James Ducker, Northern football correspondent at The Telegraph, writes:

Erling Haaland launched a foul-mouthed tirade at referee Simon Hooper after Manchester City’s dramatic 3-3 draw against Tottenham ended in anger and controversy at the Etihad Stadium.

Haaland led a furious protest when Hooper decided to pull play back for a foul in the fifth minute of stoppage time moments after appearing to play the advantage when the City striker released Jack Grealish through on goal.

The Norwegian – incensed at Hooper seemingly reneging on his original decision and denying a goal-scoring opportunity – charged over to the referee, who was surrounded by an angry mob of City players.

Haaland appeared to scream “F— off! F— off!” at Hooper and was booked for his trouble before getting involved in a clash with Spurs players Giovani Lo Celso and Brennan Johnson at the final whistle when he launched another expletive-strewn rant.

City’s No 9 later took to social media to further vent his anger, posting “Wtf”, which means ‘What the f—”, on X above a video of the incident, a move that could yet land him in hot water with the Football Association.

City, who had come from behind to lead 2-1 and then 3-2 before Dejan Kulusevski plundered a 90th-minute equaliser, also risked being charged by the FA for failing to control their players given the way Hooper was confronted.

Why Haaland was so furious…

Haaland is fouled

The game has entered its fifth minute of stoppage time when, with the scoreline locked at 3-3 after Dejan Kulusevski’s late equaliser, Rodri plays a pass into Haaland. Emerson Royal, the Tottenham defender, comes sliding in and catches Haaland with a poor, lunging challenge.

‌Referee goes to stop play

The tackle results in the Manchester City striker momentarily falling to his knees and, at that moment, Simon Hooper, the referee, appears ready to blow his whistle, stop the play and award a free-kick.

‌Haaland gets up and referee signals advantage

Haaland has no intention of staying down and quickly jumps to his feet and turns. Hooper spots the Norwegian’s reaction and resists blowing for the foul and then raises an arm, seemingly to signal advantage being played. It looks like an excellent piece of officiating.

G‌realish released but referee blows for free-kick

Haaland’s clipped pass over the top is a beauty and releases team-mate Jack Grealish ahead of three Spurs players, only for Hooper to inexplicably blow his whistle and call the play back, reneging on what appeared his original decision to play the advantage.

Grealish through on goal

Grealish appeared onside and through on goal, even if it cannot be certain the England midfielder would not have been caught. Asked after the game if Spurs had got away with one in that instance, Ange Postecoglou, the Spurs manager, conceded: “Yeah, I guess so, mate.”

Haaland fury

Haaland reacts furiously, charging over to Hooper to lead the inquest as other disbelieving City players, including Ruben Dias, Mateo Kovacic and Rodri surround the beleaguered official. Haaland is a picture of pent-up rage, unable to compute the decision and bellowing in the face of Hooper. City’s No 9 is then booked after appearing to shout “F— off! F— off!” at the referee. Haaland eventually walks away but is seen throwing his arms around in disgust at the decision as others continue the protest. Royal is also shown a yellow card.

‌Haaland clashes with Spurs staff

Haaland had still not calmed down by the time the final whistle goes a few minutes later and, after the Tottenham player Giovani Lo Celso knocked into him as he went to leave the pitch, City’s top scorer turned out and was seen apparently screaming “F— you! F— you!” in his opponent’s direction. A stand-off with another Spurs player, Brennan Johnson, briefly ensues, with Postecoglou at one point trying to motion Haaland away.

Haaland would later vent his anger on social media, posting the caption “Wtf” – shorthand for ‘What the f—’ – above a video of the incident on Twitter.

Guardiola: I won’t do an Arteta

Pep Guardiola warned he would not “do a Mikel Arteta” by launching into a verbal assault of the officials, as the Arsenal manager had done in the wake of his side’s 1-0 defeat against Newcastle last month.

“Next question, I will not do a Mikel Arteta comment,” he said.

But the City manager insisted Haaland’s reaction was “normal” in the heat of the moment and claimed Hooper would have been “disappointed” by the decision had he been representing the club.

Guardiola also joked that, if the rules prohibiting players from challenging the officials had been applied correctly, 10 City players – all except the captain – should have been sent off.

“It’s normal,” Guardiola said. “His [Haaland’s] reaction was the same for [the other] 10 players. The rules are you cannot talk with the referees or fourth officials so we should have had 10 players sent off today.

“He’s [Haaland] a little bit disappointed. Even the referee – if he played for Man City today he would be disappointed for that action, that’s for sure.

“It is hard when you review the image, the referee decides to blow the whistle after he has already said to play on. After the pass, the whistle, so I do not understand this action.”

Guardiola said he was “surprised” Hooper had blown his whistle having initially signalled advantage to City.

“In that action it’s football,” he said. “I make mistakes, the players make mistakes. It surprised me because in the moment Erling went down for the action from [Emerson Royal] if you whistle in that moment it’s fine.

“But when he stands up and continues and the referee in that moment makes that gesture to ‘play on, play on’ and after he [Haaland] makes the pass he then stops the game. I don’t want to criticise him.

“On the touchline sometimes I lose my mind and my gestures are not proper but here normally for many years as a manager I’m not a guy when I’m refreshed to comment. But I would say we didn’t draw for that.”

‘He made a mistake, it’s a poor call’

Ange Postecoglou admitted that Spurs had perhaps been fortunate when asked if his side had “got away with one” in that instance. “Yeah, I guess so, mate,” the Tottenham manager said.

Hooper’s decision drew criticism from a number of former players. Jamie Carragher, the former Liverpool defender, claimed the referee had “panicked” while Micah Richards said the decision was hard to fathom.

“The referee had a brilliant game today until this moment,” the former City defender said. “I don’t understand. He puts the whistle to his mouth, he waves it on but stops to play advantage. Grealish is clearly through but then he stops the play, which I just don’t understand.

“The evidence is there for all to see. He didn’t blow it the first time but then Grealish is through and he blows it to stop play. He’s cost him a one-on-one chance with the keeper.”

Roy Keane, the former Manchester United captain, claimed City should have been more frustrated about Tottenham’s equaliser. “He’s made a mistake,” Keane said.

“There’s been a few out there today. It’s a poor call, he’s played advantage and give him credit for that, but then he’s stopped it and made a mistake. It’s a poor decision but City should be the critical ones who let Spurs off the hook.”

Link: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/12/03/erling-haaland-man-city-tottenham-referee-fury-simon-hooper/

Jeremy Wilson, chief sports reporter at The Telegraph, reports:

Just how many Ally McCoists are there? It was one of many unanswered questions hanging in the Paris air on Tuesday night after the Scot had woken at 5.45am ahead of his radio show before commentating for TNT Sports at Newcastle United’s dramatic 1-1 draw with PSG. And yet the real drama would not begin until he was fully 16 hours into his day.

Rio Ferdinand had been taken ill during the second half shortly before PSG’s deeply controversial equaliser and so there was only one answer when an emergency pitchside substitute was required. Cue the ever versatile McCoist who, from the gantry up in the gods of the Parc des Princes, bolted from his place next to co-commentator Darren Fletcher before displaying a touchline urgency rarely seen since he was regularly scoring 30 goals a season at Glasgow Rangers.

The rosy cheeks that suddenly appeared on the screen, raging at the injustice of Kylian Mbappe’s crucial goal, was a consequence not just of the unexpected exertion but how even the most infectiously enthusiastic man in football is reaching the end of his tether with Var.

“It will just annoy me, but go on,” said McCoist, when asked if he wanted to see a replay of the penalty decision before a second watch confirmed his first instincts.

“That’s a shambles,” he declared. “An horrendous decision. Honestly, that’s not on. If that’s a penalty, we may as well give the game up. It’s bordering on robbery.”

As Newcastle manager Eddie Howe bit his tongue but looked on admiringly, it was a monologue that would soon have McCoist trending on social media and swathes of the North East added to an already bulging list of fans. His phone was also lighting up with dozens of supportive messages.

“I’m fuming – and I’ve not got a dog in the fight,” McCoist would later say, still shaking his head before finally leaving the stadium shortly after midnight and then waking up five hours later to vent some more on the radio.

It had been a frantic finale for the entire 40-strong TNT team in France.

Presenter Laura Woods, the broadcaster’s star summer signing, was herself literally putting a pen through the words she had just formulated ahead of a post-match analysis that would pivot from deconstructing a famous victory to a potentially season-changing Var intervention.

Producer Thom Hambleton was also ripping up the script and relaying thoughts to Woods’s ear-piece from inside a screen-filled truck outside the stadium.

Joel Miller, the resident stats guru (described by Fletcher as “the only person in the history of BT or TNT Sports to have never made a mistake”), was another in full flow, having earlier arrived with a full hand-crafted A4 grid of the nine different possible group permutations.

Link: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/11/30/tnt-sports-laura-woods-champions-league-behind-the-scenes/

From The Telegraph’s John Percy:
It is 11.30am on a blustery morning at West Bromwich Albion’s training ground and Carlos Corberán is marching down the pitch with a ball under one arm and whistle in his hand.

“Excellent,” he purrs, nodding in approval as his players execute an intense pressing drill, and it soon becomes clear that Corberán is a head coach who is extremely hands-on.

The training pitch is where he springs into life and Telegraph Sport has been given exclusive access to observe the highly regarded Spaniard in full flow, before a packed schedule of matches.

A self-confessed disciple of Marcelo Bielsa, after working under the Argentine at Leeds, Corberán is a fascinating character and football obsessive who has transformed the culture across the club.

He is also emerging as a leader in a time of uncertainty; an emblem of hope for a fanbase that has become disillusioned and frustrated with the club’s direction.

West Brom are still under the control of unpopular owner Guochuan Lai and remain in talks with a number of parties over a potential sale, with a Nigerian and American group thought to be the two front-runners.

The valuation is understood to be around £30 million, plus the various debts and money owed in loans. Sources have confirmed negotiations are “moving”.

‘Being a coach is a dream’

Corberán faces uncertainty if a takeover is not completed soon, with pressure to raise money through player sales in the January transfer window.

Try telling that to him, though. The 40-year-old is refusing to allow any outside noise to damage the team spirit he has created. Whatever is happening behind the scenes, ‘King Carlos’ will be in every day until 8pm, plotting a path back to the Premier League.

“Being a coach is a dream, and I cannot be more proud than I am to represent this massive club,” he says. “Before I worked here, it was one of the clubs that caught my attention, but now being here I realise how important it is.

“You live with a lot of responsibility because you know how much you’re impacting the club and the fans. I want to put this club at the highest point and give my best for them.”

This is a rare opportunity to witness the meticulous preparations and extreme detail of Corberán, who has guided West Brom up to third in the Championship.

He celebrated a year in charge in October, marking the occasion by presenting every member of staff with a bottle of Estrella beer (last Christmas it was a bottle of red wine from Valencia).

We were invited to attend last Thursday, ahead of the game against high-flying Ipswich, and Corberán has called a 10.30am team meeting before the players start training. Meetings are the norm here, with another after training. The day before matches, every player is seen individually for 15 minutes each.

Corberán’s meetings and training sessions are absolutely crucial in outlining his philosophy to the squad.

His training method is based around periodisation – a strategy in four phases of attack, defence and the transitions in between – with the emphasis on shorter, sharper sessions and the workload usually decreasing nearer to match day.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are more detailed, longer sessions broken down into analytical training with defending and attacking drills, plus small-sided games.

Corberán prefers to operate with a squad of 20 and, in the session we observe, all outfield positions have two players effectively shadowing each other.

Thursday’s session focused in more detail on how to exploit Ipswich’s perceived weaknesses. Corberán prefers to operate with a 4-2-3-1 formation but, in this game, set up with a 4-4-2 deep shape. The plan was to target, press and isolate Ipswich’s right-back Brandon Williams, as left-back Leif Davis is often higher up the pitch with one winger wide. Pressing when out of possession was vital.

It clearly worked, with West Brom winning 2-0 and sentencing their opponents to a first league defeat since August 26.

“Football is growing and the coaches have a big understanding of the game. It’s getting more difficult to prepare but it’s all about finding solutions,” says Corberán.

“It’s important that when players go out on the pitch they don’t feel they need to give the right answer every time.

“Training can help us to create habits and positive behaviours, that is why our level of concentration is so high. Everyone needs to know everything that is going to be demanded in the game.”

Every player knows his job

Corberán’s squad is a mix of experience and emerging talent, which includes captain Jed Wallace, highly rated striker Brandon Thomas-Asante, goalkeeper Alex Palmer and playmaker John Swift.

There are high hopes for Caleb Taylor, the 20-year-old son of former Birmingham defender Martin and the latest academy graduate.

“Aggression” and “intensity” are two words Corberán regularly uses as he delivers instructions. Every player knows his job and if the team loses at the weekend, it will not be down to a lack of preparation.

Along with his coaches, another key member of Corberán’s backroom staff is Tony Strudwick, Albion’s director of medical and a former head of performance with England and Manchester United.

Strudwick works closely with Corberán in developing the weekly schedule, with every player’s fitness levels and statistics captured by GPS trackers. Players are weighed every day, and were asked to send through personal reports while away during the recent international break.

The mission is always to out-run the opposition and West Brom have one of the fittest squads in a highly competitive league. The team’s average distance per match is 112km (including the goalkeeper and centre-halves, who do less running).

Fitness and athleticism is fundamental to Corberán’s explosive, high-energy game.

Corberán idolising Benítez

The manager’s influence also stretches to the training ground canteen: bread, tomato ketchup and a number of other processed carbohydrates have been removed.

As you walk towards the players’ dressing room, there is a slogan on the wall that perfectly captures his approach.

“If people are doubting how far you can go, go so far that you can’t hear them any more,” it reads.

A former goalkeeper, Corberán has been waiting for these moments ever since idolising Rafael Benítez during his tenure with Liverpool.

Corberán established his reputation in this country working with Leeds’ under-23s and then the first team. He still speaks regularly to Bielsa and describes the relationship as “a privilege”.

In his first job as a No 1, he guided Huddersfield Town to the Championship play-off final, which they lost to Nottingham Forest. Yet it is at West Brom where he feels most at home, and his impact has been significant.

After missing out on the play-offs on the final day of last season, hopes are high that this time he can go further.

On Saturday his team face another test with the visit of league leaders Leicester to the Hawthorns. As usual, ‘King Carlos’ will leave no stone unturned.

Read on site (without a paywall): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/11/29/west-brom-carlos-corberan-efl-championship/