TotalFootball

WITH EURO 2020 AROUND THE CORNER, GARETH SOUTHGATE HAS SOME DIFFICULT DECISIONS TO MAKE

by Craig Rigby

As the European Championships draw ever closer, the talk of squad selection gets louder and louder. This will ultimately be Gareth Southgate’s first test of a big summer and ultimately an unwanted headache.

We often hear club managers speaking with glee whenever they have a fully fit squad to chose from, a so called ‘happy headache’ or ‘the best kind of headache to have’. However, for an international manager who emerged from the last major championships with massive amounts of credit, this could be one headache he really didn’t want.

VAR IS PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER 1 IN FOOTBALL, BUT WHAT ABOUT TIME WASTING?

by Craig Rigby

For the past 2 seasons VAR has been a major talking point within the football world, especially in the Premier League. It has become the main pain point that has seen fans push their rivalries aside and join in a combined disgust at how we measure offsides, judge handball and review potential red cards. It has some very recent examples of just how poor it actually is as well as the officials using it as Fabian Balbuena found out to his cost when he was sent off for West Ham against Chelsea for simply kicking the ball away. "The game's gone"  phrase has been touted about quite a lot in regards to this however there has been something going on for a long time in the game that doesn't get its share of ridicule or focus - time wasting.

The REACTION TO THE European Super League saga shows WHERE FOOTBALL'S PRIORITIES LIE

by Farah Hussain

"Deduct them all points tomorrow, put them at the bottom of the league and take their money off them...it's a criminal act against football in this country" ranted Gary Neville on Sky Sports on 19th April 2021. That week, the football community rightly rallied round and voiced its opposition to something which could ruin the game we all love. The media and social media went into overdrive, ex-players and pundits were passionately airing their opinions on TV and fans took to their stadiums to protest. The FA, Premier League, English Football League, UEFA, FIFA, the government and Prince William all sprung into action within a matter of hours to condem it. There were calls for a government led review and legislation to be put in place.

AS SPURS LOSE ANOTHER FINAL, SHOULD KANE LOOK ELSEWHERE?

by Farah Hussain

Harry Kane turns 28 years old in July. He has scored 164 goals in 237 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur, and is the current England captain, having scored 34 goals in 53 appearances for the national team. He is without doubt, one of the best strikers in the world.

But Kane has still not won a single major honour in his career.

A VIEW FROM ENGLAND ON the European Super League Shambles

by Farah Hussain

Ignore the spin. Ignore the PR. Ignore the pleas for forgiveness. The plot by the owners of Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur football clubs to form a European Super League was nothing more than a money grabbing venture, designed to sell a commercial, glory-hunting, soulless version of football to ‘Generation Z’. Had the plot been successful, one would not have been surprised to have seen matches in the ESL being played in far flung places such as the Middle East, East Asia and the USA, commercial breaks every 10 minutes during games, half-time entertainment from big name celebrities and matches reduced to 60 minutes.