Filed under: World Cup | Tags: algeria, david james, england, fabio capello, jamie carragher, joe cole, john terry, matthew upson, milivoje novakovic, robert koren, samir handanovic, slovenia, steven gerrard, three lions, United States, valter birsa, wayne rooney, world cup, yanks
All will be left on the line tomorrow as every team in Group C battles for a place in the knockout round in South Africa. With England taking on Slovenia and the United States playing Algeria in simultaneous games, there could well be fireworks by the games’ end.
England – Slovenia
Prior to the tournament England were runaway favorites to stomp their group. With a massive abundance of talent, a superb manager and a nearly spotless qualifying run, the Three Lions were expected to do big things in Britain (that said, when aren’t they expected to do big things in Britain). However, a drab team lacking ideas, an outburst from a former captain and a couple of suspensions are surely weighing heavily on the mind of every player and personnel in the England camp.
It was bad enough that they played their two games with little to no drive, and were desperately short of attacking menace, but now John Terry came out and declared that the team would sit down with the Italian and tell him, no holds barred, what they wanted the team to be…seriously? The team is not a democracy. The manager has the final say and holds the supreme authority, a point Capello was adamant to make. John Terry’s “very, very big mistake” was almost an ominous statement from the manager, as he cooly told the press that there would be repercussions for what was said. Terry has since apologized, and Capello must be satisfied…but that is hardly the end of his problems.
Terry was allegedly going to call for the inclusion of Joe Cole at said meeting, before none of his team mates backed him up. But unfortunately for Capello, Terry may be right. Joe Cole possesses great technical skill and contains the immeasurable quality of the “X” factor. Joe Cole can make plays that other players simply cannot make. He can beat a man (something seriously lacking right now for the Three Lions), he is creative and he can find a killer pass. Question is: Will Capello swallow his pride and include J. Cole? Probably not…
As they have demonstrated, the Slovenians are not to be taken lightly. They have all the necessary attributes to make England’s last game a nightmare, should the Brits not come with their “A” game. Milivoje Novakovic is a striker who can cause problems, especially for the rag-tag center back pairing that will likely be Matty Upson and John Terry. Terry is probably mentally awry and Upson hasn’t been asked to perform on such a big stage.
Robert Koren and Valter Birsa will make up the bulk of midfield, and, like Novakovic, won’t be push overs. On paper, England’s midfield should wipe the floor with them, but if recent results have told us anything, England’s form tomorrow is in a grab bag. Koren likes to pull the strings in midfield and Birsa is capable of changing the game if the stars align.
Most unfortunately for England, if they keep up their lackluster attacking play, they won’t find a way through the tough Slovenian defense. Anchored by veteran keeper Samir Handanovic, the Slovenians play a water tight defense that the Americans were fortunate to make headway on. The Britsh will need to fire on all cylinders to break into the game, however, if they can manage to score first, the Three Lion’s attitude will change entirely. If they concede first…oh dear.
Prediction – The English may finally manage to squeeze a few goals out, but the back line will be suspect, as will David James. Wayne Rooney’s form will be paramount to their success. If they can advance out of the group, a new English side will be seen.
England 1 – 1 Slovenia
Filed under: International, World Cup | Tags: david james, fabio capello, joe hart, robert green
Old habits die hard, I guess. Not to say Fabio Capello has ever selected David James before him, but every one of his recent predecessors has.
James is now 39. Now we know that goalkeepers have much greater longevity than any other position on the pitch, but is he
ready to carry the torch for the 3 Lions in South Africa? England will implode should he blunder and his property will likely be vandalized (seriously…) while he’s away.
Joe Hart will feel hard done, as many had tipped him to become England’s new #1. That’s not to say the war is over. James may still make a hash of his World Cup and open the door for the young keeper to make his mark.
Fabio Capello has had a lot to do in recent weeks. He has taken Jamie Carragher out of retirement, forced to explain his omission of Theo Walcott, bring Michael Dawson down to Africa last minute, and figure out England’s long running crisis of mediocre goalkeepers.
Can David James perform at the World Cup? He certainly has the experience, but I am skeptical if he is as nimble on his toes as Joe Hart or Robert Green.
Filed under: bundesliga, Champions League, International, la liga, ligue 1, premier league, serie a, Transfer | Tags: anton ferdinand, arsenal, aston villa, bolton, burnley, chelsea, david james, david nugent, dive, eduardo, emmanuel adebayor, franck ribery, gary megson, ivan klasnic, jamie carragher, johnny heitinga, liverpool, manchester city, manchester united, martin o'neill, mike ashley, newcastle, nicolas anelka, niko kranjcar, owen coyle, portsmouth, rafa benitez, real madrid, richard dunne, steve bruce, steve harper, sunderland, tottenham
DAILY MIRROR
* Daivd James fears for his World Cup place after being left stranded at crisis club Portsmouth.
* Burnley boss Owen Coyle hailed the sgining of striker David Nugent in a last-gasp loan deal from Portsmouth on deadline day.
* Gary Megson is backing Ivan Klasnic to solve Bolton’s chronic goalscoring problems after completing a loan deal for the Croatian striker.
DAILY STAR
* Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka is said to be angry and frustrated after discovering he will not be getting a new contract this season.

David James has been told to focus on Portsmouth and not showing pictures of himself to 8 year olds...no matter how much it boosts his esteem
* Arsenal are set to appeal against UEFA’s decision to hand Eduardo a two-match ban for diving.
* Martin O’Neill was forced to sweat it out as he took his Aston Villa summer spending spree past the £40m mark last night.
* Steve Bruce last night blocked a deadline bid by Spurs to sign Sunderland defender Anton Ferdinand.
* Fulham snapped up Swedish striker David Elm on a one-year deal for £1m from Kalmar FF.
* Dutch defender Johnny Heitinga became Everton’s top earner last night in a beat-the-clock move to Merseyside.
* Portsmouth lost another of their big stars yesterday with Niko Kranjcar joining Tottenham in a £2.75m move.
* FA Cup sponsors E.ON have pulled the plug on their £35m deal.
* Rafa Benitez has become the first top boss to face the wrath of the FA over their new rules for criticising referees.
* Steve Harper has told Newcastle owner Mike Ashley to pull his finger out if he wants promotion this season.
THE SUN
* David Nugent finally ended his Portsmouth hell by securing a six-month loan move to Burnley bang on deadline.
* Niko Kranjcar insists he has not joined Tottenham as a stand-in for crock Luka Modric.
* Michael Ballack says Chelsea have been boosted by Liverpool’s rocky start to the season.
* Jamie Carragher has told Liverpool’s critics not to write them off – because they are the No 1 comeback kings.
* Emmanuel Adebayor says it will be like a family at war when he lines up against Arsenal in 10 days’ time.
* Manchester United and Real Madrid target Franck Ribery has blasted Bayern Munich boss Luis van Gaal in an amazing deadline-day outburst.
DAILY MAIL
* Aston Villa were given dispensation to complete a £5million deal for Richard Dunne last night as negotiations over his departure from Manchester City rumbled on past the 5pm deadline.
* Newcastle pulled off a coup by signing Manchester United defender Craig Cathcart on a season-long loan.
* Aidy Boothroyd will return to football today as the new manager of Colchester United.
* Stoke were beaten by the clock in an ambitious bid to sign Bayern Munich right back Christian Lell.
* Claudio Ranieri, the former Chelsea manager, is the new coach of Roma after Luciano Spalletti resigned yesterday following defeats in the opening Serie A games.

Ranieri...Claudio Ranieri
DAILY EXPRESS
* Ashley Cole will complete a new £120,000-a-week, five-year deal with Chelsea when he returns from England World Cup duty.
* Birmingham have signed Sunderland midfielder Teemu Tanio on loan until the end of the season.
* Harry Redknapp’s reputation as the master wheeler-dealer took a major hit on transfer deadline day.
* The Premier League’s Big Four reined in their spending yesterday to leave Everton’s £6million deal for Holland international Johnny Heitinga the biggest transfer in a low-key deadline day.
DAILY RECORD
* Celtic boss Tony Mowbray last night admitted he was delighted to snap up Chinese international Zheng Zhi after chasing him for more than a year.
* Jerome Rothen revealed he slammed the door shut on a glamour Premier League move to sign a deal with Rangers.
* Darren O’Dea signed on at Reading and then insisted he’ll be back up the road in no time to nail down his place as a Celtic stalwart.