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England face Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, which is not ideal if you were hoping for a relaxing early Monday morning, a gentle stroll into the quarter-finals, or a football match that doesn’t also resemble a science experiment.
The Azteca sits around 2,240 metres above sea level, which is roughly 7,200 feet in old money. That means the air is thinner, the lungs have to work harder, and footballers ...
England Win the Group… But Are They World Cup Winners?
England have done what was required. Three games, top of the group, and a favourable last 32 draw. Tick. Tick. Tick. The 2-0 win over Panama wasn’t exactly footballing poetry. It was more the sporting equivalent of doing the washing up. Nobody enjoyed it much, but it needed doing.
To be fair to Panama, they were organised, hardworking and about as welcoming as a wasp in a sleeping ...
Every few weeks there seems to be another story suggesting Keir Starmer is on borrowed time. Whether the latest rumours are true or not is almost beside the point. A growing number of people appear convinced that Labour’s problems can be solved simply by changing the leader.
If only it were that easy.
There is an assumption among some commentators that Labour’s difficulties are largely about Starmer’s personality. If only he were ...
I was told the other day that I’m not a proper supporter of Reading FC. This life-altering judgement came after I had the audacity to suggest that until the playing style improves, I won’t be paying to watch it. A reckless opinion, clearly.
There was a time when that sort of accusation would have ruined my week. I’d have come back swinging with a full catalogue of loyalty. Cold Tuesday nights, grim away days, matches so dull they ...
I am old enough to remember water privatisation in the late 1980s. It was sold as modernisation. Crumbling Victorian infrastructure would be renewed. Efficiency would improve. And as a bonus, ordinary people could make a quick profit by buying shares.
Fishermen, rowers, surfers and nature lovers were worried. Banks, hedge funds and speculators were delighted. Most of the country shrugged and changed the channel, wondering what Den and Angie ...
