Kick Off Merchants Blog

Yesterday Manchester City won the first major trophy of the season. Not a huge surprise that they lifted the EFL Cup for the 4th time in a row and 5th time in 6 years. Their dominance of the competition is reminiscent to that of Liverpool in the 1980s who also won it 4 times in a row. The EFL competition is turning into an odd competition. Every team, regardless of whether they are fighting for the title, top 4, relegation, promotion or in mid-table seems to use it as an opportunity to rest and rotate their squad. And this is...

I love the FA Cup. For me it will always be the greatest cup competition on earth. I grew up in the 90s (was born mid-80s) in a working class family in North-East London. We did not have the money for Sky TV. That meant the only football I got to watch was the FA Cup. It was actually the FA Cup that made me fall in love with The Arsenal. Watching the FA Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Tottenham in 1991 as a 6-year-old, I had decided to support whoever loses (I grew up in a family with little...

Ben White is the man called up by Gareth Southgate to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold. This means both James Ward Prowse and Jesse Lingard miss out again, despite both performing well in England’s friendlies. White’s inclusion means England now have 5 central defenders, alongside the 3 right backs in the squad. The feeling is Ward Prowse or Lingard would have given Southgate and extra option in the middle of the park. Something a bit different to those already in the squad. So why did Southgate go for White? It has to be due to concerns over Harry Maguire’s fitness. The Manchester...

After a solid opening performance against Croatia, Gareth Southgate’s England side stuttered to a boring 0-0 draw against Scotland. In his time as England manager, Southgate has been a very cautious manager – setting his teams up to “not lose” rather than “win”. Now whilst this cautious mind set can lead to going far in tournaments, even winning; you also need your team to create the chances needed to win a game. And against Scotland whilst England never looked like conceding they also never looked lie scoring. 2 defensive midfielders against a Croatia, France or Germany is sensible. Against Scotland...

It is finally here. After 18 months without going to a game – having previously done home and away for 10 years – I am set to return to being in an away end this weekend. And I am absolutely buzzing. I am looking forward to meeting mates in the pub before heading down to the ground. I am looking forward to nodding to that guy whose name I don’t know but have said “alright” to for near enough a decade. And I am looking forward to raising a beer and my voice to those no longer with us. Everything...