Nottingham is best known for Robin Hood, and a statue to the famous outlaw is perhaps the city's most famous photo op. But today Hood has a rival as an eight-foot memorial to legendary coach Brian Clough was unveiled in front of thousands in the city's main square today. Clough died in 2004 but his legend grows: Duncan Hamilton's memory of him, 'Provided you don’t kiss me' is the UK’s Sports Book of the Year, and David Peace's stunning novel about Cloughie's ill-fated 44 days in charge of Leeds, 'The Damned United', is released as a feature film next year. His character was a force of nature. But Clough also made fans hoot with laughter as he took no prisoners with his enemies. In the late 1970s, he was the best candidate and overwhelming people's choice for England manager but the FA, like the big clubs were too terrified to hand their reins to a man who wanted in his own words to be 'the perfect dictator'. He toyed with entering politics to take on Margaret Thatcher, but realised his ego would not be able to stand the bureaucracy, so chose instead to cultivate his own garden, in the shape of Nottingham Forest. Tactically Clough was simplistic, but his results spoke for themselves; his greatest gift the ability to transform average players going nowhere into good ones challenging for trophies. He last coached in 1993, but Clough's former players have taken up the baton: Roy Keane at Sunderland, Martin O'Neill at Aston Villa, Brian Laws at Sheffield Wednesday and Stuart Pearce, coach of the England U21 team and assistant to Fabio Capello. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

“ Switch and Spurs, switch and spurs; or I'll cry a match ”, Romeo & Juliet II, iv Tottenham’s travails go on after they fell 2-0 away at Udinese in the UEFA Cup. Winless so far, despite a summer spending spree which dwarfed all rivals, Spurs remain rock-bottom of the Premier League with only two points from eight games. He-he. Never have the triangle jokes (three points) lasted this long into the season. Spurs’ utter uselessness this season however is a mystery for rationalists: Their coach has a good record, they won the League Cup against Chelsea in February and grabbed some real talent over the close season in Luka Modric, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Giovanni Dos Santos and David Bentley. For mystics, psychics and assorted fruitcakes however, the explanation for the North Londoners’ malaise is simple: They have a hex on them. Tottenham would not be the first. The annals of sporting history are replete with supernatural intervention. Just think of the Curse of the Bambino in baseball and myriad others from the US' Big Four sports. In England, the home of the beautiful game, plenty of clubs have been alleged victims of gypsy curses. The most famously hexed team was Derby County, who ascribed their failure to win trophies to the fact they had expelled some Romany folk from the land where they built their old stadium, the Baseball Ground. After paying off some of the gypsies’ descendants in 1946, the Rams duly won the FA Cup for the first time. More recently, Birmingham City were widely supposed to have been victims of a hundred-year spell which expired in 2006. The Blues took it so seriously that former coach Barry Fry, an ebullient old-school manager not averse a curse or two himself, urinated in the four corners of the field after a psychic (or a charlatan having a laugh) told him it would exorcise the demons. Leeds also had a run-in with Romany folk when Elland Road was under construction. Their great coach Don Revie employed a gypsy to spiritually cleanse the place in 1971 but unfortunately, having led the First Division for most of that season, they then ended up losing it. Manchester City is another gullible sap, although on paper the most unsuccessful big club in England had to look to the stars for hope. Gypsies were rumored to have cursed the land on which stood Maine Road, City’s stadium from 1923 to 2003, a good reason for moving to the City of Manchester Stadium. While coach at Maine Road, Kevin Keegan once said, "I haven't been able to believe how bad our luck has been this season - especially at home. I don't know whether I've run over one black cat or 10 of them." If they thought they had rid themselves of evil, then what were City doing selling the club to a now-convicted Thai torturer in 2007? Middlesbrough also evicted some travelling folk in 1901 when they built Ayresome Park and as the caravans were shunted away, ancient curses filled the Boro air. Over in Wales, Swansea City took it all a bit too seriously when they employed Kenyan tribal dancers to perform a voodoo ceremony at their old Vetch Field ground, after the notorious Uri Geller had claimed there were evil spirits lurking there. Geller himself, famous psychic and former best pal of Wacko Jacko, has used his magic powers on a number of English clubs, most famously Exeter City, where he became joint chairman in 2002…a year before they dropped out of the Football League. Geller, a former Israeli paratrooper who forged an inernational career in spoon-bending, placed magic crystals behind one of Exeter’s goals before a crucial play-off game in 1997….which they lost 5-1. More recently, Oxford United were reported in classic tabloid fashion to have used an exorcist at their new Kassam Stadium. In fact it was nothing more sinister than a blessing from the local Bishop. And there’s more. When Southampton moved to St Mary’s, some pre-Christian tombs were excavated, leading to rumors the Portsmouth-supporting spirits would have their revenge. I recall seeing some Roman artefacts displayed there, an unusual sight in any football stadium, so who knows? The club took their miserable start at their new home seriously enough to employ a white witch to rid the ground of malevolence, though it didn't stop Joey popping by later. Overseas, the football fruitcakes are in full cry: Fenerbahce players in Turkey have sheep’s blood smeared on their cleats when they debut while fans of Romania's Arges Pitesti once staged a cat's funeral and roasted a chicken on the field for good fortune. Dracula’s homeland seems replete with superstition: Romanian teams wearing underwear inside-out, placing herbs in their shoes and not reversing the team bus for good luck, I could go on…Do you remember Anghel Iordanescu, their national team's coach at USA '94, brandishing his crucifix and kissing his book of Romanian saints during the game? So, if Tottenham are suffering from some ingrained evil, it could be because their training ground was once occupied by …yep, it’s as if English soccer teams only have themselves to blame for buying land on the cheap from those funny-looking folk in their trailers, who utter curses as they are shunted away. I’m not a fan of the invisible. In football it is just too convenient to blame a five-goal thrashing on some odd-looking tea-leaves or birds in the sky instead of what happens with the ball on the grass. While England is a very secular country its soccer is still full of superstition, inevitably perhaps given the millions of people expending such emotion on it each week. Former National Team coach Glenn Hoddle employed a faith healer to widespread derision during the 1998 World Cup before resigning after some ill-judged comments on reincarnation while forerunner Bobby Robson memorably once said of a forthcoming England game, “It argues well” (sic). Is it just me, or is not it obvious these highly-paid professional clubs paying assorted soothsayers and con-artists were wasting their time. Again and again, football clubs seem to prove GK Chesterton’s quip that people who deny God won’t believe in nothing – they will believe in anything. Spurs have more prosaic reasons than superstitious hearsay why they are doing so badly: It is something to do with an over-enthusiastic and ill-thought out transfer policy, a coach and Director of Football not quite in tandem and the fact they sold their best two strikers. It’s not rocket science, but it’s not tarot cards or gypsy curses either. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile

Watford captain Jay DeMerit has told Soccerphile only video replays will stop a repeat of the phantom goal 'scored' by Reading on Saturday. The Hornets were the victims of outrageous fortune in the 13th minute when John Eustace put the ball out of play wide of the post. Working on the advice of assistant Nigel Bannister, referee Stuart Atwell stunned the Vicarage Road crowd and the 22 players, who were running back in expectation of a goal kick, by signalling a goal. Watford fought back to lead 2-1 before Reading truly stole the points with an 87th-minute penalty. While the refereeing body, the Professional Game Match Officials Board, today confirmed a mistake had been made, the phantom goal still stands and Watford remain victims of a shocking miscarriage of justice. Hornets skipper Jay DeMerit spoke to Soccerphile and admitted it is tough accepting such a blatant mistake by the officials. "It was an unbelievable call," said DeMerit. "It was all so confusing and frustrating. The Reading player kicked it back from across the line but why would he have done that if they had scored? The linesman would have been down that corner and right in line with the play, so obviously he would have seen if the ball had gone over the line." The absurdity of the decision, which Watford boss Aidy Boothroyd likened to a UFO landing at Vicarage Road, adds more weight to calls for video replays in football. "I have always been in favor of video replays, said DeMerit, who hails from Green Bay, Wisconsin, a stronghold of the NFL, where replays are part of the game.

1- Chelsea Having lost the Champions League Final on penalties and been pipped to the Premiership title by just two points, Chelsea were the ultimate bridesmaid last season.After a summer to lick their wounds, the Blues will come back stronger in 08/09. With Luiz Felipe Scolari now at the helm and having captured Deco and Jose Bosingwa this summer, Chelsea have what it takes to beat United to the league title this time around. The Stamford Bridge club have achieved a massive victory in maintaining Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, even if its only for another year. Time in which to win a league title. 2 -Manchester United United are likely to be without Ronaldo for August and September, meaning their star winger will miss trips to Liverpool (13 Sept) and Chelsea (21 Sept). Two games that could well be make or break to United’s season. Even when he’s not playing, the Portuguese star is bound to be the key topic of conversation. Can he possibly deliver as greatly as he did last campaign? Will he still have the desire to achieve with United, having seen his dream move to Madrid deteriorate? Following last season’s Champions League and Premiership double success, Fergie’s men start the new campaign firm favourites to win the league again. But Chelsea have what it takes to win the crucial head-to-head clashes between the two heavyweights this time around, meaning United will have to settle for a close second place finish. 3 - Liverpool The pressure will be on for Rafa Benitez to see his Liverpool side close the gap on the top two this season having finished eleven points behind United and nine points off Chelsea in 07/08. The signing of Robbie Keane will prove crucial in running both clubs closer in the title chase and possibly breaking the top two stranglehold before long. United and Chelsea still boast stronger line-ups and strength in depth and for that reason , Liverpool will have to make to with third spot this season with the promise of better to come. Success in the Champions League or domestic cups is a strong possibility. 4 - Arsenal Having lost Thierry Henry last summer, many foresaw the wheels coming off the Arsenal wagon. With Arsene Wenger at the helm though, those people should have thought twice. On song, Arsenal still play the most attractive, free-flowing football in the division. But that’s not to say the Gunners always personify the beautiful game. Cesc Fabregas had a massive downturn in form at the back end of last campaign and William Gallas’ displays of petulance brought widespread condemnation. Samir Nasri should prove a more than adequate replacement for the overrated Aleksandr Hleb, while Aaron Ramsey is a great buy for the future. Had Arsenal the funds to compete in the transfer market with Chelsea and United, then one wonders what team Arsene Wenger would be capable of putting together. That’s for the Emirates dreamers to speculate, as they finish off the title charge again this season. 5 – Tottenham Having been strongly tipped to break into the top four last season, Tottenham flattered to deceive with a mid-table finish. But with Juande Ramos in charge for his first full season at White Hart Lane, such disappointment won’t be repeated. Boasting players such as Heurelho Gomes, Jonathan Woodgate, Ledley King, David Bentley, Luka Modric and Giovani dos Santos, Spurs have the strongest squad outside the top four. While Robbie Keane (and possibly Dimitar Berbatov’s) departure from N17 was a big blow for Spurs, they have personal elsewhere on the pitch to compensate for this. 6 - Portsmouth In Defoe and Crouch, Portsmouth have the best strike force outside of the top four. Having won the FA Cup last season, the pair can fire Pompey to becoming a member of the top six in English football. Due to lack of strength in depth at Fratton Park, Harry Redknapp may find it difficult to juggle his players to fulfil the commitments of playing European football and competing in the league. Priority is therefore likely to be given to their domestic campaign. Home form must be improved upon last season to make a top six finish a reality. 7 - Aston Villa Having been plagued with the Gareth Barry, will he, won the go to Liverpool saga all summer, Aston Villa will just be looking forward to getting on with playing. The amount of English players in Martin O’Neill’s side is highly pleasing to see and Luke Young, Steven Sidwell and Nicky Shorey should complement their squad well. Ashley Young was one of the league’s best players last season and Gabriel Agbonlahor has the ability to net more goals than he did last campaign. Like Portsmouth, Villa are very much a club going in the right direction. 8 - Blackburn Rovers The loss of David Bentley to Tottenham will prove highly significant, given the supply he provided the likes of Roque Santa Cruz and Benni McCarthy last season. Paul Ince has everything to prove as a manager and his signings of Robbie Fowler and Carlos Villanueva don’t look particularly wise moves on paper. That said, Paul Robinson could prove a highly shrewd investment if he can recover his form and confidence. With goals harder to come by at Ewood Park this season, Blackburn will yet again miss out on UEFA Cup qualification. 9 - Everton With the departure of Andy Johnson and the lack of transfer activity in the summer, the Toffees are set to lose their grip on the Premiership’s top six this campaign. While there is quality across the pitch in the likes of Yobo, Lescott, Arteta, Neville and Cahill, the lack of a recognised front pairing will be their undoing this campaign. Yakubu will need to improve his hall of 13 league goals from last season, while David Moyes will need to identify a new striking partner. 10 – Fulham The west Londoners have been busy in this summer’s transfer window and have the players capable of becoming this season’s surprise success story. Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora should form a prolific partnership upfront, boosted by the supply of Zoltan Gera, Simon Davies, Danny Murphy and Jimmy Bullard. Defensively they don’t look so impressive but it was attacking endeavour that brought Fulham so much success in the second part of the last campaign. Craven Cottage will be an enjoyable place watch high scoring, end-to-end football this season. 11 – Manchester City Poor old Sven Goran Eriksson was sacked after leading City to ninth in the Premiership - an improvement of five places on the previous season. What more can a manage do to please his chairman? Mark Hughes is an excellent manager, but with the controversial former Thai Prime Minister and club owner Thaksin Shinawatra increasingly medalling in team affairs, his position could become compromised. Recent media speculation has suggested Hughes already feels unsettled by communication difficulties between him and his board. Jo is capable of scoring 20 Premiership goals in his first season and in Micah Richards, City have one of the best defenders in England. But with lack of harmony behind the scenes, that will translate on to the pitch. 12 – Sunderland The Mackem’s spent £40m last season to ensure Premiership survival. Having finished three points and three places above the dreaded drop zone, it proved to be money well spent. Roy Keane has had another busy summer wheeling and dealing to help his side continue their progress this season. Steed Malbranque and Teemu Tainio will greatly improve Sunderland’s midfield, while El-Hadji Diouf increases their goal scoring potential. Pascal Chimbonda also brings a wealth of experience, if a not slightly questionable attitude, to the Stadium of Light. Sunderland are a way from becoming a top ten side, but a significant improvement on last season’s league position awaits this campaign. 13 - Newcastle United Like any great soap opera, Newcastle United are never more than a couple of weeks away from chaotic storyline. The Magpies uncanny ability to shoot themselves in the foot was evident throughout last season with only relegated sides Reading and Derby conceding more goals than them. Fabricio Coloccini has been brought in to try and shore things up at the back. Whether he can make a significant difference to the goals against tally remains to be seen. But at least he’s better than the hapless Claudio Cacapa. Damien Duff, Nicky Butt and Alan Smith are just some of the big name underachievers in Newcastle’s squad. The biggest questions are, can Kevin Keegan get the out of his players? And will the boss stick around if the going gets tough? 14 - West Ham United Expectation always exceeds reality at Upton Park and this season will prove to be no different. Having finished tenth with injury ravished squad last campaign, West Ham fans probably expect a challenge for a UEFA Cup spot with a fully fit side. But even with a full strength squad to select from, there are so many better equipped teams than West Ham. While the likes of Tottenham, Manchester City, Portsmouth and Fulham have seriously invested in their squads this summer, the Hammers have spent modestly. Behrami looked decidedly average at Euro 2008, Jan Lastuvka failed to impress on loan with Fulham, while Balint Bajner and Orn Eyjolfsson have never played in a top league. A tough campaign awaits for Alan Curbishley, who is already the bookies favourite to be the first managerial casualty of the season. 15 - Wigan Athletic Small crowds and average players make Wigan one of the most unfashionable clubs in the Premiership. But going into their forth season in the top flight, nobody at the JJB Stadium is particularly concerned about their image. Steve Bruce has made some good signings during the summer, with Oliver Kapo capable of bring flair to a midfielder of tough tacklers. £3.5m youngster Lee Cattermole also represents value for money. Marlon King and Emile Heskey give Wigan a cutting edge upfront that the new boys along with Bolton and Middlesbrough lack. For that reason alone they should be safe come April. 16 - Bolton Wanderers Top ten finishes and forays into Europe seem a distant memory for Bolton post Sam Allardyce. Nowadays it’s all about survival. Cult heroes El-Hadji Diouf and Ivan Campo left the Reebok during the summer and their replacements look suspiciously second rate. £10m striker Johan Elmander failed to score, or make any sort of impact for Sweden in Euro 2008, while Mustapha Riga was part of a Levante team relegated from La Liga last season. Matthew Taylor, Kevin Nolan and Kevin Davies have enough ability to ensure Bolton survival. But the rot has well and truly set in at the Reebok for a Wanderers team a shadow of it’s former self. 17 – Middlesbrough The Teesiders have enjoyed mid-table security under the management of Gareth Southgate, with twelfth and thirteenth finishes respectively in the last two years. But having failed to significantly improve on last season’s squad, Middlesbrough could be surprise relegation candidates this time around. From back to front, Boro lack inspiration and quality. Keepers Ross Turnbull and Brad Jones lack the presence to install confidence in their back four, the midfield bar Stuart Downing is bland and unimaginative. Jeremie Aliadiere has managed just 5 goals in 29 games for Middlesbrough while strike partner Mido spent the most of last season injured, overweight or out of form. Goals and entertainment are set to be at a premium at the Riverside as Boro battle for their Premiership lives in 08/09. 18 – West Bromwich Albion Despite the difficulties experienced by newly promoted teams in the Premiership, it’s not since 1998 that all three new teams have been relegated together after one season. Unfortunately the class of 08/09 are just about to find out how big the gap between the top and second tier of English football is. West Brom’s have a decent spine of goalkeeper Scott Carson, defender Paul Robinson, midfielder Jonathan Greening and forward Ishmael Miller. But while they looked impressive in the Championship, the Premiership is a completely different kettle of fish. As the Albion fans that chant ‘Boing Boing Baggies’ know, what goes up, must come down. Sadly their yo-yo act of recent years will continue this season. 19 - Stoke City Last season’s new boys Sunderland spent £40m on new players to finish just three points and three places above the drop zone, proving just how big the gap between the Championship and Premiership is. Having invested just £8.5m in their squad this summer, Stoke’s chances of survival are minimal. Forward Dave Kitson is a shrewd purchase from Reading and in ex-Manchester United winger Liam Lawrence, Stoke have a decent midfield supplier. But other than that, the squad has Championship side written all over it. The passion of the Potteries crowd coupled with Tony Pulis’ long ball tactics could pose problems for early visitors to the Britannia Stadium. Alas, Stoke will have peaked by the end of September and be long gone by May 2009. 20 - Hull City Derby County were relegated from the Premiership last season with a record low points total of 11. Bookmakers are now offering short odds on Hull taking the Rams’ unwanted record in 08/09. Hull’s squad consists of Premiership veterans and misfits sprinkled with a few talented youngsters. Doubtful that this mix will cut it in a league full of multi-million international superstars. Phil Brown failure to sign Manchester United’s striker Fraizer Campbell, who was on loan at the KC Stadium last season, doesn’t bode well for the new campaign. Neither does a 4-0 pre-season defeat at Crewe. Relegation is a certainty. Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

It has been a rare treat for the used and abused football fan to see the Premier League so humiliated as they have been this past week. The seemingly invincible money-machine that was born in 1993 has for the first time hit a real brick wall in its quest to rob football of all its traditions in the pursuit of profit. I have relished watching those whom the PL thought were their friends - the FA, Manchester United etc, turn tail and slam their colonial project. For challenging their authority, the upstart division's pretensions of grandeur have met a cannonade of criticism from the real powers in the game, who have torpedoed the ludicrous 'Game 39' proposal. Hopefully now it will sink to the bottom and die next Thursday when PL Chief Executive Richard Scudamore and FA Chairman Lord Triesman come up against FIFA boss Sepp Blatter in Zurich. Should the PL persist with their daft and ill-conceived plan, FIFA will again lock swords with the PL at their Executive Meeting on the 14th of March and then at their general Congress on the 29th of May. By then, England's World Cup bid will be in the shadow, the last thing the FA wants. Blatter has been implacably opposed to the idea, digging the knife in by saying it would harm England's 2018 World Cup bid. For all the Swiss' cronyism, corporate selling-out and Machiavellian machinations since 1998, he is my hero now for telling the Premier League where to go. Driving a wedge between them and the FA and engaging the fans by threatening to lose England the World Cup was the perfect tactic. Attacking your opponent's weaknesses with your strengths is straight from The Art of War. Blatter seems to have finally twigged that the marriage between football and commerce, which FIFA ran along with for the past decade, will end in tears as the game will sell its soul for good. After presiding over an amazing corporate takeover of the World Cup, his recent pronouncements have been more vociferous than ever in defence of the international game and protecting the national identity of domestic leagues from the money-men. At the same time as welcoming Brazil as hosts for the 2014 World Cup, he rebuked the five-times winners for exporting so many footballers around the world and told them to stay at home. The question is whether these are genuine threats or mere desperate rantings of a man who has lost control of his children. Should 'Game 39' disappear quietly into the shadows, the Premier League only has itself to blame for not canvassing more support behind the scenes before it presented its plan to the world. The idea also had a fatal flaw - adding an extra game instead of playing an early-season and thus relatively meaningless regular season fixture overseas, as the NFL did recently in London. They should content themselves with overseas friendlies and defer graciously now England's World Cup bid is in danger. Of course, as well all now know beyond question, the interests of the English national team and the whole of the nation's fans are quite opposed to those of the Premier League. Next Thursday, I want Blatter to blow the Premiership out of the water. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

"I firmly believe that the England squad will soon be back to their usual great results" Not the words of a stand-up comic, but the actual testimony of a certain Jose Mourinho, ruling himself out of the England job, while throwing the expected sardines from the trawler, which doubtless kept his PR men happy. 'Usual great results'? England..! You can't fault Jose for his sense of fun. To any seasoned observer, the former Chelsea and Porto coach was never a true contender for England manager anyway and was merely using his alleged interest as leverage for a real top job. Mourinho has far bigger fish to fry, and will in all probability pitch up by February at the helm of one of Italy or Spain's top teams. Milan, for one, are said to be ready to dispense with Carlo Ancelotti and then offer his post to Mourinho early in 2008. Now that the opinionated Portuguese has finally ruled himself out of the running for the FA's top job once and for all, can we have an apology from The News of the World for splashing an absurd front page scoop that Mourinho was gung ho for the England job, or a mea culpa from the nation's bookmakers, who laughably installed him as the favourite to win, please? No commentator with sense would have seriously entertained the idea of Jose Mourinho becoming England manager with his particular media ego, a desire for day to day jousting that could only have been sated every few months, plus a desire for success that the three lions would have struggled to satisfy. England just does not tick those boxes for Jose or for many talented coaches out there. A game and media coverage every few monthsn and the inheritance of one of the most mediocre records in international soccer hardly gets the blood of the continent's top managers racing. So it is that the leading three candidates now are unemployed coaches in search of a new challenge. Fabio Capello, despite his shortcomings, now appears to be in the driving seat, although expect a late surge from Jurgen Klinsmann, if he promises to relocate to England from California. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

"There are not many candidates because it looks a bit like a crocodile that opens the mouth and says: 'Jump into that.' Once he's in there, he's eaten. And once you have eaten four, five says: 'No, maybe I don't jump in there.'" So went the words of Arsene Wenger, the best coach working in England at present. In the old days, before the savaging of Bobby Robson and Graham Taylor by the tabloids and the realization that the real money and chances of success were to be found in the Premier League and not the international game, the nation’s best coach would have leapt at the chance of managing England.

The Emperor has no clothes and it’s official. For the first time within the walls of the awesome citadel that is the new Wembley Stadium, the English national team has come a cropper in a big way, and this time there can be no hiding from the naked truth.

Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson will tell you otherwise, but it if anyone in the UK thought club international football was no longer the best, they only needed to follow this weekend's relevant Euro 2008 qualifiers. The fact remains no one club's Champions League success can inspire a country like their national team can on the edge of glory. After a week of nationalistic hyperbole at the prospect of making the finals ahead of the Sassenachs (their derogatory term for the English), Scotland failed heroically by losing 2-1 at home to Italy and will stay on the Eurostar platform, while England advanced to within a point of qualification without playing a game, thanks to Russia's equally calamitous 2-1 loss to Israel.

Relive the Glory Days of 1966! Rediscover the golden age of english football with this fun book featuring the World Cup, great players and teams of the day. Packed full of quizzes, playing tips, famous player profiles and teams of the day.