Archive for the ‘England’ Category

Southgate Persists With Management Style Which Can Only Be Described As Solskjær-esque!

Posted: September 29, 2022 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, Football, International Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, The Nations League, The World Cup, Tottenham Hotspur
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As England manager, the choice of decent centre backs is extensive. The England manager also has a wide variety of left backs at his disposal.

Manchester United’s manager, realistically, has to choose from four centre backs to fill two positions and two left backs for that one position. Given his limited options why would Erik ten Hag choose to start with Varane and Martinez whilst benching Maguire and Lindelof? Also, why would he choose to start Malacia over Shaw?

Having comfortably lost their first two games of the season, the above players became the manager’s preferred choice and, apart from a European hiccup when he reverted to the prior selection, United have not lost a game since.

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Gareth & Ole, The Unlikely (Maybe) Heroes!

Posted: July 7, 2021 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, Football, International Football, Liverpool, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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We had to do it! After years of berating England national football team, it’s manager and it’s perpetually, but unrealistically, (most of the time), optimistic supporters, finally we have to hold up our hands and admit that they have actually played quite well in reaching the semi-final of Euro Not 2020.

Despite occasional attempts by the manager to derail the English train it has kept steadfastly on track and is on course for a first final in forever and possibly, (whisper it), a first trophy in even longer!

Well done gawpy Gareth and the boys. This was teamwork and management above and beyond. Who would have thought we would beat the Ukraine without the Stockport Iniesta and ‘Union’ Jack Grealish, arguably our two best and most creative players?

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England Look OK Against Mediocre Opposition While Manchester’s Finest Rue Injuries

Posted: September 14, 2019 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, International Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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We’re at the end of another boring international break and the English are, once again, being somewhat rapturous because their side managed to score four goals at Wembley against Bulgaria, then five goals against Kosovo at St. Marys, (who managed to get three themselves).

Mind you, it was always going to be a stroll when you consider that, again according to FIFA, England are miles better than Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and Holland. Reasons to be cheerful indeed! The next Euro Championship is already in the bag and the World Cup will surely follow two years later! (more…)

Ole Seems To Be Settling In And Tracey Neville Fails Slightly Less Than Her Brothers

Posted: July 24, 2019 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Tottenham Hotspur
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So Ole Gunnar Solskjær is going to replace any players sold during this transfer window, according to the man himself anyway.

Well, he hasn’t replaced Ander Herrera yet with Ed Woodward trying to be clever, (yet again), by refusing to pay the asking price for Bruno Fernandes. He is doing the same with Harry Maguire although he may end up being proved right on that one. United need desperately to get rid of Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo who both underperform in that position. (more…)

Bits & Pieces: American Politics, International Football And Sky’s Tribute To Frank Lampard

Posted: July 4, 2019 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, International Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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It’s the 4th of July so it’s only fitting that the good old U.S. of A’s women’s football team has reached the World Cup final. Those ever so sporting winners with always a sympathetic and kind word for their opponents celebrate independence and, with it, the freedom to elect whoever they wish as president, even Donald Trump.

Megan Rapinoe is another one who could run in the next presidential election race as she has certainly proved that mixing sport and politics is boring and, hopefully, ineffectual. Football is not a platform to air views on anything other than football and, as far as we are aware, nobody is interested in those views anyway. (more…)

FIFA World Rankings Explained And The Premier League Returns

Posted: October 18, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, Football, International Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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So Belgium are the best team in the world. This is quite an achievement considering they didn’t win the World Cup which is, supposedly, a tournament to discover which is the best team in the world.

They were beaten, not in the final but in the semi-final, by France, who are the second best team in the world.

In the final, France beat Croatia who are now fourth obviously courtesy of their semi-final victory over England who, despite this loss to the Croatians, (who were four places below them at the time), have moved up to sixth. (more…)

More On What Manchester Learned From The Champion’s League And England’s Meteoric Rise

Posted: September 21, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, European Football, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Tottenham Hotspur
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Well that was a mixed night for the city of Manchester. It turned out very well for the “United” of Manchester but the real “City” of Manchester fluffed their lines spectacularly.

In a game away from home, on a plastic pitch against a team who top the Swiss League having won all of their first six games, this was a potential banana skin for United.

They coped with it very well and, after a reasonable start by the Swiss, opened the scoring through a rejuvenated Paul Pogba. Now given more of a roaming role with Nemanja Matic and Fred as the two holding midfielders, the Frenchman is beginning to look the part. (more…)

More On Gareth Southgate’s Decision To Select Players Based On Number Of Club Appearances Rather Than Ability And United’s Future Transfer Policy Still Unresolved

Posted: September 14, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, Football, International Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, Transfers
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Nice one Gareth! His latest wheeze is that anybody expecting to play for his England team in the future should be playing regularly at their club.

He did leave the statement open to a little interpretation in that if, for example, he wanted to pick a team made up entirely of players from the Championship, then this would not represent a problem.

If he sticks with Premier League players then his team will not be competing at the top, (not that it has done anyway since 1966).

If he puts his new rule into immediate practice then his next team will contain Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Harry Maguire, Dele Alli, Harry Kane and some Vanarama Conference League players. (more…)

More On The Nation’s League, Today’s Cost Of Your Favourite EPL Player And Kane Puts His Feet Up!

Posted: September 12, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, Football, International Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, The Nations League, Tottenham Hotspur
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The Nation’s League appears to have been afforded a reasonable reception by the football-hungry populace of Britain. Don’t get us wrong, given the choice between Premier League and this international excuse for a competition, 99.9% would plump for the Premier League although, taking into consideration the standard of the domestic leagues in Scotland, Wales and Ireland, it is difficult to assume that the same could be said in those countries.

In fairness, Wales had a decent start in beating the Republic of Ireland but then came undone when they met Denmark, a proper team.

However, a small and remote European footballing outpost did manage a win when Scotland beat Albania 2-0. (more…)

More On The International Break, Luke Shaw And Business As Usual For England

Posted: September 10, 2018 in Chelsea, England, Football, International Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, The Nations League, Tottenham Hotspur
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Well, that’s the first week out of the way. Only another five days to go before the return of Premier League football.

This is good news for lovers of the game, avid supporters and masochists as every form of satisfaction will be delivered or denied over the coming weekend.

Why is it that, when the Premier League has been absent since May, we get four games into the new season and have to have an international injury window?

Is this just because the powers-that-be are a bunch of sadists? We are not thinking necessarily of just the effect on the fans here. They will tune in to the meaningless rubbish served up as top quality international football because they have nothing else to watch, that’s just the way it is and is why England, for example, will always attract a decent sized crowd at Wembley despite being rubbish. (more…)

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