Michael Steele went to Croydon on the Wednesday after that, on his own, on an afternoon off. He has not told me what happened and I have not asked.
Rebecca gave me a card on the Friday morning with a number on it.
3.
"That is your substitutions. Not the rules, me. On Tuesday you play Internazionale, and this morning I have got 6 men who have flown more than 4,000 miles in 9 days."
"And the 3?"
"Wilf for 25 minutes and Christian for 25 minutes. That is 2 of them, and the 3rd is yours. Perišić, Neves and Achraf are not in the 18 and I am not discussing that part."
"And if we are losing?"
"Then you are losing," Rebecca said, "and on Tuesday night you are not."
So I made 7 changes for a match I could not afford to lose.
CRYSTAL PALACE: Pope. Ward, Dann, Tuanzebe, Mitchell. Rodríguez, McArthur, Kirby. Townsend, Blake, Grealish.
Bench: Krul, Sakho, Chilwell, Højbjerg, Olise, Zaha, Benteke.
