2018 WAGs not too posh to fly with fans
THE WAGs are proving a lot less high maintenance for the FA in Russia than the 2006 contingent were in Germany.
The wives and girlfriends, plus other relatives, flew in and out of Nizhny Novgorod for the 6-1 thumping of Panama yesterday by private charter jet, the same way their 2006 predecessors would have travelled. But the difference is the current WAGs were sharing their flights with England fan groups who are based in St Petersburg.
Celebrities such as Victoria Beckham, Cheryl Cole and Nancy Dell’Olio certainly would not have wanted to do that 12 years ago.
Also, the paparazzi were parked outside the Brenners Park Hotel in Baden-Baden en masse 12 years ago but have virtually ignored the 50-plus party of WAGs so far.
When the players had their day off in St Petersburg last week, the five unaccompanied players who went to the Hermitage Museum were the centre of attention.
The FA say they have organised the WAGs’ itinerary, which means sharing all their internal flights with England supporters, but the players’ families are paying their own way. leven
FIFA look to be buying into the FA’s desire to be known as the English FA rather than The FA, which it is felt smacks of arrogance. The FIFA list of VIPs in Nizhny Novgorod had chairman ‘Gregory’ Clarke down as being from the FA of England, which would have pleased him greatly, if not some of the diehards left on the FA council. IT COMES to something when troubled talksport, who have had numerous changes in personnel in the build-up to the World Cup, are providing far more informative radio coverage than Radio 5 Live.
It was talksport who asked the questions that led to Gareth Southgate’s controversial comment: ‘Our media has to decide whether they want to help the team or not.’
In contrast, Radio 5 Live listeners have been reduced to Robbie Savage (above) presenting a banal World Cup breakfast show which includes asking commentators to work stupid phrases into their match commentaries — even for England games. Fortunately, football correspondent John Murray declined to do so. lHARRY
KANE had to appeal to the Premier League to be given a goal for Tottenham against Stoke that hit his shoulder and was originally credited to Christian Eriksen. But England team-mate Ruben Loftus-Cheek, whose goal-bound shot against Panama hit Kane’s heel, was happy for his captain to have his hat-trick and the match ball. Kane said he would let others decide but he had no doubts that the goal was his.