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OUT OF FOCUS

For so long an integral part of the BBC Holy Trinity of Saturday programming alongside Final Score and Match of the Day, Football Focus will leave our screens come season’s end. First aired back when the plot currently occupied by Stamford Bridge’s Matthew Harding Stand served as a matchday car park – as opposed to a seething mass of disgruntled Chelsea fans – the show’s longevity is undeniable. Now, it has fallen victim to the BBC’s ongoing pruning exercise – a casualty of a budget that is overseeing more trims than Marc Cucurella’s blabbermouth barber. For Football Daily, the news was somewhat bittersweet; throughout our childhood, youth and a significant chunk of our years as a hungover grown-up, the Saturday lunchtime show was appointment viewing. However, the announcement regarding its imminent demise only came as a surprise because it’s no longer part of our weekend routine and we presumed it had been binned off already.

“Football Focus has been a hugely important programme in the history of BBC Sport and has played a key role in telling the stories of the game for generations of viewers,” parped BBC Sport chief Alex Kay-Jelski. “This decision was made before last week’s wider BBC savings announcement, reflecting the continued shift in how audiences engage with football.” Football Focus was conceived in an era when most households were just getting to grips with phones and long before insider gossip, live scores, and match highlights became available at the touch of a button on those magic witch portals in our pockets. Consequently, the show has become something of an anachronism. It is a weekly preview show that often begins after the action is already under way, duty-bound to report on events that have already been exhaustively covered elsewhere.

“When this show began all those years ago, social media [disgraces] wasn’t a driving force, podcasts didn’t exist, and there was no instant access to information in the way there is today,” sighed the show’s current host, Alex Scott. “Now, by the time that we go on air, the reality is that you have already seen it, debated it and lived it across so many platforms. That shift has changed the whole industry. TV audiences have been declining for years, while digital and on demand viewing continues to grow. It is simply the right time for Football Focus to say goodbye.”

While the end was inevitable, perhaps the most disheartening thing about it being ushered towards the door marked “Do One” is that the army of online knuckleheads who viciously bullied Scott upon her appointment five years ago now see it as some sort of vindication of their Neanderthal views. “The lead-up to this announcement, not gonna lie, it has felt heavy and at times it has filled me with so much anxiety and dread,” added Scott, correctly anticipating the tsunami of unfair and unoriginal abuse she would ship in the wake of the BBC decision. Those trolls claiming she steered the ship on to the rocks are missing the point with their usual pinpoint inaccuracy – Football Focus isn’t being cancelled because of its presenter, it’s being cancelled because the media world has evolved in a way it seems Scott’s detractors who constantly wang on about everything being “woke” simply never will.

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE

Join Rob Smyth from 8pm BST for hot minute-by-minute updates from Sunderland 0-0 Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We accept the use of this image was an insensitive way to illustrate the historic problem of racism within football. We have apologised to Millwall Football Club for the improper use of their logo and for any offence caused. The booklet has been removed from circulation, and we are reviewing processes to ensure this doesn’t happen again” – Westminster City Council apologises to the Lions after it used the club’s badge in an illustration depicting a white supremacist hate group … in a children’s anti-racism booklet distributed in primary schools.

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

Congratulations on the Football Weekly pod squad selling out the Bowery Ballroom in New York. It’s a great venue and I hope you add more dates. I may not be the first person to point this out, but Vivid Seats, part-owned by Todd Boehly, are also excited about your visit and are asking as much as £157 for a ticket to your show. I’m sure it’s worth it and it’s still slightly cheaper than parking at a Geopolitics World Cup match” – Padhraig Higgins.

Re: Jon Fogden’s reference to Todd Boehly as the ‘second worst American on the planet’ (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). I believe that he is a bit over-rated (or under-rated). In addition to He Who Won’t be Named, there are assorted offspring, hangers-on, affiliated officials, and so on that would render the next available spot at around 30 or so. So, Todd may only be the 30th worst American on the planet” – Jim Driskell.

I was at that Birmingham 0-0 draw at Torquay when Rosenior Senior was manager (yesterday’s Memory Lane, full email edition). Torquay were done that day. They were the better side and had a goal ruled out for our keeper dropping the ball from a corner. The only bit of football I saw that day was seeing Xabi Alonso scoring from his own half v Luton while in Gordano services on the way home. Both Blues and Torquay were relegated that season” – Matt Robb.

If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … Padhraig Higgins. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.

THE ROAD TO WEMBLEY

After Port Vale were narrowly despatched by Chelsea in the last eight of the FA Cup, we’re now following the plucky Blues, although this weekend’s semi-final is actually at Wembley, so we’re already there … hopefully you know what we mean. Chelsea’s opponents are Leeds United, so there are instant memories of the 1970 final, a notorious battle dubbed the most brutal game in English football history. Chelsea had Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris, Leeds had Norman ‘Bites yer legs’ Hunter and the two sides played out a savage spectacle that went down in folklore, so much so that Big Website’s Scott Murray even did a retro MBM of the match to celebrate its 50th anniversary. After the match at Wembley finished 2-2, the replay was held at Old Trafford and, after four hours of football, Chelsea eventually prevailed in extra time. Just one yellow card was issued in that replay. When ref David Elleray reviewed the match in 1997, he concluded that he would have issued six reds and 20 yellows, while in a similar exercise in 2020, Michael Oliver thought 11 reds could have been given. Leeds come into this semi-final on something of a roll – unbeaten across all competitions in seven matches – whereas Chelsea have lost five on the bounce without scoring, as well as their manager. Roll on Sunday!

NEWS, BITS AND BOBS

Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni has been given a six-match ban after being found guilty of homophobic conduct towards Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior, with three of those suspended for a two-year period.

Anyone remember the 39th game? It may still be coming to a stadium near you, overseas reader, after news that domestic leagues would be limited to staging one game a season in foreign countries under Fifa proposals that significantly raise the bar for controversial “international matches” to be approved.

Fifa’s resale site has listed four tickets on sale for Football Weekly Live the GWC final at just under $2.3m each. Any takers? For cheapskates, the lowest-priced tickets appeared at $10,990.

Véron Mosengo-Omba, who was at university with Gianni Infantino, is in line to head the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s football governing body after eligibility rules for presidential elections were changed.

Brian “Mr” Brobbey should have been sent off for the shove that ended Spurs captain Cristian Romero’s season, the Premier League’s key match incidents panel have declared. Romero’s knee-knack may yet rule him out of the GWC.

Matthijs de Ligt is back in Manchester United training as he rehabilitates from back-gah that has kept him from playing since November.

Freddie Woodman is in line to play for Liverpool against Crystal Palace, with Giorgi Mamardashvili out and Alisson facing a fitness test. “He’s a very good man and he’s very liked in the dressing room, and I think that’s also a role that’s important for the third goalkeeper,” roared Arne Slot.

And the result of Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini’s falling-out with senior adviser Claudio Ranieri? The Tinkerman has done one.

STILL WANT MORE?

Southampton midfielder and viral sensation, Shea Charles, has an FA Cup date with his former club, Manchester City. The Northern Ireland international gets his chat on with Ben Fisher about that celebration and more.

And before Saturday’s Wembley showdown with the in-form Saints, Manchester City’s Jérémy Doku talks about the potential of a domestic treble and becoming the world’s best winger.

Want the lowdown and insight on a huge weekend? You’ll find it all in Premier League and FA Cup semi-finals: 10 things to look out for.

Paul MacInnes on the race for Europe: which Premier League clubs can qualify, how, and who needs what.

Despite the increasing aches and strains, Max Rushden says he and fellow ambling amateur players just can’t stop lacing up their boots.

Take on the sport quiz of the week, if you dare.

And the gauntlet has well and truly been hurled down in the direction of Football Daily’s participant in the London Marathon.

MEMORY LANE

12 March 2017: It’s Real Madrid v Betis on Friday, so here’s Sergio Ramos, a boyhood Sevillista, scoring a late winner – a textbook bullet header – in this fixture nine years ago to secure a 2-1 win against Betis and strike a decisive blow for Madrid in La Liga’s 2016-17 title race. Zinedine Zidane’s side capitalised on Barcelona’s earlier defeat by Deportivo La Coruña to top the standings by two points and Madrid would not relinquish that lead for the rest of the season, pipping Barça by three points to win the title, a campaign in which they would also secure the second of three consecutive Bigger Cups. This was Prime Ramos, a monster at the back for Madrid and a big threat at the other end, with his goal against Betis taking him into double figures for the season.

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