English football loved the assassin‑faced baby but what we are left with now is a fading pro, approaching his 31st birthdayIt has all seemed so joyless at times, with so many long, difficult periods when it has seemed like a black drape could be placed over the entire team it might surprise you to learn that when Gareth Southgate took his seat in the Stadion Stozice and set out his reasons for dropping Wayne Rooney it was seven years to the day since England had lost a qualifying fixture.It can seem almost a trick of the mind to remind yourself that England are unbeaten in all qualifiers since a 2009 defeat in Ukraine when Rob Green was sent off and, losing...
The podders assess England’s win over Malta and the rest of the international action: is this the beginning of the end for Wayne Rooney? Plus, Steve Bruce looks set for Aston Villa – but is the Championship’s gain literature’s loss?Subscribe and review: iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, AcastOn today’s Football Weekly, AC Jimbo is joined by Rafa Honigstein, Iain Macintosh and Jacob Steinberg to whiffle on about the World Cup qualifiers. Is this finally the end of the road for Wayne Rooney? Does Gordon Strachan have a clue? Why can’t Wales win any more? Continue reading...
The South American section of World Cup qualifying has reached the halfway stage, and while Uruguay and Brazil look well placed, Chile could get left behindWith Conmebol at the halfway stage, and with an important round of fixtures on Tuesday, it might seem timely to ponder the following: is this the most difficult confederation from which to qualify for the World Cup? Luis Suárez certainly thinks so. “Yes, yes, yes,” the Uruguay dynamo said last year when pressed on the how hard it was, so to speak. “The Argentinians can tell you, so can the Brazilians and the Colombians, all of them can tell you. It’s the most difficult thing there can be, qualifying for a World Cup from South...
Gordon Strachan was unconvincing when he spoke positively of Scotland’s display in the 1-1 home draw with Lithuania in World Cup qualifying and more will be needed in SlovakiaGiven the extent to which soundbites have shaped popular perception of Gordon Strachan, there is something poetic about such utterances now appearing at the root of his undoing. Scotland’s woeful performance in drawing with Lithuania on Saturday evening was alarming enough for beleaguered Tartan Army foot soldiers before Strachan provided the latest glimpses of his signing up for the flat earth society. No sooner had James McArthur snatched a last-minute equaliser than Strachan spoke of bad luck, outstanding displays and similar.Scotland have been in this movie far too often for anyone to...
Wayne Rooney is a reassuring presence but is it time to consider a future without him and Jesse Lingard makes an eye-catching debut in front of Roberto ManciniGareth Southgate had instructed his first lineup as senior manager to be brave and play with style, with neither aspiration particularly easy to achieve against massed ranks of Maltese defence. The way the game drifted tediously through the opening period was, for a while, troubling, yet the interim manager had also stressed the need for patience. “Eventually you wear teams down,” he had said. “They can’t chase you forever.” Related: England make hard work of seeing off Malta in Gareth Southgate’s first game Related: England’s not-quite manager Gareth Southgate survives bland audition |...