England's New Away Kit - Awful

Bring it on is an apt tagline. Perhaps, it is a challenge laid down to other countries to create a worse kit.

Seriously, have Umbro lost all concept of design? A bland red, with clumsily organised symbols, is made worse by the utterly crap blue trim at the top. It's like they had some material left over from making Birmingham's kit and had to stick it on somewhere.

Nike's takeover of Umbro has unfortunately not extended to kit creation. If I was an England fan, I'd be overjoyed that we didn't qualify for Euro 2008. That way, I wouldn't have to suffer the humiliation of wearing a kit that belonged in the Ryman League.

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Capello Drops Beckham - The Right Call

Poor David Beckham. Under most managers, he would have been given his 100th cap against Switzerland in what many see as a meaningless friendly. It would be a fitting tribute to a man who has provided quality, determination and flashes of brilliance to England's national team.

Unfortunately for the LA Galaxy man, Fabio Capello is not most managers.

But surely Beckham deserves to be given this honour. Fair enough, if it was a competitive match, one would be looking to have their strongest squad available. But a friendly? At least stick him on the bench.

The above viewpoint would likely have been that of Steve McLaren, or any other English manager who could relate to Beckham's contribution to their country. Again, Capello is no such man.

In an almost brutal, machine-like manner, the Italian has removed any chance of Beckham playing for England again, purely on the basis that (in his opinion) the right winger isn't good enough.

But it is the truth that if Capello is to stick to his guns and drive his adopted country forward to the depths of international tournaments, he must pick his squad on quality and form, nothing else.

Professionalism is the key here. If he bowed to the media build-up about 'Centurion Beckham', it would only undermine his leadership and authority.

The only person this negatively affects is Beckham. On the positive side, it sends out a strong clear message to England players that they'll need to be playing at the top of their game, otherwise they face the chop. Complacency is eradicated, respect is in place, and consistently good performances will arrive.

This was Capello's first big decision as England manager. He got it spot on.

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Spaniards Playing For England?!?

Peroxide addict and Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia recently sent out a 'pick me!' call to new England manager Fabio Capello, as the Spaniard will be eligible to play for England in a year's time.

For those of you unaware, if you are uncapped by your country and have played in country B for 5 years, then you are able to play for country B.

I know that foreign managers appear to have been the flavour of the month for quite some time... but foreign players? I don't think I even need to begin explaining why this is so wrong.

While it is unlikely that international teams will consist of predominantly foreigners in the near future, we take a look at a 5 players that Capello could call up to the England squad if he felt that the English boys weren't pulling their weight...

1. Gael Clichy - Arsenal
The French left back has been a member of Arsene Wenger's team for 4 years now, so in just one year's time could be the ideal back-up for the injury-prone Ashley Cole.

2. Carlo Cudicini - Chelsea
The 'Italian Stallion' has been second to Petr Cech for quite some time, but when called upon still delivers the confident performances that he once did a few years back. 7 years in England with no caps for Italy, could he be called upon to answer England's goalkeeping 'crisis'?

3. Mikel Arteta - Everton
"Arteta for England" is a chant that can be heard from Goodison Park these days, and now wonder considering the Spaniard's blistering form this season. Having spent a total of 4 years in the UK so far, he would make a welcome addition to the England midfield.

4. Sylvian Distin - Portsmouth
A marauding, physical and powerful centre-back, the Frenchman has been one of the main reasons that Pompey have been so watertight this year. With him and Sol Campbell combining well at the back, what forwards would fancy taking them on at an international level?

5. Steed Malbranque - Spurs
6 years in England and not a single French cap makes the pacy winger eligible for England duty. Steed, named after John Steed from 'The Avengers' (no, seriously), was voted the 45th greatest ever foreign player to play in Premiership by the English population, so would many people be against a call-up?

What do you reckon? Would you like to see any of these players play for England? Or should the rules be changed to stop this kind of thing? Leave your comments below.

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Attention! French Moron Approaching

UEFA President Michel Platini today said that he has yet to be convinced by England's World Cup 2018 bid, according to BBC Sport.

The Frenchman has stated that he is unhappy with the amount of money being thrown around in English football, and also with the fact that there is a lack of young homegrown talent coming through the ranks.

Platini too has apparently sent out more love letters to the heads of all European governments, expressing his concern about the "malign and ever-present influence of money."

1. What the hell has homegrown talent got to do with a country hosting a World Cup? If they can do it professionally and safely while promoting the name of football, then they should host it. Full stop.

2. So what that there's money awash in the game? It's what happened when lot's of people are interested and invest in a certain business. You don't see people getting up in arms with the cash being splashed in say, the electronics market.

3. Are these the same letters that asked for violence and racism to be met with nothing but zero tolerance? Ah yes, that's why racist and sectarian chanting are still being punished with 'slap on the wrist fines'. Maybe you should spend less time in front of your typewriter and more time sticking to your policies.

Oh and a final thought Mr. Platini. The 'evil currency' that you hate so much... is it the same money in the game that pays your wages and actually makes your job meaningful? I thought so.

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England Don't Have Talented Players - What?

Lets take a look at what the Times thought of the performances of English players over the weekend in their ratings out of 10:

GK, Green - 8

DF, Richards - 3
DF, Ferdinand - 6
DF, Carragher - 8
DF, Brown - 7

MF, Hargreaves - 8
MF, Lampard - 8
MF, Gerrard - 8
MF, Cole - 8

CF, Owen - 4
CF, Rooney - 9

An average rating of 7 out of 10. And that's not even England at full strength. With the exception of:

• Owen (who is England's top goal scorer),


• Micah Richards (who is the one of the few bright lights of England's recent campaign),


• and Ferdinand (who was hardly tested on Saturday),

that score would be 8 out of 10.

I propose to the next person who is worried about the 'lack of quality in the English squad' that they shut their mouth and open their brain.

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With Regards To The Plastic Pitch In Russia

Would people please just SHUT THE HELL UP!?!

Who cares? It's green, you play football on it. Sometimes, yes even on real grass, players get injured and teams lose matches. Can we please, as a footballing nation, just move on?

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Drop Gerrard! A Funny Video

Stevie G played poorly against Estonia last Saturday... but you only realise how badly when you see this:



Funny stuff indeed! Although should Gerrard be dropped for his Chelsea counterpart Lampard?

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Why England's Poor 2nd Half Display Worked

While Sky Sports' Paul Merson was describing England's 2nd half display against Estonia as 'woeful' and 'awful', Alan Shearer of the BBC was remarking that it was 'job done' and that they had got the result which mattered the most.

For once, Alan was right.

Why? 3 reasons actually:

1. Fitness Levels
Here's the scenario: You're 3-0 up against a relatively poor side, you're going to win easily, and you've also got a crucial encounter away to Russia just 4 days later. Why run about like madmen trying to grab further goals? Do you bust that extra gut trying to force the opposition to give the ball away? Would you burst your lungs to create space after space to be played into? Probably not.

2. Expectations
With a 3-0 victory over Estonia, English fans won't be getting carried away about their hopes in Russia. Believe it or not, external hype does seep into the dressing room, so a modest victory will keep reality levels in check, and give the team and fans a more realistic approach to Wednesday's match.

3. Experimentation
What better opportunity to tinker with your formation and team selection when your winning against the 127th-best team in the world? It allowed McLaren to see what worked and what didn't, namely a five-man midfield with Rooney up front.

England can now look forward to tomorrow's crucial game with a better idea of what tactics work for them, fresher legs, and not the entire nation on their back if they don't win.

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England and Group E Predictions

It's finely poised at the top of Group E with 3 games to go:

Croatia 23pts
England 20pts
Russia 18pts
Israel 17pts

Let's check out the run-ins for each team:

Croatia - At home to Israel first is a potential banana skin, as is away to Macedonia before the final crunch game away to England. They may be top, but plenty of work still to do.

England - Start at home to Estonia which should be easy enough, before travelling to Russia. If they overcome them, England will go through. If not, they face a tricky tie at home to Croatia who will be looking to ensure passage themselves.

Russia - Its starts hard and gets easier for Hiddink's team. At home to England is they key encounter, before difficult trips to Israel and then finally Andorra. If they beat England, most will fancy them to progress.

Israel - To stand any chance, the Israelis need results against Croatia away and then Russia at home. They then entertain Macedonia in the final game, so expect them to still have a major impact on the outcome of matters.

So what's going to happen this weekend then?

England v Estonia
England should cruise to victory over an Estonian side who are currently ranked 127th in the world. They could probably field a B team to conserve fitness for the game against Russia and still win. However, it would be a disaster for England if they assumed that form and position alone is enough to win a match of football.

Remember the 0-0 against Macedonia? Anything can happen, and England need to make sure that they play with the same amount of technical quality, tactical awareness, and, to quote Steve McLaren, 'passion'. If they do that, then they should have no problems.

The key area will obviously be up front for England. Estonia won't pose much attacking threat, and the back 4 are solid, even though Paul Robinson has become somewhat of a liability. If we assume that in the midfield we have Joe Cole, Wright-Phillips and Gerrard, the one remaining place should be filled by Barry or Lampard, but which one?

A lot has been said about this so I won't go into it further. The key question is, do you choose a man with more attacking threat and international experience (Lampard)? Or a man who is on form for club and country, and has demonstrated that he can play very effectively alongside Gerrard for a more balanced midfield (Barry)? It will be most interesting to see the manager's choice.

Up front, Rooney is likely to start up front alongside Owen. Steve McLaren is lucky that Heskey got injured, as he didn't have to choose between him and the returning Rooney. In short, the Manchester United striker has been poor for England recently, and him and Owen never seem to click. Rooney's play, prowess, vision and temperament will be vital if England wish to succeed.

It should be easy for England, but only if key players are firing on all cylinders, and McLaren gets his tactics right (then again, neither of those are certainties).

England 2-0 Estonia.

In the other match between Croatia and Israel, the home side have been dominant on their patch during these qualifiers, and I don't expect that to change against a plucky Israeli team.

Croatia 2-0 Israel.

So the table should then look like...

Croatia 26pts
England 23pts
Russia 18pts
Israel 17pts

Very cosy for England and Croatia indeed, with Israel now out of the equation. If England beat Russia on Wednesday, they go through, but if it's the other way around, expect a tense final international week.

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Heskey Out For 3 Months With Broken Toe

Looks like he may be needing one of these then...

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