Tuesday cannon fodder: governance thrashing

Premier League/England

England put five past Montenegro but win marred by racial abuse from stands | Football | The Guardian
England followed up their 5-0 win over the Czech Republic by thrashing Montenegro 5-1.

Solving England’s Creativity Issue | StatsBomb
Most would agree that Gareth Southgate’s time in charge of England has seen the side improve in a number of ways.

Gary McAllister: Football star ‘punched outside Leeds bar’ - BBC News
Gary McAllister was reportedly waiting for a taxi outside a bar in Leeds when he was attacked.

Why don’t neutrals want Liverpool to win the Premier League? | FourFourTwo
Let me count the ways.

Arsenal’s elite girls thrive after being put on an equal footing with the boys | Football | The Guardian
At the U12 level, Arsenal make player quality paramount, and top girls respond by more than holding their own with the boys.

Europe

Portugal 1-1 Serbia: Cristiano Ronaldo suffers hamstring injury - BBC Sport
Cristiano Ronaldo suffers a hamstring injury during Portugal’s European Championship qualifier against Serbia.

France 4-0 Iceland: Olivier Giroud scores in routine win for the world champions - BBC Sport
Olivier Giroud becomes France’s third highest goalscorer of all time after he scores in their thrashing of Iceland.

Nike fined 12.5m euros for blocking United and Barcelona merchandise sales in Europe
The EU fined Nike $14.4m for blocking cross-border sales of merchandise of clubs such as Manchester United, Barcelona, Juventus and Roma.

Old Firm hype allows SFA to hide sorry tale of grim football governance | Ewan Murray | Football | The Guardian
Scotland are bereft of organisation, inspiration and strategy and the Scottish Football Association is to blame.

MLS/Americas

Canada’s golden generation and the quest for a World Cup | Pro Soccer USA
Is this finally Canada’s time?

How NBC Sports Analyst Kyle Martino Is Shaking Up The American Soccer Culture
Kyle Martino lost the election to become president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, but American Soccer may still benefit from his leadership and entrepreneurship.

Soccer and witchcraft: A conversation with architect Brad Cloepfil on designing the Providence Park expansion | Portland Timbers
The story of adding 4,000 seats to an already great venue to make it even greater.

United States’ McKennie expected to miss rest of Bundesliga season - source
United States and Schalke midfielder Weston McKennie is expected to miss the remainder of the Bundesliga season with an ankle injury, a source says.

Other

Dividing players by nation is old and dumb: here's 5 better ways - Football365
Why should patriotic people get all the fun? Wouldn't you rather see tall vs short, or teams based on hobbies?

How I ended up speaking to James Richardson on African TV by mistake | FourFourTwo
What better way to spend your holidays than pretending to be from Lagos and chatting with some of the biggest names in football media?

When Saturday Comes - From selective snow clearing to overnight sprinklers – the subtle art of turf tampering
Managers throughout history have looked to reinforce home advantage with a word in the ear of the ground staff.