About England

Ha! Sancho gets a start while Jack doesn't get a look in!

Well, our Gareth certainly plays an interesting selection game, keeping everyone on their toes.

It makes me wonder whether Gareth will now do an about-turn and start Jack vs Denmark, so unpredictable is he. But we shall see.

As for yesterday's game, I was strangely not that enthused, though a 4-0 win is, of course, very welcome.

All the punditary remarks about "control and command" leave me cold, I'm afraid, particularly when I recall the comparative panache we saw England play against the Dutch in '96 - again a 4-0 win. And going back so much further, that great game against Brazil in Mexico in 1970. We lost then, but what a feast of football it was.

To think footballers get paid what they do for passing across the back over and over again to keep possession. As though that qualifies them to be international footballers. To me, that's a travesty of the game, but in these days of "we must win", all thoughts about the "beautiful game" go by the board. I doubt we will ever hear of the game be thus described again.

When the maximum players' wage system was dropped in 1961, I recall that the protagonists were saying that film stars got paid enormous sums and claimed that they were football's equivalent, so therefore they should be paid equally - as entertainers. But if you can call today's England play "entertainment" then I am lost for words, apart from about 15 minutes in the whole of yesterday's game.

Sorry, but that's my feelings. Younger football followers will certainly be first in disagreeing I suppose.

One other thing in last night's game. We won 4-0, but where was the Ukraine defence on each of those occasions. England's scorers got away with murder. The first goal can be excused so early in the game, Sterling and Kane being so very alert to the opportunity, but then to allow 3 headers to go in without proper challenge would have had us pulling our hair out if it had been England defenders.

Er, that explains why I've lost my hair - through watching football! 😂

Well, having said all that I do now expect England to win the trophy. The main hurdle will be Italy in the final (I feel England will end up facing them), but I think we would have the edge - especially playing the mostly old-style Italian football England play these days. But, who knows, Italy may show them how to play in old England-style!

At least 'footie' gets you talking... 😁