England 1-2 France

Don’t blame the “fresh faces” for this one. It wasn’t Henderson that was out of position at right back. Carroll wasn’t the one who couldn’t bring the ball up from the back. Bothroyd wasn’t the one whose passes went directly to French players time and time again. The new boys played their part. It was the “veteran” players that let the side down in London.

Karim Benzema drove the first dagger in after just 16 minutes. Now he is a world class striker so maybe keeping a closer eye on him might be in order.

With all of the possession the French enjoyed in the first half England were lucky to go into the dressing room down 1-0. However, it only took 10 minutes for Bacary Sagna to beat Kieran Gibbs and send in a perfect cross for Mathieu Valbuena to turn into the net.

The English squad were on their back foot throughout most of the match, pumping the ball forward for Andy Carroll to go it alone. The lad is strong and talented, but so are the French defenders. The addition of Adam Johnson for Gareth Barry gave them a fighting chance as THAT City midfielder actually understands ATTACKING from the position.

Peter Crouch saved the day for the Three Lions with an 86th minute strike to pull one back. But, England never stood a chance from the first whistle, and I lay that completely at the feet of Fabio Capello. Why are we playing without any tactics or confidence? This has been a growing problem.

The FA needs to take control of the situation and look into why we have become so negative. If they need to sack the manager then do it. England have become a laughing stock on the world stage and I for one am sick of it!

Capello’s New Boys

Don Fabio has finally added some fresh faces to the National Squad for the friendly against France. Jordan Henderson was called up before his tremendous showing for Sunderland against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and may have been out to justify the opportunity. Jay Bothroyd has netted 15 times for Cardiff City and has been brought in to shore up a thin striking group.

Chris Smalling has come along nicely for Manchester United this season. Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs have both put in some good performances for Arsenal and the Under-21 squad for a couple of years and are ready to step up to the big boys. Andy Carroll might miss out due to a groin issue. A shame since he has played well for Newcastle United this season.

But will Capello give any of them a run out at Wembley? He’s had a history of naming fresh faces then letting them languish on the bench. Stephen Warnock and Michael Dawson traveled to South Africa to help with a “defensive crisis” but never got a sniff of playing time. And Stewart Downing should just tell Don Fabio thanks but no thanks as he just can’t get any playing time no matter how dismal the team is playing.

It’s time for Capello to do what he keeps telling us he is going to do. Play some new players. The “Golden Generation” was a failure, it’s time to put together a team of England players not a group of players who happen to be English.

A Not So English 2018 World Cup

According to “sources” inside FIFA, England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup has all but failed due to the English media’s investigation of corruption within the bidding and voting committee. I know it shocks everyone that anyone at FIFA would ever be accused of corruption. I was absolutely stunned myself. But, the Sunday Times brought allegations of a “buy the votes” scheme by members of the committee that will be selecting the host nations for the 2018 and 2022 competitions. The BBC is also planning to cover the issue in an upcoming Panorama programme.

Apparently the race has narrowed down to Spain-Portugal and Russia if you can believe the “inside sources”. Prince William and Prime Minister David Cameron will try to rescue the England ’18 bid by flying to Zurich and giving a final presentation to FIFA. David Beckham is supposed to join them to add his considerable magnanimity to the high level grovelling. If you see anyone getting on that private jet with a large attaché case…the bid may just work out fine.

But should England be the hosts for the world’s most prestigious tournament? Recent results on the world’s stage seemed to show that the powers that be at the Football Association can’t organize their national squad to look like they want to be there, let alone handle logistics for 32 national sides that actually do. The FA has lost the plot where the national side is concerned. They have insisted on using the Premier League’s superstars to represent the Three Lions and we all saw how well that worked out in South Africa.

The FA needs to focus on our national team. First and foremost. Hosting the World Cup is definitely prestigious, but if Association mismanagement makes our country a laughingstock is it going to be worth it? Why do we spend government funding to pamper our overpaid stars with chartered planes, fine hotels, and world class training facilities just to have them bottle it when the opening whistle blows? And why are we spending millions of pounds for a manager that can’t make tactical decisions at the most crucial time in his tenure? You could pay me a quarter of what Fabio Capello is making and I will get you the same result. ANYONE can lose badly in the World Cup, but why should they get paid millions to do it?

I’ve said it before. I think that England has a very viable candidate for the top job already. I think Stuart Pearce has taken some talented kids and put together a very game Under-21 side. He’s been to the World Cup as a player and now a coach which already puts him well ahead of managers like Harry Redknapp or Sam Allardyce. Nothing against these two, but I just don’t see either of them holding the trophy aloft in Brazil or wherever the 2018 tournament ends up going to.

It may sound like treason, but I hope the committee doesn’t award the tournament to England. Maybe the humiliation in front of the world will be enough for the FA to pull its collective head out and get serious about being a threat to win it all. If they don’t there won’t be any reason to samba in São Paulo four years from now.

Three Lions Victorious at Wembley

Yes it was only a friendly. Yes it was Switzerland. And yes at times it was a bit spastic. But, this goes in the win column and that’s a start. There were fits and starts throughout the match. With players struggling to fit into Capello’s team concept while trying to impress the new boss, there were some boneheaded plays happening on the pitch.

But, I was happy to see that they played like a team. They didn’t play like eleven individuals and that is what we needed in our national team. Interestingly when the lads held the ball and probed for an opening, the England supporters started to jeer. Then Jermaine Jenas gave them a healthy “Shut your hole” when he directed a great Joe Cole pass past Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio for the opening goal. The pressure swept up and out of Wembley with that one quick touch.

The defense played well for the most part, but they did face a couple of close calls. Then Eren Derdiyok made it look to easy as he snapped a shot into the corner of the net and tied up the game early in the second half. The goal brought out the best in the England attack and Peter Crouch flicked the ball to Steven Gerrard who found Shaun Wright-Phillips for the winning goal and The Lions roared.

Rooney takes some stick from some punters for not being a prolific scorer for England. When he plays for club or country Rooney is a dynamo on the pitch. He had some great shots against the Swiss and could have a couple of goals for himself.

I wish we would see these guys again soon in some actual competition. Oh well.