England: I Believe In You

I started this blog about 5-6 weeks ago now. Every time I write on it I get extremely excited about the World Cup. Today I have been looking up England pictures because I am currently making a video to put on here, of great moments and some bad ones too. It is the moments that have defined English football and moments that live in the memory whether good or bad.

While I have been doing this I just keep thinking about that moment in 25 days time when the whistle goes and the tournament begins. My excitement level seems to continue to rise and I don't know how this is possible because at the moment it is pretty much all I am thinking about day and night.

The reason for this post is because I started thinking realistically about our chances this summer. This is what I come up with.

I believe...we have the best manager (Capello) for the job
I believe...the manager has transformed us from a team of great individual players to a great team that can play together
I believe...all of the players have ultimate respect for Capello
I believe...all the players now know that nobody automatically gets picked, the team is picked on form and form alone, not reputation
I believe...Capello is assisted by a great backroom team
I believe...we have a team full of world-class players
I believe...we have a team that has more passion, determination and pride than any other nation
I believe...when the players put on the shirt with the three lions on it means something to them
I believe...that we can win a penalty shoot-out
I believe...we have the best fans in the world
I believe...we can win
I believe...our time has come

I believe all of this things and think every nation will not want to face us. I will be posting the video one day this week when I am happy with the final product.

Capello Announces 30-Man Provisional Squad

So Fabio Capello has announced the 30 players that will battle it out for the 23 spots to go to South Africa. England will be in Austria for a week long training camp and also play against Mexico and Japan before Capello announces the final 23 on June 1st. There wasn't too many surprises in this squad and it is probably fair to say that every player has a chance of going. Here is Capello's 30:

Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green.

Leighton Baines, Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock.

Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips

Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney.

Capello now has the unenviable task of having to shatter 7 players dream and tell them they will have to stay at home. I think them 7 players will be:
Dawson
Warnock
Huddlestone
Parker
Barry (I don't think he will recover from injury in time)
Johnson
Bent

I just hope he makes the right decision and there are no regrets when we kick-off against USA on June 12th.

Gerrard Struggling

I've been very surprised this year that not many people have been too critical of Steven Gerrard. This has to be his worst season yet. In past seasons he has inspired Liverpool, often winning games by himself and constantly raising the bar. This year he has been very poor. I think he may have gone a bit stale at Liverpool and it could be time for him to move. He knows he is going to play every week and he is always picked for England. If I was Capello I would be seriously considering his position in the England team. Yes, He is a one of the best in the world when he is on top of his game but we have rarely seen that this season and its been extremely rare that we have seen that for England. His performances this year was summed up by the amazing back pass against Chelsea this weekend right into Drogba's path that put Chelsea on their way to a 2-0 victory.

Good news for everyone but Spain. Torres is a major doubt to be ready for the start of the World Cup. The downside is that he is expected to be fit for when the tournament really gets going after the group stages. As well as that Spain do have one of the easiest groups. There are also rumors that Xavi may not be fit. He has a tear in his calf but he is playing through it for Barcelona, hopefully he will tear it even more so he can't play. I say that as purely an England fan because as a football fan he is one of my favorite players to watch.

Here's quite a funny Pepsi commercial starring some of the big names that will be playing this summer.

Rooney Player of the Year

Wayne Rooney was last night named PFA player of the year. He has had a great season and thoroughly deserved the award. He is injured at the moment but has promised that he will be fully fit for the World Cup and believes he may even be fit for Man United's last game against Stoke. It is good to see for English football, as often a foreigner has won the award over the last few years.

James Milner won the PFA young player of the year and again it is thoroughly deserved. He will surely be going to the World Cup after the season he has had and there hasn't been too many times this season when you can say he had a bad game. He picked up the award after scoring the winning penalty for Villa against Birmingham.

Frank Lampard may be hitting form at just the right time for England. As captain against Stoke Chelsea won 7-0. Lampard scored a brace and one of them was a sublime finish controlling the ball into the net with the outside of his boot from a cross. He also scored another penalty. It can only be good for England that at the moment we have players scoring penalties as our record in major tournaments when it comes to penalties is shocking at best In the same game Ashley Cole made his return and played a full 90. He was a little rusty as to be expected but has another 3 Chelsea games before Capello names his squad and I'm sure Capello would have been relieved to see him come through the game unscathed.

Harry Redknapp has been saying Capello should take Ledley King to South Africa. There's no arguing that King is a very good defender. But, with his injury history it makes it difficult to take someone like him to a tournament that is so intense and there is always game just around the corner. King can only play one game a week and only trains the day before a game, in that case how could he possibly be in the squad. It is too much of a risk. You would be better off taking his team mate Michael Dawson who has been in good form all year.

When it comes to that centre half position though I would really consider taking Sol Campbell. He has great experience, can always step in and do a good job and forwards rarely get the better of him. He is getting on but you need that calming influence and someone who has experience at this level during these tournaments. Plus, at all the major tournaments he has played for England in, he has always been one of our best players.

Seeing as Rooney and Milner both won awards last night it seems only right that I post videos of them.
Here's a good video of a Rooney compilation.



I couldn't find a Milner compilation so instead I just chose to post one of the many screamers he has scored this season. Enjoy.

Players State Their Case

Well, it certainly showed to be an interesting weekend in the Premiership. The title race was blown wide open again and 4th place once again switched hands.

It was a perfect weekend for Man United. They beat rivals Man City 1-0 with Tottenham beating Chelsea 2-1 closing the gap at the top to just 1 point with 3 games remaining and Wigan beating Arsenal 3-2 ending Arsenal's title challenge. Worryingly for Capello Rio Ferdinand was once again not fit and his fitness must be giving Capello some headaches as he has suffered all year. The World Cup is an intense month with games coming thick and fast and Ferdinand needs to prove he will be able to cope with that.

Capello then made it to White Hart Lane for the derby between Spurs and Chelsea and would have had mixed feelings with what he saw. Michael Dawson had Didier Drogba in his pocket the whole game showing that he could do a job for England and I would definitely take him in front of Lescott. Jermaine Defoe scored a penalty but missed a glorious opportunity when one-on-one with Petr Cech. John Terry was sent off for pure stupidity and certainly Capello would not have been impressed. Terry gave away a first-half penalty, was then booked for a tackle on Defoe and with Chelsea 2-0 down fighting to get back into the game he inexplicably chopped down Gareth Bale to get his second booking. It was utter madness and indiscipline from the Chelsea captain. Frank Lampard scored and tried to make things happen but struggled and Joe Cole wasted the chance to impress being subbed at half-time after a disappointing performance.

David James played well in goal for Portsmouth and saved a penalty. He is still fighting with Rob Green and Joe Hart for the number 1 shirt. They surely have to be the 3 keepers on the plane and the only thing for Capello to decide is who he is going to trust in goal.

Darren Bent scored again. He just keeps scoring in a poor Sunderland side. Working against Bent though, is that when he has had his chance to play for England he has been poor.

Liverpool against West Ham is the last game to wrap up the weekend’s football and will see a few England players on display. I fancy West Ham may get a draw especially after the news that Torres will miss the rest of the season.

I saw this and thought it was quite funny.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/top10s/2927639/Top-10-football-superstitions.html

Mixed Week For England Players

Last week saw one of the greatest individual performances I've ever seen by a certain Lionel Messi again as he just continues to put in remarkable performances. He scored all 4 of Barcelona's goals as they thrashed Arsenal 4-1 to reach the semi-final of the Champions League. His 1st and 3rd goals were something special. The first he smashed the ball into the top corner from 20 yards and the 3rd after racing through he had the audacity to chip the keeper completing his hat-trick in just the first half. He then scored again last night against Real Madrid to take his tally to 40 for the season. He is certainly the best in the world right now and is a player England would have to pay very close attention to should we meet Argentina.

England fans were delighted to see the unexpected return of Wayne Rooney a lot sooner than expected. He played 60 odd minutes last week in the defeat to Bayern Munich which ended all English teams competing in the Champions League this year. He went off with a knock on the same ankle after being the victim of a lot of special attention from the German side. It is nothing to serious although he did miss yesterday’s game against Blackburn he will be fine.

Another great bit of good news for England fans is that Ashley Cole will be ready to play before the end of the month meaning he will be able to play 3 or 4 games before Capello announces his squad. It will ease some stress from him and means he will no longer have to worry about the whole Wayne Bridge fiasco. Bridge should never be selected for England again I believe, he turned his back on his country.

John Terry showed there are no friends in soccer when Chelsea played Aston Villa on Saturday. He has been heavily criticized by Villa manager Martin O'Neill and John Carew for his tackle on fellow England teammate James Milner. Milner has a very good chance of starting in June with the performances he has been putting in and that right midfield spot is wide open. Theo Walcott, Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips are all other options but I don't think Walcott's good enough, his final ball is very poor 90% of the time and his first touch is shocking. Lennon has been injured since Christmas and it’s still doubtful if he will be back in time. Wright-Phillips is too hit and miss still, his either very good or very bad. For me I think I would start Milner he has really impressed this year and he has matured and improved.

I know this is meant to be a blog focusing on England but I had to post this video of Messi’s 4 goals. It also shows how Walcott has a poor final ball as he got really lucky with the poor ball that he played across for the Arsenal goal. It was an easy pass and he very nearly messed it up.

Fringe Players Make Their Mark

Joe Cole, Bobby Zamora, Darren Bent, and Peter Crouch made have all given Fabio Capello even more of a headache after the last course of matches.

Joe Cole scored an incredibly cheeky cruyff through the legs of a Man Utd defender in helping Chelsea to gain a vital 3 points at Old Trafford. He has only played 90 minutes twice this season but he got a rare opportunity to start the top of the table clash on Saturday. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands not only by scoring the skillful goal but his all round game was impressive. He worked hard, won the ball back, kept the ball and looked to make things happen. If he can get a few more starts before the end of the season and help Chelsea to win the title then he could make a late run to make the England squad.

Bobby Zamora continued his impressive season by bagging another goal against Wolfsburg in the Europa League. He is a handful for defenders as he is big, strong, quick and can score all different types of goals. With Capello liking to have a big man partnering Rooney up front Zamora is doing he all can to be that man. Heskey has been the preferred choice for Capello but he still doesn't score enough goals. Zamora is a very similar player to Heskey but is more of a threat.

Darren Bent and Peter Crouch faced off in the same game with Bent grabbing the headlines. Bent scored twice as his Sunderland beat Crouch's Tottenham 3-1. Bent though had a glorious opportunity to score hat-trick but missed 2 penalties with Gomes saving both of them. This was after Bent had already scored 1 penalty. He has now scored 23 times this season in what can be described as an average Sunderland team. Crouch on the other hand came on with 20 minutes to go and scored with his first touch. His size is something that defenders especially foreign defenders still have so much trouble coping with. He also has a goal ratio of 1 every 2 games for England. He is certainly going to the World Cup but could very well be starting with Rooney when England play their first game against USA on June 12th.

With teams having just 5 or 6 games left till the end of the season, players chances to impress are becoming less and less. Every game must be treated like the last game of the season and every mistake counts. Capello will know most of his squad by now and probably most of the starting 11 making every game crucial.

Here's some of Joe Cole's finest moments including the stunning volley against Sweden at the 2006 World Cup and embarrassing the Man Utd defense.