Smiley Culture

I wouldn’t have minded but the Wales friendly this month and the New Zealand one next month are utterly pointless.

About what you’d expect really. No glaring omissions, for me.

The handball thing isn’t the thing of computers, it’s the thing of dickhead suits in an Ivory Tower somewhere. VAR is simple enforcing said laws, it’s the laws that’s the problem.

I think his career was fine at Fleetwood, tbh.

Done Portsmouth (v Wigan) and Morecambe (vs Southend) as singles and as a double.

The FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round is drawn today. Normally, that’s a fairly inconsequential day. However, this is the round where National League North and South teams join the competition and those levels aren’t allowed fans in to their games, so what happens now is unknown. Forcing these clubs to play behind closed doors is pointless, they may, without financial remuneration from The FA or government, cancel their season. It’s all up in the air. Either way, I’m hoping to get to an FA Cup game when they’re played next weekend.

Yes, but with the new rules, those who’d go out at 8-9, will go out at 12-1 and the risk of transmission through intoxication will just rise earlier in the evening.

Boris’ explanation of why a 10pm closure for pubs makes no sense. He says risk is higher once alcohol is consumed. That’s fine. However, all people are going to do is go out earlier and get slaughtered earlier and so, the risk of infection once intoxicated will increase at an earlier time. But I wouldn’t expect him to use common sense.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54237179 Spot on.

Just Brentford (v Huddersfield) for me today.

Had an Arsenal (v Fulham) and Port Vale (v Crawley) double on Saturday that come in. I’m going to do singles or, at most, a double this season and I’m going to monitor my bets and see how I get on.

Just seen we’re playing New Zealand in a friendly in November ahead of the final two Nations League games. Absolutely baffled why they’d lob in a friendly this season of all times, apparently the season isn’t quite packed enough.

The English media can move their agenda onto these two now and better still, one of them is black, what a day for the shit stain journalists we have here.

Drop them and reprimand them.

West Ham cannot find £2m to fund Benhrama after selling Diangana for £18m? They’re absolutely knackered this season, if that’s true.

Went to Harlow Town v Romford on Saturday. It ended 1-2 and was probably the right result in the end. It was nice to be back watching football again. If I can, I will probably go to an FA Cup game on the 12th.

Woodward all over that. This is a man that’s never played a game for United remember and he’s lashed a six year contract at him and £120,000 a week. While there’s no doubting that he’s done extremely well at Shrewsbury and then Sheffield United across three divisions, there’s still a step up to the level expected/required at United and that’s a very long and lucrative contract to give someone without much from it yet.

Saka in the 21’s. No place for Dwight McNeil in there though.

Only thing I can think of with Saka is he’s not ready to make a decision on where his future lies or he wants to play for Nigeria instead. Chilwell being crap and injured and Shaw being injured is fine. Once we’re past them two though, you are scrapping the barrel and will end up playing a winger out of position or moving a player from the right over to the left, which is probably why we’ll end up with Walker or Mings at left back. I think the Phillips inclusion exacerbates the fury behind the Grealish exclusion. If Phillips wasn’t picked and a player who had played all season in the Premier League was, I don’t think this is as big a deal as it’s been made out. Southgate doesn’t fancy James Maddison, a similar type of player to Grealish, he’s said as much in the past. Maybe that type of player isn’t for him or maybe he just thinks Grealish is more trouble than it’s worth. We’ve seen a few incidents of behaviour over the year away from football that are questionable but then you’ve got Dier in there, who climbed into the crowd for a straightener this year, and Maguire, who was selected whilst a court case was ongoing against him.

I make Southgate right. Maddison was allegedly “too unwell” but well enough to travel into the city centre to go and play in a casino. Stupid behaviour. I Maguire gets full support because the only footage out there shows absolutely nothing and he’s been found guilty of nothing, as yet. You could use the court case I suppose as an excuse but I dare to think who we’d have in place. Sterling went at Gomez in England camp, didn’t he? After years of cliques and the England side not gelling as it should have done, Southgate stamped down on it and sent him home, rightfully, for me.

Because Maguire hasn’t been found guilty of anything (yet). There’s no footage of him doing anything (that I’ve seen) other than getting arrested. You could cite the court case I suppose but without Maguire, our best centre back (a sad indictment, I know), you significantly reduce the level of quality there, whereas Maddison is about 6th choice and completely disposable and Sterling had to go home, regardless of his value.

The odd one or two I’d change but there’s a few missing at the minute through injury, so it probably explains some call-up’s. I’d have had Saka in, though.

Fans can return then, which is good news. There’s a cap on how many can attend. It’s 15% of the minimum capacity for each level, so the Southern/Northern/Isthmian is 300, the level below that 200 and the two levels below that 150. I was expecting to have to watch more non-league this coming season, what with not being a season ticket holder or paid member anywhere, which is fine, I’ll have to look at a few places nearby that I’ve not been to and go to them.

You mean I won’t have to climb a tree to watch an FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round game on a Tuesday night?

Not sure about other leagues but the Ryman League have issued a statement saying that if they don’t get confirmation fans can be allowed in from the government by Friday, the proposed 19th September start is cancelled.