England - The Southgate Years

[therockbox]

I hope they take it.

Go back to playing England games around the country and hold semi-finals at neutral venues. Much better.

[Colly]

I'll eat a hat if this involves less games at Wembley. 

[Matt]

5 minutes ago, Colly said:

I'll eat a hat if this involves less games at Wembley. 

I'd still expect most England games and the cup finals to be at Wembley. But if it gets the FA cup semis and a few friendlies out of Wembley, that'd be good.

[Adam]

4 minutes ago, Matt said:

I'd still expect most England games and the cup finals to be at Wembley. But if it gets the FA cup semis and a few friendlies out of Wembley, that'd be good.

100% agree, I'd love to see the FA Cup semis moved out of Wembley, and I'm confident already that more friendlies will be played elsewhere as Southgate seems keen on it and the idea has been well received so far too.

As for Tottenham...surely the idea behind building their new stadium with a retractable NFL pitch involved the potential London franchise moving in there eventually? Feel like it'd be a big blow for the men in charge at Spurs to lose that opportunity and *just* have 2-3 annual games.

[Lineker]

I would have thought that the NFL would ideally like to continue staging some games there - the stadium is being built specifically with NFL-sized locker rooms, NFL cameralines, etc all in mind. But who knows at the end of the day - maybe Khan just wants to upgrade Fulham from Craven Cottage, for all we know!  

[DavidMarrio]

But that won't fit into the Spurs are Spursing up their new stadium narrative. 

 

 

[Lineker]

Quote

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan put in a bid to buy London's Wembley Stadium.

Khan, who also owns the Fulham Football Club, announced his attempt to purchase the stadium, which hosted its first American Football game in 2007. The Jaguars have played a match at Wembley each season since 2013.

"I am very pleased to learn today that The Football Association board of directors received our offer to purchase Wembley Stadium, our home away from home in London, from the FA," Shad said in a statement.

The Evening Standard reported Khan offered more than 500 million pounds (about $700 million) for the stadium.

The Jaguars have a deal in place to play at Wembley stadium through the 2020 season. The NFL also recently helped invest in a new stadium for Tottenham's Spurs, which will host the Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders this October.

Khan's attempt to purchase Wembley stadium will come with another round of speculation about the Jaguars possibly moving to London. The owner flatly rejected that notion.

"Today's news changes none of what we envision for the long-term promise for the Jaguars here in Jax, and it changes nothing as to the goals we have for your downtown," Khan said. " If anything, today's news is the embodiment of the ethos we adopted several years ago of being proud, bold and committed."

Khan noted that buying Wembley stadium would "protect the Jaguars' position in London at a time when other NFL teams are understandably becoming more interested in this great city."

He added: "And the stronger the Jaguars are in London, the more stable and promising the Jaguars' future will be in Jacksonville."

NFL.com

 

[Gazz]

I hope they do sell it, I'm going to get a top grade 4G pitch installed in my back garden, it's going to be smoother than the 18th green at Augusta.

[Lineker]

Little more detail from the Guardian: 

The Football Association has announced it has received an offer to buy Wembley stadium. The bid has come from Shahid Khan, the owner of Fulham and the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.

Khan is understood to have offered around £600m to purchase the national stadium and under the deal the FA would retain the rights to Club Wembley, its debenture and hospitality business, understood to be worth around £300m.

The FA Cup final and semi-finals would stay at Wembley if a deal with Khan, which is said to be in its early stages, goes through. It is understood the FA would be keen for the stadium’s name to continue to include the word Wembley under the terms of any sale.

The money from a deal would be ploughed back into grassroots football by the FA, notably on pitches. If the governing body accepts Khan’s offer, it would clear its remaining £140m debt from the rebuilding of the stadium and free the FA from the financial burden of running Wembley.

The stadium cost £757m to rebuild, considerably above the projected amount. The FA said in a statement: “We can confirm that the FA has received an offer to buy Wembley Stadium.”

Khan stressed that Wembley would remain “home to the England national teams” and that Fulham would stay at Craven Cottage in a message to the club’s fans. “The Football Association would be able to focus on its core mission of developing players with the best player developers and facilities anywhere in the game, thanks in part to the vast financial benefit that would result from the transaction,” he said.

“I trust many, if not most of you, are also supporters of the England national teams, so I hope you welcome the potential of this becoming a reality. Always know Wembley would be home to the England national teams, and that we would strive every day of the year to be the best possible steward for a venue that is iconic and beloved here and throughout the world.

“To be clear, this venture is 100% independent of my investment in and operation of Fulham Football Club, Motspur Park and Craven Cottage. No less attention will be paid to developing players and fielding a squad that will win with frequency and always make you proud. It will have no impact on Craven Cottage as the home of FFC.”

Jacksonville would play NFL games at Wembley if Khan buys the stadium. Mark Waller, the NFL’s executive vice-president of events and international, said: “We are very happy for Shad Khan and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The potential purchase of Wembley stadium is a further powerful sign of their commitment to the UK and their vision to help us grow the sport.

“Having stadium options in London has always been critical to the NFL and, in tandem with our 10-year partnership with Tottenham Hotspur, this new relationship would allow for even greater flexibility in scheduling future NFL games in London.”

[TCO]

Levy's blinder status: not played

[Colly]

See. He ain't buying it with less games being played there. 

[Adam]

Sky reporting Joe Hart has been told he will not be in the squad for the World Cup.

[Lineker]

See I'd take him. Third choice won't ever have to play, why not go with experienced head?

[DavidMarrio]

It's one of them. He could provide valuable experience but at the same time him not going allows someone else the experience of being with the team and training with the squad. 

It's surely gotta be Pickford, Butland and Pope. 

[MDK]

1 hour ago, Lineker said:

See I'd take him. Third choice won't ever have to play, why not go with experienced head?

Ahem. Four times since 1938 there have been teams that have used all three 'keepers.

[Arjen Robben]

And look where they are now.

Don't know what I mean.

[MJB]

I'd also have taken him. While he's not had a great couple of years, he does seem to have a strong character and personality. He's also been to a World Cup before as No1 and therefore knows what it's all about. The rest of the squad is fairly young and inexperienced, I think he'd have been a good guy to have around.

[The Lusophone]

There's no need to take him. He's a bad goalkeeper and has been for half a decade or more. His 'experience' is failing - repeatedly - to perform at a tournament. That's not experience anyone needs.

[MDK]

Something else to think about is that he is currently the only England player that has spent time playing in a foreign country. That might be able to help the younger players not used to being away for so long. Marginal gains and all that.

[Matt]

I say this every time experience gets brought up but I'll say it again. The only thing any England player has at an international tournament is experience at failure.