The Football tourist

Saturday 30th July 2022: League Two: Edgeley Park: Stockport County vs AFC Barrow

After 11 seasons in the non-league wilderness Stockport County return to the EFL having romped to the National League title last season. They won 30 of their 44 matches last season and finished with a 6 point cushion over their nearest rivals and the wave of optimism that this has created within the fans has left them dreaming of back-to-back promotions.

In this endeavour they can take inspiration from the exploits of Sutton United on their first season back in the league system last time out, when they managed to make a push for the playoffs before ultimately finishing in 8th place just a point from their goal. Realistically though the first goal has to be simply cementing their place back in the EFL after more than a decade away, during which they even spent time in the 6th tier of English football.

Whilst Stockport obviously have some great things going on behind the scenes, and in Paddy Madden and Antoni Sarcevic they have players with the ability to scare any defender in the league, Edgeley Park is not in the best shape itself. The stadium looks like a housing block from the outside, with only the towering floodlights alerting passers-by to the existence of a football stadium behind the brick. For those familiar with London football grounds think Leyton Orient.

Entering through a car park and having to walk down by the pitch and up through the stand to find the food kiosks is not fun either but the kicker of it all is the view, or lack thereof, of the pitch. I was in the Together Stand and as such my view of the pitch is obstructed by giant pillars holding up the roof and you can’t see the screen away to your right either as the media gantry drops from the roof and hangs directly over your sightlines. The pillars in the way remind me of the view I used to have at Griffin Park but the media gantry blocking the screen, deserted except for one camera and its operator, was a new one on me and was particularly unhelpful when added to a tannoy set to a level so low that even the quietest whisperer in the world would struggle to match.

Given these problems I was pleased to be able to manage to take down the full starting 11 and substitutes that Dave Challinor had selected to represent County on their return to the big-time.

Stockport Starting 11: 1 Ben Hinchcliffe, 2 Macauley Southam-Hales, 3 Mark Kitching, 6 Fraser Horsfall, 8 Callum Camps, 9 Paddy Madden, 10 Antoni Sarcevic, 14, Will Collar, 17 Ryan Rydell, 19 Kyle Wootton, 31 Joe Lewis.

The team that Stockport were facing on their return to the EFL was AFC Barrow, who had only avoided swapping leagues with their hots by a measly 6 points last season. On paper this looked to be a simple match for Stockport to ease their way back into League Two. Pete Wild and his team were determined to prove them wrong as they lined up as follows.

AFC Barrow Starting 11: 1 Paul Farman, 5 Sam McClelland, 6 Niall Canavan, 9 Billy Waters, 10 Josh Gordon, 14 Harrison Neal, 15 Robbie Gotts, 16 Sam Foley, 21 Tyler Warren, 25 George Ray, 34 Ben Whitfield

Whitfield had more reason than the rest of his team to want to ruin Stockport’s day as he was a County player till a few weeks ago, before making the switch to the Cumbrians. From kick-off it looked like the hosts day would be ruined within the first minute as Kyle Wootton’s clearance smashes into Tyler Warren. He got the ball under control, advanced to the edge of the box and unleashes a shot that flies straight down the keeper’s throat.

It was an early warning for Stockport of just how careful they have to be at the back in this league. They failed to heed this warning and within 6 minutes they found themselves 1-0 down. Barrow’s goal came completely against the run of play, as Stockport found joy and gaps down either wing, but the hosts had no-one to blame except themselves. After simple punt upfield by Farman was not dealt with in midfield by Stockport and it was Whitfield whose round-the-corner ball that found Gordon in yards of space with just the keeper to beat. Gordon did the rest, slipping the ball under the keeper’s dive to the left and sliding it into the net by the right-hand post.

Getting the breakthrough emboldened Barrow as they pushed forward in search of a second to add to their lead. This new attacking outlook from Barrow was leaving gaps in behind them for the hosts to exploit though, but luckily for the visitors their offside trap was in excellent working order as they caught Sarcevic straying the wrong side of the line multiple times in the first 45. The few chances that the hosts created and which escaped the trap were met by some truly abysmal finishing, with Sarcevic kicking air when free in the box. Southam-Hales took the dreadful finishing one step further than any of his teammates when he had a shot from near the right touchline that ended up going out for a throw on the other side.

The frustration of the hosts was poured into more attacks, but the frustration of the visitors at not extending their lead boiled over in the 15th minute. Southam-Hales initiated a break for County before Harrison Neal and Sam Foley barrelled into him from opposite sides just as he entered the centre circle. It was Neal, as the primary offender, who picked up the card for this agricultural tackle whilst Foley got off without so much as a warning.

Frustration now out of their system Barrow double their lead in the 20th minute and it was Whitfield who got the finish on this one, stepping up from his assist for the first. He was played in down the left channel by Billy Waters. Advancing to the edge of the 6 yard box he slotted the ball across the keeper, cool as a cucumber, and in off the right-hand post to send the away fans into raptures. Home fans all around me had their heads in their hands as their ex-player wheeled away in celebration.

Having now conceded twice in the opening 20 minutes Stockport went into full attack mode and laid siege to the Barrow goal for the next 3 minutes. However, success down the right wing could not be turned into the first goal of an unlikely comeback as both Madden and Sarcevic were so petrified of being caught offside that they had stopped making runs into the box. This inability to back themselves was almost punished by Barrow the second they broke the siege lines. Barrow surged forward and when the initial chance went begging Stockport eventually cleared it straight back too them. They recycled it to Whitfield on the right wing and his pitch perfect cross to the back post was fired into the side-netting by Gordon.

By this point of the match Stockport’s heads were down and their faith in themselves in-front of goal was at an all time low. They were still getting into good positions in the final third but the crosses into good areas were arriving to find them as deserted as a sauna in a heatwave. County had monopolised possession of the ball as the game ticked past the half-hour mark and so it was only fitting that when Barrow scored their third goal in 33 minutes it stemmed from a Stockport mistake. A lacklustre clearance from the defence landed at the feet of Waters, who advanced to the edge of the box before rifling the ball into the bottom left corner. The Bluebirds were now soaring away to what looked like an easy win over the Hatters, who were getting a baptism of fire on their return to the EFL.

Despite their dominance of possession and multiple threatening attacks the host now found themselves trailing by 3 goals and looking like conceding every time their opponents got the ball. The worst news for the hosts was that there was still another 10 minutes of the half to go. Respite would arrive in the 35th minute though as Foley went down with a head injury that required bandaging up. Foley was able to continue but the break whilst he was treated gave the players the chance to take on fluids and for the host it gave them a chance to regroup and find a way to make it to the break without conceding any more.

To be fair to the hosts they managed to reach the break without suffering any further damage to the scoreline, but Dave Challinor still had one hell of a team talk on his hands at half-time if he was to inspire a comeback from his team. Six minutes of added time was negotiated before half-time without any major problems for the hosts. Stockport raced down the tunnel, just glad that the half was now over and they had a full 15 minutes to work out what had been going wrong. Hopefully for all the home fans they would also work out how to be first to any of the second balls in the second half.

Two changes to the Stockport’s personnel at the break heralded a seismic shift in the trajectory of the match in the second half. Callum Camps and Joe Lewis were the players sacrificed by Challinor and in their place he brought on James Brown and Myles Hippolyte. At the time I was thinking that it would probably work better if the hosts had been able to make 10 changes, but the two that they did make made such a huge difference to the play in the second half.

Having been so unspeakably dreadful in-front of goal in the first half, it took a measly two minutes for the Hatters to get a goal back and fire up the comeback train. I do not know what Challinor said to the team at half-time but I’d love to hear it next time I’m in a situation that seems hopeless, cause it worked a treat.

The hosts first goal of the half came from a ball round the corner to Madden in the the left channel. He slid the ball across the box for Sarcevic to turn home in the centre. The feeling around me in the crowd when the ball hit the back of the net was a mix of relief, unbridled joy and determination that this would not be a flash in the pan. It would instead be the start of a brilliant comeback.

Stockport now looked like they were going to score every time they came forward as they upped the pace of their attacks, from arthritic slug to a cheetah launched from an F1 car, and it was causing Barrow all sorts of problems. The wings were still their greatest source of chances and in the 55th minute they created a beautiful one as Hippolyte played Ryan Rydel into space down the left. His cross into the box was deflected away from the blue shirts waiting in the area though and the keeper was able to pouch it.

The stream of chances that Stockport were creating had now developed into a tidal wave the Barrow were drowning under. Despite their 2 goal cushion the away end was a sea of faces etched with worry. The Cumbrians just had no answer for the questions that were now being asked of them. I was now expecting Stockport to score on every single attack and it looked like that was an expectation that the Barrow players shared.

Responding to seeing his team fade from the game this half Pete Wild decided to dip into his resources on the bench in an attempt to shore up the defence and stop the tidal wave making landfall in his team’s goal once more. Josh Kay was the player sent on to shore things up, but the player taken off was a huge surprise, Ben Whitfield. He had been the main threat all match for the visitors and the best way to break the opposition’s momentum in a match is to put their defence under pressure. Taking off the one man that had been behind all of their excellent play in the first half seemed a strange way for Barrow to achieve that with 22 minutes left to play. So it proved to be as just a minute after this change was made the Hatters had their second goal.

Stockport’s second goal came through their captain, Paddy Madden. The ball made its way out to the right and when the cross came in there were 4 Stockport players lining up to head it home. Madden won the race to the header, guiding it across the goal and in to the back of the net by the left post. Farman in the Barrow goal stood no chance of getting to the header from point blank range and Stockport were back within a single goal of taking a point from this match that they never looked like getting as they struggled to get a foothold in the game in the first half.

It was a testament to County’s dominance since half-time that it took till the 73rd minute for Barrow to have their first chance of the half. If the visitors had been able to slot it home that would have sealed their victory and robbed the match of its grandstand finish. Thankfully, for everyone except the visiting fans, they could only hit it into the side netting.

Before their second goal Stockport made their third change of the match as Ryan Rydel made way for home favourite Ollie Crankshaw. This added to injury stoppages in the final 15 minutes, Josh Gordon going down twice in his own half and Sam Foley having his own time on the turf too, led to 6 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the 90. The 6 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first half had been torturous for the home fans, but now it would be the visiting fans time to suffer.

Before we get to that though there was another substitution to take note of from each team, the hosts looking to bring on goal threats as the visitors looked to maintain their slim lead. The Hatters’ gambit was bringing on Scott Quigley for Macauley Southam-Hales, whilst the Bluebirds replaced Josh Gordon with ex-Hatter John Rooney. This scared some of the fans around me as “our old players always score against us”. There was no need to worry this time round though as Barrow never looked like threatening in the 9 minutes he was on the pitch.

County were the only team that ever looked like scoring in the second half and it looked like they had their equaliser multiple times. The closest they came to getting it in the regulation 90 was from a freekick that was fired into the box from the right. Will Collar directed a powerful header toward goal that looked to be nestling in the back of the net, but instead it squirmed out to Horsfall in the 6 yard box who could only poke it into the side netting. It looked like it was in from my vantage point and the fans around me had started the party when it dawned on us that the net was rippling from the wrong side.

The penultimate minute of the half resulted in a penalty call that went begging. Southam-Hales was felled in the box by Tyrell Warren but when the ref blew his whistle he was giving Barrow a freekick. Madden was given a yellow card for descent, but it looked like a stonewall pen to me so his questioning of the decision that went against his team was perfectly justified.

Then in the second minute of added-on time Stockport were awarded a penalty as Niall Canavan dragged down Horsfall as they both went for a header on the edge of the 6 yard box. It looked like less of a shout that the Southam-Hales one a few minutes earlier but it was given. Then it was taken away as the ref’s arm went up to indicate an offside in the build-up. I was completely bamboozled by this incredible turn of events and it took me till the final minute of the 6 to work out exactly what had happened.

Where the offside call from and who it was against I have absolutely no idea, but all that really mattered was that Stockport went from having a gilt-edged chance to equalise from the spot to having it ripped from under them in the blink of an eye. To have the rug pulled out from under you like that send your whole world into a spin where you don’t know which way is up. The Hatters couldn’t recover from that turn of events long enough to score the equaliser that their second half play merited.

A grandstand finish was brought to the most disappointing end possible, as Stockport fell agonisingly short of the equaliser that would have secured their first goal of the match and send the home stands into raptures. The aura of disappointment that permeated the home fans at the final whistle speaks to the incredible turn around that their team had effected in the second half.

In the first half the hosts played like a team destined for relegation and in the second half they played like one that will push for the play-offs. The majority of the 10,011 fans that were stuffed inside Edgeley Park will be hoping that it will be the latter side of the team that dominates their matches to come and that Stockport were up at the top end of the table in May.


Starting a new job tomorrow so I have no idea when I will next make it to a game, but when I make it to one the blog will be back.

Also, I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS to the Lionesses for their victory over Germany at Wembley today. ENGLAND ARE THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS!!!!!

Here’s to hoping that they can go all the way at next summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand too, but for now just enjoy the celebrations ladies.

Tuesday 26th July 2022: Bramall Lane, Sheffield: UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 Semi-Final:
England vs Sweden

So I can stop pinching myself now, this is real. England’s Women are in the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 final at Wembley on Sunday. I had some trouble making it too the game thanks to issues on the trains and the weather in Sheffield was abysmal before kick-off, but once the match got underway all these problems were forgotten as I settled into my place amongst the 28,264 supporters crammed into the stands for this on. That is a record attendance for a Women’s Euro semi-final and they were about to be treated to an exhibition of football from this incredible England team.

Sweden looked to be a difficult test on paper coming into this one and having finished first in a group that included the defending champions, The Netherlands, it seemed like they were going to convert their potential from paper to grass. They had made the knockout stages of the last two major international tournaments, coming unstuck against the Dutch in both, and with England having only won twice against them in their last 9 meetings the signs that they would go one step further this time around looked promising. They had even defeated England in the 3rd place play off at the 2019 World Cup.

There are only a few small problems with those signs though as Sweden had struggled in-front of goal against Belgium in the Quarter-final. Creating chances was not a problem for the Scandinavians as they pulled the Belgian defence all over the place, it was finishing off those chances that proved elusive. They had 33 shots against the Belgians but only 9 of them were on target and it took until the 92nd minute for them to finally make the breakthrough. Such profligacy was not punished by the Belgians, but you can rest assured it would be by the English.

This England team came into the match having scored 15 goals in just 4 matches, including the record-breaking 8 against Norway, and had at their disposal 3 of the most clinical finishers in the Women’s game. Ellen White is their talismanic number 9 and, having already scored twice in the tournament, she came into this game knowing that 1 more goal would draw her level with Wayne Rooney as England’s top goalscorer of all time.

It’s not just White that the Swedish backline would have to worry about either as England also have Beth Mead and Alessia Russo to call on, amongst a plethora of attacking options. Mead has been on fire in-front of goal and already had 5 goals to her name coming into this match, as she saunters her way to the Golden Boot, whilst Russo has 3 goals to her name despite having to be content with merely 2nd half substitute appearances throughout the tournament so far.

The worst news was yet to come for Sweden though as in England’s dugout they have their best secret weapon of the lot, Sarina Wiegman. She is the coach that defeated Sweden, as Netherlands’ Coach, in the last 2 tournaments. Wiegman is also the defending Euro championship coach, having won it with her native Netherlands in 2017, and one of the ways she achieves this success is by finding her best 11 and sticking to it. This formula has worked for Wiegman so well that, despite Russo’s sparkling form off the bench, she named an unchanged team from the one that came from behind to defeat Spain in the Quarters.

With all those factors in mind there were many in the press and amongst the fans in the stadium who had written Sweden off and assumed that all England had to do was turn up and they’d win easily. I was among them as when asked by other fans before the match what I thought the score would be, “We will win by 3 or 4 goals to nil” came my cocky response.

However, Sweden almost wiped the smug smile off our faces within 30 seconds of kick-off as Stina Blackstenius tore forward in acres of space on the left. She fed the ball through to Sofia Jakobsson, charging free in the box, but her shot across goal was saved by the feet of an ever-alert Mary Earps. Earps went straight from making the save to screaming at her defence to switch on.

Sweden let England off the hook in a huge way in those opening seconds and this allowed England to secure a foothold in the game. The hosts cranked up the pressure on their opponents through the rest of the opening 5 minutes until they created an opening that should have led to the opening goal. Fran Kirby found the space on the left to put a tempting cross into the area that missed Mead’s head by inches. Mead had managed to find a lovely pocket of space in the box and it the cross had been dropped on the right sixpence she would have had a free header to open England’s account for the night.

Within 2 minutes of this chance England were back on the attack down the left. This time it was Lauren Hemp advancing with the ball to the edge of the box before being pushed off it by a Swedish defender. From my vantage point it looked like a clear free-kick but the referee was content to let play continue uninterrupted and there were no appeals from the England players either, so perhaps my view was not telling the full story of the challenge. Hemp dealt with this challenge exceptionally well as just seconds later she was on her feet and delivering a cross into the area, where it was grabbed off White’s forehead by Hedvig Lindahl, the Sweden goalkeeper.

Sweden were not going away easily though and in the 11th minute they found the opening they would use to create chances throughout the match. Lucy Bronze was caught out of position at right back and the Swedes were able to find the ball into the vast open spaces behind her. This time Blackstenius was the player in yellow running free as a gazelle in this savannah of grass but her shot was easy enough for Earps to deal with. The resulting corner was far missed by Earps altogether though and the English could only look in stomach-clenching terror as a Swedish header sent the ball goalward. The terror was broken as the ball came cannoning back off the bar, but Sweden now knew where the weak link was in the England back-line.

Rolfo was next to exploit this defensive weakness having nicked the ball off Bronze in midfield. She galloped into the free space that Bronze should have been covering but, to a collective sigh of relief from all 4 stands, she was only able to direct her shot into the side netting.

Sweden may have been looking to spoil the host’s party but England didn’t seem to be doing too much to try and stop them in the first 15 minutes. Perhaps this was down to the nerves of playing in-front of an expectant home crowd but, whatever the case may have been, they appeared scared to attack despite creating some excellent openings.

Mead found a brilliant ball up to Kirby just inside the Sweden half. She had one defender to beat and then she would have been 1-on-1 with Lindahl, albeit 40 yards from the goal, but instead of taking on the defender she stopped and turned to look for support. By the time the support arrived all the impetus of the attack had fizzled out. The next big opening for the hosts came via Bronze finding legions of room on the right wing. She was screaming for the ball, but the ball was instead ping-ponged around the other wing for a while before finally being played out to her.

Once the ball finally makes it’s way to her a great bit of attacking interplay between Bronze and Mead results in an England corner on the left-hand side. The corner was headed wide by White, but at least England were finally finding ways to threaten the Swedish goal in what had been an extremely entertaining end-to-end encounter for the purist to enjoy so far.

Both teams were finding ways to make their opponents defences creak in the opening half hour of the match. Sweden were finding crosses to be their greatest weapon but, as with the Belgium game. the ruthless final touch was deserting them. They had inviting crosses from either side within seconds of another as the math passed the 25 minute mark. First Rolfo swung one in from the left that sailed thorough the corridor of uncertainty utterly untouched. Then the cross from the right was agonisingly high over the top of a leaping Blackstenius in the centre.

England’s defending was creaking loudly from crosses into the box, but it was creaking even more from Sweden’s corners. They were causing all sorts of problems for England. After the Swedish header off the bar earlier in the match England looked spooked every time the ball came in from the quadrant. This got to the point where just before the half hour mark England took 5 attempts to hack the ball clear of their 6 yard box despite the box in question being a completely Sweden-free zone. The hosts needed something to settle their nerves and as the half moved into it’s final 15 minutes that is exactly what they would get.

They came close to getting it on the 30 minute mark as Mead looped a ball into Bronze near the penalty spot. Bronze leaps like a salmon to meet it, whilst everyone around her stays statuesque like their feet are stuck in treacle, but her header misses the left post by a measly 6 yards. A simple role reversal was all that was need for England to get the opening goal as Mead did what she does best and pocketed her 6th goal of the tournament to set England on their way.

Mead’s 6th goal of the tournament and England’s opener in this semi-final came after a Hemp cross from the left, that skimmed past the out-stretched boot of White in the 6yard box, was fired back into the box by Bronze. Her pinpoint cross found Mead in space by the penalty spot. Mead swivelled on a sixpence and fired it home with her right boot. Lindahl dived to her right but the ball flashed past her fingertips and England have the lead in the Semi-final in the 34th minute.

When the ball hit the back of the net the stands exploded with a wall of noise the like of which I have never experienced before at a women’s football match. It was an outpouring of euphoria, and not a little relief, that England now had the lead and could push on from here to their first final appearance in 13 years. Sweden’s players looked crushed by this blow against the general run of play for much of the half up to this point. Their heads dropped and you could see the hope expiring in their souls. Having already been knocked out by the hosts at the last Euros they seemed to know what lay instore for them from now till the final whistle.

High on the joy of taking the lead England almost doubled it within minutes as Bronze and Mead combined to make space on the right before Mead pulled it back to Georgia Stanway in tons of space down the right channel. Stanway had space to take a shot herself, but instead she chose to make the selfless move and put it on a plate for White to equal Rooney’s record. Unfortunately the ball across was turned back by the Swedish centre backs and when Stanway tried to go for goal herself it was easily collected by Lindahl. Minutes later Stanway decides to let one rip from 30 yards out, but it has just a smidgen too much power on it as it sails just inches over the bar.

With the momentum on their sides it should have been a simple stroll to half time for England, but since when do we ever do things the easy way. Earps tested the home fans nerves 5 minutes before the end of the half as she chose to play a short ball to Millie Bright in the box with two Swedish players closing in. Bright was able to sort her feet out in time to lump the ball clear, but taking that of risk when you’re only 1-0 up is far too nerve-shredding for my liking.

Sweden were able to create one more gilt-edged chance before half-time, but when Rolfo heading a cross from the back post back into the danger area there was no-one in yellow there to tap it home and England were able to make it to the break with their 1-0 lead intact. Mead once again proving herself to be indispensable to England’s hopes in the tournament.

England may have been leading 1-0 at half-time but throughout the first half Sweden had shown that they could provide a credible threat to the England goal and had come close to getting on the scoresheet themselves on multiple occasions. The only thing preventing Sweden from getting control of this game in the first 45 was the same thing that had seen them pushed so close to extra-time and penalties in their quarter-final. A severe lack of cutting edge and attacking composure in the crucial moments in the final third.

Sweden got the second half underway and were on the back foot almost immediately. It took England just 2 minutes from the restart to double their lead. An inch perfect ball round the corner from Kirby was sent across the box from Hemp only to be turned behind for a corner by the frazzled Swedes. The corner allowed Mead to pay Bronze back for the assist provided for the first goal by providing the assist that gave the defender a goal of her own. Mead floated the ball to the back post where Bronze met it with a thumping header back across goal. The ball nestled in the back of the net and after a torturously long VAR check it was confirmed that England had their two-goal cushion.

This second goal for the hosts broke the will of the Swedes to resist any further as the damage had been done and they sunk into the mental abyss that can follow your dreams being crushed. Despite the desperate attempts of Peter Gerhardsson, Sweden’s manager, to reignite his teams hopes with 3 changes in 5 minutes. He took of Filippa Angeldal, Sofia Jakobsson and Amanda Ilestedt, replacing them with Caroline Seger, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Jonna Andersson but this had little effect on the tide of attacks that England were now throwing their way.

England had to make a substitution of their own before they got their third of the match though because the scorer of that third goal was the irrepressible and inspirational super-sub that is Alessia Russo. She entered the fray in place of Ellen White in the 57th minute and when I clocked that it was Russo coming on I turned to my left and asked “how long till she’s on the scoresheet then?”.

It took her a full 11 minutes to add her name to the goalscorer’s roll, but she was already terrorising the Swedish defence from her first touch of the ball within a minute of coming on. Russo broke into the area down the right and laid a delicious ball across the 6 yard box that Hemp just had to get a toe on to tap it home, but Hemp connected a little too well with the cross and could only watch on in disbelief as her effort went out for a goal kick after smashing off the bar.

Russo got her goal in the 68th minute and it was well worth the wait. The ball was played into her from the left channel as Kirby’s brilliant run was picked out by Keira Walsh. When the ball was fizzed across to Russo her first shot ricocheted off Lindahl, but Russo was not done. She collected the ball on the edge of the 6yard and then with a defender in close attendance, another defender and the keeper between her and the goal and whilst standing with her back to the goal she pulled an exquisite piece of skill out of the top draw. She backheeled the ball past both defenders and through the keeper’s legs.

Russo had been on the pitch just over 10 minutes before unleashing a gorgeous bit of skill to banish any last concerns of a Swedish comeback. Her finish was beautiful, exquisite, inspiring and so much more besides. It is the goal that will live longest in the memory of everyone watching this tournament because it was just so insanely cheeky and downright brilliant. There has been a lot of talk around this tournament about inspiring the next generation of players and now the youngsters in the game across the country have a beautiful piece of skill to attempt to emulate. There will be kids up and down the country trying to copy Russo’s goal in the their back gardens this week and it’s moments like that which can inspire that next generation of superstars to pursue a career in football.

England were not done scoring just yet though as Kirby added a 4th goal for the hosts as the game entered it’s final 15 minutes. Having spotted Lindahl off her line she went for an audacious chip from 30 yards out and it went in. Lindahl got her palms to it but couldn’t stop the ball from squirming out the top of her grasp and despite her best efforts she couldn’t recover in time to prevent the ball crossing the line. None of the Swedish team will want to watch this match back, but after gifting England their 4th goal in such a fashion Lindahl will have even more reason to avoid watching the highlights in future.

Kirby’s reward for getting on the scoresheet was to be hooked from the action almost immediately, with Ella Toone sent on to see out the match. Just before that goal Sweden made their final 2 substitutions of the match as Hanna Bennison and Lina Hurtig were sent on to replace Stina Blackstenius and Linda Sembrant. England would also complete their quota of 5 substitutions for the match in the dying minutes with a triple change. Chloe Kelly, Jill Scott and Alex Greenwood were given a run-out to join in the party as Rachel Daly, Georgia Stanway and player of the match, Beth Mead were given a well-deserved rest. Hemp was the only one of the front 5 that started the match to see out the full 90 minutes.

Toone almost added a 5th for England in the final 10 minutes as she took a pot-shot from the edge of the box that looked to be flying harmlessly wide, until Nathalie Bjorn flung a leg at it and the deflection saw the ball skim the bar on it’s way behind. That would have been a lovely metaphor for the match, England pressure forcing the Sweden defence to buckle and self-destruct, but unfortunately it was not to be.

England saw out the rest of the final 10 and the 3 added on in complete cruise control. This led to a fair bit of pressure from the Swedes but nothing that ever looked like genuinely troubling Earps and in the final minute of the 90 it was England that came inches away from increasing their margin of victory. Hemp played a lovely cross through the box from the right side and Russo connected with it but couldn’t quite get enough on it to turn it in at the far post. It skimmed the paint off the post on it’s way behind.

England had to make do with just a 4-0 win over the team ranked 2nd in the world and on the strength of their second half performance they can be slightly disappointed to have only scored 4. The celebrations at the final whistle were incredible, with not a soul leaving for at least 10 minutes and when I left after half an hour there were still thousands of fans sticking around to soak up this glorious feeling.

Football really is coming home this time. The Men’s side came so close to bringing it home last year until Italy ruined their Wembley party, but no matter whether the Women are facing France or Germany in the final there is no chance of them facing the same heartbreak. England will have their first trophy since 1966 in just a few days time and tonight we find out who they will be defeating in the final.

Neither option is particularly appetising. France brushed Italy aside in the group stages with one of the most complete team performances across a full 90 minutes that I have seen from any team in a long time. Whilst Germany for their part are living up to their national reputation of ruthless efficiency at major tournaments. The Germans are not only the runaway record holders for Women’s Euro titles, winning 8 out of the 12 tournaments to date, but they have amassed that record despite missing the first 2 editions.

England will have the partisan home crowd willing them on though and with the strength in depth that the team possesses this will be enough to power them to the title.

IT’S COMING HOME!!!!

I am taking a break from the blog to recharge over the summer and sort out some outstanding issues in my personal life.

Writing an average of a blog a week for most of the season has left me completely burnt out. In the final weeks of the regular season I was unable to enjoy the matches with the stress of making sure I had the right pictures and notes ready for the upcoming blog. Enjoying football has been one of the few certainties throughout my life so far and to see that changing is not something I can just sit back and let happen.

I am going to many games at this summer’s Women’s Euro, including England’s opening match of the tournament (against Austria at Old Trafford on July 6th), but there will be no blogs from any of those matches. My experience at the Women’s Euro this summer will be my own as I try to reconnect with the joy of the beautiful game that I have loved since childhood.

All things being well and with certain things in my life getting sorted this summer, I am aiming to be back blogging Premier League and EFL matches once again for the 2022/23 season. See you then.

Wednesday 25th February 2022: Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton: Arnold Clark Cup: England vs Germany

Today’s blog takes us back in time by 5 months to the end of February as England’s Women’s team competed in a crunch match at the end of a gruelling week of travelling across the country in search of their first trophy under new boss Sarina Wiegman. The trophy they were trying to win was the Arnold Clark Cup, a competition bringing together 4 of the best International Women’s teams from across the globe. It was their first tournament under Wiegman and a great chance to put down a marker against some of the toughest opposition in the sport before the Euros in July.

This was the first time that fans across the country would be able to see Wiegman’s team face up against other members of the FIFA top 10 world rankings. They had already faced Canada at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough and Spain, favourites for the Euros, at Carrow Road in Norwich, collecting creditable draws in each. Failing to score against Spain was far from ideal but with no losses to their name they were still in with a chance at glory as they faced off against Germany in the final match of the tournament at Molineux in Wolverhampton.

Making it to Wolverhampton was simple enough and from the station you turn right across a bridge then follow the road between the Britannia hotel and the grand theatre before taking another right past the church before the stadium hoves into view in-front of you. I made my way through the Molineux tunnel, picked up a programme from the seller in front of me, and made my way inside after squeezing my stomach into my lungs to make it through the turnstile.

The excitement in the stands was palpable as I poured down the stairs to my seat, which told me the result must have gone England’s way earlier on and we were still in with a shot at the title. There had been another game at Molineux earlier in day between Canada and Spain in which a win for the North Americans would have secured them the title. As it turned out though Spain had won 1-0 in front of just 877 fans and so the 14,463 now filling out 3 sides of Molineux would witness history if England managed to win by 2 goals or more.

The announcer made it extremely difficult for casual fans to engage with the match though by introducing the teams simply by their shirt numbers when the programmes included none. I was able to work out which numbers corresponded to the England players due to my extensive match attendance over many years, but for the casual fan it must have been a nightmare. England were without their long-time captain Steph Houghton through the injury that would also keep her out of the Euros, so Leah Williamson stepped into the role she will also be taking on for the team over the summer. The experience ought to prove invaluable in the latter stages of the Euros.

England were in the traditional all-white strip with Germany in red shirts and black shorts for this one as play got underway to the sounds of a drummer and trumpeter cheering them on from behind the goal to my right. The atmosphere provided by their music was incredible and added to the expectation in the air.

There were no signs that the expectation was effecting the home team early on though as England piled the pressure on their opponents. Manchester City had provided half of England’s outfield players for the match (Lucy Bronze, Kiera Walsh, Georgia Stanway, Lauren Hemp and Ellen White) so perhaps it should come as no surprise that it was 2 of their number that were providing the most threat for the hosts. Bronze and Hemp were finding great yawning chasms of space on either wing and if their teammates had been able to find the right weight of pass they could have caused the Germans incredible issues.

England were on top throughout the first 10 minutes without creating a clear cut chance that would make their pressure tell and crack open the stalwart German defence. This inability to break the Germans down almost came back to bite them in the 10th minute itself as the visitors launched a promising attack down the middle. Given even more room to develop the attack, by a Bronze miscue in midfield, the Germans began to drive for goal and were only denied by some excellent covering work by new captain Williamson. Her and Kiera Walsh had been given the job of screening the defence, in a 4-2-3-1, when England lost possession of the ball and this excellent piece of play proved that Williamson was up for the challenge.

The only thing missing from the hosts play at this point was a goal and they came agonisingly close to proving one in the 13th minute when Stanway powered into space down the left wing, took the ball to the bye-line and cut it back. Her targets in the centre were Fran Kirby and Ellen White, but unfortunately the ball was inches behind the pair and when it was stabbed towards goal by a supporting player in white, Merle Frohms barely had to change position to smother the chance.

No matter though as England found the breakthrough they deserved just 2 minutes later. Once again the build up involved Stanway, Kirby and White but this time their interplay bore fruit. Stanway fed the ball to Kirby on the edge of the box and, after her first ball rebounded off a defender and landed at her feet, her second ball was a defence-splitter of the first degree. It was a beautifully wrapped gift for Ellen White to collect on the edge of the 6 yard box and from that point she slipped the ball to the keeper’s right, the exquisite placement of the finish giving Frohms no chance of stopping it.

White is as deadly as a cyanide injection from that distance and if she is allowed to find such positions in the upcoming Euros then England have a great chance of success. The pandemonium in the stands when that goal hit the back of the net was incredible and now England just needed one more goal to win themselves the title.

They came close to securing it in the 25th minute when White kept up her pursuit of a hideously lost ball down the right wing. Her impossible pursuit was successful and when the late arriving support finally showed up in the box the ball back to Bronze was dropped on a dime. Bronze whipped the ball into the box first time and picked out Stanway with unwavering accuracy. Stanway caught the ball graciously on the turn and volleyed toward goal, though her aim was a little off as the ball slammed itself straight into Frohms’ waiting arms. If the ball had been directed either side of the keeper it would have been 2-0 to England, but alas it was not to be.

Between the opener and that gilt-edged chance for England to double their lead there was a collision in midfield. Jess Carter was knocked flat-out on the turf and though she was back on her feet quicker than the German player she had collided with the effects of the incident were enough to see her removed from the fray in the 32nd minute. Rachel Daly, who plies her trade with Houston Dash in the NWSL, was the player sent on to replace her in defence.

This change did nothing to disrupt England’s control of the match though as Daly slotted in at fullback with consummate ease. England were unable to find ways to translate that control into further domination of the team sheet however as they struggled to find the telling ball in the final third. The closest they came to doubling their lead before the 40th minute was 4 minutes before that salient time stamp when Kirby slotted the ball through the defence for White to run onto. Kirby got just a smidgen too much on the through-ball though and it ran into the arms of Frohms before White could make a telling connection.

The salient facts of the 40th minute are that it was the moment in the match where it appeared that England had let their chances of winning the cup slip through their fingers. Germany managed to engineer their first space in midfield all match and Lea Schuller made the most of this new found freedom to charge at an England defence that was all at 6’s and 7’s as though shocked to discover that the Germans knew how to attack. Schuller advanced till she was just 20yards from the England goal then turned inside on a dime to make a flat run across the pitch to create a better angle for the shot.

The turn took Alex Greenwood by surprise and Schuller collapsed over her trailing leg to earn the Germans a free-kick in a promising position. Lina Magull stepped up to take the set-piece and the fans in the stadium were treated to a finish of exquisite quality. She looped the ball up and over the wall and the despairing dive of Ellie Roebuck before dropping it into the back of the net off the underside of the bar. It was a delectable finish that would have graced any game in history, but here it was in a friendly tournament scored by the wrong team in-front of a deeply partisan home crowd so it was met with a deafening silence, instead of the rapturous applause it merited.

The final 5 minutes of the half, and the 2 minutes of added time at the end of the 5 passed without any further incidents of note. So England headed down the tunnel for half-time level with their opponents despite having controlled the play for vast swathes of the match so far.

Perhaps it was this dominance of possession and the immense pressure that they had been able to exact on the German defence that dissuaded Wiegman from making any changes to the team at half-time, but it appeared to be backfiring as Germany created the first glaring chance of the second half. Julie Brand had replaced Nicole Anyomi for the visitors at half-time and in the 52nd minute she combined with Maximiliane Rall to break the Germans in behind on the right. Her cross picked out Klara Buhl by the penalty spot but, with the headlines in her eyes, she fluffed her lines and England were able to clear the danger.

The hosts first chance of note failed to materialise till the game reached the hour mark and even then it took a mix-up in the German defence for England to fashion the opportunity. Kiera Walsh picked up the loose ball and played Lauren Hemp in one-on-one with Frohms. Hemp had the simple task of knocking the ball to either side of the keeper, but her weak attempt to sneak it in on the keepers left was saved simply by Frohms. Hemp will have been happy to see the linesman raise her flag for offside and render the finish moot.

Within 120 seconds of this chance Wiegman made her first substitution of the match as Georgia Stanway was given the rest of the match off. Nikita Parris being given 28 minutes to state her case for inclusion in the squad for the Euros. This was also the cue for a turgid period of play that lasted till the 75 minute of the match, during which the fans engaged in the time-honoured tradition of the Mexican wave.

Germany replaced goal-scorer Lina Mgull with Linda Dallmann with 18 minutes of the match remaining as they looked to force a winner. They had the first chance to do so when the game sparked back to life in the 75th minute. They broke free on the left and advanced into the space that had opened up in-front of them. The cross through the box was collected in the centre but a defender was able to successfully able to kick-start a game of pinball in the forest of legs that gave Roebuck the opportunity to come and collect the ball.

The game was back in full flow now and Williamson took matters into her own hands in the 81st minute when she unleashed a pile-driver from the edge of the box that skimmed the bar on it’s way behind. Wiegman once again took the sight of her team closing in on goal as the trigger to make another substitution. This time it was Lucy Bronze and goal-scorer Ellen White who were gifted a well deserved rest to be replaced by Alessia Russo and Ella Toone for the final 8 minutes of the match.

With the match entering it’s final 5 minutes it looked like England’s chances of winning the cup had evaporated into thin air, but Lauren Hemp wasn’t having it. She produced a gut-busting run from midfield to emerge one-on-one with Frohms and when her shot was blocked the rebound fell to Millie Bright, who slid it under the dive of Frohms and fired England into a 2-1 lead with 4 minutes of normal time left to play. Now all England needed was their third of the match and the cup would be theirs.

Having got the lead England retreated into themselves for the next few minutes as though they were just desperate to secure the win and not throw away another lead. Germany replaced Klara Buhl with the fresh legs of Selina Cerci up-front in an attempt to exploit the host’s new nervousness. It didn’t work as England made full use of the 3 minutes added to the end of the 90 to come away with what they needed.

England’s cup winning goal came with the final kick of the match. They broke up-field and Hemp headed the ball on to send Kirby running free through the centre. She advanced into the box and slotted a deft chip over the keeper’s head and into the back of the net. That was England’s third goal of the match and secured the 2 goal cushion they needed to win by to win the cup. The pandemonium in the stands at this brilliant late turn of events was incredible. What a way to win the cup.

Unfortunately my abysmal planning meant that I had a train to catch back to the North-West and was unable to remain in the ground to see the team lift the cup. To walk away from that atmosphere and the presentation stage being set-up in-front of the stand I was in was heart-wrenching. It was made even worse when I reached the station to find that my train had been delayed by 15 minutes. I was then joined, by many who had stayed for the cup presentation then sprinted to the station, with 7 minutes to spare to add to my frustration.

It was an incredible way for England to win their first trophy of the year in front of their home fans. I hope that they will be able to top this achievement by lifting the European Championship trophy in-front of 90,000 at Wembley on July 31st.

I do not have a ticket for that game, but I will be at Old Trafford on July 6th to see them kick-start their Euro 2022 campaign. See you for that blog soon afterwards.

So the nationwide train strike has been confirmed for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday next week. Even though I was going to be travelling to Leeds on Friday, for the England Women’s team’s final home build up game for the Euros next month, the knock on effect of the strikes mean that I can no longer make it.

There are enough trains to get me to the game, via a stopover in Manchester, but there is no way to get all the way back to Liverpool after the match. As I have no wish to be stuck in Leeds for 2 days this means I can no longer make it to the match.

To miss the chance of seeing Beth Mead go toe-to-toe in a scoring shootout with club-mate Vivianne Miedema is exceedingly disappointing. Not to mention a midfield battle royale between Man U team-mates Jackie Groenen and Ella Toone, whilst Leah Williamson and Georgia Stanway get re-acquainted with their old WSL adversaries Jill Roord and Danielle Van De Donk. Roord may now be plying her trade at Wolfsburg with Van De Donk at European heavyweights Lyon, but both of them used to play alongside Mead, Miedema and Williamson at Arsenal.

They worked incredible well as a team and it would have been insanely interesting to see how they fared in the head-to-head. Now I won’t get to be treated to that show unless they meet in the knockout games at the Euros. That may be a blessing in disguise though as if that game comes to pass there will be a lot more riding on it than there is on the game in Leeds next week.

I will be following the match on ITV 4 instead and hope the trains aren’t on strike again when I need to make my way to Old Trafford for England’s Euros opener against Austria on Wednesday July 6th.

With the discussions around the England Men’s team’s performances in the National League turning toxic, in the wake of their humiliating 4-0 loss at home to Hungary this week, I have decided to turn my attention to the release of the England squad for the Women’s Euros that they are hosting in July.

I am incredibly hyped for the Euros and have tickets to many of the games, including England’s opener against Austria at Old Trafford on July 6th. As such the release of England’s is of huge interest to me.

The Goalkeepers (Mary Earps, Hannah Hampton, Ellie Roebuck) are not really surprising in any way at all.
Mary Earps has had a brilliant season for Manchester United in the WSL and was a key influence on taking their tilt at Champions League qualification right down to the final weeks of the season.
Ellie Roebuck had to contend with injury problems at the beginning of the season, but has excelled since making her return to the Manchester City team. Her contribution to the turnaround in their form cannot be understated as they ended the season like a runaway train beating their city rivals to 3rd place and Champions League qualification in the process. Roebuck would be my choice for the number 1 shirt against Austria.
Hannah Hampton is the most left-field choice of the keepers, but more than worthy of her place in the squad. Having seen her play with Birmingham City, back in 2019, her skill between the sticks is undeniable. Her move across the city to Aston Villa has seen her push on and she will be hoping to add to her 2 current international caps during the tournament.

There are very few surprises in the midfield either (Jill Scott, Fran Kirby, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Kiera Walsh, Leah Williamson) and I’m particularly pleased to see Williamson rewarded for her excellent performances in defensive midfield for the Gunners this season. Many people will say that Jill Scott is too old for this level of the game, having now reached 35, but there is no denying that the experience she will have gained from 156 caps to her name will be crucial to the team in their difficult moments. Plus, anyone who has seen what James Milner has done since joining Liverpool will know that for the best players age really is just a number.

It is a little strange to see Fran Kirby included in the midfielders section of the squad given her searing form upfront for first Sunderland and now Chelsea. I’m sure Sarina Wiegman has included her in this section for a reason though and if Kirby does indeed play in the midfield I look forward to seeing what she can do there.

The power available to England up front is impressive, with Beth Mead (Arsenal), Bethany England (Chelsea), Alessia Russo (Man U) and Ellen White (Man City) all being potent creative forces for their clubs in domestic competitions. For England to be able to call on some of the greatest forwards at the top 4 teams in the WSL is awesome to see and will make them a force to be reckoned with during the Euros. Added to the quartet already mentioned are Nikita Parris (Arsenal), Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly (both Man City).

It is particularly gratifying to see Chloe Kelly included in the squad to top off her triumphant return from a career-threatening knee injury, sustained at the end of the 2020/21 WSL season. She missed months of the 2021/22 season but it is great to see her back now and in brilliant form. As long as the injury holds she will be tormenting opposition defences to her hearts content next month and I’m looking forward to seeing it.

Jess Park has been brilliant for Man City all season and it is a testament to the competition up-front for England that she missed out on the squad. Baring any horrendous injuries next season it will be horrendously difficult for Wiegman to leave her out of the World Cup squad next summer.

The defence is where the biggest shock is with ex-captain Steph Houghton being left out of the squad. She has been unable to play football since January due to an Achilles injury, but there had been a lot of talk that she was on a timetable to recover in time for the Euros. That she has not managed to recover in time is hugely disappointing as to have her influence in defence would have been a huge benefit for the rest of the team. Her long-time partner in central-defence, Millie Bright, has been included in the squad though so hopefully some of the experiences that the pair have shared on the pitch will bleed through to the rest of the team.

The rest of the defence contains nothing out of left field, with Alex Greenwood, Lucy Bronze, Jess Carter, Rachel Daly, Demi Stokes and Lotte Wubben-Moy all deserving of their places. If Houghton had recovered from her injury in time the choice of who to leave out so she could be included would have been a stomach-churning one for Wiegman. I have no doubt Wiegman would have made the right call if it had come to it, but perhaps she will be glad it didn’t come to that.

I want to take this opportunity to wish Steph Houghton all the best for the rest of her recovery and to wish the England Women’s team the greatest of luck for the tournament. It would be incredible for this brilliant team to win the trophy at Wembley on Sunday 31st July. Just a shame I won’t be able to see it in person, because despite getting a lot of tickets in the draw I was unable to get myself a ticket to the final.

Good luck to the England Women’s team at the Euros and I’ll be back blogging again soon.

The next football season starts in just 2 months time, as it tries to shimmy its way around the World Cup in Qatar in November. As such I feel now is the perfect time to outline which teams will be in which league when things get underway again in August.

South Coast
Brighton and Hove Albion, Southampton and Bournemouth

Having secured promotion back to the top table in the final weeks of the season, at the first time of asking, Bournemouth will be looking to avoid dropping straight back through the trap door again.

Brighton have shown great promise under Graham Potter, but a lack of cutting edge in-front of goal remains an Achilles heel that must be addressed to maintain their top flight status long-term.

Southampton have been a nailed-on mid-table finisher every season since their ascension to the league for the 2012/13 season. However, they are also as certain to deliver one dreadful performance that sees them mauled by as many a 9 goals to nil. Who will be the team to maul them like that this season?

North-East
Newcastle United

The flood of money that flowed in from Saudi Arabia in the middle of the 2021/22 season was not only enough to rescue the Magpies from their relegation scrap, but also to finish up just 2 points outside the top 10. With a full summer to reinforce their squad and for Eddie Howe to train his team in his ever exciting and effective tactics the pride of the North-East have the chance to become a true powerhouse of the beautiful game. The current top teams had better be wary of them.

Yorkshire
Leeds United

Having managed to pull off a miraculous escape on the final day of last season they will look to push further up the table next season. Whether they will be capable of this without their fabled saviour Marcelo Bielsa remains to be seen. If Jesse Marsch can can get the fans onboard they could be a real force to be reckoned with.

North-West
Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City

The loyal blues of Merseyside were key to their teams survival at the end of last season and they will demand much more from their team in 2022/23. Lampard may be the man to lead them up the table, but if results go against him in the early weeks he may find his fate at Goodison Park to be the same as Benitez’s last season.

Across Stanley Park things look far rosier for the Red Merseysiders, despite their failure to complete the unprecedented quadruple in the dying days of last season. It does look to be a difficult summer in prospect for Klopp and his team though, with both Salah and Mane rumoured to be on their way to pastures new for next season. If they do leave then both Jota and Luis Diaz will have the weight of the world on their shoulders. How they deal with this and who is brought in to support them is crucial to whether Liverpool’s brilliant run of seasons will continue or come to an emergency stop. The capture of Darwin Nunez from Benfica is an excellent start to their summer business.

The task for Man U’s new manager, Erik Ten Hag, is far more daunting than any other manager in the league. He must stabilise and rebuild a collapsed giant of the game whilst under the immense pressure of the fans to provide this miraculous turn around in fortune within months. Such a miraculous turn of events normally takes years to achieve.

Man City are the undeniable kings of the Premier League with 4 titles in the past 5 seasons and with the addition of Haaland to their ranks for the new season few would bet against them winning the title again. The real challenge for City is to find a way to translate their domestic form into success in European competitions.

The Midlands
Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leicester City, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest

Since their earth-shattering title win 6 seasons ago Leicester have drifted back into mid-table obscurity. Despite the best efforts of Brendan Rodgers and Jamie Vardy this looks to be where they will stay for the foreseeable future. They may challenge for European qualification in the upcoming season, but if they do it will be for the lower competitions. Champions League qualification appears to be well beyond them, but then so did the title all those seasons ago.

Wolves have a tried and tested formula, it has worked for them for many seasons now so they’re sticking too it. If they wish to move up from the morass of mid-table mediocrity a few tweaks to the formula may be necessary.

Aston Villa have done very well in the seasons since their most recent return to the top flight. Their history in both the top tier and in European football is undeniable, they have the passionate fanbase that could easily fill Villa Park 3 times over to prove it. The glory days of this brilliant club may have been back in the 80’s but with Steven Gerrard now comfortable in the dugout and with the brilliant job he achieved at Rangers in mind, perhaps the glory days will be returning to Villa Park again soon.

Talking of glory days returning to the Midlands it is brilliant to see Nottingham Forest returning to the top flight for the first time in the 21st century. Having been lucky enough to have visited their City Ground towards the end of last season I can personally attest to the incredible support their fans give the team and to the beauty of their ground. Any Premier League fans who are lucky enough to visit this gorgeous ground on the banks of the Trent will know how lucky they are to be there when they arrive. I hope they manage to survive their first season back at the top table and can continue to dine there for many seasons to come.

London
Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Brentford

The capital city of the nation contains 7 of the teams for the new season of the Premier League and this number is far higher than it has been for many seasons.

Arsenal are one of those teams and having missed out on Champions League qualification in the dying weeks of last season they will be extremely anxious not to miss out again in the coming season. The failure of 2021/22 was made worse by the fact that it was their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur that qualified for that illustrious competition in their place.

For their part Spurs will be buzzing after securing their return to the top European competition for the first time since reaching the 2018/19 final. To have done so at the expense of the Gunners and stolen from them the joy of celebrating St. Totteringham’s day is simply the cherry on that delicious cake. Clutching defeat from the jaws of victory is synonymous with Spurs to the point where being ‘Spursy’ is a phrase that has entered the common parlance of football fans, Spurs will be on a mission to prove that this season was not simply a flash in the pan and in doing so consign the idea of being ‘Spursy’ to the dustbin of history.

To say that Chelsea have had a tumultuous season is to understate it dramatically. They have had to ride out the effect of sanctions being imposed on the club, due to Roman Abramovich’s links to Vladimir Putin, including a short ban on selling tickets. Unable to make any match day income from shop sales or programmes and unable to renew players contracts. Despite this turmoil and the takeover coming too late to allow them to sort out the contracts they still managed to finish the season in 3rd place. With the new owners now in place and a full summer window to rebuild their squad just what they will be able to achieve in the new season is a scary prospect.

West Ham United have seriously overachieved in the 2021/22 season with not just a 7th place finish in the league, that secures them a place in next season’s Europa Conference League, but also a stupendous run to the semi-finals of the Europa League to their name, only losing to eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt. This brilliant performance has secured David Moyes’ place in Hammers folklore and if he can deliver another European challenge this season and qualify for a 2023/24 European competition then he will only be beaten in that folklore by the team that won the World Cup in 1966.

With so many teams for the new Premier League season hailing from London it is shocking that only one of them is located south of the River Thames. Crystal Palace are that team and under Patrick Viera they have become a bogey-team for many of the clubs above them. Wilfred Zaha remains their talisman for the coming season and if Viera can continue to improve on those around him then a move up the table, from their 12th place finish in 2021/22 is certainly on the cards.

The bouncing between the top 2 divisions that Fulham appear to have mastered is something that many of the teams they steamrolled in the 2021/22 Championship season would love to replicate. However, for their fans it must be becoming extremely tedious to endure and any way that they can find to exit the cycle this season will be gratefully accepted by their beleaguered fans.

Brentford finished an awe-inspiring 13th place in the table in their first season back in the top division since 1946/47. To say that this has been ecstasy to bear witness too is the understatement of the millennium. From the opening day win against Arsenal at the new stadium through the 3-3 draw with Liverpool in the same location, to the 4-1 destruction of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and the 2-1 comeback win at Goodison Park, this season has delivered some amazing memories that will stay with me forever. Retaining the services of the peerless Christian Eriksen for next season will be crucial to ensuring theses Canaan days continue for the ‘Bus stop in Hounslow’. As I will be a season ticket holder for the Bees for the 2022/23 season I hope that the Canaan days do continue and that I will be able to enjoy many glorious days following the Bees for a long time to come.

Fully recharged and having sorted out the technical problems that invaded my life last week, I’m back on the blog trail again. Starting out this time with a simpler blog that outlines the winners and losers of the 2021/22 season in England.

WINNERS
Champions League – Real Madrid
Europa League -Eintracht Frankfurt
Europa Conference League – Roma
League Cup – Liverpool
FA Cup -Liverpool

Premier League Champions – Manchester City

Qualification for Champions League 2022/23
Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur

Qualification for Europa League 2022/23
Arsenal, Manchester United

Qualification for Europa Conference League 2022/23
West Ham United

Relegated to the EFL Championship for the 2022/23 season
Burnley, Watford, Norwich City

Promoted to the Premier League for the 2022/23 season
Fulham (Championship Champions)
Bournemouth
Nottingham Forest (Play-off winners)

Relegated to EFL League One for the 2022/23 season
Barnsley, Derby County, Peterborough Untied

Promoted to the EFL Championship for the 2022/23 season
Wigan Athletic (Champions)
Rotherham United
Sunderland (Playoffs)

Relegated to EFL League Two for the 2022/23 season
Crewe Alexandra, AFC Wimbledon, Doncaster Rovers, Gillingham

Promoted to EFL League One for the 2022/23 season
Forest Green Rovers (Champions)
Exeter City, Bristol Rovers
Port Vale (Playoffs)

Relegated to the National League for the 2022/23 season
Scunthorpe United, Oldham Athletic

Oldham become the first former Premier League team to fall through the trap-door into Non-League as their Shezurrection fell short of it’s goal. The tactic worked twice before but this time it was a case of third time unlucky. The Latics fell 6 points short of maintaining their league status for another season. The day their relegation was confirmed was marred by a pitch invasion by fans angry at the owner’s mismanagement of their club. Best of luck in the National League next season and I hope to see you back in League Two for the 2023/24 season.

Promoted to EFL League Two for the 2022/23 season
Stockport County (Champions)
Grimsby Town (Playoffs)

Those are all the winners and losers of the 2021/22 season, but with the fixtures for the 2022/23 Premier League season being released on Thursday June 16th now is the time to look to the future. See you in that future soon

Sunday 22nd May 2022: Premier League Final Day: Brentford Community Stadium: Brentford vs Leeds United

So here it is, the final day of the Premier League season and I am going into this match incredibly laid-back because Brentford are already safely marooned in mid-table and having a turbo charged end to the season. The Bees came into this one having not lost at home since a 2-0 reverse to Newcastle on 26th February and haven’t conceded a goal in the 360 minutes of football they have played at the Brentford Community Stadium since then.

My mood was further relaxed to the point that I was almost horizontal by the fact that the Bees final day opponents were Leeds United. The Yorkshire team are in dreadful form coming into this one, having not won since 9th April when they beat the Hornets 3-0 at Vicarage Road.

Leeds had only managed to secure 2 draws from their last 5 matches, losing the other 3, and coming into this one they knew that another draw would be no good to them. Their awful run of recent form meaning that their fight to maintain their Premier League status for another season was now out of their hands, due to their despicable -38 goal difference.

The only way they were staying up now was to fight for their lives to get a positive result from this match and hope that Newcastle United would be able to take points off Burnley, also fighting for their lives, at the Lancashire team’s home of Turf Moor. Their goal difference being 20 worse than the Clarets meant that equalling the host’s result at Turf Moor will be no use at all.

There were only two rays of sunshine on this pile of dark omens for the travelling Leeds faithful. The first being that Burnley haven’t managed to win on the final day of the season in any of their last 5 seasons during their current run in the Premier League. The second being that they did manage to score a 95th minute equaliser in the home match against the Bees. Knowing that they can score late goals against their opponents today may prove to be crucial if they need a goal to stay up with things going their way elsewhere. The only small problem with all that though is that Brentford have manged to salvage 15 points from losing positions this season so Leeds can’t count their chickens till the final whistle blows.

My route to the stadium was a little different to usual as I had come down to London for a rearranged (2020’ed) concert on the Saturday evening, so I had to get a District Line train from Victoria aiming for Gunnersbury and looking to walk from there. The first train to arrive at Victoria was a Wimbledon service so I had to make my way to Earls Court, to change there, accompanied by a load of bouncing Chelsea fans and Watford fans on their way to their teams Premier League swansong at Stamford Bridge.

I left those fans as I emerged at Earls Court just as the Richmond service I required was pulling out of the station from the platform opposite me. The annoyance of missing this train by seconds was compounded by the fact that Richmond services were only running every 10 minutes. That wait for the next Richmond service was the most frustrating moment of my season since the Sheffield train delays on my way to Hillsborough.

Thankfully my journey got a lot easier once I emerged into the blazing sunlight at Gunnersbury. Just a turn to the left and then straight on till the stadium hoves into view on your right. Google Maps had this slated to take 17 minutes but it only took me 12 minutes despite stopping to grab a drink on the way.

I turned right into Lionel South Road to find the atmosphere rather too chilled for my liking. There seemed to be just an expectation of an easy win pervading the home fans and this was only increased by the fact that the Leeds fans had no faith in getting what they needed from the game. The fans that had travelled down from Yorkshire were heading the other way to me in order to find their turnstiles chanting “We’re going down, we’re going down and next season you will be too”. Whilst I was certain they were right about the part I badly hoped they will be proved wrong on the second part by the end of next season.

Making my way down the Road towards my turnstile I spotted Ethan Pinnock standing near the players entrance taking pictures with young fans and their families. Pinnock may be injured and unable to do his part on the pitch but it’s great to see him still playing his part in boosting the morale of the fans. It is very rare to see players interacting with fans like this and according to the elder gentleman nearby, that I saw sitting on the barrier and stopped to talk too, he had been doing so for the previous 20 minutes without so much as pulling a face. That’s awesome from Ethan Pinnock and I can’t wait to see him back on the pitch with his teammates next season.

There was still one final match of the season for the rest of the Bees to get through first though so I made my way through the crowds to my turnstile. Despite a last minute problem with my e-ticket I was able to get inside thanks to some super-helpful stewards.
Before heading to my seat though I stopped to take in the view on the concourse screens and the huge banner at the bottom of each which was scrolling through the starting 11’s and substitutes bench for both teams. I was able to get every single one of them recorded on the back of my programme before making my way to my seat, as the teams were being announced over the tannoy by the brilliant Peter Gilham.

This programme note-taking saw the return of a lovely tradition for me, the player missing from the programme squad list that is in the matchday squad. Today’s player in question was on the Leeds bench and his name is Archie Gray, a 16 year old forward with the squad number 63. The fact that he was not included in the opposition roll call section inside the programme either gave me the sense that he had yet to make his debut for the club. As such I was intrigued by the possibility of him making a very late cameo in the match and scoring a piledriver from 35 yards that secured Leeds’s survival. Though not as much as I was by the possibility of ex-Leeds man Pontus Jansson scoring a last minute header to rob his old team of the result they needed.

I doubt that much of this was going through the minds of the Leeds die-hards that had made the trip to London without any expectation of seeing their team survive. Despite this lack of expectation there was no lack of hope in the party atmosphere they created before kick-off. A huge wall of noise blasted into the visiting players as they made their way over to their fans at the end of their warm-up and at one point I spotted 4 beachballs being thrown around simultaneously by the fans as they were determined to enjoy their day out.

There were also chants of “Marcelo Bielsa” before kick-off in support of the work down by their deposed ex-boss to return them to the Premier League. Whether he would have kept them up will never be known, but now it came down to the players on the day and the efforts of new boss Jesse Marsch to accomplish that goal.

An eerie silence descended over the ground as the teams emerged, Brentford in their Red and White home strip whilst Leeds plumped for a tasteful Lilac number for this final day clash (except for Meslier who had gone full fluorescent carrot), but the atmosphere ramped up again in the away end before the match got underway moments later.

Within 10 seconds of kick-off all the away fans nightmares came inches away from coming true as it really should have been 1-0 to Brentford. Leeds dithered on it in midfield and Toney snuck in to grab the ball off them then drove towards the by-line. His cut back was blocked behind and Eriksen slapped the ball up to Wissa on the penalty spot. Before Wissa could nod it home though there was a wild Leeds head that popped up to steal it off his head and turn it behind for what should have been a corner. The ref’s view is the only one that counts though and he decided to award the visitors a goal kick.

Leeds used the momentum of this let-off to put together a little spell of possession that ended with a throw-in finding it’s way to Sam Greenwood on the edge of the area. He started a theme for the visitors, that would continue throughout the vast majority of the game, by sending the ball to Mars with the speed of Apollo 11. It just kept rising till it passed the goal higher than even 3 London route masters piled on top of one another could reach.

Launching that ball like a rocket to Mars seemed to unsettle the visitors and Meslier in particular as he came inches away from gifting the hosts the lead. Rico Henry took a throw in from 18 yards out on the left touchline that looped towards goal slowly and looked simple for the keeper to collect. Meslier looked to have it safely in his gloves for a split-second before the ball squirmed free and came to rest inches wide of the left post and halfway across the white line. A huge let-off for Leeds that keeps their hopes of survival alive.

There was a lot of end-to-end play early in the match but the goals were threatened less than a Killer Whale is by Plankton. Leeds looked to change that in the 11th minute as some intricate interplay on the left saw them advance to get in-line with the 6 yard box. The resultant cross was begging for a finish that would never come as the Lilac boys in the centre failed to gamble on their teammates getting to crossing level. As such they were all resting near the penalty spot when they needed to be 6 yards further forward.

A minute later it was the hosts time to miss the opportunity for a tap-in. A raking free-kick from Eriksen near the right touchline flew out to Wissa no-more than 3 yards out at the back post. All Wissa needed to do was stretch and it would have been a simple tap-in from point blank range for him, but no stretch was forthcoming and the toenail connection that Wissa did get was only enough to direct the ball into the side netting.

The 15th minute threw up an infuriating moment for the home fans. Brentford were in the middle of a promising break with Wissa and Toney at the heart of it when Toney was pulled to the ground by Kalvin Phillips. Everyone in the stand around me thought the ref was bound to give a free kick to the Bees and were shocked into an aghast silence when the ref gave the decision to the visitors. The disbelief was palpable.

Leeds started to control the game after this decision went their way and created their first decent chance of the match in the 17th minute as Greenwood was released into a corridor of space in the right channel. He advanced into the area but Jansson got across just in time to put him under pressure and Greenwood was unable to aim his effort properly. His shot went fizzing like a thunderbolt towards goal and skimming over the top of the crossbar on its way behind.

A minute later a huge cheer erupted in the away end which I assumed meant that Newcastle had taken the lead at Turf Moor. This was followed by an ever louder cheer 120 seconds later, which I took to be a second goal for the Magpies and Leeds fan enjoying the knowledge that even without a goal in this one they would now be staying up. On looking at the scores on the concourse screens at half-time it appears that the first cheer was for the award of the penalty that was slotted away by Callum Wilson and the second cheer was the one for the ball hitting the back of the Turf Moor net.

Between those two huge cheers Leeds looked to have another reason to celebrate as they had the ball in the Brentford net. A serious of mazy passes on the left hand side pushed the ball inexorably towards the Bees goal and when the ball was snuck through the gap between Raya and his near post by Joe Gelhardt. The visiting fans erupted into unbridled Euphoria but this outpouring of joy was cut short by VAR. After checks at Stockley Park the score was returned to 0-0 and the Leeds fans were momentarily brought crushing down to earth as the goal was ruled out for Gelhardt edging into an offside position before slotting the ball home.

The Newcastle goal at Turf Moor perked up the Leeds fan once again and this translated to their play on the pitch as the pinned Brentford back into their box and piled on the pressure to find the breakthrough. That they failed to do so for a little while yet was more down to their own lack of attacking creativity than any kind of excellent defending by the hosts. Brentford looked to be lacking any ideas of how to get back into the match. They were not just on the beach, they were working on getting burnt.

Jansson took this relaxed attitude to the max in the 25th minute though as he sat down on the grass to catch his breath. To be fair to him though he had taken a ball to the stomach a couple of minutes earlier though and was perhaps still feeling the effects of that impact. Leeds took advantage of this dominance of the match to continue their tradition of firing the ball into outer space from the edge of the box. This time it was Junior Firpo taking his turn at the moon-shot.

This appeared to shake Brentford from their revelry as they finally got on the attack in the 29th minute, breaking upfield from the goal kick that Firpo’s moon-shot granted them. Wissa flicked it forward for Mbeumo to chase but the Leeds defence were quick to sense the danger and got to the ball first to clear up. Mbeumo was too physical in his efforts to recover the ball for the ref’s liking though and Leeds were able to clear the ball far upfield from the resulting free kick.

Brentford were back on the attack within 60 seconds though as Rico and Wissa combined to create an opening on the left. All the opening led too though was a throw-in 18 yards out on the left touchline that Mads Bech launched into the box and onto the head of Ivan Toney. The Bees talisman is normally as deadly as a cyanide injection from inside the area but all he could manage this time was to help the ball on it’s journey across to the far side of the pitch.

The hosts finally managed to put together a period of possession as the half moved into it’s final third. However, the next chance of note wasn’t created until the 34th minute and even then the hosts contrived to take the threat out of it. Mbeumo was fed the ball by Wissa and with the freedom of Hounslow to pick his spot he rolled it at the speed of an arthritic slug into Meslier’s grateful waiting arms. The slightest hint of power or curl on the shot would have caused problems for the Leeds goalkeeper, but it was not to be.

Brentford were finally in the mood to play though and peppered the visitors goalmouth for the next 3 minutes. First Toney ghosted his way past multiple defenders to reach the by-line before chipping a cut back in the direction of Wissa at the back post. Wissa knocked it towards goal, but it was always rising and Meslier made sure it went over the top by leaping like a salmon to fingertip it in the necessary direction. Then Eriksen let fly with a pile-driver that was deflected agonisingly wide of the post on it’s way behind.

The visitors were back on the attack 7 minutes before half-time though and the visiting fans felt they should have been given a penalty when the ball cannoned into the hand of Mads Bech in the middle of the Bees box. Whether their view made it look like the ball had actually struck the hand or their appeals were born out of desperation for a goal, with the fear of a Burnley goal dropping them back into the relegation zone front and centre of their minds, I just don’t know but the ball hit the Bees defender in the middle of his stomach. There is no universe in existence where being hit in the stomach counts as a handball and the away fans appeals were rightly turned down. None of the Leeds players appealed.

Whilst the away fans appealed in vain I took the opportunity to check the scores from around the grounds. This is where I saw that Newcastle were just 1 goal to the good at Turf Moor and whilst Leeds were safe as things stood it would only take a goal from the hosts here or there to flip that situation on it’s head.

Brentford came close to grabbing that all-important goal in this one as they came inches away from the opener in the 43rd minute when Jensen intercepts the ball 20 yards out and fed Mbeumo down the right. His cross-cum-shot drifted a little off target though and looked to be heading Toney’s way for a simple tap-in at the far post but, as with Wissa earlier, he was unable to stretch quite far enough to direct the ball home and it floated behind for a goal kick.

My first thought when the fourth-official raised his board to indicate that there were to be 2 minutes of added-time tacked on to the end of the half was ‘why subject us to any more of this?’. This was to prove prophetic as the only entertainment on offer in the added-time was another moon-shot from the edge of the box. Vitaly Janelt of Brentford was the one trying his luck this time though and, if nothing else, it was a change of pace for the hosts to be trying their luck with this tactic.

I took the time during the break to go and see my family, season-ticket holders near the halfway line, to discuss our perspectives on the first half’s play. On the way down to them I was waylaid by a fellow Bees fan who recognised me from the throngs that had visited Goodison Park last weekend. I had a lovely chat with this fan before continuing on to see my family, but it was not the first time I was recognised on this day. Another Bees fan had recognised me on my walk between Pinnock and my turnstile pre-match and whilst it’s lovely to be recognised it was also a little disconcerting as I am a very private person and being recognised is not normally a factor of life for me.

Anyway, tangent over and back to the match in question. After a quick discussion with the members of my family that I could locate I headed back onto the concourse and took a butchers at the screens to see how the many questions in the air heading into the final day were being answered.

The relegation battle was going Leeds way as Burnley were trailing 1-0 to Newcastle at half-time. Further up the league table it was the Hammers who were ahead in their battle against Man U for Europa League qualification. They were winning on the South Coast whilst the Red Devils were losing in South London and if that state of affairs remained the same at the final David Moyes men would have a chance to go one better than they managed this season in that competition.

The Champions League showdown between the North London teams was panning out just as expected, with Spurs waltzing to victory over basement dwellers Norwich and making Arsenal’s 2-0 lead over awful travellers Everton meaningless in the greater scheme of things.

The title race was turning out to be far more dramatic though as Stevie G was doing his part of the job by inspiring his Villa team to a 1-0 lead at half-time at the Etihad. Liverpool weren’t upholding their end of the deal though as despite scoring themselves that goal had only drawn them level at half-time and obliterated the lead Wolves had established within 3 minutes at Anfield.

I would be keeping a weather eye on all the developments in the North West as the second halves progressed at Turf Moor, Anfield and the Etihad, but turned my attentions back to the action in West London as Leeds beat their hosts back onto the pitch for the second kick-off. Both managers decided to keep their powder dry at half-time and as things got underway for the second half all I was hoping for was for the hosts to look up for it in this half in a way they just hadn’t during their lacklustre first 45.

The signs were excellent in the first minute of the half as the Bees swarmed forward at pace before Eriksen laid it on a plate for an un-marked Mbeumo in the centre of the area. All that was needed was the simplest of finishes either side of Meslier and the hosts would have the lead. So of course Mbeumo tapped it into the keeper’s arms. The groans that permeated the stand around me was biblical.

In the 51st minute and with a load more zip in Brentford’s play since half-time, Mbeumo had another chance to give the hosts the lead. Once again he was found in space by Eriksen but on the right this time. Instead of slotting the ball through to Toney, in acres and acres of space in the centre of the box, he chose instead to send the ball slithering down the right channel instead where Meslier was able to collect it at a saunter. The anger around me that was directed towards Mbeumo for those incidents was visceral, but for me the main emotion was frustration because Mbeumo is such a talented finisher and right now he just wasn’t doing himself any type of justice.

Leeds had struggled to create anything of note during the first 9 minutes of the second half but they were about to be given a gift of gargantuan proportions by the hosts keeper, David Raya. It came from Leeds first decent foray into the Bees half since the restart and when the ball was fed through to Rodrigo, Raya came rushing out to close him down.

He got the ball at this point but his pass out didn’t make a teammate. Instead it went straight to the feet of Raphinha who advanced towards goal. In attempting to make up for this schoolboy error Raya crashed into Raphinha and gave away the clearest penalty I have seen on a football pitch. He was lucky to have defenders nearby that could conceivably have got round to cover in the ref’s approximation. This was the only thing that helped him avoid the straight red card that the away fans were baying for.

Raphinha picked himself up off the turf to fire the ball down the centre of the goal, as though fired from a cannon, whilst Raya dived helplessly away to his left. Before the ball had even crashed into the back of the net the away end exploded into a wall of noise and yellow flares that blocked out the view of the away fans from the rest of the world.

By the time that sea of yellow floated off into the ether and the away fans had re-entered the viewable universe, Thomas Frank had already dipped into his bench resources to try and help his team bounce back from the body blow of going behind. Mr Frank decided that attack was the best form of defence for the final 32 minutes of the match as he removed defensive midfielder Mathias Jensen from the action and replaced him with the mercurial creative force of Josh DaSilva.

The change did not have an immediate impact on play as Jack Harrison drove down the left wing. Janelt followed his keeper’s example by jumping in recklessly and giving away a needless free-kick. The free-kick was easily cleared to the edge of the box but it was slapped straight back toward goal through a forest of legs in the 6 yard box. Thankfully for me and my fellow home fans Raya was equal to this effort though.

This save did not stop the cheers erupting once again in the Leeds end. It took me 10 seconds to work out why they were cheering a failed shot from there own team and then it hit me. Newcastle United must have scored a 2nd goal at Turf Moor and sure enough when I checked my phone I saw that Wilson had his second of the match in Lancashire. Now the Leeds fans knew that converting their 1-0 here into a win will keep them up unless Burnley score 2 in half an hour having not scored in the first hour of play. That or Brentford score 2 here and at this point that looked about as likely as humanity colonising Neptune in the next 3 weeks.

To try and make that colonisation a reality Thomas Frank dipped back into his bench resources again with 25 minutes left. This substitution made no sense at all though as he removed one of the best players of an incredible Bees season, in taking off Rico Henry. To bring Sergi Canos on seemed to be a great idea at the time as it was a simple straight swap and Canos is brilliant on his day. What I can’t understand though is taking off Rico, having another effective if a little quiet match, instead of Mbeumo whose shooting boots had been left on his bed in the pre-match hotel.

As the match entered its final 20 minutes Thomas Frank took another dip in his bench wallet for further resources to tip the scales of the match back into the Bees favour. Mr Frank had decided to go full send for the conclusion to the match, taking off central defender Mads Bech and bringing on attacking midfielder Shandon Baptiste in his place.

Jess Marsch responded to this third and final Bees substitution with one of his own. Marsch decided to remove Joe Gelhardt from the pitch for the final 19 minutes of the match and send on Pascal Struijk to help his team see out the rest of the match and secure their status in the league for next season.

The hosts change seemed to be the most effective in the following 10 minutes as they pinned Leeds back into their own half and barely allowed the visitors 20 yards away from their own goal-line. As for what Brentford’s formation has now become, I will await ideas for how to describe it on the back of a postcard. I could not fathom out what it supposed to be at this point.

This lack of determinable formation came into full focus just 2 minutes after the changes as DaSilva found a pocket of space on the right to whip a tempting cross into the box, but no-one was there in a red and white shirt to tap it home. Brentford now had 7 attacking players on the pitch now, including DaSilva, so why were none of them in the box to get the simplest tap-in of their career?

I took time to ponder this whilst double checking the score news from the North-West. This check gave me a little hope for an end to the final day that would have the world on tenterhooks. Not only had Burnley pulled a goal back at Turf Moor, meaning just one more goal for them and one for the Bees would ruin Leeds day, but Villa had also doubled their lead at the Etihad. Coutinho had put the villains 2-0 to the good so Liverpool were in the place of only needing a single goal to keep their quadruple hopes alive.

This sense of optimism was punctured with a javelin just 30 seconds later as Kristoffer Ajer dropped to the turf after a collision with Kalvin Phillips. Physios went across to treat Ajer as Phillips jumped to his feet and it soon became clear that Ajer was not in a good place. Sure enough Ajer was unable to continue and headed straight down the tunnel once the physios had helped him to his feet. Having already made all of their changes this awful turn of bad luck left Brentford with the unenviable task of seeing out the final 15 minutes of the match with 10 men and already losing 1-0.

Within minutes of this awful event for the hosts came one of far more glorious proportions. From nowhere Brentford were level. The Bees were down to 10 men, but out of nothing they managed to draw themselves back into the match. Mbeumo advanced on the right and when he made the wrong choice of pass the ball bounced off the Leeds defender he had been aiming for and fell to the feet of Wissa. He stood the ball up to the back post where Canos had engineered for himself the freedom of the 8 yard line to nod the ball back across goal and sneak it into the net by the right hand post.

My joy at this unexpectedly glorious turn of events knew no bounds to the point that I completed missed the return of the Bees bad luck in the aftermath of the leveller. All I knew at this point was that Canos had scored the equaliser for Brentford with just 13 minutes left of the match and at a time when no-one expected it.

It took me a full 8 minutes before I noticed that something had changed on the pitch for the hosts and then only due to a substitution that Leeds made. The visitors made the change of taking off Sam Greenwood and bringing on Mateusz Klich in his place, but this was not what caught my eye at this point.

In the aftermath of every substitution I do a quick scan of the pitch to double check that the numbers that come up on the fourth official’s board correspond to the players that have changed places with each other. In the process of doing this scan I realised that I had only been able to count 9 players on the pitch for Brentford. I double, triple and quadruple checked my count before I could be definitively sure that Brentford were indeed down to just 9 players for at least the final 5 minutes. I was so perplexed by this development that I asked the fans around me to double check my maths. It was only when they confirmed that Brentford were indeed down to 9 that I worked out who the difference was.

Canos was no longer on the pitch and neither I nor those who double checked the numbers for me had any idea why. The rumour that I collected from other fans who had been further down the stands, on my way to the bus stop after the match, was that Canos had received 2 yellow cards within about 60 seconds of each other. It appeared that Canos had been given the first yellow for taking his shirt off as part of his goal celebration, then his second just a minute later for steaming into a tackle on the far touchline.

Whatever the truth of how Canos collected his red card the fact remained that Brentford would now have to finish the match with just 9 players on the pitch.

I also took the chance to check the scores around the grounds as the season entered it’s final 5 minutes and saw that City had staged the most inconceivable of comebacks to lead Villa 3-2 at the Etihad to set themselves on the path to their 4th title in the past 5 Premier League seasons. Given my Liverpool leanings this was the last news I wanted to hear at this point.

Back in west London the game had ticked into the final 5 minutes with Brentford now 2 players lighter than their opponents and just trying to hold on till half-time with the 1-1 scoreline still intact. Leeds were pushing for the winner that would guard their survival against a last minute equaliser from the hosts at Turf Moor.

The visitors came close to that winner in the penultimate minute of the 90 as Harrison broke through the Bees defensive lines and into the box. He laid the ball off to the supporting Rodrigo who guided the ball mere inches over the bar. The expectation rose to neurotic levels in the away end as Rodrigo let the shot fly only to come crashing down like an exploded space shuttle. As a home fan this was glorious to experience, but things were about to take a turn to the dark side for me and all other home fans.

The fourth official somehow managed to scrape together 5 minutes of added time at the end of the match and I’m still trying to work out how they found so much of it. Leeds used this time far more productively than the hosts. Harrison was once again at the heart of things for the visitors, advancing to the edge of the box and launching a shot high over the bar. It looked to me like a clear goal kick but the ref took a different view of things and gave Leeds a corner instead.

I still don’t understand how that could possibly have been a corner, but Leeds won’t care why they got it as it was from this set piece that they scored the winner. The ball flew out to the edge of the box and all I saw of it then was that it turned on a dime and smashed into the back of the net. I had no idea who had scored it at this point and the wild celebrations from the players, all zooming over to the away end at light speed to celebrate with their delirious fans, was no more enlightening.

The scenes in the away end were incredible, with yellow flares greeting the entire Leeds 11 as they sprinted to the corner containing their fans. Meslier sprinted the length of the pitch to join in with the party and both Gelhardt and Greenwood road-runnered it round from the dugouts to join in too. The visions of joy etched on the faces of those who had made the long journey down from Yorkshire was infuriating to me having just seen my team lose a point to a set-piece that I was certain should never have been given. Of course I understood why the away fans were descending into bedlam, their team had just secured the win that ensured that no matter what Burnley did now they were still staying up, but I can’t deny it was really testing my patience to watch their party unfold.

The goal hit the back of the net within 60 seconds of the start of the added 5 minutes it was also the last act of the game. The ref blew for full-time as soon as the Bees had kicked off again and the party kicked off again in the away end. Half an hour later the party was still going and not just in the away end as it quickly became clear that there were infiltrators in the home end. The stewards and security people were so slow to respond to the gloating fans in the wrong end, only stepping in as things began to boil over between the infiltrators and a couple of irate home fans who hadn’t been able to get tickets for family members to join them for this game.

The true home fans in the home ends where asked over the tannoy to remain in their seats as the team will be out once the Leeds players have left the pitch for a lap on honour in recognition of a successful season. With that announcement at the back of my mind I just wanted the Leeds players and fans gone. Yes they’d just pulled off an incredible great escape with a final second winner that secured their safety and in their place I’d want to celebrate for the next 3 days, I wasn’t in their place and I just wanted them out of my stadium now.

Once the away end was finally cleared out the Bees players emerged from the tunnel for their lap of honour but with the performance they had put in today the home stands were a little more swiss cheese than they otherwise ought to have been. It was still a great feeling to be able to applaud the first Brentford team to successfully maintain their Top Division status in more than three-quarters of a century.

I didn’t get leave the stadium until 6:24pm when the game had finished at 5:45pm and to stay that long after the final whistle was crazy for me but also a fitting way to bring to a close a season that I have truly enjoyed. Looking back on the season I have seen some incredible matches, the 3-3 draw against Liverpool and 4-1 win at Stamford Bridge being stand-outs for me. I have also seen some awful bore-fests but those have been on offer more in my travels to new grounds around the country.

Brentford have had an incredible season and I am looking forward to seeing how they manage to avoid the second season syndrome. The biggest hope I have for the Bees summer business is that they hold onto the services of Christian Eriksen and add to their options up-front.

The new season starts a week earlier than last season, in just 11 weeks time, but for me that is currently far too far away to expunge the memory of this awful end to the 2021/22 season. So this blog will be keeping going with the Women’s Euros in July. Between now and then I will be blogging about any cool developments in the football world that pique my interest. See you for those soon.

Right, so the final day of the Premier League season is just 2 days away and I’m here to break down exactly what’s on the line at both ends of the table. Let’s start down at the bottom where the equation is far simpler than at the top.

Norwich and Watford are already condemned to spend next season in the Championship and have been for some time, but the question of who will finish bottom of the table remains unanswered. The Canaries will start the final day on 22points, with the Hornets just a point ahead of them on 23.

Theoretically this should mean that all Norwich have to do to avoid finishing in 20th is get a better result at home to Tottenham than Watford can manage away at Stamford Bridge, but it’s not quite that simple. Their goal difference, an abysmal -56, is so much worse than Watford’s, a still abysmal -42, that only a win will do for them. Any other result on their final home Premier League game, for at least 15 months, will mean that Watford can sneak 19th place even when they lose at Stamford Bridge.

That goal difference disparity is not down to the Norwich defence being far leakier than Watford’s as they had conceded 79 goals compared to 75 for the Hornets. The difference is solely down to the East Anglian’s inability to put the ball in the net. A return of just 23 goals from 37 games is abominable and 10 worse than the next worst record of 33 goals, shared by Watford and Burnley. Though an explanation of their profligacy is not easy to ascertain as, in Teemu Pukki they have a player with a proven record of scoring huge amounts of goals in previous seasons. The lack of back-up scorers around him has perhaps been their downfall and if they want to avoid becoming the new yo-yo team then brining in fellow finishers to support their talisman may be the way to go.

For the record I have absolutely no faith that either of teams will get any points on the final day as they are both facing teams starting the day in the top 4. Chelsea will have the home advantage on their side and Tottenham still need points to secure 4th place, more on this later. So I don’t see either London team suffering a shock result against the standout whipping boys of the league this season.

The true drama at the bottom is in the face-off between Leeds and Burnley to avoid joining those dropping through the trap door. They start the day level on points and so whoever gets the better result on the final day will stay up. The biggest curveball is what happens if both of them secure the same result on the final day. If Burnley lose against the newly minted Newcastle and Leeds are unable to squeeze anything out of their final day visit to a Bee’s team in electric late season form, who goes down then?

The simple answer to that is Leeds United. Their goal difference of -38 is so much worse than the Clarets (-18) means that all Burnley have to do is match their result against a flying Brentford team to send them down. Second season syndrome is a hugely over cliched concept, but it seems that Leeds may be the latest victims of it.

The job of securing their survival has been made harder for Leeds by the fact they are finishing up by travelling to a Brentford team in electric form, taking 16 points in their last 7 games. Not the opposition they would have chosen when they desperately need to clinch their first win since a 3-0 win away from home against a Watford side that was already spiralling down the relegation plug hole.

One nugget of hope for the men from Yorkshire is that Burnley will be facing the new superpower from Tyneside that has powered themselves away from the relegation fight since their injection of Saudi cash in January. Newcastle are that team and they have had an excellent second half of the season. They will be looking to finish their season on a high, with a top half finish still possible, to ensure they can attract the best players possible for their push to create a football dynasty from next season.

Burnley will also have to face this final day juggernaut without a suspended Matt Lowton available to feature in their defence after he picked up a straight red card in the 91st minute of their Thursday evening draw at Aston Villa on Thursday. They are expected to be able to welcome James Tarkowski back into their back line though and the best news of all for the Clarets is that they have their fate in their own hand going into a home match on the final day.

If you had offered that deal to Clarets fans at the start of the season I don’t doubt they would have taken it and it’s certainly far better than the spot Leeds fans find themselves in. Having to rely on your opponents dropping points at home as well as needing to beat an in-form team on their own patch on the final day to stay up is not a position any team would want to find themselves in and one I don’t believe they will find their way out of.

Burnley always seem to find a way to stay up and I think they will again this season. Leeds will join Watford and Norwich in dropping down to the championship for next season, with Fulham and Bournemouth already guaranteed to be coming the other way.

Now that we have the scenarios at the bottom all ironed out, lets shift our attention up to the top 7 teams where we have two showdowns for European Qualification and the epic title fight to straighten out.

The teams that will qualify for Europe are all locked in going into the final day, but who qualifies for which competition is where the unknowns rear their ugly heads. The showdown between Manchester United and West Ham United will see the winner qualify for the Europa League next season, with the loser consigned to the Europa Conference League.

Man U are the team in the box seat in this fight for 6th place, holding a 2 point lead over the Hammers. A point away at Selhurst Park will not be enough for them to hold this position if the Hammers can crush the Seagulls on the south coast and once again it’s goal difference that provides the wrinkle in the plan. The Red Devil’s goal difference of just +1 pales into insignificance next to the +11 that the Hammer’s possess. As such anything but a win against Viera’s wounded Eagles, who will be looking to show their home support that they are not limping over the line after throwing away a 2-0 half time lead at Goodison Park on Thursday.

That comeback secured the Toffees survival for another season and congratulations to them for that, but it was unfortunate for Man U as it gives Palace something to fight for on the final day. Any slip up from the North-Westerners on their trip to London will give the Hammers the chance to leapfrog them in the table and secure the Europa League spot for next season with a win on the South Coast.

Their fate is out of their hands though and with Brighton having beaten Man United 4-0 at home two weeks ago they have shown they can produce big results in front of their home fans. The Seagulls will not be completely on the beach themselves either as they need a win to secure a top 10 finish. That may not sound like a huge incentive for a team to give it their all and I don’t feel it will be enough for Brighton to get anything out a Hammers team with the momentum of a draw against the imperious Manchester City behind them coming into this one.

If Hammers do get the win then whether or not it is enough to grab that Europa League place rests on which Man U team turn up at Selhurst Park. Given how inconsistent Man U have been this season I am expecting them to lose to their match and a Hammer’s win to secure the Londoners that coveted Europa League qualification place.

In the next battle on the cards for the final day the Europa League place is the consolation prize, with the Champions League qualification place what is now coveted. The teams going for this gravy train position are the teams of the intense North London derby, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs are the ones with the upper-hand in this particular derby fight because, as noted previously, they play bottom of the table Norwich on the final day. Furthermore, they currently hold a 2 point advantage over their deadly rivals and they hold the goal difference advantage over them by +24 to +9. All of this means that they don’t even need to win at Carrow Road to secure the Champions League spot. Baring a shock of truly seismic proportions thought Spurs will win this one and turn the match at the Emirates into a dead rubber.

Arsenal’s opponents at that match at the Emirates are an Everton team fresh off the joy of an incredible second half comeback on Thursday that secured their top flight status for next season. This brilliant win will have given the Toffee’s a boat load of momentum to take into the final day and even though they no longer need to win this one the joy that must be filling their souls after that result may push them over the line here. The Gunners will hope that the Toffees return to type instead and turn in one of the atrocious away performances that have plagued their long road to survival.

From my perspective though the match at the Emirates will count for nothing because I don’t see any scenario where Spurs screw up against Norwich and open the door to Arsenal. I fully expect that Spurs will qualify for the Champions League at the expense of Arsenal and steal the joy of celebrating St. Totteringham’s day away from their rivals.

There is no doubt where the biggest story of the final day lies though and that is in the title fight as Jurgen Klopp’s incredible Liverpool side attempt to pull off the impossible Quadruple. To win all four of the biggest competitions open to English teams would be an unprecedented feat, but if anyone can win it this Liverpool team are the ones who might. The team standing in their way are domestic powerhouses, Manchester City.

Back in January Liverpool were 14 points behind their title rivals in the table, but with every week that has passed their insane run of form, going unbeaten in the 5 months since, has seen them close the gap to just a single point going into the final day. Their swing at the title appeared to have slipped through their fingers 2 Saturdays ago, 7th May, when they were held to a home draw by Spurs only to be kept at their fingertips by Man City failing to complete their second half comeback at the London Stadium and having to settle for just a draw.

Liverpool will be hoping that Mahrez missing an 86th minute penalty that would’ve won the game and the title for City is an omen of what is to come on Sunday. City will be confident of getting the win they need to secure the title though, as they will have the vociferous backing of the partisan home support on Sunday against an Aston Villa team that had to fight till the final second to carve a draw from their match against relegation-threatened Burnley on Thursday evening.

Their draw against West Ham last Sunday does simplify the equation for City though as it leaves them with the knowledge that their fate is in their own hands, win against Villa and the title is theirs. Liverpool fans will know that all they can really count on is the Reds beating Wolves at Anfield on the final day, but they will be keeping an eye on proceedings at the Etihad and will be looking for a favour from a club legend.

Steven Gerrard is the Aston Villa manager as they travel to the Etihad for this crucial day in history. With many Liverpool fans confident of their chances in the Champions League final next weekend the Premier League title missing link in the Quadruple and having your ex-captain, the man who carried your team on his back for many years, in the dugout against the team you need to drop points on the final day can only be a good thing from their point of view.

Their will also be a Oil Tanker’s worth of personal motivation for Stevie G to get something out of this match. He was part of the Liverpool team that missed out on the league title by 2 points to Man City in 2013/14 and, in a fair few people’s short sighted eyes, his slip against Chelsea is seen as the main reason why that title challenge failed. So to have all that emotional weight resting on the result of that title fight having crushed his soul for the past 8 years, now having the chance to expunge that trauma from his soul is an opportunity that, many Liverpool fans will hope, is too good to let slip through his fingers.

Whilst Manchester City are the obvious call to win the title, as any team that has it in their own hands on the final day at home to a team that played their last game just 72 hours ago should be. I can’t deny that I would love to see Stevie G’s Villa get something from the match whilst Liverpool skittle through a Wolves team that is limping over the line and for Liverpool to win the title and the Quadruple.

The euphoria that I would feel at that fairy-tale sequence of events would be utterly undeniable but with my logical hat on and looking at what is realistic I can’t see City messing it up on the final day in front of their own fans. I hope with all my heart and soul that I am proved wrong on this, my words here proving to be a curse on City, but I predict that Manchester City will win their game and the title decapitating Liverpool’s dreams of immortality just one match short of the finish.

Liverpool may have to make do with just the 3 trophies for their Victory Parade through town and right past my front door on Sunday 29th May. Though the fact that winning 3 trophies would be seen as a disappointment shows just how incredible this current Liverpool team are. They are written into history no matter how things go for them on Sunday but they have the chance to own football history if things all go their way and I for one want to see that come to pass.