H v Saudi Arabia 23.5.1998

RE: England...

Ceri Rees wrote

>Was a 0-0 draw at Wembley part of the deal to release the 2 nurses, or were England >just not good enough?

>I mean, Saudi Arabia - come on, what went wrong? Match report please.

Well first of all at least Saudi Arabia have qualified for the World Cup finals. The match was pretty dire and Sherringham gave his usual display, ie stand around giving bugger all effort. Why not play Owen , Dublin or even Cole. As for Anderton , it showed that he was not match fit let alone fit to play for England. Hoddle has very blinkered vision about certain players. I would rate Le Tissier , Wise , Merson , Parlour all above Anderton but Hoddle said that Anderton is a naturally fit player!!! 17 games in 3 years doesnt back that one up. I remember England had poor results in the run up to Italy in 1990 so perhaps theres nothing to worry about.

The attendance of 63,000 isnt bad for a friendly , it shows how popular football has become these days. I see one of the Neville brothers was moaning at "15,000 singing stand up if you hate Man Utd" he got that wrong it was at least 30,000!!! Dont these players know that Man Utd are (other than teams local rivals) the most hated team in Britain.

Lets see how they get on in Morroco this week and then roll on June 15th.

Mark Raven

A v Switzerland (Berne) 25.3.1998

A v Switzerland 25.3.1998

I have just got back from Switzerland after watching 90 minutes of direfootball , well apart from Mersons goal.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was a large Doncaster flag with Richardson Out flag on the far side of the ground (in the expensive seats £28 for a friendly!!)

Went on the official England Members trip because it was the cheapest way (for once) and nearly every person we spoke to supported either lower league teams or non league teams. There were seven coaches decked out in Union Jacks/St Georges flags supporting teams such as York City , Rochdale ,Bromsgrove , Man City (well they could be a lower league team soon!) and Brighton. Perhaps the FA should realise that life out of the premiership is alive and will never die.

I always thought of Switzerland as a rich country but I would have to say the ground was a dump and not fit for International Football.(The ground is aptly called the "Wankdorf stadium") The seats were wooden benches built on top of terracing. The stair ways out of the ground had no lighting and large fences at the front had no emergency exits but a large moat in front it!

The only saving grace was that you could purchase alcohol in the ground and take it back to your seat. Alcohol was also freely available outside the ground.(even if it did become rather cold to drink as it was bloody freezing)Makes a change for England fans to be treated with respect. I didnt see any trouble before or after the game , lets hope this continues. If Enland take 1,500 0dd for a friendly how many will travel to France this summer?

Cant wait for Cardiff away Saturday. Always look forward to this one!

Mark R

A v Italy (Rome) 11.10.1997

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......People.........People pictures.........People......
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We arrive into Rome. These are the only picture I have with people in them! All the others are of the tourist attractions of Rome (see end of blog!). I take my camera to the game but this is the only picture I remember to take.............

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......Inside the ground.........Inside the ground.........Inside the ground......
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..and this is why!!










Paul Ince and Gazza celebrate the 0-0 draw and Qualification for the World Cup Finals in France



As does Mr Canning --------->





My match ticket, no stub taken as we were chased into the ground by riot police and ended up in the posh seats!

Some pictures from around Rome. Its a fantastic place to visit and one I will certainly go back to for a non footballing trip!

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......Rome.........Sightseeing in Rome.........Rome......
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Anchient Rome is fantastic




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......The Colosseum.........The Colosseum.........The Colosseum......
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......Trevi fountain.........Trevi fountain.........Trevi fountain......
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......The Vatican.........The Vatican.........The Vatican......
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...........................From the roof of the Vatican...................



....................................A rather famously painted ceiling - The Sistine Chapel.................


.................................................The Spanish Steps.................................



.......................................me yes it is me!! At the Trevi fountain (I think!!!)...........

Le tournoir - part ii - 6.6.1997-11.6.1997 (v France and v Brazil)

We move on from Nantes and head to Montpellier for the 2nd game of the tournament.



...............yet another relaxing beer.....................










the main square - Montpellier before the game








In the main square - Montpellier AFTER the game





It cant be can it? Would Gordon Strachan be joining us for a beer or two!!!!







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7.6.1997
France 0 – 1 England
Shearer 86'

Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier


We are shoe horned into a very small stand behind the goal







..................plenty of room in this stand!!!!!...........................








We become tourist for the day when we get back to Paris, ready for the final game against Brazil at the Parc De Prices.








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10.6.1997

England 0 – 1 Brazil
Parc des Princes, Paris
Romário 61'







Other Results

3.6.1997 France 1 – 1 Brazil
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Keller 55' Roberto Carlos 21'
8.6.1997 Italy 3 – 3 Brazil
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Del Piero 6' 61' (pen.) Aldair 23' (o.g.) Lombardo 35' (o.g.) Ronaldo 70' Romário 84'
11.6.1997 France 2 – 2 Italy
Parc des Princes, Paris
Zidane 12'Djorkaeff 73' Casiraghi 61'Del Piero 89' (pen.)






Table Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts

England ......3 2 0 1 3 1 +2 ......6
Brazil .......3 1 2 0 5 4 +1 ......5
France .......3 0 2 1 3 4 -1 ......2
Italy ........3 0 2 1 5 7 -2 ......2