Some Event at The New Wembley

At the start of England's match against Montenegro today Kevin Davies was the only forward on the bench for Fabio Capello.  This was because of injuries more than anything.  Gary Cahill was also on the bench, and you could argue, on current form, he has been better than either of the players in the starting XI this season.  Whether he is or not, one would have to say, the inclusion of 2 Bolton players in the England team verifies Capello's claim that he would choose his squad based upon the amount of playing time each player is receiving at his club, and what he is doing with those opportunities.

Davies did get off the bench, Cahill did not, and England were held at home.  I must admit, given the arrogance and sense of entitlement England supporters display, results like this are pretty enjoyable.

Kevin Davies for England!!!

A few years ago Bolton beat Manchester United 1-0, and Kevin Davies, playing wide to the right of Nicolas Anelka, absolutely battered Patrice Evra.  There were several questionable challenges and incidents of the ball between the two players, and in all honesty both deserved to be sent off.  It was Davies at his best and worst.

I was feeling the need to gloat about this victory on the following Monday, so I phoned World Soccer Daily, a North American call-in show, to taunt one of the hosts, Howard, who was a Manchester United supporter.  As soon as I got on the air I shouted, facetiously, "Kevin Davies for England!"  Howard, irritated at his team's defeat, proceeding to rant about Davies' inadequacies for a good long while before his broadcast partner explained to him that I was joking.  Unfortunately for England fans, the joke is on them.

Playing for England...

I understand why a player such as Kevin Davies, Matt Taylor, or even Kevin Nolan wants to play for England.  In addition to the measure of pride in representing your country, it is a very public recognition for reaching a certain level of performance.

I understand all that, but international football is a harsh mistress.  And once she casts her spell on you, it is nearly impossible to leave her.  For every Paul Scholes, who manages to retire with dignity and career intact, there is a Michael Owen, an Owen Hargreaves, or a David Beckham, a player who ravages his body and derails his career in continued search of those elusive England caps.

This brings me to Gary Cahill (pictured).  I understand his desire to play for England, and I am very curious to see how it will affect his career.  Michael Ricketts career is in ruins because of his reckless pursuit of international recognition.  Shawn Wright-Phillips spent several years warming the bench at Chelsea because he thought it would help his England career.  The same is true of Wayne Bridge and Steve Sidwell.  Michael Dawson is going to be out for months because of an injury he got playing for England.  Theo Walcott, still a very young player in need of match experience, will probably miss a month after getting hurt today.

Gary Cahill v Martin Petrov

Some may claim that Bulgaria visited the new Wembley Stadium in London last night to play a UEFA 2012 European Championship qualifier, but all I was paying attention to were the Bolton Wanderers players that featured in the squads on either side.

Martin Petrov started on the left wing for Bulgaria, just as he does for Bolton, and he saw precious little of the ball, just as he does for Bolton. Now, some players always seem to be in open positions, but as you look closer you realize they have put themselves in an area where it is almost impossible to give them the ball. Petrov is not doing that, he is getting himself into threatening and available spots with great frequency for club and country.

So why isn't he seeing more of the ball? The answer is a bit strange. He is too clever. At least, he is too clever for his current teammates, many of whom are talented enough to find him in these positions, but rather young and inexperienced. There are also some veteran players who should be able to find him, but just don't have the technical ability to do so.

I think this will sort itself out. As youngsters such as Lee Chung-yong, Fabrice Muamba, and especially Stuart Holden become more accustomed to playing with Petrov they will learn how to find him in space. When that happens, Bolton will start to look a threat going forward, at least much more than they do now.

I Will Take Talent Over Experience Every Time.

And ask yourself, after this morning's match, was there a single player on the field for England that would have got into the starting XI for Germany.

Frank Lampard was the only one I could see, possibly replacing Lukas Podolski. But Podolski provides width, which Lampard doesn't. I guess you could move Mesut Ozil outside and put Lampard in the middle, but Germany wouldn't do that.

Anyway, my point is, England has the most popular, and in my opinion, best league in the world, the English Premier League. It is also the most watched league in the world, by far. Unfortunately for England, popularity of a domestic league does not equate to talent of domestic players. Players from Manchester United, such as Wayne Rooney, or from Chelsea, such as John Terry, or even from Aston Villa, like James Milner, are well-known, but that does not make them world class. The quality of players is just not there for England.

USA Win Group C, England Advance!

You will all have to excuse me if I am a little discombobulated, I have just got off a two hour roller coaster ride. Wow!

The disjointed, disinterested, disappointing English squad of the last two weeks was nowhere to be found today. Fabio Cappello made a couple changes, nothing too drastic. The English tabloids wanted Joe Cole, but he was the same place he has been for most of the competition, on the bench.

England scored early, and dominated possession for most of the match. Slovenia had a few decent moments, but looked nothing like the team the US played against a few days ago. This result was in little doubt.

That left the USA needing a victory over Algeria. This match was bit more even, although the US created loads of good chances. They even had a good goal ruled out for the second time in this tournament. They left it late. Boy, did they ever leave it late!

If the US is to continue to perform well in this tournament, Landon Donavon will have to put the team on his back and carry them. He is their best player, their most talented player, their most experienced player, and now he needs to be their leader.

Dour Predictions

I am afraid it is going to be a sad day in the states. England beat Slovenia, the US draw with Algeria, and the two European countries go through. I hope I am wrong, but the US team has just been too inconsistent to make me think they can breakdown an Algerian side that is very adept at holding the ball and slowing the game down.

Group C

This is the one that everybody in the US is playing special attention to. It was thought that English speaking countries would waltz through to the knockout stages, leaving the smaller countries of Slovenia and Algeria in the dust. Boy was that wrong.

I actually theorized on a way that these countries could cause some mischief in an earlier entry, but I still didn't give them enough credit. Slovenia are in the driver's seat. A draw against England puts them through. A victory puts them through as group winners. They could lose and still go through depending on what happens in the other match.

England are through if they win, but need a lot of help if they draw. This is not an ideal situation, but they do still control their own destiny.

Algeria need to win and hope that England don't win.

The US are in with a win. They need help if they draw, but likely go through ahead of England if both draw.

It will be an interesting Wednesday morning, to say the least.

Big Names

If we don't count South Africa, there were seven seeded teams that earned that position on merit. Let's look at those seven.

Brazil; Won their first 2 matches, already assured of advancement to the next round.

Spain; Lost their first match. But they can still go through quite easily if they win their last two matches. Honduras looks unlikely to put up too much of a fight. Of course, if Spain doesn't dispatch of them tomorrow, it may be time to panic.

Netherlands; Already advanced after winning their first two matches. The games were hard-fought, no doubt, but victory was never really in doubt.

Italy; The Azzuri have drawn twice, and looked bad doing it. What else is new. They control their own destiny though. Beat Slovakia and they are through. Has a boring 1-0 written all over it.

Germany; They won their first game and lost their second game, but they control their own destiny as well. Win and they advance. Draw and they need help.

Argentina; Diego Maradona and his charges are just about through. It would take a dramatic turn of events to keep them from winning the group.

England; For all the hand wringing going on in Blighty, England are actually in decent shape. If they win they advance. Draw and they need help.

So calm down everybody. All seven of the seeded countries are still very likely to go through.

USA vs. England

After a brilliant first day of the 2010 World Cup, we are ready for the clash most of the English speaking world has been looking forward to for 6 months.

I was quietly confident, and had been predicting a draw for the past several months, but I have been losing this confidence in the last couple days. I fear the talent gulf may just be too great.

What I have also been saying is that the USA needs to come out aggressive if they want to have a chance. Put out a positive, attacking team and take it right to England and their questionable defense, while keeping Wayne Rooney and co. away from the USA's own dodgy defense. But there have been several reports in the last few days that Bob Bradley is going to put out a defensive team and basically play for 0-0. I don't know why so many soccer coaches still think this tactic works, because it never does. Every time there is a big upset and the revisionist narrative becomes accepted in the media, people never actually look at the game itself.

So here is my conclusion. If Bradley plays some ridiculously conservative 4-5-1 formation with a Maurice Edu, Ricardo Clark, Michael Bradley midfield, then the US will lose 4-0. If Jose Torres and/or Stuart Holden feature in a more attacking midfield set-up with Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan pushing ahead in a front three, I predict a 1-1 draw.

World Cup - England - Part 2

John Terry and Rio Ferdinand have been partners in the England defense for a long time. Maybe too long. I think if you watched video of all the England defenders from this past season, and you couldn't see their faces nor did you know their reputation, you wouldn't even have Terry and Ferdinand in the squad.

Some may argue that their experience and guile makes them better choices than some of the younger central defenders who have had better seasons, but I think talent has to win out at the end of the day.

The same issue arises when one considers Jamie Carragher, whom Fabio Cappello has convinced to rejoin the England Squad. Carragher had a poor season. And he had a poor season in 2008-2009. When you are 32 years old and have had two consecutive bad seasons, you are not in a poor run of form, you are on the decline. There are ten English defenders better than Carragher, and most of them were nowhere near getting in this squad.

Gareth Barry is the holding midfielder, and he is a very good one. He shields the back four, is a great tackler, distributes the ball marvelously, which links the defense and attack, and he will also chip in with the odd goal. There is a problem though. He has a pretty serious ankle injury, that will keep him out of the opening match against the US, and possibly more matches after that.

Barry will be replaced in one of two ways. Michael Carrick could play the holding role. But he is not very good. Otherwise, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard could both play in the middle, with one of them dropping deep. As you can see, neither of these is an especially good option. This won't be enough of a hindrance to keep England from advancing to the knockout stages, but they will need a fit and on form Gareth Barry of they want to progress much farther than that.

That leaves the fullbacks. Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson will start and play 90 minutes every game, so depth is not an issue. Neither defends especially well, but they have such outstanding speed that they can usually cover up for their mistakes.

If England win Group C, and most of the other groups go as expected, their road to the semi-finals is free of traditional powers. This may be the best chance for Merry Old England to lift the World Cup trophy since 1970. Will they? I doubt it, I think the lack of pace in the center of defense will be their undoing, but the chance is there.

World Cup - England - Part 1

Some would argue that in Fabio Cappello England have their best manager ever entering a major tournament. They may be right, but the country famously underestimates everybody, and if England don't win 4-0 every time out and look good doing it, the second guessing starts and the doubt creeps in.

But that is enough armchair psychology, let's look at the squad. I will start with the attack, then handle the defense in Part 2. In England's attack, one name stands far above all others, that of Wayne Rooney. If Rooney is fit and on form, England could go a long way in this tournament. The big question on the lips of the Limeys is, "Who, if anyone, should partner Rooney?" Peter Crouch? Emile Heskey? Jermain Defoe? Or should England play a 4-5-1, with Steven Gerrard and/or Frank Lampard pushing up behind Rooney?

My choice would be a 4-5-1 with Gerrard pushed up almost next to Rooney. Why? Steven Gerrard is a formation killer. He has no discipline, and cannot be counted on to fulfill any defensive responsibilities. He has to play, as does Lampard. Even Cappello would not drop one of them. But when Gerrard gets pushed out to the wing, left or right, he still wanders all over the field. This leaves one of England's attack-minded fullbacks (Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole) exposed, and neither of them has the defensive acumen to succeed in that position.

What will be interesting is finding out who plays on the wings for England. Joe Cole was a big part of the last World Cup on the left wing, but he is unlikely to make the squad this time around. Gerrard may be pushed out to the left, but as I stated earlier, that creates other problems. Aaron Lennon, Theo Wolcott, and James Milner are all right-footed, but capable of playing on the left.

The real wild card here is the left-footed youngster from Manchester City, Adam Johnson. He is quick, has very good technique, loves to cut inside and shoot when playing on the right, and is very aggressive when he is on the pitch. There is no guarantee he will even make the final twenty-three man squad, but if he does, he could have a big part to play in South Africa.

That leaves the right wing, wide open for the first time in 15 years after David Beckham suffered a long-term injury while playing for AC Milan. Beckham has always had his detractors, critics eager to show their daggers when given even the slightest chance. I don't belong to this group. I think Beckham has been an outstanding servant for club and country, and he will be sorely missed at this World Cup. But someone must fill his position. The early favorite seems to be Aaron Lennon. I will be honest, I don't rate him very highly. I think both Wolcott and Milner are better players. Out of all the candidates on the wing, Milner is the most versatile and has the most complete game. It will be surprising if he doesn't have a big role to play throughout the tournament.

World Cup - Algeria & Slovenia

I'll be honest, I know very little about these teams. They have both pulled off some big upsets in recent times. Algeria defeated Egypt to qualify for the tournament, and they knocked The Ivory Coast out of the last African Cup of Nations. Slovenia won the two-legged playoff against a very talented Russian team to qualify.

Both teams have a few players sprinkled around the bigger leagues in Europe, though none at big clubs within those leagues. And Algeria's best attacking player is out with injury.

It all comes down to this; The most important match for both these countries is their opener against each other. If one or the other manages to get 3 points from that match, that puts extra pressure on the US and England.

For example, let's say the US and England draw, then the US beat Slovenia and England draw against Algeria. Going into the final match, the US and Algeria would each have 4 points, England 2, and Slovenia none. Depending on goal difference, a US/Algeria draw might put both countries through. I am not saying this is likely to happen, in fact I am pretty much certain it won't, but my point is that if either of these "minnows" wins the opening match, one or both of the English speaking countries in the group could be in a difficult situation.

Does anyone outside of England care about the FA Cup?

Or more pressing, does anyone in England care about the FA Cup? There is plenty of handwringing about another round of low attendances and general indifference by the football watching public.

But I suspect these are the same people who are usually whinging about ticket prices, or matches not starting at 3 PM on Saturdays, or players not being loyal to their clubs, or too much money in the game, or foreign owners buying English clubs, or players not speaking English, or whatever else they notice on any given day is not the same as it was in 1953.

It is a shockingly small segment of the football watching population, and the small attendances at FA Cup matches, large TV ratings, and worldwide interest in Premier League clubs generally proves this. Yet this group makes for a good story. Some white haired pensioner moaning, "Me dad used to give me 15 shilling on a Saturday, and that would be plenty for me to go to the match, get a program, and a pork pie at halftime, not to mention the bus there and home again." All while some reporter nods knowingly.

Of course the reporter is quite happy to receive the extra stipend he gets for his Sky Sports appearances, as well as his minute-by-minute reports on a website. And he certainly doesn't complain when he gets to watch Burnley-Wigan on a rainy Tuesday in February from the comfort of his flat in the west end of London, saving himself a 6 hour roundtrip and an evening in the cold and damp.

My point is, it's 2010, a fact that most of us have accepted, including the reporters who choose it as an easy story subject so they don't have to any real work this weekend.

Landon & Ashley

Oh, the irony. When Landon Donavon signed on for a three month loan deal at Everton they were myriad reactions. Some were pessimistic (He's too soft for the Premier League, he's a failure in Europe), some were optimistic (He'll dominate, the US will finally be taken seriously), and some were realistic (Please don't let him get injured, the US is doomed without him).

Well, not only was Landon part of an Everton team that upset Chelsea earlier this week, but his challenge has put Ashley Cole's participation in the 2010 World Cup in doubt. Of course England do have a ready-made replacement in...Wayne Bridge. Oh, this is going to be fun!

Gary Cahill For England!

In 2014 unfortunately. It looks as if the outstanding Bolton central defender, still only 24, will be out for "several months" according to Owen Coyle. It seems he has a blood clot in his arm. This is a serious condition, not football related, and we can only hope he makes full recovery.

This is a huge blow for the Wanderers, as Cahill is easily their best defender and possibly their best overall player. He has been called into the England squad by Fabio Cappello on the basis of his defensive prowess, but he has also scored 7 goals this season, which leads the club.

So yes, the relegation battle has just got more difficult for the Lancashire club, but we should still have enough to stay up.

Some combination of Zat Knight, Andy O'Brien, Danny Shittu, Sam Ricketts, and Chris Basham will cover the center of defense for the next few months, and hopefully Cahill will be back in August to help celebrate Bolton's 10th consecutive season in the Premier League.

So much for an easy group...

The thinking after the FIFA World Cup draw in December was that the US and England had drawn an excellent group. Most assumed that after a tough opening match against each other, the two English speaking countries would cruise into the knockout stages of the tournament.

Slovenia is still something of an unknown quality, but Algeria has just thrown a wrench into these plans. In order to qualify for the World Cup, Algeria had to get past Egypt, a very good squad which has won the last two Africa Nations Cups. Now, Algeria has knocked odds-on favorites Ivory Coast out of this months showcase in Angola.

So, undoubtably the bookies will still have England favored to win the group, and the US likely to advance, but things have now become must more interesting.

World Cup revisits 1776

It's the Mancs vs. the Yanks in the World Cup, as England and the US have been drawn together in Group B. They will face off in South Africa on June 12th, and it should be great fun.

An England win is likely, but that will not be too big a disappointment for the US.


The headlines will be about LA Galaxy teammates Landon Donovan and David Beckham (pictured above playing chicken at a pool party in North Hollywood), but the match will likely be decided in the center of the pitch. where Michael Bradley, the young US midfielder who currently plies his trade for Borussia Munchengladbach in Germany's first division will come up against the likes of Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), and Gareth Barry (Manchester City). It will be very important who Bob Bradley (US coach) decides to partner with his son in the middle of the park. Ricardo Clark (Houston) is a dogged ball winner who has been preferred in the past, but he is a red card waiting to happen. After the last World Cup, where the US had 3 men sent off in 3 matches, players of Clark's ilk may be left on the bench, if not the tarmac. Which brings us to one of the most perplexing players on the US squad.


Benny Feilhaber, a Brazilian born midfielder who currently plays for AGF Aarhus in Denmark, has had an up-and-down career with a good, yet brief spell with Hamburg in Germany followed by a disastrous stay at Derby County in England. He has shown glimpses of his talent, and would be a great partner for Michael Bradley, yet a rampaging ego and inability to get aong with any manager he has ever played for have left him on the fringes of the squad.

I think the fact that England/USA is the opening match for both teams works in America's favor. All of the pressure will be on the English, who will be expected to win and win big by the media and fans, who deliriously overrate the team. The US can relax and just play their game. If England wins, it is no big deal, the results against Slovenia and Algeria will determine if the US advances to the next round. Yet if the US draws or (highly unlikely) wins, it will be a massive jumping off point for them. And it will be treated by the English press as the biggest disaster since Thatcher's election.