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It has taken nearly three years for West Ham United and the LDCC to address one of the most glaring failures of hosting football, British football that is, at the London Stadium. Given the outrageous costs of converting the Stadium from an Athletics dome in to a football arena, it seems almost unbelievable that it has taken so much time to resolve the issue of having a pitch that virtually looked like an oval.

Having taken what seems like an age, West Ham midfielder Declan Rice has finally pledged his international future to England, Rice has won three senior Republic of Ireland caps, all in friendlies, having played for his grandparents' country ever since he was a youngster. In August the London born central defender said he needed time to decide his future, as winning a competitive cap for the Republic would have tied him to that country.

It is hard to imagine the consequences and how far reaching the effect of the long term serious injury sustained by Manuel Lanzini while training with the Argentine national team ahead of last summer's FIFA World Cup in Russia.