My friends and I often indulge in extended debate on the club vs. country issue and how so far, it's ‘OK' to support England. We eschew the jingoism, the hooliganism, the sheer repugnance of many of those called on to sport the jersey, the overreaction to defeat and over-anticipation of victory, the arrogance and the aggression, but still wish for a team we can support.

The following table shows the average age of player that each of the competing nations fielded during the group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations 2012 in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea. As expected Cote D'Ivoire's fading golden generation who are attempting to win their nation their first major trophy since 1992 is one of the oldest squads at the tournament.

The news broke this morning that the FA had finally taken some action over the John Terry racism affair. Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy with immediate effect. Of course the inadequate FA fell short of suspending him from playing for his country and it's unlikely that Terry will be big enough to remove himself for selection.

Awards are for the vain folk that feel the need to be rewarded for greatness. An award, usually a piece of precious metal, is handed to an individual, usually a sentient homo sapiens, based on that individual's contributions to a particular endeavor. Subjectivity underlines the entire process. Humans clasp at the material to the detriment of the abstract.

As the curtains draw open for the AFCON tournament, attention will definitely be on a number of players who are set to retire once a winner is revealed on February 12th.

For many it will mark an end to the golden generation of some of the continent's truly brightest talents but also the beginning for a new breed of stars who will look to carry on from where their predecessors left.

The stage is set for the 28th edition of the African Cup Of Nations that begins tomorrow in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon with two Group A fixtures between the hosts Equatorial Guinea and Libya in the early kick off and the eagerly awaited Senegal v Zambia clash in the late kick off.

Vincent Kompany brushes off Theo Walcott

A big game in the world of CultFootball took place Sunday in Manchester Arsenal visited Etihad Stadium to take on league-leading Manchester City. The result was a tense but exciting match, which ended 1-0 for City.

Some commentary from one of the CultFootball head honcho:

City deserved the win, though Arsenal had their chances and maybe the game would've tipped if Arsenal had scored first or at all.

The England national football team will jet off to Poland and Ukraine next summer with the hope of achieving something their forbearers have not. Namely, winning the European Football Championship. Yet the inhabitants of Krakow and Kiev would be hard pressed to place a cigarette paper between our brave English Lions, with their matching suits, [.

WARREN GATLAND'S Wales are looking to create a Manchester United-type youth dynasty which ensures the Dragons remain at the top of world rugby for years to come.
Gatland's bold decision to go with young guns at the World Cup reaped rich rewards, with Wales reaching the last four and leading pundits across the globe predicting a golden future for Sam Warburton, George North, Toby Faletau, Rhys Priestland and Lloyd Williams.

England: John Terry no longer needed - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

England face Sweden at Wembley on Tuesday as Fabio Capello looks to sign off 2011 in a flourish. On Saturday England claimed a deserved 1-0 victory against, World Champions Spain, which will be remembered as one of the highlights of a successful year for the Three Lions.

For years West Ham United was considered to have the best academy in England but that appears to be changing. Southampton is looking to change that. After Walcott, Bale and Oxlade-Chamberlain, Southampton are aiming to create a new golden generation for Enlgand:

Over the last 21 years, the England national team has persistently failed at the World Cup and the European Championships. Blame has regularly been attributed to failed managers, and the so-called 'Golden Generation' of pampered Premier League primadonnas. However, there is one common denominator underpinning England's continual failure, and that is the negative influence of Manchester United players.

Golden Generation or Fool's Gold? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Barring an almighty flop, England will qualify for Euro 2012. They'll do so in marginally convincing fashion, maybe even topping a group which while not robust, provided more challenging than first thought. Now, England manager Fabio Capello said he knew Tuesday's performance against Wales would be sub-par from watching the players warm up.

Capello warns the 'golden generation' are not automatic picks

England boss is rebuilding England after World Cup debacle

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-09-04 21:56:28 from: The Mirror

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Of late, it seems that Chelsea fans are beginning to question the role Frank Lampard has in the side at the moment as being honest we haven't seen Frank at anywhere near his best so far this season.
As you can imagine with news that Frank Lampard was on the bench for England's 3-0 win over Bulgaria last night, the knives have come out for him regarding his England career.

Why I need convincing these young Lions are ready to snap at the England old guard's heels

The last members of England's so-called golden generation will not give up their shirts without a fight. John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Rio ­Ferdinand all have their eyes on one last hurrah in the Euro 2012 finals.

John Aloisi: helping or hurting? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

With A-League clubs beginning to convince the younger and fitter members of Australia's golden generation to return to antipodean shores, the moves come with a warning from the country's favourite penalty-taker, John Aloisi.

It was a night to remember at the Sonera Stadium last Thursday as HJK recorded a historical victory with a battling performance over the German giants Schalke in the Europa League play-off first leg. Teemu Pukki scored two fantastic goals to cap a magnificent team performance by the home side which put the Finns on the threshold of the group stages of the competition.

It isn't anyone's idea of a dream final – certainly not Eurosport's Tim Caple. But this Under-20s World Cup hasn't been a dream tournament. Defensive Portugal against counter-attacking Brazil is something of a representation of what we have seen in Colombia over the last three weeks. And the ball could – should, in theory – spend long periods of the final untouched and unloved in the centre circle, as both teams sit back for their contrasting reasons.

Why Sven Goran Eriksson really does have a chance of replacing Capello as England boss

When he said it a few days ago it sounded like arrant nonsense. After all, Sven Goran ­Eriksson's departure from the England job at his final press conference in Baden Baden five years ago saw most of the country glad to see the back of him.

Last season, Liverpool's u18 side was a revelation, the club's revitalised academy forcing its way back into the limelight after a decade in the wilderness. Much of that was down to a new generation of young stars, the likes of Suso, Raheem Sterling, Conor Coady, and Jack Robinson, all of whom remain eligible for u18 play this season but all of whom are expected to make the leap full time to the reserves—not to mention the NextGen Series and the occasional first team match—along with coach Rodolfo Borrell.

Was there a picture after the game of President Obama screaming and throwing furniture around while his wife and children looked on horrified?
No? That was just in my house? Okay.
Looking at the US after the game really gave me an insight on how China felt twelve years ago. I thought Hope Solo was going to kill someone, and then we saw her getting consoled by fans - presumably relatives, but if not, that's not surprising.

The US Women's National Team makes their first appearance in the 2011 Women's World Cup on Tuesday. One could view their first game the same as every other team debut, but for the US, it's not that simple.

First issue of complexity: They take on the mysterious Korea DPR -- mysterious because they are almost impossible to scout due to political reasons.

BY ADAM SERRANO

PASADENA, Calif-- Down 2-0 to the United States has been a common downfall for previous editions of the Mexican National Team.

However, this time Mexico was able to storm back scoring four unanswered goals and earning their second Gold Cup victory in front of a capacity crowd at the Rose Bowl.

Most fans of professional women's soccer already know that today kicks off one of the biggest events in the game on the international stage. For those that have not heard that the Women's World Cup starts today, June 26th. And ESPN has it covered – literally.

Every game of the 2011 Women's World Cup takes place in Germany and every game will be broadcast live on either ESPN or ESPN2.

I have seen some poor matches in my time, but Wednesday's England Under-21 European Championship clash with Ukraine is definitely up there in the 'depressingly dreadful' stakes.
It certainly won't stem the flow of negative headlines that spilled from the back-pages following their opening game draw with Spain on Sunday.

The sudden rise this season of Liverpool's revitalised academy has been a major talking point around these parts, and with good reason. On the foundation set by Rafa Benitez towards the end of the 2008-2009 season, Academy Director Frank McParland and former Barcelona youth coaches Pep Segura and Rodolfo Borrell have overseen a stunning revival, and though it may still be too early to fully judge their successes, there seems a very real possibility that a golden generation of Liverpool talent is currently working its way up through the age groups, into the reserves, and perhaps from there on into the first team.

A man's errors are his portals of discovery

One by one they walked off, the golden generation. Jermain Defoe shirtless; Joe Cole man of a match he would never wish to remember; Paolo Di Canio staring straight ahead, perhaps contemplating his pledge to commit suicide if West Ham were relegated.

Gary Neville is a man who hasn't made too many fans outside the confines of Old Trafford, and particularly over towards the direction of Merseyside, but he is also a man who has been a fantastic servant over the years for Manchester United. Those who follow the football odds will know this.

With the club preparing to honour his career with a testimonial at Old Trafford against Italian giants Juventus, it's sure to be a special night for all involved with the club and all involved with the development of a man who made his debut at the age of just 17.

Friendlies like the one England will play against Ghana on Tuesday used to be dismal affairs, with little impact on the overall direction of the national side.

While a first-choice core was given time off to placate club managers, players on the periphery got a chance at a run out that would have had to border on Herculean to warrant inclusion when the game actually meant something.

Sir Bobby Charlton is deservedly a national hero. It is easy to forget how major a star he was in his day, and difficult to fathom just how huge he would be if playing nowadays.

But Sir Bobby Charlton is also the official flag-waver-in-chief for Manchester United and, not for the first time, his interpretation of the facts is completely delusional.

The Ballad of Matthias Sindelar (Or How World War II Robbed Austria's Golden Generation) is a post from: Just Football

The name Matthias Sindelar should be familiar to football aficionados everywhere as well as historians, for that matter. But, by and large, it isn't. Chris Woolfrey elaborates on an iconic symbol of Austrian football:

In his book Inverting the Pyramid Jonathan Wilson writes that "the modern way of understanding and discussing the game was invented in the coffee houses of Vienna," and in the realisation of an aesthetic of Austrian football formed by Hugo Meisl's Wunderteam and their iconic forward Matthias Sindelar, a nation patronisingly deemed by some as too lowly for its role as co-host of the 2008 European Championship contributed perhaps more to the development of football than most so-called 'major' sporting nations ever have.

To Hampden last night, tuxedo-ed up and on best behaviour.
The SFA Grassroots Awards presented by McDonald's and The Sunday Mail.
Easy to be dismissive of the SFA and it's a target I'm loathe not to take a kick at when I think they deserve it.
Obviously problems with the development of young players persist.

DOHA, Qatar With their graduation into Asia complete, the Socceroos are about to find out if they really belong at the top of the class. Having completed a full World Cup cycle since joining the confederation in 2006, Australia have become well versed in the intricacies of Asian football, leaving no room for excuses [.