So England kick off their World Cup campaign in Volgograd on June 18th – 7pm BST, and as I expected some of the same people who denounced England whilst they stumbled (but ultimately did the job) to qualification are now the biggest cheerleaders. Same old same old same old – praising before they have actually done anything after criticising them previously anyway, sometimes you cannot make these things up. And… Read Article →

So a 2-0 win over Costa Rica has seen England complete their build up to World Cup 2018 and head for Russia, and they remain unbeaten since their defeat to France nearly a year ago.The next time they set foot on a football pitch it will be for real in Volgograd against Tunisia on the 18th June, that is when it really matters, friendlies only tell you so much as competitive… Read Article →

The dust has settled and decisions have been made and barring injury the final 23 man squad for England at World Cup 2018 has been selected by company man Gareth ‘GS’ Southgate. Here are a few of my musings on the squad. GOALKEEPERS Obviously the shock omission is no Joe Hart leaving three keepers with just 9 caps between them. It is a bit of a gamble with a lack… Read Article →

There was a time when the build up to a major tournament meant national hype, anticipation and a good deal of optimism. Nobody actually expected England to win, but most harboured a hope, however forlorn, that it just might be possible. In recent years, that good feeling seems to have dissipated entirely. Now the general feeling is one of resignation or worse still, complete apathy. It’s a shame, but perfectly… Read Article →

Another decent friendly performance for Gareth ‘GS’ Southgate’s England against the Netherlands in Amsterdam. A deserved 0-1 victory, Jesse Lingard with the goal, in a mostly dominant display and the result most certainly flattered the hosts despite a late rally. REBUILDING THE ORANJE I think it would be fair to say that this current Dutch team are nothing like the great teams of old (actually they nothing like the team that finished… Read Article →

So UEFA have devised a new competition called the Nations League to cut down on the multitude of meaningless friendlies, the draw took place last Wednesday in Lausanne. The plan is to pitch teams of a similar standard (dependent on their UEFA ranking) up against each other, in four different ‘Leagues’ A, B, C and D. There will be promotion and relegation as well as in the summer of 2019, playoffs… Read Article →

So England have qualified for the World Cup next year and the FA breathe a huge sigh of relief, yet more money into their coffers whether England perform or not. ALL INCLUSIVE PLAN So what happens next? Well let me tell you. They bleat on about how fantastic it is for England as a whole that we have qualified and how the entire country will be a part of the build up to the… Read Article →