Key events
The Championship: Coventry were 17th when Frank Lampard took over as head coach from Mark Robins a year ago. Now they are top of the table, unbeaten and scoring three goals per game. Harry Paterson reports on the rejuvenation of a club and its head coach’s reputation …
Republic of Ireland: The Boys in Green are in Lisbon to face Portugal tomorrow and anything less than a draw at Estádio José Alvalade would almost certainly end the Republic of Ireland’s already slim hopes of qualifying for next summer’s World Cup. Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side have taken just one point from their opening two games against Hungary and Armenia, with defeat in Yerevan last time out described in many quarters as a shock, even if it came as no great surprise to seasoned Ireland-watchers.
In today’s Irish Times, Kevin Kilbane has said that unless the Republic of Ireland can take at least three points from their upcoming matches against Portugal (away) and Armenia (home), Hallgrímsson should be dismissed immediately so that John O’Shea can take interim charge of the rest of the campaign until a successor is found. Kilbane says Damien Duff, Robbie Keane and Stephen Bradley are the obvious candidates to replace the Icelandic dentist.
“It feels like all the problems Irish football has experienced over the past six or seven years are manifesting themselves in the men’s senior team,” wrote Kilbane. “The players are struggling to cope. Fear gripped them in early September, well before the flight to Armenia.
“It’s their calling card now. Overwhelming nervousness that disguises their ability, stymies their talent. They seem frozen by realistic expectations. From Nathan Collins the skipper to his centre-half partner Dara O’Shea, fear seeped through the group. What other reason can explain all the individual errors last month?”
That seems like a brutal but entirely fair assessment from a former player renowned as one of the nicest blokes in football.
Ricky Hatton. The much loved boxing legend is being laid to rest today and his funeral service has just started at Manchester Cathedral. A devoted Manchester City fan who was loved by almost all in Greater Manchester and beyond, whatever their football allegiances, the boxer’s funeral cortege passed his gym in Hyde en route to the cathedral, along streets lined with thousands of mourners. Many of them wore City shirts as a tribute to their hero, who passed away last month.
Hatton’s funeral cortege was led by a flatbed truck carrying the three-wheeled Reliant Robin that was made famous on Only Fools and Horses, a TV show the boxer loved so much that he bought Del Boy’s car for £4,000 when filming wrapped.
I heard one of his pals being interviewed earlier and he explained that – true to form – they couldn’t get the car to start the last time he called around to Hatton’s house, which explains why it is on the back of a lorry. Hatton’s sky blue coffin followed in a hearse, while three cars full of mourners, a black Lamborghini (I think) and a Harley Davidson made up the convoy.
Manchester City are well represented at Hatton’s funeral and about 20 minutes ago, the club legend Mike Summerbee felt compelled to cut short an interview with the BBC because he could not contain his emotions and hold back the tears. “It’s impossible for me to be happy today,” he said, as a reporter asked if him if he had fond memories of Hatton. Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen are also among the mourners in attendance. After the private funeral service, the cortege is due to pass Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium. Rest in peace, champ.
That’s my first stint on the blog done. I’ll leave you in the very capable hands of Barry Glendenning now. Cheers!
As well as his comments about England fans, I thought Tuchel’s remarks about Bukayo Saka were interesting. The winger provided the moment of the match against Wales, scoring a pearler into the top corner to make it 3-0, but the England manager was in combative mood when he was asked about Saka, challenging the Arsenal man to do more.
How many goals did he score for England? Thirteen? One three? It has to be more, it’s not enough. He needs to keep on going. I thought it was 30, at least, and then I would have said it’s not enough, because I am never satisfied.
“He is such a threat for Arsenal in the most difficult league in the world, so why would he not be at international level? We have the position for him, he has the attitude, the stamina, the talent, everything to be a top player at international level, and that’s what he has to show. We can just encourage him to be influential, like he was today. Next game, he needs to try to repeat it.”
There were eight European World Cup qualifiers on Thursday. Here is our round-up of the results.
Hidden in the results was Faroe Islands 4-0 Montenegro, the hosts’ biggest competitive win. That is quite some feat for a country with just 55,000 people. The Faroe Islands have three wins from six, and could yet qualify!
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This interview with WSL referee Emily Heaslip is a timely one, given Anthony Taylor’s comments this morning.
Djed Spence is at it again. The England defender has a history of boasting on social media about “locking up wingers” after good performances and following England’s win, the full-back has done Spurs teammate and Wales winger Brennan Johnson dirty in his latest post. Scroll to the fifth image to see.
“YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE INEVITABLE 👿LETS TAKE A WALK TO THE PENITENTIARY BROTHER”, writes Spence in the caption. Brutal.
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England’s Dan Burn has revealed he has a broken hand, sustained in Newcastle’s win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday. The big defender did not feature for England against Wales but says he is still available for selection, despite the injury.
I actually broke my hand, I don’t even know how I did it, I think I went to grab someone and then I felt a crack,” Burn told Chronicle Live. “It was early in the second half, so I went for the scan and I have seen a specialist. I’ve been told I can play with it. I am ready for Latvia, I am ready for Newcastle and I’d have been ready to play tonight. I will not be missing any time for a broken hand! This is nothing, I have had worse injuries than this. I am ready to go and ready to play.”
You might have missed Hamza Choudary’s first international goal for Bangladesh in their Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong – a crazy game in Dhaka on Thursday in which the home side scored a 99th-minute equaliser to make it 3-3, only to concede in the 101st minute as Hong Kong snatched a dramatic 4-3 victory. Wembley can only dream of an atmosphere like this!
Referee Anthony Taylor reveals he considered quitting due to abuse
Anthony Taylor has admitted there have been times he has considered quitting refereeing because of the constant barrage of abuse and revealed his family no longer attend high-profile matches after he was harassed by Roma fans at an airport.
Taylor, 46, has twice taken charge of the FA Cup final, in 2017 and 2020, and been on the Fifa referees’ list for more than a decade.
Having been selected as one of six English officials for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Taylor was subsequently appointed for the 2023 Europa League final between Sevilla and Roma in Budapest.
Following an ill-tempered affair at the Puskas Arena – with Sevilla eventually beating Roma, then managed by José Mourinho, after a penalty shoot-out – Taylor, who issued 13 yellow cards during the match, was accosted by angry fans at the airport as he travelled home.
Despite being considered one of the Premier League’s leading referees, Taylor believes he and all other match officials have become an easy target, with criticism coming again following Chelsea’s dramatic stoppage-time win over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge last weekend.
Taylor was asked if he had ever considered quitting refereeing.
“There’s certainly been moments – and I won’t be alone in this – there’s certainly been moments where you are thinking, ‘Is it worth it?’,” he told BBC Sport. “And certainly, moments where you’re thinking, ‘What’s being said is completely unfair’.”
Taylor continued: “We have this archaic psychological tactic of ‘let’s bombard the ref or bombard the fourth official with the hope of getting a decision out of it’.”
After the 2023 Europa League final, video footage emerged of the incident involving Taylor at Budapest Airport. A chair and drinks were thrown in the direction of the English referee and his group as they made their way through a gathering of Roma fans before being ushered to a safe area by airport security.
Taylor revealed his family now no longer attend big matches.
“That’s for sure the worst situation I’ve dealt with in terms of abuse,” he said. “Not only because I was travelling with family members at the time, but it also highlights the impact of people’s behaviour on others. It makes you reflect back on whether you made a mistake travelling with your family in the first place.”
Asked whether that means his family no longer go to the high-profile games, Taylor said: “Yeah very much so. They haven’t been to one since.” PA Media
Our comments section is open.
Tuchel is right. I’ve heard more noise at a family wake than at Wembley last night.
Your team is 3:0 up after 20 minutes, but virtually all the sound is either coming from Welsh supporters or the players themselves.
Pointing out the elephant in the room isn’t ’picking a fight’. I doubt there’s another national team in the world whose supporters seem to take a vow of silence whenever they enter their home stadium.
Two more pieces from Wembley last night. Barney Ronay wrote on England producing something “daring and avant garde”.
Ben Fisher was on Wales duty. Craig Bellamy has plenty to ponder before his side’s crucial Belgium showdown on Monday.
I’m a bit late to this, but worth flagging this miss from Beto earlier this week. Guinea-Bissau were trailing Ethiopia 1-0 in their World Cup qualifier but created a golden opening in the 89th minute, only for the Everton striker to fluff his lines at the back post.
This explainer from Andy Martin is a very nice run down of where we are globally with World Cup qualification. Twenty of the 48 places at the tournament have now been filled, including co-hosts Canada, Mexico and the USA.
Perhaps we should start with Scotland. Ewan Murray was our reporter at Hampden and was brutally honest about how fortunate the home side were to take a crucial victory over Greece.
If Scotland make it to the promised land of next summer’s World Cup, they will glance back at this as a crucial evening. There must also be laughter to accompany reflection.
No sane observer could claim Steve Clarke’s team deserved to prevail here. Lewis Ferguson and Lyndon Dykes sealed the win. Dick Turpin sprang to mind. Someone, somewhere appears to be smiling on Scotland’s bid to play in a World Cup for the first time since 1998. The Scots, who had just 31% possession, are now in an excellent position in Group C. A playoff spot could be secured on Sunday evening, when Belarus visit Glasgow. Greece, who next travel to Denmark, need snookers.
“Football is a 90-minute game and you have to make sure you come out of it with a positive result,” said Clarke. “Maybe 3-1 flatters us but we did enough to win the game. It is a big win for us. Results are the only thing that qualify you for a tournament.”
This is how Group C looks after that result. Had they lost, a play-off place could be slipping out of reach. But now, automatic qualification to the World Cup remains a very real possibility.
Preamble
You could hear the collective sigh emanating from the Football Association HQ last night as Thomas Tuchel decided that the best way to dissect England’s excellent 3-0 win over Wales at Wembley on Thursday night was to criticise the home fans that had parted with their hard-earned money and alternative evening plans to attend an international friendly.
The stadium was silent. We didn’t get any energy back from the stands. We did everything to win. What more can you give in 20 minutes? We didn’t let them escape. If you hear just Wales fans for half an hour, it’s sad because the team deserved more support today.
I stand by this statement. We cannot do more than being 3-0 in a derby. I would have wished for a bit more support in phases where it gets difficult. In the second half to get behind us, there was a bit too much support for Wales. It could have helped us to regain energy, but it is what it is and that is it.”
Hmmm. How odd, picking a fight when there was almost none to be had. Anyway, we’ll have lots of reaction from Wembley, including the actual football, as well as the eight other World Cup qualifiers around Europe (including Scotland’s crucial victory over Greece at Hampden) and preview the eight further qualifiers coming this evening.
Let’s get to it.
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