englandtilidie

Southgate.. 

…must have read Englandtilidie and understood his selection mistake and has duly added teenage midfield pivot Mainoo to his squad.  As advised Declan needs a water carrier. Keep reading Gareth.

VAR – no-one likes us

Of course West Ham fans weeping into their beer having had a last minute goal wiped off may amuse some other Londoners but does any football fan want this nonsense to continue?

As the London Stadium held its breath for 5m and 17 seconds 3 or 4 or more “officials” made a decision about the “goal” scored or not scored by Soucek in the final minute.  A classic case of anotherlayer of management achieving absolutely nothing.  People pay money to watch a game of football not to sit around waiting for a committee of tedious individuals to decide who gets the points.  

Points of conflict – Everton had ten points deducted under some complex financial rules that now have 4 points taken off Nottingham Forest. Someone needs to remember it is supposed to be a football league not a competition between trickster accountants. 

And somehow none of this applies to Manchester City who many would accuse of being the kings of financial doping. As in all these things no-one really cares about the supporters.

And In Another World ..Many clubs are being destroyed by their owners. Up and down the country greedy and unpleasant individuals steal the football ground that has been the gathering place of football supporters and sell it to make little fortunes for themselves.  In this nasty business sometimes the committee men step in to help the bad guys and thats how 105 year old Southend United get ten points deducted.   

But You See …  It is the English football league and whatever they do they cannot break our traditions and our way of life.  They can try all they like but Wimbledon won the FA Cup and Portsmouth is sold out all season and however fearful it feels at Scunthorpe and Torquay you know they will come back.  Sharing the footballing fortunes of the young men who represent your town or city or country is bred into our bones.  It been like this for a very long time.

So His Majesty’s Government ..… can do whatever vote seeking they want with a Football Governance Bill or whatever is whatever but the game belongs to us.  Forever.  Simple as. 

Now  – winter has been long  ..  

… but Brasil are coming to a sold out Wembley.  It is what it is.  The game of sunshine and samba up against the grey and the damp of our industrial lands.  Contrasts and a friendship.

Pele and Moore.  

Come On England   

It begins today .. in the Italian stadium in Naples named after Maradonna..

England need to re-balance a few things and boss this group.

Here we go ..

Come On, England.

Sometimes the World Cup narrative has begun to focus on individuals. Sometimes we hear all about the guile and craft of Messi, the power of Mbappe, the clever Neymar, the fading brilliance of Ronaldo or the emerging stardust of Ramos and Bellingham. Sometimes in a single moment one mans actions can turn the tide. Sometimes.

The Moroccan team celebrate victory over Spain.

Always its a team. And always the bonds that bind the greatest teams are unseen and unfathomable but palpable and real. Morocco sent home the Spanish national team who promptly sacked their manager. The North Africans held firm while the Spaniards completed over 1000 passes before suffering a collapse of confidence and producing lame penalties.

Maybe the Moroccan team included their fans who dominated the stadium. Maybe there was a special pride in playing in an Islamic country. As bodies tire to the limits of function it is internal strength that holds it together. It is those ultra resources and effort that are accessible when the spiritual things align.

CR7 in Qatar

Ronaldo did not celebrate with his team mates when Portugal beat the Swiss. Jumping around in front of the fans did not appeal to the one time star who came on as a substitute after 74 minutes. Time waits for no man and there is no “i” in team and a glorious career looks like it is heading for a messy ending. As a team Portugal look stronger without him.

England teams are always renowned for team work and hard graft. They face the World Champions France and whoever gets the shirts to start will be backed by a tranche of talent on the bench. There is talk of switching to 5-2-3 but tactics are small fry compared to creating the necessary determination and will. To realise talent in the furnace of World Cup football you need something special.

It is a proud moment to see this England team united and confident and hopeful. They represent something decent and the privilege they have in playing for their country is based only on merit and talent, hard work and dedication. There is no VIP lane for professional footballers. They are simply the best.

It is a quarter final of the World Cup.  On Saturday the streets will be empty but our hearts will be full.

There is passion and hope. And team work.

COME ON, ENGLAND.       

yachts in the English channel – image collinsdigital

To sail a boat you need to understand the wind; true and apparent, the tide; ebb and flood, the currents, lee way, speed over the ground, speed through the water, course to steer and course made good. Its more complex than it looks and Gareth Southgate looked satisfied with where the English ship had ended up.

A nil nil draw with the USA left England almost qualified for the round of sixteen, with a clean sheet and a flat and frustrating display without a hint of the speed and verve that destroyed Iran. The USMNT (United States Mens National Team – no less) were smart enough to realise that neither Maguire or Stones could do anything useful while playing keep ball in the England half.

Southgate called this controlling the game but really the England centre backs had no-one in front of them who could connect with Kane, Sterling and Saka. Leaving Maguire and Stones alone meant that the fit, athletic and competitive Americans had three strong lines of defence. They diligently picked up the wide men,Trippier and Shaw, climbed all over Rice and had nothing to concern them from whimsical Mount or the anonymous Bellingham.

Slowly the USA players began to assert themselves and their fans chanted U – S – A . Pulisic hit the bar. England were shaken and still unable to get forward. It was unrealistic to think that a talented nineteen year old could command a midfield in a World Cup cauldron and Henderson replaced Bellingham to get a grip.

Upfront Southgate put on the incisive Rashford and the circular Grealish. Nothing really changed and the game petered out. It was good to see some genuine, though very strange, passion from the “soccer” followers from America. They do it differently but they support their team.

The England post-mortem started with demands from the commentariat for Phil Foden to be selected. If he had been playing it seems quite likely he would have seen very little of the ball. England did not get down the sides and did not get through the middle.

Phil Foden, Kalvin Phillips.

Maybe Southgate would have been better off with Englands Euro shape with five at the back and Phillips alongside Rice. Maybe Foden should be first change instead of fiddle and fall Grealish. Maybe with five at the back Trent Alexander-Armold could fly down the wing.

Everyone has their own solution, their own perspective. Everyone has an answer and answers. The thing is, the purist thing is, that this a results game. It is all about the outcome.

We go on. Together. All of us.

COME ON, ENGLAND.

The low sun over London and England is still sleeping through a World Cup pre-dawn.

The sparkle of a 6-2 victory over Iran was satisfying but expected while Spain sizzled 7-0 and France powered past the Aussies and the early days of the group games trundle on. Surely Germany and Argentine will recover from their shocks and lie in wait in the knockout stages.

And Brasil have arrived. They pressed forward relentlessly against a strong Serbia and have proven and accomplished talent across the pitch and across the bench There is just something about them.

Today, Friday, England play the USA. It is good to see the mens game of football/soccer taking root in North America. Now they produce players good enough to earn big money in the major European leagues. England should have enough to get past their athletic and strong running cousins from across the pond.

There is a lot more football to come. All around the planet we are sharing this game. The human race is sharing moments of magic, entranced by young men exhibiting skill and determination and team work.

French writer Albert Camus said

“Everything I know about morality and the obligations of men, I owe it to football.”

and everything that is good about us all can be seen when football is the game.

We can all share our journey …

COME ON ENGLAND