Friday Ramble: Around the Country and Back Again
On the road for the Arnold Clark Cup, Wednesday morning twists and answering your questions.
Today’s ‘Ramble’ does not come to you from my living room sofa. At the minute I’m on a train home from Milton Keynes, or I think I am given strong winds and Storm Otto seem to have shut down half the north of England, so we’ll see where I end up by the end of this piece!
It’s been a busy 24 hours, travelling back and forth to MK for the opening Arnold Clark Cup games. Double gamedays are long and tiring, I arrived at the stadium:mk just after 2pm and left around 11:30pm, but felt compelled to take in Italy vs Belgium given I was there, albeit only watched the first half from the press box before returning to the confides of the media room for the second half to crack on with England bits.
I would have gone to the infamous Mixed Zone - a usually busy and tight area somewhere in a stadium’s back and beyond - to speak to players post-match, which usually means at least an hour’s wait after the game. At the World Cup in 2019, FIFA trialled a different method which saw players come through said zone immediately after the game, before they’d even been to the dressing room. It did mean instant reaction quotes, but also meant missing the final five minutes of the match, which wasn’t ideal for USA vs England in Lyon given the late drama, writing from a corridor floor trying to watch on a shuffled in TV, nor was it ideal when England players came through in floods of tears, thrust in front of the assembled world’s media without having a second to digest what had just happened.
Anyway, given that system was back in play last night, it looks like nation’s are warming up for FIFA going down that route again this summer…joy, so I stuck to the press conferences to speak to Sarina and Korea Republic’s English head coach, Colin Bell.
It’s been an interesting week, surprises pop up at any point in football writing, and just as Wiegman said last night you can’t plan for everything that will happen in a game, I can’t plan for what an ordinary day will look like. Monday for example started with a surprise WhatsApp from Luis Cortes, who I interviewed a few weeks ago at length for an upcoming ‘Big Interview’, telling about his new coaching camps he’s set up.
Wednesday was the all-time classic of how a day can pivot so badly. I was actually planning a day off having been out all day Monday and Tuesday, but woke up to a story about Emma Hayes discussing the WSL becoming a closed shop, and I felt passionate about writing a piece about it, both the pros and cons.
Then when that settled down, the news broke Ella Toone’s suspension had been overturned, and a few hours that Eveliina Summanen would be charged instead. Chaos, carnage etc etc, no day off.
I got up early this morning to write my analysis of the match and then onto a Zoom call with AS Roma head coach Alessandro Spugna for an exclusive for WFC. He’s a fascinating coach and right now one of the best in Europe, but quite an unknown for most I imagine, so keep an eye out for that one…
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Answering your Questions
Ben Cheney - Any news on Mary Earps, Alessia Russo or Ona Batlle new contracts please
Nothing major. This is quite a boring answer but conversations roll on and if they sign new contracts, they’ll announce. If they don’t, they’ll be gone. Mary though does have an option on the club’s side, but they are all in discussions, but I think a lot of it is pretty up in the air depending on where United finish this season.
My Name Goes Here - Given how close the WC final is to when the domestic leagues usually begin, should the FA (and other European leagues) be thinking about pushing back the starts of next season? It can't be good for the players.
If UEFA keep to their calendar UWCL qualifying will actually begin during the WC. If that happens whichever English teams are taking part will struggle to put out a full team....
I think they have to really, but we haven’t had confirmed dates yet. There has to be at least somewhat of a break so I think the domestic leagues will probably fire up in late September, maybe they could start the Championship a bit earlier to let it have its own bit of spotlight given very few teams will be affected by the World Cup.
With UEFA, it’s a bit more tricky given how strict the Champions League schedule is and we saw that last year with Manchester City playing Real Madrid less than two weeks after the Euro 2022 final, so it will be interesting to see how that is managed.
Adam Bateman - You know it has to be asked.......Ella Tooney situation, you on the side of cheaters prospering or not? So should the Spurs convicted cheater serve a long ban as her punishment??
Also in terms of the international game, and with the World Cup on mind, who do you think is the most likely team from the play-offs to fill our World Cup group??
I’ve had many arguments about the Toone/Summanen situation this week. Personally, by law, they’ve done the right thing. Law 12 states a strike to the head or face, which this wasn’t, and the referee was fooled into showing a red card because Summanen held her face, which goes under deceiving a match official, though a two-match ban feels a bit heavy.
My main issue is a lack of flexibility in the rules. The review panel can look at these incidents, yet can’t look at an incident to upgrade a decision if a referee is seen to have dealt with it, i.e. Williamson on Hemp last week. I also think there should be the ability to downgrade to just a yellow because I think if Summanen hadn’t have overreacted that’s what would have happened in the moment.
On the World Cup, I’m intrigued. I think Haiti will beat Senegal, they have a huge amount of talent. Chile are more experienced, have a top class goalkeeper, but they did take a beating off Argentina this morning. I would like it to be Haiti, I think it would be a great story, the nation is struggling badly right now and I think we’d all also like to see Melchie Dumornay at a World Cup, and I think based off the CONCACAF Championship last year they will cause teams real issues.
Kathleen - My dumb American might be showing with this question—but why do the English women change jersey numbers so often? It seems like every other name, the numbers switch all around. I can’t figure out the reasoning. Thanks!
European teams tend to not set numbers for friendlies, so it will just be 1-11, largely depending on where you are on the pitch, though for mini tournaments like this they will wear the same numbers throughout the three games, as they would at a World Cup. There’s nothing much more to it than that really.
Other Bits
Just another podcast for you to listen to. I went back on the 3Lions Podcast to preview the Arnold Clark Cup, so the link is HERE if you want to have a listen.
What you missed
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The Big Interview: Eileen Campbell
Analysis: England 4-0 Korea Republic
Looking Ahead
Another busy week coming up as I’ll be in Coventry on Sunday and Bristol on Wednesday for the final two rounds of the Arnold Clark Cup. I’ve got some really interesting features and interviews coming up over the next month or so, this site is all about pushing the boundaries and telling new stories.
We’ll be publishing exclusives as mentioned with Cortes and Spugna, plus Wales head coach Gemma Grainger. There’s also big features coming up on some of the most interesting clubs/national teams in the world. Serbia will be up soon, which is a fantastic story and they were brilliant in allowing me so much access to their programme. Keep an eye out…
I thank you for the reply, for me a 2 game ban for the Spurs player, is her getting off very lightly, she should be banned for the rest of the season, we should be looking to set an example here, cheating as that is what it is, shouldn't be allowed to get a foothold in the game.
Cheats should be punished very harshly, we need that deterrent in the game.
Cheating to get a fellow professional sent off is just the lowest of the low, it just shows that as a player you know that you can't beat that team fairly, you are not as good as that player, so you have to resort to cheating.
It is a stain on the game in general, pure and simple.