Robbie

Magpies are very bold birds. We get Magpies visit our garden when we are out there soaking up the sun, & one of them comes quite close to us with no fear at all.

It's a magnificent stadium but it is one of those new types of stadiums that lacks character. Goodison Park was always seen as a home with plenty of history. I'm not sure whether these modern bowls will ever have the same relationship with the fans, as those grand old stadiums had. And, they are awfully expensive too.

@Wheelbarrow repair man When you look back at a match that was so famous and watch it once again after probably over 20 years in my case, I was actually comparing it with what we see from the England side today. Gordon Banks was not just a great goalkeeper, but he was a great distributer too We hear so much about how the role of the goalkeeper has changed over the years, but what I was seeing in that match, the way that Banks was distributing the ball over arm, sometimes to Alan Ball on the wing 40 yards up the pitch was sensational. The England passing was superb too, being quick & sharp with players running off the ball to create space. The full backs, Cohen, & Wilson, were seen upfield supporting the attacks and delivering crosses into the box. They were right & left backs, no wingbacks then. The English style of play does have it's merits, for one it is very entertaining as well as being a very successful style of play.

Did anyone watch the rerun of the 1966 Cup Final between England & West Germany on channel 4 this evening? It brought back some great memories for me. The World Cup of 1966 was the first time I had watched football on the telly. Me & my mates used to play football either on the road or on the playing field not far from our houses. Never watched the telly much at all, all my spare time after school was either playing football or playing Subuteo or Monopoly games with my mates or riding our bikes Watching the game this afternoon and the skill of those players 58 years ago, the England players of today could learn a lot from watching them. There were no substitutes allowed at the 66 World Cup. That is hard to believe when you see both teams still going for it in extra time on a cut up pitch. The players in those days had to be tough & last the full 120 minutes. I think I would still back the England side of 1966 to beat the England side of 2024.

A Brit has won a title at Wimbledon.

@Wheelbarrow repair man I agree, but I think the continentals have moved on from the kick it from side to side between the centre backs & back to the goalkeeper every time style. When you watch Spain, Turkey, Georgia & Albania, they have mastered how to move it quickly up the field with pace. When England changed to having pace up front against the Netherlands, they found success. That's the way to go.

@Wheelbarrow repair man Lot of things going on in football that wasn't meant to be Take assistant Referees for instance, they are Linesmen aren't they? And soon we won't need them because we will have VAR AI that decides the offsides and when the ball goes out We already have a limited AI operating in Euro 24 for offsides. Sorry for going off topic. Can you think of anything else that's been introduced in football that's a load of tripe?

There's an interesting article in the Guardian about Football academies. "Forget building with youth: club academies now exist to boost revenue With Premier League sides horse-trading their best young talent, there is no chance of another Class of 92 today" https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/sep/05/youth-academies-premier-league-clubs-revenue-stream

Stuart Maynard s take on the 1:0 win over Wycombe today.

@Wheelbarrow repair man I can't understand why they can't just have 1 to 11 for the starting 11 no matter who the player is, like they used to. If they are allowed 6 substitutes, just number them 12 to 17.

Good half for Notts with Jatta featuring.

Jatta is in the side today

Your Saturday Afternoon Weather

Another sellout for the Nest for the Euro 24 final on Sunday.