Figuratively, at least, one suspects Ivan Toney backed himself to score against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Considering he was making his return from an eight-month spell on the Naughty Step after pleading guilty to 232 charges of breaching FA betting regulations, it is probably safe to assume that not even somebody foolish enough to break such a clearly signposted and potentially career-damaging rule literally backed himself to score with cold hard cash, it is probably safe to assume that plenty of other punters got involved.

In the buildup to his comeback, Toney, his manager and several of his teammates had all made it clear that the Brentford striker was a footballer with a point to prove. A point to prove to the haterz, to the draconian beaks at the FA, to Brentford’s fans, to England manager Gareth Southgate, to the Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United recruitment departments, and perhaps most importantly of all, to himself. Before his return, Toney had shown few signs of rustiness in warm-up games, demonstrating that he still has a keen eye for goal as he banged in a hat-trick in a low-key kickabout for Brentford B against Southampton U-12s. But on a weekend of few top-flight fixtures, he was always likely to end up in the spotlight from the moment he pulled on his red-and-white striped shirt with its eye-catching advert for a South African betting firm plastered across the front.

Given the captaincy for the day, things could scarcely have gone better as he played a crucial role in helping Brentford win their first game after five consecutive league defeats. As if gadding about and generally making a nuisance of himself while creating a number of chances that went unconverted by teammates wasn’t a decent enough of reintroduction after so long out, the highlight of his performance came in the form of a clever free-kick that proved his brain is certainly match fit even if the rest of his body clearly still has some catching up to do. “It means a lot,” the visibly shattered player told Sky Sports upon being asked how it felt to be back. “It’s been a long time coming. I manifested this [the goal], around the time I was out. I’m here now, and I’m just buzzing to be back scoring goals and winning with the team. Before the game, before I left my house, I thought, ‘Yeah, we’re winning today and I’m scoring’.”

Prior to slotting his free-kick from just outside the penalty area into the gaping hole left at one end of Forest’s poorly positioned defensive wall, Toney had moved both the ball and the referee’s magic foam indicating where the ball should be a foot or more to the right to give himself a marginally better angle from which to shoot. A bit like lighting a big bonfire in your garden, nobody seems quite sure if what he did was illegal but it was telling that nobody in a Forest shirt uttered a murmur of complaint at the time, either because they didn’t care or were too busy failing to attend to their collective defensive duties to shuffle the same distance to their left in order to cancel out any small advantage Toney might have given himself.

Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo did, however, have a moan about it after the game and the club have since written a stern and almost certainly pointless letter of complaint to the Professional Game Match Officials Board Limited (PGMOL) asking if what Toney did constituted foul play. Given the almost universal lack of clarity offered by various former refs-turned-pundits in the past two days, they might be waiting a very long time for a reply.

Join John Brewin for a back-to-back Monday night clockwatch special, starting with goal updates on Guinea Bissau v Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea v Ivory Coast in Afcon (5pm GMT) and then all the key action from Brighton v Wolves (7.45pm) in the Premier League and a the Championship clash between Leicester and Ipswich at 8pm.

“When somebody wants to break into your house you’re not going to come to a consensus with the person that wants to rob it. [Florentino Pérez’s] goal is that the big clubs, those who are richest and have the biggest assets, can run football in Europe. And that the rest are just vassals, who should be happy with whatever they are given” – Javier Tebas, La Liga’s chief suit, talks to Nick Ames about his ongoing beef with the infamous Real Madrid president, the idea of a European Super League and why financial mismanagement is ruining the game.

On the subject of Steven Gerrard’s new contract at Al-Ettifaq, it may not have been earned by his results so far but it does serve a useful purpose: it will stop him being linked with any managerial vacancies from the top two divisions in England and the Scottish top flight of the men’s game, and possibly the WSL as well. That sound you can hear is supporters up and down the country breathing a collective sigh of relief. I knew if we waited long enough we’d find something about the Saudi Pro League that benefitted the game of football as a whole” – Ed Taylor.

Some fans think that Scott Twine’s recent move from Burnley to Bristol City is bound to unravel” – Mick Beeby.

As a Watford fan (yes, there are a few of us long-suffering fans), I was astonished when Troy went to FGR as a player-coach, bearing in mind he was not the least interested in coaching when it was mentioned whilst he was at Watford. Suddenly, he became the manager which was even more of a shock. The irony of all this chopping and changing of managers at the club is that it was Deeney’s old club, Watford, who poached (am I allowed to use that word) Rob Edwards soon after FGR had won promotion, only to stupidly sack him 10 league games into the season. Since then FGR have gone down the pan and Dale Vince is a laughing stock. He seems to find it difficult to choose an experienced person to manage his club. What comes around goes around (or is it the other way?)“ – Geoff Hall.

Send your letters to [email protected]. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Ed Taylor, who lands a copy of A Culture of Kits, published by Pitch Publishing and out to buy in early February. Visit their football book store here to pre-order a copy.

The bad news for Liverpool fans is that Mo Salah is knacked. The good news is that he’s on his way back to the warm embrace of club physios for treatment (the bad news is that he might have to go back to Afcon if he gets better and Egypt make the semis, soz).

More hot Afcon news: tournament faves Morocco limped to a 1-1 draw with DR Congo, while Zambia and Tanzania battled to the same scoreline. South Africa, however, despatched neighbours Namibia 4-0.

West Ham conceded a late goal from the penalty spot at Sheffield United, so naturally David Moyes has taken the blow in his stride and seen the bright side. Oh.

Red cards and Roberto Mancini: yep, it’s the Asian Cup roundup.

In further proof that one’s ability to volley a football in no way maketh a manager, former Portsmouth midfielder Matt (Matthew? Matty?) Taylor has been punted through a door marked Do One by (now) former employers Shrewsbury Town, after a run of seven defeats in eight games.

Newport County have closed their ticket office prior to the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Manchester United after staff suffered “appalling abuse and threatening behaviour”. Sigh. The Welsh minnows host the Premier League giants at a sold-out Rodney Parade on Sunday – the first-ever meeting between the two clubs.

And Cumbrian non-league team Kendal Town and 240 of their fans have been left stranded on the Isle of Man due to Storm Isha, following a game against – you guessed it – FC Isle of Man. Michael O’Neill, the club’s chief suit, said Easyjet had offered him a flight to Luton airport after bad weather saw a flurry of cancellations. “But Luton is very far and my car is parked at Liverpool Airport,” O’Neill sighed. “People have jobs they need to get back to”.

Troy Deeney has never lacked confidence. He’s got “cojones”, remember. When the 35-year-old striker was recently appointed as Forest Green Rovers manager, naturally Deeney referred to himself in the third person … and compared himself to Harry Kane. “Is Kane a better footballer than Deeney?” asked Deeney “[Eff]ing absolutely, I’d be [eff]ing naive to say he’s not. Is he a better finisher than me? Yes. Can he head a ball better than me? No. Can he control a ball better than me, like look after it when there’s two men on his back? No. So when you’re winning a game in the 85th minute and you need someone to come on because he’s getting a bit tired or whatever, he can’t do what I can do.” Sure, Harry Kane might be England’s all-time record scorer and Bayern Munich’s talisman, but can he do it in Gloucestershire at the bottom of League Two?

Unfortunately, Deeney couldn’t quite get FGR marching to his beat, and the player-manager was sacked last week after just 29 days and six matches. But fear not, Deeney’s confidence remains intact. “The offers to get back playing have, obviously [!], started to roll in as well,” roared Deeney over the weekend. “We have to remember that I was dropped in at the deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep end three weeks ago. To the outside world, it’s like, ‘Oh, he dropped down to League Two, he can’t do it anymore.’ It’s very the opposite to that. Contrary to what people might think, I’m still fit and available. And I’m still very useful as a footballer. We’ll see what the options are and we’ll go from there.” Your move, Bayern Munich.

Two hat-tricks, one 95th-minute winner and a 4-3 win for Spurs over West Ham? The WSL talking points will see you now. And don’t forget about our Premier League ones.

Nicky Bandini on another grim weekend in Serie A, as Mike Maignan endured another horrific flurry of abuse based upon the colour of his skin.

Andy Brassell, thankfully, was able to write about actual football, specifically the heart-stopping footy played by Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen.

Strasbourg is an excellent song by 2000s Indie upstarts The Rakes. It’s also a city in France and home to a football club, owned by Chelsea’s Todd Boehly, who are doing rather well under manager Patrick Vieira.

Winless and luckless, Almería are on course to become La Liga’s worst side. Sid Lowe breaks down a gut-wrenching match for the strugglers at the Bernabéu.

Oh Roy! Mr Hodgson is under pressure at Palace, but he’s not the only one. Ed Aarons explains.

Nottingham Forest say they will write to PGMOL and the Premier League after Ivan Toney’s controversial goal. To what end, asks footballing brain-in-a-box and grown-up Jonathan Wilson.

Who doesn’t love a tea-timely dose of transfer rumours?

Suzanne Wrack on the mental health retreat helping top footballers, addressing the toxic culture that has affected many in the women’s game.

And here’s Ben Fisher on Liverpool, Run DMC’s Walk This Way and Darwin Núñez.

QPR teammates Stan Bowles (back) and Ian Gillard pose on the back of a motorbike in August 1976. It’s not entirely clear why they were getting up to such a high jinks. Maybe it was the summer heat and giddy pre-season anticipation.