Do We Dare To Dream?

England are in the semi-final of the World Cup 2018 in Russia. The last time that happened was in 1990; New Order produced a great World Cup song, John Barnes was the Raheem Stirling (What is it about those laid-back Jamaican-born folks that cannot produce on the International stage?) of the England team. Germany were a powerhouse and mentally were stronger than us despite the 1-1 scoreline and the penalty loss. So, can we get to the final? My heart screams YESSSSS!! Let's take a considered view

In my last blog, I berated Jordan Pickford for being a calamity waiting to happen. Since then, he has been our player of the knock-out rounds; without question. Harry Maguire had question marks over his ability and has not only smashed the doubts, he scored the first goal against Sweden; he, and John Stones, look truly international class. Despite my opening statements, Raheem Stirling is an unsung hero for England. His tireless work on and off the ball has enabled other players to find space and create opportunities. The telling moment for me was when the coach of Columbia chose to intimidate him at Half-Time; clearly he posed a threat to them otherwise. To his credit, and the rest of the team, he rose above it and kept his dignity. I recognised in the early stages that Columbia had a plan for him and I sense that the 'N' word was muttered into his ear lobes at regular intervals that night. One senses that the full devios extent of the tactics of the Colombians will be disclosed when the England team return early next week. For me that was the defining game for England, tenacity enabled them and the on-field leadership of the brilliant Jordan Henderson to emerge victorious. If England are to lift the World Cup on Sunday evening, that will be the game on which historians will focus.

And so to Croatia, a team that have featured on our landscape numerous times. Personally, I think they were the best team at the group stages but at the business end, I am not convinced that they have enough ability to beat us collectively but they do possess Luca Modric and Ivan Rakitic in midfield and that duo is dynamite! Yes! it will once again be nerve-tingling, but I feel that this is OUR time to shine. Our defence are fluid, disciplined and creative, our midfield will work very hard and I love our forward line regardless of whoever is in it. One of Rashford, Lingard, even Stirling and of course Harry Kane have a great chance to find the net and write their names in history. It's their match to lose and we, the Noel family are very excited.

Fly your flags, stand proud, sing the National Anthem with passion and dare to dream; Football is finally coming home. Come On England!

Here We Go Again - The Last 16

The much discussed World Cup Football tournament in Russia is not only here, it is vibrant, impressive and much discussed by everyone. It is a huge 4-year staging post that defines our own individual life-stories and more significantly has the potential to lift the mood of a nation. As I have regularly pointed out recently to every cynical individual who claims to hate football and this tournament, success or failure for England here directly impacts us all. So, with the Group stages completed, how do I assess our chances.

England have qualified comfortably from the Group phase; that in itself has been a success because we won the first match 2-1 against a dogged Tunisia, despite isolated patches of nervous anxiety, by scoring critical goals when it mattered most on a Monday night and then recorded a ruthless 6-1  execution of a haplessly erratic Panama team on a baking Sunday afternoon. Fabulous! Let's be brutally honest, we were expected to win both of those games but the critical issue is we love an occasion; last Sunday was the ultimate excuse for the greatest of gatherings. After the final whistle, as I drove to discuss to meet a friend to discuss the logistics of another Wedding for the Maestro,  the pungent smell of Barbeques firing up was everywhere. Nothing in this world compares to the consumption of an ice-cold beer as we dare to debate how we might/could/should/ win the thing...etc. It's the realisation of the high life; the kids are playing happily together, you agree to everything the wife says and England are through to the next round. Then, at work on Monday we forget that the real test is Belgium on Thursday! Do we play or rest Harry Kane? Should we rest our best players? Which route is the easiest? The honest facts are these, we had a reality check against Belgium; we lost 1-0, they dominated possession, our back-up midfield players are too light-weight. Jordan Pickford is a calamity waiting to happen but I'm not telling you anything you didn't know already am I?

Here is the reality, we have by default been awarded an easier route to the Semi-Final as was the case in 1990 when we drew with Eire, the Dutch, and beat Egypt then defeated Belgium in Extra-Time and came from behind to beat Cameroon before being edged out by the Germans in the Semi-Final who defeated a woeful Argentina in an ill-tempered final to lift the trophy. There is a similar pattern emerging here; England have two winnable matches against Colombia and then Sweden or Switzerland. It would be disrespectful to suggest that any of those teams are weak but the reality is that none of them possess unplayable box-office players. All three have match winners but none of them possess players of that ilk. Big players create huge intensity and the courage to produce opportunities in critical moments that affect outcomes. So, yes! I think we can and should progress to the Semi-Final.

If we get there, do we possess enough to become contenders? Yes because of the following players;  Marcus Rashford, we have a player with terrifying speed, agility, desire and belief. Harry Kane, we genuinely have one of the very best centre-forwards in the whole tournament. Jesse Lingard is a fabulously creative and hard-working player who has regularly scored significant goals for Manchester United and is without doubt the player opposition coaches will highlight for special attention. I am very concerned about the creativity of our midfield; Jordan Henderson is a good leader, willing workhorse but does not possess the X-Factor, he is not a street-wise warrior like say Sergei Ramos. Dele Alli and Raheem Sterling are two players that need to impose themselves on the landscape if we are to progress further, particularly Sterling. If he can score a big goal in the Semi-Final on Wednesday 11th July; the negative headlines will evapourate and the tattoo nonsense will be history; for me it's that simple. Sadly, I am not convinced that Dele Alli will recover from that knock to make a mark on this tournament but time will tell

What will stop us going beyond the Semi-Finals? If we are to defeat France, Argentina, Brazil or Uruguay our attack needs to be ruthless and our defence needs to be decisive at set-pieces. Sadly despite the huge number of goals in our team, the back door may slip open once too many times.

IF England are not contesting the trophy, and my head shouts profusely that they are not! My personal favourites for the title are Brazil, France and Uruguay, with Belgium as my dark horses; but despite the absence of Germany there are still some seriously strong candidates all over the last 16 draw. It's easier for me to say that Japan, Denmark, and Sweden definitely won't win it on this occasion although those nations, could like England have a wonderful chance to reach the last four; but deep down I sense that it will be us. Harry Kane is the key man for England; goals win matches and goals win trophies in tournaments; and he is chomping at the bit to write his name in the history books.

Whatever happens, it will be a festival of fabulous football, goals and excitement. The summer of 2018 is rocking; bring it on and don't forget to stock the fridge with loads of beer; enjoy the journey. Come on England!!!