TWO SEMIS FOR THE WOMEN

I dream of a "Pointless" topic being football related so that I can at least a chance of getting a low score. I do struggle with 1980's Top Ten chart toppers. I would have more chance with the Television toppers, but not many of you lot will remember that dance troop?

Mark Sampson, a Welshman, England Women's manager, was dragged onto the stage by Alexander and Richard a while ago and despite keeping it a secret, the news was recently leaked and team moral was boosted when England kit man, Neil Jones, showed the girls a video of Mark's appearance.-he did not last long, going out at the first round. Sampson's national team are full of beans and earning points with every match in the present UEFA championships. They are soon due to play the Netherlands in front of their home crowd in the semi-final.

Sampson was told by his father that he would never make a player, so he started taking his coaching badges. He managed in the Welsh amateur leagues and he has inspired this team to great success following on from Hope Powell's long reign after the defeat in Euro 2013. Sampson had a clean out of the established older players, he introduced the overlooked Jodie Taylor who has done nothing but score goals for him and who leads the "Golden Boot" so far with 5 goals.

His coaching style varies depending on the opposition and the match against the old foe, France, showed a clever tactical performance, more like a classic Italian side.

Lord Ouseley, chairman of the "Kick it Out" campaign, was unhappy with a male appointment when Sampson got the nod, but the semi-final performance in the World Cup in Canada 2015 (beating Germany for third place) and this semi-final has changed minds. Sampson has introduced inspirational posters to the hotel, there is a cryotherapy chamber installed and loads of compression socks to help the girls recover from their latest match.

Sampson is an amateur footballer who played for the Cardiff Corinthians four years ago. He turned to coaching at Cardiff Metropolitan University and his first job was with Cardiff City's scholars, then then Swansea academy under Martinez, taking over Taff's Well FC in the Welsh division one. After that he went to Bristol City's women and had success with the team in two FA cup finals and runners up in the Women's Super league in 2013. In 49 games he has won 28 and drawn 7.

Two successive semi-finals is an achievement for an England manager, last experienced by Alf Ramsey in the 1960s....World Cup v Portugal 1966 2-1 and European Nations Cup v Yugoslavia 1968 in Florence 0-1.
Alan Mullery became the first England player to be sent off in a full international in this game on June 5th.