Archive for the ‘England’ Category
Becks retirement: Iconic football legend David Beckham deserves his special place in history of the beautiful game
There is no player in the history of the game who has done more to promote English football than David Beckham. And his retirement at the age of 38 will trigger tributes from around the world because his contribution to the sport has been unique.
Icon, celebrity, legend, superstar, ambassador. No one can bend it like Beckham. And no-one has given back so much to the beautiful game.
He may not be the greatest footballer who ever played the game. But Becks represents something special. Throughout his career he has made the most of his incredible talent, consistently revelled in proving the critics wrong when they have tried to write him off and brought glamour, dignity and pride to representing his country and a glittering array of the world’s most famous football clubs.
Source: i.dailymail.co.uk via john on Pinterest
At Old Trafford he starred in the team that won an unprecedented Treble in 1999. But when Manchester United sold him to Real Madrid in 2003 after his infamous fall-out with his mentor and father-figure Sir Alex Ferguson, Becks was being outshone by a galaxy of stars.
It has been the same in Madrid, Milan, Los Angeles, Paris and during his long and illustrious England career. But there is no footballer who has worked harder to make the most of his god given talent, to defy the critics who regularly tried to write him off or to win over the fans who did not always love him.
There is no greater measure of the man than the way he turned around the obscene hatred he endured after being sent off in the 1998 World Cup for petulantly kicking out in that epic quarter-final defeat by Argentina.
The way he singled-handedly dragged England to the 2002 World Cup with an unbelievable performance in the decisive qualifying match against Greece was the stuff of legend, crowned by his remarkable injury time free-kick that completed the journey from villain of 98 to glorious hero.
Born on 2 May 1975, David Robert Joseph Beckham made his name playing for his boyhood heroes Manchester United. As a youngster he attended one of Bobby Charlton’s football schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session at FC Barcelona. After trials with Leyton Orient, Norwich City and Tottenham Hotspur, he became part of a famous group of youngsters who won the FA Youth Cup for Manchester United in May 1992.
He went on loan to Preston in 1994/95 before returning to Old Trafford and making his Premier League debut for Manchester United in a goal-less draw against Leeds United on 2 April 1995. At United he went on to win six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the European Champions League with United in that famous Treble-winning year of 1999.
In 2003 he signed for Real Madrid where he spent four years winning the La Liga championship in his final season before joining LA Galaxy. His five-year spell in America included a mid-season loan spell with AC Milan in 2009. He finally left the States to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2013 where he bows out at the top after winning the French League.
Beckham’s international career saw him win 115 caps for England between 1996 and 2009, including six years as captain. Twice runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year, he was the world’s highest-paid footballer in 2004 when his commercial earnings boosted his salary at Real Madrid.
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Captain Rooney, Goldenballs on bench and Rio at the back spells a winning formula for Wenger’s United England
Let’s be honest. It is hard to tackle Gary Lineker’s defeatist attitude when he declares: “England do not have an earthly of winning the World Cup.”
So how about thinking outside the box and doing something radical. Cue the professor of football, Frenchman Arsene Wenger, who champions the idea of building the national team around the country’s most successful team. Add the influence of England’s most loyal servant David Beckham, the leadership and vision of Wayne Rooney, the panache and style of the world’s best footballing defender Rio Ferdinand and the new crop of kids from Old Trafford.
Respect – Professor won hearts of United fans when he saw red at OT
In other words let’s build the next England team around Manchester United – past and present – and put Wenger in charge to see if he can turn his vision into reality with the help of players who still know how to win trophies. No.2 Gary Neville will make sure the Frenchman does not neglect his defence – and Roy Hodgson can be the player liaison officer. During matches he can sit with the suits. Just don’t ask him to make any team talks because his Plan B is the same as his Plan A
Much that I admire Steven Gerrard, his leadership in Montenegro was undermined by a performance littered with sloppy mistakes. Like Frank Lampard his best days are behind him. But these golden oldies have an important supporting role to play on the bench along with Mr Golden Balls himself David Beckham.
Becks is back in the frontline with Champions League quarter-finalists Paris St-Germain. He’s the only English player still in the competition. And Carlo Ancelotti has made it clear he still thinks Beckham can deliver at the highest level by offering him another season’s contract that will take him up to the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Let’s remind Stuart Pearce what an idiot he was by leaving the former Manchester United star out of his Team GB squad for London 2012 and make him Wenger’s assistant player-manager. We all know that Wenger loves Becks and he struck up a friendship with the Essex boy when he invited him to train with Arsenal.
Becks is an admirer of England’s great Arsenal protege Jack Wilshere having watched him at close quarters in training. He knows the boy will be magical supporting frontmen Rooney and Danny Welbeck, in a midfield surrounded by Ashley Young, Tom Cleverly and Michael Carrick, the most consistent performer at Old Trafford this season.
Everyone can see that Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are the future rocks at the back for England and even Roy Hodgson admits he got it wrong backing John Terry instead of Ferdinand. So how about Ferdinand and Smalling as centre backs with Jones pushing forward from the rightback berth. That leaves a space for Ashley Cole on the left. I am sure he can kiss and make up with his old pal Rio. Even the Chelsea man must have seen the tongue-in-cheek humour of that choc ice twitter jibe.
The goalkeeper has to be Joe Hart- an advocate of a United Manchester and good friends with Ferdinand and other players at Old Trafford – so there is no reason he will not fit into a United England. Former Reds keeper Ben Foster, meanwhile, is an outstanding deputy for the No.1 shirt.
So who will the captain be? I thought that was obvious. Rooney will revel in the role. Judging by the way he is starting to find his form again for England and the confidence boost he will receive from such a vote of confidence will bring out the best of a player yet to fulfil his true potential on the world stage.
It may be April Fool’s Day, but am I really joking here? Think about this formation and you tell me . . .
ENGLAND (4:1:3:1:1) – Hart; Jones, Smalling, Ferdinand, A.Cole; Carrick; Cleverly, Wilshere, Young; Rooney; Welbeck. Subs: Foster, Baines, Cahill, Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard, Defoe. Manager: Wenger. Assistant: Neville
Rio Ferdinand heading for FIFA World Cup in Brazil but will Roy Hodgson be joining him there?
First of all let me say I have huge respect for both Roy Ferdinand and the current England manager Roy Hodgson, whom I predicted in this column when he was appointed would restore pride in wearing the Three Lions. But like players, managers are prone to making mistakes. And Hodgson has been guilty of failing to use his common sense.
Ferdinand will be heading to Rio one way or another. The betting now is that it will be as a pundit, judging by the impact he has made on Al Jazeera and the fall-out of this latest saga. Whether or not Hodgson makes it there too, with or without the Manchester United defender in the England team, is likely to remain in doubt until October at least. And the shadow of Ferdinand will not go away until England qualify.
It is typical of the media, especially because he plays for Manchester United, that Ferdinand has been singled out as this week’s public enemy No.1 by an array of pundits, ex-players and headline hungry journalists. But this is not his fault and if Hodgson was on top of his job this ridiculous scenario would never have happened.
Hodgson has done himself no favours by naievely walking into a media storm of his own making by the way he has handled his non-selection and subsequent flawed selection of the former England skipper. It was bad enough that the boss made a mess of things in the first place when he omitted Ferdinand in favour of John Terry at Euro 2012. But the re-selection fiasco that has preceded Tuesday night’s crucial showdown in Montenegro could have been so easily avoided with a simple phone call.
As Mark Lawrenson pointed out in the Mirror this morning ”What does the England boss do all week? Are you telling me he could not have called Sir Alex Ferguson or Rio himself and said: “I’m planning to bring you back in the squad. Are there any issues with that?”
Sir Alex Ferguson’s support team at Carrington boasts a sophisticated sports science team that has worked wonders in helping to extend the careers of a succession of star players. The return to form and fitness of Ferdinand is further testimony to the value of a set-up second to none in the Premier League. And it is Hodgson’s job to know what is going on behind the scenes and not use guesswork.
If being England manager simply meant selecting a squad of names and pinning it to the notice board, it would be an easy job that most of us could do part-time. The game has moved on from the days when news of an England call-up was announced to the media before the players, or at least it should have done. Hodgson knew there were potential issues in selecting Ferdinand out of the blue after his public humiliation of the player last year. What is equally worrying is that he alienated Ferdinand in the first place, especially with England being so short of quality in central defence.
As Alan Hansen said in his column in the Daily Telegraph: “If you look at the Premier League this season, it is not surprising that England are so desperately short. The standard of defending has deteriorated to the lowest level I think I have ever seen.”
Managing a national team, especially superstars continually in the glare of media scrutiny, requires many skills, not least the ability to motivate, build team spirit and read situations correctly in order to avoid strength-sapping conflict. My belief is that Hodgson made the mistake of writing Ferdinand off when he alienated him in the summer and now that error of judgement has come back to haunt him. It is a measure of England’s desperate lack of quality at the back that we are still a long way short of replacing the formidable defensive partnership that Ferdinand and Terry once forged.
It was predictable that the media would criticise Ferdinand’s decision to travel to Qatar to sit in a TV studio on Friday night, when he could have been playing in the 8-0 thrashing of San Marino. But there is no way Rio would have made that trip if the medical experts back at Carrington thought it was putting his delicate back at risk. Meanwhile, the reality is that Ferdinand was only needed for the game in Montenegro and if Hodgson had done his homework and tried a lot harder to repair the damage he caused in the first place, maybe this could have happened.
What is indisputable is that Ferdinand has been outstanding for Manchester United this season. The statistics confirm he has been the best defender in the League. His career has been rejuvenated with the assistance of the medical support team who scientifically manage his training programme and advise the manager on the optimum time he should spend on the pitch. Hodgson should have been aware of this and in communication with the United throughout the season. No wonder Sir Alex and Ferdinand were taken by surprise when Hodgson announced his squad on March 14.
Great managers embrace sports science and understand the power of psychology, diplomacy and motivating their players to give everything for the common cause. If England fail to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, the way Hodgson has blundered his way through his man-management of key players will be called into question.
Whatever the result of Tuesday night’s crunch encounter in Montenegro with the side that currently tops England’s group, who makes it to Brazil will almost certainly remain in doubt until the final qualification matches are completed in October – and the ordeal will continue to the play-offs if England fail to top the group. My prediction is that England will make it to the World Cup. But if they do, let’s hope Hodgson has learned a few lessons and can avoid giving the media the excuse to undermine morale before the team gets on the pitch.
Rio Ferdinand speaking on AlJazeera
Source: cdn.3news.co.nz via john on Pinterest
Michael Owen Announces Retirement From Football Tuesday 19th March 2013
Michael Owen
Michael Owen a former England striker has announced his retirement from football at the end of the season.
Debuting for Liverpool at only 17 years old, before his famous solo goal for England against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup.
Owen, 33, who scored 40 goals in 89 internationals, played for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United and Manchester United and is now at Stoke. Including a hattrick against Germany in England’s famous 5-1 victory over their rivals in 2001.
He said: “It is with an immense amount of pride that I am announcing my intention to retire.
“I have been very fortunate in that my career has taken me on a journey I could only have dreamed of.”
He has scored 220 goals in his club career, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup (three times) and Uefa Cup. Owen was named European Footballer of the Year in 2001 – the first Englishman to achieve the accolade since Kevin Keegan in 1979.
“Having progressed through the ranks at Liverpool to make my first-team debut at 17, before embarking upon spells at Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, not to mention representing my country on 89 occasions, I now feel it is the right time to bring the curtain down on my career,”
Beauty beat the beast as Wales crush England to retain Six Nations Championship – and Austin Healey weasels out of bet
Alex Cuthbert scored both tries – source: images.icnetwork.co.uk via john on Pinterest
Even as a proud Englishman I have to admit there was something quite beautiful about the way Wales demolished England this evening to retain the Six Nations Championship.
With the prize of the Grand Slam within their grasp England were outclassed by a team of Welsh dragons, who played with fire in their bellies and produced two beautiful tries to end comfortable winners.
Four penalties from Leigh Halfpenny and two glorious second half tries from Alex Cuthbert topped a classy performance by the home side, who only needed to win by seven points to ensure the title. Video highlights: Wales 30-3 England
England coach Stuart Lancaster said he was “gutted” that his side failed to claim their first Grand Slam since 2003. But the truth was this was another case of stage fright by England, who have a habit of underachieving just when they are expected to flourish.
For me it was painfully obvious from the start that England were relying on their size and strength to overpower the Welsh. But the home side, driven forward by a passionate crowd at the Millenium Stadium, produced rugby that proved skill, flair and determination can still make a much bigger side look ordinary. Rarely have England played the type of expansive rugby that fans would love to see. And as a purist who wants to see beauty conquer the beast this was a victory for the game of rugby, not just the Welsh nation.
AUSTIN HEALEY – source: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com via john on Pinterest
The post-match talking point was the predictable decision by Austin Healey to weasel out of his £1 bet with every member of the Welsh public. If everyone had taken him up on the bet that England would beat wales to win the Grand Slam – and many did – he could have lost as much as £3m.
Roy’s boys have restored English pride but brilliant Germans are outstanding team at Euro 2012 and Ronaldo looks best in world
Hodgson is shattering the myth that managing England is an impossible job
As I wrote a week before the tournament started: “There is little doubt in my mind that the new England boss is going to restore pride in the top job. And that is just as important (as success) this time around.”
Not only has Roy Hodgson shattered the myth that managing England in the modern era is an impossible job, he has turned around a team with no direction and no hope into a confident squad with no fear and a fresh belief that nothing is impossible.
To claim a quarter-finals showdown with Italy at Euro 2012, Roy’s boys have confounded the critics. Only all-conquering Germany won more points in the Group stages. And in skipper Steven Gerrard England have been inspired by one of the stand-out players of the tournament.
Giving Gerrard the captain’s armband and playing him in a role best suited to his world class qualities has been the master selection that has laid the foundations for Hodgson’s renaissance. With the courage to give youth a chance in the shape of Danny Welbeck and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the coach has added an exciting blend of exuberance.
His tactical astuteness and ability to get his players to perform has made this England side unrecognisable from the bunch of strangers who looked out of their depth under Fabio Capello at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. With talisman Wayne Rooney restored to the side with his first tournament goal in eight years, there is an unmistakable sense of optimism in the England camp.
The reality is that England are still rank outsiders, with Germany lying in wait in the semi-finals if they do succeed in beating Italy on Sunday. Joachim Loew’s team have been the outstanding team of Euro 2012 and on what we have seen so far look destined to win their first major tournament in 16 years.
Then of course, in the other half of the draw the favourites are the reigning World and European champions Spain. While my tip for the final is Portugal, a highly under-rated side led by player of the tournament Cristiano Ronaldo, who looks hellbent on reclaiming the crown of world’s No.1 player from Lionel Messi.
For England to go all the way is still hard to imagine because let’s be honest Germany, Portugal and Spain all look like teams on a higher level. But one of the big attractions of the beautiful game is that anything is possible – as the Greeks proved in their Olympic year as recently as 2004.
Sporting freeviews onVISIONSPORT.TV
CLASSIC GOALS from Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle
Welbeck’s brilliant winner knocked Sweden out of Euro 2012 and crowned a tactical triumph for Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson is proving what a great decision the Football Association made when they appointed him as the new England manager.
With a quiet confidence Hodgson has given England belief, shape and versatility – and a thrilling victory over bogey team Sweden was all down to the tactical awareness of the new boss.
The truth is that Roy’s boys were having a nightmare when a double strike by Olof Mellberg at the start of the second half overturned a great opening strike by Andy Carroll.
But the England coach read the game magnificently when he sent on Theo Walcott. The Arsenal winger was the catalyst to a brilliant winning surge with the equaliser and the assist for a classic match winning strike by Danny Welbeck.
Hodgson’s skipper Steven Gerrard is revelling in the responsibility of wearing the armband. And his central midfield partner Scott Parker is a warrior who gives England something extra.
The truth is that England are an average team short on quality and talent. But Hodgson is a master at getting the best out of an ordinary group of players. And in a short period he has injected a winning balance of youth and team spirit into the national team.
To pick John Terry and leave Rio Ferdinand out of Euro 2012 is a disgraceful thumbs up for racism
It's black and white: John Terry and Rio Ferdinand are poles apart
On the face of it Roy Hodgson has picked a visionary path by opting to give youth a chance at Euro 2012 – but to accept that view without question would be to avoid the elephant in the room that threatens to blacken the reputation of the new England manager and has split the nation down the middle.
When Hodgson declared that he was omitting Rio Ferdinand “for football reasons” it was a controversial statement that did not sit comfortably with a large section of the football community who feared that this was a convenient way of side-stepping the rift between John Terry and the brother of Anton Ferdinand, the player the Chelsea skipper is accused of racially abusing.
Given the chance to reinstate Rio to the England squad following the double fracture to the jaw that has ruled Gary Cahill out of Euro 2012, Hodgson has this afternoon opted for the inexperienced Liverpool defender Martin Kelly – a right back! Aside from Terry, this means that England’s only remaining recognised centre backs are Joleon Lescott, Phil Jagielka and Phil Jones.
To suggest that the Manchester United defender is out of form or unfit are hugely exaggerated. Ferdinand made 38 appearances for United this season and was ever present in the critical final stages.
Anyone who now doubts that Hodgson has been influenced by the knowledge that Terry and Ferdinand have fallen out would be naive at the very least.
Ferdinand indicated as much when he tweeted to his 2.8 million followers “What reasons?????!!! as he openly questioned Hodgson’s “football reasons” stance over his squad selection that will send England into a major tournament as the most unpopular national team ever to leave these shores.
Forget the simplistic argument that a man is innocent until proven guilty. Dismiss any suggestion that Terry’s inclusion will improve England’s chances in Poland and the Ukraine. Do not be sidetracked by the fury in certain quarters that Liverpool will have six players in the squad of 23. The reason for England fans turning against their country is summed up in two words: John Terry.
Terry, who will get the chance to clear his name in court after Euro 2012, denies the charges against him. In the meantime, he has damaged England more than any player in the history of the game – and the tragedy is that Terry, Hodgson and the Football Association all fail to recognise this fact.
The reality is that Terry’s toxic presence in this England squad is like a cancer that has eaten away at the very heart and soul of the nation’s football team.
Even if England did over-perform and do better than expected, for millions of football fans any success at Euro 2012 with Terry in the team would leave a bitter taste.
Whether or not Terry is found guilty of racism, the real sting in the tail is that England go to a major tournament defending the reputation of a man who has been accused of racism. To do so in a tournament where the hosts have a reputation for failing to tackle racism only magnifies that position. To omit a player because he had the strength of character to support his brother and make a stand against racism makes England look weak on an issue where we have done more good than any country in Europe.
When the new England manager said he does not care about Euro 2012 because his real focus is the next World Cup, he indicated he was going to give youth a chance. But that statement coupled with his omission of Ferdinand in favour of Terry may come back to haunt him over the next couple of weeks.
Hats off to FA for forcing out Fabio Capello – now hire Harry Redknapp and maybe England will have a chance at Euro 2012
You can dress it up any which way you want but Fabio Capello has quit as England manager hours after saying he would not walk away from the job – and that can only mean the Italian resigned before he got the boot.
Congratulations are in order to the Football Association and their chairman David Bernstein for getting tough and all they need to do now, as I’ve been urging them for more than a year is to appoint Harry Redknapp.
There is no coincidence that the announcement came hours after the Spurs boss was dramatically cleared of tax evasion by a jury that delivered a unanimous verdict. Everyone knew that the Inland Revenue were wasting millions of pounds of public money with their ridiculous case against Harry and his ex-Portsounth boss Milan Mandaric.
It’s been a truly remarkable day – but no more than I predicted in my blog on Monday urging the FA to sack Capello and hire Harry as soon as he is cleared by the courts.
Redknapp has yet to be offered the job. But this time the FA will not get away with failing to appoint the people’s choice, as they did all those years ago when they failed to make outspoken genius Brian Clough the manager of England.
Never have I welcomed an FA statement more than this evening’s that read: “The Football Association can confirm that Fabio Capello has today resigned as England manager.”
The statement went on: “This follows a meeting involving FA chairman David Bernstein, FA general secretary Alex Horne and Fabio Capello at Wembley Stadium. The discussions focused on the FA board’s decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello’s response through an Italian broadcast interview.
“In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio’s resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England manager with immediate effect.”
Bernstein said the resignation was the right course of action and you can take that as all the confirmation you need that this was what the FA wanted.
There is no doubt that Redknapp will accept an FA offer to accept the England job – the only question will be whether or not he attempts to juggle the role with completing the season as Spurs manager.
SACK CAPELLO, HIRE HARRY AND RE-CALL PAUL SCHOLES
Sack Fabio Capello – and appoint English-born manager to ditch John Terry and re-call Paul Scholes: FA’s chance to unite nation
The men in suits forever ridiculed by critics as the ‘jokers’ who run the game but ‘don’t know what they’re doing’ have a unique opportunity to make all the doubters eat their words.
There is a lot of absolute rubbish being written and said by so-called experts who have defended Fabio Capello’s ill-advised decision to take on the Football Association over their decision to strip John Terry of the captains armband.
The reality is the FA’s only mistake was not taking this action months ago when the crown prosecution charged Terry with racially abusing QPR’s Anton Ferdinand.
Forget innocent until proven guilty. That is irrelevant. Terry will get the chance to clear his name in July. But it is inconceivable that England can go into a major tournament led by a skipper charged with being a racist.
Not only to protect England, but – whether he likes it or not -this is in the best interests of Terry. Can you imagine the controversy that would have engulfed England at Euro 2012 with Terry facing the world’s media and constantly being reminded about his racism charge.
The FA have been world leaders in their campaign to kick racism out of football. But the possibility that their skipper could become a convicted racist within days of the tournament ending would have made England a laughing stock.
Fabio Capello told Italian TV: “I completely disagree with the FA about the John Terry decision. I have told that to the chairman.”
In any other walk of life anyone in Terry’s position would be suspended and removed from the firing line until after their court case.
For Capello to gamble his career by taking on his employers and so publicly supporting Terry is a shockingly poor decision for so many reasons. It is such a bad call one suspects the Italian secretly wants to be fired so he can walk away from an England job he has never mastered.
The reality is that Capello has made his position as manager untenable. Not just by challenging the FA’s authority but by inexcusably creating problems in the England dressing room
By making it public knowledge that his captain will no longer be his first choice undermines what already appears to be a fragile relationship with his players – who already know he is walking away when his contract expires in the summer.
By quickly ruling himself out of being re-instated as captain, Rio Ferdinand confirmed his lack of respect for Capello. And I am absolutely certain he is not the only one doubting the Italian’s ability to learn from his mistakes during and since the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Imagine how the atmosphere would change if the FA have the balls to sack Capello and give the fans what they really want . . . an English-born manager.
Imagine if that man was Harry Redknapp after he successfully defends his Court case and kicks into touch those charges of alleged tax evasion.
And imagine if the new English manager leaves Terry out of his Euro 2012 squad altogether and successfully persuades this nation’s best midfielder Paul Scholes to make a sensational comeback.
There is no doubt in my mind Scholes will accept the challenge if he his given the respect he deserves and gets the call from a manager who wants his team to play a passing game.
The ginger haired genius has already publicly stated he wishes he had played at the last World Cup and Scholes is universally recognised as the best England player of his generation.
There is also no doubt that Redknapp will come to England’s rescue if he gets the call. But even if that is not possible there are several other Englishmen who could do better than Capello.
My message to FA chairman David Bernstein is simple. Step up and become the leader the English game needs by giving Capello the boot, ditch Terry altogether and appoint an English manager who will build his Euro 2012 team around Scholes.
TIME FOR TERRY TO GET THE BOOT & LINK TO ALLEGED RACIST VIDEO RANT AT FERDINAND
