Premier League returns after three-week Great International Break of 2026
Premier League clubs returned to action this weekend after the three-week Great International Break of 2026, the Football Daily email said on 9 October 2026. The newsletter set out how that pause had affected each of this weekend’s fixtures.
Football Daily compared the break to past events that shaped Britain, citing the birth of punk, Brexit and Tony Hibbert’s first career goal (in his own testimonial). It said historians do not yet know how they will view the Great International Break of 2026 and described the pause as memorable. The email then ran through the consequences for this weekend’s matches.
On Liverpool v Manchester City, Football Daily suggested both sides experienced a remarkably quiet time over the break with no significant developments and that the fixture should offer a fair contest between two historic rivals — and a chance to "just enjoy the purity and joy of football and Ayyoub Bouaddi’s flowing locks without the machinations and influence of politics, sportswashing, legal verdicts and counter-claims." On Chelsea v Bournemouth, it reported Alex Scott’s silky performances for England had added another £40m to his value, that Scott is now sidelined for about two months and faces a race to get back before January when Chelsea will inevitably table a £100m bid, and warned that Emi Martínez’s woes in goal could continue "unless he can get those Lionel Messi-induced tears out of his eyes."
Previewing Manchester United v Tottenham, Football Daily wrote of Andy Robertson "ranting and raving, toiling for weeks against lesser teams and struggling to get to grips with the ideas of his new continental manager" and asked whether three more weeks on the sidelines would be enough to get £65m Carlos Baleba upright, while noting under-pressure Michael Carrick and the Old Trafford setting might deliver answers. On Sunderland v Brighton it said the break came at the worst possible time for red-hot Brighton and queried whether Pascal Groß would still resemble "Prime Kevin De Bruyne" now that 95% of fantasy players have selected him, adding a reference to three weeks watching his nation flounder under Jürgen Klopp.
Addressing Arsenal v Leeds, Football Daily noted Declan Rice opted out of England duty and that Christos Tzolis, Kai Havertz, Ezri Konsa and England Under-19s’ Max Dowman all returned to the club, concluding with the line "Somebody check on Mikel Arteta! Oh, actually, he’s fine." On Ipswich v Fulham the newsletter acknowledged it holds personal views on the fixture but chooses not to speak about them publicly.
On Aston Villa v Brentford, Football Daily described a productive spell for Brentford players: Kristoffer Ajer scored against Portugal, Michael Kayode made his Italy debut, Vitaly Janelt made his Germany bow, Kevin Schade impressed and Mikel Damsgaard supplied both assists in Denmark’s win over Wales and scored a free-kick against Norway. For Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest it reported Dean Henderson is "knacked and out of the England reckoning," that Palace manager Pierre Sage made Adam Wharton skipper for the club’s friendly against Bristol City (a 2-0 defeat), and posed the question whether there has "ever been a club captain more shy than the England midfielder."
Hull v Everton commentary recorded that Hull had previously threatened legal action over the Spygate scandal and questioned how the Tigers took Tonda Eckert’s "extremely lenient six-week suspended ban," while noting Everton’s owners spent the break "exploring the sale of the club after two years." The newsletter included Oliver Glasner’s explanation: "It was not a decision against Crystal Palace, because I decided last October, one year ago, not to sign a new contract. It was then, in the summer, a decision for Nottingham Forest, due to different reasons. Sometimes unexpected things happen in life … there was no plan for me to be Forest manager" – Oliver Glasner. Letters reproduced included Noble Francis: "I’m generally not one for predictions (well, as an economic forecaster, I do it for work, but I’m terrible at it). However, I think I can confidently say that around 1,057 of us have bookmarked this so that we can write in to Football Daily on Monday after Liverpool score a couple of times due to basic errors from Manchester City players who, apparently, ‘don’t care about the noise’" and John Collins: "As a Manchester City season-ticket holder (from before the money came in, I hasten to add, 1998 to be precise), this is now starting to feel like the biggest wait for VAR ever. Did we really win those league titles, FA Cups, Fizzy Cups and Big Cup, or will some enormous machine now determine they were blank years – like the years there is no Glastonbury. Please let this all be over soon." The newsletter awarded its letter o’ the day to Myles Flynn, reproducing his recollection of Harold Bratt and noting he wins a copy of Games of My Life by Sir Alex Ferguson.
This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit the Football Daily page and follow the instructions.
