The latest football news, reaction and discussion Today’s fixtures | And you can mail matchday live England: Yes, there was not much he could do about the two defensive errors that led to Spain goals, but there is still something to be said about Thomas Tuchel’s in-game management last night. He seemed to get the initial team selection right – Elliot Anderson and Myles Lewis-Skelly were an effective counter to Rodri and Fabian Ruiz in midfield, while Anthony Gordon was an inspired choice on the left – but the second-half substitutes didn’t have much impact at all. After Harry Kane’s penalty miss on 54 minutes, Luis de la Fuente brought on Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal – two later goalscorers. At 2-2 on 70 minutes, Spain added Pedri to their midfield and England added James Garner, underlining a serious dropoff in strength without the injured Declan Rice. Then the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Morgan Gibbs-White were given little time to affect the game, while replacing Marc Guehi with Jarrad Branthwaite with a minute to go at a goal down seemed fairly pointless. What do you reckon? Get in touch here. It is not just that they could be forcibly relegated; it is that potential for financial claims against City and not just from those sides who missed out on titles during the ghost years. Other sides were denied European places. Prize money was lost. Even relegated sides may argue City were a factor in them dropping out of the Premier League. There are knock-on effects to the years after the period in question. Leicester, for instance, narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification in 2020 and 2021. Would they have qualified had City, who finished above them, not been artificially juiced? Had they played in the Champions League then, would they be in the mess they are in now? Then there are the less direct consequences: what might it have meant for a club’s – or a manager’s or a player’s – global reputation and thus their capacity to generate commercial income, had they won the league or remained in the Premier League for a further season? Continue reading...
Israel game goes ahead after Irish players’ vote; reaction to Spain’s win over England – matchday live
The latest football news, reaction and discussion Today’s fixtures | And you can mail matchday live England: Yes, there was not much he could do about the two defensive errors that led to Spain goals, but there is still something to be said about Thomas Tuchel’s in-game management last night. He seemed to get the initial team selection right – Elliot Anderson and Myles Lewis-Skelly were an effective counter to Rodri and Fabian Ruiz in midfield, while Anthony Gordon was an inspired choice on the left – but the second-half substitutes didn’t have much impact at all. After Harry Kane’s penalty miss on 54 minutes, Luis de la Fuente brought on Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal – two later goalscorers. At 2-2 on 70 minutes, Spain added Pedri to their midfield and England added James Garner, underlining a serious dropoff in strength without the injured Declan Rice. Then the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Morgan Gibbs-White were given little time to affect the game, while replacing Marc Guehi with Jarrad Branthwaite with a minute to go at a goal down seemed fairly pointless. What do you reckon? Get in touch here. It is not just that they could be forcibly relegated; it is that potential for financial claims against City and not just from those sides who missed out on titles during the ghost years. Other sides were denied European places. Prize money was lost. Even relegated sides may argue City were a factor in them dropping out of the Premier League. There are knock-on effects to the years after the period in question. Leicester, for instance, narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification in 2020 and 2021. Would they have qualified had City, who finished above them, not been artificially juiced? Had they played in the Champions League then, would they be in the mess they are in now? Then there are the less direct consequences: what might it have meant for a club’s – or a manager’s or a player’s – global reputation and thus their capacity to generate commercial income, had they won the league or remained in the Premier League for a further season? Continue reading...