Tag Archives: England

England lose out to Russia

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Despite having the strongest bid and putting together the best presentation, England (9/1 to win Euro 2012) have lost out to Russia in the bid to host the 2018 World Cup – and the strength of the Premier League could be the reason why we missed out!

For the size of the country, England has the best stadia and infrastructure to host such a major event but FIFA, in their wisdom, looked elsewhere.

The world governing body suggest they want the hosts to leave a legacy and with Russia (1/3 to win Euro 2012 Qualifying Group B) having to build a dozen new stadiums and transport links, they got the nod.

Sections of the media suggest Chelsea (11/8f to win 2010-11 Premier League) owner Roman Abramovich had a big part to play in the Russian success and his reception at Premier League grounds may now be rather frosty!

England must now fear that they will never again host the world’s biggest football event – can we now even be bothered to bid for it when it’s Europe’s turn again in, probably, 2034?

The frustration is only increased by the comments of Sepp Blatter, who described the presentation as “outstanding” and described England as the “football motherland”.

The sceptics have already questioned whether money talks and the decision to give Qatar the 2022 tournament will only heighten their beliefs.

As for England, we must console ourselves with the fact that we will host the Olympics in two years and there’s also the Champions League final (England 11/8 Winning Nation) at Wembley next May.

We should also stand proud and say we have the best and most exciting league in the world, with the biggest crowds and the most passionate fans – it still hurts though!

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Cardiff look to England inspiration

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Championship leaders Cardiff City will look to the England debutant Jay Bothroyd to inspire them as they come up against poor travellers Nottingham Forest (10/3 to win) on Saturday.

Forest sit in mid-table and have once on their travels this term but are unbeaten in their last three matches and will have former Cardiff players Robert Earnshaw and Chris Gunter among their ranks when they return to the Welsh capital.

Billy Davies’ side have tended to concede more goals than they score on the road this season, and with Cardiff boasting firepower such as Bothroyd, Craig Bellamy and Michael Chopra, the visitors are likely to create a host of chances and are 4/5 to take all three points and retain their spot at the top of the table.

QPR will hope to put some real pressure on the leaders, and take top-spot if the Bluebirds slip-up, when they face Championship bottom club Preston (11/2 to win, draw 16/5 match betting) at Loftus Road.

Darren Ferguson has bolstered Preston’s ranks of Manchester United players with the loan signing of Ritchie De Laet this week but they are without a win in four and you would expect QPR, who are unbeaten at home and 4/9 to get the win, to have too much strength for them on Saturday.

Brendan Rodgers will hope his Swansea side can keep in touch with the top two as they face play-off chasing Doncaster at the Keepmoat Stadium. The Swans have looked strong in recent weeks and are 13/8 to land the spoils on their travels, but Doncaster sit only one spot outside the play-off places and are unbeaten in their last three.

The winner of the Norwich and Leeds United clash will gain some advantage on their rivals in the chase for a play-off position, while fourth-placed Derby are favourites at 4/6 to take all three points at home to a struggling Scunthorpe side who have lost their last four games in a row.

Middlesbrough suffered a setback with their loss to Swansea last time out, but will hope the Tony Mowbray revolution can see them climb further clear of the bottom three against a Millwall side who they can draw level with if they were to take the three points.

Boro have already lost three games at the Riverside, and Millwall are without a win in six so are lacking confidence, so the fans are likely to get anxious if the home side do not look to put away their London visitors. The home side are 10/11 to win compared to Millwall at 11/4 in the match betting.

Sheffield United (Evens for the win) and Crystal Palace are both sitting lower in the table than their fans probably expected before the season started. Their respective managers will pray for another good result as their teams have improved in recent weeks and are looking to climb the table.

Crystal Palace climbed off bottom spot with last week’s win and the return of Darren Ambrose, who has scored 4 in 6, is vital to their aspirations for the season.

Finally, Bristol City face a tough task to climb out of the bottom three as they take on in-form Leicester City that have looked rejuvenated under Sven-Goran Eriksson. The Foxes are on a four-game unbeaten streak, with three clean sheets in the last four, and are 11/8 to win at Ashton Gate.

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England evens after odd Capello call-ups

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England head coach Fabio Capello has left fans scratching their heads after calling up Chris Smalling and Jay Bothroyd and leaving Gary Cahill out of the squad for this Wednesday’s friendly against France (England evens to win).

Capello brought in four new faces but also discarded in-form Bolton striker Kevin Davies – seemingly consigned to the international scrapheap as a 32-year-old ‘one-cap wonder’.

The decision to omit Davies may be understandable, given that the Wembley clash is a chance to assess his options for the future and build towards the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and the Ukraine.

But anybody watching the form of Cahill recently, and Capello was at Molineux to see another accomplished performance from the ex-Aston Villa defender on Saturday, will know that he is worthy of his place.

Smalling, although playing well himself when given his chance by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, has not started a single Premier League game this season – rendering his selection at best puzzling.

Micah Richards has also been brought out of the international wilderness in the week that he went public and moaned about his lack of opportunities under Capello.

But the Manchester City man was dropped by his club manager Roberto Mancini after playing in back-to-back defeats to Wolves and Lech Poznan, losing his place to Jerome Boateng.

Is the England coach now offering spots in the squad to players who, because of the competition for places at their clubs, cannot get regular football and simply need a game ?

West Ham striker Carlton Cole has been called into the squad as cover for Andy Carroll and Gabriel Agbonlahor who suffered injuries playing for their clubs on Saturday.

Cole has seven caps and no goals as yet for his country, but has shown glimpses in the past of being able to finally banish the prospect of Emile Heskey ever pulling on a jersey with the Three Lions on its chest again.

However, he is playing poorly and has so far managed one goal in sixteen appearances for the Hammers this season – statistics that would make even Heskey wince.

Cardiff striker Bothroyd becomes the first player in the Bluebirds’ 111-year history to be called up by England – and the latest from outside the Premier League – after going on a remarkable scoring run.

After bagging in his last seven matches, Bothroyd now has 15 goals to his name and surely must rank as the most in-form frontman of the pack (Peter Crouch not having scored so far in the Premier League), assuming that Carroll is not fit enough to play, but will he start ?

Only Capello knows, but with his muddied thinking, you tend to think not.

Bothroyd is 13/2 in First Goalscorer betting, Carroll 5/1, Agbonlahor 13/2 and Crouch 6/1.

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Bale eyes England upset

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Wales star Gareth Bale is determined to put a spanner in the works for England when the two sides meet in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign on March 26 (England 1/6 to win Group G).

The Welsh saw any faint hopes of qualifying for the finals in Ukraine and Poland evaporate when they went down 4-1 to Switzerland on Tuesday night – their third consecutive Group G loss following 1-0 reverses against Montenegro and Bulgaria.

The defeat left Wales with no points from three matches and they sit at the bottom of the standings, 10 points behind table-topping Montenegro and seven points behind England in second place.

The Welsh are currently without a permanent manager following the resignation of John Toshack after the Montenegro defeat, with Brian Flynn handling team affairs on a caretaker basis until a permanent replacement is appointed.

There have been a number of high-profile candidates for the job, with Liverpool legend Ian Rush and former Arsenal and Celtic star John Hartson throwing their hats into the ring.

Flynn has also made it clear that he wants the job on a full-time basis but back-to-back defeats under his stewardship will have done his cause no good at all.

England are expected to qualify easily from the group and will fear little from their clash with Wales, but Bale, who admits the banter with his England international Spurs’ team-mates has already been flying about, has made it clear that he and his Welsh colleagues will not just lay down and die against Fabio Capello’s men.

“We’re not going to go out there to concede a loss – we’re going to go out there and give it our all,” he said. “It’s a massive rivalry in country terms and we’ll be giving it 110 per cent. We want to cause a little upset.

“We’ve spoken about it previously, and it’s going to be a big game. They obviously fancy themselves to beat anybody on their day and we’re just going to have to play with no pressure and try to express ourselves.”

Following the England clash, Wales have to wait until September 2 for their next qualifier, with Montenegro set to visit the Millennium Stadium, before the daunting prospect of playing England (8/1 Euro 2012 Outright) at Wembley just four days later.

Matches with Switzerland and Bulgaria follow but, barring a miracle, Wales will be playing for nothing but pride with a new boss in place at the back end of the group stage of the tournament.

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Davies eyes England run

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Bolton captain Kevin Davies is eager to prove he has something to offer on the international stage after making his debut in the goalless draw with Montenegro on Tuesday (England 1/7 to win Euro 2012 Qualifying Group G).

Davies, 33, became England’s oldest debutant since Leslie Compton in 1950 when he made a second-half substitute appearance against the surprise package of Euro 2012 qualification Group G, and the Bolton striker is keen to make more appearances for the Three Lions.

The powerful front man managed to impress in his brief 20 minute cameo appearance after replacing Peter Crouch.  England had struggled to impose themselves on Montenegro and aside from some trickery from Adam Johnson, there was little for the Wembley crowd to cheer about.

Davies came on in difficult circumstances, with the team out of sorts and Montenegro growing in confidence, but the Wanderers captain managed to offer another option for England.  Davies created a great chance for Wayne Rooney, whose shot was well saved, before flicking the ball into the path of Gareth Barry, who also saw his effort denied.

The veteran striker is now hopeful he can continue to impress at club level with Bolton in order to force his way into the England squad again, with the next round of qualifiers now five months away in March.

“I’m disappointed because we didn’t win but to have been given the nod and asked to come and try and win the game, and get my cap, makes me really proud,” said Davies.

“It will be a nice drive home with the family but I don’t want to be one of those players who stick around on one cap.”

He added: “There were a few shouts for me to get on (from the crowd), and I really wanted to come on and win the game for England.

“That didn’t happen, but I’m just glad to have been involved. It’s something I thought might never happen and I’m really proud it has.”

Davies may have to wait until March before he gets the chance to impress in a competitive international fixture, but the striker will be hoping to impress for Bolton in the meantime to keep himself in contention for an England spot (Match Betting – Bolton 11/10, draw 11/5, Stoke 12/5).

Meanwhile, boss Fabio Capello has been heavily criticised following the failure to beat Montenegro and the lacklustre display.

However, the Italian insists he is a “fighter” and has vowed to continue in his role despite being booed by the home crowd at the final whistle (England 8/1 to win Euro 2012).

“I am a fighter. It is one game. We have to fight again. I think we are a good team. The goalkeeper was the best player for Montenegro. This is football,” said Capello.

“You have to respect little countries. They have good players. At this moment they are psychologically at a high moment having won three games.

“They were compact. The quality was good. Against Algeria (0-0 at the World Cup ) we didn’t create a lot of chances. Tonight we did create chances.”

England remain second in Group G with seven points, three points adrift of leaders Montenegro, who have played a game more.

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Terry injury blow for England

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England coach Fabio Capello’s selection plans for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro (England 1/5, Montenegro 10/1, Draw 9/2 90 Minutes) at Wembley on Tuesday have been hit by the news defender John Terry has been forced to pull out with a back injury.

The 29-year-old Chelsea skipper appears to have suffered a recurrence of an old injury which required surgery to rectify back in 2006.

And, while it is not known how severe the injury is, Capello has sent Terry back to Stamford Bridge for treatment and the Blues will hope he will not face a lengthy absence from their bid to retain the Premier League title (Chelsea 8/13 Outright).

Terry’s absence means that Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who is making his comeback from the knee injury that ruled him out of the World Cup finals, is set to partner either Manchester City’s Joleon Lescott or Bolton’s Gary Cahill in the centre of defence for the game.

Cahill was drafted into Capello’s plans when Everton’s Phil Jagielka pulled out due to a hamstring problem, while Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing came into the reckoning when Tottenham’s Aaron Lennon withdrew with back trouble.

However, the Football Association has revealed that it will make do with the players currently available to them, despite Terry’s withdrawal.

Terry’s absence means he has only played one game for England since the World Cup – a friendly win against Hungary in August – after a hamstring injury ruled him out of the opening two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland.

Lescott performed well in the win against the Swiss in Basle and will no doubt pip Cahill for a start alongside Ferdinand on Tuesday.

The Three Lions go into the game aiming to continue their 100% start to their qualifying campaign against a Montenegro side which tops Group G (England 1/7 Group Winner) after winning their opening three matches.

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Montenegro bullish on England

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Montenegro centre back Miodrag Dzudovic says his team are not intimidate by England and believes his high-flying nation can record a famous victory over Fabio Capello’s side (1/5 to beat Montenegro) on Tuesday night.

The eastern Europeans have made a very impressive start to qualification for Euro 2012, winning their first three matches against Bulgaria, Wales and Switzerland all by the same scoreline of 1-0.

Friday’s win against the Swiss moved them to the top of Group G ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Wembley.

Montenegro (11/1 Group G winners) were expected to be the whipping boys of the group but have so far proven to be tough nuts to crack.

Having only been formed as an independent country four years ago the tiny nation, which has a population of around 627,000, are punching above their weight heading into the top of the table clash with England.

Despite England’s dominant displays at Wembley, Zlato Kranjcar’s side are confident about their chances of pulling off a famous victory over the world renown Three Lions.

Dzudovic believes they have nothing to fear and says he isn’t worried about having to deal with Wayne Rooney, given the striker’s recent form.

“We respect England, but we can beat England,” said Dzudovic.

“We don’t fear them and we don’t fear Rooney.

“We know who he is, one of the best players not just in Europe but in the world, but we know he’s not been playing well for many games and that gives us more hope. In football, everything is possible.”

The Manchester United hitman will be hopeful of proving Dzudovic wrong when they meet on Tuesday, Rooney having struggled with his fitness and problems off the field since the summer.

The 24-year-old has scored just twice for club and country since the start of the season and will have a tough time adding to his tally given Montenegro’s steely defensive record in qualifying, keeping clean sheets in all three of their matches thus far.

Fellow Montenegro (10/1 to beat England) defender Stefan Savic has echoed his team mate’s bullish comments by insisting they are capable of stopping Rooney and co.

“We go to London without pressure and we can surprise them,’ Savic added. ‘But we’re not just going for the shopping.”

England will be hoping they can burst Montenegro’s bubble, although they will have to do it without Aaron Lennon after the Tottenham winger withdrew from the squad.

Lennon has a sore back and has been replaced by Stewart Downing, who joins Bolton?s Gary Cahill as a late arrival in the squad after Cahill was brought in for Phil Jagielka.

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Cahill gets England nod

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Gary Cahill has been called up by England to replace the injured Phil Jagielka for Tuesday’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro at Wembley (1/7 to win Group G).

The Everton defender was forced to sit out training on Friday after suffering a hamstring injury earlier in the week.

Jagielka, who started last month’s win in Switzerland, underwent a scan and the medical team confirmed he would not be able to play any part against Montenegro (11/1 to win Group G).

The 28-year-old has now been replaced by Bolton’s Cahill, although Fabio Capello is expected to recall Rio Ferdinand and John Terry to the starting line-up.

England should also be able to call upon Gareth Barry in midweek, after the Manchester City returned to the Three Lions (8/1 Euro 2012 Outright Winners) camp.

Barry was allowed to have additional time at home because of personal reasons, but the midfielder is likely to start on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, there remain question marks over whether Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere will play any part for the senior squad.

The Gunners’ youngster is expected to team up with Capello’s men despite featuring for the Under 21’s on Friday evening.

Wilshere played a key role in helping Stuart Pearce’s men claim a 2-1 victory over Romania at Carrow Road, in the first leg of their Euro 2011 play-off.

Pearce said afterwards: “I spoke with Fabio before the match was played, and I think Jack will be meeting up with the seniors.

“Part of me is pleased that he is going, as it shows to the rest of the squad the pathway which is there for the players, part of me would have liked to have him in Romania.

“However, we feel as if we have quality in the squad and whomever plays will do themselves proud on Tuesday.”

England are currently second in Group G having played a game less than Montenegro, who defeated Switzerland 1-0 on Friday evening.

Tuesday’s match will be England’s final game of the year, with Euro 2010 qualifying not resuming until March 2011.

Following the international break, Capello will take his squad to Cardiff to face Wales (33/1 to qualify for Euro 2012), still pointless in the group, on Saturday March 26.

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Owen still dreaming of England call

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Manchester United star Michael OwenManchester United striker Michael Owen says he still dreams of playing for England but knows his chances of featuring in Fabio Capello’s side again look remote (United 16/5 – Premier League outright).

The 30-year-old last played for the Three Lions when he came on as a substitute in a 1-0 defeat to France in March 2008 and he was never a contender for the current squad to play Montenegro in Tuesday’s Euro 2012 qualifier.

Veteran Bolton forward Kevin Davies has finally been called up for international duty and Owen, who has scored an impressive 40 goals in 89 appearances for his country, believes he could still do a job for England (England 9/1 NOT to qualify for Euro 2012).

He told the Daily Mirror: “I haven’t resigned myself to never playing for England again.

“But I’m not stupid enough to get myself worked up before every squad’s announced and then go ‘oh no, the world’s caved in and I’m not in it again’.

“Everyone deals with things in different ways. The first time I wasn’t named in the squad I was really gutted. The second time I was pretty gutted, the next time I was just gutted and so on.”

Owen has only started two of United’s games so far this season but has scored three goals, and he remains hopeful that the call from England will come again at some point. However, he admits he does not expect to see his name in the squad every time Capello confirms his selection.

“I’d love to play for my country again, but I don’t look out for the squad expecting my name to be in it, unless someone phones me to tell me otherwise,” he added.

“I still have a lot of friends in the team and you can’t play for your country for as long as I did and not still have an interest in how they’re doing.”

Owen will be hoping to feature for United against West Brom next weekend after he came off the bench recently to score a vital goal in the 2-2 draw at Bolton.

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Gerrard could keep England armband

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Liverpool and England captain Steven GerrardFabio Capello says he has not yet decided whether to restore Rio Ferdinand to the England captaincy for England’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro on October 12 (England 9/1 to win Euro 2012).

The Manchester United player is not certain to be fit for the game, and it is his fitness that is at the centre of Capello’s struggle.

In Ferdinand’s enforced absence, Capello handed the captain’s armband to Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, and now he faces a difficult decision over who should lead the team.

But the Italian stressed the importance of players being fit “for a lot of games” – which could count against Ferdinand.

Ferdinand has already lost the Manchester United captaincy to Nemanja Vidic as a series of setbacks have curtailed his appearances for the Red Devils.

The United defender was named as John Terry’s replacement earlier this year but suffered a knee problem which forced his withdrawal from the World Cup.

Gerrard has impressed in the flying start to the Euro 2012 qualifying group, and looks to be the player in pole position for the captain’s job as England attempt to maintain their 100 per cent start to the qualifying campaign (England 1/7 to win Euro 2012 qualifying group G).

When asked whether Ferdinand would be captain if available, Capello told the Press Association: “I will decide after seeing which players are fit.

“I haven’t decided. I can’t speak about who will be captain. I hope all the players will be fit and then I will announce it.

“Why not Ferdinand? No, no no. Wait. I can’t speak about if, if, if…”

Capello is not concerned about Ferdinand having been axed as United captain, saying that it would not affect his decision about the England position.

The Italian said: “I think Sir Alex decided on one player that played more games (Vidic) and be sure he is always fit. I think so.

“It is important always that the players have to be fit for a lot of games.”

Gerrard was Capello’s first England captain for the friendly with Switzerland in February 2008.

Capello said: “Gerrard is a really good captain. He is captain of Liverpool, and he always plays like a leader on the pitch.”

Ferdinand has played just six of the past 22 England games due to injury.

Capello will now keep both players guessing and is only likely to make a decision after the players meet up at Watford on Thursday.

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