Football Daily | World Cup playoffs mean it’s crunch time for Gattuso, Bellamy and Potter

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It’s Geopolitics World Cup playoff day, dear reader, and Gibraltar are playing Latvia in a winner-takes-all clash. Sadly, for football romantics, that game is the first leg of a Nations League promotion/relegation playoff. Uefa’s scheduling feels a bit cruel, like making some poor flunky do the graveyard shift while Bacchanalia Revisited takes place on the floor above. And what a party it’s going to be. Sure, the process of qualifying has become so convoluted that even Bobby Seagull doesn’t fully understand it, but now we’ve reached the stage where everything is terrifyingly simple. There are no second chances any more, and the only guarantee is of thrills, spills and bellyaches. Sixteen European teams are involved in Thursday’s semi-finals; by Tuesday night, four will be on their way to the GWC and 12 will be wondering whether they can still legitimately cherish the memories they made en route to the playoffs.

I’m so saddened by the news of John Toshack’s dementia diagnosis, the fate of too many from his era. He was my first footballing idol, a big handsome hero of the team I knew and loved as long as I’d lived. I would save a sweet for home-game Saturdays and ask my dad to pass it to him at half-time (of course a Kop season ticket didn’t preclude that!), and Dad always said Tosh had thanked me. It’s good to know he has detailed memories of his many days of glory, and I hope life is kind to him in those remaining” – Kathryn Nolan.

Riccardo Calafiori complains that Italy gaffer Gennaro Gattuso calls him more often than his mum does (Wednesday’s News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition). What’s the problem? I’d be ecstatic if Gattuso called me more than my mother. It’d be terrific to talk about football with a World Cup, Big Cup and Serie A winner. My mother tends to focus more on weekend plans, the noise level in restaurants, and how often my kids do or don’t call her. No offence Mum, but I’d rather talk tactics than family stuff” – Mike Wilner.

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