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England Vs Belarus – Will Capello change things round?

All eyes will be on the England performance on Wednesday night after their below par display against the Ukraine at the weekend. England have already qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa after winning their first eight group games, but after they were reduced to 10 men on Saturday after the sending off of goalkeeper Robert Green, some poor performances were highlighted.

One key player that looked below par was Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand. Ferdinand has struggled to overcome an injury he sustained earlier in the season and seemed to lack match fitness and sharpness. Big players always come good however and it is just a matter of time before Ferdinand is back to his best.

The match against Belarus on Wednesday night is fast approaching and with key players like Wayne Rooney out it will give team boss Fabio Capello the chance to give other players the chance to shine. Betting for the game sees England 1/6 on to win the tie with Belarus at a distant 20/1 for the win.

If you fancy a flutter, there are some great websites where you can place bets on the outcome, play brilliant games of bingo and play other different games to make the game a little more exciting.

Was it all worth it?

Last weekends International friendly match was, on paper, a good run out for the England team ahead of the important clash with the Ukrainians next Wednesday. A four nil score line is always something to be proud of no matter who the opposition are.

Yet despite this there were a few negatives which overshadowed the victory. First of all, the injuries picked up by Emile Heskey and Carlton Cole. The two are now out of Wednesday’s game and Fabio has drafted in Spurs striker Darren Bent as a replacement. Personally, I would have opted to bring Michael Owen in and the fact that he has been looked over yet again does cast some doubt over the future of his International career.

The other negative from last Saturday’s fixture was the unveiling of the new England strip which in my opinion is absolutel awful. It looks like a cross between a Wimbledon outfit and a PE kit designed for 10 year olds. Somebody at Umbro must be having a right laugh at the design now. Five Live legend Alan Green certainly agrees with me – lets just say that he made it pretty clear that he does not like the new kit live on air last Saturday!

So on to face Ukraine – lets hope that we gain that important fifth win and all but secure qualification from the group.

Do we take football too seriously?

For me going to the football can be an incredibly uplifting experience, however it can also be a depressing one and potentially could ruin the weekend.

People live for football, they work all week in order to follow their team up and down the country in the hope that they will win more than they will lose and who knows maybe even win the odd trophy or two.

But the question is do we take football too seriously? At the end of the day it is just a game although the emotions that it evokes suggest that it is much more than that. For millions of people football is a way of life. Their whole world is dominated by ninety minutes every Saturday afternoon and occasional Tuesday night.

Do we take our national game too seriously in this country? My own opinion is that as long as this does not evolve in to fanaticism which is expressed in a violent way then leave people to it. We all need to be obsessed with something in our lives and there is nothing wrong with this being football.

So let us praise football fans everywhere – you truly are the salt of the earth!

Should England players be paid?

WIE today focuses on an issue which has had much air time over the recent past – particularly within the pubs and terraces of the nation. This is the argument whether or not those lucky souls who represent our county should get paid for it.

Lets be honest, the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and DavidBeckham are hardly short of a few quid and therefore is money really the issue here?

The fact is that representing your country is an honour and as a result this should far outweigh monetary values. For me players should not get paid for playing for their country and if they do, then they should donate this to a charity of their choice. Payment belittles the honour of the occasion and this could well be part of the reason why the England team in particular are chronic under performers.

Winning a competition such as the European Championships or the World Cup could well invoke a payment as a “well done” gesture and this is fundamentally different than pay per play.

So it is time to address this issue once and for all. Should England players be paid for their efforts – tell us what you think!

Congratulations Chris Hoy!

Cyclist Chris Hoy celebrated being named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year recently and I for one would like to congratulate him on his wonderful achievements. However part of me wonders when we will have a British footballer claiming one of the most coveted awards in sport. I guess that this will not happen until one of the home nations is relatively successful in a major tournament, but it is difficult to see this happening for the next five years at least.

 

You would have to say that out of all the home nations England look the strongest on paper, but turning this in to meaningful performances is a different thing all together. Too many players under perform on the big stages – if they didn’t of course we could well be basking in the glory of a European Championship win rather than reflecting on a rather mundane summer.

 

The Olympic Games of 2012 are surely the time to really show the world what we are made of – I cant see anything more than a quarter final exit during the 2010 World Cup (assuming we get there that is!) and so this together with the 2012 European Championships must take a predominant role in our plans. It is time to place a renewed emphasis on youth schemes and invest as heavily as we can do in the England players of tomorrow and who knows in years to come the Sports Personality of the Year award may be dominated by successful domestic players!

Peru banned from playing international football

It’s not often that a country is banned from international football, but South American Peru has been banned from football, including the 2010 World Cup. The ban came after a dispute between the Peruvian government and the Peruvian FA.

Further to the ban, Peru has been issued with an ultimatum stating that they have one month to settle the problem. If they fail to do so, they could face a permanent ban from world football.

A statement about the banning read:

The Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) will only return on the basis of negotiations with the president and the board of the FPF.

It probably won’t be an issue in terms of Peru being banned from the 2010 World Cup as they had little chance of reaching it anyway. They’re bottom of their qualifying group with just one win from ten games. The South American group is notoriously hard to qualify from, with both Brazil and Argentina part of it.

The situation will be discussed by FIFA in Tokyo just before Christmas.

Arturo Woodman, from the Peruvian government, stated:

If Burga’s position is going to remain the same as before… this is a dialogue of the deaf.

There is absolutely no intervention by the government. What there is, is respect for Peruvian law.

You either watch football or your dont!

Over the last couple of year or so, Sky Sports have received a strong competitor for live football and that comes in the form of Setanta Sports. For some people, Setatanta is a cost effective way to watch top class football for a fraction of the price of Sky and the deal seems like a remarkably good one.

However, others have taken less kindly to Setanta , pointing to the fact that they have trod on the BBC’s toes when it comes to England matches. A couple of months ago, this was highlighted when England fans chanted anti Setanta songs during a match, and there was a great deal of upset and disappointed when the fantastic win in Croatia was only made available to subscribers.

The facts of the matter are that Setanta outbid the BBC or certain England matches as well as FA Cup coverage, therefore they are entitled to show them to their members. This is the reality and sadly for some, it is not about to change any time soon.

In terms of whether or not this should be allowed – of course it should, they paid the money for it so why should they refuse to show it? Football is big business now and this is just a small part of it.

In my opinion those England fans who are kicking off about not wanting to pay £12 or so a month to watch top quality football and plenty of it are causing a fuss about nothing. If you want to watch it, you pay for it, if you don’t then buy yourself a CD instead.

Do you agree with me?

Leave me your comments!

Brave Wales lose to Russia

Wales narrowly lost to Russia in today’s World Cup qualifier 2-1 in Moscow. Wales looked like they’d hang on for the draw when Tottenham’s new signing Roman Pavlyuchenko gave Russia a win that they looked like missing out on.

It could have been so much better for Wales, as Tottenham’s other player on show, Gareth Bale, missed a 17th minute penalty that would have given Wales an unlikely lead. His tame strike however was easily saved by the Russian keeper.

Moments after Bale’s miss, Russia took the lead themselves as Bales Spurs teammate Pavlyuchenko showed Bale how it should be done, scoring a penalty at the other end.

An inexperienced Welsh defence then held off wave upon wave of Russian attacks. The second half got better for Wales when Joe Ledley equalised, and gave the Welsh hope of sharing the points.

Sadly for Wales they were unable to hold on and were denied in the last ten minutes when Pavel Pogrebnyak gave Russia a 2-1 victory that sees them take control of the qualifying group.

Wales’ display will give them heart though, as they were able to compete with the Euro 2008 semi finalists.

Parry retires from International football

Welsh international footballer Paul Parry has sensationally retired from international football, in the middle of Wales’ two world cup qualifiers. Parry had been out of the Wales squad for 18 months on a self imposed absence, because of problems over his divorce and access to his children. Only recently he declared himself available for selection, and was called up by John Toshack for Wales’ two qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Russia.

However, after being left out of the starting line-up in Wales 1-0 win over Azerbaijan Paul has announced his retirement and left the squad. According to Toshack, Parry had been told he would start the game against Russia on Wednesday night, but the player wasn’t happy at being on the bench on Saturday and walked out of the squad.

Parry is only 28 and has win 12 caps for Wales, scoring just one goal.

Parry plays as a winger for his club side Cardiff, but his eye for goal saw him used often as a striking option.

Former Wales captain Kevin Ratcliffe was angry at Parry’s retirement:

It’s a trend these days, players retire themselves, but it’s not the way I was brought up, and I don’t agree with it.

The big difference with players these days is money, that situation has changed everything in the game.

He could have been an important squad member, but he has no reason to feel aggrieved at his treatment by Wales and John Toshack will not be losing any sleep about it.

Wilkes scores the winner as England beat Rest of the World 4-3

England captain Jonathan Wilkes (Robbie Williams’ mate) scored the winner in England’s 4-3 win over a Rest of the World side at Wembley tonight. The game was in aid of the Unicef charity, raising money for impoverished children Worldwide. Soccer Aid, as it has been dubbed, was the idea of Jonathan Wilkes and Robbie Williams, and this year is the second time the game has been played. The last game was won by England 2 years ago when they beat a Gordon Ramsey side that included Diego Maradona.

There was no Maradona this time; instead the Rest of the World players included Brazilian legend Romario, Italian Paulo Di Canio and Luis Figo. The England professionals included Alan Shearer, David Seaman and Teddy Sheringham.

Sadly Robbie Williams missed the game with injury, and the ROTW captain Gordon Ramsay was forced out after just five minutes with a torn hamstring. Alan Shearer, playing for the first time at the new Wembley, scored twice (including a dodgy penalty) and it was his old SAS partner Sheringham who opened the scoring.

Singer Craig David won the man of the match, even out muscling Jaap Stam at one point.

Children’s TV presenter Jamie Theakston pulled off a brilliant save from Romario, who failed to find the net all night.

The winning goal came from a quick free kick from Wilkes, that found Shearer unmarked and six yards from goal. Shearer through his head at the ball, but missed it, and it went in anyway.

Wilkes also scored the winner 2 years ago.

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