SouthStandUpperTier

Barring injury, Rice and Bellingham will be England's midfield for the foreseeable future. Conor Gallagher is also improving. Phillips and Henderson will slowly fall out of the squad. Winks' chances are slim but it's good to have ambition.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/68350442.amp Defender Sophie Howard has revealed she had retirement thoughts before going on to thrive with Scotland and Women's Super League side Leicester City. The 30-year-old, who has 44 caps for her country, is in her fourth season at Leicester, who are seventh in the WSL after earning top-flight promotion during Howard's debut campaign. Howard "feels right" at a club she classes as a "second home" - but the move came after she had doubts about continuing her career following a tough two-year spell at Reading. "I fell out of love with football," she said on the latest Behind the Goals podcast. "I was at a point it could've gone either way. I could've finished completely because I didn't enjoy what I was doing. "I didn't even have my family around to distract me at Reading. I also never managed to set up a life outside of football. It consumed me so much. I had to find a way to fall back in love with the game. "That's why I signed for Leicester, even though they were in the Championship at the time. It took a couple of years for us to get to the point we're at now. I can see where the club wants to go, it feels right."

"iTs oNLy ThE fIRSt dAY Of tEStiNG!!!" But you've got to admit - Red Bull being over one second faster than anyone else doesn't bode well for a championship fight.

92/93 was when Little first tried Walsh up front due to lack of striker options. In 93/94 he missed a lot of the season, and Speedie and Roberts were brought in. But he was needed up-front in the playoff final as Speedie was suspended and Roberts wasn't 100% fit.

Johann Cruyff... yes. Lee Chapman... not so much.

JJ will sneak forward often, but he's only put in 19 crosses all season (less than one per game). You won't see him surging forward and cutting back crosses from the by-line like VK. That's not what Enzo wants from his wide CB's.

There's about 0.05% chance he'd ever find himself in that position in Enzo's system.

Harald 'Toni' Schumacher on Battiston in the '82 World Cup semi-final. Battiston had 3 broken vertebrae and several teeth knocked out. Ref's decision - goal kick to West Germany.

Daka has 7 goals in 726 minutes so should be in first place with 0.87 goals per 90.

Yes, it went downhill very quickly.

As Sky's commentators collectively jizz in their pants.

75 minutes gone and neither keeper has made a save. Must be a record.

I'd settle for a basic shot on target at this point.

Not yet. Boro could have had Danny Ward between the sticks sitting in a deckchair reading a copy of The Beano, and they'd still be winning 2-0.

Is he on the wing, or is it 2 up top?

Terrible posture from KDH. He'll soon have a back like Richard III if he keeps slouching like that.

This is exactly what has happened. They'll throw the occasional bone to keep everyone sweet, but nothing more.

Not needed here under the current system. Doesn't want to be here under the current system. Forget about him. Just keep loaning him out until he's off the books.

Would Corberan, having been sent off in the first half, be allowed to give the half time team talk?

Absolutely class game between Kevin Painter and Jim McEwan.

Wednesday at home on a Tuesday? This should be...

Every little helps with FFP.

Agree. Being a lineman (offense and defense) requires an incredible amount of skill, technique and intelligence. If it didn't then we'd all be eating our way to 25 stone to earn NFL minimum wage. It's all about leverage, footwork and hand position and takes years of dedication to master. You'll often see the centre making line calls before the snap, making his fellow linemen aware of who might be blitzing, and possible twists and stunts by the defense. It's not just 'fat blokes falling on each other'.

Tbf he didn't miss it as such. It was blocked. Maybe he should have set it on a higher trajectory but it's an important distinction nonetheless - like when a keeper saves a penalty rather than the taker simply missing the target. As much as the Purdy fanboys won't want to hear it, and he certainly wasn't terrible, but the difference was the QBs. Mahomes simply outplayed Purdy, who had several opportunities to put the Chiefs away (particularly early in the 3rd quarter) but couldn't get it done.

Nah