England 2 v Wales 1

Prior to the start of Euro 2016 I sensed a feeling amongst English support that we must suppress any hint expectation because on every subsequent occasion since 1966 it had never been realised. Indeed at the last two major championships so awful were our performances that we couldn’t even fall back our default position as gallant losers. Further evidence of continuing national decline is provided by the percentage of home born players finding a slot in the starting line ups of English Premier league clubs (currently flat lining at around 30%). In Spain, Italy, France and Germany the equivalent percentage is closer to fifty five and above.

And yet with such an apparent paucity of players to select from, the team that turned out against Germany in March of this year demonstrated that in Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Adam Lallana there are players...

England 1 v Russia 1

Having just watched England’s sparkling performance v Russia in their opening encounter of Euro 2016 one is reminded of a phrase used by England cricket coach David Lloyd when describing his sides draw – the scores were tied - with Zimbabwe in 1996. “We murdered ‘em, we flippin’murdered ‘em” declared Lloyd only to find himself out of a role some months later.

So inept have England been in major football tournaments, that not much is required to fashion an improvement in performance. Yet for ninety minutes of this game they dominated play, moving the ball quickly and incisively, creating chances. The only thing missing was a bit of luck for every time the ball was struck well at goal it went straight at the Russian keeper. Then, in minute73, yet another of an ever increasing number of edge of the box free kicks was awarded. One might think that Wayne Rooney or...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 v Sheffield Wednesday 1

Had you tuned into BBC R4 first thing on Tuesday morning you might have been forgiven for thinking that you were on the wrong wavelength and that it was Talk Sport to which you were listening. The normally sober Today programme, where coverage of long term economic plans and the Westminster bubble dominates affairs was being presented by Nick Robinson, from – of all places - Leicester City’s King Power Stadium. Every so often his delivery was interrupted by the sound of honking car horns celebrating the most unlikely of triumphs. With Tottenham only managing a draw against Chelsea the previous evening it meant that Leicester’s closest rivals for the Premier League Championship could no longer overhaul them and thus, for the first time in their 132 year history, Leicester City had been crowned league champions.

Earlier in the year I...

The name Danny Willett has a gritty guttural feel in the way that Bryson DeChambeau does not. It conjures an image of the street fighter one for whom things have not been handed down on a plate. Willett’s demeanour and his hard South Yorkshire vowels add further substance to this persona. And for most of the golfing world he was something of an unknown until, at 5pm eastern standard time on Sunday 10th April, he calmly strolled to the 16th tee of the Augusta National course holding a one shot lead in the US Masters.

Up to that point he had played a faultless round, albeit under the radar and thus free from the pressures associated with leading a major golf championship. An hour earlier than Willett’s stroll to the 16th tee I had considered calling it a day. The rock hard Augusta greens were making fools of skilled golfers. All, that is, bar one. A young lad named Jordan Spieth who, as...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 v Blackburn Rovers 0

It is eighteen months since Blackburn last visited Molineux. Emboldened by recent promotion from the Third Division, Wolves beat Blackburn 3-1 a result which prompted the following observation.

“Though you may prefer not to, cast your mind back for a moment to the Wolves side under the management of Terry Connor. Chaos was a word that springs to mind closely followed by laughing stock. Thinking back to those dark days nobody could have envisaged the transformation that has taken place in the ensuing two and a half years. It’s actually shorter than that because things as we know went from bad to worse until the arrival of one Kenneth Jackett. Yes Wolves at this level are a club with resources others would die for. But as we are witnessing at Manchester United, it doesn’t matter how much money you spend, unless you can articulate a...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 v Ipswich Town 0

These are heady days at Molineux. An owner whose interest in affairs on the pitch appears, at best distant, at worst non-existent. A manager who seems to be suffering a severe lack of judgement favouring Bjorn Sigurdarson and Connor Coady ahead of respectively Joe Mason and Kevin MacDonald. A league position from which neither promotion nor relegation is possible and thus the perfect time blood a few youngsters – yet none appear. And for the second time in a row a home game of stultifying torpor.

One might blame the torpor on opposition Manager Mick McCarthy, a man not given to fielding teams that are easy on the eye. But in the first half it was the visitors who looked the more likely, creating more openings one of which, a 17 minute strike by Liam Feeney, struck an upright. That, plus a suicidal piece of defending by Kortney Hause, marked...

England 1 v Holland 2

I ended my last post with the question – was England’s victory against Germany a flash in the pan? Before granting my assessment it must first be stated that Holland’s goals were more than dodgy. The first one for a penalty was harsh and the second one for a challenge on Phil Jakielka shrieked foul. The only positive is that these aberrations occurred in a friendly and are hopefully out of our system ahead of the tournament proper.

As for the performance it was a return to the England we know so well. Expert in moving the ball either side of the half way line but lacking pace and vision in the final third. In fairness they weren’t totally devoid of inspiration – a number of chances were created and Jamie Vardy’s goal was beautifully crafted. But for most of the time it was back to what we have grown used to. Far too many touches on the ball leading to...

Germany 2 v England 3

In 1974 every young lad in the country wanted to wear a shirt with no. 14 on it. That year Johan Cruyff wore 14 and Dutch total football took the world by storm. It was the first World Cup to make an impression on me, partly because of my age and partly because colour televisions were far more prevalent than they had been during Brazil’s triumph four years earlier. In 1974 England had somewhat infamously failed to qualify so I had to choose another team on which to pin my hopes. Latching onto Rinus Michels’ Holland was not a difficult decision.

Centre stage of course was the elegant Cruyff supported by the likes of Ruud Kroll, Wim Suurbier, Johan Neeskens, Willem Van Hanegem, Jonny Rep and Rob Rensenbrink. Cruyff will always be remembered for his famous turn against Sweden but for me it was his unerring ability to hit low curling crosses into the corridor of...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 v Birmingham City 0

Back in October I waxed lyrical about a diminutive Italian called Diego Fabbrini. Playing in the red of Middlesbrough on the afternoon of the 24th he ran affairs on the pitch and was instrumental in Boro’s 3-1 victory. I said he should be playing in the Premier League not knowing that he was on loan from Watford, so was nominally already doing so. He either fell out with Aitor Karana or Middlesbrough didn’t rate him because in January of this year Birmingham and presumably manager Gary Rowett forked out a sum of £1.5m to secure his services. I say presumably manager Gary Rowett because, somewhat like Joe Mason at Wolves, Fabbrini has spent his time since signing warming the bench.

I can only conclude that there must be a clause in both players’ contracts stating that before they can make a contribution on the pitch they must first...

Leamington FC 1 v Kings Lynn Town 1

I have a confession. My knowledge of contemporary non league football is scant. You couldn’t even write what I know about it on the back of a fag packet. The only non- league game I’ve ever attended involved Matlock Town when they played in the old Northern Premier League. I seem to recall that there used to be something called the Beazer Homes League though I suspect it went the way of the company that bore its name - swallowed up and rebranded.

Yet every weekend across the country from Eastbourne to Frome, Haverfordwest to North Ferriby, non league football is taking place. For the thousands who turn out to watch it, professional football is a puffed up diva. I needed to see how the other half live so when the game between Leamington FC v Kings Lynn Town was finally confirmed - as part of a reunion with a group of mates from Hull University –...