Rival watch

It’s mad though how England have got a bunch of really good attacking mids, just a couple years after where we were crying out for some creative talent.

Foden for me is at the top (yes, even better than Super Jack ) but when you look at Grealish, Maddison and Mount, plus Dele if he ever gets back to his old form, it’s a great bunch to choose from for Southgate.

 

He wasn’t playing as much before because of David Silva, that’s understandable. This season he’s featured a lot more and looks the real deal.

 

I think he's been used the right amount, too.
Played him regularly enough to get him into the swing of things, but not so much that he burns out.
He's got the luxury of an enormous squad, of course, but they're reaping the benefits of that balancing act.

 

That doesn’t mean Pep deserves credit though. His style suits Foden for sure but Foden himself is shining mainly because he’s an unbelievable talent. There’s been calls for quite a while for him to feature more and I think now he’s doing so he’s proving just why.

 

Timo Soldado

 

I thought he played well tonight

 

Who will of course indulge us all with a midfield of Winks, Rice and Henderson.

 

So true it hurts.

This is easily one of the most gifted generations England has had and you can’t help but feel it’s gonna go to waste under Southgate. Loved him at the World Cup, proper galvanised the nation but since then his tactics and selections have felt like the Poch-Colchester game over and over again.

 

Yes he did but he was also had his arm pulled which under the letter of the Law is a foul. I doubt it would have been awarded without the dive though. It's another Law that needs changing though as there should be some recognition that arms can get tangled without it being a foul.
I didn't think the Chelsea penalty was one either as Werner deliberately made contact as far as I could see.

 

The rules are bizarre in football. Offside is petty and seems to look for any reason to chalk off goals where as penalties are soft and given way too much these days (especially if you play in red)

 

Following on from this we have IMHO now reached the
equivalent of the midway point of a normal season, so can
say with a high degree of confidence that the PL champions
will be one of the current top 3.

 

Salah pushed Dias, who then tried to pull him and didn't manage any substantial contact.
The ball got away from him, so he starfished. He did one in the middle of the pitch, too:

It's the old Slippy G Platoon Special.

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Mike Dean sent death threats and asks to sit out next weekend's games
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mike-dean-sent-death-threats-23461895

Bang out of order.

 

He's retiring at the end of the season, apparently. This may hurry it along.
Can't stand the bloke, but this is ludicrous behaviour.

 

Surprised he's only started getting them, to be honest

 

Salahdive really is the worst culprit for diving, closely followed by Fernandes and Mane, it is no surprise he continues to do it really, as he is regularly rewarded for it. If only the referees had some balls to book a Pool or United player for diving, they might stop doing it. Pool have a history of divers being handsomely rewarded though, Suarez, Gerrard etc etc, and now Salah and Mane, their players get away with all sorts on the pitch, see Fabinho yesterday who was let off a booking for the cynical foul on the penalty, he was then booked later on for another cynical scything down of a City player, but if the first booking is given it changes Fabinho`s mindset for the rest of the game. Who remembers the game at Old Toilet when Pool were given 3 penalties in the same match, with 2 of them for clear as day dives.

 

Mirror probably should’ve worded the title a bit better; “Mike Dean sent death threats”... my initial thought was “to who?”.

 

Death threats to a referee is absolutely ludicrous and unacceptable. In the heat of the moment I will question their parenthood occasionally, but this is a step up from that and unfortunately sums up the world we live in and maybe the club involved at the weekend.

I am no fan of Mike Dean, but he is a football fan and without refs there is no game.