We beat you before and we’re even better now, Gareth Bale tells Wales’s Euro 2016 opponents Belgium June 29, 2016 Talisman Gareth Bale has warned Belgium that Wales have evolved into an even better team than the one that beat the feted Red Devils during qualifying for Euro 2016. The teams meet in Friday’s quarter-final in Lille, a rematch of last June’s fixture at Cardiff City Stadium, in which Bale’s 25th-minute goal sank Belgium and [...]
Arsene Wenger is a genius but is not the man England need to end decades of underachievement June 29, 2016 It's tempting to believe that Arsene Wenger – one of the most sophisticated minds to shape the English game over the last two decades and a man on the Football Association's shortlist to succeed Roy Hodgson – could be the right man to rescue the national team. After all, the Frenchman is synonymous with the attacking flair that England [...]
Euro 2016: Wales forced to defend leaked video of celebrations as England crash out of tournament June 28, 2016 Full-back Chris Gunter insists the Wales camp harbour no regrets over footage which captured members of their squad exuberantly celebrating as England were dumped out of Euro 2016. A video of Wales players and staff cheering and hugging after England slumped to a 2-1 defeat against European minnows Iceland in Nice on Monday was leaked [...]
I’m sorry, I haven’t a clue: Roy Hodgson baffled by need to explain England’s Euro 2016 fiasco as FA chief Martin Glenn admits: “I’m no football expert” June 28, 2016 England's Euro 2016 humiliation took another farcical turn on Tuesday when departing manager Roy Hodgson insisted he did not need to explain the team’s failure and the man tasked with hiring his replacement admitted: “I am not a football expert.” Less than 24 hours after tendering his resignation in the wake of a 2-1 defeat to [...]
FA must hire an Englishman who believes in a style of play, has credibility and can handle the job – and my choice would be Glenn Hoddle June 28, 2016 It's hard not to think that Roy Hodgson paid the price for trying to be too clever with his tactics at Euro 2016, for flitting between 4-3-3 and a diamond formation when he didn’t have the right players. What the Football Association must look for as it begins the process of searching for Hodgson’s successor [...]
England blasted as “catastrophic” and “stupid” by European press keen on Brexit jokes following Iceland loss June 28, 2016 England's players were likely relieved to have been out of the country yesterday and away from the English media's glare following their humiliation at the hands of Iceland. Not that the press in France or anywhere else were any less scathing of a dismal performance which saw England booted out of the European Championships by the [...]
Could Brexit help the England football team avoid future Iceland humiliations by limiting foreign players in the Premier League? June 28, 2016 The path has become well worn: England fail at a national tournament, the game's soul-searching begins and proposals for reform are put forward. Limiting the number of foreign players in English football to allow room for home grown talent to prosper has become a favoured option for Football Association chairman Greg Dyke. Last week he responded to Britain's [...]
Italy 2, Spain 0: Conte switches focus to Germany as incoming Chelsea boss masterminds destruction of reigning champions June 28, 2016 ITALY boss Antonio Conte basked in the glory of ending holders Spain’s eight-year grip on the European Championship but insisted the Azzurri will have to be “super-extraordinary” to beat world champions Germany in Saturday’s quarter-final. Conte’s charges proved tactically superior to their rivals and ended a run of five winless matches against Spain as veteran [...]
England 1, Iceland 2: Minnows leave Hodgson out in cold as woeful Three Lions eliminated from Euro 2016 in humiliating fashion June 27, 2016 Apologetic England manager Roy Hodgson has fallen on his sword after the Three Lions suffered a humiliating exit from Euro 2016 following a wretched showing against minnows Iceland in Nice. Hodgson wasted little time in ending his four-year reign and confirming his departure, as well as that of assistants Ray Lewington and Gary Neville, although his side’s [...]
A pathetic yet fitting end to four years of Roy Hodgson; a man out of time and a reign bereft of moments to savour June 27, 2016 Elimination from Euro 2016 by Iceland was a pathetic yet suitable end to an underwhelming four years of Roy Hodgson characterised by meaningless wins and repeated failures when it really mattered. History may not be kind to Hodgson, whose appointment was greeted with a combination of surprise and unkind mockery which gave way to a [...]