I agree with you on that point. Games over here usually end by 5pm therefore I am losing out on a lot of lovely summer afternoon drinking. It will be odd watching it in November/December but I'll still be ready for it. If the USA qualify, which I hope they do (they drew 0-0 at the Azteca last night; should have won too) it adds to the atmosphere of it all. It will be interesting to see how it stacks up against the NFL. I don't support them either, but I'd rather a home nation make it than not.

I'm sure that Italians countrywide are saying that today..... A World Cup is a World Cup. Italy will now miss 2 in a row. England missed USA 1994 and it was miserable. I favour a Wales v. Scotland shootout. Ukraine will get a lot of sympathy but I'd rather have another home nation qualify.

Both Man City, Liverpool, and their respective mayors have asked the FA to move the cup semi final away from Wembley. ESPN - cup semi final chaos It's Easter weekend, and due to rail works there are no direct rains to London from either city. Will the FA move it, or make fans drive down in order to keep the revenue flowing to Wembley stadium? It seems absolutely daft not to move it, but this is the FA. They could play the game at any number of grounds; Old Trafford, Elland Road, Villa Park, Goodison, Ewood(!) to name some stadiums close by. I don't think that Wembley should have ever been rebuilt. They should have used the money to make decent grass roots facilities all over the country and make England game travelling roadshow whereby people from all over would not have to travel far to see a game.

I had no idea what Gallagher was thinking either. It was harder to do what he did than to score. Kaminski has potential to be a premier league keeper. What will hold him back is his erratic distribution. Too many times he kicks it away. It was his dodgy ball out of play that gave Reading possession when they scored.

Good shout. They are top so he's doing something right. They are pointless because England have qualified for the World Cup. I'd much rather be in this position than Scotland, Wales, Italy, and Portugal to name a few who have play off matches to attend to. Southgate is able get his squad together, bring in a new face or two, and do some preparation for Qatar.

The quarter final draw took place earlier which also dictates the semi final pairings. We have; Side 1 Chelsea v. Real Madrid Man City v. Atletico Madrid Side 2 Villareal v. Bayern Munich Benfica v. Liverpool

I'll have to take your word for it on Tomori. I don't watch Serie A. He looked like he had potential in his limited time at Chelsea. The Italian league will make him a better defender too. The lad from Palace, Guedi, got a call up too. Sancho and Rashford didn't make it. Quite right too. Sancho has gone backwards. Rashford needs a new club. Alexander-Arnold is out with an injury now. Will Southgate bring in Kyle Walker, or go with a youngster?

Toothless Man U are out of Europe. They were undone by a typical Simeone Atletico performance; nick a goal then defend, feign injuries, and waste time to disrupt the game. The press aren't being kind to them today. BBC's McNulty - Man U fail again Benfica beat Ajax too.

I'm glad that Rovers won, but it sounds like it was a farce of a first half. That comment from Johnson posted by Dan is telling. I'll not lambast Mowbray if as is being reported the players laid into him at halftime Mowbray listened and changed it up. It's not the first time that players have told a manager that what they are doing is not working. If the teams around win their games in hand Rovers fall to 9th. However, I doubt that the drop will be that far due to teams playing each other.

Lampard's undoing at Chelsea was his inability put out a team that kept clean sheets, so what does he do at Everton? Plays a right footer at left back. Michael Keane every week (until yesterday), and a past it Seamus Coleman.

I'm not arguing against that. We all know that the Premier League has no scruples and we've had plenty of debate on here regarding the Saudi's taking over Newcastle but they are a separate case to Chelsea. I'm not going to feel sorry for Chelsea supporters. They now dine at the top table courtesy of a Russian billionaire who's investment towered Jack Walker's at Rovers. Without him they'd not have 2 Champs league titles so all this poor Chelsea sentiment doesn't tug at my heartstrings.

Absolutely. Abramovich's mate is bombing hospitals. Chelsea are part of the fallout in trying to stop it. Not having a few fans watch a match is hardly something to feel sorry for them over.

I was a bit vague. My business as usual comment referred to the club as a whole. This season will end as it began in that they'll have the same squad and will fulfill all fixtures, but I don't know what Chelsea will look like after this.

Although Rovers could drop out of the playoff spots if each of the 3 below win their game in hand I find it remarkable that after scoring 3 goals in 12 games Rovers aren't mid table. I can't see goals coming any time soon either though, but teams can't score against Rovers either. More draws on the way. That Sheffield Utd loss is looking worse by the week.

City and Bayern cruised through to the quarters. City did their job in the first leg. Bayern had to wait until their home leg before overwhelming Salzburg. Liverpool are through but they were lucky. They were in the driver's seat after a 2 goal away win but Milan had the momentum at Anfield and were harshly punished by a questionable sending off. However, Salah hit both posts separately when it seemed easier to score either time.

I agree with the thoughts regarding PSG and last night's game. They will always struggle against the top echelon teams in the Champs League. They don't have the level of competition needed week in week out and aren't used to being pressured. A run to the final 2 years ago was aided by playing 1 legged games in the quarters and semi's. As to the game PSG kept the ball for about 2 minutes straight not too long before Benzema scored his first. They were showing off, and wasting time. Messi was a passenger in both legs. Apparently Leanardo (PSG director) tried to confront the ref after the game as he was adamant that Donnarumma was fouled by Benzema. Although from what I saw the keeper kicked the floor.

I'll put this here as it's primarily football related; ESPN - Abramovich sanctioned, Chelsea can't sell match tickets I assume that it will be business as usual for Chelsea in the short term but will they be the same force over the next few years? Even if they are bought out by another billionaire I doubt that they'd have same need to spend as much as Abramovich has done.

I'll preface this by saying that I'm a bit biased as I think Rashford is a tremendous player but I think there's more to his situation than him championing free school meals. He played half of last season with an injured shoulder as he was desperate to play in the Euros. At it he fluffed his golden opportunity with an awful penalty, then goes straight for an op to fix his shoulder. He had no preseason, had to sit on the sidelines and watch Ronaldo take his place, then Solskjaer left and now is having to try and impress a new boss who looks like he hasn't much clue. He has lost his confidence, and if current reports are true Southgate won't name him in the next England squad therefore he's open to leaving.

70 years according to the commentary I was listening to.

He was discussed on here at the time of his appointment, most of us said that it was an odd one. He got potted at Chelsea for leaking goals. So why did Everton, who need to shore up the back, hire him? As you say, a strange managerial appointment. Compounded by the decision to sign yesterday's man Dele Alli in January. They do have games in hand on those around them and they do have performances in them so I don't think that they'll go down either, but I am with @frosty; far too close for comfort. I didn't see much football other than Rovers first half against Fulham over the weekend but it looks like Man U keep on trucking. Does Rangnick get a 2 year consultancy at the end of this season? I'd give him 5 more years as boss. He's Solskjaer without the cache of "that night in Barcelona". It's wonderful to watch the mediocrity. Sancho and Pogba both cost oodles, both look bereft. Ronaldo is on a strop, and Fernandes now thinks that instead of playing football his job is to try and win as many free kicks as possible.

This is some correction from Sky Sports regarding Goodwillie; Sky Sports apology - Goodwillie is a rapist not a racist

A mate of mine constantly tells me that Brentford are going down. He's a Leeds fan though so it may be wishful thinking on his part. Burnley can leapfrog Brentford and Leeds if they win their games in hand. Everton too.

VAR was worse. A blind man on a galloping horse could see that Rhodri handballed it. What about getting ex players in the VAR room? They know all the tricks, the refs know all the rules.

PGMOL apologises to Everton Too late now.

Thanks to ESPN I've been able to watch a lot of recent games. Brereton not playing has been a factor but I think that the bigger issue has been the lack of a final pass. All too often the last ball never reaches its target. On numerous occasions today a bit of composure and a decent pass would have led to a chance. With the back line + keeper playing as well as they are Rovers will be in and around it. Hopefully Diaz returns, not Brereton. Talk of Dack being a potential game changer is a bit premature if you ask me. He's been out for a long time.