isn't he? So...

and somebody who would, I'm sure, love to be the idol of the fans. And it obviously hasn't worked out for him in the last couple of seasons. It perhaps feels like he's chafing under the sort of rigidity of the structure under Pep Guardiola. So if he could go somewhere, he could express himself a bit more,

And, you know, it's a great place, Naples. It's a buzzing city. I'm sure he would like that as well. So it makes sense in many ways. But, you know, would Manchester City perhaps, you know, pay part of the wages if he went on loan or if it's going to be an actual transfer? Then what happens about his personal, I think, his personal wages? Because, as Miguel says, he's going to be

more probably than any other player in Napoli at the moment. Miguel, just finally before we go to a break, staying with Manchester City and potential exits, the Sun has got an exclusive of Everton maybe landing Kyle Walker on a one-year deal. Raise a few eyebrows for you? Maybe a little, I suppose. Walker's just gone, he obviously had the loan spell at Milan, but he didn't go, he didn't quite have the impact there they would have expected. He's

And it's interesting with just City as well here because Walker was brought in in 2017 as kind of one of the specific fullbacks that Guardiola chose in what was a key summer in the evolution of that team. And it feels now a bit like now City are having the same summer in the opposite direction. It's the same sort of feel as 2017 and essentially they're signing almost half a team again. And obviously one consequence of that is Walker just doesn't have a place in the squad and that's been made clear to him. And Everton, I mean...

obviously Everton have been a bit more of a frugal team in terms of players incoming over the past few years that's because of the ownership situation the Freakins will get to stretch a little bit more this summer and maybe in that context they do feel they could use a bit of experience that Walker would offer I mean Seamus Coleman has been the long standing right back for the club but has obviously had his fitness issues as his career goes on over the past few years and Walker maybe just

bridges the gap a little bit and also, I mean, he's exactly the sort of player as well, given that experience, given that stature as a footballer that you'd imagine David Moyes really appreciates. So, what I think it was a surprise when the news came out, it's not a surprise in the sense that you can see the logic of it. Let's get to the Guardian and they say women's football thinks big. Clubs approve WSL expansion and professional second tier.

So Miguel, going from 12 teams to 14. Good move?

Funny, before we came on air, I was obviously talking to a few people who work in the women's game and exactly that question, good move, one of the responses I got pretty much or is unanimous really and resounding was yes, good thing. I think, I mean, in terms of structure, it works. I mean, already there's kind of an argument it should go to a two league system rather than three. But also I suppose there's a bigger picture in the sense that the women's game is obviously...

generally been on a massive upward trajectory over the past few years. So much of it centered around the Euro 2022 victory.

But maybe just within the game, and from speaking to people who work with internet, even as regards to issues like attendances outside clubs like Arsenal, there was maybe that slight sense of a little bit of kind of plateaued momentum over the past year or so. And even in those terms, I think a move like this, where it kind of pushes things forward, just offers that impetus again, and also ensures progress, and also a proactive move that will hopefully as well raise standards.

Martin, Miguel says raise standards, but it also does give the WSL and women's football in general a lot of momentum at a time when Arsenal are already planning to play all of their WSL home games at the Emirates Stadium next season. And of course, with the women's Euros upcoming this summer as well.

Yeah, I think it was very important that they didn't scrap relegation while they were expanding, which is an option that had been considered. So that, I mean, it was even suggested that there would be four seasons before relegation was brought back in. I think that would have been actually quite damaging. And so what we're going to have now is you're going to have two teams going up and then the third place championship team playing off against the bottom Super League team.

to see if they get a promotional relegation. So that's going to be excitement that really is needed at the bottom. So I think that's a wise decision not to remove that risk of relegation, that threat.

And then to try and use, as you say, the impetus to try and grow the game more. It did have a bit of a, I think, attendance fell last season slightly. But as you say, Arsenal, every Women's Super League match is going to be at the Emirates. And, you know, they're regularly selling out. So I think it's, if other clubs follow suit, then I think it's going to be quite exciting times.

It should be, yeah. Miguel, let's go to the Telegraph now and this fascinating story that has been doing the rounds all day today and it's about Gareth Bale being the face of a US potential takeover of Plymouth Argyle. What did you make of it when you read that one?

I mean, I'd say maybe a year or two ago it would have caused shock. But as you point out, I mean, you use the word the kind of the face of a bid there. This is something that's actually becoming a bit of a trend in football. And it feels like it's actually linked to some of the wider dynamics of the game, not least how the top strand of players earn so much money. I mean, even 10 years ago, obviously kind of 20 to 30 years ago,

some players maybe towards the end of their careers they would have thought about dropping down potentially playing for a club equivalent to Plymouth to see how their career now they earn so much money they can actually be part of consortiums to buy them obviously we've had a similar example in terms of em

how, I mean, Ronaldo in Madrid, in Spain was one of the first, the original Ronaldo with Valle de Lid. There's the most recent story, Luka Modric being involved at Swansea. Then there's this kind of similar sort of thing where a lot of these consortiums not necessarily get football players, but, you know,

big celebrities who have often been involved with sport, Tom Brady being the most obvious at Birmingham City. So from that point of view, to actually get, you know, world-class stars, sorry, globally famous stars involved seems obvious. And there's always that sense as well that when it is kind of a very business-led consortium that buy a club, that having a football name involved, particularly a famous football name, gives it that kind of sporting legitimacy as well.

Martin, is this big incentive, especially with these big names getting involved in these EFL clubs, that the potential of the promised land and the Premier League is within sight if they attach themselves to this? Yeah, I'm afraid I'm a bit cynical about it. I think it's a bit of a publicity stunt.

and something to sort of try and get their bid across the line, but say they've got some famous name behind them. I mean, if you look at, for example, Tom Brady at Birmingham City,

He's got a tiny fraction of the club and he's got, I think, three percent of B shares, which means he has no voting rights at all. So it really is just for show. It doesn't actually mean anything, I don't think. So I stand to be proved wrong with Gareth Bale. Maybe he's going to come in and play a leading role in the direction of the club. But I suspect it will be much more ambassadorial.

Martin, I want to stay with you just on the Telegraph because it's a revealing interview with Owen Farrell returning to Saracens on a two year deal after an agreement with Racing 92. What do you make of his time there? What do you make of his return? And do you think he'll have any regrets?

I mean, he's been absolutely sort of devastated by one injury after another. So his time at Racing has been really disappointing. I'm sure he would have hoped he would have been the chance of

joining his dad on the Lions, but it hasn't happened. And I think it's very unlikely to happen, even if there's a series of injuries. So I think he's going to now go back to the place where he began his career, had so many successful years there, knows everybody there.

perhaps one day move into coaching himself. But he's 33. If you look at Johnny Sexton, he was 38 when he retired from international rugby. So he could have a few years left in the tank. And I'm sure if he can get back to his best, he will enter the thinking of Steve Borthwick in England again. Miguel, very quickly, just picking up on what Martin said there, do you see Owen Farrell becoming an England international again?

I think it's a stretch. I suppose the one element, and Martin touched on it, when you've had the years of difficulty that Farrell has now and a move that didn't quite work out abroad, it's not just about where he goes next, but also, I suppose, the specific choice in that, given it's back to Saracens, there's an element of romance to it. And that is something, sometimes can be the emotional element that actually resuscitates a career in that way. I mean, there's no extra challenge in terms of adapting. As Martin said, he knows everyone at the club

And at the very least, you could think this is kind of the best possible context to relaunch himself and maybe get back on the team. But there is still a significant distance to go from here to there. But yeah, at least there's an element of romance to this after a difficult period away.

Martin, you touched on it before that Owen Farrell won't be there with the Lions, but it is featured in your newspaper in The Times. Sexton and Russell clear the air ahead of this, what looks like it's going to be a thrilling Lions tour.

Yeah, I mean, this was fascinating when the section was brought in as the coach by Farrell, because Finn Russell, he looks like he's destined to be the starting number 10 for the Lions. And they got some serious history. Section was very disparaging about Russell in his autobiography.

called him flashy. But Sexton has done an interview now and he says they've had a handshake, they've had a chat, they're going to have another chat and he says they're going to deal with it and he's not going to tell him what to do but he's going to be there to help him if he can. So I think he's taken a very grown-up, sensible way out of trying to clear up that particular one.

Martin, Miguel, fantastic stuff. Thanks for your time.