England National Football Team Unofficial Blog

England Lose 1-0 In France

2008-04-05T11:27:00.005Z

France 1 (HT 1-0)
Ribery (pen) 32

England 0

Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Match: International Friendly
Kick Off: 8pm, Wednesday 26 March 2008
Referee: Florian Meyer (German)
Assistant Referees: Sonke Glindmann and Mark Borsch (Both German)

I never caught the match. I gather Beckham got his 100th cap. More importantly, I dare say Fabio Capello was not happy with losing his 2nd game in charge.

From what I gather reading how things went, it seems Capello wants the England players to play old style Italian football.

We shall see how that pans out over time.

Here are the match reports from around the web.

France 1 England 0 Match Reports
♠ Ribery Grabs All The Glory (the fa)
♠ France 1 England 0 (bbc)
♠ France 1 England 0 (the sun)
♠ France 1 England 0 (sportinglife)

France 1 England 0 Minute By Minute
♠ France V England Minute By Minute (the fa)
♠ France V England Minute By Minute (football365)
♠ France V England Minute By Minute (sportinglife)

England 23 To Face France On 26 Mar 2008

2008-03-23T23:43:00.002Z

France v England
International Friendly
8pm, Wednesday 26 March 2008
Stade de France, Paris
Live on Sky Sports

Fabio Capello has named his 2nd England squad to face the French on wednesday. 23 players have been selected, whittled down from a provisional 30.

The big news is David Beckham has been recalled, presumably to get his 100th cap. However, I am a bit suspicious and would'nt be surprised if Capello does not play Becks, therefore leaving it open for Beckham to get his 100th cap at Wembley against the Americans on Wednesday 28 May.

We shall see.

Goalkeepers:
GK David James (Portsmouth)
GK Paul Robinson (Tottenham Hotspur)
GK Robert Green (West Ham)

England Defenders:
LD Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
LD Wayne Bridge (Chelsea)
RD Wes Brown (Manchester United)
RD Glen Johnson (Portsmouth)
LCD Joleon Lescott (Everton)
CD Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)
CD John Terry (Chelsea)
CD Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur)

England Midfielders:
LM Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough)
LCM Gareth Barry (AstonVilla)
RLCM Joe Cole (Chelsea)
RLCM Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United)
RCM David Beckham (LA Galaxy)
RCM Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
RCM David Bentley (Blackburn Rovers)
CM Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

England Strikers:
RLCA Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
CA Peter Crouch (Liverpool)
CA Michael Owen (Newcastle United)
RCA Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

England 2 Switzerland 1 (6 Feb 08)

2008-02-06T23:15:00.000Z

England 2
Jenas (40)
Wright-Phillips (62)

Switzerland 1
Derdiyok (58)

Venue: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 86,857.
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany).

England started off their Capello time with a reasonable 2-1 friendly win against Switzerland tonight. The Swiss were admittedly under-strengthed, especially up front, and were playing without their captain. They came to play though, and certainly made England play.

Jermaine Jenas opened the scoring from a Joe Cole assist on 40 minutes. Cole twiddled the right back just inside the Swiss penalty box, and laid central midfielder Jenas up for a tap in from the by-line.

The Swiss found themselves under the cosh early in the second half. England could not capitalise though, and paid the price when the Swiss debutante Derdiyok hit the ball first time past David James on 58 minutes.

The leveller did not count for long though. Wright-Phillips scored his 3rd International goal this season, from another tap in. This time via a ball inside from Gerrard after some good work from Crouch and Rooney.

All in all, a satisfactory start to Capello's reign. We'll see how things pan out away to the French next up.

Come on England!

England Team: James, Brown, Ferdinand, Upson, Ashley Cole (Bridge 73), Bentley, Jenas (Wright-Phillips 57), Gerrard, Barry (Hargreaves 73), Joe Cole (Crouch 57), Rooney (Young 87).
Subs Not Used: Carson, Richards, Lescott, Woodgate, Owen, Defoe, Kirkland.

Goals: Jenas 40, Wright-Phillips 62.

Switzerland Team: Benaglio, Lichtsteiner (Behrami 46), Senderos (Grichting 55), Eggiman, Spycher, Inler, Gelson (Huggel 84), Barnetta, Yakin (Margairaz 63), Gygax (Vonlanthen 46), Nkufo (Derdiyok 46).
Subs Not Used: Zuberbuhler, Coltorti, Ziegler.

Goals: Derdiyok 58.

Capello Names His First England Squad

2008-01-31T21:04:00.000Z

Fabio Capello has picked his first England squad. Of course, the headline news is the omission of David Beckham due to the fact Becks has not played any competetive matches lately. The door has not been closed on Beckham getting his 100th cap at some time in the future.

Capello said: "The reason that David is not in the squad is because he has not had any real match practice since playing in November.

"When I spoke with David on the phone yesterday I advised him that he is still part of my plans and once he is playing regularly in America we will look closely at him again."

Paul Robinson has also been left out. David James looks like the senior goalkeeper. Interesting, because there was a time it looked like James had played his last game for England when dropped by Sven Goran Eriksson.

A 30 man squad has been chosen. To be wittled down to 23 on saturday. Here are the lucky ones.

Goalkeepers:
David James (Portsmouth)
Scott Carson (Liverpool on loan at Aston Villa)
Chris Kirkland (Wigan)

Defenders:
Wayne Bridge (Chelsea)
Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
Curtis Davies (West Brom on loan at Aston Villa)
Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)
Glen Johnson (Portsmouth)
Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur)
Nicky Shorey (Reading)
Wes Brown (Manchester United)
Joleon Lescott (Everton)
Micah Richards (Manchester City)
Matthew Upson (West Ham United)
Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur)

Midfielders:
Michael Carrick (Manchester United)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Gareth Barry (Aston Villa)
Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur)
Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United)
Joe Cole (Chelsea)
Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough)
Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea)
David Bentley (Blackburn Rovers)

Forwards:
Emile Heskey (Wigan Athletic)
Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa)
Michael Owen (Newcastle United)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Peter Crouch (Liverpool)

Fabio Capello - The New England Manager?

2007-12-14T14:58:00.000Z

Fabio Capello will be the next England team manager. He is Italian if you don't know, and can't guess.

Ever since the Scotsman Adam Crozier decided to appoint the Swede Sven Goran Eriksson to the England manager's job, to teach us stupid English how to do things, it's become ok for England not to have an Englishman in charge.

All this because we are supposed to be a leading football nation, with aspirations of winning international trophies. I say international football should consist of people eligible to play for the team, or they can't serve as backroom staff.

Otherwise we might aswell bring in Gianluigi Buffon to play in goal no?

Anyway, I wish the man all the best, and hope Capello can help England win something.

Steve McClaren Sacked As England Manager

2007-11-22T01:22:00.001Z

"McClaren sacked after Euro exit" is the headline at the Sun newspaper.

According to journalists Pat Sheehan and Shaun Curtis, the decision to sack Steve McClaren was made at 10.30 pm after the 3-2 home defeat by Croatia. McClaren was informed of the decision instantly.

Apparently, according to the Sun - FA chief executive Brian Barwick, his trusted aid Simon Johnson, FA chairman Geoff Thompson and chairman of the international committee Noel White met at 10.30 last night, sacked McClaren and decided to call an FA board meeting for 8.30am this morning to finalise procedings. A mere rubberstamp jobby of an already made decision.

I say McClaren will definately be sacked, or the pressure will mount upon the FA heirachy themselves.

McClaren had been booked on the plane to South Africa tomorrow for Sunday's World Cup draw in Durban but his seat will be cancelled.

The under fire England manager will receive a £2.5million golden handshake despite failing to get England to the 2008 Euro finals.

News i'm sure, that will not be of much surprise to anyone remotely interested in the 3 Lions.

England 2 Croatia 3 - England Fail To Qualify

2007-11-22T00:05:00.000Z

England 2
Lampard (pen) 56
Crouch 65

Croatia 3
Kranjcar 8
Olic 14
Petric 77

Venue: Wembley Stadium.
Attendance: 88,091.
Referee: Peter Frojdfeldt (Sweden).

England have failed to qualify for the 2008 Euro's after a dismal display at Wembley in front of nearly 90,000 fans.

I am still baffled how young goalkeeper Carson jumped ahead of David James in the pecking order. OK, Robinson has played badly enough lately to warrant being dropped. Why James, who has been on the bench, presumably therefore England's number 2, for every qualifier, was overlooked in preference for a rookie, is beyond me.

I am still confused also, as to why England lined up with a 451 formation. Owen got injured in a meaningless friendly away to Austria, and McClaren saw fit to change the whole set up, rather than just put in a replacement (defoe).

I refuse to berate the England players, who aside Crouch, Joe Cole and possibly David Beckham, floundered helplessly in the mud, on a Wembley pitch that had been trounced by the American football players that recently tore our hallowed turf to shreds.

The problem with the England side, for me, is the old boys brigade that run the FA. Non football people, making footballing decisions, strikes me as an oddity. Tomorrow these non footballing people will have an emergency board meeting, to decide on Steve McClaren's future tenure as the England manager.

The blind leading the blind springs to mind.

England Team: Carson, Richards, Campbell, Lescott, Bridge, Wright-Phillips (Beckham 46), Gerrard, Barry (Defoe 46), Lampard, Joe Cole (Bent 80), Crouch.
Subs Not Used: James, Ashley Cole, Brown, Hargreaves.

Croatia Team: Pletikosa, Corluka, Simic, Robert Kovac, Simunic, Srna, Modric, Nico Kovac, Kranjcar (Pranjic 75), Olic (Rakitic 84), Eduardo (Petric 69).
Subs Not Used: Runje, Babic, Knezevic, Leko.

England 2 Croatia 3 Match Reports
♠ England Eliminated (the fa)
♠ England 2 Croatia 3 (bbc)

Isreal Beat Russia - England Can Qualify

2007-11-17T19:58:00.000Z

Israel 2
Barda 10
Golan 90

Russia 1
Bilyaletdinov 61

Israel survived a torrid second half which saw their early lead equalised, and with 5 to go Isreal were nearly defeated when a Russian shot hit the post. Somehow, amazingly, the Israeli's, who looked out on their feet, counter-attacked and stole all 3 points when Golan pounced on a Cohen through ball to make the score Israel 2 Russia 1.

As it stands, the England team only need draw at Wembley on wednesday at home to Croatia, who have now qualified, to progress through to the Euro finals.

There are many who feel Steve McClaren should never have been given the England managerial role. They may well be right, who knows? What I do know, is McClaren may well not be good enough for some England fans tastes, but surely he is lucky enough for all of us at the moment.

I have heard it mentioned before, that football teams do not need good managers, what they really need is lucky ones.

Either way: Come on England! & Thankyou Israel.

Austria 0 England 1 (friendly)

2007-11-17T12:33:00.000Z

Austria 0

England 1
Peter Crouch 44

Venue: Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna
Kick Off: 8pm, Friday 16 November 2007
Referee: Nicolai Vollquartz

England beat quite a weak Austrian side with a headed goal from Peter Crouch, supplied by a David Beckham corner.

Scott Carson and Ashley Young made their England debuts. Both played well enough.

Once again though, the main news is about misfortune. Michael Owen was pulled off with a thigh strain, and will be out for a month. That means if Israel do manage to hold the Russians to a draw, and England can qualify for the Euro's by beating Croatia at Wembley, we'll have to do it without Michael Owen.

For me, Owen is clearly injury prone, and should be used sparingly when possible. Playing Michael in friendlies mid-season, is nil-by-mouth as far as i'm concerned.

Apart from that, we have the obvious situation once again, that Beckham is still a key player for the 3 Lions. Because once again, Beckham's crossing supplied the winner. As long as Beckham has someone like Crouch to aim at, he will remain one of our big guns.

So, all in all a satisfactory friendly result. Now we just wait for the Israeli's to do us a favour.

Come on England! Come on Israel!

Austria Team:
1 Jurgen Macho (21 Alex Manninger, 26), 14 Gyorgy Garics, 3 Martin Stanzl (16 Martin Hiden, 86), 4 Franz Schiemer, 5 Ronald Gercaliu, 2 Joachim Standfest (17 Veli Kavlak, 78), 6 Rene Aufhauser, 7 Yuksel Sariyar (20 Martin Harnik, 65), 8 Markus Weissenberger (11 Roman Kiernast, 46), 10 Andreas Ivanschitz (c), 9 Sanel Kuljic (18 Christoph Leitgeb, 46).

Austria Subs: 13 Johannes Ertl, 15 Christian Fuchs, 19 Jurgen Saumel, 22 Jurgen Patocka.

England Team: 1 Scott Carson, 2 Micah Richards, 3 Wayne Bridge, 4 Steven Gerrard (16 Gareth Barry 46), 5 Joleon Lescott, 6 Sol Campbell (15 Wes Brown 46), 7 David Beckham (18 David Bentley 62), 8 Frank Lampard, 9 Peter Crouch (21 Alan Smith 73), 10 Michael Owen (24 Jermain Defoe 34), 11 Joe Cole (20 Ashley Young 46)

England Subs: 12 Ashley Cole, 13 David James, 14 Nicky Shorey, 17 Phil Neville, 19 Stewart Downing, 22 Paul Robinson, 23 Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Austria 0 England 1 Match Reports
♠ Victory in Vienna (the fa.com)
♠ Austria 0-1 England (bbc.co.uk)

Russia 2 England 1 (17 Oct 07)

2007-10-17T17:34:00.000Z

Russia 2
Pavlyuchenko 69 (pen), 73.

England 1
Rooney 29

Venue: Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
Referee: Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain)

Well, I could not afford to go to Moscow, and my usual Sky Sports spot was unavailable, so I got to listen to England 2-1 lose away in Russia on BBC 5 Live. The BBC's audio feed from the Eastern Block was broke, so I got to listen to the match via Graham Taylor's mobile phone - did I not like that!

So, winning 3-0 at home in consecutive matches in a row did not help the 3 Lions much when it came to a tough away tie far far away. Shock horror, England were just not good enough on the day - again. I really should guard against getting caught up in the press's euphoric building up of the England side, to watch the journo's delight in ripping our boys to shreds after the fact.

Easy International football matches are few and far between these days. Gone are the days of trouncing the likes of Turkey 7-0. The way the Euro qualifier table looks at the moment, England's home draw against the Macedonian's looks to have cost us big time.

I have no idea who played well today. No idea who played badly. No idea how or why we lost. I guess i'm not alone. The scary thing is McClaren probably feels the same, who knows? I gather a penalty was given against us that was'nt. Well that's what happens away from home. The Russians had a perfectly good goal ruled out at Wembley, so no complaining about the referee from here.

All in all, a grim day for the 3 Lions, and all the England fans that expected so much - again.

Team Details:

England: 1 Paul Robinson, (Tottenham Hotspur), 2 Micah Richards, (Manchester City), 3 Joleon Lescott, (Everton) (15 Frank Lampard, (Chelsea), 79) 4 Steven Gerrard (c), (Liverpool), 5 Rio Ferdinand, (Manchester United), 6 Sol Campbell, (Portsmouth), 7 Gareth Barry, (Aston Villa), 8 Shaun Wright Phillips, (Chelsea) (17 Stewart Downing, (Middlesbrough), 79) 9 Wayne Rooney, (Manchester United), 10 Michael Owen, (Newcastle United), 11 Joe Cole, (Chelsea) (18 Peter Crouch (Liverpool), 79).

Subs not used: 12 Nicky Shorey, (Reading),13 David James, (Portsmouth), 14 Luke Young, (Middlesbrough), 16 Phil Neville, (Everton).

Bookings: Rio Ferdinand (57 minutes), Wayne Rooney (67 minutes).

Head Coach: Steve McClaren

Russia: 30 Vladimir Gabulov, (Kuban Krasnodar), 27 Aleksei Berezutski (CSKA Moscow), 5 Sergei Ignashevich, (CSKA Moscow), 2 Vasili Berezutski, (CSKA Moscow) (7 Dmitri Torbinskiy, (Spartak Moscow), 46) 18 Yuri Zhirkov, (CSKA Moscow), 15 Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, (Lokomotiv Moscow), 20 Igor Semshov, (Dynamo Moscow), 17 Konstantin Zyrianov, (Zenit St Petersburg), 22 Aleksandr Anyukov, (Zenit St Petersburg), 10 Andrei Arshavin, (Zenit St Petersburg) (25 Denis Kolodin, (Dynamo Moscow), 89) 11 Aleksandr Kerzhakov, (Sevilla) (19 Roman Pavlyuchenko (Spartak Moscow), 45).

Subs not used: 16 Vyacheslav Malafeev, (Zenit St Petersburg), 13 Pavel Pogrebnyak, (Zenit St Petersburg), 14 Roman Shirokov, (Khimki), 26 Dmitri Sychev, (Lokomotiv Moscow).

Bookings: Vasili Berezutski (13 minutes), Roman Pavlyuchenko (74 minutes).

Coach: Guus Hiddink

Match Reports
♠ Russia 2 England 1 (the fa)
♠ Russia 2 England 1 (bbc)

England 3 Estonia 0 (13 oct, 07)

2007-10-13T17:02:00.000Z

England 3
Wright-Phillips 11
Rooney 32
Rahn 33 og.

Estonia 0

Venue: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 86,655.
Referee: Nicolai Vollquartz (Denmark).

England seemed to jog past Estonia today. There was a period of time when England struggled to win games under McClaren. All that seems to be over, and defensive midfeilder Gareth Barry seems to have been the catalyst for our upturn in form. I guess we'll soon know. The 3 lions next game is away to Russia on an artificial surface.

I was not amused by the England fans that booed Frank Lampard when he came onto the pitch. That said, if you pay £80.00 a ticket, I suppose you have bought the right to vent. I am curious as to why I only hear booing of England players when we're at Wembley. I don't recall this phenomenon happening much at the Millenium Stadium, or Old Trafford etc. Possibly the prawn sandwiches at Wembley are not up to scratch.

England 3 Estonia Match Reports
♠ England 3 Estonia 0 (the fa)
♠ England 3 Estonia 0 Match Report (bbc)

England Team: Robinson, Richards, Campbell, Ferdinand (Lescott 46), Ashley Cole (Neville 49), Wright-Phillips, Gerrard, Barry, Joe Cole, Rooney, Owen (Lampard 70).
Subs Not Used: James, Bentley, Crouch, Defoe.

Estonia Team: Poom, Kruglov, Stepanov, Piiroja, Jaager, Rahn, Klavan, Dmitrijev, Lindpere, Kink (Viikmae 62), Saag.
Subs Not Used: Aksalu, Allas, Reim, Rooba, Barengrub, Terehhov.

Booked: Rahn, Lindpere.

England Crush Russia 3-0

2007-09-13T00:22:00.000Z

England 3
Owen 7, 31
Ferdinand 84

Russia 0

Venue: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 86,106
Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)
Assistant Referees: Stefan Wittberg and Henrik Andren (SWE)
Fourth Official: Martin Ingvarsson (SWE)

Well the 3 Lions roared tonight I think. Russia are no mugs - not as good as they once were since the break up of the USSR - but certainly no mugs. Even so, the first Russian team to visit since the break up of the Soveit Union, were crushed under the wheels of the England bandwagon, that has finally started rolling downhill, rather than having to be dragged up the proverbial mountain.

McClaren has shaken the hounds off for now. Long may it continue. If the boo boys and media hounds don't sink their teth into McClaren anytime soon, that will mean England are winning football matches, which is all good.

I thought Michael Owen played well aside from his 2 goals, very nice to see as an England fan. Owen's first goal came early, in the 7th minute, supplied by a cross from Gareth Barry. Nicely controlled, well finished off the inside of the post, clinical. His second was another clinical finish from just inside the box, over the goalie, just under the crossbar, fed by an Emile Heskey headed flick on. Heskey took out the Russian back 3 with one header, leaving Owen in space in the danger area, to do as he liked.

Even centre back Rio Ferdinand got in the action up front, with a nicely taken goal from quite close in, after a ball from Joe Cole left Rio with only 1 defender to get past. Rio duly moved easily past his opponent, and beat the goalie at the near post with a half reasonable schoolboy shot. I doubt the 3rd choice Russian stopper Malafeev will be very happy with his contribution.

# Robinson looked assured in goal.
# Terry and Rio played well together at the back.
# Ashley Cole and Joe Cole teamed up well on the left.
# Wright-Phillips and Mica Richards marauded down the right.
# Gerrard and Barry controlled the centre of midfield.
# Heskey and Owen were both clinical up front.

A team performance overall, that was too much for the Russians to handle away from home. In fact, if England play like that in Russia in a couple of games time, the plastic artificial pitch won't matter much. Actually, if England play like that on plastic, concrete, grass or broken glass, we'll win plenty more football matches than i've become accustomed to.

Come on England!

England Team
Robinson
Richards
Ferdinand
Terry (c)
Ashley Cole
Wright-Phillips
Barry
Gerrard
Joe Cole (Neville 88)
Heskey (Crouch 80)
Owen (Downing 90)
Subs Not Used: James, Brown, Smith, Johnson.

Booked: Joe Cole.

Russia Team
Malafeev
Vasili Berezutsky
Ignashevich
Alexei Berezutsky
Aniukov (Kerzhakov 80)
Bilyaletdinov
Zhirkov
Semshov (Bystrov 40)
Sychev (Pavluchenko 63)
Arshavin (c)
Zurianov
Subs Not Used: Shunin, Torbinsky, Pogrebniak, Kolodin.

England V Russia
♠ England V Russia Minute By Minute (the fa)
♠ Owen Sinks The Russians (the fa)
♠ England 3 Russia 0 (bbc)

England Crush Israel 3-0

2007-09-08T19:15:00.000Z

England 3
Wright-Phillips 20
Owen 49
Richards 66

Israel 0

Venue: Wembley Stadium.
Att: 85,372.
Referee: Peter Vink, Netherlands.

England's 3 lions roared today, crushed a well disciplined Israeli side at Wembley in front of 85'000 fans, and in emphatic fashion.

Allegedly this was an injury depleted England side, but it did not show. Actually, in my opinion, due to the injuries throughout the squad, McClaren was forced to go for balance, rather than hope for something special from an individual. The balance proved a step too far for the Israeli's, who were made to look ordinary, due to them having to struggle throughout the match. Aside Benayoun, they were outclassed.

# Heskey dominated up front physically. Owen floated about as he prefers.
# Gerrard and Gareth Barry controlled the centre of midfeild.
# Joe Cole and Wright-Phillips were far too good out wide for the Israeli full backs. Especially Wright Phillips.
# At centre back, Rio and Terry complemented each other well.
# The right and left backs, ie Hyde and Ashley Cole, bombed forward at will, and did so at the right time, especialluy Micah Hyde.
# In goal, Robinson had little to do, and did his little bit plenty well enough.

Overall, an extremely important 3 points, backed by a very good performance, which should by rights, provide McClaren with some genuine selection headaches all over the pitch.

The Russians are next on wednesday at Wembley. A similar performance, from exactly the same players if selected, should be enough to overcome a well managed Russian side. Since the break up of the USSR, the Russian national team have had less top players to pick from. Accordingly, while very well managed by Guus Hiddink, the Russians are nowhere near as strong as their teams of the past.

Come on England!

England Team
Robinson
Richards
Ferdinand
Terry
A Cole
Barry
Gerrard (Neville 70)
Wright-Phillips (Bentley 83)
J Cole
Owen
Heskey (Johnson 70)

Booked: Terry 67

Israel Team
Aouate
Shpungin
Gershon
Ben Haim
Ziv
Benado (Golan 57)
Badir
Tal
Benayoun
Yitzhaki (Tamuz 46)
Katan (Zandberg 73)

Booked: Gershon 15, Benado 45, Ziv 55, Aouate 66

England 3 Israel 0
♠ England 3 Israel 0 (bbc)

Friendly - England 1 Germany 2

2007-08-22T22:28:00.000Z

England 1
Lampard (9)

Germany 2
Kuranyi (26)
Pander (40)

Venue: Wembley Stadium
Kick Off: 8pm, Wednesday, 22 August 2007
Referee: Massimo Puscaba (Switzerland)

Well that was another interesting friendly match for the 3 Lions. Geetting beaten by Germany at home has become a bad habit. The stat man on the tele mentioned this is our 5th home defeat in a row to the Germans - not good.

Lampard played well today, funnily enough without Gerrard in the side due to an injured toe. Another player who played well is the Man City youngster Micah Richards. Joe Cole looked our most accomplished operator today.

Apart from the first 10 minutes where Lampard scored, there was alot of huffing and puffing, but no more goals.

# Paul Robinson won't be happy with his performance in goal.
# John Terry missed alot of passes today and did not look match fit to me.
# Rio Ferdinand went off injured at half time.
# Shorey did okay for his second cap, but is not as good as Ashley Cole.
# Carrick played another average game.
# David Beckham looked half fit. Probably bacause he's carrying an ankle injury.
# Alan Smith tried hard, but was innefective today.
# Michael Owen needs to play for Newcastle before England, even in friendlies.

Farbeit for me to tell an England manager what to do, I will say what I would like to see.

If we are to play a 442, I would like to see some pace on atleast 1 flank. Some proper speed up front and a bit of size and/or physical presence alongside. A playmaker in the middle with vision, next to a genuine ballwinner who has a bit of aggression, who can tackle and can run.

Come on England!

The Teams

England Team: Robinson, Richards, Ferdinand, Terry, Shorey, Beckham, Carrick, Lampard, Joe Cole, Smith, Owen.
Subs: James, Brown, Taylor, Barry, Neville, Dyer, Wright-Phillips, Downing, Defoe, Crouch, Carson.

Germany Team: Lehmann, Friedrich, Mertesacker, Metzelder, Lahm, Odonkor, Schneider, Hitzlsperger, Pander, Trochowski, Kuranyi. Subs: Hildebrand, Kiessling, Hilbert, Helmes, Rolfes, Tasci, Castro.

Estonia 0 England 3 (6 june 2007)

2007-06-07T13:29:00.000Z

Estonia 0

England 3
Joe Cole 37
Peter Crouch 54
Michael Owen 62

Attendance: 11,000
Referee: Grzegorz Gilewski (Poland)

Well England overcame the Estonian's away last night easily enough. The 3-0 scoreline was certainly good enough. I think that put us in 4th place in the table with 5 matches to go, but of those 5 games the 3 Lions have 4 home games to play, 3 of which against the teams above us in the table. I guess qualification is in our own hands. Knockers of McClaren are very unlikely to see the man lose his job for the foresseable future.

We all know about Beckham's quality crossing ability. Becks is arguably the premier crosser of a ball in International football anywhere at the moment.

However, I thought Peter Crouch was a major player in the win. The Estonians had no answer to his physical presence. He created the first goal with a flick on from a throw in for Joe Cole, who brought the ball down and swivelled to fire the ball home past Mart Poom in good style on 37 minutes. The pressure was released and from theronin, he result looked in little doubt.

The second half Peter Crouch notched another England goal on 54 to add to his tally, with a good header following an inswinging Beckham cross from wide on the right. The Estonian left full back really should have closed Beckham down earlier. You cannot give Becks time and space to pick out runner in the box.

Michael Owen's 2nd game back for England after injury resulted in a goal, which was pleasing to see. Another inswinging cross by "Golden Balls" Beckham twiddled the goalkeeper and the Esotionan defence, and Owen was there on hand, on que, to stab the ball home on 62. At 3-0, the game was over as a contest and England are hopefully on their way with an upturn in form behind them.

I must say, I am thankful to McClaren for revisiting his decision to leave Beckham out of the England setup. Yes, Beckham was not playing well when he was dropped. McClaren did say the door was not closed though, and he was true to his word. When Beckham clearly found his fitness and his form, and was producing solid displays for Real Madrid, week in and week out, McClaren brought the player back into the squad. Regardless of the obvious criticism for taking what most view as a backward step.

Come on England!

England Team
Robinson, Brown, Terry, King, Bridge, Beckham (Dyer 68), Gerrard, Lampard, Cole (Downing 75), Crouch, Owen (Jenas 88).

Unused England Substitutes: Carson, Carragher, Smith, Defoe.

Estonia Team
Poom, Jaager, Stepanov, Kruglov, Klavan, Dmitrijev, Lindpere, Vassiljev, Konsa (Neemelo 46), Voskoboinikov, Terehhov (Kink 64).

Unused Estonia Substitutes: Kotenko, Barengrub, Rooba, Leetma, Kams.

Estonia 0 England 3
♠ Estonia V England Minute By Minute Report (bbc)
♠ Three Is The Magic Number For England (the fa)

Brazil Nick A Late Draw Against England

2007-06-03T20:58:00.000Z

England 1
John Terry 68

Brazil 1
Goals: Diego 90.

Attendance: 88,745
Match Referee: Markus Merk (Germany).

Steve McClaren must be happy some 3 Lions fans, and various British media outlets, won't be jumping all over him in the clamour for him to be sacked before the match against Estonia. However, it may not stay that way for long, we shall see.

Of course, Beckham started for the first time in McClaren's 10 game England managerial career, and of course, Beckham provided John Terry with a quality ball for his backpost headed goal.

If it was not for Carrick switching off completely in the last minute at a dead ball situation, and had gone with the runner and eventual goalscorer Diego, England would have won their first game at the "New Wembley", against the Samba Boys of Brazil no less.

I thought England played ok defensively speaking. The players closed down the likes of Kaka and Ronaldhino well enough to put them off their stride for the most part. It was going forward where England looked a bit weak.

Alan Smith toiled away up front next to the returning Michael Owen, who looked surprisingly strong after his long term injury. Smith was replaced by Kieron Dyer who could be returning to form. If he can stay fit, Dyer is a definate asset to the 3 Lions. His pace and energy is a danger to any team. I like Dyer, it's a pity he's so prone to injury.

Reading left back Shorey had a creditable debut in an International shirt. Ashley Cole is unlikely to lose his place when fit, but Shorey played well. Rumours are Wayne Bridge will replace Shorey against Estonia if fit. I would be inclined to stick with Shorey. He did nothing wrong, and could not really do much more to earn the right to retain the number 3, with Cole unavailable for selection.

Stephen Gerrard was awarded the man of the match for his battling display in midfield. Hopefully Frank Lampard can find his form in the England shirt. I think he could do with a couple of goals to get him going. Hopefully next week will be his time.

All in all a satisfactory performance against an admittedly slightly under-strengthed Brazil side. Bet hey, whoever Dunga puts on the pitch for Brazil will provide formidable opposition for any internation side.

England Team: Robinson, Carragher, King, Terry (Brown 72), Shorey, Beckham (Jenas 77), Gerrard, Lampard (Carrick 88), Cole (Downing 62), Smith (Dyer 62), Owen (Crouch 83).

# England Subs Not Used: Carson, Bridge, Neville, Bentley, Green, Defoe.

Brazil Team: Helton, Daniel (Maicon 65), Naldo, Juan, Gilberto, Ronaldinho, Mineiro (Edmilson 63), Gilberto Silva, Kaka (Alves 71), Robinho (Diego 74), Vagner Love.

# Brazil Subs Not Used: Doni, Alex Silva, Alex, Marcelo, Josue, Elano, Jo.

England 1 Brazil 1
♠ England 1 Brazil 1 (the fa)
♠ England Draw 1-1 With Brazil (bbc)

Beckham Is Back

2007-05-26T16:42:00.000Z

David Beckham has been recalled to the England squad by manager Steve McClaren, and not before time. Not sure why Becks was dropped really. It is fantastical thinking to think Aaron Lennon is anywhere near as effective as Becks on a football pitch.

The final product is what matters, not looking dynamic by running at people all day. Aaron Lennon has absolutely no chance of playing for Real Madrid at the moment, if ever. I doubt he would even make the bench for the Spanish giants.

The unhappiest will be the Beckham boo-boys, including many fans, soccer pundits and much of the press. But the fact is David Beckham is a big gun who worries the opposition if he is on the ball anywhere near 40 yards out, especially from dead ball positions.

England play Brazil in a friendly on the 1st of June at Wembley, followed by an away game in Estonia in a Euro qualifier. The Estonians will not be pleased to see Beckham on the pitch, or even on the bench, make no mistake about that.

England Squad
GK Paul Robinson
GK Scott Carson
GK Robert Green

DEF Phil Neville
DEF Rio Ferdinand
DEF John Terry
DEF Wayne Bridge
DEF Wes Brown
DEF Jamie Carragher
DEF Michael Dawson
DEF Ledley King

MID Nicky Shorey
MID David Beckham
MID Steven Gerrard
MID Jermaine Jenas
MID Joe Cole
MID Aaron Lennon
MID David Bentley
MID Michael Carrick
MID Frank Lampard
MID Stewart Downing
MID Kieron Dyer

ATT Peter Crouch
ATT Michael Owen
ATT Alan Smith
ATT Jermain Defoe

England
♠ Official England Senior Team News
♠ McClaren Names The England Squad - (the fa)

Jose Mourinho - Next England Manager?

2007-04-14T00:57:00.000Z

Apparently Jose Mourinho would jump at the chance of being the next England manager.

That is what Paul Hayward from the Daily Mail says. (Jose for England? Now that would tempt the FA)

Sounds like waffle to me. But it must be said, rumours the Portuguese Mourinho won't be Chelsea manager next season because of a bust up with Roman Abramovich are rife at the moment. That's despite Chelsea remaining in 3 competitions, with the League Cup already in the bag. Mourinho is currently 6/4 2nd favourite behind Sir Alex Ferguson to be voted manager of the 2006/2007 season.

Manager of the Year 2006-07 Odds (ladbrokes)
Alex Ferguson 1/2
Jose Mourinho 6/4
Steve Coppell 16/1
Rafael Benitez 20/1
Sam Allardyce 66/1

Personally, I don't think foreign managers should manage International football teams. For me, to manage Englnad, you must be eligible to play for England. The same for any other international football team.

That said, if McClaren is sacked from his role as England coach, and a foreign manager is to be put in place, Jose Mourinho would be rather high up on my list.

Jose Mourinho
♠ Jose Mourinho Wiki Page Entry

Jose Mourinho Song

Lalas Not Keen On Beckham's England Ambitions

2007-04-14T00:14:00.000Z

Los Angeles Galaxy manager, ex Padova and USA soccer international centre back Alexi Lalas is not too keen on David Beckham ambitions about playing any football for the England national team again, especially not in friendly matches.

Of course, Lalas has the job of recouping the 1/4 of a billion dollar investment in Beckham. Beckham travelling across the pond, via an 11 hour flight, 8 times a year or so, is not in the best interest of LA Galaxy whatsoever.

However, David Beckham has said before he wants to play for England in the 3 Lions shirt again, and is available for selection if Steve McLaren has a change of heart, however unlikely that may be.

Beckham is 6 games away from the 100 cap milestone. Becks best chance of playing for England again though, is if The FA are swayed by the groundswell of anti-McClaren feeling amongst many England fans and the English press, and replace the current under fire England manager with a manager more open to Beckham's claims for an England midfield berth. It is not impossible, Beckham's free kicks from dead ball situations are a real weapon at any level of football.

Lalas On Beckham Playing Football For England Again
"I recognise there are challenges and there is a lot of travel involved, so the games would have to be meaningful. I have talked to David and playing for England is something he holds dear.

"I don't want to be in the way of him wanting to continue, but if it's something he feels is appropriate I will drive him to LAX myself. It will be a great statement for him and our club."

Lalas Not Keen On Beckham Playing For England Again
♠ Lalas Dilutes Beckham's England Aims

Alexi Lalas
♠ Alexi Lalas Myspace Webpage
♠ Alexi Lalas Profile
♠ Alexei Lalas Q&A

David Beckham
♠ David Beckham Information
♠ David Beckham's Football Academy

England U21s To Play Slovakia U21s At Carrow Road

2007-04-13T23:51:00.000Z

England U21s v Slovakia
International Under-21 Friendly
8pm, Tuesday 5 June, 2007
Carrow Road, Norwich City FC

The England U21s will play their final friendly preparation match for the U21s Euro Championships against The Slovakian U21 Team. The match will be played at Carrow Road (Norwich) on Tursday, June 5, 2007.

England's last U21 match ended in a 3-3 draw against the Italian U21s at Wembley (march 24), a result which kept the U21's unbeaten record for this season intact.

Let's hope the youngsters can take that form to Holland in the summer. If they do, Stuart Pearce's U21 charges have half a chance of returning with some silverware.

England U21s
♠ England U21s To Face Slovakia U21s
♠ England U21s Fixtures And Results
♠ 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championships Draw
♠ England U21s Official Website

England U16's Lose Montaigu Final To Germany 2-0

2007-04-10T00:48:00.000Z

Kenny Swain's England Under 16's side could not overcome the German youngsters, but the manager was happy with his players. 3 clean sheets against the USA, France and Ireland under 16's was plenty enough for Swain.

U16's Boss Kenny Swain Said
"It's a disappointing result, and I think there is a case to say that the better team today hasn't won the game, but the players can hold their heads high."

"I'm delighted with how the players have played this week, the performance levels have gone up with each match and in terms of their progress as international players, they are right on course.

"Germany had two direct strikers that caused us problems early on, and they have take advantage of some sloppy defending from us, but we never stopped believing we could get back into the game.

"We controlled the game and played some of the best football of the tournament, but ultimately the damage was done in conceding two early goals."

♠ England U16's 0 - Germany U16's 2 Match Report

England U16's Final Team:
England: 13 Declan Rudd, 14 Adam Smith, 3 Ben Gordon (17 Mitchell McPike 68), 4 Oliver Norwood (10 John Bostock 65), 5 Kyle Bartley, 6 Thomas Cruise, 7 Matthew James, 9 Nathan Delfouneso, 18 Harry Forrester, 11 Andros Townsend (12 Adam Phillip 61), 16 Jacob Mellis (15 Nicholas Ajose 55)

U16's Subs Not Used: 1 Wesley Foderingham, 2 Chris Solly

♠ England U16's Montaigu Tournament Squad

Next England Under 16's Game
England U16's will play the Spanish youngster at Wembley, saturday April 28, 2007.

♠ England U16's Results and Fixtures Centre

England Under 16's
♠ England U16's Official Website
♠ Kenny Swain - England U16's Manager

England Unbeaten Away In Israel And Andorra

2007-04-06T13:42:00.000Z

Israel 0 England 0
Ok, so England drew 0-0 Away In Israel - the fans booed, the press jeered and the bookies cheered. The bookmakers had England odds on favourites (8/13) to beat Israel, in Israel. Israel recently went on an unbeaten run of 14 games, playing the likes of France and Italy in there. I never had a bet, I have enough on the England already. If I had wagered, the draw was the bet. What's the big problem?

Andorra 0 England 3
England Beat Andorra 3-0 Away - the fans booed, the press jeered and the bookies never gave a toss with England at 1/100 odds on.

Why were the England fans booing? Because we never trounced a team within 20 minutes while they placed 12 men behind the ball? A team who were fouling and aggressively trying their damndest to wind our players up?

I hear talk of: "It was a premier league versus a non league side situation." Well i'll have you know many non-league versus premier teams FA cup ties have ended up in defeat for the big boys, let alone winnng the game within the first quarter of the match is over. We won 3-0. That'll do me.

England's 12th Man
If the England fans and the press want to help our England team turn defeats into draws, and draws into wins, we are going exactly the wrong way about it. England's 12th man is currently playing for the opposition, applying pressure all across the pitch, before and after the match aswell. The other international managers must love it playing against us.

Let's hope things change at the New Wembley Stadium - I won't be holding my breath though.

England Team Loses Because Of Parents - Gary Stevens

2007-02-15T19:16:00.000Z

Ex England international Gary Stevens said live on the radio something along the lines of "the main problem with the England team is the well-meaning fathers who coach their young children incorrectly".

Personally, I think Stevens is waffling. I will jot a few things down that clearly have no effect on the lack of improvement in young footballers across the UK.

♠ It is not the £49.50 per child for 3 days of coaching at soccer schools like the Gary Stevens Ball School.

♠ Not the £50 - £80 per week fees per child to play football at the "soccer in the community" schemes held by football clubs during school holidays.

♠ Not the £3 per hour fees for children to play football at their local sports centre or astroturf pitch.

♠ Not the merry-go-round of coaches using the youngsters as a stepping stone to further their coaching careers onto the adult football circuit.

♠ Not the professional clubs kicking possibly talented youngsters to the kerb after 1 year contracts at the soccer academies.

♠ Not the lack of playing facilities at all schools at all levels.

♠ Not the "no ball games allowed" policy in UK schools due to health and safety reasons.

♠ Not the "no one must lose", PC brigade doctrinated school sports days where competition is replaced by pass the parcel games.

♠ Not the measly 1-2 hour per week for physical education in the school curriculum.

♠ Not the 1-2 hours of P.E cancelled due to rain, lack of qualified teachers, or the cancelled P.E lessons replaced by nativity play rehearsals etc.

♠ Not the lack of UK players playing in the UK leagues, due to the inflated transfer fees for home-based players over Scandinavian players etc.

England Blog Comment :: So now you know.

England 0 Spain 1

2007-02-07T22:02:00.000Z

England 0

Spain 1
Iniesta (63)

Venue: Old Trafford, 07 February 2007
Kick-Off: 8pm
Referee: Michael Weiner (German)
Assistant Referees: Carsten Kadach and Sonke Glindemann (German)
Fourth Official: Chris Foy
Attendance: 58,207

Well I don't know where to start. I think a shout must go out to Man City right back Micah Richards for showing some apparent superstars how to move off the ball. Too often the England players were static. I guess everyone has a job to do in their position and the team looked scared to do anything off the cuff. Unsurprisingly enough the substitutes looked like the players most likely to change the game in our favour.

Carrick and Gerrard looked clueless in central midfield. Too often they closed each other down in pursuit of receiving the easy ball instead of stretching the Spaniard midfield. Wright-Phillips looked out of touch, possibly down to his lack of games at Chelsea under Mourinho. Not sure what Lampard was at left midfield for either. I forgive him for looking like a square peg in a round hole.

Up front, Kieron Dyer tried his best to play off of Crouch. What can either of them do if they have to feed of off nothing balls looped into the box rather than passes from a creative midfielder or two who are not scared to make a bad pass. Can you say "opta stats"? Can you say "where is Beckham"? Oh, the referee did not like Crouch much atall. He seemed determined to whistle up Crouch for anything and everything. Not sure what all that was about. Maybe match ref Michael Weiner does not like very tall men for some reason?

New goalie Foster and the injury prone Woodgate played well enough. Ferdinand and the 2 Nevilles did their level best, but with the likes of the static Carrick linking up the defence with the midfield, what can they do?

Maybe it is all McClaren's fault, but I somehow doubt it is that simple. Maybe without Rooney, Owen and John Terry, we're just shite in white. Another turgid performance like this and I may just change my mind and join the England fans that were so disappointed with the England team performance, that they felt it necissary to boo their fallen heroes off the Old Trafford pitch. Roll on Wembley I say - maybe we will play better there.

Come on England! - Please.

England Team
Ben Foster
Gary Neville
Phil Neville
Rio Ferdinand
Jonathan Woodgate
Michael Carrick
Frank Lampard
Syephen Gerrard (c)
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Lieron Dyer
Peter Crouch

England Subs
Paul Robinson
John Terry
Gareth Barry
Micah Richards
Jamie Carragher
Michael Dawson
Joey Barton
tewart Downing
Scott Parker
Jermain Defoe

Spain Team
Iker Casillas (c)
Pablo
Carlos Puyo
Juan Capdevila
Sergio Ramos
Xavi
David Albelda
Miguel Angulo
David Silva
Fernando Morientes
David Villa

Spain Subs
Jose Reina
Javi Navarro
Andres Iniesta
Ange
Javier Arizmendi
Xabi Alonso
Fernando Torres
Antonio Lopez
Cesc Fabregas

England 0 Spain 1
♠ England 0 Spain 1 Minute By Minute Live Match Report
♠ England 0 Spain 1 - FA Match Report
♠ We Learned A Lot About Some Players Today - Steve McClaren

David Beckham To Leave Real Madrid

2007-01-10T14:45:00.000Z

David Beckham will leave Real Madrid in the summer according to Madrid Sporting Director Predrag Mijatovic. "Beckham will leave us, we will not be renewing his contract", Mijatovic said.

Will Beckham Play On?
So, Beckham is out of the England side and is now to leave Real. One would presume such a fall from grace might end a player's career. It is unlikely Becks will retire from football. I am of the opinion David Beckham still has a lot to offer both the England national team and a top level football club. Beckham can play on and be highly effective for a good 3 seasons if not more. Becks has never needed much in the way of pace to be effective on a soccer pitch. I see no reason why age be a real barrier regard Beckham and playing quality football, much like ex England striker Teddy Sheringham.

Beckham To Bolton?
For £4 million, it is possible David Beckham may join a club in the transfer window. As Beckham is cup-tied for the Champions League, I doubt it will be one of the big 4 in England. Bolton have been touted as a possibility. Though not many clubs will want to pay £4 million for a player they can get for nothing in 4 months time.

Beckham Odds.
Betting on who David Beckham may or may not join in the transfer window, or in the summer, will appear here as the odds become available.

David Beckham Betting Odds

Beckham's next club betting from Ladbrokes
(first show - odds subject to change)

Any MLS Club 10/11
Inter 4/1
Tottenham 7/1
West Ham 7/1
Chelsea 10/1
Milan 10/1
Arsenal 12/1
Liverpool 12/1
Newcastle 12/1
Bayern Munich 25/1
Manchester Utd 25/1
Barcelona 33/1
Rangers 33/1
Celtic 50/1

♠ Previous David Beckham Betting Odds