Sunderland 2-1 Rennes (Friendly) I’m up early on a Saturday morning to travel north, and to a ground and city, which has long been on my bucket list, one that has far too long been avoided, so I’m keen to get this done. Sunderland is a good three and a bit hours’ drive from my house in the Midlands, and it’s always a place I’ve wanted to visit, and even though I’ve been to its noisy neighbour on many occasions (whose name shall for the good of this content, remain nameless),

Coventry City 2-0 Monaco (Friendly) I’m back in the big time. After Tuesday night’s non-league spectacular, I’ve been sent to Coventry, which AI tells me is to deliberately ostracize, ignore, or refuse to speak to someone. So, no chatting in the stands tonight. Originally a Roman founded fort, Coventry has seen Saxon nunnery’s and Tudor hospitals built upon its land, the town came through the English Civil War and Industrial Age to be bombed by the Germans in both world wars,

Leeds United 2-0 RB Leipzig (Friendly) In 2024, soft drinks company Red Bull (who have their hands in one or two other things) purchased a minority stake in Leeds United to grow their ever-flapping sporting franchise wiiings. As well as having majority stakes in Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Bragantino in Brazil, RB Omiya Ardija in Japan, FC Liefering in Austria, and minority stakes now in Leeds and Paris FC, one of the most successful franchises of the well

Ipswich Town 1-0 Le Havre (Friendly) So what do we know about Le Havre? A port city in Normandy on the north coast of northern France, it’s probably as close to Portsmouth as it is to Paris? One of the oldest French football clubs around, Les Ciel et Marine (The Sky & Navy) have been in Ligue 1 since 2023 and were three times national champions during their amateur years at the turn of the twentieth century. Current Head Coach is a former PSG and Middlesbrough midfielder in D

Leeds United U21 2-0 Athletic Bilbao u21 (Premier League International Cup Group Stages) I’ve got a bit of man flu. Just coughs and sneezes which I always seem to pick up around this time of year, but that won’t deter me from heading north today, to the city of York, and to watch a Premier League International Cup game between two young sides, Leeds United and Athletic Bilbao. Now, Athletic Club, have always fascinated me, they have a cantera policy (cantera meaning quarry

Manchester United U21 1-3 Nordsjaelland U21 (Premier League International Cup Group Stages) After the weekend’s defeat against Brighton...

Tottenham Hotspur U21 1-5 Ajax U21 (Premier League International Cup Group Stages) You can’t mention Spurs v Ajax without the name of...

Wolverhampton Wanderers U21 0-1 Valencia U21 (Premier League International Cup Group Stages) It's been a busy week in the world of...

Derby County U21 1-4 Brentford U21 (Premier League Cup Group Stages) A fourth game in as many nights has the Mrs so annoyed she's banned me from going to work tomorrow, I should be at Ilkeston v Worksop on Saturday afternoon but she's made alternative plans for me this weekend so I'm going to enjoy tonight as a last hoorah, a trip to Matlock to watch Derby and Brentford in the Premier League Cup. Young Derby have done ok since I last watched them lose against Bournemouth in t

Norwich City U21 2-0 PSV Eindhoven U21 (Premier League International Cup Group Stages) In January I watched a young (or jong) PSV thump...

Wolverhampton Wanderers U21 0-3 Ajax U21 (Premier League International Cup Group Stages) Think of the great world football academies and...

Middlesbrough U21 3-2 Borussia Monchengladbach U21 (Premier League International Cup Group Stages) The beautiful thing about being a...

Reading U21 1-4 Monaco U21 (Premier League International Cup Group Stages) Erik ten Hag has been sacked from Manchester United. No surprise, the big news of the day for me is that Ian Culverhouse has also left his post at Boston. I did the Pilgrims last home game last week and said by the time of my return to the Jakemans (which will be 9th Nov v Dagenham & Redbridge) that Culverhouse won't be in the dugout. Turns out I was right. Tonight it's U21 action as Reading take on M

Nottingham Forest U21 3-0 Dinamo Zagreb U21 (Premier League International Cup Group Stages) It feels like an age since my last game,...

Derby County U21 2-3 Bournemouth U21 (Premier League Cup Group Stages) A game which has snuck into my diary this weekend is a youth team...

Southampton 1-1 Lazio (Friendly) The UK is rioting, as the nation prepares for immigration protest and counter protest this cloudy...

Hull City 0-2 Newcastle United (Friendly) I was in Taunton on Friday, scoring at Somerset v Kent in the Metro Bank One Day Cup. Michael Vaughan’s son Archie making his debut in first class cricket but getting out, run out without even getting to face a ball. A memorable debut to forget for him, but he at least did ok with his bowling and Somerset more importantly won, dad will be proud at least. Today’s game is a switch to bigger balls between Hull City and Newcastle United i

Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City (FA Cup Final) The FA Cup final, now 143 years old, it's a once very special event in the English...

Leeds United U21 0-7 PSV Eindhoven U21 (Premier League International Cup Group Stages) There's nothing better than checking out an...

Wolverhampton Wanderers U21 4-2 Nice U21 (Premier League International Cup Group Stages) The city of Nottingham has been officially...