Liverpool, inflexible sheep farmers and why a change can do you good

There is a story about a wise old man who lived, many years ago, high in the Indian mountains. Every day the man ate the same food, not just the same breakfast or the same lunch but the exact same thing for every single meal, every single day, like Mariah Carey. He ate only this one thing, and though the precise details have been lost in the mists of time that thing was mainly rice so it was already quite boring – not just for him, but also for the person whose job it was to prepare his meals. Eventually the cook confronted him. “Why do you always eat the same thing?” the cook asked. “Are you not as bored of eating it as I am of cooking it?” The old man shook his head. “It is not the same food,” he said. “How can I eat exactly the same thing twice? Every day is different.”

Four years ago this month the Guardian ran an article by the Welsh sheep farmer Wilf Davies about his life. “I have a routine, just like nature,” he wrote. “That extends to what I eat. I’ve had the same supper for 10 years, even on Christmas Day: two pieces of fish, one big onion, an egg, baked beans and a few biscuits at the end. For lunch I have a pear, an orange and four sandwiches with paste. When I go to the supermarket, I know exactly what I want. I’m not interested in other food. I’ve never had Chinese, Indian, French food. Why change? I’ve already found the food I love.”

The film-maker Christian Cargill read this article and thought it was a tale the world needed to hear, making Davies the central character in his short film Heart Valley. “There was a story there that needed to be told,” Cargill said. “I think it’s a universal message. It’s a message of hope. It’s a message of appreciating our place and every day we have in the world. Some people may judge him and say he’s not experiencing new things. When we discussed that with him he said, ‘I get to have my favourite meal every single day. What could be better in life than that?’ I think that says it all.”

Talking of consuming an infinitely repeating menu of basically identical stuff, the Premier League is back – and what, indeed, could be better in life than that? The recent international break forced an unwelcome pause in our Daviesian diet, leaving us all utterly desperate for action to restart. “I definitely am because it has been 15 or 16 days, or even longer, since I last managed a game,” said Liverpool-based tactician Arne Slot. For Slot this unhappy period followed another unhappy period in which his side lost successive games to be booted out of the Bigger Cup and flub the Milk Cup, but perhaps it has worked to his team’s advantage. Maybe sometimes, Slot mused, change is good. “It was maybe a good moment,” he said. “You go to your international team and things are new again. Maybe that helped as well. It is nice when players go to a different environment.”

On Wednesday Slot’s champions-in-waiting host local rivals Everton, whose recent improvement has surely saved them from going to a different environment of their own, in the form of the Championship. The last Merseyside derby ended in February in a 2-2 draw and with Slot being sent off, an embarrassment the Dutchman is refusing to rule out repeating. “I am hoping I will act differently but I can’t promise,” he said. “What I am sure about is that I will be so, so, so surprised if I ever experience eight minutes of so many controversial decisions to our disadvantage again.” And surely he will not. After all, how can he have that experience again? Every day is different. Now it’s time for a sandwich with paste.

Join Scott Murray at 8pm BST for Premier League updates from Nottingham Forest 1-0 Manchester United.

I don’t really look at social media [abominations] or the media too much. Once I’m away from the pitch, I focus on enjoying myself and my family and friends, and I think that allows me to be at my best. It’s about having people around you that allow you to do that. Mine is also my dog [Brody]. When I come away from the pitch, I take the boys for a walk. They’re my little sons. That’s the way I look after myself and switch off” – Chloe Kelly tells Sophie Downey about how her family – and furry friend – help her cope with being in the spotlight now she’s back in the England fold.

Re: Memory Lane (yesterday’s Football Daily, full email edition). I reckon it must be Chelsea v Blackburn at Stamford Bridge on 31 January 2007. Chelsea won 3-0. They used to attack in those days, before José became a cantankerous old git” – Mike Grant (and a few other amateur sleuths).

May I suggest that could be Artur Jorge on the bench. I can’t find any evidence of Créteil, of whom he was then manager, having such a Blackburn-esque shirt although they do play in blue. FC Grenchen anyone? Do we care?” – Simon McMenamin.

Through some detective work with my colleague Adam Thoroughgood, we think we have identified what match the still on the Nokia N73 is from. We initially thought the wording on the bench said Chelseafc.com and was a still from a potential game against Blackburn, however as this would be a kit colour clash we couldn’t find a game where both Chelsea and Blackburn wore their home shirts. From Googling on kit websites I found that Porto wore a Blackburn-style half-white/half-blue shirt in the 2001-02 season. This led us to think the wording on the bench was Uefa.com so would be from a European game. Wiki told us José Mourinho became Porto manager in January 2002, which then limited it to four potential Big Cup games. We didn’t think it looked like the Bernabéu or Sparta Prague benches, and through watching the Panathinaikos game on YouTube, José’s coat looked too rain sodden in that game for it to be that one. So it leads us to believe the image of the handsome, resplendent-coat-wearing José on the Nokia is from Porto 1-2 Real Madrid on 27 February 2002” – Michael Pilcher.

You want us to identify a match from a blurry image on a near-20-year old phone? OK, go on then. The kit looks like Porto’s 2002 strip and I think it says Uefa.com at the back of the dugout so maybe a Big Cup match? I’m going to stick my neck out and say it’s Real Madrid v Porto on 19 February 2002. And the headless chap in the foreground is Carlos Secretário. Probably. The next mystery is why pick a four-year old photo to advertise a new phone” – Jon Gregory.

Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winners are … Michael Pilcher and Adam Thoroughgood (because we think it is at Porto). Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we have them, can be viewed here.

It’s David Squires on … ’Arry Redknapp’s FA Cup quarter-final review.

This week our sister email looks at Nadia Nadim and the pursuit of happiness in women’s football. Also, it’s now being sent out twice-weekly, every Tuesday and Thursday, so sign up to get it here.

A seven-figure payout has been agreed for a lawsuit over claims of historical sexual abuse at Celtic Boys Club.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti will appear in court on Wednesday to stand trial on charges of defrauding Spain’s tax office of more than €1m in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.

The FA has lobbied of the UK government to make forced entry into stadiums, so-called “tailgating”, a criminal offence before the 2028 men’s Euros.

Sheffield Wednesday have failed to pay their players’ wages for March due to cashflow problems suffered by owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Tottenham Hotspur or Spurs’ Daniel Levy has defended the club’s spending in advance of a planned protest by fresh and funky fans at Sunday’s match against Southampton. “I often read calls for us to spend more, given we are ranked as the ninth-richest club in the world,” blathered the well-remunerated chief suit. “However … we cannot spend what we do not have and we will not compromise the financial stability of this club.”

Mikel Arteta has grabbed his swimmers and a six-pack in anticipation of “a big summer” with Arsenal’s new sporting director, Andrea Berta. “We want to increase the depth of the squad … and the quality and the skills that we need to go to the next step [to the title],” he trilled. “It’s going to be a big one!”

Manchester City’s Erling ­Haaland has been ruled out for seven weeks after sustaining ankle-knack against Bournemouth that requires “specialist consultation”.

And Lionel Messi’s bodyguard has been banned from from the touchline during Inter Miami matches. “They don’t allow me to be on the field anymore,” sniffed Yassine Cheuko. “I was in Europe for seven years, working for Ligue 1 and the [Bigger Cup], and only six people invaded the pitch. I came to the USA [USA USA] and in just 20 months, 16 people have already done so. There’s a huge problem here, let me help Messi.”

Bruno Fernandes has no plans to leave Manchester United for Real Madrid, mainly because Ruben Amorim says so. “It’s not going to happen,” yelled the United boss. “He’s not going anywhere because I’ve already told him.”

Chelsea appear to have complied with the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) through player sales … by selling the women’s team to the club’s parent company. Yep, Chelsea announced they had turned last year’s pre-tax loss of £90.1m into a pre-tax profit of £128.4m for the financial year ending 30 June 2024. Get in! It was predicted at the time of last year’s takeover of the women’s team by parent company, BlueCo 22, that the deal would help Chelsea comply with PSR. The move has faced scrutiny from the Premier League in relation to rules around fair market value and associated-party transactions. The league passed Chelsea selling two hotels at Stamford Bridge to BlueCo 22 for £76.5m last year.

The Premier League is back, baby! Here’s what remains at stake from the top to the bottom of the table. By Simon Burnton.

Welcome to the Baller League, the future of football – whether you like it or not. Jonathan Liew on the smaller-side challenge to the norm.

Betis finally celebrated the end of their derby drought with Antony and Isco looking right at home, reports Sid Lowe.

And which fourth-tier club is just one match away from meeting Dunkerque orPSG in the Coupe De France final? AS Cannes, that’s who.

5 June 1938: The captains of Italy and Norway try to work out who won the toss before their World Cup first-round match in Marseille. It was a close game, with the Italians running out 2-1 winners after extra time before powering on to win the tournament with a 4-2 victory over Hungary in the final.