ENGLAND KNEE-JERKERY AROUND MAGUIRE, QUANSAH, WHITE, AND MORE MAN CITY ‘EXPULSION’ TAKES…

The Mailbox is generally downbeat over England’s prospects, with some calling for Liverpool and Everton defenders to be involved. Also: the Manchester City debate continues…

Get your views in to [email protected]…

Maguire out, Quansah in

In answer to James Hammond and discussions around who should be on the plane.

Here is who shouldn’t:

Ben Chilwell, two awful displays can’t shoot and can’t find a player on his own team with a pass.

I’m really hoping that Luke Shaw will be fit, Joe Gomez can do a job against weaker teams giving Shaw a rest.

Harry Maguire and Lewis Dunk are liabilities that will cost us when we play our first decent team.

Would much rather see Jarred Quansah and Jarrad Branthwaite be given a chance.

If John Stones gets injured we are royaly fu**ed.

Neil, LFC USA.

The case for Toney

Full disclosure, I’m a Brentford fan. I’m therefore giving a biased view (but then again 95% of football opinions are biased views!).

So the general consensus is there will be one extra striker (Kane back-up) in the England Euros squad and it’s seemingly now a straight fight between Toney and Watkins. But Kane will never be dropped or rested and the only way he won’t be on the pitch is if he’s unavailable (injured or suspended) or we’re winning very comfortably. In the latter scenario it wouldn’t really matter who we bring on. So we’re looking for the most like-for-like player, needed only in an emergency. That, I think, is clearly Toney, given his physical presence, finishing ability, hold up play as well as his overall work rate.

The main argument for Watkins is he’s more versatile, but we have so many other attacking options, that versatility isn’t really that useful. He’ll be behind Saka, Foden, Rashford, Grealish, Maddison, Gordon, Bowen (whoever makes the squad basically) as a wide or support attacker to Kane.

Added to that, Toney is obviously a fantastic penalty taker to bring on in the latter stages of extra time. His defensive work is also exceptional (and under appreciated!), so bringing him on to help defend a lead could come in useful.

I rest my case. Over to you Gareth.

Rob, Surrey, Bees fan

Let’s get real

Can we please take a minute and put some perspective into England’s two friendlies played in the last few days.

We lost to Brazil, their only win in their last 5 internationals. We failed to beat a team in the World’s top 20 for the 427th time under Southgate. Our usually competent goalkeeper had another, not unexpected brainfart. Our first choice (god help us) centre back and his preferred replacement, both looked useless. Our second choice left back, possibly first choice given his rivals fitness record, looked woefully out of sorts. Southgate’s plan B is still plan A with different names on the back of the shirts. Yes we were missing a host of “first choice” players but all this did was expose just how vital they are.

The only plus point was probably Mainoo (that hurts!) and he wasn’t included in the original squad! Why was Branthwaite not given any game time, every other defender was?

The Southgate supporters club will still bang on about finals and semi-finals (not wins!) but I can only see a quarter final exit on the horizon as our play is predictable, ponderous and reliant on someone unexpectedly producing a moment.

Last night we were also treated to prime examples of the level of inane commentary and what to expect. Bellingham was described as “currently the best player in the World” (Mbappe wants a word), as good as he is, playing alongside Valverde, Tchouameni, Vinicius Jnr, Raphina, Rodrygo, Kroos and Cammavinga helps, he made a tackle in the second half described as “brilliant” despite the fact he immediately lost the ball, his glaring miss at 1-1 was glossed over. The commentator also said that Southgate wouldn’t be “unduly worried” by the defensive errors, why the hell not!

Howard (it’ll all end in tears) Jones

This is England

As an England fan I am often astounded at how stupid and reactionary the English media and fans can be. After we beat Iran (ranked 20th in the world) 6-2 in our opening group game of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar the English media and fans were saying we’re contenders to win the World Cup. Fast forward to March 2024 and after losing to Brazil (ranked 4th in the world) and drawing with Belgium (ranked 3rd in the world) the English media and fans saying we won’t win anything, we’re useless and we have no chance at Euro 2024. Our media and fans really are stupid and an embarrassment.

Dan, London

White back

@James Hammond, at least half of the problem is potentially solvable. If recent reports are to be believed it’s a simple case of:

– Steve Holland calling Ben White and apologising

– Gareth Southgate publicly explaining what happened, stating that he understands Ben White’s reaction at the time and apologising for any misunderstanding

Hopefully this would be enough to get the PL’s best RB and one of England’s best two CBs back into the fold.

Much love

Simon Cochrane

…I vaguely watched the game last night and read the player ratings today. Some things occurred to me, which I wanted to share with you.

Firstly, England won’t win the Euros. Our attack is clearly amazing (particularly with Saka, Kane and Bellingham), however the balance at the back is a mess. We need a left back but just don’t have one. What has happened to Reese James? I probably should have checked before writing this.

Secondly, Benjamin White is going to play for England again. Possibly when begged to play this summer. The sad thing is, he will now be in everyone’s sights with any possible mistake dissected endlessly.

Thirdly, whenever I hear the name ‘Toney’, I think of Luca Toni. Every time. I do a similar thing with David Moyes, hearing his name in a french accent ‘Dav-id Moy-ez’.

International nonsense over now. Time to get ready for Man Cheaty to spank Arsenal.

Have a great day.

JazGooner, Cobham, Surrey

Hand of Hod

I’ve read some mad shit on the internet in my time. I’ve written some of it too. But the phrase “There were England managers who made the game fun… hoddle teams were great to watch.”

Now my first trip to Wembley to watch England was under Hoddle, and I remember France 98 as the best of World Cups in the way that all kids remember World Cups in your early teenage years as being immense. But really? Hoddle? Great to watch?

Lee might not remember, as it was a long time ago, but I remember.

England 0-2 Chile – a marauding midfield pairing of David Batty and Nicky Butt (no double pivot in Glenn’s day) played dull and uninspiring football in a day only remembered because it was Michael Owen’s debut.

England 0-0 Saudia Arabia – does anyone remember this? I do. I definitely do. Only because we’d driven down to London and it was Gazza’s last ever England appearance.

England 0-0 Bulgaria – another stormer, this time in a qualifier, not a friendly. Andy Hinchcliffe played, a man more scintillating than any of Gareth’s constrained wokerati players of the modern day.

That’s just games I remember watching. Looking at Hoddle’s record hardly tells a story of free-flowing attacking football. And The pinnacle of the Hoddle Era was a dour 0-0 draw away against Italy in which the sides mustered a total of about four shots.

Great to watch? Maybe if you’d been on the Metz Ice and Carling Black Label.

There were some exciting teams about in the 90s. Glenn Hoddle’s England weren’t one of them.

Andy, Leeds fan in Salford

The undesirables

After watching Pickford make a huge mistake for England’s first goal and generally watch him run around like a madman often taken positions far from his goal for seemingly no reason it got me thinking who is the least desirable goalkeeper in the Premier League?

For the record I think Pickford is a sound goalie who makes few mistakes for England and definitely the best on offer, however when you compare his standing against other World and Premier League players it does not stack up similar to the outfield players.

As an example, Bellingham and Kane are arguably top 3 in their position worldwide. Saka, Foden, Rice & Stones would get into nearly any team in the world however Pickford for me probably doesn’t even get into the top 10 Premier League goalkeepers never mind the likes of Bayern and Real Madrid (like Kane and Bellingham).

It got me thinking who is the worst keeper in the Premier League, but this is very difficult to quantify as clean sheets, number of saves or errors leading to goals have a lot to do with the whole team not just the keeper.

Hence my question is, to neutral fans who is the least desirable first choice Premier League goalkeeper?

Cheers,

Paul K, London

Keeper maths

3 goalies are nearly 1/8th of the squad. Meanwhile the keeper is only 1/11th of the players on the pitch. Why not allow 2 GK picks?

Jayraj (never has a keeper on the bench in FM), MUFC

Big red mist

As no one directly responded to Calvino’s letter I thought I better. As it was very strange.

Let’s go back in time and look at what caused FFP. Football gate receipts used to be shared, which allowed provincial clubs to compete with city clubs. But the Big Reds clubs wanted more money, so they got it abolished. Then they decided they didn’t want to share money with the lower leagues, so the Big Red clubs along with Spurs and Everton worked together to form the PL, so they had more money. After the Champions League was formed, which brought more money to the Big Red clubs, they formed the G14 with their Euro mates, which then lobbied to expand the CL to include other non-champion clubs so they could guarantee the G14 clubs more money. They created a monetary arms race and they were the winners.

To try and compete other clubs needed rich owners and to overspend, which worked for some e.g. Blackburn and not for others e.g. Leeds, who nearly went bust. FFP was brought in by UEFA to stop these clubs going bust by overspending and the first iteration of it was very simple – clubs could not have debt. However the G14 clubs didn’t like that as 1, a number of them were in debt, and 2, there was no advantage to them in these rules. So after spitting their dummy out, Platini changed it to be a spend based on turnover, which as City fans said at the time, is just an easy way to lock in the current biggest clubs in perpetuity. And we know how the biggest clubs have always acted – in their own self-interest. No, the G14 said, it’s about FAIRNESS, because the world Fair in is FFP. Ell Ohh Ell.

The Big Reds clubs created a monetary arms race and then when rich owners tried to complete they blocked them from doing so. The PL then adopted very similar rules, as they were the standard approach across Europe, so easier to implement. And together PSR/FFP are not about creating “a level playing field” as it is the literal opposite of that. And it does not “make sense” unless you are a fan of one of the Big Red clubs.

The strange strawman you created that City, English Pride and FFP are intertwined is nonsense. Just admit you don’t want fairness and a level playing field, but less competition and your monetary advantage back. An anti competitive oligopoly, backed by PL and UEFA rules is nothing that we should be proud of.

The rest of your letter is like some fan fiction to FFP and a onanism fantasy regarding City’s punishment. I’m not going there.

Andy D. Manchester. MCFC

City and dodgy dossiers

For those of a certain age and inclination from the UK, the ‘dodgy dossier’ was a disastrous moment for this country and, to a lesser extent, the world. It’s perhaps a pretty niche cultural reference so I’m not going to go into detail except to say that a full investigation into the scandal exonerated all involved. There was no wrong doing. The dossier was proven by the Chilcott enquiry to not be dodgy.

Except to anyone who paid attention and could see the disgusting, black mark forever visible below the Whitehall whitewash.

For those of a certain inclination, from the UK and, likely to a lesser extent, the world, the charges against City are similar. It matters not what the whitewash says. It matters not what the official report details. We know what happened then, and we know what is happening now.

And, for many, not all but very, very many non-City fans, I think this is why this City side are just pretty irrelevant. They are ignored. They don’t drive huge emotions in many of us. I’m a United fan and don’t care one bit about their achievements. I’m numb to their excellence. I’ll never get riled or disappointed or feel upset about them. Liverpool? Arsenal? Different. City? Nope. They don’t matter to me and many, many others. No sugar rush of indignation here. Emotionally, they don’t really exist.

They’ll chime in with ‘look at you commenting… It matters… We matter…WE MATTER!!!’.

But they don’t. And many of them, I think, feel this.

‘We are innocent! We are innocent! We have the verdict!’ they’ll smirk.

I’m not expecting a suitable punishment. I’m not expecting the wrongs to be made right. The world doesn’t work like that.

For many City fans, that’ll be enough. They’ll be happy to use the verdict or the lenient punishments as a defence against those who are angry.

But it’ll be like Alistair Campbell jumping on Channel 4 news to explain to Jon Snow that it was all fine, report in hand. For decades to come, the asterisks will remain and the indifference will endure. Because in stark contrast to the dodgy dossier, this is only football and, like City, it doesn’t really matter.

Andreas, St Albans

…Levenshulme Blue, You seem very confident that city will be proven not guilty. I wonder where that confidence comes from because so far the club haven’t proven any innocence.

But but but the uefa case!

Yeah you were found not guilty in the same way r Kelly was found not guilty by getting the video tape of him having sex with a 14 year old thrown out of court. The event happened , you just got away with it.

The club acts so guilty all the time. Look at how literally every other club has handled it, they cooperated and wanted it resolved as quick as possible. City with their supposedly locked in innocence and evidence of it avoid, obfuscate and delay. If I knew I was innocent, and was 100% sure I could prove it id put it to bed immediately because every day I don’t is costing me in legal fees and more crucially – ruining my reputation. There’s actually no benefit to city dragging their heels and not cooperating, unless of course they’re guilty and they know it in which case being difficult and dragging their heels is giving them more time to look for some technicality like the uefa case.

You also complain about everyone talking about expulsion, why? You don’t think if you broke the rules 115 times you should be significantly punished? A fine is no good to a team with infinite money. The punishment must also be a deterrent and a fine for cheating for almost a decade will just seem like the reasonable cost of business. Also if forest , Leicester and Everton all get points and they cooperated why should city get less? Italian FA relegated juventus when they got caught.

Why as a city fan do you feel entitled to lesser punishments for worse offences? The FA has to make an example of you (assuming you’re found guilty) precisely because you didn’t cooperate.

FA : we believe you have been breaking the rules and lying about breaking the rules

City : no we have irrefutable evidence that we are innocent and we will show you

FA : excellent can you bring it to court ? Wed like to get this resolved.

City : no, we will avoid showing anyone this irrefutable evidence for as long as possible

It’s such a stupid and guilty way to behave.

Lee

…I disagree with the claim 365 are “getting a kicking” over your reporting on Man City because all of it is just cope from delusional City fans so doesn’t count. My club are also being investigated for FFP violations but I’m not screaming at anyone online who suggests they should or could be punished. I don’t recall fans of other clubs who have already been punished having tantrums about it either, unhappy yes but no unhinged rants.

The behavior of City fans is unique on these shores as their club have achieved great success like they never have before in recent years and have become entitled because of it (you could call it Barcelona Syndrome). Any suggestion this success was because of cheating and should be erased triggers an somewhat extreme response and denial of reality. 1 or even a handful of charges you can reasonably dismiss, 115 on top of UEFA investigations you cannot. This denial of reality is why talk of potential punishments causes them to fly into a rage.

The expulsion narrative became news as it was reported Chelsea are being investigated for false accounting during the Abramovich era. This is not only a violation of FFP but a serious crime in the UK also. This is why severe penalties are being discussed including expulsion. Man City are also being investigated for similar charges as part of their 115 which is why expulsion from the league is being discussed for them too.

Do I think Chelsea or City will be kicked out of the league? No. Do I think Chelsea will punished more severely than City? Yes. Does anyone remember when the Saudi’s wanted to buy Newcastle but the Premier League were not to hot on the idea? The British government “persuaded” them to let the deal go through because of oil and arms deals with the country. The same will happen with City, the Premier League will be leant on by the government for leniency because natural gas exists and the City owners sell it. Chelsea on the other hand used to be owned by a Russian so must be punished severely because Ukraine exists.

Should City and Chelsea expelled from the league or at least relegated along with massive fines and restrictions if they are found guilty of false accounting? Yes. Should people at the club go to prison? Yes. Will any of this actually happen? At least not to City anyway.

The rest of the league, especially clubs who have already been punished under FFP should be readying their lawyers to to sue the Premier League once they hand down their government approved minor slap on wrist for City despite finding them guilty (which CAS will probably overturn anyway). I bet we all can’t wait for City fans to gloat in the mailbox about how innocent their club is when really it will just highlight how corrupt the government and Premier League are along with City and their despot owners.

Morris

2024-03-28T10:09:07Z dg43tfdfdgfd