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Plymouth have bounced back well after their play-off final defeat last season and considering they lost 3-0 at home to Luton on the opening day of the season. They shouldn't need to rely on the play-offs this time around. Portsmouth probably will need to.

It's a keeper's lot, isn't it? The mistakes are magnified and get seen to undo the good work of the other 89 minutes. Stockdale is playing at Championship level because he is not entirely infallible, but regardless, he has been Brighton's saviour on numerous occasions over the past year or so...

Good win for Boro. Whitehawk also through to the 1st round proper for the 2nd successive year as they won 1-0 at Welling.

Don't think Milky Teet would get to the shortlisting stage in fairness, seeing as how he couldn't even spell "interview" correctly.

Steve Bruce has shed some timber this summer and he looks a few years younger than the guy who was in the dugout in the last few months at Hull. That says to me he has a bit of hunger to make a big go of his next job. He'll need it because Villa have been a basket case the last couple of years...

It seemed obvious McClaren would be re-appointed the moment that Pearson got fired. Pearson clearly was at odds with the chairman/owner there who seemed to admire the style of football under McClaren the first time around and so by re-appointing him, the owner will feel he has someone there he...

I just mentioned a contender on the Martin Ling thread - "Living on the Volcano" by Michael Calvin. Quite a few contenders but I would say Duncan Hamilton's biography of Brian Clough called "As Long As You Don't Kiss Me" takes some beating. "The Italian Job" by messrs Marcotti and Vialli and...

I read this yesterday. Really powerful read and good to hear that he has his life under control at the moment. I've read the book that is mentioned in the piece called "Living on the Volcano". The chapter on Ling is fascinating to read, as is the book generally.

I don't see her going into broadcasting. I don't think that's her bag somehow, although I dare say she will get plenty of lucrative offers on that score. I wouldn't be surprised to see her getting involved in promoting or administering her sport later down the line, or being a figurehead at...

I very much doubt that will be the path she takes. She was quite cold on the idea of being a TV pundit when she was asked about her post-athletics career intentions earlier this year.

It was the right call to drop him from the starting XI tomorrow. Eric Dier, when fit, should be starting as the shielding midfielder in that side. It shouldn't necessarily be the end though and surely it is a good thing that a player will continue to make himself available for international...

Would you say England are a better team than Italy at the moment? Only they played Malta qualifying for the Euros and scored only 1 goal against them, twice. It's not like you win bonus points for beating weaker teams 7-0. Qualification tournaments are merely a means to an end. No-one really...

He showed plenty of composure in the FA Cup final against that team of builders and candlestick makers from Croydon. ;-)

Harsh. I thought he played well in the 1st half, was quite possibly England's best player in the first 45 minutes. He faded in the 2nd half, as did the rest of the team. I'd imagine he will get more opportunities though, as it's not as though David Beckham is available on the right flank any...

Would think it is a racing certainty Steve McClaren will be their number 1 target. The chairman there has publicly said before that he places more emphasis on the style of football than the actual results and he seemed to be enthused by how they played under McClaren the first time round even...

No point going overboard. Italy only managed 2 1-0 wins over Malta qualifying for the Euros. I don't suppose their supporters pelted the players with pizza though because really qualification tournaments are just a means to an end, qualifying. That match didn't really raise anything that wasn't...

Good 1st half. Final ball was lacking in the 2nd half. When you come up against a team defending in such numbers which is now quite commonplace in international qualifying tournaments because even the diddiest of teams know the basics of defending compared to 20 years ago, you need to have a bit...

Yes, in a match where Malta had 2 players sent off.

England games with your own playlist on is a good way of drowning that out. With the added bonus of also drowning out Tyldesley and Hoddle's observations too.

Lingard's debut so far has been positive. Got to take into account how weak the opposition are, but his running and dribbling will be a useful asset to have against other teams that throw men behind the ball.