Euro-qualifiers next week

England squad to face Montenegro on 12 October 8pm

Ben Foster, Robert Green, Joe Hart

Ashley Cole , Phil Jagielka, Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, Joleon Lescott, John Terry, Stephen Warnock

Gareth Barry, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Aaron Lennon, Jack Wilshere, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Ashley Young

Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Kevin Davies, Wayne Rooney

Some surprises in there, not least of which is the inclusion of Kevin Davies who will be hoping to pick up his first cap at the age of 33 - not a bad choice, but again this makes a nonsense of Capellos's declaration that he would be opening the door for younger players. I wonder how Michael Owen has taken the news?? a proven striker at the highest level performing well for his club, scoring goals and three years younger than Davies but seemingly not even on Capello's radar...!!

Capello will consider Beckham for England

Fabio Capello seems to have reconsidered his very public 'writing off' of David Beckham after telephoning him and speaking personally. His normal stance is not to talk directly with players, but made an exception in this case. His relationship with the players has been cited as a cause of unrest, and his detached air may be an issue for the future if not resolved, but equally, players should have respect for their manager and his methods.

Capello has said that if Beckham gets fit and is playing regular football, he will consider him for the squad even though his recent emphasis has been on youth in the squad. Although it sounds like a sound policy, I would reiterate my view that as an Englishman, I am not concerned with age so much as ability to win games. There is a place for youthful exuberance in the squad, there is also a place for experience, but most of all, there should always be space for talent regardless of any other boxes that are ticked or un-ticked.

Capello has written David Beckham off twice now, for Madrid and for England. He was proven wrong in excluding him from the Madrid team, and hopefully Beckham, will get a chance to prove him wrong again.

The right man for the job

Fabio Capello retains his post as England manager despite disappointing performances at the World Cup.

Beckham acknowledged being flattered by proposals that he might take the job, but fortunately sense has prevailed and the FA made their announcement when it became clear that there was no serious support behind the idea of letting Capello go.

A new look England team with some young blood will be required for the European qualifiers, and there are some candidates for retirement already. David James will soon be 40 years old and Jamie Carragher will head straight back for retirement from international duty. It is also unlikely that Emile Heskey or Ledley King will feature for England again. In retrospect, one wonders whether the inclusion of Carragher, King and Heskey was wise in the first place. There also a couple of tactical decisions that Fabio must admit were at least dodgy... nevertheless, England has little appetite for hanging ALL of the blame on the manager, this time the players must shoulder some responsibility at least for their lack lustre display.

The bright new stars will hopefully be lining up for the very next friendly against Hungary next month. Beckham will also be clamouring to retain a foothold in the new squad despite his age, one of the reasons that he will not entertain long-term ideas of a coaching role is that he is determined to play his part in the European qualifiers on the pitch.

Beckham for England...

Speculation is now rife as to whether Capello will be required to relinquish his position as England manager. Some sources are even saying that it is not impossible that Beckham will be asked to be part of a new regime - my own feeling is that this is highly unlikely as he will still want to be involved on the pitch for the upcoming European qualifiers. He also has a committment to LA Galaxy and longer term plans with the MLS to consider.

I am also not of the opinion that we should just throw Cappello out on the basis of the World Cup performance unless we have identified that it is Cappello's regime that was at fault as opposed to the molly-coddled players not being 'happy' simply because they have been asked to toe the line. I honestly feel that a bunch of players more committed to the cause and more prepared to make sacrifices for the nation would have fared a lot better under Capello - I would be willing to bet that had the German side been managed by Capello, they would have still beaten us. If that is the case, we must conclude that maybe the players cannot take direction or simply lack the leadership that encourages them to buckle down and perform for the manager.

Maybe it is a mistake to allow the squad to donate their fees to charity - we cannot slate them for taking the money, they are allowed to feel that they are performing our of some sense of charity and therefore are no longer obliged to put heart and soul into the game. It's an admirable gesture, but maybe short-sighted - I would prefer a player to take the money and feel obliged to perform accordingly. My feeling is that some of these players think it's all about them (as they are taught by the adulation we heap on them), we need some players who know that it's all about the team. Even Rooney who normally comes across as a kid who loves the game, is known to be petulant particularly about being substituted - whereas the feeling of privelege for being in the team in the first place should be the over-riding sentiment of any player.

I have a feeling that Capello will go, and I for one will be sad to see it, especially as he had just signed up for a deal that we see him well-rewarded for being sacked. It's not just that issue that rankles though, it's the issue that I think Cappello's no-nonsense regime was the right course, it's just that within this set of players resides the attitude that 'if I don't like it, I don't have to listen' - which has been fostered by the status of the Premiership in world football, their superstar status and superstar wages....

Englands' disappointment

England fans (and no doubt the squad) will feel disappointed with the result on Saturday, not only did the team lose, but the game was not available for many fans to watch.
However, when you look at the circumstances there are some positives to be taken from the game. However disappointed we are, we are already in the World Cup, OK it is not going to be the 100% record, but before we went on a hugely successful qualifying run, we would have taken qualification at any cost, especially after failing to qualify for Europe last time out... The team of ten men played well against the Ukraine eleven, and certainly during the second half, the only clue to the fact that England were a man down was the lack of shots on goal.
Eight wins on the trot looked great, but we will have to settle for nine wins out of ten, a hiccup on Wednesday is certainly not going to be tolerated and nothing short of an emphatic win will suffice. A decent tally of goals and a clean sheet will restore confidence in Capello and the squad, a one-nil win would not bring great delight, a draw would bring no small amount of criticism and a loss would turn the tide of success completely on it's head.
Rooney is out for the game which will give Capello a chance to give Carlton Cole or Defoe a start, Defoe is the likely choice. I would expect Lennon to get another chance on Wednesday after he was forced to give way on Saturday, and naturally I would like to see Beckham play in the second half. David James will no doubt start as Green is now suspended, and Ben Foster has been drafted in as a replacement.
After this match, Capello must start thinking about the 23 players that will make up the World Cup squad, Beckham will be mindful of this as he seeks employment in Europe in January.

Beckham reflects on his future

The Galaxy have games in quick succession this week, but Beckham has a chance to reflect on his personal progress after the harsh red card he received at the weekend. He has been quoted in the British press as having stated that the Premiership is not his destination after the MLS season closes despite reported interest from Chelsea (Ancelloti now installed...) and Tottenham. He has reiterated that his desire is to play for AC Milan again in the build up to the 2010 World Cup.

England manager Fabio Capello has made it clear that Beckham needs regular first team football in Europe to be considered for the England squad, although his place is not particularly threatened by any pretenders to the right wing position.

Wright-Phillips is certainly nippy down the wing, but has not really delivered his best performances in the England shirt, he looks like a substitute at best. Theo Walcott is much more likely to be able to carve out a permanent place if his best performances can be reproduced, and David Bentley has seemingly disappeared without a trace looking for first team football possibly at Aston Villa after not being able to establish himself at Spurs. I like Glenn Johnson at right back, so whoever can form a good understanding with him would be first choice for me. Johnson likes to get forward more than most, and Beckham with his defensive work-rate remains more of a natural choice as a partner on the right.

Beckham has been played centrally, a position that he is more than capable of maintaining but here there is far more competition for places with the likes of Lampard, Gerrard, Barry and Carrick all fighting for position, with plenty more in the wings.

Capello takes no nonsense

English Football Association chairman Lord Triesman has spoken out on the new-look England and the way it has made the squad into a team of winners. Under Eriksson and McClaren, a travelling circus of WAGs and agents had begun to become the norm for the England team on the road. Under Capello, this has been brought to an abrupt end.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating as they say, and the results justify the measures that Capello has taken to turn these players into serious atheletes rather than celebrity sports personalities. The players must take on board their managers' philosophy if this team wants to first of all reach the World Cup, let alone to progress to the latter stages. We have messed up on the European Championships, and whilst the players' attitude may not be the ONLY reason, the question remains: How can such a collection of undisputably fine sportsmen perform so poorly as they have done under the previous manager on the world stage?

It would be nice to think that the previous attitudes have been blown away by the wind of change and professionalism with prevail for the future.

Beckham v Bentley debate continues

Fabio Capello seems to wants to perpetuate the myth that David Bentley is a complete like-for-like replacement for David Beckham - my contention is that he a somewhat paler imitation.
The two David's certainly have similarities, but they have their own strengths and weaknesses and seemingly Bentley's premiership manager disagrees with Capello on where to play him. Before the start of the new season Bentley moved from Blackburn to Tottenham, and on Saturday Ramos played Bentley centrally and had Aaron Lennon playing on the right.
Capello has Beckham, Bentley and Lennon available to him, but seems stuck with the tag-team of Beckham-Bentley. I can imagine that most opposition teams would probably breathe a sigh of relief to have Beckham replaced by the weaker (IMHO) Bentley. I would rather scare the pants off them by replacing Bechkam with Lennon's swift movement and close ball skill to ring the changes half-way through a match where the tactics weren't producing the desired result. Otherwise why replace Beckham who has shown regularly that he can still play ninety minutes?
I am sure Capello thinks he effectively has a fitter Beckham on the bench in Bentley to bring on for the second half - this does neither Beckham or Bentley justice in my opninion.

England must make semi's

The BBC announced today that the English FA have asked that Capello delivers on reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup or Euro 2012 - (presumably this was agreed before his appointment last year...). If this were to happen in 2010, then it would be England's best performance in 14 years as they have not reached the semi's of a major tournament since Terry Venables took the team to the semi-final of Euro '96 (and that was on home soil...).

The highs of that tournament were the fabulous volley from Paul Gascoigne against the Scots, and the 4-1 win against Holland. The lows were Gascoigne's celebration of the same goal....and losing to Germany on penalties...

The FA has also revealed taking its plans for the National Football Centre at Burton out of mothballs and dusting them off to have it up and running in two years time, and plans to install an 'International Performance Director' overseeing all national teams apart from the Mens Senior team.

Capello to be new England Boss

Former player and top coach Fabio Capella is now the definite choice for the England job. His CV is impressive, but he is no stranger to controversy. He has won league championships in Spain and Italy, most recently at Madrid last season after having fallen out with David Beckham and then reinstated him in the team. Capello has taken the Champions League crown too with Milan in ‘94, and stepping up to National coach is an obvious next step. Capello left Madrid when sacked in June 2007 despite winning ‘La Liga’. It remains to be seen whether the rift that started between Beckham and Capello at Madrid is truly healed, if not David could remain on 99caps and not manage to achieve the 100 which would mean so much to him.

England manager latest

More people who don't want to manage the England team:

Alan Curbishley (West Ham) says he is happy where he is and is not interested in the job this time, not surprising since he was publicly snubbed last time...

Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) says he would be interested if he were English. Wenger would no doubt be a popular choice amongst England fans, but why on earth would he give up the Arsenal job, to find himself as another failed England manager in two years time...??

Franz Beckenbauer has suggested that Jurgen Klinsmann is the man for the job. He has a history at Tottenham of course, but apparently is not prepared to uproot himself from his home in California.

There are reports that players Terry and Gerrard will be canvassed by the FA for their opinion about who should manage the team. This proposal flies in the face of Roy Keane's view that ego's amongst the playing staff are at the route of the problems. He didn't suggest that Gerrard or Terry were the one's with the inflated ego's, but you have to question making the precedent giving this type of power to players who have failed to produce the results.

Who would be an England Manager?

Several new hopefuls have emerged as prospective England Managers, some it should be said, may be using the opportunity to wangle a new paydeal from their current employers (Surely not...!).
The latest crop include Rafa Benitez (hoping for new pay deal at Liverpool.....), Steve Coppell (Reading) who says he has attracted speculation simply because he is English, and Harry Redknapp (Portsmouth) who has said that he doesn't really expect to be asked....
Martin O'Neill may be reluctant to apply since he was turned down before by the FA, Mourinho says he doesn't want the job, but is still favourite with many....
Sam Allerdyce (Newcastle) was interested when he was working at Wigan and his bosses were 'happy' for him to apply, but this time around, he says his loyalty is with his new club and new contract.
So, far lot's of people saying that it won't be them... let's hope the smoke clears soon, and the speculation is ended with a swift appointment.