Max and the podders discuss England: more fun on the pitch than off it? France in a mess, young talent, a miraculous comeback in non-leagueRate, review, share on Apple Podcasts,Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acastand Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.Max Rushden is joined by Philippe Auclair, Priya Ramesh and Stephen Ganavas to discuss the latest wave of international friendlies and the state of play for some of the teams on their way to Russia this summer. Continue reading...
Are the minority who follow England and continue to disrespect foreign cultures and cities like in Amsterdam on Friday perhaps feeling a sense of legitimacy after the Brexit referendum?Can a couple of football matches provide evidence that England in the 21st century is a better nation than the Daily Mail would have us believe? In Amsterdam on Friday night England’s seniors confronted the Netherlands with a team whose starting XI contained seven black or mixed-race players, including all three forwards. On Saturday evening their under-21 colleagues played Romania with nine black players in white shirts at the kick-off.Both teams won their matches using the same brand of football. They aimed to play the ball out of defence with patience, accuracy and...
Assured victory in Amsterdam is more proof that the coach’s plan of canny possession football is not just empty chatterLast month Gareth Southgate did a long broadcast interview with the journalist Guillem Balagué. It kicked off with Balagué lobbing up a soft one, asking England’s manager what album he would choose to keep if he could listen to only one.Rather than just doing the decent thing and saying, yeah, I listen to Drake in the car, Southgate went on to talk – for absolutely ages – about how lucky he was to have been in so many dressing rooms, to have been exposed to different kinds of music, different genres and cultures. Continue reading...
Max Rushden and co assess England’s priorities, Old Trafford hymn sheets, Panini versus Merlin and moreRate, review, share on Apple Podcasts,Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acastand Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.Max Rushden is joined by Jonathan Wilson, Sachin Nakrani and Michael Butler to look ahead to a feast of friendlies before this World Cup business that starts in 12 weeks’ time. Continue reading...
Politicians were quick to jump on the World Cup and turn it into a political football in the week when 23 Russian diplomats were expelled from the UKAs Anglo-Russian relations grow ever more fraught it seems a good moment to consider just how upset Russia will really be, how deep its pit of anguish, if Prince William and other members of the British royal family refuse to attend the World Cup.There are some clues here. By an odd coincidence, the day after the World Cup final at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium is also the exact 100-year anniversary of the Russian government-sanctioned murder of the country’s own royal family. Related: Gareth Southgate ignores Russia tensions for England’s World Cup bid Related: I’ve...