Gareth Southgate’s first England squad since his permanent appointment was largely well received. I like the fact that he was prepared to call up players based on form and potential, but there’s one rather large elephant in the room. Why the hell would we want to recall Jermain Defoe? I know that Kane and Sturridge are injured. I also know that Welbeck has been out for about 6 years and… Read Article →

Like much of the football community, we were saddened to hear of the passing of Graham Taylor this week. For England, his spell in charge was little short of a disaster. But as a club manager, he was an undoubted success. More importantly, as a person, he is unanimously regarded as one of the nicest men in the game. His treatment by the media, in particular the Scum – sorry,… Read Article →

So Gareth’s got the job on a full time basis, it has now been confirmed. Southgate only had to perform with any degree of competence during his caretaker period in order to get the full time gig, since nobody else actually wanted the job. But to be fair, perform with competence is exactly what he did. Seven points from nine, and a creditable draw with Spain is a decent enough… Read Article →

So we say goodbye to Big Sam after just 67 days in his dream job. He leaves us with a 100% winning record, but in slightly murky circumstances. Some journalists have stated that he had to go, that his actions made his position untenable. I’m personally not so sure. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condoning or even defending what he said. I’m just saying, was it really bad enough… Read Article →