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I am disappointed Balogun is going. He did well for us when called upon.

A wee bit of pride and passion and the taffs are going to the tournament well done Wales .

For the older lags (and they know who they are): FOOTBALL Gunter Netzer — the German maverick who refused to play by the rules Jonathan Northcroft Football Correspondent Sunday June 05 2022, 12.01am, The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/gunter-netzer-the-german-maverick-who-refused-to-play-by-the-rules-lcndfvl60 Netzer starred in a 3-1 win over England at Wembley 50 years ago COLORSPORT/SHUTTERSTOCK Gunter Netzer was at his peak when he gave one of his free-spirited interviews to Kicker, the German magazine. He bemoaned the “aura of dumbness” that surrounded football and observed, “forget all the clichés about teammates being great mates: that’s cobblers.” The article caused outrage within the German game and Netzer’s manager at Borussia Monchengladbach, Hennes Weisweiler, said that the legendary Sepp Herberger — coach of West Germany’s 1954 World Cup-winning team — wanted to come and see him. The long-suffering Weisweiler added a personal plea: “take him anywhere you choose but, please, not to your discotheque.” The latter was a nightclub called Lovers Lane which Netzer opened in 1971. It was the hottest spot in Monchengladbach, with an artsy black and white interior, designed by Netzer’s girlfriend, and a football shirt on the wall — ripped in two and covered in geometric prints by a famous abstract artist from Dusseldorf. Netzer’s inspiration for Lovers Lane was a beachside disco in Tel Aviv owned by the British model, made famous by the Profumo scandal, Mandy Rice-Davies, which he visited on a trip to Israel with his club — sneaking out of the team hotel and scaling a fence with a journalist friend so he could explore the city’s nightlife. Of course, Netzer did take Herberger to Lovers Lane and ended up charming the great man. Even though Herberger was 74 and “it was the first time in his life he had been in a disco. The place was unbelievably loud. We were shouting at each other to be heard.” This yarn is just in a colourful tapestry of stories told in Netzer’s rich new memoir, Aus der Tiefe des Raumes (Out of Deep Space), which is being published in English as Wembley 1972…And Other Big Feats. That title is partly a pun on Netzer’s famously large boot size (a 12, despite him being just 5ft 10in) and partly a reference to one of his most famous performances when West Germany beat England 3-1 at Wembley, 50 years ago, in a European Championship quarter-final. The game marked the end of England’s golden age under Alf Ramsey, and the beginning of a German one in which they won Euro 72 then the 1974 World Cup. And Netzer, their sauntering, anarchic, long-haired No 10 was the architect. In his match report, the late, great Hugh McIlvanney pinpointed Netzer’s ability to “explode out of his normal strolling gait into a thrilling penetrating gallop.” Netzer’s unconventional playing style and creative brilliance combined with his off-field persona made him a hero of counterculture PA He was a unique footballer, a playmaker who roamed almost into defensive areas (hence ‘out of deep space’) without ever seeming pressured or rushed, but who could then project the play forward with devastating directness — whether through a long, balanced, slaloming dribble, or long, gorgeous pass onto an attacker’s toes. Replaying footage of that ’72 game, then bingeing on Netzer highlights reels, the biggest sensation is of watching a footballer playing his own game — one appreciating time, field positions and game situations a little differently to others on the pitch. Lovely footballers as the likes of Kai Havertz and Phil Foden are, there won’t be a Netzer on the field when England and Germany meet again on Wednesday — because the game stopped accommodating individualists years ago. And Netzer, nicknamed Rebell Am Ball (Rebel on the Ball) was an individualist’s individualist. From a middle class family, Borussia Monchengladbach were his local club and he was pivotal in their rise from provincial obscurity to the first back-to-back Bundesliga winners in 1970 and 1971. He left in 1973, for Real Madrid, but only after winning the German Cup in his final game. Weisweiler left him out of the starting XI so he took the liberty of subbing himself on in extra-time before immediately scoring a spectacular winner. Never conformist, he admits his “greatest pleasure, even today, is being lazy” and that the traditional German view of football being “about sweat and tears” was never for him. He loved fast, beautiful sports cars, wore suede trousers and was the first German player to have shoulder-length hair. He was linked with Hollywood actresses like Raquel Welch and his friends were intellectuals. His unconventional playing style and creative brilliance, allied to his off-field persona made Netzer a hero of counterculture and he was offered an honorary professorship by Dusseldorf Art Academy. Sometimes he walked off the training pitch because he was bored and twice he just upped and flew home from summer tours with Monchenglabach. “I did not see why I should spend my free time with the same people I was wedded to professionally,” he explains. Often the book meanders, taking its time to complete a story, but always charmingly — and that’s fitting. It’s how Netzer played. There’s an incredible tale where he is out injured at Real Madrid (where he won two La Ligas) but close to a comeback when the call comes inviting him to Tina Sinatra’s wedding in Las Vegas. Among the many snags are that Real Madrid have his passport — but via a friend at the German Embassy, Netzer acquires a temporary one, and somehow manages to pass through Madrid airport incognito by wearing a low hat and overcoat with the collar turned up. At the wedding, he sits with Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr and Neil Diamond — and Frank Sinatra pulls strings to score him tickets to see Elvis. After playing, Netzer became general manager of Hamburg and his first coup was to persuade Kevin Keegan not to leave. Netzer was integral in building Hamburg’s 1983 European Cup winning team. A celebrated German TV career followed before retirement to Switzerland. It’s remarkable it has taken until now for this adventurer of his sport — 78 in September — to produce a memoir, but then again Netzer did always do things at his own pace, and it’s book worth waiting for. Fifty years on from him bestriding Wembley, it’s a good time to remember Der Rebell. On TV Tuesday Germany v England 7pm Channel 4, kick-off 7.45pm

Nevertheless, you did get it completely wrong. Like many others it seems.

i think it must be deliberate Bill

Certainly not get in early and get the best prices

Completely meaningless at this point.

I can count myself very lucky to have seen him play in real life. When I was 9, my dad took me and my brother to see Everton play Moenchengladbach at Goodison in the European Cup. We were all Liverpool fans but Dad had lots of Evertonian friends and had helped to organise a trip to the first leg in Germany, which he also attended. We were very disappointed when Andy Rankin saved a penalty in the shoot off to put Everton through but it was a memorable experience. Berti Vogts was playing as well, great team they had.

Need a goal scorer if Morelos isn’t firing we’re up shit creek

Knowing our luck he will probably start the first half dozen games playing like John Charles then get a long term injury 🤪

Balogun huh...something is cookin in the kitchen. No way they are gonna bank on Helander. Dude is injured of the wind blows too hard.

Opinion is a quick setting cement for some people. Once formed, no amount of fresh evidence can change it.

Those comments only raised him up in my eyes. He spoke the truth when so many just offered the usual coached platitudes and the fact he felt compelled to speak up at all spoke volumes for his character. Like so many before him, Goldson has suffered far too much from the predictable willingness of certain fans to create and hang on to their favourite scapegoat. Is he perfect, will the offers from Europe's top clubs come rolling in? No, but his value and importance to Rangers at this time is surely beyond question for anyone with eyes to see.

Show me someone who has never said the wrong thing in a difficult situation, then I'll be very surprised. What Goldson said was wrong but I got his meaning. Of course we should be capable of coming back from 0-3 down against Hibs but in the context of that game and what was happening off the field at the time (we basically had no manager) the probability was low. Did any of us think otherwise so why would Goldson think differently? The same can be said of Tav's programme notes the other year. Yes, we didn't want to hear that our captain felt we had a mental block in some situations because it proved our worst fears. Again, that's what we thought, so why wouldn't the players have the same concern? I don't mind a bit of honesty now and again. Too much can be a bad thing (we don't need to hear our senior players appearing weak) but I'll say one thing - after their words and concessions, both of them have tried to show they're capable of improvement and, as much as our league form wasn't good enough over the piece, the Europa League run and the depth of character to come back and win the Scottish Cup from 0-1 down against Celtic and the EL final loss told me a lot more about the squad in the here and now. Mentally we are much stronger and, if we can cut out the silly mistakes, then regaining the league title should be the main aim. That's not to say we can rest on our laurels ahead of next season. Absolutely not but I really hope players like Tav, Goldson, Aribo and Kamara to name just a few get the rest they deserve this summer so we can hit the ground running in July.

Last time I checked, Goldson was just one of around 30-40 players that have contributed to the last four years - the good and the very bad. And I don't think we had any right to expect many more trophies given where we've been in the last ten years. Progress is slow but as our deputy skipper I think his contribution has been mainly positive and he was out PotY last season. Now, I posted several sentences detailing why I think it's a good move whilst acknowledging the flaws. The least you could do in the spirit of the forum is to do more than troll in response. Offer an alternative player signing, discuss his flaws in greater detail, write 1000 words on why we're not progressing and why Goldson should not have been given a new contract. Anything else is just tedious noise and I'd respectfully suggest you avoid such in future.

Criticism of last season is entirely merited. The Europa League run was fantastic but should not gloss over some dreadful domestic results - both under Gerrard and Gio. To allow an average Celtic side (though one that did go on a fine run) to claw back the lead we had was criminal and various people are culpable from the players to the board. However it is unrealistic to expect perfection, especially when we lost the service of key players at key moments and also our management team before the half-way point. Those aren't excuses or bad performance under-played; just the facts and any reasonable commentator would concede the balance offered. We can only hope lessons have been learned from the Malmo debacle and that we're much stronger domestically this coming season along with further positive efforts in Europe. I think the EL run has allowed some bad league performances to be forgotten but that will change should we not get next season off to a good start next month.

Win together, lose together. We play as a team, continuing to blame the EL final on one player is so disappointing.

Great achievement for them Ian. There are plenty of Junior teams that are better ran, with better players, than half the teams in the pro ranks.... Talbot in the Scottish final AGAIN this weekend.....