Days flying By

So my prediction for Liverpool against West Ham couldn't have been further from the truth. West Ham were absolutely shocking and made it easy for Liverpool. Gerrard looked decent, Green had no help from the defense in front of him and Upson was playing by himself in the back four.

James Milner's performances have certainly caught the eye this year. Rumors today speculate that Man City are going to be making a big bid for him in the summer. He has had a great year but I dont think moving will help him or his international credentials. He plays every week at Villa in his new natural centre midfield position. If he moves to one of the bigger clubs I could see him being shoved out wide and not starting every game.

Although there is no English interest in the Champions League anymore, the Inter Milan and Barcelona tie today was interestign viewing with many players from that game to go to the World Cup. Barcelona went ahead and you would have expected them to go on from there. Milan though, under Mourinho, came back to win 3-1 and well deserved. Barcelona have a lot to do in the second leg and will have no Puyol as he will be suspended. He has been poor lately and will be playing for Spain in the summer. We saw that Messi is human as he was never really involved in the game. Xavi though continues to find passes that seem impossible and it is a scary thought that Torres and David Villa will be running on to them passes for Spain.

If England do meet Spain, then they are going to have to be on top of their game. It's a scary thought how much quality they have and then to top it off they have cover in every position. It is going to take either a special performance to beat Spain or a lot of luck.

It would be nice if this man didn't recover in time for the World Cup, his meant to be back in less than a month now, but I'm sure there would be a lot of non-Spainards very happy if he didn't make it.

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.

England Breathes Again

England can relax. The news every fan wanted to hear has been confirmed according to Sky Sports. Wayne Rooney will only be out for 2-4 weeks. The worse was feared last night when he left Munich on crutches, but a scan today has shown that it is only a sprained ankle meaning he should be back for the last few matches of the season. This is perfect for England as it gives him a few games to get his sharpness and match fitness back. Rooney is no doubt England's most important player scoring 33 goals for Manchester United this season and at times single-handedly winning them games. He is the second best player in the world right now only behind the unbelievable Messi. For England to have a realistic chance in the summer he has to be fit and firing.

Other good news on the injury front is that Jermain Defoe is set to return this weekend for Tottenham and Ashley Cole is back in light training for Chelsea. Hopefully Cole can get back in full training in the next 2-4 weeks and start playing before the end of the season and then we can forget about the whole Wayne Bridge saga. In my opinion he should never be picked again for England. We had no recognized left-backs for the last game and Bridge would certainly be the automatic choice with Cole injured. So to turn your back on your country is absolutely despicable especially when pictures then come out of him partying it up in Miami. I say never pick him again.

Tonight sees the best player in the world Lionel Messi play in England against Arsenal so we can get a close view of what England may have to deal with in South Africa. He has been out of this world the last few weeks including arguably the goal of the season, as well as 8 goals in 3 games including 2 hat-tricks and 25 goals in 25 league games for Barcelona. Maybe the best way to play against him is just to kick him every time he gets the ball. His so good though, sometimes you can't even get close enough to kick him. Perhaps the scariest thing about Messi is that he is still only 22, he is going to keep on getting better and is a few years away from his prime yet. He has every chance of going on to be the greatest player the game has ever seen.

Lastly, we all know David Beckham won't be going in the summer as a player, but, there has been a few rumors of him going with England in some capacity. I think Capello see's the benefit of having him there and I would definitely take him. His experience, professionalism and quality always shines through. Take him as a coach and let him work with whatever right-wingers Capello decides to take. It certainly will do no harm.

Here's a Rooney video playing for England to get you excitied.



Messi hat-trick including one of the goals of the season