The problem with The Magnificent 7 is in the name I think. It’s not The Magnificent 3 or 4 or even 5. It’s 7. And on an international break that has seen more blatant penalties not given than goals scored, an international break that sees Northern Ireland knocked out of the World Cup for the most ridiculous of decisions most of us have ever seen we are struggling. We are struggling to find three, let alone seven things to talk about. But here goes!
#1 Leicester City
Hey, you know those lovely owners that Leicester City found? The ones that give out free beer, rattles and all that jazz? The ones that cleverly rotated the managers around and found a formula that won the Premier League? Well they are in trouble back in Thailand as they have been accused of “shortchanging” the Thai government over £327m of duty free goods. Ah, that fit and proper person test stands the test of time, no?
#2 Ruben Loftus-Cheek
All rise for the new King! Loftus-Cheek made his England debut against Germany and looked alright, meaning he instantly won the Man-of-the-Match, European Golden Boy, FIFApro World Player of the Year and x-Factor all in one night. To top it all off, Chris Sutton thinks he is better than Cesc Fabregas already. Watch out, as Chelsea will probably put in a £20m bid for him now, and then send him out on loan before realising they already own him.
#3 Marcus Rashford
This English player hype thing is hitting the home straight a bit too soon for my liking. I mean, the World Cup is still months away and Rashford has just been compared to Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) by Ronaldo himself. Seriously? Where do we go from there? Next we will get told that Dom Solanke is Marco van Basten and that John Stones is England’s Franz Beckenbauer. Let’s all calm down a little shall we?
#4 David Unsworth
It’s looking increasingly likely that the big guy will still be in charge of Everton come the weekend. Fancy that!
#5 The David Moyes Band
It’s been a good week for all the former players of David Moyes. The new West Ham United manager has suggested that he is in the market for new players to “strengthen” the squad in January. You know who will be waiting by the phone, we’ve been here before!
#6 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Now Sweden have done the hard work and unexpectedly qualified for Russia 2018, what are the chances that Ibra might come out of international retirement when he returns from injury? Quite high I would say.
#7 International dropouts
Considering this has been the most pointless international break ever, outside of the playoff games for the World Cup, those that were sensible enough to dropout of their squad and get their feet up have probably put in their best performance of the season.