On that note, it’s time to wrap things up. I’m sure you’ll agree this has been one of the great Friday blogs, a Pulitzer contender if ever there was one. Thanks for your company and emails, and don’t forget to join Scott Murray in a couple of hours for minute-by-minute coverage of England v Australia. Mind you, Gardeners’ World is on at 8.
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Here’s more on the news that Beth Mead is on course to return to the Arsenal squad against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Here’s today’s Football Daily. I wouldn’t bother with the main bit.
Northern Ireland play San Marino tomorrow afternoon, and their manager Martin O’Neill has been talking about the exciting teenage striker Callum Marshall.
I don’t want to put any added pressure on a young lad who is 18. He’s shown a huge amount of promise. We probably skew that because of the moment in Copenhagen [when he had a superb late equaliser ruled out after an interminable VAR check] but that was only a moment.
I can’t think back to when we’ve had a young striker - they generally come in later... A young striker coming in always excites people. Like every country, you want somebody at the top end of the pitch who can be a natural goalscorer, and without putting any burden on Callum, he has the potential and has shown the potential certainly since we’ve had him in. We’ve seen that he has the attributes. But he’s only starting on his journey in the game.
The signs are very positive and if he has the opportunity to play from the start or play some part of the game, I know he’ll approach it in the right way.
“The logical extension of an ‘umpire’s call’ approach to offsides is that we have to accept some things that were marginally onside, get given off,” says Nicholas Ridgman . “This would seem to be counter to the old principle of benefit of doubt going to the attacker, which seemed a sound one. I suspect you’d then find assistant referees erring on the side of calling things on.
“Surely once to get to this point of ridiculous minutiae, it makes more sense to take a step back and scrap the whole thing altogether? We also haven’t covered VAR’s greatest crime - taking away the ability to celebrate a crucial goal with carefree abandon (surely the greatest feeling in football?), for fear that it will be struck off.”
Yes, I always think of David Marshall against Serbia in 2020. What should have been the most euphoric 10 seconds of his career were spent fretting about admin. That was the moment it hit home that VAR was fast-tracked by people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
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“Beth Mead ready to come back?” says Charles Antaki. “Fantastic news for an underwhelming-looking Arsenal squad, out of the Champions League already and with one point from six in the WSL. Credit to the newer signings, but none have sparkled; the women’s team fans are generally forbearing, but the club’s accountants probably aren’t, and if the team is to keep filling the Emirates they’re going to have to get their star players back and start winning again. Mead very soon, Miedema a bit less soon, and Williamson a jog or two more round the training cones, but, yes, things are looking up.”
“If there was no VAR, what happens in the next international qualifier, where, like Henry in France v Ireland, someone catches the ball, TWICE, and then practically throws it in the net in the dying seconds?” writes Dom in Florence. “Even a VAR team of a hat, Bobby Davro and the M4 motorway would have given that correctly.
“So, if we ditch VAR, what happens when an entire nation don’t go to a World Cup because of blatant cheating that can be seen by millions, and from space, (but not apparently, by the ref, assistant ref and goal line assistant
“In the end, yes it has huge problems, but then I wasn’t keen on watching games of 90 minutes of players cheating, diving, and generally pretending they’d been bludgeoned unconscious by 18th-century footpads, just to get a throw in near the halfway line either.
“To paraphrase, VAR is the worst way to avoid all this, except for all the others. What to do?”
I agree that you can’t get rid of it because everyone will be even less tolerant of incorrect decisions (objective or subjective) than they were before it was introduced. I would add the equivalent of “umpire’s call” in cricket for offsides and tighten the threshold for overturning a decision. That’s the key part, I think. I’d also try to change the review process so that it’s roughly 50:50 whether the referee will overturn a decision when he/she is sent to the monitor.
On this day in 1993, France have one foot in USA 94. And it all goes wrong, big-time.
Here’s a reminder of tonight’s Euro qualifiers, all 7.45pm BST kick-offs unless stated.
Group B
Republic of Ireland v Greece
Netherlands v France
Group F
Estonia v Azerbaijan (5pm)
Austria v Belgium
Group J
Liechtenstein v Bosnia and Herzegovina
Portugal v Slovakia
Iceland v Luxembourg
Player welfare latest
This is an interesting story from PA about the increasingly tumefied football calendar.
A group chaired by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says it will not agree to Fifa plans for an expanded World Cup and a new Club World Cup until it is given a meaningful say in calendar changes.
The World Leagues Forum, of which the Premier League is one of 44 members, has accused Fifa of acting with a lack of transparency over the changes it has made to the international calendar.
The WLF board, chaired by Masters, held a “comprehensive discussion” about calendar congestion and player workload issues caused by Fifa’s recent decisions, prior to its annual meeting in Warsaw.
“Board members reiterated their concerns about the lack of transparent governance at international level on matters that have an impact on the national competitions that provide the foundations for the game,” the WLF statement said.
“The WLF will continue to seek a meaningful role in the FIFA decision-making process for the international match calendar before any calendar changes are agreed.”
It is unclear precisely how the WLF could look to challenge the changes, which have the backing of the European Club Association as part of its new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FIFA.
However, PA understands frustration is growing among the leagues at Fifa’s role - whether it sees itself as a competitor to the leagues, or their governing body.
Rulings are expected before the end of the year from the European Court of Justice - including in the long-running Super League case - which are expected to address Fifa’s dual role as competition organiser and regulator.
There are particular concerns at the WLF over how the new-look Club World Cup - due to be played every four years starting in the summer of 2025 - will affect preparations for those domestic competitions due to start in August, and the general impact of more international competitions on the primacy and prominence of domestic leagues.
Should Saudi Arabia succeed in winning the race to host the 2034 World Cup, that would also require leagues operating the August to May format to implement a mid-season break, as was the case last season due to the 2022 finals in Qatar.
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Italy latest
The manager Luciano Spalletti has been talking about the decision to let Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo to leave the training camp after they found out they were being investigated by prosecutors. Italy have a European Championship qualifier against Malta in Bari tomorrow night.
It’s not nice to say who decided [to let them leave], it’s enough to say that it’s the correct decision. We can’t bring two guys who have been shocked like that to play a game. Now let’s think about playing, we lose two champions but we remain a very strong team.
It was a difficult night, when you have to get results there is always anxiety, but this was a different night, with a lot of bitterness over what happened. The whole squad is close to Tonali and Zaniolo, we’re very sorry for them. We will continue to be close to them even afterwards. For now, they have the spotlight on them.
We must try to help them defend themselves, but it’s also right that justice takes its course and if irregularities have occurred, then it will be right to pay.
Mead could make Arsenal return
Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall has confirmed that Beth Mead, who has been out for 11 months with an ACL injury, could return to the squad for the WSL match agianst Aston Villa on Sunday.
“We have one more training session to go,” said Eidevall. “If she gets through that, she should be 100 per cent ready for squad selection.
“She has a lovely energy, she plays the game with both her right and left foot with really good attacking qualities too. We all know that Beth Mead is a quality football player, so of course we are really looking forward to having her back on the pitch again.”
Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema could also return soon after suffering a similar injury. “Viv has returned to team training, which is really nice, so obviously the next thing from team training is to start playing in games, if that’s friendly games or internal games behind closed doors and so on.
“That’s the next step, and from there on obviously you’re not miles away from being able to be selected to be in the squad, so she’s definitely getting close.”
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Cheers John, hello again. Let’s start with a piece by Aaron Bower on Bradford City, who are looking for a new manager after sacking Mark Hughes last week.
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Craig Ward gets in touch, making more sensible points. “Is it not the case, though, that it isn’t VAR that’s the problem? The problem is (in most cases) that VAR allows us to see where rules are inadequate or plain wrong and the correct response would be to use it as a basis for improving the rules.”
Too much sense for the Friday banter blog there…anyway, the floor is Rob Smyth’s once more…
More Danny Röhl, and chest-beating stuff, too.
I think I’m very well prepared. I have a clear identity in my mind. I have a clear philosophy and this is the reason why I’m here now. Now we have to create something. We have to create an identity, what we want to play, how we want to play. This is very important for me.
We will do our job and I’m convinced we have a massive fanbase behind us and with our style of football in the future we can create so much energy. We want the opponents to come here and feel: ‘Oh! Wednesday are back!
If you’re reading that as an Owls supporter and are not inspired then we can’t help you…
David Wall gets in touch, and makes a salient point or two: “As the controversial (i.e. wrong) VAR decisions start to pile up it seems that more and more people are saying that the whole thing should just be binned and we should go back to having a referee and assistants running the lines again. That’s almost always caveated with a ‘I know it won’t happen...’
“But are we giving up too easily? There are plenty of refereeing initiatives that have been ditched after high-profile introductions. Does anyone remember that referees were going to march the wall back 10 yards for encroachment at free-kicks, for example?
”Of course not, it got quietly ditched not long after being introduced. I suppose the difficulty with VAR would be that it’s not easy to ditch it quietly, but all they need to do is not have it at the next international tournament and then leagues will start to follow suit when it’s gone out of fashion.”
Yes, abandoning VAR now would be populism in action.
#cans #dans. Having made his dream move back to his boyhood club, Dan Burn has fully grasped the nettle of being a Newcastle player.
✍️ #NUFC are delighted to announce that Dan Burn has agreed a new contract that will keep him at St. James' Park until 2025!
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) October 13, 2023
Congratulations, Dan! ⚫️⚪️
From Newcastle’s official website:
Burn: “It means everything to me to play for this club and to sign a new contract. I said when I signed that I didn’t want this to be just a ‘stop-gap’ signing to keep us up - I wanted to be here for a long time. So personally it feels even more of an achievement signing this one than it was actually signing here in the first place. I’m delighted and looking forward to the next couple of seasons.”
Eddie Howe, said: “Dan is a leader on and off the pitch so we are delighted he has extended his stay with us. He is a key part of our squad and has played a huge role in our progress since his arrival. He knows exactly what it means to represent this great club and is hungry to succeed, and that can only help the team and the club going forward.”
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Some Danny Röhl quotes, as he is unveiled as new Sheffield Wednesday manager.
It’s been a long process these last seven days but I have had a good conversation with the chairman, very open-minded for everything and I am looking forward to being part of this traditional club.
I was in the stadium and the first impression was amazing. I am looking forward to having the first match inside. It feels I am ready for this. I know it’s a big challenge now to make the step forward as a manager but I have prepared the last 10 years for this first step. It feels amazing to have that first step here at Sheffield Wednesday.
I have seen some videos about the fans and the crowd and in the last days I have got a lot of messages via Instagram and Facebook and it showed me a lot about how passionate the fans are here. It’s crazy to be here now and be part of this.
Shaun Tooze, who seems a level-headed type, on that McTom disallowed goal. “I was late to the action with the Scotland game but having just seen the highlights, that goal is one where it’s all about where your allegiances are - it’s that simple I think.
“If you were rooting for Scotland (I was) the ball flies in, the keeper is getting nowhere near it, and the lack of reaction from the Spanish lads says it all - nothing wrong with it. But if that exact goal was against Scotland, you see the guy under the line of the ball, touching the keeper, and with a toe offside. I’d have preferred the goal to have stood but I can understand why it didn’t even if it was ridiculously harsh.”
Jacob Steinberg speaks to Ayal Young, shot in his right cheek and back when his kibbutz was attacked.
Young, a lifelong Tottenham supporter, is struggling to understand English football’s response to the attacks by Hamas. The Football Association has resisted calls to light the Wembley arch in the colours of the Israeli flag or the Jewish prayer shawl. The Premier League waited until Thursday to make a statement on the attacks. It has been accused of failing to issue an unequivocal condemnation of Hamas. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign has welcomed the FA’s decision “and its resistance to pressure from the government and other political leaders”.
Andrew Drinkwater gets in touch. Thank you, Andrew: “It’s a really big night for Luxembourg - a win in Iceland, and Portugal maintaining their perfect record at home to Slovakia, would turn Monday’s game at home to the Slovaks into a de facto playoff for automatic qualification. Last month’s international break was up and down to say the least - the 3-1 home win over Iceland followed by a record-equalling 9-0 defeat in Portugal - but this team are legitimate contenders.
“Aside from the two tonkings from Portugal that got a lot of coverage, the Roude Léiwen have 10 points from their other 4 games, including a win in Bosnia and a draw in Slovakia. The whole story is a vindication of the investment in the system here in Lux (including a beautiful new national stadium), but also of the Nations League - the opportunity to play competitive games against similarly ranked teams has built some momentum and confidence that (hopefully) hasn’t been beaten out of them by that tonking in Portugal. Worth keeping an eye on their score tonight.”
Confirmed: Danny Röhl is Sheffield Wednesday's new manager
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Danny Röhl as our new manager!#swfc pic.twitter.com/6aWFqcoW2W
— Sheffield Wednesday (@swfc) October 13, 2023
Sheffield Wednesday are delighted to announce the appointment of Danny Röhl as our new manager.
The renowned German coach takes over as Owls boss with immediate effect, with an impressive career in his locker to date.
The 34-year-old has held assistant manager positions with European giants Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Southampton and the German national team.
Röhl’s glittering coaching career now leads to his first managerial role in S6.
Welcome to Wednesday, Danny!
Röhl worked under Ralph Hasenhüttl at European giants Southampton…
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Talking of Golden Boys, how about our Next Gen series, the Premier League series, featurring a Giggs, a Warhurst and a Josh King?
Right, let’s keep the old pot boiling with some red-hot soccer chat.
On that note, I’m going to hand back to John Brewin for a bit. See you later.
On this day in 1984, Remi Moses scores a beauty as Manchester United hammer West Ham 5-1.
And on the same day, Arsenal stay top of the league despite a terrific own-goal from Viv Anderson. He made amends with a belter at the right end.
“Jamal Musiala and Jude Bellingham are both 20 and have both played three seasons with 90+ appearances in the Bundesliga,” says Hugh Molloy. “In that time Musiala won 3 league titles, the DFB cup, FIFA World Cup cup, UEFA Super Cup and 2 DFB Super Cups compared to Bellingham’s 1 DFB Cup. He also scored 23 goals compared to Bellingham’s 12 in that time frame and both played the same 90ish matches.
“I do believe Bellingham deserves the Golden Boy 2023 award but to call Musiala an also ran is an odd one.”
It was, how to put this delicately, a joke. (I think I cocked it up anyway as apparently there are 25 people on the shortlist, not 20. Either way there are some serious players on there: Musiala, Bellingham, Florian Wirtz, Evan Ferguson, Benjamin Sesko, Warren Zaire-Emery, etc.)
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“Sorry I can’t help with content today,” writes Joe Pearson. “I have no opinion on international friendlies generally, except to consider them typically a waste of time. And I can’t vote for your squad, since I don’t do TwiXter. But I can tell you that there are thunderstorms in southwest Florida right now, where I am currently relaxing for a bit.”
But apart from that.
A-ha, something good to read at lunchtime. Paul Elliott talks to Paul MacInnes about Charlton, diversity and clumping Diego Maradona.
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Rugby news Yep, we’re desperate.
And still…
“The thing is, I still don’t think Hendry is doing any of 1-3 on that Ifab list,” says James Humphries. “Others may disagree - though they’d be wrong - but it’s a judgement call, innit? All var has done is introduce someone else’s judgement to muddy the waters. Get it in the bin. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe I see a cloud needs yelling at.”
I think he was guilty of the third one, but you can definitely argue it both ways. The inconsistent plotting of the “clear and obvious” threshold is a pain in the fundament.
“If we’re looking for talking points to keep things ticking over…” says Matt Dony. “Yes, Eriksson’s England were handbrake-friendly, but there’s a lot of revisionism over the stars of that team. People seem quick to dismiss them and belittle their abilities. Beckham and Owen were both admittedly limited, but what they did, they did as well as (or better than) anyone else in world football. Young Rooney was an absolute phenomenon. 2004 is one of the biggest Missed Chances I can think of.
“Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes were three of the finest midfielders England have ever produced. Between Campbell, Ferdinand and Terry, you have probably the ideal centre half. Ashley Cole was possibly the best left back in the world. You can go on. As a Welsh Liverpool fan, I pretty intensely dislike almost all of the above players. But the idea that they weren’t brilliant is ridiculous. The Golden Generation tag may have done them no favours, but it wasn’t inaccurate.”
Isn’t it just that they were rarely brilliant for England? Few people of sound mind dispute how good they all were for their clubs. It also annoys me a bit that a number of them have thrown Sven under the bus in the last few years. I know he had his limitations – at the time I thought England should have replaced him with Sam Allardyce after Euro 2004 – but it’s a clear story of collective responsibility. He didn’t blooter penalties hither and thither.
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Still talking about it
“Firstly, it’s over and we should move on,” writes Gavin. “Ok. I had. But because you brought it up (I know, you’ve been bored) ... Isn’t ‘the important thing’ that refereeing is consistent, coherent and transparent? Using your logic, if the ref had tossed a coin to make his decision, and got it ‘right’, that would be the important thing. Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day. Is that enough?”
I didn’t use the phrase “the important thing”, did I? That’s a slightly different point. Broadly I agree with you – VAR has done irreparable damage to football, and even scrapping it won’t change the culture of entitlement, righteous anger and nervousness it has created – but there’s no panacea.
That’s why it should have been trialled at lower levels for at least a decade, so that Ifab could get a comprehensive d understanding of all the problems it would create and then decide whether that was a worthwhile trade.
Postecoglu wins Manager of the Month again
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou is September’s Manager of the Month, as he was in August. For once he’s not copying Pep, mate: he’s the first man to win the award in his first two months in England.
A Spursman has also picked up Player of the Month. This time it’s Son Heung-min rather than James Maddison.
(Since you asked, the winners in Pep Guardiola’s first two months in England were, and you’ll like this, Mike Phelan and Jurgen Klopp. That’s despite City being top of the league with six wins out of six at the end of September.)
Back-to-back @BarclaysFooty Manager of the Month awards for Ange Postecoglou 👏#PLAwards pic.twitter.com/8ucxWU4Kar
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 13, 2023
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We’re still going on about Scott McTominay’s goal
“I’m not sure it is the right call: Hendry’s not obstructing the keeper and he’s not blocking his eyeline,” says James Humphries. “In any case, the laws are also pretty clear that you’re not allowed to shoulder people in the mush; if that’d happened on a rugby pitch, nobody would have been surprised to see the Spanish player walk (direct contact with the head, and no attempt to wrap, even!). Two wrongs etc, but it sticks in the craw when it seems that only one side can do wrong.”
As ever, the wording is unhelpfully ambiguous. This is what it says on the Ifab website.
A player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched by a team-mate is only penalised on becoming involved in active play by:
interfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate or
interfering with an opponent by:
1. preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or
2. challenging an opponent for the ball or
clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent or
3. making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball
Fifa announced Golden Boy shortlist
It’s Jude Bellingham plus 19 others for basically. But those also-rans are all extremely good at association football, so let’s put some respect on their names.
The 20 finalists for the 2023 Golden Boy award 🌟 pic.twitter.com/wISegFyHHI
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 12, 2023
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I’m so bored that I’m tempted to put up the team news for Latvia Under-21 v Republic of Ireland Under-21, which kicks off at 1pm. Ireland do have some very exciting players coming through: Andrew Moran and Joe Hodge start today, and James Abankwah of Udinese/Charlton is on the bench. It sounds like Mason Melia could be the best of the lot, though he’s still playing for the under-17s. He scored a hat-trick against Armenia in the week.
Rugby department
I’m not a rugby fan and even I’m excited about this weekend, so goodness know how hardcore fans/anyone born in Ireland must feel. Here’s a bit of very good news for the hosts France ahead of their match against the holders South Africa.
Cricket department
In other news, a World Cup that is crying out for a close game may have to wait at least another 24 hours.
“Just in the interests of keeping the blog moving - and not because I’m still absolutely fizzing about it or anything - a further thought on last night’s terrible no-good call on the McSauce goal,” says James Humphries. “If it was given for offside, shouldn’t the ref have given an indirect free kick? Looked to me a hell of a lot like he gave a direct free kick for an imaginary foul (overlooking Dykes being wrestled to the ground, obviously) and the dithering about ‘oh actually it was for offside’ is post facto arse-covering.
“Bloody awful call, and that’s on a night of awful calls (shoulder charge to McGinn’s head? No foul. Patterson puts his hand on a Spanish player’s shoulder? Booking). Spain were better, aye; but it’s not the loss, it’s the injustice that burns.”
I see we’re still going on about it. I didn’t see the game live, but – and I hate myself for saying this – was it not ultimately the correct decision in accordance with the laws? I know they made a total Horlicks of the process, but am I missing something re: the actual decision?
On the plus side, at least VAR has added clarity and reduced controversy, just like it said in the brochure.
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At the risk of going on about it, here’s Scotland manager Steve Clarke saying there’s no point going on about Scott McTominay’s disallowed goal.
Sheffield Wednesday
Here’s a bit more from PA on the imminent appointment of Danny Rohl.
Sheffield Wednesday will unveil former Bayern Munich assistant coach Danny Rohl as their new manager on Friday afternoon, the PA news agency understands.
The Owls, bottom of the Championship, sacked Spaniard Xisco Munoz last week and Rohl will take on his first role as head coach.
Rohl, 34, has previously worked as assistant to Ralph Hasenhuttl at RB Leipzig and Southampton, and worked under Hansi Flick at Bayern and with the German national team.
He will become the Owls’ 11th permanent manager in the last 12 years.
Wednesday were held to a 0-0 home draw against Huddersfield last week and remain winless after 11 matches.
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“Riley McGree is the best Aussie in England,” says Michael Raw. “Tearing up the championship with Middlesbrough. Shame he’s injured.”
I hope Jordy Bos gets some minutes. He looked terrific in the friendly against Australia a few months ago.
Here’s an update from Jacob Steinberg on the fallout from the Premier League’s reaction to the Israel-Hamas war. This story isn’t going away in a hurry.
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“Favourite friendly has to be England 3-2 Argentina in Geneva in 2005,” writes Steve Waterhouse. “Ledley King centre mid. England 2-1 down but a Paul Konchesky-inspired comeback ensued, and a couple of goals from an imperious Michael Owen helped too. The Argentina team was outrageous. England’s fullbacks were Luke Young, Wayne Bridge and then Konchesky.”
On the few occasions Eriksson’s England took the handbrake off, they were tremendous.
Look, it’s a really quiet day. There’s no news to report, but here are some quotes from Scotland’s Scott McKenna on their defeat to Spain. They won’t change your life, though they might eat up a minute or two.
It is important we don’t dwell on it. It is obviously still in our hands if we win our next two qualifiers and we can still top the group. That’s what we have to look forward to and obviously the game on Sunday between Spain and Norway can also help us as well.
We would have loved to do it ourselves against Spain but I am sure we will be watching the game on Sunday, it can help us and we hope that happens.
There has been a lot of hard work done in the first five games we went unbeaten, so it was a disappointment but we have still done plenty of good things in the group so far.
There are still plenty positives to take from the way we defended for large periods of the game. Obviously a big decision when that free-kick got disallowed, it picked their crowd up and gave them a bit of a lift.
I heard it was for either offside or a foul on the goalkeeper, I am not sure which one but I think it was quite marginal. It went in their favour but the first goal we conceded was disappointing, especially after defending so well for large periods.
We have to pick ourselves up and get ready to go because there is still plenty to play for in the group.
“I was at the Stade de France in 2000 for a friendly against England,” writes Tom Hopkins. “The one thing that sticks in my mind is a tangible sigh that went around the stadium when Dennis Wise kicked Zidane up in the air. Mate, read the room, no one’s paid to see you.”
Here is that tackle assault from Wise. Imagine the state of his internal monologue as he lined Zidane up.
“My favourite, well only friendly, was also my first ever time getting to see the team I supported,” writes Karl Gibbons. “Manchester United v Aston Villa in Belfast. This was probably 1992/93, so long before the days of globe-trotting for pre-season. A simple hop over the Irish Sea and no doubt a few pints after the game for all the players.
“My dad and I waited at the bottom of the road to get picked up by his friend who drove us to the ground. Lots of noise, my first time seeing a ‘proper’ football field under the floodlights and an excitement rarely matched since. I remember Gary Pallister being the biggest human I think I had ever seen, Ryan Giggs being the fastest, and Man Utd won so all was well in the world.
“You can’t go back!”
But I guess you can shop there. Did United definitely win? I vaguely recall a draw against Villa around that time, but I think it was a post-season friendly.
Spain 2-0 Scotland
In case you haven’t seen it, this is the disallowed goal from Scott McTominay that gave Scotland such agita.
🏴 Scott McTominay thought he scored an absolute worldie...
— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) October 12, 2023
But it's been disallowed for a foul after a VAR check. 🙅♂️#Euro2024 pic.twitter.com/pdtYhUFwhY
Women’s Super League There’s a full round of games this weekend, including the Merseyside derby. Here’s the full list
Chelsea v West Ham (Sat, 5.30pm)
Man Utd v Leicester City (Sun, 12pm)
Man City v Bristol City (Sun, 1pm)
Arsenal v Aston Villa (Sun, 2pm)
Brighton v Spurs (Sun, 4pm)
Liverpool v Everton (Sun, 4.30pm)
Sheffield Wednesday latest Sky Sports News are reporting that Wednesday are close to appointing the young German coach Danny Rohl as their manager. Rohl, 34, has worked as an assistant at RB Leipzig, Southampton and Bayern Munich. He’s even younger than Julian Nagelsmann.
Another favourite friendly
“I had lived in Hong Kong for three years, and met some wonderful friends through going to every HK home game (very affordable, about £10) they played,” writes Lawrence Thompson. “Then for the 100th anniversary of the HKFA, they managed to pay the Argentinan FA a rumoured $3.5m to play a friendly in 2014.
“It was a mismatch, ten times more expensive than usual, and a 7-0 beating ensued. But the one glimmer of heroics came in the 76th minute when Christian Annan broke to leave Karikari in front of goal with just the keeper to beat. It brought the crowd together even more than when Messi came on (and scored, of course) with 10 minutes to go.
“I’ll never forget that electric moment, this odd match where the fans seemed to be there to cheer both teams at the same time.”
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An actual email!
“I’m not sure I’d say it was my ‘favourite’ friendly, but I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Wales vs Argentina in 2002,” writes Matt Dony. “A 1-1 draw that felt seismic. Us Wales fans have been spoiled somewhat over the last decade or so, but before that, it was slim pickings. For a brief period around 2002, though, things suddenly clicked. There were also victories over Italy (competitive) and Germany (friendly) in that same year. But the Argentina game stands out.
“Veron was magnificent, (‘He’s a flipping great player’, and all that), and yet Robbie Savage was MOTM. Hartson was almost unplayable. Bellamy never stopped, and throughly deserved his goal. Simon Davies was his elegant self. In hindsight, it was a false dawn, and no one wants to go back to the Millennium Stadium. But at the time, even though we had to enjoy the 2002 World Cup with a purely Watching Brief, it felt like a special time.”
This is the quietest Friday blog I can remember. To pass the time, why not read our liveblog of Australia’s famous win over England in 2003? It’s a Scott Murray special.
My riff on favourite friendlies has gone down well, with precisely no emails so far. But John Brewin has thrown me a bone by emailing the below.
My entry on the best ever friendly - I went to this game as I had been working for Channel 5’s website and they had a deal with France, then the World and Euro champions, to show their games. Zinedine Zidane - still the best player I have seen in the flesh, and I have seen Messi play 8-10 times - played the first half, and gave an almost erotic display of ripping into a Luis Figo-led Portugal.
“At half-time, we went into the posh lounge at the Stade de France and watched TF1 play back a series of Zizou’s first-half roulettes and shimmies. What a player. This was before Zizou and Figo joined up in Madrid, too. A night capped off by a posh Parisian supper with Jonathan Pearce and Terry Butcher. It’s never got much better or luxurious since that. The exact opposite, in fact...I was at Luton just last Saturday.
Updated
On this day in 1999, Raul ssshhhhed (how do you spell that) the Camp Nou, and Luis Figo bit the hand that wished to feed him.
As well as England v Australia, there are the usual European Championship qualifiers tonight. The full list of games is below; they’re all 7.45pm BST kick-offs unless stated.
The Republic of Ireland have the chance to make amends for their most disappointing performance under Stephen Kenny, but realistically pride is all they have to play for. It’s an important night for the Netherlands and Greece, who are in a good battle for the second automatic qualification place.
It’s also a big night for the new, improved Luxembourg, who have realistic hopes of qualifying automatically. They’ve never been to a major tournament.
Group B
Republic of Ireland v Greece
Netherlands v France
Group F
Estonia v Azerbaijan (5pm)
Austria v Belgium
Group J
Liechtenstein v Bosnia and Herzegovina
Portugal v Slovakia
Iceland v Luxembourg
Right, as the square root of naff all is happening, here’s a question for you, written in bold for a bit of chin-stroking emphasis. What’s your favourite international friendly and why? Mine would have to be 25 April 1990, when I met my brother after the usual day at Borden Grammar School, got the train to London and joined 21,340 other lucky buggers who watched Paul Gascoigne play himself into England’s Italia 90 team.
It’s 30 years ago today that Klaus Assenmacher bottled sending off Ronald Koeman, ultimately costing Graham Taylor his job as England manager. What’s sometimes forgotten, because of the controversy, is that it was a cracking game for 70 minutes.
Updated
Brazil 1-1 Venezuela
If you haven’t seen it, Eduard Bello’s late equaliser for Venezuela overnight was a cracker.
🇻🇪⚽️ Así fue el ¡PEDAZO DE GOL! de Eduard Bello que llevó a La Vinotinto al empate frente a Brasil (1-1) en el estadio Arena Pantanal en Cuiabá, por la tercera fecha de las eliminatorias sudamericanas al Mundial de 2026. pic.twitter.com/WtuGzOinA9
— ABC Noticias (@abcesnoticias) October 13, 2023
It’s just not football, but if you’d like to follow some actual live sport, Taha Hashim is your friend.
Thanks John, morning everyone. The yellow ticker of misery is nowhere to be seen on Sky Sports News, which means it’s a quiet morning in the world of football. While we wait for some news, you can do me a favour: go here and vote for someone, anyone. It doesn’t have to be me, just whichever team you think is the best based solely on performances for the England national team in the 1980s. Mine, then.
You can listen to the podcast as well if you like, it’s free and everything.
These are our XIs. The only selection criteria is performance for England in that decade, hence no Gazza, David Platt, Ray Kennedy, Trevor Cherry etc. pic.twitter.com/iYoIcoeHzP
— Nessun Dorma Podcast (@nessundormapod) October 10, 2023
Updated
And with that, I hand you over to Rob Smyth.
Jack Grealish has been something of a fringe figure for Manchester City. Can he lift his season by playing well for England? He spoke at the England camp this week.
I have never been off the back of a season like the one I had last time. I felt I was really on top of my game in the second half of it, I was playing in every big game and we had the perfect end to it. You come back in pre-season and it’s a bit like … not ‘What now?’ actually. But do you know what I mean? So, in that sense, yeah, it was a bit difficult.
John McGinn’s post-match reaction to that Scott McTominay disallowed goal in Scotland’s loss in Spain was angry, to say the least.
The big moments went against us. It’s a tough one to take but we certainly competed for long spells. It is very difficult to win here but in the circumstances it was near enough impossible.
I need to be very careful what I say. I think everyone from a Scotland point of view, whether you were on the pitch, in the stand or in the dugout, it just felt like we weren’t getting a decision. Fifty-fifty balls, going in for fair challenges and not getting them. It made it extremely difficult against a word-class team to try and get anything from the game. On the disallowed goal, McGinn added: ‘He changed it (the decision) in the game, which is the frustrating thing.
It shows that it was not clear and obvious. I am not sure if clear and obvious is a European VAR thing but at that moment Jack made a decision to step to the other side and maybe he could have stayed. Is he [Simon] going to save it? Absolutely no chance, no keeper in the world is going to save that.
‘He is saying at one point it is a foul and then he changes it when he realises it is not a foul to offside. It is a big, big moment. It does change it because that goal qualifies us because they need two goals. It is a bit of a hammer blow. I feel for big Scott. Sometimes they go for you but tonight it was never going to go for us.
Remember the name: Jaden Philogene. He’s at Hull, something of a talent factory in recent years, having been allowed to leave by Aston Villa.
Team USA had a poor Women’s World Cup and still don’t have a coach. Jeff Kassouf investigates.
Who will that coach be? It’s anyone’s guess. When will the hire be made? Not soon enough. And who will make the decision that will shape the program? One man, for all intents and purposes, who recently took over as US Soccer’s sporting director.
Matt Crocker joined US Soccer earlier this year, arriving from Southampton. Crocker previously served as head of development teams at the English FA and helped establish the “England DNA”, a concept by which all teams wearing the badge play a similar style. He hopes to bring the same approach to US Soccer.
Here’s your quiz of the week. I got 11/15, and I am rather proud of that. Still a couple that got away.
Updated
More to come on this story, possibly big implications for Newcastle and Aston Villa, and a reminder of the uncomfortable relationship between betting and football.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) did not specify what the investigation was about but said the two midfielders were allowed to go home on the basis they are not in the right state to face upcoming matches. A statement on Thursday read: “The federation announces that this afternoon the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office has conducted investigations into players, Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo, who are currently training with the national team at the Coverciano Federal Training Centre.
Argentina maintain perfect record in World Cup qualifying
Associated Press – Lionel Messi hit a post twice after he came off the bench but struggled to deliver a strong performance following his return from injury.
Argentina still managed to beat Paraguay 1-0 in a South American World Cup qualifying match. Meanwhile Brazil and Venezuela drew 1-1, a result that left the Brazilians being booed off the pitch. That result put pressure on new Brazil coach Fernando Diniz and kept Argentina as the sole leaders of the round-robin competition with its third victory in three matches.
Argentina leads South American World Cup qualifying with 9 points, followed by Brazil (7), Colombia (5), Uruguay (4), Chile (4), Venezuela (4), Ecuador (3), Paraguay (1), Peru (1), and Bolivia (0). All 10 teams will play the fourth round on Tuesday.
The only goal of the match at the Monumental de Nunez Stadium came in the third minute after a corner kick that found Nicolás Otamendi free from marking in the penalty box. The defender smashed the ball into the net with a left-foot volley.
For the first time, Brazil failed to beat Venezuela at home. Neymar, Vinicius Júnior and Richarlison struggled the entire first half to get a clear shot on goal.
Seconds after Neymar got his first big opportunity after the break, with a shot from the edge of the box, Brazil scored its goal with an assist from the Al-Hilal player.
Neymar took a corner kick that ended in a close range header by Gabriel Magalhães in the 52nd minute at the Arena Pantanal in the city of Cuiabá, one of Brazil’s warmest at this time of the year. Venezuela kept some pressure and scored in the 85th minute with a half-bicycle by Eduardo Bello, in one of the most impressive goals of South American World Cup qualifying so far.
Earlier on Thursday, Colombia and Uruguay drew 2-2. Veteran James Rodríguez opened the scoring for the hosts in the 37th minute, and Matias Oliveira levelled shortly before the break.
Mateus Uribe put the Colombians back in front in the 52nd minute. Uruguay equalized from the spot with Darwin Núñez moments before the final whistle after being fouled by goalkeeper Camilo Vargas, who was sent off.
Ecuador beat Bolivia in La Paz 2-1 with a goal in the final moments of the match. Kendry Paéz scored for the visitors shortly before the break, and Rodrigo Ramallo equalized in the 83rd minute. Kevin Rodriguez gave Ecuador its first three points in qualifying.
Chile beat Peru 2-0. Diego Valdéz scored the first in the 74th minute and an own goal by Marcos López finished the scoring in injury time.
The big news this week – in the alternative reality of football at least – is Wayne Rooney’s return to English football and Birmingham City. Though he could have chosen a very different place to move from Washington.
“I felt for my development that my pathway was a different way,” Rooney said of Saudi interest. “That is no disrespect to any manager that has gone out there, by the way.”
Reaction to Spain 2-0 Scotland
Scotland’s manager, Steve Clarke, was remarkably phlegmatic considering the VAR decision that ruled out Scott McTominay’s goal. Still, Spain get a result against Norway and the Scots are through.
The team played well and the players are disappointed We came here determined to qualify. It hasn’t happened tonight but I think there was a lot to be pleased about in the performance. The big moment in the game is probably the close decision on the Scott McTominay goal. At the time we think it is a goal.
You know when the referee gets told to look at it he is probably going to chalk it off. They have made the call, there is no point me going on about it. I think there was a little bit confusion at the time, whether it was offside or for a foul on the keeper.
If you take those two together, Jack Hendry was marginally offside and when he steps towards the goalkeeper they have interpreted that as Jack being involved in the play but I will tell you now there is now way in the world the keeper was saving that no matter where Jack Hendry was. You just move on, it is a VAR decision that goes against you.
When we conceded it makes it more difficult and the second goal puts gloss on for Spain I don’t think they deserve.
Tonight was a first chance to qualify. It has gone beyond us. Maybe the result on Sunday night goes in our favour and we qualify from that. But we won’t qualify from that, we will qualify for the work we have done, we have 15 points from six games.
If the result doesn’t go our way and Norway then we have a very realistic chance in the two games in November to win the section.
Andy Robertson will go back to Liverpool for treatment with a shoulder injury which saw him replaced by Nathan Patterson just before the break.
Right. UEFA has changed its mind again and now McTominay's goal WAS disallowed for offside.
— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonESPN) October 12, 2023
Makes more sense as Hendry was in contact with the keeper on a shot on goal when offside.
Doesn't have to be a foul, only impede. Still very harsh. pic.twitter.com/hNpXVbl6mK
Preamble
Morning morning from London. Here’s our regular Friday blog, with the focus this time on the international matches taking place. There’s reaction to last night’s Euro and World Cup qualifying and the round of matches following tonight. Also, there’s England v Australia buildup. Plus a full rundown of WSL matches, including a Merseyside derby and Arsenal v Aston Villa.
Join us.
