England’s draw in Israel met with predictable catcalls, but was it as bad as the papers and fans made out? Jonathan Wilson believes Steve McClaren was short of luck as well as ideas in an awkward fixture

Were England really so bad in Israel? Given that they largely outplayed a side that had gone seven years unbeaten at home before losing to Croatia in October, it could be argued that they actually did rather well. After a nervous opening 20 minutes or so, they never looked like losing, Jamie Carragher hit the bar, Frank Lampard glanced an effort a fraction wide, Andy Johnson fluffed a great headed chance and Dudu Aouate, the Israel keeper, made three useful saves. Presented with the same opportunities, another team on another night would have won comfortably.

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Some of England’s best players are, naturally, with the most successful teams. Now, though, it seems to Barney Ronay that moving to a big club confers star status and that once achieved it’s never shaken off

The England team have always had problems. Reassuringly, they always seem to be the same ones. Here, in no particular order, are a few old favourites: obsession with long-ball football; the poor technique of players; rigid adherence to a 4-4-2 formation; players don’t like running around in the heat; ­everyone gets injured all the time; terrible at penalties; manager gleefully hounded from office. Factor in the periodic brief new dawn under a replacement gaffer/skipper combination only a tiny bit different from the last one and you have a pretty accurate summary of any recent visit to a major ­international tournament.

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Tom Davies on clubs in crisis

The supporters’ campaign to force Mansfield Town owner Keith Haslam to relinquish control of the club has been ratcheted up in recent months, with demonstrations, boycotts and even a plane fly-past display at the away game at Notts County. Haslam announced that the club was for sale on March 19, but there is widespread scepticism about the substance of this offer: the owner has form for frustrating previous expressions of interest by not ­providing enough information to bidders.

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Philip Cornwall pays a visit to the new Wembley. And he likes it

There have been times in the past six-and-a-half years when I have thought about Wembley and the phrase “Be careful what you wish for” has come to mind. I delighted in the demolition of a relic that was, in Whitehall jargon, no longer fit for purpose, yet a hole in the ground was even less suitable for hosting football matches than that old, tired stadium.

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Lyon attempt to cement their domestic dominance by floating on the stock market. Steve Menary reports

Olympique Lyonnais dominate their domestic scene in a manner few can match. They have won the past five French titles and are on their way to a sixth, 16 points clear with nine games left at time of writing. Yet though they are routinely tipped as potential Champions League winners, Lyon have always fallen short. To provide a bigger challenge to English, Spanish, Italian and German clubs, they want to quit the 42,000-capacity Stade Gerland and move to a new stadium seating 60,000 and costing €300 million (£200m). They decided a stock-market flotation was the best way to finance the move. But why did the European Commission, which is interested in promoting greater ownership of clubs by fans, force the French government to change the law in order to help Lyon out?

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