.... and Mexico will have had it 3 (yes 3) times since we hosted it in 1966. Anyone except England is Fifa's motto. I'm resigned to the fact it'll never be here again in my lifetime

How can you make a judgment on the PNE players if "you don't know much about them" ? Nonsensical. Nothing negative except we've re-signed 2 old codgers who are likely to struggle next year.

The England football team were visiting children at a Russian orphanage today. "It was heartbreaking to see their sad faces with no hope," said Vladimir aged 6.

I've made a point of watching City alot this season (because they're so easy on the eye) and Sterling's been the best player on alot of occasions and the catalyst for much of their best play. Players have been feeding off him, not the other way round. He does miss chances but scores (and creates) many too. He would probably be my first pick for an England XI. I'd have Vardy and Kane up front. It's just a pity that Shelvey, the best passer of a ball in the Premier League - who has the eye and ability to hit an early pass for Vardy's runs, isn't in the squad. A mistake by Southgate in my view.

Why ? Sterling has been outstanding for City this past season. His game has developed and matured and he's twice the player who pulled on an England shirt in the last tournament. And he's scoring goals. Rashford has promise but he's very raw.

Lake was seen as a big star; Gary Shaw was another whose dazzling career fizzled out because of injury. Lots of other unfulfilled talent from the past - Duncan Mackenzie, Alan Hudson, Bowles, Worthington, Currie. Fantastic players, better than anything we have now. In the present era, Ross Barkley is in danger of losing what should have been. Excellent player - but does he want it ?

Embarrassing. Even chasing 371, England's batters got themselves into good positions several times only to lose their wickets to poor shots. Coupled with the Test defeats though it all points to continuing failure in all types of the game. Time for Bayliss to depart.

Howard Gayle and David Thompson, discarded by Liverpool, were excellent players for Rovers. John Bailey was a Liverpudlian too, and Mike Newell. All brilliant for us.

Agree with this. Jason Lowe is a Rolls-Royce of a player at his level. For all the criticism of Lowe, he has had a very good career in the Championship, the second tier of the game. Most players cannot say that.

What does Dack want from his career ? If he buckles down and plays well again next season Premier League clubs will be knocking on our door. If he messes around off the field and doesn't look after his body in a professional manner he won't get anywhere. It's all down to him. Don Revie at Leeds insisted his great young players when they were coming through such Bremner, Hunter etc married early. Not sure if he'd get away with that these days but he knew the value of stability in players' lives.

No money to spend, club in crisis, turmoil off the field, ageing squad, fans up in arms, morale low. Perfect for Sam.

King wasn't good enough for Rovers at the time. The potential was there, obviously, but he was raw and inconsistent and didn't warrant being picked ahead of those two. His skills and his game needed time to mature at another club and Bournemouth was the perfect place for him.

Speaking from experience, training harder as you get older is not the solution and is more likely to lead to injury. In order to sustain a playing career at any level it is important to train better, avoiding the hard, heavy stuff that just makes you legs feel like lead, and concentrating more on quality of training. A good diet is vital too; you don;t get away with eating badly in your 30s like you did when you were 21. Lots of rest too, not always easy when you have a young family. Kenny Dalglish's daughter said her dad's routine after a morning's training would be to go bed in afternoon.

I remember returning for pre-season training when I was 28. All of sudden, my legs had lost their "spring" and although the speed as a winger was still there, taking on full backs and getting past defenders was so much more difficult. I changed my game in my late 20s and early 30s, moved inside more as a No 10, and enjoyed it alot more (and scored more goals). I also learnt how to play with my back to goal. Conway still plays as an out-and-out winger at 32-33, which is hard, although Ribery at Bayern is playing better than ever at 35 and has lost none of his pace. He was the best player on the field against Real Madrid in the CL semis. I don't know how he does it to be honest.

The ECB has decided that T20 cricket is more important than county championship, and, by extension, Test cricket. So England's poor form at Test level is likely to continue unless the players can learn to adapt their game like other countries do. That's down to mindset and coaching - which is where Bayliss comes in. He must skating on thin ice at the moment - I' wouldn't be surprised to see him depart after the 2nd Test against Pakistan.

The lad has pace but he's slow thinking and doesn't have the skill or physical presence to compensate. Huge error if Mowbray decides to sign him.

If Bayliss were a football manager he would have been given the chop by now. Results have been poor for some time and show no sign of improvement - in fact, England seem to be getting worse rather than better. The batting has been a problem for years and it's too easy to blame the one-day game because all the other Test playing countries play T20 and don't have batting collapses and so many inept displays in Test matches as England. Bayliss says he's "tearing his hair out in frustration" at England's batting but it's obvious that his message isn't getting through to the players or they aren't listening to him. Time for him to go.

Smallwood was a good signing - an vital part of the promotion team - while Armstrong and Downing contributed. There must be question marks over all 4 though in terms of the Championship.

I rather liked last season's away striped kit - red and black is a good combination - but would prefer to see it the famous halved shirts. We're unique (I think) in British football in having halved shirts so why not keep our away shirts halved too ?

Fulham and Aston Villa are fighting for at least £160 million from a share of the Premier League’s multibillion-pound broadcasting rights deals when they contest the playoff final this weekend. That could rise to £280 million should the victors then avoid relegation next season. Puts our meagre winnings from gaining promotion from the third division into very painful context.

So Conway is Mowbray's eyes and ears in the dressing room - the snitch in other words. No wonder he's got a new contract! Like him as a player but he shouldn't be starting games next season

Which club bigger or better than Rovers is going to offer him a job? Mowbray was damn lucky to be appointed at Ewood after his mixed career record and abysmal end to his time at Coventry. I wasn't alone in thinking he didn't deserve the Rovers job. He should be glad he's successfully rehabilitated his reputation at Ewood.

In the relegation battle last year, we had nothing to worry about and Rovers would avoid the drop easily. And we would win every match 5-0 in the process.

Shelvey, probably the best passer of the ball in the Premier League, is the standout omission for me. Would have taken him instead of Delph or Lingard. Cahill and Stones makes silly mistakes. Smalling is a much better player than both.

Question marks over both but it would help if they were played in their best positions. Armstrong is best down the middle and Payne is best with a free role in midfield. Payne gave us all sorts of problems in the match at Oxford and although I haven't seen him hit that form for us yet the potential is there.