Tag: football

Don’t laugh – 2018 really could be England’s World Cup year

By on 6th June 2018in Entertainment, Events

Yeah, we know. We seem to go through the same process every time the England national football team has a big tournament looming: we see the stellar talents at the manager’s disposal, reflect on what has often been a relatively stress-free qualifying campaign (remember Roy Hodgson’s 100% record ahead of Euro 2016?) and do our finest rendition of “Three Lions” as the team’s first match of the competition kicks off.

Then comes the inevitable: a key player gets injured, there’s a baffling tactical or referee decision, a crucial penalty is missed or we just get defeated by a supposed no-hoper team (Iceland, anyone?).

So, why could things be genuinely different for the now Gareth Southgate-managed England when our boys in white begin their World Cup campaign proper against Tunisia at Russia’s Volgograd Arena on 18th June?

Expectations aren’t at their highest…

…and that could work in England’s favour. Past World Cups, after all, saw England teams pretty much pick themselves. The opposition knew they’d be facing off against Beckham, Lampard, Owen, Robson, Shilton or whoever the Three Lions’ biggest stars were at the time.

In 2018, though, we’re a relatively unknown quantity to many of our international rivals. The 2000s ‘Golden Generation’ is long gone, with our defenders especially low in profile. The likes of Joe Gomez, Harry Maguire, James Tarkowski and Nick Pope are hardly the household names that Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell and John Terry were.

We do have some rather more established talents in the midfield, such as Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson – but again, it’s tricky for anyone to predict exactly who Southgate will select for any one match.

Just look at the former Middlesbrough manager’s options up front, for instance – Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford are all competing to be in the first XI, giving England a happy unpredictability that it lacked in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s or Fabio Capello’s time.

There are more factors than just those, though

Everywhere you look, there are further reasons for optimism that might just tempt you to back England for outright glory at its current not-exactly-hot-favourite odds (16/1 at Paddy Power as IN&AROUND headed to press, compared to the 9/2 quoted for both Brazil and Germany).

Southgate’s troops do, after all, have a seemingly easy group, consisting of Panama, Tunisia and Belgium. Sure, the latter could be testing opponents with such aces as Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, but they are also England’s last match in Group G, so we may well have secured our passage to the next round by then.

The first knockout round fixture could also be a good one for England. Group H – from which England’s opponents at this stage would be drawn – comprises Colombia, Poland, Senegal and Japan, which are all seemingly beatable sides for a squad as capable as England’s.

Oh, and did you know that whenever Pep Guardiola wins a league title in a World Cup year, the country in which he manages always goes on to win the tournament (Spain in 2010 and Germany in 2014)? He emerged victorious as Manchester City’s coach this past league season.

Fair enough, we probably won’t see Henderson or Kane hoisting the FIFA World Cup Trophy in the air on Russian turf at the 15th July Final – but those 52 years of hurt never stopped us dreaming…

Help Needed In Search For 1966 County Durham Footballers

By on 29th January 2016in Have Your Say

An appeal is being made to help find members of a County Durham youth football team that beat the Germans in their own back garden the day after England won the World Cup…

 

As part of an exchange with County Durham’s partner area of Kreis Moers (now known as Kreis Wesel), a team of under-18s from schools and youth clubs across the county defeated their German counterparts on 31st July 1966. With the 50th anniversary this year, Durham County Council’s International Office is trying to help two of the players track down their former teammates so they can hold a reunion to commemorate the victory.

As well as being key players for the team, Graham Comer and Brian Hopkins were best friends in 1966, and remain so nearly fifty years later.

With the exchange arranged months in advance, neither of them dared to dream that England would reach the final, let alone against Germany and go on to win. But on 30th July 1966, the group found themselves watching the match on a big screen in a dance hall in Rheinhausen, cheering England on alongside over 100 Germans students.

Graham, a former physics teacher who is now semi-retired (though still working part time at Tanfield School), said: “The atmosphere was good natured but fraught at times – especially when Germany equalised in the 89th minute! Our hosts were extremely gracious in defeat, though, and when we all went back to the homes of the families we were staying with, they insisted that we sat at the head of the table in celebration of England winning.”

The real match, however, was still to come, and the boys lined up the next day against the Kreis Moers team, determined to do as well as the national side.

And they did, with a solid victory, although exactly how solid is slightly uncertain some 49 years later. Graham and Brian are certain that they scored six and won, with Brian getting two goals – one a tap-in after a free kick from Graham came back off the bar – and think the final result was County Durham 6-4 Kreis Moers.

Graham continued: “With the fiftieth anniversary coming up, we’d love to be able to have a reunion with the other lads from the team, so we’re hoping they see this, or someone they know does and gets in touch with the council so we can make it a reality. It would be great if we could all get together again after so many years, and even better if one of them can remember the final score!”

Brian Stobie, Durham County Council’s international officer, said: “We’re delighted to try and help reunite the team. Over the years we’ve arranged many collaborations and exchanges with our partner area in Germany and across the world which have strengthened County Durham’s international standing, and given unique learning experiences to hundreds of young people.”

People with information about the team and their current whereabouts are asked to email the council’s International Office at international@durham.gov.uk.

County Durham and Kreis Wesel have a long history of exchanges and collaborations. Recent projects include pupils from Park View School visiting Germany in autumn last year researching employability and language skills. Pupils from Germany also memorably visited their counterparts at Seaham School of Technology to re-enact the First World War’s Christmas Day truce football match in December 2014.

Sunderland Student’s Design Goes Into Production For SAFC Ladies

By on 10th November 2015in Local Biz, What's New?

A Sunderland teenager who won a merchandise design challenge set by SAFC Ladies Football Team has seen her entry go into production…

As part of this year’s Work Discovery Week event, a week of activities linking schools from across the city with businesses from across the region, young people were asked to create a new item of merchandise for the Lady Black Cats.

It was the design by 13-year-old Bobbi Bunker from Hetton School which took first prize, beating off competition from schools across Sunderland with her design for a special cup.

The cups have now been produced and will go on sale for £5 at the Ladies home matches next season, or can currently be ordered online by clicking here.

“We chose Bobbi as her design was bright and useful, she had considered the market and tailored her design to suit the team and the brief,” said Sonia Kulkarni, General Manager of SAFC Ladies.

“We are delighted that it’s now been produced and has gone on sale as part of our range of merchandise.”

Also taking place during Work Discovery Week was a careers fair at the Stadium of Light, business visits, workshops, business problem solving challenges and a range of hands-on activities.

This year 21 schools and more than 1000 children from Sunderland were involved in the event, which is sponsored by organisations including Gentoo, the University of Sunderland, Sunderland College, Arriva, Nissan, SAFC and Sunderland City Council.

The event is now part of a wider Work Discovery Sunderland programme, which includes a range of sector days which showcases various careers within a particular industry and guest speaker days.

Work Discovery Week will also be taking place in 2016, running from June 27th to July 1st.

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