As the country prepares to co- host Euro 2032 alongside Italy, it would seem that somewhere near the top of the Turkish Football Federation's priority list has to be sorting out the multitude of problems currently rife in the domestic game...
After a gap of just over a year, we finally notched up another new entry in our long line of football away day experiences. And this one delivered the most entertaining game that we've seen so far in this series. Our venue was the St Mary's Stadium, and the fixture was Southampton against Watford in mid April. Whilst there wasn't a lot riding on it for The Hornets, the same certainly couldn't be said for a Saints team still pushing for an unlikely automatic promotion spot, and already nailed on for a Championship play-off place.
It’s not too much of a stretch to suggest that Aberdeen have struggled somewhat, by comparison, in the years since a pre-knighthood, and winning nearly every trophy he so much as touched, Alex Ferguson left Pittodrie for Manchester United. With Fergie having moulded a team capable of jostling with the Old Firm and doling out more than a few knockout punches both at home and abroad, this season must rank as something of a shocker for the Dons in the wake of Neil Warnock's exit following a mere eight games as interim manager.
A couple of weeks ago, I ended up at Hardenhuish Park, with a couple of friends, to watch Chippenham Town FC host Welling United FC in the National League South. Admittedly it was not the original plan for March 23rd 2024, but it did turn out to be a happy plan B or C! Originally, we were set up for our first new football away day adventure of this season, with a trip to see Oxford United vs Lincoln City. Then the dreaded international break got in the way, and the game was rearranged with barely the requisite ten days notice for fans. So, whilst the Kassam Stadium will have to wait for next season, this did leave me at a loose end for my latest date with a random, neutral football club...
Now that Roy Hodgson's recent health worries have hastened his retirement from the day to day in the dugout, inevitably talk has turned to his contribution to the game over such a long career. But, depending on the point of view, could it be said that his stock is higher in Europe than at home? Alan Smith, one of his predecessors in the Crystal Palace dugout, retrospectively believed it would have been the sensible choice at the time-