KEEP JONES IN MIND
ENGLANd’S defence is not so competent that Phil Jones is out of the frame, let alone John Terry. Jones may play for Manchester United in an Under 21 game against Chelsea today, and if he can win his first-team place back, who knows?
He has not hit the heights expected since leaving blackburn — Sir Alex Ferguson once mentioned him in the same breath as duncan Edwards — but he can play centre half, right back and holding midfield, all positions in which Roy Hodgson will not feel greatly blessed.
SLAVEN BILIC said it wasn’t a red card, not for him a yellow card, and in England no more than a 50-50. He’s wrong about that. West Ham midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate (right) certainly deserved a booking for his challenge on Dwight Gayle on Saturday. But a red? No. West Ham will appeal, but there is no way Mark Clattenburg will reverse his decision. He is a referee prepared to make huge calls on little more than hunches, and is too arrogant for that.
THE lip readers are in, the lawyers too, and the Joe Marler ‘gipsy boy’ saga will reach its conclusion at a World Rugby hearing tomorrow.
An intriguing aside, however, was provided by Marler’s England team-mate James Haskell. ‘Go and ask what Samson Lee’s nickname is in the Welsh squad,’ he said. ‘Ask the Welsh boys.’
Let us hope that World Rugby do just that. It won’t make Marler’s behaviour any more palatable — but it might put into perspective the pious posturing of the Welsh Rugby Union.
JOSE MOURINHO was regularly castigated for not playing Chelsea’s youngsters, but at least we now know what it takes for them to get a game. ‘We have eight matches coming up and there’s not much for Chelsea to win,’ said Guus Hiddink, introducing Matt Miazga, Kenedy, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and, eventually, Jake Clarke-Salter as a 74th-minute substitute against Aston Villa. So if Chelsea are out of the title race, out of the Champions League, out of the League Cup, the FA Cup, and contention for European places — bring on the kids. And Mourinho was different how?
IF THE current top three in the Championship are promoted, and the bottom three in the Premier League stay the same, prepare for tales of falling Premier League attendances next season.
Newcastle, Sunderland and Aston Villa are all among the top 10 supported teams in the Premier League, with a combined average gate of 42,327.
The average of Middlesbrough, burnley and brighton is 21,688. That’s a lot of fans to lose every week. brighton, the best supported of the trio, would rank only 18th in the current Premier League attendance table.