WHY SAY ANYTHING?

It would appear that Tottenham Hotspur will need to play some more games at Wembley this season as, according to The Guardian amongst others, their new ground has not yet been granted a safety certificate and it looks as though there will be a delay in doing so.

This, of course, is grossly unfair, unless they play ALL this season’s games at Wembley.

How, for example, can they play two or three teams at the national stadium, a ground they are now used to and treat like “home from home” and then play others at a brand new ground which will be as foreign to them as it will to the opposition? There will be a marked disadvantage for the clubs who meet them at Wembley.

The ground has now cost more than the original estimate and it will obviously now go past the original opening date. There’s a prime example of good financial management and good time management. Only in London!

Meanwhile, back in the civilised world…..

David De Gea is expected to sign a new deal with Manchester United. No real surprise there now that Thibaut Courtois has gone to Real Madrid. In fact the only surprise about any of this is how often he was being linked with a move to Madrid!

Yes, he was born there and yes, he played his early football there, but for Atlético not Real.

He would be accepted by Real Madrid fans but not particularly welcome if there is an alternative, (Courtois was only on loan when he played for Atlético Madrid so that, in the eyes of supporters, doesn’t count)

He has also never expressed any real desire to move back to Spain and appears to be quite happy in Manchester, which is understandable.

The only time he was ever anywhere near this much-talked-about transfer was when the deal was, reportedly, agreed between the clubs and they made a mess of the paperwork, (as the old saying goes, “accidentally-on-purpose”).

Now he is just looking forward to the new season and, hopefully, not winning the “Player of the Season” award. Last term his save percentage was 80.13 which is very high and shows what an excellent goalkeeper he has become. It also, unfortunately, shows how bad the United defence really is.

Guess who would prefer to stay at United…..

Paul Pogba could still leave Manchester United in this transfer window as Barcelona remain interested in signing him according to reports.

Also, according to reports, Pogba would like to play alongside Lionel Messi. No surprise there then! He would probably also like to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Kylian M’Bappé but that does not mean that a transfer to another club is imminent.

Pogba’s beef is with the manager, that much is glaringly obvious, so why should he leave? He came through the academy at United and he has, as he put it, “unfinished business” at the club, meaning he felt there was more to be won. He will not want to give that up after only two seasons.

What he has to do is sort out his differences with José Mourinho which, in fairness, is a two-way street, meaning that the boss could well do with reciprocating and reaching some sort of compromise between the two evidently different opinions.

If that can be achieved then we expect the French international to happily stay at Old Trafford for the foreseeable future because, deep down, it is where he wants to be.

In fact, if he can knuckle down and just concentrate on playing there is every chance he will still be there long after José Mourinho, who really needs a good season this time out to convince everyone that he is the right man for the job, has gone.

And finally…..

In non-Football related stuff what do you think Sky Sports News’ “massive breaking news” was?

Yes, you’re right. Durham and England Cricketer Ben Stokes has been found not guilty of being in a fight outside a pub. Wow! They’ll be locking up actual criminals next!

As Sky has no idea that the term “breaking news” relates to news which has, unsurprisingly, ”just broken”, they will still be referring to it as “breaking news” when this gets published which, from the time of writing, is another ten hours away!