Hungary defeat seen as a mere bump by the FA
Despite the rage in the stands, England’s miserable international break has not seen the Football Association’s stance on Gareth Southgate change. They of course see him as the right man for the 2022 World Cup, and no one within the federation would dream of replacing him in the build-up. There is clearly an awareness of the various factors complicating this break - most of the players didn’t want to be there, and four games was seen as ridiculous - as well as a deeply held view that Southgate obviously deserves the chance to try and win 2022, after everything he did in 2018 and 2021. A more cynical view from some around the England set-up is that there isn’t anyone within the FA with the conviction or strength to even consider a change. More realistically, though, the 2022 World Cup was seen as the primary target from a long-term project, that Southgate has been involved with for a decade. A relatively unimportant Nations League campaign, beset by other issues, was never going to change that.
A new era at Old Trafford, but an old issue
Although Erik ten Hag’s arrival naturally brought a lift at Old Trafford, it hasn’t taken too long for old frustrations to surface. They go beyond the failure to sign players like Darwin Nunez so far, since it is still only 17 June. It is more how, for all the talk of a total overhaul of the way they do everything, the primary issue remains the same. That is that everything still has to go through Florida, and past Joel Glazer, including big football decisions. While there was quickly an acceptance that Nunez wanted to go to Liverpool, some believe United had a genuine chance of getting him if they acted more quickly. They had been talking to Benfica for a month before the Anfield hierarchy properly sped things up. An issue was that United were never going to go above £60m, though, since most of the budget is being saved for Frenkie de Jong. It means that, unless there are significant sales, the other purchases are likely to be for more up-and-coming players, such as Antony of Ajax. They do face competition from Tottenham Hotspur there, who are willing to offer the Dutch club Steven Bergwijn as a replacement. Both clubs have been linked to Christian Eriksen, too. United are currently playing down that interest, but there has been contact
Arteta would like things sped up
There have been similar sentiments at Arsenal, if not quite to the same degree. Mikel Arteta naturally wants progress on more of his targets, but the Kroenke family - like the Glazers - want all major decisions going through them. There is still a belief Gabriel Jesus will go to Arsenal from Manchester City, along with Porto's Fabio Vieira, which should go through today. Any interest in Richarlson, which is shared by Spurs, is currently expected to be trumped by Chelsea.
A great day out... not always the best football
To the surprise of few, some of the professionals who played at Soccer Aid at the weekend were less than impressed with the standard of their celebrities. “Two or three”, of course, had real talent. “But the rest…” in the words of one. It is admittedly all part of what makes a good cause fun.
A vision of the future?
Information leaked this week about a new four-team Champions League launch event to be staged every August, as a potential replacement for the Super Cup. The idea is to “spread the brand” around the world, but especially - of course - to the US market. As was reported in the Independent last week, Uefa now see it as the next major growth market tournament, and it was why a final to be staged in New York repeatedly came in negotiations and presentations for the first post-2024 broadcasting contract. This August tournament is being spoken about as a compromise but many sources believe it will instead be a gateway, that also smooths the path to the final being held outside Europe.