Archive for the ‘The Nations League’ Category

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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It has been a relatively quiet period in the football world just lately. We have taken advantage of this lull by doing…….absolutely nothing! We haven’t had reports from every international game just to perpetuate the boredom always brought on during an international break. We haven’t invented a few thousand transfer rumours linking every top club with every single player available, or otherwise.

We have just sat back and relaxed whilst not watching England fail to advance in a European competition, (nothing new or exciting about that)!

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So that’s it! We’re back! After a short break to try and rejuvenate, (a word that literally does not describe the actual result of a “rest”), we return with congratulations in order to Gareth Southgate and the England team who, by winning their division in the Nation’s League, narrowly avoided relegation.

Now that’s excitement, although there were still one or two stifled yawns during the game against Croatia which, being the masochistic type, we actually watched in Croatia. (more…)

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That’s the meaningless friendlies Nation’s League out of the way for a whole month. Yes folks, just as you are getting used to watching your favourite overpaid Premier League stars, UEFA will pull the curtain down yet again. And the month after that and the month after that and so on.

They seem absolutely determined to spoil everybody’s enjoyment of the Premier League, (and other leagues around Europe, no doubt), by forcing their own idea of entertainment on the football loving public.

Call it what you will the Nation’s League, whilst being a little more competitive than just a few plain old friendlies is actually just a few plain old friendlies dressed up to go out. (more…)

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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…)

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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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According to The Guardian, which is often our go-to source for football news, Paul Pogba may be off to Barcelona in January.

To be fair, this little snippet of information is to be found in “The Rumour Mill” which is the nearest the paper’s reporters are allowed to printing truths, half-truths and the occasional porky although they are not to know that at the time.

Like most other publications they too have their sources and they will range from excellent and usually correct to rubbish and not worth the £5.00 finders fee. (more…)