Even with favourable game times for me I saw very few matches. It wasn't something that was on my radar. I did watch yesterday though as I had spare time due to being sat in an airport waiting for my delayed flight, as is the norm at the moment over here. The South American teams are mid-season so are fully match fit. City wanted nothing to do with the tournament as their early exit proved. What do Chelsea do now? The Prem season starts in a month. Do they get any time off? Will they have any preseason?

Some pundit was on US TV a couple of seasons ago, it may have been Thierry Henry. They were lamenting the perennial failures of PSG. The sheikh's who own them wanted flash and glamour so they'd been buying up star after star and getting nowhere. Their point was that they should scrap it and start again with young French players. They didn't go that far but did go with youth, expensive ones, but it's worked out. Their ability to press is excellent, and they are all good enough footballers that they can receive the ball anywhere and not worry. As for Real I think Mbappe is one of many problems. He didn't play all tournament yet comes back in for the final and does nothing. He has a penchant for sulking too.

I flicked between the women's game and the Real Madrid v. Dortmund CWC game on Saturday. England women were disjointed. I wonder if the selection process has played a part in unsettling the squad. As to the other game, watching Jude Bellingham is a pleasure. He wasn't overly influential in the game but he oozes class. I reckon that you could stick him in any position and he'd excel.

He did. He and his brother veered off the road in Spain; ESPN: Liverpool's Jota dies in car crash

I watched a good game last night. Bayern beat Boca Juniors 2-1. It was end to end stuff with Bayern wining it late thanks to a nice Olise finish. Kane scored first for Bayern. Boca's equaliser was a really good goal. The game was a full house in Miami. Boca fans never stopped signing and chanting.

Match kick off times are favourable for me so I'll probably watch a few games but won't go out of my way to make sure that I'm sat in front of a TV for any particular fixture. US TV is promoting it well but tickets sales are low. Add in the US government's declaration that immigration officers will be present to aid security at stadiums means that I doubt they'll sell what they projected.

I agree with you. If all 4 were fit, they were playing. Now we have no idea. Injuries have played such a big part in Tuchel's decisions. James, Stones, Shaw, Hall, Guehi, TAA, have all been out for varying periods. Would Tuchel have considered Shaw and Stones if they hadn't been injured? They played less than 20 games between them all season. Will either of them play for their clubs if fit next season? Hall was excellent until his season ending injury. He'll be back fit for August, and will have Champs League football to look forward to. Same with Lewis-Skelly. Availability questions aside it should be Reece James or Trent at right back. TAA playing in Spain will be interesting. Real have Alonso coming in, and Carvajal will be fit at some point.

I know you didn't. I was affirming Mercer's point that 5 games a week is not outlandish. It doesn't pay well either, adding to the lack of appeal.

That doesn't sound unreasonable. An acquaintance of mine was a scout for a Prem team. He was always somewhere, be it at home or abroad. Same with another pal. He scouted players 16 and under for a different club. He'd spend his weeknights travelling the length and breadth of northern England looking for players other clubs had missed. Then writing up reports on each player he liked.

I think Wharton's injuries cost him. He wasn't really fit all season and was out for Tuchel's first squad selection. As has been commented in his own thread a rest this summer will do him good as he hasn't had a break for a long time.

It's looking like Southgate's trusted back 4; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw is no longer. Replacing them is no easy task. There is plenty of talent available at both full back positions so that should be easy to fill. It's central defence that needs solving. Guehi was excellent (1 slip aside) at the Euro's. Left footed Colwill looked like Maguire's long term successor not too long ago but seems to have plateaued. Konsa is steady away without being van Dijk. Branthwaite is "unproven" (i.e. not at a Champs League playing club). Who's left?

The game was meaningless as far as qualification goes but I hope that Tuchel learned from it. The crowd certainly let him know that it was unacceptable. He must know too. It's time for him to ditch his experimentation phase and start planning for WC 2026. Get rid of Walker, Henderson (J), Burn, Chalobah. I'd probably ditch Gallagher too. Play a left footer ant left back, a right footer at right back, and start thinking about a central partnership, All of us on here want Wharton to play. Kane was goosed at last year's Euro's but still has it. He'll score another hatful for Bayern next season. If he stays fit he'll be as effective as ever. It's what Tuchel does with Bellingham that will matter. He can be England's talisman but Tuchel needs to play him where he will be most effective and avoid a Gerrard-Lampard situation. If that means not playing a talented player (Palmer for example) who could get in his way, then so be it. There is summer, more qualifying games, and a long domestic season to go before the World Cup starts. Tuchel was hired to win. His ego is/was big enough for him to take the job. Roll on to September.

Piling into a random pub that was packed to the rafters with people who would usually never set foot in there to watch Rovers play on a dodgy feed. Those were the days.

I'll start worrying if England begin to lose qualifying games. Until then it's the old cliché of 3 points, job done, on to the next game. I'm not defending a moribund performance by England yet playing Andorra in no way resembles preparation for France or Spain. Andorra know what they can and can't do. They have only conceded 5 goals in 3 games. Terrible teams are able to better frustrate superior opposition in today's game due to them receiving more money witch leads to better coaching and organisation. Other results over the weekend had Bosnia beating San Marino 1-0 and Wales beating Lichtenstein 3-0, at home. England fans spent years and years deriding Southgate for his supposed lack of tactical acumen. Nobody is doubting Tuchel's talent (yet) so let's hope that in the next 12 months he gets England qualified easily and is able to form the players available to him into a unit capable of winning the World Cup.

I didn't know where to put this but it made me laugh. Woman complains about Corfu hotel with no English food available There are some classic lines. At first I thought it was written on 1st April.