Match fixing and undies

Day -591. #WorldCup2018

It's going to be a long week waiting for Toronto FC's return match in New York next Sunday. I'm sure life will give me enough distractions.

In the meantime, I spent most of my writing energy and time this evening writing my response to a Facebook exchange of ideas, not an argument, about the latest case of possible match fixing connected to the Maltese national team. Fifa is investigating Malta's 2-0 loss to Lithuania earlier this month. It was alleged at the time that the match may have been the victim of criminal gambling. An unusual amount of bets were placed on Malta losing by two goals or more.

There may be a lot more about this story to come. It was reported in the Sun newspaper, in England, yesterday. The angle of their story was that this could affect results in England's World Cup qualifying group. The Sun managed to live up to it's tabloid reputation and amuse me at the same time. Or, it amused me because it did such a good job of living up to it's trashy newspaper reputation. And it's not because of the allegations.

The report mentioned that England midfielder Dele Alli had scored the first goal against Malta, a few days before the Lithuania match. It further reported, as an aside, that Dele Alli's girlfriend is an "undies model." Further down the story we are presented with a picture of the aforementioned girlfriend in her "undies", of course.

I wish the possible future Mrs Alli all the best in her career of choice. As for the possible future disgraced ex-footballers, guilty of taking bribes to throw a match where they are representing their country, I  would hope they get what they deserve. I guess money is king in both careers.

TFC and Pirates.

Day -592. #WorldCup2018

I chuckle at the flexible kick-off times. I am bemused by the number of fans (spectators?) walking around while the match is going on. I won't understand the need for an opening ceremony before each playoff match. But today, October 30th 2016, it was all about Toronto FC's exhilarating win against New York City. The football was intense and the home support was immense. There was passion and energy, obvious even on TV, which was lacking when I watched Birmingham v Aston Villa this morning.

To quickly carry on with my mention of the big derby this morning, there is very little to say. Or, better still, very little I feel like saying. Villa took the lead through a goal scored by a local Birmingham lad. A big moment for him, no doubt. Birmingham equalised in the second half as a result of Villa's multiple invitations to their opponents to attack them. And Birmingham's goal was scored by another local boy. Whether he is from Aston, I don't know. The overall fare on offer was pretty much second division stuff. Villa may be doing a bit better under Steve Bruce, but they have a long way to go. Bruce did try his best to be Mr. Entertaining by sending on two extra attacking players in the second half. Villa ended up with four forwards, and an nonexistent midfield, but they couldn't be accused of playing for a draw.

And so with that, back to TFC. The star trio, Bradley, Altidore and Giovinco, were outstanding. Bradley, especially, played like he wanted nothing more than to win. He chased, harassed and tackled every opponent around him who was in possession of the ball. And he passed the ball impeccably, and moved to make himself available constantly. Giovinco proved again, not that he needs to anymore, that he wants to be here and wants to win with this team. And Altidore was the big, strong man up front, a nightmare, I'm sure, for the defenders.

The fans had to wait a while for the goals. Altidore scored in the 84th and Ricketts in the 91st. Jozy Altidore was, a couple of seasons ago, another player in a long list of players who couldn't do anything right for Sunderland. Now he's got energy, scores goals and generally seems to be enjoying himself. I wonder if Jermaine Defoe wishes he could undo his wish to get out of Toronto as quickly as possible. Life as the saviour of Sunderland, with a recall to the England team as a possible side, doesn't seem to be working out to well for him right now.

New York were without the injured Andrea Pirlo, and Frank Lampard came on midway through the second half. His entrance on to the pitch was about the only time we saw him. David Villa still looks like a very good player, and a emotional nuisance. Lucky not to be sent off for kicking out a TFC player, he tried to make something happen for New York but seemed to be the only player on the team capable of creating any attacking opportunities.

They play the second leg in New York next Sunday. All of Toronto will now be paying attention and hoping that they can behind an Eastern Conference finalist team after Sunday.

Not only because the TFC fans have adopted the Icelandic slow clap, but also because all things Icelandic are still so hip after Euro 2016, I have to mention the Pirate Party in Iceland and their impressive showing in the parliamentary elections. I mentioned Azerbaijan and corruption a few days ago. The anti-establishment Pirate Party came about because of the country's financial crisis in 2008 and they gained more support after the Icelandic politicians were named in the Panama Papers this year. They tripled their amount of seats in today's election and will now be looking to negotiate a possible coalition to form a government.

Nobody can see anything like this happening in Azerbaijan anytime soon. That country will continue to be run by an oppressive dictator. Their football team will keep getting better but will anybody wish for them to qualify for Russia 2018, with the political background. Iceland, on the other hand, will now be even more popular. Who wouldn't want to support a team who's government is run by the Pirate Party? They would have the worldwide under 10 support, for sure.

With the TFC excitement I thought about saving the Pirates for another day. But why not enjoy the Pirates the same day as the best ever TFC win.

The day before....

Day -593. WorldCup2018

It should be a good day of football tomorrow: Birmingham v Aston Villa to start the day in my time zone and New York City v Toronto FC in the evening.

For Aston Villa it's the big derby they didn't want to look forward to last year because it would have meant relegation to the Championship. That was a more likely certainty in the last 3 or 4 seasons than Birmingham winning promotion to the Premier League. Apart from the considerable hostility between the fans, and Steve Bruce returning to his former club as their rival's manager, it is also significant for league positions. Birmingham started the season decently and were in a playoff position until today. Villa are going through a mini revival and a win would get them within 4 points of a playoff spot. There's a long, long way to go yet but it's not a cliche to say that a win for either team would be a huge psychological boost.

At some time around 7pm Toronto FC players will look to get a good first leg advantage over NY City in the Eastern Conference semifinal. TFC's three marquee players, Altidore, Giovinco and Bradley are in their prime and hopefully this will give them an edge over the experience of NY City's three stars. Lampard, Pirlo and Villa are 38, 37 and 34 respectively. Their careers may have been over in Europe but they a huge reason for City's first appearance in the playoffs in only their second year in existence. Their manager, Patrick Viera, will be hoping that his team will go all the way and have Pep, at the mother club, Manchester City, nervously looking over his shoulder.

TFC'S management have urged their supporters to be in their seats early tomorrow so as not to miss the "opening ceremonies." Do they really not get how ridiculous this looks? When I met with a senior TFC executive a few years ago he told me how they wanted to keep a European feel to the whole experience. Thus the "FC" in the name, they call it "football" around the club and they don't have gimmicky commercials going on throughout a match. This individual is not with the club anymore. I wonder what he thinks now as he watches fireworks, smoke bombs and girls waving flags on the pitch before each playoff match. More L.A. and New York then Manchester or Birmingham, or Madrid or Milan.

I'll probably miss the pre-game entertainment as I'm well educated now in the workings of MLS kick-off times. I see 7pm but will probably not miss much if tune in around 7.15.

I may have a lot to report tomorrow night.

World Champions! Say what?

Day -594. WorldCup2018

I'm watching the World Series of baseball, played between two American teams, and remembering the first NBA championship I watched and the winners were called the World Champions.

I wonder, when Americans first turned up to play in the World Cup of football did the players look around and ask their coaches, "What, you mean we have to play teams from other countries?"

Azerbaijan

Day -595. WorldCup2018

How often, I wonder, does an ardent football fan ignore, or deny, the presence of any conditions that may cast doubt on the integrity of the sport we love, blinded by that same love?

I give you as a subject for that question one very simple example: Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan are in Fifa's happy news because of their encouraging start to World Cup qualifying. The recent minnows, rank outsiders have beaten San Marino and Norway and drawn with the Czech Republic in their first 3 matches to sit second behind Germany in their group. Everybody loves the underdog, right?

But how does the football world, not UEFA or Fifa, but the fans, feel about Azerbaijan? The country is run by, indisputably, a dictator. Transparency International listed Azerbaijan as one of the most corrupt countries in the world (119th out of 168) and the most corrupt in Europe. The dictator leader, Ilham Aliyev, was named by the investigative journalism NGO, The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, as corruption's Person of the Year in 2012.
Aliyev's government has also been accused by human rights groups of suppressing any criticism from within the country, jailing journalists and rigging elections. Aliyev and his family have also been amassing immense personal wealth through the country's oil and gas reserves.

And Azerbiajan has been buying it's way into the football community through it 's state owned energy firm Socar, now a major UEFA sponsor. This is from a Reuters report into Socar's sponsoring of Euro 2016:

"UEFA said it asked suppliers for Euro 2016 to pledge to respect U.N. principles in areas such as human rights, the environment and corruption.
Asked whether that also applied to sponsors and whether UEFA vets the companies it partners with, a UEFA spokesperson declined to comment, saying details of contracts were covered by confidentiality agreements." Conveniently.

Despite my original question I wonder, further to my original thought, if football fans would be as enthused by Azerbaijan doing an Iceland as they were by Iceland doing a Leicester. If we are so very ignorant to all the corruption that goes on in the football world why can't the Azerbaijan football story be as romantic as that of Iceland?

TFC!

Day -596. #WorldCup2018

Why not write about football as I'm watching football, I thought.

Toronto FC v Philadelphia Union, MLS play-offs, first round. Temperature at kick-off: 5 degrees Celsius, feels like 3. For players: cold. For TFC supporter clubs' fans in south end, jumping and singing: pretty cold. For rest of crowd sitting in their seats: absolutely freezing.

I'm watching online, hooked up to TV. I refuse to add to my cable bill by adding one more channel that will come in useful for an hour or two each week. (had to take a break to fix stream). I found it on Sky Sports and I never knew that Sky Sports showed MLS. There's something endearing about watching North American football on British TV, almost as though it's a gentle acknowledgement and thank you for all the English football on TV over here.

Toronto are winning 2-0 in the 69th minute. Giovinco is running the show. The little Italian is so out of place in this league. It's not because of his outrageous skill (in comparison to who's around him, some may argue) but also because he came from a major European league in his prime, unlike the other Europeans-Beckham, Gerrard, Pirlo etc.

I missed the start of the match. To satisfy my curiosity, and to see if I was correct in my prediction from a couple of days ago, one of my first things to do was to check the time on the match clock. By counting back I figured out it did indeed start at 7.42 or 7.43 despite it being advertised for 7.30. My prediction was 7.43.

Philadelphia have scored. 2-1. 72 minutes

At least I hope the pre-game opening ceremony was glitzy and worth the extra time spent freezing in their seats for the fans.

I've stopped writing now. This is getting a little nerve wracking for Toronto. They were looking good and comfortable until Philadelphia scored. Sky Sports commentator was very upset by the terrible TFC defending. "One header, two headers, three...you're going to get punished if you can't clear the ball." He was equally shocked by Philadelphia's terrible defending at a corner for TFC'S second goal.

85 minutes. 3-1!!!! Jozy Altidore! Sunderland supporters, remember him? The centre forward who couldn't score. Counter attack goal, set up by Giovinco. Sky Sports commentator: terrible defending. "What was he doing? You can't do that in your own penalty area." I agree. TFC fans in full voice. They don't care. New York City, here we come.

Almost over. Last minute and....there it is. TFC play New York City (David Villa, Pirlo, Lampard, Viera) in the Eastern Conference semifinal. I bet nobody's feeling cold now.

Carlos Alberto

Day -597 #WorldCup2018

Sadly, it's an easy subject for me today as I mark the passing of one of the great names in football, Carlos Alberto.

I have very often repeated my admiration of the the Brazil team of 1982. They are my personal benchmark of viewed greatness in football. Brazil, World Cup winners 1970 have been universally acclaimed as the greatest team ever. I have seen the highlights and read the books but as they were before my time I was never influenced by watching them live on TV as I was by the 1982 team.

However. it is hard to argue with the widely held belief that watching Brazil win the 1970 World Cup was a uniquely wonderful experience for anybody who had the pleasure to watch them play. I can equate the emotions generated by that team to what I felt when I watched the magic of 1982. The big important difference, of course, was that Team 1970 won the World Cup and were amazing to watch. Team 1982 were exhilarating but didn't even make it to the final.

Carlos Alberto was one of the many stars on that star-studded team. Pele may have been the greatest but the names of Jairzinho, Tostao, Rivelino and Gerson were an integral part of my football history education.

Carlos Alberto is remembered for beautifully scoring one of the finest examples of a goal that came out of a combination of incredible team movement, individual skill and seemingly telepathic understanding.

I have often wondered if Brazil would have been able to play this way if they weren't winning 3-1 in the 86th minute against a very tired Italian team who had maybe also run out of the mental energy to keep up with the Brazilians. Nevertheless it is fantastic to watch, a wonderful reminder of a way Brazil could play football like no other team did then or does in this generation.

Carlos Alberto was football royalty, just a name to me but the bringer of beautiful memories for many.

(Read this for a great description of the goal. Scroll down all the way to see the goal.)

The wonderful world of MLS

Day -598 WorldCup2018

I am aware that many of my posts do not have any direct connection with the next World Cup, or any World Cup. And I will not even try to make some spurious link. It's a daily football post, mixed in with politics and any significant international events, to mark every day leading up to Russia 2018.

I felt the need to make the justification as I write about the climax of the MLS season, or for Europeans the Beckham/Gerrard/Pirlo league. My local team, Toronto FC, had their best regular season ever and start in the play-offs on Wednesday.

They play one match against Philadelphia, in Toronto, before hopefully progressing to the next round where they play two games, counting the aggregate score. That would be the Eastern Conference semifinal, followed by another two match Conference final. The winners then play the Western Conference winners for the MLS Cup. The final is one match and this year it is hosted by the higher seeded team of the two.

With this long play-off format the final will be on December 10th. At that time of the year it could be pretty cold in Toronto, or New York. And, excuse the pun, that’s putting it mildy. It could be very cold and snowy. Toronto have used their indoor stadium option in the past but I wonder if it will be available, if necessary, on December 10th. I doubt other teams have that possibility.

The MLS are determined, quite rightly, to not only grow the stature of football in North America but also to keep it in sports fans' consciousness for longer. The season runs from the end of March to December. It's not only the lengthy play-off system that prolongs the season. It is what happens to get to that point. There are 20 teams in each conference. They each play 34 games and after all that only 4 teams in each conference are eliminated. Thirty four matches over almost 7 months to determine that more than half the teams in the league move on to what should be the best of the best. Instead, another 6 week season starts.

Hypothetically, and this would be wonderful for Toronto fans, on a a below freezing night in December, after the stadium crew have cleared the snow off the pitch, the local fans who can wave their arms through their 10 layers of clothing will cheer on Toronto in one of the coldest football matches ever played.

The format and the long season is one of the quirks of the MLS. Another one is one I have tried to get my head around before: kick-off times. Yesterday, the final day of the regular season billed as Decision Day, all the teams played and all the matches had to start at exactly the same time. It was advertised for 4pm but I was not surprised when at 4pm I was still watching the studio pre-game show. At around 4.15 they seemed ready to play, and after another few commercials the TFC players were all ready to kick off. There was a bit more standing around as, we were told, the referee was waiting for the signal that all the other matches were ready. At 4.22 the whistle blew. And I wondered: 4.22pm, did somebody in the MLS office in New York really have that in mind as the start time?

TFC's match on Wednesday is listed as starting at 7.30pm but I really don't know what that means anymore. I'm expecting play to start around 7.43 after what TFC officials are promising is going to be a spectacular pre-match ceremony. You see, TFC are celebrating their first ever home play-off match. This whole thing just feels increasingly bizarre the more I write about it.

The forecast high temperature for Wednesday is 6 degrees Celsius. Once the sun goes down and with any breeze coming off Lake Ontario I shudder to think how cold it will be for the fans.

I may shudder at the thought but again, despite my good natured coming-from-a-European fun poking at the MLS I wouldn't mind being there and actually shivering with the 26,000 other fans.
I may still follow European football on TV more than I do the MLS. However, this is the league for me to watch if I want live football. It's what I've got and I'll take it with all its quirkiness. You do have to admire what the MLS has done. When the USA hosted the World Cup in 1994 there was no league. And when USA Soccer promised Fifa they would start a league there were many sceptics. Just over 20 years later it is still growing.

Zabivak the wolf

Day -599. WorldCup2018

I've had moments in my countdown when I wrote in a wrong number one day and carried on from there until I noticed my error. Therfore, I occasionally check the countdown clock on one of my favourite websites, the welcome2018 tourist portal (their words). Today they are at 597 days to go. I checked with an online countdown calculator and, as I expected, there are 598 days to go until June 14th 2018. I'm always off by a day because of the time difference. When I write it's the next day in Russia. I cannot figure out why an official website is off by a day. I may have to ask them.

I also went to welcome2018 to see how they announced the big announcement of the official Russia 2018 mascot. There were rumours that because of all the great entries for consideration there may have been more than one. In the end, the wolf Zabivak was the sole winner. Welcome 2018 must have been off for the weekend as there was no mention of Zabivak's victory. There was a story about the mascot selection last week with the headline:

"Kaliningrad zoo incites visitors to select the 2018 World Cup mascot."

Coming from a website that asks visitors to "sing in" I worry about their choice of words meant to attract non-Russian speaking visitors.

Before I get criticised for poking fun at a website run by people for whom English is not their first language, that is not my aim. What I question is why for this huge event that Russia is hosting, that is going to have millions of potential visitors searching for information, and with all the money invested in this and any World Cup, there is not enough money to maintain an English language website written by English speakers.

I really do need to write to them and offer my services, whatever they may be.

Marcello Lippi

Day -600. WorldCup2018

One of my thoughts about the US presidential candidates is why at their age wouldn't they just be happy with the life they've had and slip off into an enjoyable retirement. Or at least keep doing what they are doing and not take on something new where they are going to be the subject of criticism and hate from within their own country and the world over.

And then you have Marcello Lippi, the 68 year old former Juventus and Italy coach who today became the manager of China's national team. He's won Italian championships, the Champions League and a World Cup. He also coached Guangzhou Evergrande to Chinese league glory four times. He is a coaching god in Italy and has a pretty good reputation in China.

I hope that when I am 68 I still have the drive that Lippi has. I also hope that I am at a point in my life when I can look back and think I did it all, I achieved as much as I could and can look forward to enjoying happy times away from any spotlight. I say good for Lippi that he can still take on this new challenge.

I just hope, for his sake, that it goes well. He is managing a national team who's country's president has ambitious plans for football in his country. The long term goal is World Cup victory in 2050. I assume the short term strategy is that China want Lippi's experience and know-how to kick start this plan.

The immediate task will be to kick start China's faltering Russia 2018 campaign. They have one point after four matches in the final round of qualifying. They need a Lippi miracle to make up the 6 points to third place which ensures a play-off to have the opportunity to get into the intercontinental playoff. It's a very tough task and even more the reason why I find Lippi's decision surprising.

I don't know his reasons or how the mind of an extremely successful coach towards the end of his career works. Maybe he just can't stop. He left Juventus for Inter after winning 3 championships and the Champions League. He returned to Juventus after an unsuccessful stint with Inter and won 2 more championships. He stepped down as manager of Italy after winning the World Cup in 2006 but came back a couple of years later. So this may be a continuation of his style. After making a name for himself in China, he is back albeit for a way bigger challenge.

Good luck Marcello. Despite my reservations I may envy you in retrospect when I'm 68. Scratch that, I'm jealous already.

Rest day

Day -601. WorldCup2018

I haven't done this for while and I think I'm due a rest day. Too late, too much other stuff needing my dwindling brain energy. Back tomorrow.

African group of death

Day -602. WorldCup2018

Something about the African qualifiers struck me a few days ago. Then my anger at the Maltese football mayhem happened, followed by Aston Villa's historic win and the delayed news that another former Fifa executive was banned.

I wondered how Spain and Italy ended up in what seemed the only group with two European powerhouses in it. Going through the African groups I realised that I hadn't really paid attention to the one group that has Algeria, Cameroon and Nigeria in it. Only one team qualifies. There is no second chance for the second placed team. Cameroon have been qualifying for World Cups for as long as I can remember and have often been the neutrals' favourite. Their 7 appearances is 2 ahead of Nigeria who have been a joy to watch in recent Finals. And Algeria, who have qualified 4 times, were fantastic in 2014. They matched Germany in their last 16 match and only buckled after extra time.

There is no other group in Africa that has so many consistent World Cup performers together. Egypt and Ghana will have a good battle but despite all of Egypt's strong showings at the African Cup of Nations they've only been to the World Cup twice. Ivory Coast should, indeed, coast to first place. Senegal and South Africa will battle it out to win their group, relieved that they don't have to face one of Cameroon, Nigeria or Algeria.

Who will it be, Algeria, Cameroon or Nigeria? It's going to be a good fight and disappointing that not one, but two of them, won't be in Russia. (Bad) luck of the draw, I guess.

Fifa and it's (former) corrupt members

Day -603 WorldCup2018

This was yesterday's news which I read and planned to share but I got a little distracted by Aston Villa winning a football match.

Fifa have banned, Worawi Makudi, one of their former executive members from all football related activity for 5 years. Maludi was also the former president of the Thai FA.

This is from the BBC report:

"Makudi was one of the 22 Fifa executive members who voted in 2010 on who should host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

At least 10 of the 22 have since been implicated in allegations of corruption and bribery, with a number having been indicted in an FBI investigation."

Ten football officials of questionable integrity were trusted with making two of the most highly debated World Cup host country decisions ever, with Qatar the most controversial ever.

Aston Villa win! Away!

Day -604 WorldCup2018

I'll take a break today from the Maltese football mess. However, before do I will mention that two Maltese men were found guilty today of offering a Maltese player a bribe to throw a local league match. The player came forward and reported that he was approached. A small victory maybe in the big fight?

On to the happier side of football. On August 8th 2015 Aston Villa won 1-0 away at Bournemouth in the opening match of the English Premier League. Optimism for a better season than the previous one abounded. Today, 438 days, 24 league games, 5 managers and one relegation later they won 2-1 away at Reading. After a number of matches this season lost or drawn because of goals conceded in the last minute it was only fitting that today's winner was a penalty in the 90th minute.

A big part of my fun of "watching" football on social media is the live banter. This was a tweet about what the Aston Villa fans were singing after Villa went up 1-0:

"We're winning away, we're winning awaaaay, how sh*t must you be? We're winning away!!!!"

It's been sung many times before but how much dark humour enjoyment must those Villa fans have got out of it? Over 4,000 of them travelled to Reading on a Tuesday night and finally got their reward.

Something else happened while Aston Villa were playing. I discovered Periscope. To be more accurate I discovered a use for Periscope. I came across a Villa fan periscoping the match while standing in the stands. The whole match. The poor girl must have had cramp in her fingers by the end of it, holding that phone up for all that time. The angle wasn't great and it was shaky (really!)but how long before the quality improves to the point that it becomes a good quality live stream. And how long after that will security staff in stadiums be walking through the stands checking that nobody is periscoping on orders of the English Premier League, or UEFA of Fifa.

It did make me think, though, that it would be a great, cheap way to watch Russia 2018. Find a good periscoper and I'll feel like I'm in the stadium.

Malta, oh Malta.

Day -605 #WorldCup2018

I resolved that I wouldn't go on about the latest report of suspected match fixing linked to Maltese football. I would try not to express my dismay that there was "overwhelming evidence that Malta would lose the game (against Lithuania) by at least two goals." This on top of the disappointment of the 2-0 loss. However, despite me having a completely different idea in mind today, I cannot escape this.

I was warned many years ago that Maltese football is one big fix, that the local league is won not on the pitch but through the brown envelopes exchanged in bars and possibly in clubhouses. I always refused to believe it, to not let it spoil my childhood enjoyment of Sunday afternoons at The Stadium. The 12-1 against Spain should have set alarm bells ringing, not just for me, but also for the Malta FA. Instead everybody just went merrily along, denying anything was amiss. Today the MFA President said that he was upset that the Fifa commissioner in Lithuania warned the Maltese players about the suspicious betting patterns before the match. The Times of Malta reported that he "thought it was unwarranted, as it distracted players from the match ahead." So that's what you take from this, Mr President? Maltese football used to be a laughing stock among Maltese people for all the suspected match fixing. Now it is happening on the international stage and the MFA President worries about the players being distracted by a Fifa commissioner doing his job.

Nowhere in The Times of Malta report does the President come out and strongly condemn the possibility of any untoward actions committed by any Maltese players. Nor does he threaten to take any action against any players if they are found to have been involved in any match fixing. The MFA's integrity officer delivered a damning report earlier this year on the amount of match-fixing in local Maltese football.

He said, "Maltese football was infested by people who grade the game’s sporting spirit at the lowest grade, if any."

And, "Some clubs finance their entire operation by manipulating matches, betting on them and the winnings going towards the club whilst also lining their own pockets."

Evidence of this disease has been around forever, regardless of my denial of it. Ally Dawson. Spain v Malta 12-1. There are two stories there that should not have ended when they did. I will return to Ally Dawson another day but it's fair to say it was a case of the foreign whistle blower being punished for having the gall to speak badly of Maltese football.

There is going to be a lot more about of all this to come. Still I hope that no Maltese player was guilty of anything in Lithuania. And I will still support them and wish that something good can come of the rest of this round of World Cup qualifying, because I always believe in hope.

Israel 2026 or Australia 2026?

Day -606 WorldCup2018

Whoever derides the value of social media doesn't appreciate trying to have a decent football argument with friends on Facebook. I used to be able to to disagree with with these same friends face to face until distance made it impossible.Today's thought was inspired by one such exchange.

Fifa announced a few days ago that no European country can bid for the 2026 World Cup because of it's rotational policy. Following Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, it sets up nicely for a North American bid for 2026. There have been rumours of the USA, Canada and Mexico submitting a joint bid. If not together, it does bode well for one of those countries' chances of hosting in 2026.

That was the subject of my conversation today and I added, "Unless Australia can put together a very strong bid". Australia, why not? They love their football over there and it would sort of be a recognition by Fifa of Australia's enthusiasm despite their isolation. Don't we all still think of Australia as being on the "other side of the world?"

And right after I hit "post" the realisation of my error hit me. Australia, for footballing reasons, is in Asia. Australia is part of the Asian Football Confederation and has been since 2006, when they left Oceania for stronger competition and a more straightforward route to qualifying for the World Cup. Now does Fifa go with geography or continental membership? Or could Fifa adhere to their statement that Europe will be on standby if "none of the received bids fulfil the strict technical and financial requirements," and also apply it to Australia?

It brought up thoughts of another country that Fifa have conveniently "moved" from one continent to another: Israel. The political situation in the Middle East, and the refusal of most Arab countries to play against Israel, forced Fifa to call Israel European after they were accepted as a UEFA member in 1994.

There is a bit of irony here. In the 1986 and 1990 World Cup qualifying rounds, Israel were part of Oceania and in 1990 pipped Australia to the top spot, thus qualifying for the intercontinental play-off (which they lost against Colombia). And, as a further aside, Chinese Taipei were also part of Oceania in 1986 and 1990. Oceania was a good place to send otherwise un-loved football countries.

Now, go along with me here. Israel and Australia bid to become the host nation of World Cup 2026. Fifa rejects them both at first, until they assess the other bids, because they are in Europe and Asia. Putting aside the incredible political and security issues associated with a World Cup in the country, Israel argue that they are an Asian country and shouldn't be barred from bidding because, through no fault of their own, they were forced out. After preparing this argument somebody writing a daily World Cup countdown blog points out to the Israeli FA that they cannot win that fight as Asian countries are also excluded from bidding.

The process is then started to have Israel re-join Oceania, citing increased hostility from European countries, angry that with the increasing number of new states (Gibraltar, Kosovo) UEFA is too crowded.

Concurrently, Australia make a similar plea to Fifa to be recognised by their geographical location. Seeing as Fifa have less political minefields when dealing with Australia, they accept this point of view. Australia can submit a bid. Israel are outraged by Fifa's inconsistency, but do not express this anger when the same World Cup countdown blogger reminds them that it is better to keep quiet. If Fifa do get tired of the Israeli FA's insistence on being recognised as Asian, and give in, then they won't be able to bid.

So Israel return to Oceania and are allowed to bid as a country from that region, happily not opposing Fifa's policy in regards to Australia that they can bid according to their location. The Oceania Football Confederation is happy to be in the spotlight and decides to not choose a preferred bidder amongst the two.

Israel, Australia, the USA, Canada and Mexico (in some combination) will then be the candidates to host World Cup 2026. In reality, it really will be North America's to lose, "unless a South American country can put together a very strong bid."

Russian workers, not of the Workers' Party

Day -607 WorldCup2018.

I came across a story a couple of days ago that I missed over the summer about the firing of the contactor building the stadium in St. Petersburg for Russia 2018. They city decided that a decade was too long to not finish a stadium and the budget was way over initial estimates. In addition there were reports of unaccounted for money that had been paid to the contractor.

In August a new contractor was chosen. Metrostroy have a novel way of keeping costs down and getting the work done on time in addition to pre-empting the likely necessary shift of blame from themslevs to not just the city of St Petersburg but also to the residents of the city. The director of Metrostroy is quoted in the Moscow Times (talking about the finishing touches needed at the stadium: fitting and assembly work):

“This is where you [the residents of St. Peterburg] come in,” he said at a press conference.

“Do you remember how great it used to be [in the Soviet era]? Towards the end of a project, we used to get the whole city involved, students as well, anyone at all,” he said.

Please discuss at your leisure. And you cannot mention Communism.

Denmark, late on a Friday night.

Day -608. WorldCup2018

At the end of the day (really, I'm not trying to sound like an English football manager or player...it is 11.45pm, the end of the day) all the thoughts I had brewing in my head, all the inspiration I had from things I saw or read today have disappeared. So I had to look up to see what happened in the Danish SAS-Ligaen today for some emergency football action.

The Danes aren't the only ones playing on Friday. There were matches in Germany, France and Spain, all needed to get enough TV coverage for the respective leagues. Nice are the early pacesetters in France and won again today while second placed Monaco lost. It's nice to see a new team at the top of the French league. Yes, it's nice. (I'm sure the joke I thought of earlier this afternoon was way better than that one.)

In Denmark, FC Copenhagen lead the way. They were in the news today because they are one of the clubs looking to put together a new European league to be a competitor to the Champions' League which has come so far from having anything to do with what its' name means that Aston Villa, in the second division in England, might be playing in it next year just because Peter Withe scored that winner in the final against Bayern Munich a lifetime ago. And because they're from England.

Back to the pitch, Sonderjyske won today to move up to 4th place, 6 points being Copenhagen. But I came across a more interesting story on ESPN as I was going through the Danish results. Back in August during the warm-up of the Brondby-Copenhagen match a Brondy fan was hit in the head by a ball kicked into the stands by a Copenhagen player. He was taken to hospital to be checked for concussion but x-rays showed he had something way more serious-a brain tumour. He underwent surgery and is expected to be ok. He posted his thanks on facebook to all the medical personnel and stadium staff....and to the player who hit the wayward shot.

And, as I thought, they do indeed spread out the football over the (long) weekend in Denmark. Two matches today, one tomorrow, three on Sunday and one on Monday in the 14 team top division. And that's how it is for the next 2 weeks and in the third week there are 4 matches on the Sunday before the International Break. It's smart, I guess. As someone pointed out to me there is lots of time to watch what they may think is better football from England on Saturdays.

Fifa's roadmap

Day -609. WorldCup2018

I read Fifa's website regularly to keep up to date with any announcements from Fifa regarding the World Cup, or any other minor football news. If anything major has happened I have usually already read about it somewhere else. And, in the past, there were many football news stories which were about Fifa and not reported by Fifa anyway.

So I was a little surprised today when I read on Fifa.com about the launch of Fifa’s new roadmap: “FIFA 2.0: The Vision for the Future". As I normally am I was online quite a lot today and never saw this reported anywhere else. As a matter of interest I searched through the websites of a few British newspapers and BBC. A few of them had no mention of it. The BBC had it under a story, amongst others, of Diego Maradona having an argument with Juan Sebastian Veron at the Match for Peace. 

The newspapers that did report on Fifa's vision gave it less importance than a new manager taking over a second division team (Aston Villa) and the offer to a has been player (Agbonlahor) to reclaim his place in the Villa team, and Gordon Strachan's non-resignation as Scotland manager.

My feeling is that nobody really has much time for Fifa and it's grand plans until they actually do something. The one bit of news that the newspapers did pick up on is President Infantino's reiteration at the Fifa Council of his wish for a 40 or 48 team World Cup. He says there is positive reaction. Nobody reporting on it seems to think so. A decision will be made in January.

In a nutshell, Fifa’s plan is to give each member association $1.25m over 4 years (up from $400,000), have 60% of the world participating in football, double the amount of female footballers to 60 million and take over more of the operation of business services that Fifa can generate revenue from such as ticketing for World Cups.

More will follow as Fifa embark on implementing all of this. And then it will be in all the newspapers.

Mutko: going or staying?

Day -610. WorldCup2018

There were a number of reports yesterday on twitter that Valdimir Putin was replacing his controversial Minister for Sport, Vitaly Mutko as part of a huge shake up of Russia's sport structures. Mutko is also the head of the Russia 2018 organising committee and was rumoured to be losing that position also. He has was accused of being involved in Russia's doping scandal and there was evidence that he covered up a positive drug test of a footballer. Fifa, of who he is an Executive Committee (now Fifa Council) member, saw nothing untoward in his behaviour.

Today, I expected more news about this pretty big news. However, it seems that it was a little premature to get excited about the demise of this highly controversial figure. And why, really, would it be correct of me to be enthused by any Putin decision? But, that aside, it seems that quite the opposite may be happening. One angle on twitter today was that Mutko may be getting more power, responsible for a new authority overseeing sport, youth and tourism, and also possibly culture.
Another theory is that he will become a vice Prime Minister, while also remaining in charge of sport and the World Cup.

It seems that while Putin's reason for restructuring the sports authorities was in response to the doping scandal, he has no problem giving more power to the man who was most likely a very influential player in the system that allowed it to happen.

More Malta gloom.

Day -611. WorldCup2018

I need to start with something positive.  The next World Cup is a day closer than it was yesterday. Now that that's out of the way........

Malta lost again. Malta didn't score again. The report in The Times of Malta says that Malta were more positive than against England and were in Lithuania's half more times in the first 18 minutes than in the whole match against England. I am smiling to myself. That is really not a difficult statistic to believe. Jonathan Caruana was back in the team having served his one game suspension for his red card against Scotland after giving away a penalty. Carauna displayed a fine measure of consistency. He was sent off against Lithuania after conceding a penalty. He would say he is just terribly unlucky. The match report also said that Malta "crumbled following the sending-off of defender Jonathan Caruana." It was in the 84th minute. The score was already 1-0 and about to become 2-0. I appreciate the journalist's disappointment (he is Maltese and also a fan). I do however question the "crumbling" at this point. The match was lost and the score did not get any worse.

This may be a good time to reiterate my support of Maltese football and the efforts of the Malta FA. Despite their best intentions I feel like a supporter of perennial bottom of the pile team. I understand the frustration of supporters of any lower league team in any country. There are occasional glimmers of hope: new owners, new players, a run of a few wins, the flirtation with promotion followed by the destruction of this hope: a few bad results, players departing, and the return to a making-up-the-numbers status. And still the dedicated fans don't leave the team. They hang on to the few good moments and believe they will happen again. It's just like when you are on the golf driving range and hit one good ball after a bucketful of shanks and slices and you pay for another bucket of balls convinced that you can repeat that one good stroke. I do not know what the solution for Maltese football is right now. I will not even dare give the MFA my opinion. My only hope is that they, they who can make a difference, can look beyond the investment in the fancy new national stadium pitch and admit there is a problem. Admission is a good and important first step. This is not a good time for the National Team right now.

There may, however, be a brighter future. Malta's Under 21 team won again today. They finished their European Championship qualifying matches with 11 points, a record. I hope this talent is groomed correctly, and the positive energy maintained, so that this does not end up just being a glimmer but a new beginning.

As I was watching Slovenia-England today and keeping myself updated with Malta's score I had a memory of the schoolday conversations of ridiculous logic from my childhood. Some bright spark who thought he knew everything about football (I was a snob because I knew that I knew it all) would say, for example, "'Liverpool beat Tottenham 3-0 and Manchester United beat Tottenham 1-0. So Liverpool will beat Man United 2-0."And, according to him, it was an indisputable, put money on it (bit of a problem when you were 9 years old) fact. I tried, for my entertainment, to use this logic to figure out what should happen next for England and Malta. Scotland beat Malta 5-1. Lithuania drew 1-1 with Scotland, so Lithuania should have beaten Malta 4-0 or 5-1. England beat Malta 2-0, and drew 0-0 with Slovenia who also drew with Lithuania. So Malta will lose 2-0 to Slovenia and England will draw with Lithuania. Home or away? That would be attempting to make sense of the logic. Nobody would question the boy in the schoolyard who would make this kind of argument so strongly that in the end everybody agreed and thought he was the god of football. And I quickly gave up with my "But, but..."

There was other football today.

Syria lost against Qatar. That doesn't fit in well with the fairytale story of World Cup qualification for the war ravaged country. Although I'm not really sure whether that's not too bad of a thing seeing as the team is considered to be a propaganda tool of President Assad.

The name is back. Pablo Escobar  scored two goals for Bolivia. I wonder if Mr and Mrs Escobar, of Bolivia, named their son Pablo with great pride.

Argentina lost at home to Paraguay. They keep going in the opposite direction to Brazil who are about to beat Venezuela as I write. My belief a few months ago that Brazil were in real danger of not qualifying has now been replaced by the same fear for Argentina. The only consolation is that the teams above them, Colombia and Ecuador drew their matches so they are only a point ahead of Argentina who are fifth. The top four qualify and the fifth placed team go into an intercontinental playoff.

And finally. Aston Villa announced today that they are going to announce tomorrow who their new manager is. The whole world is waiting, with memories of Lebron James' announcement that he would be announcing live on TV which NBA team he was going to join. Get the popcorn ready, take time off work. Their is real suspense because there has been no mention of the clear favourite for the past few days. Seriously?

A little more Malta......

Day -612 WorldCup2018

I'm exhausted from writing about Malta's woes for the last couple of days. Time to move on. Before I do, I have enough energy to mention that Coach Ghedin today gave the predictable answers to questions about Andre Schembri's comments about the problems with Maltese football.

Ghedin is upset by the criticism, doesn't understand the negative comments, the mood is good, the players are working hard, we need to stick together etc. Of course, who would expect him to say that Schembri is right and still keep his job? But who is going to come forward and say let's stop criticising anybody who is "being negative." If we are all positive then we, they, all ignore the issues.

On a more positive note, I do hope and wish for a good result from Malta tomorrow in Lithuania. We, Maltese fans, need some good news.

Tomorrow is the last day in this cycle of qualifiers. Australia play Japan in the battle between one Asian superpower and an invited Asian superpower. Syria look to keep their impossible dream alive against pointless Qatar and I can go back to hoping my second team, England, weren't too worn out by their practice match against Malta and get a win for Gareth in Slovenia.

In South America, Argentina are now the team in the need of a few wins. Brazil have turned a switch on since the Olympics and the firing of Dunga and are looking a lot more comfortable. Argentina are only in the play-off place right now (5th) and would be happy to beat Paraguay, in 6th, and extend the gap. Perhaps equally surprising is Chile's almost dire position. The Copa America champions are 5 points behind Argentina and desperately need a win against Peru tomorrow.

After tomorrow it's back to the search for a new manager for Aston Villa and their quest for a miraculous return to the English Premier League. No more draws.

All not good with Maltese football

Day -613 WorldCup2018

(I could subtitle this: another day in the life of a football supporter of a small, underdog country)

I can easily gloat today about validation. One of Malta's star players, Andre Schembri of Boavista, pretty much repeated all my worries about Malta's defensive display yesterday. However, being proud that a player, playing in that match, had the same reaction as me is not my point. The insight into the sad state of Maltese football is way more important.

Interestingly, apart from the predictable Maltese newspaper reports about brave Malta's hardworking performance yesterday I have not come across much celebrating of "only losing 2-0 against England." The Maltese football fans are probably pretty fed up, not just of losing but also of the lack of any attacking intent at all.

Schembi's interview is in Maltese and here are the highlights:
"My reaction? We lost 2-0, again like the other times. Maybe in twenty years time you will ask another player the same question and he will give you the same answer. The problem is not the players, but those above us. It is time for a complete overhaul of Maltese football.

"I have been saying the same thing over and over again that change is needed. And you (journalists) interview us. Why don't you ask these questions to the 10 people who are here (in England) from the Malta FA? What can I say? We played, we lost (and my favourite bit coming up) we ran a cross country out there.

"Some people might be happy with a 2-0 loss. I'm not and you can say, yes, we were playing a strong team like England, but when you don't even create one attacking opportunity, that's very sad....not one attack."

Malta is ranked at it's lowest ever since Fifa rankings started 25 years ago. There may not be universal agreement with the ranking system. However, it is not a lie that Malta deserve to be number 176, equal with Surimame and Tahiti, and below Laos. Malta may just be another minnow in the eyes of supporters of the big teams, there for the likes of Germany, France, Spain to improve their goal difference. But football is important for Malta. It has the most facilities, by far, of any sport in Malta. It receives the most funding from the government for these facilities, the biggest sponsorhip deals, the highest number of participants, the most coaches and it is easily the most popular sport.

We, the fans. don't expect to qualify for World Cups. But, as even Schembri said, we expect better than what we saw yesterday. We expect a competitive team. What he means by changes at the top will hopefully emerge soon and hopefully something will happen. In my 35 years of following Maltese football we went from rock bottom (Spain, 12-1) to a smattering of good results, a few good wins and many battling, close defeats. Now we seem to be going backwards again and others are moving further away: Iceland, Albania, Cyprus, teams we beat in the past.

Yes, I admit, I did enjoy the confirmation, the approval maybe, of my argument yesterday. Sometimes negative honesty is needed to move forward, away from the comfortable staus quo.
I would also be happy with a much better result on Tuesday against Lithuania.

Malta: a let down

Day -614. WorldCup2018

They did it. Malta, version 2016, went one better than Malta 1971. One shot on goal, one save by Joe Hart, the England goalkeeper. Sure, England won, Malta lost but they got that one shot.

That could be it for my thoughts about Malta's adventure at Wembley. I could be happy that we "only" lost 2-0, that we did give Joe Hart something to do, albeit only once. And then I could talk about Azerbaijan beating Norway today.

But I have to stay with this a bit longer. Yes, on paper, 0-2 against England at Wembley is a fantastic result. And, furthermore, Malta were very well organised defensively and rarely panicked. For Malta to keep players of England's calibre to only 2 goals was not just down to goalkeeper Hogg's many saves. It was because all the players worked very hard to play to the system coach Ghedin had instructed them to play. You can just feel the "but" coming, can't you?

I have supported Maltese football for all of my living memory. I have seen the humiliating, the bad and the good performances by the National Team. Today’s first half was one of the worst. There was absolutely nothing happening inside England's half. I half-jokingly commented whether a ball kicked by a Maltese player over the halfway line could be generously considered a "shot on target".

"But Aidan," my voice of footballing reason says, "if Malta had attacked more, surely that would have opened up more opportunities for England and then we would have conceded a lot more goals. And wasn't the objective not to be embarrassed?"

There may be some truth to that, but here's my theory, open to criticism from anybody who plays or coaches football but not anybody who has played or coached any sport.

Any professional athlete, in any sport, goes into any contest believing that they have an equal opportunity to win as their opponent. If they don't go in with this mentality then they should play recreational sport or step aside and give their spot on the team to somebody who believes this to be true. This belief should not mask realism. The other player or team may have a much stronger history and/or skill set. However, the belief should exist that we, the weaker team, can find a way to counter our opponents' obvious strengths. And when the football match (as in this case) starts the score is equal. So we can either aim to maintain the equilibrium for as long as possible or we can try to do what we have to do to push the balance in our favour: score a goal.

Now, admittedly, realism kicks in. For Malta to attempt to score first against England may have been footballing suicide. But, it is also true, that a coach will inspire his players to take a few risks, to be a bit adventurous, while still keeping in mind that they are playing superior opposition. This is the belief that a coach will instill in his players, no matter who the opposition are.

"But Aidan, didn't Malta do well to keep the score at 0-0 for almost a half hour?"

Yes, they did. But the plan was, unsurprisingly to have 9, sometimes 10, players behind the ball to not leave any gaps for England. I do not dispute the need to do this. England moved the ball around well but Malta closed them down and were, to use that cliche word again, disciplined. They also resisted very often the urge to kick the ball as far away as they could from their own penalty area at any opportunity. They played pretty little passes deep in their own defensive areas. And there, was a problem. The Maltese midfielders were so deep, playing as defenders, that as the defenders played the ball to the midfielders, and because there was no successful quick passes and movement two things happened. All this passing ended up taking place well inside the Maltese half and, there was nobody to play the ball up ahead to. Therefore, Malta couldn't get very far into the English half and they did not give themselves any breathers from the English attacks.

Malta played with one all-out centre forward, Alfred Effiong with Andre Schembri supposedly playing behind him. Many teams, knowing they are going to be in a defensive battle, have used this tactic successfully. Get the ball through the midfield quickly, up to the man up front who will hold the ball up until the deeper lying attacking midfielder and wide players joined him. Then he could lay the ball off to them and look to create a goalscoring opportunity. The latter may not happen very often, but at the very least it takes some pressure of the defenders.

Malta never did this and this is why my excitement at watching them play at Wembley turned to anger and frustration. Maybe it was the occasion that got to them but once they got anywhere near the halfway line, Malta's players could not keep possession. I cannot put this down to simple lack of skill or pressure from England. Could it be the mindset of the players, going back to my argument of coach-inspired belief no matter who the opponent is?

Malta are always playing teams way better than them. I have watched them take some of those teams on, Italy being the most recent, with a lot more drive and adventurous spirit than they showed today.
The records will show that Malta lost 5-0 against England in 1971 and 2-0 in 2016. So there was progress, the critics will say. But what progress, really? I hope I am not the only Malta supporter who watched that today and was fed up of another ultra defensive display. There are more positive ways to play while still being wary of the stronger opponent.

Call me negative, unrealistic unpatriotic, whatever."Come on, Aidan, 2-0 at Wembley. We expected to lose by at least 5." I can take it. I can also hope that there will be improvement. If anybody criticises me for being so down on the team, I also hope that they don't carry on being comfortable with "only losing 2-0." With that attitude, with those low expectations, we will never get beyond being the bottom team in every World Cup or European Championship qualifying group.

If I met any of the players I would congratulate them on a well-disciplined performance. In the second half I admired how well they played at limiting England. To keep it up for 90 minutes took a huge effort. There is progress. Now we just need to move it forward, literally, a little bit. Let's hope that starts against Lithuania on Tuesday.

I loved hearing the Maltese supporters throughout the match today. They never stopped supporting the team. For every Maltese fan there it must have been a day to remember.

Latvia, Pahars and Malta

Day -615. WorldCup2018

Latvia had a bad day today. They lost their World Cup qualifier 2-0 at home to the Faroe Islands. Nobody loses against the Faroe Islands (except for Austria who the Faroes beat in their first ever competitive match in 1990). And it was a double whammy for Latvia. Their Under 21 team lost against Malta. Nobody loses against Malta. Yes, it is technically not true as this was Malta's second win against Latvia in this round of U21 European Championship qualifying. So maybe I should rephrase that as, Latvia lose to Malta.

In 2004 Latvia were probably the biggest surprise qualifiers ever for the European Championships . Southampton's Marians Pahars was their Marco Van Basten, their Paolo Rossi, the goal scorer who had made a name for himself in England. Sadly, injury prevented him from being at his best at the Finals but Latvia's presence with the big boys was an achievement. They haven't quite been anywhere near as good since. Pahars is now the manager, and the nation must be hoping that he rediscovers his magical touch. A loss to the Faroe Islands is not a good thing to have on your resume, coupled with the knowledge that your next generation of players are losing to Malta.

A bad day for Latvia but a good day for Malta's young players who's 8 points in qualifying is their highest total ever. Tomorrow the senior team go for the mother of all upsets....a draw with England at Wembley. Malta's Italian manager, Pietro Ghedin, gave a very thorough assessment of England in a pre-match interview: "They run a lot, they are very cunning...." Sure, cunning, there's a good word for them. Ghedin also spoke about how he will miss seeing one of his favourite players, Adam Lallana who is out injured for England. "I love him because he is a cunning player...." He also had wonderful things to say about the 67-day England manager, Sam Allardyce, "He is a nice man".

Adding to the excitement in the build up to the match is the news that Malta's England-born goalkeeper, Andrew Hogg, is going to have many members of his English family watching him at Wembley but they have all been instructed to support Malta. And Malta's Messi (doesn't every country have one?), Michael Mifsud is looking forward to an upset. Mifsud, if you have been living under a rock where no Aidan Mifsud World Cup posts are read, scored two spectacular goals for Coventry City against Manchester United at Old Trafford oh so (too) many years ago. Now he is 35, and after a career that kind of went into, some may opine, a greed fueled nosedive after his Coventry exploits, is undoubtedly cherishing the prospect of Wembley glory. He's at the perfect age to join Major League Soccer so he may also be hoping for a couple of scouts from Houston Dynamo or Real Salt Lake to be in attendance.

Another Maltese player, Andre Schembri, who has had steady success playing overseas was interviewed by the Scottish Mail newspaper and spoke about how Andrea Pirlo, the Italian midfield genius, said that Schembri was his toughest opponent ever. Pirlo wrote about Schembri's tight marking in his autobiography. Pirlo said Schembri stuck so close to him that he remarked that he thought Schembri wanted to marry him. To which Schembri replies in his interview, "I got married during the summer, so I'm taken!" A bit of British humour there for you because we're good at that, don't you know.

One and all don't say you weren't warned. Noon, Toronto time, tomorrow tune in for some Mifsud magic (mine and Michael's). I'm going to be a little more realistic in my expectations for the Ghedin's Red and White Army than I was for the Scotland match but I do hope that Gareth Southgate leaves that pitch with boos ringing in his ears.

"Winston Churchill, Bradley Wiggins, Steve Redgrave, Andy Murray (oops, wrong country).....Teresa May we have given your boys one helluva Maltese stuffing!"