LA Galaxy's professional showpony and part-time midfielder David Beckham™ has
admitted that he doesn't envisage returning to Europe on a temporary basis this season, as he has
done in recent the past.
In a bid to temper his frustrations at catching a surprise second wind on the international
scene after prematurely moving from the Real Madrid doldrums into a lucrative semi-retirement in
the MLS sustain his fitness following the culmination of the American season in November, Beckham
has returned to European football twice in the last two seasons joining Italian giants AC Milan on
loan on both occasions.
England began their journey to The European Championships by destroying a feeble Bulgaria at
Wembley this evening. From start to finish England dominated and they went a little way in
restoring a reputation, torn apart by a dismal World Cup campaign.
Jermaine Defoe scored a quality hat trick, with his third goal especially noteworthy.
The major headline tonight was always going to be how Wayne Rooney coped with the revelation of
his alleged illicit contact contact with ladies of the night. The truth was revealed, and the
truth seems to be that Rooney is relieved. But that aside, Manchester City deserve a special
mention for aiding England's cause.
England's World Cup was a shambles. It's been spoken about far too much since, so I'm not going
to keep flogging the already heavily incapacitated horse like everyone else seems to. Instead, I'm
looking at the aftermath of what may as well have been a squad holiday for England to South Africa,
with a few effortless kick-arounds thrown in.
England's World Cup was a shambles. It's been spoken about far too much since, so I'm not going
to keep flogging the already heavily incapacitated horse like everyone else seems to. Instead, I'm
looking at the aftermath of what may as well have been a squad holiday for England to South Africa,
with a few effortless kick-arounds thrown in.
'They'll only whack Mourinho Tomorrow Because of this Angel! Thank YOU!' says
Pipita.Last night , Real Madrid took a trip to France to play their 2nd Champions League
group stage match. Auxerre's stadium had an English feel to it with its stands right up to the edge
of the pitch filled with rabid fans singing, cheering and booing boisterously as the match unfolded
last night.
Arsenal youngster trains with squad Fabio Capello was forced to draft yet another rookie keeper
into his plans as his England goalkeeping nightmare continues. With Joe Hart the only fit goalie in
the squad, Capello had to call on 19-year-old Arsenal goalkeeper James Shea to work with Hart
during the session at the Gunners' London Colney [.
So England's Euro 2012 Campaign kicks off on Friday against a (thankfully Berbatov less)
Bulgaria, and the main thing is...well the squad is decimated. Lampard and Terry had already
announced they couldn't take part (although some may have breathed a sigh of relief there), Bobby
Zamora is out just as he was beginning to look like a genuine first choice option, Phil Jagielka
has sat out of training, and Peter Crouch has gone home not being able to play after picking up a
rib injury against West Ham.
Jose Mourinho - Maybe he's more Voldermort than Harry Potter...?.So here we are left to
ponder for an extra weekend (isn't it kinda stupid to start the La Liga Season only to let the
International break cut it off on the following weekend?... anyway, I digress) what happened to
Real Madrid in what was supposed to be the glorious arrival of the Special One in Spain.
Jose Mourinho is at it again in the press and letting the world know what he thinks of Arsenal
and the new look AC Milan. He is basically pissing off Wenger and putting a big smile on the face
of AC Milan supporters. The funny thing is that you know everyone is listening.
José Mourinho does not believe Arsenal are capable of winning the Champions League this
season.
England relieved some of the pressure that had been mounting on their besieged manager
Fabio Capello by getting their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign underway with a
convincing victory, registering an emphatic win over Group G rivals Bulgaria at Wembley last
night.
On paper at least, Bulgaria represent one the biggest potential stumbling blocks in England's
qualifying pool, but in reality they posed little threat as Capello's side contained them
efficiently throughout the game whilst sniping goals on the counter-attack.
Laurent Blanc will envy Capello.No hat tricks for the French team as they started their run for
Euro 2011. A horrendously offside Sergey Kislyak scored the winning goal for Belarus in the 87th
minute.
A few weeks ago, Daryl asked how you feel about Michael Owen returning to Anfield to play in
Jamie Carragher's testimonial match...in a Liverpool jersey. Well, this weekend, Liverpool fans
got the chance to express their feelings about Michael Owen-who left the club for Real Madrid
before returning back to the Premiere League in a Newcastle jersey and finally ending up at
Manchester United.
Wayne Rooney will represent England against Switzerland in the midst of a media storm that is
threatening to overshadow England's 4-0 demolition of Bulgaria. While most would expect Rooney to
struggle under the pressure, it would be just like him to return to form with a bang and do all his
talking on the pitch.
While Jermain Defoe took the goal-scoring honours on Friday night at the other end of the pitch
Joe Hart was going a long way to establishing himself as England's goalkeeper for the foreseeable
future with another fine display.
Fabio Capello's decision to opt for an experienced ‘keeper at the World Cup at the expense of
Hart was one of the biggest blunders he made in South Africa.
By Ollie Irish
We've rated the England players, and now we present the best pics from Wembley, starring Joe
Hart, Jermain Defoe, Adam Johnson and a typically vexed Capello...
◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 10 ◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 10
Joe Hart, England's keeper, warms up with a dive
Photos: PA
A very impressive display by England, but let's not go overboard after Defoe's early first goal,
Bulgaria offered little.
In English language terms pigeon meets stilted After Rooney has allegedly acted more Wazza than
England's Arise Sir Wayne, it has today emerged that Signor Capello intends to sit down with the
striker and discuss whether is mind is still on the game in Basel. Sorry, so to get this straight,
there will be a [.
Joe Hart has been the best English goalkeeper in the Premier League this season so far, saving a
superb 94% of the shots fired in on his goal, a figure only one goalkeeper in the division can
better – Chelsea's Czech stopper Petr Cech (100%).
The search for a new long-term goalkeeper has plagued successive England managers since David
Seaman hung up his gloves, but now, after a number of false starts and calamitous errors, Fabio
Capello may have found his permanent number one.
When Shaun Wright Phillips appeared as second half substitute against Switzerland, he was
probably hoping that an impressive display could kick-start his club season. But things didn't go
according to plan for the Manchester City winger and a below par display was topped off with a
woeful cross that eluded Darren Bent and infuriated boss Fabio Capello.
Manchester United have completed their first month of the 2010/11
season, and even though they had a little hiccup against Fulham, it was a pretty successful August
for the Reds.
In their four matches during August, United scored 11 goals with eight different players as well
as being the beneficiaries of an own goal finding the scoresheet.
In honor of the 57 hour match's very own Chuck Norris, this:
- Real Madrid's destiny: Harry Potter. (Fisted Away)
- Battle of East v West is one-sided. (DW)
- Chilean miners get to catch a game. (A Football Report)
- Euro 2012 and match-fixing. (Never Mind the Bolsheviks)
- Indonesian WC bid member charged with murder.
"These figures are stupid," Fabio Capello once said after being asked what formation England
were playing after a qualifying game. "In the modern game, the only formation is 9-1." Of course,
that is all nonsense. Nonsense, unless you're Rangers however. At times, they reverted to the old
'park the bus' system where they constantly put blue shirts into their own box.
TOP 10 FOOTBALL FANS IN EUROPE (UEFA SURVEY)
It has been said that the 12th man is like an endangered species in modern football. This
weekend I waxed un-poetically about the legacy of Liverpool fans and the famous atmosphere they
create at Anfield and when they travel on the road.
Don't miss the new episode of 3 Up Front!
Iain Spragg returns to join Adrian Clarke & Iain Macintosh for half an hour of devilish debate
on all the hottest stories dominating football this week.
Fact or Fiction Should Capello get the axe if England fail to start their Euro 2012 with two
victories?
Several EPL coaches, officials, and footballers have recently praised the new homegrown rule
that forces EPL clubs to only name 25 active footballers on their roster for the duration of the
season with 8 being considered homegrown, but many fans and footballers alike have pointed out the
obvious fact that the rule can be easily manipulated and that young English players are not always
guaranteed a spot on the roster even with the new rule.
By Oliver Sparrow, writing from London
England go into their first Euro 2012 qualification game against Bulgaria at Wembley tomorrow night
with a very different squad to that of the World Cup in South Africa.
David James and Ledley King have both been left out by Capello.
By Ollie Irish
Stevie and Wayne, sitting in a tree etc etc.
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England's Steven Gerrard (right) and Wayne Rooney during training
Photos: PA
Brave new England? Not quite, but at least I hope we can reset our expectations for how good
Capello's team is.
I hate international breaks, especially those so close to the start of the league season. We've
all just got back into the swing of trips home and away following Spurs, dealing with the highs and
lows they've already put us through and then just as you're coming to terms with not seeing your
family for the next 9 months they have a weekend off.
I hate international breaks, especially those so close to the start of the league season. We've
all just got back into the swing of trips home and away following Spurs, dealing with the highs and
lows they've already put us through and then just as you're coming to terms with not seeing your
family for the next 9 months they have a weekend off.
"You created a God, and you created a monster!" may sound like something a distraught, sunburnt
Charlton Heston might scream at a laboratory full of inquisitive apes, but alas,
the above is not a paraphrase from the script of a piece of late-1960's dystopian cinema, but a
direct quote from the England manager himself, Fabio Capello.
Sorprese e conferme al termine della serata di ieri che ha visto scendere in campo le varie
nazionali, impegnate nelle gare di qualificazione a Euro 2012. Tanti goals, tante emozioni e
qualche scivolone inatteso.
Dopo sette risultati negativi, torna a vincere (ma non a convincere) l'Italia di
Prandelli, che conquista la prima gioia da Ct azzurro.
Empty seats were visible last night at the start of England's UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifier with
Bulgaria, not because of some ongoing protest against the Three Lions after the shambles in South
Africa. It wasn't because a seat at Wembley costs a bomb these days. You couldn't even attribute
the pockets of red plastic to the corporate spectators, still waiting in line for their pre-match
prawn sandwich.
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Each week on languagecaster's podcast we feature a main listening report and on this week's show
we ask a couple of football fans what they think of the 'new look' Fabio Capello's England
team.
Martedi di nuovo in campo, per la seconda giornata delle qualificazioni valide
per Euro 2012. L'Italia, tornata a vincere dopo un'interminabile
striscia di risultati negativi, grazie al 2 a 1 in rimonta contro l'Estonia, si
prepara ad affrontare un altro avversario abbordabile.
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Subscribe: Main Listening Report | Complete List Here
Each week on languagecaster's podcast we feature a main listening report and on this week's show
we ask a couple of football fans what they think of the 'new look' Fabio Capello's England
team.
By Chris Wright
It looks like Wayne Rooney is set to start for England in tonight's Euro 2012
qualifier against Switzerland, after the forward assured manager Fabio Capello
that he has the mental strength to play despite the swirling, prostitute-based allegations in the
gutter press that are enveloping his private life.
Walcott should be tamed correctly....
Why? The guy is still young, made his first World Cup squad when he was 17 years old. I'm
actually happy that he wasn't picked for Capello's squad, it brings out the stupidity of Capello
and it should've been the tipping point to his firing which should come soon, hopefully.
There were encouraging signs for England as they swept aside a pretty dire Bulgaria side; not
least the performances of Joe Hart, Wayne Rooney, Jermaine Defoe and James Milner. There were
still some marked areas for improvement though, notably at the back. The clean sheet is really
testimony to the ability and alertness of England's new favourite goalkeeper rather than any stout
defending.
For a man who has built a career on an ability to stand out from his English footballing
contemporaries by displaying not just a puffed-chest, thick-necked grunt work-rate but also a
consistent predilection for oft-competent touch and technique, the Wayne Rooney
we've been forced to endure over the past few months (the Bulgaria game apart) has been, at times,
bordering on torturous.
