Open End Numb Legs

Some of the worst defending you are likely to see. That will damage confidence. It seems Eddie Howe knows a bit about football after all.

Atyeo - midfielder?

This might need a new word, how about nearly-nal ? Sub-opti-nal?

If, like me, you were wondering what you have to do to be banned for 30 years, Enoch West was banned in 1915 for match fixing. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enoch_West

You have to say well done to the marketing team for the angle of that view, it looks idyllic. Peaceful countryside, possibly with kingfishers and otters to spot from the balcony whilst the blue waters drift by.

Weird wasn't it? Everton were always going to press all they could, sitting back was never going to be allowed to work. Spurs should have cleared their lines and played on the break, shouldn't need an elite coach to point that out.

There is probably a medical term that describes this sort of behaviour where he criticises Harry K. It is where they are trying to make themselves look better than they are in comparison by having a pop at someone else. My ex boss used to do the same, he would belittle good people in front of others, a type of bullying. The people who do this are not self aware and their behaviour discourages loyalty and high performance. Note the comments about their best striker recently.

From a football point of view we all know that weak teams park the bus and kick lumps out of forwards. Any international goal is worthy. You can only play what is in front of you. But then we also know that JB only does these stupid things to get attention on himself, to stir things up.

So have they used the same trick tried with say, online hotel sales where it says 'only 2 rooms left' so you rush into buying??

Bit harsh...?

Explosive portaloo.....that would be the out of date food and drink I reckon.

Even as a proud Englishman I always think that these big name overseas managers don't really want to be here. It is only the money and football that works for them, there is a whole load of time away from the game without family or friends and let's face it, our climate and food is not the best. They earn some good money that they might not even need but rarely seem to fulfill their contract. If a club wants to look overseas, better to go for a promising young coach rather than these big names that I think are partly taken on to impress their international players. 4 managers in 4 years? Not much point in that.

Well done to him creating that despite the inaccuracies compared to the real thing. In fact, so clever they could clearly do with him at the ground to 'keep his hand in' maintaining it. Some bobbles and puddles on the pitch would improve the realism. Also needs some more canvas:- https://www.shutterstock.com/search/miniature-tent

I guess the atmosphere was always going to be like that v Ukraine. Not a team you would get fired up playing against at the moment because of the obvious. It had the feeling of a friendly about it. I hope we don't get complacent with the next few games. Italy could beat us at home again, didn't North Macedonia beat them in the WC qualifiers? Yes we should be fine but when games don't go to plan A that is when Southgate just struggles a bit. Such a strong squad, some top quality players and he has them working well together. If we could top the group early he could give more time to the likes if Gallagher and Toney to build experience rather than the odd 10 minutes here and there.

If Premier League football becomes a poison chalice (financially) for teams that go up, the media reports will need to be changed to 'promotion threatened' and 'relegation hopefuls'.

I went to a club baseball game (Yankees) when in NY once, we got caught out by the US national anthem being sung before the game. We were unsure what to do, hot dog in one hand, beer in the other. In the end we just stood respectfully until it finished. Just to say don't worry about our national anthem, that is only sung at international matches. Might want to brush up on The Worzels lyrics though.

Good to hear he got out ok, as some pilots used to say, any landing you can walk away from is a good one. £50 for a train fare though? I thought Italian trains were supposed to be cheap.

Nothing on the news headlines to suggest trouble in Napoli so I hope that means everyone got back to base without too many problems.

A well parked bus for the last 20 mins. We were 1st to every 50-50 ball in the 1st half so not really surprising that we fell off the pace a bit. That Grealish miss - if it had gone in I don't think the Italians would have recovered so well with their own crowd on their back.

Get in!

We have passed the ball well and if we can do the same in the 2nd half we should win. Italy will surely close us down more though after some hair dryer talks. Might need to be a bit more direct for 20 mins.

Is that the one that naturally releases water when they have a big match coming up but lots of injuries?

Bit of a mystery why they have had so many pitch troubles at Bobble Park. The lack of sunlight is often a problem where high stands throw shade onto a pitch. Not an issue at Membley clearly.

I am not usually in favour of making an example of someone but here it is totally justified. We know that amateur players copy the behaviour of the pros and that refs at the lower levels are in fear of their safety with violence against officials on the increase. It was only a push but Mitrovic should get a long ban and all clubs reminded of their responsibilities about aggressive behaviour including screaming into the face of officials. No ref, no game. Set the example at the top level. In balance, refs just need to be careful with their body language. When issuing cards do it in a calm manner rather than some type of rigid salute which exaggerates their authority. Sometimes a smile and a quiet word goes a long way to diffuse an angry situation.

Oh oh, mine have been in the attic the whole time, haven't checked on them for years....