WLKRAS

The following week saw a marked uptake in enthusiasm from the players. It even filtered down to the U18’s who hit six past Harrogate in a 6-2 victory with Max Storey scoring one and setting up two in a man-of-the-match performance. Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good. The added enthusiasm backfired for Mani Dieseruvwe who suffered a bruised ankle after a robust challenge by Kieran Wallace in training. There were some remarks about Mani not being a ten-pin, but it was no major harm. Mani would miss a couple of days at most, but should still be fit for the game against Woking at the weekend. Pruti played 85 minutes for Albania’s U21’s as they beat Belarus’ U21’s by three goals to nil, another solid performance from the young lad. I had another run-in with Monks too, the Director of Football had hired yet another under-18’s coach, presumably with Singh’s blessing this time and then demanded I hold a recruitment meeting to eye up any players we could bring in on a free. When I pointed out that we were still under a transfer embargo and couldn’t actually sign anyone, he sighed and called me a difficult ‘blocker’, whatever the hell that meant. I ignored him and concentrated on preparing for the match against 7th-placed Woking. It would be a tough game, although I was quietly confident for two reasons. Firstly our increased morale and determination that we’d shown all week through training, but secondly and perhaps more important was Woking's style of play. They liked to lump long balls forward in full old-school ‘kick-and-rush’. If we could get the ball down and play, we’d be able to run them ragged fairly quickly. That said, they had some resilience about them, with the report noting that they’d come back to draw 2-2 in their previous game against Solihull despite being under the cosh for most of the match. I spent about fifteen, twenty minutes going over the various findings that Eric Avins had prepared until I felt suitably prepared for the game ahead. I closed the folder with a sigh and looked up. The date on my calendar caught my eye and I let out a weary sigh. It was the fourteenth of September. I checked my watch and let out another sigh. There was no way I was going to get to Bolton before sundown when the cemetery would close. I’d have to owe the old man a visit another time. It’s not like I hadn’t missed a few of his birthdays over the last few years. With good reason I suppose, but I’m sure he wouldn’t see it that way.

England Qualify for Nations League Semis Slovenia 0 - 1 England Rashford 19’ (pen) 0-1 Pavel s/o 77’ A 1-0 victory in Ljubljana was enough for England to qualify for the Nations League semi-final and set up a meeting with Portugal next year. While England displayed their dominance with 22 shots against 2 for Slovenia, they were generally wasteful and Chris de Bruijn will be looking for more from his players when the crunch games come around. On a cold Monday evening, with rain falling, England dominated possession and chances but failed to make the most of their statistical dominance. Only a penalty could break England’s deadlock after VAR agreed with referee Fesnik Muca that Phil Foden had been pushed by Svit Seslar, preventing him from making contact with Alexander-Arnold’s corner. Marcus Rashford stepped up and slotted home, sending Jan Oblak the wrong way. One bright spark for England in a rotated starting XI was Samuel Iling’s return to the first time since the World Cup. The Juventus winger was in fine form and made it a tough night for Slovenian defender Robert Pavel. Pavel was giving his marching orders after a second bookable offence, both against Iling, with thirteen minutes to go, but by then Slovenia had given up on chasing the game and were content to hold off England. Portugal Awaits and Goalkeeper dilemma With the results finalised, it soon became clear that Portugal will be England’s next opponent. The Portuguese qualified in similar style to England with 5 wins and 1 loss in a group with Croatia, Serbia and Georgia. Portugal are also under relatively new management with Abel Ferreria having taken over from the sacked Andre Villas-Boas after the World Cup in the summer. The other semi-final will be contested between Denmark and two-time winners Spain De Bruijn still has not settled on a first-choice goalkeeper, giving a debut to Aston Villa’s Patriac Bean after earlier appearances for Man City’s Spike Brits and Brighton’s Ste Wilson. It does show the lack of first-choice English Goalkeeper currently on show in the Premier League with only Bean and Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale, who is retired from international duty. Both Spike Brits and Ste Wilson are back-ups for their clubs and while Brits has started the majority of the games, his lack of match practice is a concern for England. What they said England manager Chris de Bruijn: “A win is a win at the end of the day and we’re through to the semis. I think we played well enough, maybe lacked a little bit of that cutting edge, but if we’d scored two or three, everyone would be hailing it as an excellent result, so I’m not concerned. If we play like that we’re going to win more games than we lose. Portugal will be a tough match-up, but we’ll be ready for them. It’ll be an interesting clash for sure. But we’ve got European Qualifiers to concern ourselves with first and we’ll take it one game at a time as always” Returning Samuel Iling: “It felt good to be back and play well. It’s been tough missing out and seeing the guys play well, but I’ve got my head down and worked hard and I’m delighted to be back . It’s a bit of a different role than for Juventus, but I’m determined to stay in the squad” England player ratings (4-2-3-1) Patriac Bean (Aston Villa) 7.3 Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) 7.3 Aaron Lee Brothwell (PSG) 6.5 <> 70 Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) 6.6 Callum Doyle (Napoli) 6.8 <> Levi Colwill (Chelsea) 6.9 Alex Harvey (Spurs) 7.3 Mason Mount 6.8 (Man Utd) <> 59 Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace) 6.9 Cameron Humphreys (Aston Villa) 6.7 Samuel Iling (Juventus) 7.3 Phil Foden (Man City) 6.6 <> 59 Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) 6.7 Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa) 6.6 <> Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (Dortmund) 6.6 Marcus Rashford (Man Utd) 7.1

Belgium get the better of de Bruijn’s England Belgium 3 - 2 England Rashford 27’ (Colwill) 0-1 Raskin 47’ (De Ketelaere) 1-1 Rashford 48’ (Roberts) 1-2 Doku 51’ (Burlet) 2-2 Doku 57’ (De Ketelaere) 3-2 Liverpool’s Jeremy Doku and Chelsea’s Charles de Ketelaere were England’s tormentors in Brussels on Friday as the home side twice came back from behind to beat England. Marcus Rashford had given England a first-half lead just under half an hour into the match when a Mount corner was cleared to him on the edge of the area and he lashed it home, hitting Nioclas Raskin along the way to wrong-foot Vandervoort in the Belgium goal. That was the second time Rashford has the ball in the net, but his earlier effort had been ruled out for a push on Lavia. At the other end, De Ketelaere had scored, but only after straying in an offside position. England managed to hold on to their lead until the break, despite Belgian pressure, but Nicolas Raskin levelled from a De Ketelaere whipped cross straight after the break. Rashford almost immediately reestablished England’s lead, this time assisted by Spurs’ Phil Roberts, playing on the right wing rather than up front, in almost a carbon copy from Belgium’s equaliser. But again it was a short-lived lead and Belgium’s stars continued to create havoc in amongst the England defence. De Ketelaere had an effort saved before Vincent Burlet set up Doku’s flick for the equaliser just six minutes into the second half. And it was Doku and De Ketelaere who combined for the eventual winner six minutes later when the latter headed a long pass on for Doku to run onto and apply a simple finish. In reality, it could’ve been worse for England as Lois Openda and Burlet missed good opportunities to extend their lead, but Spike Brits in the England goal prevented further damage for the visitors. Despite dominating possession, England only managed three shots on target all game, with Rashford’s goals accounting for two of those and the other coming from substitute Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. It’s England’s first loss under new manager Chris de Bruijn and while there’s no need for panic stations just yet, the manner of victory will sent some alarm bells ringing back at Wembley. Rice breaks Kane’s appearance record It was supposed to have been a happy occasion for England, with Captain Declan Rice making his 133rd England appearance and surpassing Harry Kane as England’s most-capped player. Instead, Rice had a fairly quiet game, attempting just 42 passes and getting booked for a clumsy challenge on Raskin before being withdrawn on 58 minutes for Conor Gallagher. That booking means Rice will have to wait until the New Year for his 134th cap as he will be suspended for the match against Slovenia, having also been booked against Sweden back in October. Having made his England debut against the Czech Republic in 2019, Rice scored his first England goal a year later against Iceland. He was part of the team that lifted the European Championship against France in 2024 and the World Cup against Mexico in 2026, taking over as England captain from Harry Kane after that tournament. As captain, Rice led England to winning the Nations League in 2029 and now hopes to add to his England silverware with another European Championship Trophy in two years. What they said England manager Chris de Bruijn: “Disappointing, obviously. We didn’t play as well as we could and while we had the most of the ball, we didn’t make good use of it. That’s something that we’ll have to work on for the Slovenia game. All credit to Belgium, they made life hard for us, but we didn’t help ourselves either. It’s a great achievement for Declan, but I imagine he’ll find it a bit soured by the yellow card and not playing at his best. But I’m sure we’ll give him a nice presentation next week at Wembley even if he isn’t playing. And hopefully, he has plenty of games to come.” Record breaker Declan Rice: “Not entirely happy to be honest. Fair play to Belgium, they were more clinical, but it kinda puts a sour taste in your mouth about breaking Harry’s record. I’d have preferred to do it with a win.” England player ratings (4-2-3-1) Spike Brits (Man City) 6.2 Rico Lewis (Man City) 6.7 Alfie Dorrington (Spurs) 7.1 Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) 7.0 Levi Colwill (Chelsea) 7.4 <> 65. Alex Harvey (Spurs) 6.8 Declan Rice © (Arsenal) 6.8 <> 58. Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace) 6.7 Mason Mount (Man Utd) 6.7 <> 65. Cameron Humphreys (Aston Villa) 7.0 Phil Roberts (Spurs) 7.4 Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) 6.5 <> Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa) 6.8 Phil Foden (Man City) 6.5 <> 58. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (Dortmund) 6.4 Marcus Rashford (Man City) 7.9

I arrived just after nine, having walked down the seafront to Seaton Carew and its bowling alley named Larry’s Lanes. Seaton proclaims to be its own place, but in reality, it is a ward of Hartlepool, tacked onto the side and built mostly on the old landfill. That and the fact that it’s the closest residential area near Hartlepool’s nuclear power plant leads to non-residents joking that people from Seaton glow in the dark. Of course, Seaton was also famous for Canoe Man John Darwin, who faked his own death in 2002 and later turned up alive and well in Panama. But so much for local history, I was here to do some team building. Most of the team had already arrived before me, although they hadn’t quite started their games. Our group had occupied most of the lanes and despite being known across the town, the other patrons left us alone, which was nice. Once everyone arrived, I gathered them all together and addressed them. “Welcome everyone. Mark thought it would be a good idea for us to get together and blow off some steam and we agreed that this would be a nice way to get together. There will be no training tomorrow morning, so feel free to enjoy yourself, but keep it responsible. I don’t have to remind you that we’re still, all of us, representing the club. But have some fun. I’m not sure how many games Feathers has arranged for us, but we’ll tally all the scores across the night and the winner will get some sort of price, yet to be determined, courtesy of Mark and myself. But yeah, enjoy yourselves, have a good time and may the best man win” There were a few mocked hoots and cheers, but nothing more than a bit of banter as groups bundled together in their lanes. Feathers and Goodlad had worked out the various groups, ensuring there was a proper mix of the whole squad and not just the groups that had started to form within it. I found myself paired in a group with Josh Umerah, Kieran Wallace, loanee Charlie Seaman, Brody Paterson and physio Dan O’Connor. We were an eclectic bunch as far as bowling ability went. Umerah looked like he was lobbing hand grenades, Seaman almost fell over a few times on the slippery floor, but Wallace seemed to be a regular. His skill far exceeded that of the rest of us and he hit somewhere over 150 the first game and even higher the second, utterly destroying the rest of us. But most importantly, it was working. Everyone was in a jovial mood. I suppose it’s something I should’ve known myself. We were never the best players at Bolton, but our performances exceeded our abilities by the simple fact that we were a team. We’d run through walls or burning buildings for each other. It sounds corny, but knowing the guy next to you is going to run his arse off to fix any mistakes you might make makes you believe in yourself more. I’d lost track of that, between all the other stuff I had going on in my life. But Goodlad hadn’t missed it. Whether it would work or not remaining to be seen, but as the party eventually broke up, the team had bonded a little more and became a little bit more unified in its purpose.

Shocking

Late goals clinch four in a row for de Bruijn’s England England 4 - 2 Sweden Roberts 19’ (Bellingham) 1-0 Doyle 30’ (Rashford) 2-0 Svanberg 56’ (Holm) 2-1 Nygren 81’ (Zanden) 2-2 Humphreys 90+1’ 3-2 Gallagher 90+5’ (Humphreys) 4-2 A man-of-the-match performance by second-half substitute Cameron Humphreys led England to a 4-2 victory over Sweden at Wembley on Sunday evening. England were in control throughout the first half and goals from Thursday’s hattrick hero Phil Roberts and left back Callum Doyle had sent them into a comfortable 2-0 lead at half-time. But Sweden staged a second-half fight back and looked to have managed to claim a point when Nygren close-range finish levelled things with nine minutes left on the clock after Svanberg had cut the margin just after half-time with a twenty-yard thunderbolt. Up stepped Humphreys with a 91st-minute effort that took a slight deflection off Johan Kroon to sail past Viktor Johansson before setting up Conor Gallagher’s delightful dink with a lovely through ball in the dying seconds of injury time. England started brightly and the opening goal was a culmination of their dominance in the first twenty minutes. Saka’s long pass forward was nodded on by Bellingham and Roberts didn’t need to take a touch before lashing the ball into the far corner as they carved open Sweden’s defence. Ten minutes later Doyle doubled the margin after Zanden’s needless foul had brought down Saka. The Swede was given a yellow card for his trouble and Rashford lifted in the subsequent free-kick towards the back post where Doyle was unmarked and free to head home. Sweden’s subs change the game Having dominated the first half, England found themselves on the backfoot right from the outset of the second period. The experienced Mattias Svanberg, who had come on at the break for Jens Cajuste, led the fightback with a stunning goal. Newcastle’s Alexander Isak was a thorn in England’s side, keeping Guehi and substitute Pritchard occupied with his darting runs, even drawing a yellow card from the latter. It was another substitute, Paderborn’s Benjamin Nygren who levelled things for Sweden and looked to have stolen a point for the guests before Humphreys changed the game once more and sealed the points for Engand. What they said England manager Chris de Bruijn: “It wasn’t as easy as we’d have liked, but based on our first-half performance we definitely deserved the victory here. But perhaps we got a bit complacent, me included after that first half and we led Sweden back into the game. That can’t happen again and it’s something we’ll have to work on going forward into the November games.” Man of the Match Cameron Humphreys: “Delighted. I’m not usually one to be a match-winner, so it’s kinda special to get a goal and an assist to help the boys home. I know there was a bit of luck to it, but it feels great to score again for England, and at Wembley too” England player ratings (4-2-3-1) Spike Brits (Man City) 6.5 Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) 7.1 Aaron Lee Brothwell (PSG) 6.9 <> 48. Paul Pritchard (Man City) 6.9 Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) 7.3 Callum Doyle (Napoli) 7.2 Declan Rice © (Arsenal) 6.9 <> 48. Cameron Humphreys (Aston Villa) 7.9 Mason Mount (Man Utd) 7.0 <> 60. Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace) 7.2 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) 7.0 <> 63. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (Dortmund) 6.5 Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) 7.7 Marcus Rashford (Man City) 6.9 <> 48. Phil Foden (Man City) 6.7 Phil Roberts (Spurs) 7.1

Fortunately for me, there was only a few local reporters asking questions after the match. It did make me wonder what my ‘friends’ Abraham and Knight were up to, but that was for later concern. “A fair result, Chris?” asked a bespectacled reporter of about forty. “I think we were unlucky to concede the goal and should’ve done better with our finishing, but at the same time Jameson had a good game in goal for us, so I suppose on balance I can’t be too disappointed with a draw” I replied. “Not really any help to either side though, is it?” came the follow up from the same guy. “No, that’s also fair, both sides rather needed to win and neither did. I think for us, it’s clear that we’re not where we’re expected to be and we have to improve. But there are signs, some nice passages of plays some decent performances. Once it all comes together, I think we can move up the table” The locals seemed satisfied with that and went to quiz Jenkins. I took my leave and joined the rest of the squad on the bus to travel back towards the North. Not long after we departed, Goodlad appeared in the seat next to me. “I think we should skip training tomorrow, or at least only do a bare minimum recovery session and hold a team meeting instead” he announced in a quiet voice. “You think?” I was unsure about the idea. “I just feel like we’re closing to turning the corner, but a little morale-boosting could just be what we need to make it happen” he enthused. “Ok, but then we maybe should make it a bit more fun. Like, do a social thing that doesn’t get in the way of their normal stuff. Cancel Monday morning instead and arrange for something like bowling or laser gaming or something daft like that. I’d say do it tomorrow evening, but I don’t want to intrude on their family time. Family is important” I said the last part almost wistfully. “Tell you what, shall I ask around and let them decide what and when? Out of those two options?” Goodlad said. I nodded my assent and he scurried off to get people’s opinions. About thirty minutes later, he returned, face flushed, but satisfied. “Ok, so we’re all good with tomorrow night, 9 pm. That won’t cut into their family time too much for those with kids. Turns out Feathers is close with the guy who runs Larry’s Lanes at Seaton and managed to reserve us a bunch of lanes. He’s even agreed to keep the place open a little later for us if we were to stick around for a couple of drinks afterwards” “Sounds good. Thanks, Mark, good work”

9th of September, 2023 The RAW Charging Stadium, Oxford Oxford United (23rd) vs Hartlepool United (21st) I looked around the dressing room before the game. Faces were blank, jaws were set. The banter from the bus was gone as if the reality of playing and trying to win football matches had burst the bubble. They were back to being faced with the prospect of sitting in the relegation zone, even if the season was only a month old. “Look lads” I began. “I’m not going to pretend there’s any easy games in football. But we’re facing a team with problems similar to ours. So we have a chance to put some things right. Focus on the basics, do them right and we’ll get a result” The response was muted. In fairness, it wasn’t exactly a rousing speech, but I guess I was feeling the same apprehension as they were. That disappeared as soon as Oxford kicked the game off. It was a frantic start and a crunching tackle by Wallace sixty-three seconds into the game set the tone for the opening period. Referee Paul Marsden was happy to allow it and it was soon clear that no quarter would be given by either side when Humphrey-Ewers responded in kind a few minutes later. It wasn’t all robust tackles and crunching challenges though, a game of football broke out around it, mainly thanks to Chris Cooke, who was pulling the strings in midfield. He found the space to play in Ferguson bombing down the wing and the left back’s cross found Mani Dieseruvwe with a little bit of space in the centre. His header went wide, but it was a start. A minute later, Cooke was at it again, this time finding Codjovi on the same wing and his dinked cross also found Mani. This time the centre forward was on target but found Oxford goalkeeper Haigh in his way making a good save. It wasn’t all one-way traffic and Oxford again responded with thrusts of their own. Humphrey-Ewers hit the post with a close-range effort, but Lacey hacked it away before Williams-Bushnell could poke it home. “What is with their names all being double-barrelled” I pondered to Goodlad beside me as Jameson made a save from Humphrey-Ewers again after an Oxford corner. “Maybe it’s posh university students that stuck around after their courses” he offered. At the other end, Lacey headed over from a corner and the game continued to ebb and flow until the 35th minute. It was another corner that was the catalyst for the first goal. The kick itself was cleared, but out to the left wing where Codjovi picked it up and floated it back into the box. Haigh flapped at the cross, missing it completely and a grateful Mani Dieseruvwe connected with his head to thump it home for a Hartlepool lead. Three minutes later, a similar passage of play nearly led to our second, Codjovi this time cutting inside from the goal line and fizzing a low cross across the area. Haigh again missed it and Mani’s eyes lit up, but this time a defender was there to scramble it away before the striker could make contact. We were just coming up to halftime when Oxford won another corner. Again Williams-Bushnell stepped up to take it and swung it into the central area about seven yards out. Wallace jumped for it, but went underneath the ball and behind him, Johnson headed it downwards towards goal. Fortunately for us, Lacey was right on the line to deal with it and looked to have it covered. Except he didn’t. He swung his leg to clear it, seemed to scuff it onto the boot of his standing leg and into the net. It was the most bizarre goal I remember seeing in a lifetime of football, but it counted for Oxford all the same and they celebrated wildly. The celebrations almost left a mark because they weren’t fully switched on for the injury time of the half, but while Ferguson’s free-kick found Mani unmarked in the area, he had slightly mistimed his jump and was on the way up when he connected with his head, sending the ball skimming over the crossbar just before the half-time whistle blew. There was sympathy for Lacey in the dressing room from his fellow defenders, although substitute Nicky Featherstone was keen to point out that if Wallace had dealt with it, the whole thing would’ve been academical in the first place. I couldn't really argue with Nicky’s reasoning, but right now the lads didn’t need a rollicking. “That was desperately unlucky lads. Overall we’ve been pretty solid, maybe missing a slight bit of killer instinct in front of goal, but otherwise, it’s good. We’ve created chances, more than them, so keep doing the same thing. Don’t let these double-barreled posho’s beat you with another flukey goal” I don’t know if it was my words or whatever Jenkins had said in the Oxford half-time team talk, but the hosts bolted out of the blocks in the second forty-five. Jameson was called into action immediately after the resumption, diving down to his left so smartly save an effort from Johnson and again moments later, this time to his right to deny Humprey-Ewers. There was plenty more possession for the home team, but we managed to mostly keep them away from goal with a combination of hard work and solid positioning. Frustration built and just past the hour mark, I brought fresh legs in Seaman and Onariase to shore up the tiring defence. Featherstone also joined the fray for Crawford a few minutes later and Oxford too made the most of their substitutes. The game got scrappier with the changes in personnel, although Jameson again proved vital when denying Williams-Bushnell on seventy minutes. I urged the team forward, hoping to snatch a late winner. Codjovi obviously heard my pleadings and nipped past his man on the left wing before swinging in a smart cross for the head of Mani Dieseruvwe, who was completely unmarked. The forward rose majestically to meet it with a header… … and sent it careering wide towards the corner flag when it would’ve been easier to hit the target. He fell down to earth in a heap and the whole bench beside me let out a groan. The resulting goalkick was heaved up field and another Williams-Bushnell shot from distance was smothered comfortably by Jameson. As the clock ticked past ninety minutes, Charlie Seaman made a desperate surge forward from right back before swinging in an early cross. Again he found Dieseruvwe unmarked in the centre. And again the big forward was unable to hit the target. Perhaps convinced that we weren’t going to get there referee Marsden called an end to proceedings with that, leaving us both lamenting our luck and our finishing, despite a decent performance away from home. Final Score Oxford United 1 (Johnson 44) Hartlepool United 1 (Dieseruvwe 35) Attd: 784

England’s Indomitable Three Lions hit seven past Slovenia England 7 - 1 Slovenia Roberts 18’ (Humphreys) 1-0 Ali 19’ (Roberts) 2-0 Roberts 25’ (Ali) 3-0 Foden 30’ (pen) 4-0 Colwill 32’ (Humphreys) 5-0 Sesko 42’ (Balkovec) 5-1 Roberts 64’ 6-1 Bellingham 77’ (Ali) 7-1 A new-look England side was in imperious form on Tuesday as they hit seven goals past Slovenia. Twenty-one-year-old Spurs striker Phil Roberts hit a hattrick and had two more goals disallowed as England ran riot in front of a capacity crowd at Wembley Stadium. Despite benching front-line regulars Rashford, Saka and Bellingham, England’s new-look side utterly dominated Slovenia from start to finish, registering a total of twenty-three shots, fourteen of those on target, against the guests three (one on target). Roberts had the ball in the net after just two minutes, only to see his effort ruled out by VAR, but the Spurs striker wasn’t to be denied and thumped home Humphrey’s corner on eighteen minutes. The game had barely restarted when England regained possession in midfield and executed a scything counter-attack to allow Ali to score a second for England. Another Roberts’ header made it three and Foden’s spot-kick made it four-nil to England on the half-hour mark. Two minutes later, it was another header from a corner kick to make it five to England. Sesko grabbed one back for Slovenia just before the break, but it mattered little. Despite England making a number of changes and taking their foot off the gas, Roberts completed his hattrick just after the hour, after Oblak could only palm Ali’s effort from wide into his path. Substitute Jude Bellingham completed the rout with a close-range finish thirteen minutes from the end. Youngsters show the future is bright With their regular front-line rested, England were hoping for a performance from their youngsters and they delivered with aplomb. Abdikani Ali was in lethal form on the right wing, regularly dribbling past the hapless Jure Balkovec, who was unable to deal with the City star’s pace. Roberts kept up his impressive England scoring rate, moving to sixteen goals from nineteen appearances with his hattrick. He may well have ended Petar Stojanovic’s international career as the centre-back trudged off after the Spurs striker completed his hattrick, having been unable to lay a glove on him. At the other end, twenty-one-year-old Ste Wilson gained only his second cap after returning from injury while there was also a first cap for Newcastle’s Tino Liveramento, a somewhat controversial inclusion into the squad over Rico Lewis who was still on the comeback trail. It goes to show there’s plenty of depth to the England team and the FA must feel suitably vindicated in their decision to appoint de Bruijn with elven goals from his first three games in charge. What they said England manager Chris de Bruijn: “I can only be delighted with that performance. We tried to rotate to give some of the older lads a break and the players who came in did extraordinarily well. It’s definitely given me a selection headache going forward, but that can only be a good thing. Phil did superbly and he just seems to come alive in an England shirt. Long may that continue” Hattrick hero Phil Roberts: “I’ve got a brace a few times for England, but to score my first hattrick is unbelievable. We were so good today, I don’t think anyone could’ve stopped us. It’s an unbelievable feeling when we’re playing like this and I can’t wait to put on that England jersey again” England player ratings (4-2-3-1) Ste Wilson (Brighton) 6.9 Tino Livramento (Newcastle) 7.3 Paul Pritchard (Man City) 6.8 <> 59. Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) 6.8 Levi Colwill © (Chelsea) 7.5 <> 59. Aaron Lee Brothwell (PSG) 6.7 Callum Doyle (Napoli) 6.9 <> 64. Alex Harvey (Spurs) 6.8 Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace) 7.2 Cameron Humphreys (Aston Villa) 8.3 <> 64. Declan Rice (Arsenal) 6.9 Abdikani Ali (Man City) 9.1 Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa) 7.6 <> 59. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) 7.9 Phil Foden (Man City) 7.0 Phil Roberts (Spurs) 9.9

It had been a strange week, I reflected to myself as our coach drove down the motorway towards Oxford for our clash with the local United later that Saturday. Oxford were struggling just like we were and languished in 23rd in the league. They liked to play down the wings, but they struggled with not having the players to really do it effectively. I did wonder why my opposite number Ross Jenkins didn’t make a change to the system, but then again, I hadn’t really changed mine despite our struggles. There were some minor adjustments for today, however. Despite not training well, Mani Dieseruvwe returned to the starting XI as our number 9. Hastie and Codjovi joined him on the wings, with Mancini in his usual role at number 10. Crawford and Cooke started in midfield, in front of a back four consisting of Hendrie, Lacey, Wallace and Ferguson. Jameson retained his spot in goal over Dixon. For once there was some positive news too. Edon Pruti had played the full ninety minutes for Albania’s U21’s against Turkey in a 1-1 draw. And I’d just got off the phone with newly minted Liberia international striker Wreh who also played the full match. He was thankful for the call, but at the same time gutted about the result, a five-one loss in a friendly to Cape Verde. I did my best to cheer him up again, but it was not easy and I could fully empathise. I was never one to take well to losing matches in my playing days. It usually casts a cloud over my entire weekend. Still did, in fairness. But in any case, Wreh appreciated the call and we looked forward to seeing him back with us soon. The press briefing the evening before our departure had been a rather quiet affair, with only Alice Newman from the Northern Echo and Dylan Bosworth from BBC Tees present. Jordan Knight and Robbie Abrahams were both conspicuous by their absence and even the Hartlepool Mail hadn’t bothered to send someone this time. The questions I did get asked were all rather mundane, which made a nice change for once and it was all done and dusted rather promptly, leaving me to enjoy a quiet night before an early start. The mood among the squad was good, despite our struggles. Not sure if it was the warm weather or what, but there was plenty of chatter and banter on the bus and not many headphones or other electronic devices. Which was a nice change and something physio Danny O’Conner seemed to have noticed too. “They seem happy today” “Let’s hope we get a result that will send us back home in the same style” I mused.

Thanks guys, glad to have you along. Brutal lesson in efficiency as England see off Sweden Sweden 1 - 3 England Rashford 7’ (Pritchard) 0-1 Rashford 13’ (pen) 0-2 Lagerbielke 48’ (Ayari) 1-2 Bynoe-Gittens 64’ (Ramsey 1-3) An explosive England start was enough to beat Sweden in Sunday night’s Nations League match in Stockholm as Marcus Rashford netted twice in the opening thirteen minutes to shell-shock the Swedes. Seven minutes into the game, Paul Pritchard’s head connected with Saka’s free-kick from the right wing and Rashford was there to turn the ball into the net as it came back across goal through the six-yard box. Five minutes later, referee Dutch referee Harm Osmers was pointing to the spot and brandishing a yellow card at Swedish right-back Emil Holm. Holm had been adjudged to have been too harsh on his tackle on Rashford and duly been called for a foul. Rashford immediately grabbed the ball, putting Thursday’s miss against Belgium behind him and audaciously “Panenka’d” the ball down the middle. It was the ultimate comeback against criticism from several sources in the media on Friday after his miss against Belgium. It was almost a perfect night for Rashford as he had the ball in the net again straight after the half-time kickoff, but his run was adjudged offside and the goal was disallowed. Unlike Thursday against Belgium, England weren’t completely dominant and Sweden had the majority of the shots, both on and off target, but failed to create major clear-cut chances and were mostly limited to efforts from distance. One of those did find the net, moments after Rashford’s disallowed effort, when Celtic’s Gustaf Lagerbielke lashed home a shot from outside the box. Pundits called out Spike Brits, suggesting he could perhaps have done better in his attempts to keep it out, but England Manager Chris de Bruijn refused to criticise the keeper after the game. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens secured the win for England with a superb low finish across goal just after the hour mark, marking his first England senior goal. He was assisted by debutant Jacob Ramsey, on as a second-half substitute for Jude Bellingham New blood makes its mark De Bruijn’s club side has already got a reputation for bringing on new players and it’s clear that his England team is going the same way. With Rice, Mount, Foden and Rashford all past thirty, there’s a need for new blood for England and de Bruijn is keen to expand England’s horizons. Jacob Ramsey may be twenty-nine, but he made an impact as a second-half substitute setting up a goal for another recent introducee in Bynoe-Gittens. It’s a tricky line to tread with so many Premier League players now hailing from abroad, but de Bruijn is keen to ensure that the team is suitably prepared for an assault on the 2034 World Cup. At the same time, there’s a clear indication that de Bruijn is not just going to treat the Nation’s League as a glorified friendly competition and is keen to ensure his team win as many games as possible. What They Said England’s Jamie Bynoe-Gittens: “I’m absolutely delighted to have scored my first England goal on my first start. I’d like to thank the manager for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this team and I hope to go from strength to strength within the team as we go forward.” England Manager Chris de Bruijn: “It was a great start, Marcus has a great game and was perhaps unlucky not to get a hattrick. I think overall it was a very efficient performance, we shut them out and restricted them to a lot of long-range effort and by the same token made the most of the chances we created. It’s still a long way to go, but I’m encouraged by the start we’ve made so far” England player ratings (4-2-3-1) Spike Brits (Man City) 6.9 Aaron Lee Brothwell (PSG) 6.9 Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) 6.9 Paul Pritchard (Man City) 6.8 Alex Harvey (Spurs) 6.8 <> 61. Callum Doyle (Napoli) 6.9 Declan Rice © (Arsenal) 6.6 <> 61. Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace) 6.8 Mason Mount (Man Utd) 6.8 <> 46. Cameron Humphreys (Aston Villa) 7.1 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) 6.7 <> 54. Abdikani Ali (Man City) 6.7 Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) 7.0 <> 54. Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa) 7.3 Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (Dortmund) 7.3 Marcus Rashford (Man Utd) 8.0

Thanks Mark, glad to have you following along. Bellingham makes the difference as de Bruijn-reign off to a winning start England 1 - 0 Belgium Bellingham 44’ (Saka) 1-0 A capacity crowd at Wembley saw in the Chris de Bruijn era with a narrow 1-0 win over Belgium last night as the Europa Nations League kicked off. Although it was only 1-0, the new manager will have been delighted with how it was achieved. Holders England were dominant from start to finish, controlling the game and creating chance after chance without letting their opponents have much of a sniff. Marcus Rashford had an early goal ruled out by VAR after Phil Foden strayed narrowly offside, but his movement was a constant threat for the Belgians. A Monamay handball after an England corner led to a penalty, but Rashford fired the resulting spot kick straight at Vandervoort in the Belgian goal. Luckily for Rashford, his miss was short-lived. The subsequent passage of play saw Vandervoort‘s long ball forward won in the air by Captain Declan Rice. His header forward landed at the feet of Saka. Saka played it into Bellingham and the Real Madrid midfielder set up on a surging run forward, darting past two Belgian defenders before finishing with a stunning low strike on the verge of halftime to give England the lead. England’s front four, Rashford, Foden, Saka, and Bellingham, were a constant threat and made the most of their over 400 combined caps worth of experience to wrong-foot the youthful Belgian defenders. ‘Brits’ of an insight into the future Manchester City back-up goalkeeper Jordan Brits won his first cap in goal and gave a solid performance, although he was only called into action once to save from Lavia. A lot of the talk beforehand had focussed on England’s dearth in the goalkeeping department with the retirement of Aaron Ramsdale, but Brits did well enough when called upon, although de Bruijn admitted he has not settled on a first choice yet. Aymar Kasongo and Ste Wilson are also in the squad and it is thought that the latter may have the best chances at the number one spot, having missed last night’s game as he is still recovering from an injury. Jame Bynoe-Glittens was the other debutant on the night, replacing Foden in the second half and the Borussia Dortmund winger showed some spark during his cameo. There were also appearances for Galagher, Pritchard and Phil Roberts off the bench. Bowers also appeared but had to depart the field of play with an injury, which ruled him out of the remainder of the games. De Bruijn has already announced he is calling up Aston Villa’s uncapped Jacob Ramsey as his replacement in the squad. What They Said England Manager Chris de Bruijn: “I think it was a good performance. We could’ve maybe grabbed another goal or two, but overall, you have to be content getting off to a winning start today and we did that against a good team. If we play like that we’re going to win plenty of games. Keeping the ball well and ending up with 69% of possession in a competitive game is especially something we can be proud of. And Jude (Bellingham) scored a top goal of course. Jordan (Brits) had a steady debut, Jamie (Bynoe-Glittens) did well too. We have to bring these youngsters into the fold now so we can have them ready in two years, so I expect we’ll see plenty more of them” England Captain Declan Rice: “It’s been great getting together. There’s always a bit of apprehension with a new manager, but Chris has come in and got us pointing in the same direction straight away and I think that showed today. He’s very forthright in what he wants from us, but he listens to us too and I think that’s very important as a National Team manager. I’m looking forward to the Sweden game already” England Match Ratings (4-2-3-1) Spike Brits (Man City) 7.3 Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) 6.9 Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) 7.2 Levi Colwill (Chelsea) 7.1 <> 64. Paul Pritchard (Man City) 6.9 Alex Harvey (Spurs) 7.0 Declan Rice © (Arsenal) 6.7 <> 60. Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace) 6.8 Mason Mount (Man Utd) 7.0 Buyako Saka (Arsenal) 7.5 <> 67. Phil Roberts (Spurs) 6.7 Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) 8.7 <> 67. David Bowers (Southampton) 6.9 (inj 86) Phil Foden (Man City) 6.2 <> 60. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (Dortmund) 6.6 Marcus Rashford (Man Utd) 6.3

Author's Notes: FM24, large DB, running leagues from England, Holland, Italy, Spain, Germany and France. This has been my long-term save since I got the game and wasn't intended to be a story save, but when the England job came up, it kinda felt right to write about it. A profile of England’s new coach - Who the hell is this guy? That was perhaps the understandable sentiment for most England fans when dual national Chris de Bruijn was appointed as the successor to Jose Mourinho as England coach after the Portuguese resignation following their 4-1 loss to France in the 2030 World Cup Quarter Final. As Turkey stunned the world by lifting the Cup in Istanbul, the FA were contemplating their next step. After Mourinho and Patrick Viera before him, it was time to return to an English manager to replicate Gareth Southgate’s 2026 World Cup win. But candidates were thin on the ground. Only Kevin Nolan at Bournemouth and Johnnie Jackson at Bristol City in the Premier League were English. Graham Potter had just got Leicester promoted, but his star had dimmed ever since leaving Chelsea. De Bruijn had never worked in England as a football manager, nor had he managed in any of the big four leagues abroad. But soon the hipsters, European experts and outright geeks started hailing De Bruijn’s appointment as a masterstroke. The forty-five-year-old had only managed at one club thus far, and a pretty unknown club for most regular England fans. Some might’ve seen Willem II appear in the Champions League over the last few years without giving them much of a second glance. But the in-the-knows had taken note a long time ago. Willem II had risen from the Dutch Keuken Kampioen Divisie (their equivalent of the Championship) at the start of the 23/24 season and immediately guided them to promotion, falling just behind title winners Groningen on the last day despite a 5-1 win over Telstar. That hadn’t been so outrageous, the side had been expected to compete for promotion, but the Dutch football world had already taken note three weeks earlier when De Bruijn’s team claimed the Dutch Cup for the first time since 1963. With promotion secured, most managers would be content to try and survive the next season in the top flight, but not so de Bruijn. While he was mostly non-commital in public, his team did their talking on the pitch and secured a sixth-place finish in their first season in the top flight, enough to continue their European adventures. The following year, they improved to fourth and began to challenge the traditional top three of Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. There were some European runs too, including a 5-0 thumping over Everton, before finally falling to Spurs in the semi-final of the Europa League By 2028, Willem II had established themselves as a factor in the league, finishing third, just eight points behind champions Feyenoord and also losing in the cup final against Ajax. In 2029, the team from Tilburg became the first team to win the league outside the traditional top three since Steve McClaren's Twente won the league in 2010, scoring 86 goals en route to a six-point margin over Ajax. Added to that was a 4-0 thumping of Excelsior Rotterdam in the cup final to complete a rare double. Willem II retained their title in 2030, completing an unbeaten league season to finish ten points clear of Feyenoord, despite selling two key players. If they’re good enough, they’re old enough Under de Bruijn’s tutelage, Willem II has grown into a powerhouse for nurturing raw talent into stars. West Ham’s Ali Chentouf came through the ranks at the club and replaced England’s Dane Scarlett as number-one striker when the latter left for Feyenoord in 2028. While there were many calls for de Bruijn to bring in a big name to fill the void, the coach persisted with the youngster and was rewarded with 35 league goals from 53 games over two years before the striker was sold for a club-record 33.5 million pounds. The coach seems to have developed a nose for spotting talented players early and then bringing them along into the first-team fold. It is of course a different ball game as an international manager, but de Bruijn’s willingness to give players a chance should stand him in good stead in the international arena. But he also managed to revitalise players like Justin Bijlow who joined on a free transfer after a miserable time in Saudi Arabia and swiftly found himself back in contention for the Dutch national team. Diego Moreira was rescued from being a Chelsea loan pawn and promptly scored 19 goals and set up another 19 over two seasons. The average age of his squad is just over 24 and many key players are only twenty or twenty-one. Many of his players credit both his ability to manage their expectations as well as helping them improve as the reason behind Willem II's stellar rise. Goals win games A recognised follower of the Johan Cruijff school of football, de Bruijn insists that the game is about scoring goals. During his time at Willem II, his team have hit the net 2.12 times per league match. But it’s not just about goals, it’s about entertainment too. During his time at Willem II, he’s overseen numerous high-scoring games, with 4-2’s or 5-3’s not out of the ordinary. They like to get the ball down and pass it, into space or into feet and when they lose it, they employ a high press to get it back. It can be a tiring tactic, but it has proven extremely efficient for Willem II. Time will tell if it works for England too, but it seems unlikely that de Bruijn will change his tactics upon embarking on this journey, given that he rarely deviates from his preferred tactic at club level.

Great to see this back, hope is all well with the other half

Thanks Sherm, glad you're enjoying it Meanwhile, in West Mercia Police HQ DI Rainford put on his spectacles and pulled over the final autopsy report of Jack Logan, opening it to the first page. It contained nothing that surprised him in all reality. The coroner would be summoning a jury to an inquest during which the final verdict would be rendered, but for Rainford, the report contained enough information to tell him that he’d have a murder investigation on his hands. There were just too many strange little discrepancies with the case to be a coincidence. The tox screen had returned traces of Scopolamine, which the report noted can put individuals in a suggestable and hallucinogenic state, but had also been used as a truth serum in the past. He closed the autopsy folder and pulled over another, this one a forensics report on Logan’s office. There had been a number of interesting finds. The only fingerprints in the office had been Logan’s. Parts of the office however had been wiped clean. A desktop computer was missing, its peripherals still left behind unplugged. The computer and the general configuration of the desk confirmed the suspicion that Logan was right-handed. The strew paperwork had been catalogued and seemed to contain everything from correspondence with clients to invoices and bills. A section between August and October 2009 seemed to be missing completely. There was sufficient evidence to suggest that Logan slept at the office and a property search had not turned up a home address for him for a few years, so it was likely that whoever shot Logan, also took the paperwork, perhaps to hide something. It seemed to Rainford that Bertrand’s poking around at Bromsgrove must’ve sent alarm bells ringing somewhere, enough cause for someone to take the drastic action of eliminating the private investigator and stealing his paperwork. It raised concerns. For Bertrand and his snooping, his employers and ultimately, Browne as the original fall guy. It was already evident that whoever these people were, they were quite willing to resort to murder to cover their tracks. And it was up to Rainford to find out who they were, what they wanted and why they did it. He took a notepad out of a drawer and began making a list of questions that he needed to answer. Was Evelyn the target or just an unfortunate bystander? Why was Logan following Browne? Who hired him to do so? What did Logan know or have that tied him to the original murder and is that the reason he had to die? What did Bertrand’s questions turn up that prompted someone to kill Logan now? He drew a big circle around the questions and then emphasized them with several underlinings. Those questions were the key to everything now. And he was going to find out the answers.