Julian Alsop column: What an England shocker

HELLO folks, I have to start with the international games and what a shambles it was....

Not England versus Poland but Friday’s game against the mighty San Marino.

I would have loved to see San Marino get to half-time with the score 0-0. To be honest, I would have preferred to be at the dentist having all my teeth out than watching that game.

England were like Scott Brown’s clothes – shocking! But like Scotty they somehow got away with it in the end.

Afterwards, I watched the highlights of the Wales versus Scotland game and it was another great performance from Gareth Bale.

His value must have gone up by say another hundred quid after his two goals.

It would have been more only it was a against Scotland, and I hate to say it, but they are like San Marino in my eyes.

FANS WOULD HAVE ENJOYED TV FOOTAGE FROM DRESSING ROOM IN COTTERILL'S DAY

IF, LIKE me, you have been watching the documentary about Liverpool on Channel 5, I wonder if you thought the same thing as me?

I honestly thought that I had the TV on mute when they were filming the last few minutes before the game in the changing room.

Seriously, I have never heard a changing room so quiet.

There seems to be no banter and no one getting the team going, they all just seem to be sitting there taking it in.

Now I have never played in the Premier League, but that’s not a normal changing room, for sure.

It needs a bit of ‘Russ Abbot’ in there.

I know football is changing but, come on, if you’re filming and editing this put the screaming at each other that inevitably goes on before the game in the final edit.

You Cheltenham fans would have loved having a camera in the changing room when Steve Cotterill was boss.

It would have made great TV when someone was getting an absolute roasting, or having the door slammed in their face like Mark ‘Boka’ Freeman had.

Boka was walking through the door when he caught flush in the face and said, ‘You’ve broken my nose,’ and you could see the gaffer thinking, ‘Oops, anyone but Boka’.

But on the flipside, you would have been able to see him praising someone when they had done well.

He used to make the player feel like they were ten feet tall.

The way Steve dealt with me he was a bit like Babe is with me, always on my case to do this and do that, to be better!

You would have seen passion and I am sad to say Liverpool are not showing that at the moment.

ROBINS PLAYERS HAPPY WITH TEAM ETHIC

I HAVE not written too much about Cheltenham this season, but hats off to the team and management for their current great run of form.

The recent run has taken the boys up to third in the league and that’s really good to see.

I still speak regularly to a lot of the current players and they all say without fail about what a good ‘team’ they are.

Credit must go to Mark Yates and his staff for putting such a good squad together.

What I have seen from the TV highlights and heard from people at the games is that not one single player is standing out week on week.

That bodes really well as it must mean that the team is on fire, and here’s hoping that they keep up the good work.