He announced himself in 2002.  A supremely confident sixteen year old. A teenager in a mans body. Right then, everything seemed possible for Wayne Rooney. Fourteen years later, having been jeered by the Wembley crowd, he finds himself dropped from the England team. No longer a potent attacking force, the best days appear to be behind him. There are many talented players that have played the game. But truly gifted players are fewer in number. Cruyff…Maradona…Pele…Messi…Ronaldo…all blessed by The Gift. And all have taken the game to a level that raised the stakes for everyone else. They are the trailblazers…the pathfinders…not […]

And so Sam Allardyce, one game into his dream managerial job, is sacked. Drawn into a newspaper sting, his bluff views on third-party ownership, the FA, and his predecessor Roy Hodgson, weren’t fully appreciated by his employers. Big Sam, with his well developed track record in stabilising league clubs, was considered a known factor. One that would bring team-spirit and collective unity to England’s dis-connected individuals. And on paper it should have been. But when you walk into the most high profile job in English football, there is no hiding place. If there are elements of your character that aren’t […]

It was billed as the biggest game in Welsh football history. A team that had never been beyond the quarters of a major tournament. By implication that should have created a burden of pressure…expectation…hidden fears…(especially if you have been conditioned by England’s serial competition failures). Instead you had a team that found a level of individual and collective performance. that more than matched the occasion. Much has been spoken of Wales’s team-spirit. A band of brothers. Everyone looking out for each other. The collective greater than anyone individual. But last night another level appeared to be reached. Evidenced when Hal […]

And so the inquests begin into England’s shocking Euro exit. As ever the themes are familiar…pampered superstars; clubs not bringing through academy players; dearth of good English coaches and so on. The FA will undertake a review to try to understand what happened on Monday night in Nice. But past post-tournament reviews have never led to drastic improvements in the national team’s fortunes. The one decision that will solve most problems is getting the choice of manager right. The criteria for selecting a good national team boss is not complicated…. Does the manager have the tactical acumen to succeed in […]

When England opened the scoring against Russia in their first group match of the Euros, it looked like the perfect opportunity to establish their tournament credentials, and put the weak opposition to the sword. Just after Eric Dier’s goal went in, Roy Hodgson formed an unexpected huddle with his management team, Ray Lewington and Gary Neville. The reason…to create a defensive strategy to safeguard their lead. Of course it failed. Why did the manager need to form a huddle with his management team? The game dynamics were clear. The Russians were there for the taking. Could he not see that? […]

It’s Sky’s pre-match analysis ahead of rugby’s European Final in Lyon. Jonny Wilkinson is discussing his part in Toulon’s 2013 success. The former England number ten, commanding the respect of his team-mates, acted not as a superstar, but drew on his vast experience to glue the French team together. He was the ‘go to player’ when problems needed solving. He’d seen it. Done it. Nothing phased him. He had the answers. His observations felt relevant following Derby County’s lame three nil Championship play-off home defeat to Hull City. The Rams simply had no ‘go to player’ who knew how to […]

So…four games remaining in this dramatic Premier League campaign. Tottenham purposefully chasing down leaders Leicester City. Last Sunday’s dramatic West Ham draw exposed some of the pressure that has been quietly building in The Foxes title challenge. The strong arm penalty box tactics. Vardy’s expertise in winning penalties.  Referee Jon Moss was having none of it. In return he got openly abused, as if he had prised open the black box that harboured Leicester’s dark secrets. Whilst everyone both on and off the pitch at the Walker’s Stadium appeared to be letting the unfortunate ref know what they thought of […]

It’s five minutes from time at the King Power Stadium. Leicester City are holding a slender lead against Newcastle United. And the tension is palpable. On the touchline, Claudio Ranieri is rousing players and fans for one final effort. It’s a scenario we may well see played out again before the curtain is drawn on this unusual Premier League season. With eight games to go and a five point cushion, the Leicester title dream can now become a reality. And that is why Ranieri’s interjection was necessary last night. He needed to break the spell. Break the sense of nervousness […]

It was a so called must win game for Newcastle United. Taking points from the teams around them, vital in the quest for sustained Premier League football. So their limp home defeat to Bournemouth, does not augur well for the rest of the campaign. Manager Steve McClaren came out afterwards to say that this was the most frustrating group of players he has ever worked with. Which won’t exactly get them back on side. It’s a frank admission from the under-pressure manager. And one that seems to direct the blame onto the players and away from himself. It suggests that […]

A few years ago, Sky made a TV documentary called ‘The Science Of Ronaldo’. One of the experiments conducted with the Real Madrid superstar, involved a player taking corners in a room containing a small set of goal posts. In front of the goals was Christiano Ronaldo. All he had to do was put the corner into the empty net. No defenders. No keeper. Easy stuff. Apart from the fact, that when the corner was struck, the lights were turned off. Meaning that Christiano couldn’t actually see the ball. Didn’t stop him scoring every-time though! With no visuals to guide […]