Nothing to see here... unless you enjoy reading the old pieces! This is simply a holding post for those that are visiting here expecting to see my Arsenal writing where it has been for the previous four seasons. In short, I have moved over to another platform – Substack. The reason for this is that I will be writing more posts, but not only reflections on the matches. And Substack allows me the chance to earn a little money from my writing with some of the posts being behind a Paywall after the first couple of paragraphs. My post match pieces will still be free to all, but if you want the rest, then after the first couple of weeks, you’ll have to pay the sum of £4 per month or (for an initial promotional period) £30 per year. You can become a free subscriber to get the posts delivered to your email inbox, in which case you’ll also get the first couple of paragraphs of the paid for posts. Paid subscribers get everything and you can also read the pieces on the Substack app or...
Euro 2024 – The Final Sunday 14th July 2024 Spain 2 England 1 (Berlin) Ah well, it was not meant to be. England had found a way past every team they had faced, but there’s no debate that the better teams were in the other half of the draw. Spain were clear favourites in the final, and ultimately deserved winners of the tournament. You can’t argue with their winning all seven of their games without the need for a penalty shoot-out, and six of those in normal time. Southgate elected to start Luke Shaw ahead of Kieran Trippier, and retain the patently unfit Harry Kane. Kane had scored three goals in six games, which was an argument for starting him, but he’d done little else. His inability to make runs into space when England had opportunities in the penalty area didn’t stop them making the final, but he was a passenger in Berlin. (Those who know their Iggy Pop and his time in that city might enjoy that description). Southgate was ne...
Euro 2024 – The Round of 16 Wednesday 3rd July 2024 Back home after my trek round the group stages, and I had an appointment with an armchair in front of my TV for the first knockout round – two matches a day spread over Saturday to Tuesday. After 36 games in 13 days to eliminate eight teams, it was down to business proper. Let’s face it, who had we lost that mattered, in terms of a potential winner so far? Croatia? Maybe. But aside from that, we saw the back of Hungary, Scotland, Albania, Serbia, Poland, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. No likely winners amongst that lot. Now four days, eight games and eight exits. No second chance. Much as the group stage produced some drama, mainly where underdogs were involved and England were not, this is where the tournament actually starts. Up until now it’s simply been a matter of jostling for position… and how well that worked out for England. All the best teams are in the other half of the draw, a little reminiscent of...
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