Dave from Newcastle Returns in "I'm on Setanta Sports"

In this week's episode, Wayne Rooney conducts yet another insightful interview, this time with an insider in the Newcastle takeover situation. Wazza, fresh off scoring a goal in United's 2-0 win over Bolton yesterday, also receives some tactical instruction from Fabio Capello.

Enjoy.

"I'm on Setanta Sports" is Back

Despite the addition of new "director of programming" Fabio Capello, The Special One tries to carry on, business as usual. With his staff being rotated, though, a showdown between Mourinho and Capello was always on the cards.

Who won Round 1? Stay tuned to find out.

New "I'm on Setanta Sports" Episode

I know it seems like all I do lately is post these videos, so let me explain.

Here at Mercyhurst, I'm having a hard time being able to find games to watch because I don't have FSC or Setanta. I'm doing the best I can to catch as much action as I can online, but it's not exactly easy. Until I get Setanta Broadband and/or FSC Broadband, posts on game action itself are going to be few and far between as I just don't get a chance to see much.

This doesn't mean, however, that I won't be writing here. What I love doing most anyway deals with original content, which made up the vast majority of what you saw last year. I'll use what happens in real life and incorporate it into a larger point, whether it's rules changes I'd like to see, players and teams I think you should keep an eye on, or whatever. Believe me, I'm not going anywhere, so just stick with me until I can get back to full strength here at English Soccer Talk.

Enjoy the new episode, you *******.

Part 2 of Wayne Rooney's Interview With Fabio Capello

England blasted Croatia 4-1 yesterday in Zagreb in their second World Cup 2010 qualifying game, spurred by a hat trick from Theo Walcott, of all people. It was an impressive victory, to be sure, especially since Croatia hadn't lost in a competitive game on home soil since 1994 and England was missing Steven Gerrard and Owen Hargreaves. This was essentially the same Croatian team that beat England at Wembley last November, too, so the Three Lions have to be over the moon with this result.

Why Walcott was starting ahead of David Beckham in the first place was unclear to me, but the pacey 19-year-old came in and did the job. Talent and potential has never been an issue with him, it's been inconsistency. Don't be surprised if Walcott's form takes a dive in the next month, which would reopen the right flank for Beckham.

Fabio Capello had to have been happy with the win, and he sits down here with yesterday's other goal-scorer, Wayne Rooney, in the second part of their interview for "I'm on Setanta Sports". Enjoy.

Two Newest Episodes of "I'm on Setanta Sports"

While I took my break last week to get acclimated to my new college, a new "I'm on Setanta Sports" segment was released and I didn't get around to posting it. I'm doing so here and that episode is followed by yesterday's show, the first in a two-part series that will take us through this international break. There's some quality new material here, including a clever game show based on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" and Fabio Capello's interview with "The Boy", Wayne Rooney.

Trust me, you'll love these two episodes.

Waken Up! It's Time for "I'm on Setanta Sports"!

On the new season's second episode, Dimitar Berbatov's potential transfer to Manchester United is the hot topic. "The Boy" makes a special appeal to give the Bulgarian striker a home. Rafa and both Keanes -- Robbie and Roy -- all call in to give their takes on the "heartbreaking" plea.

"It", aka Mr. "WELL! wellwellwellwellwellwellwellwellwellwelluhhhh!!!", brings an old habit back to the forefront as well.

Final Observations of England Friendly Against Czech Republic (2-2)

• It’s clear that England is really lacking in two positions – left wing and center forward. Steven Gerrard is a very good player and performed well on the left today, but that’s not his natural position and he doesn’t give England much width. He needs to play in the position Frank Lampard occupied today. Stewart Downing should be nothing more than a squad player. Wayne Rooney, as we all know, is not really a striker, and neither Jermain Defoe nor Emile Heskey (who has 5 goals in 45 appearances) are the answers for England long-term. Fabio Capello left the best options for those positions at home, in my opinion, in Ashley Young (left) and either Darren Bent or Peter Crouch up top. Bent or Crouch paired with either Defoe or Rooney and England would be in business. Young provides the pace and on-ball qualities that England just doesn’t have. Joe Cole is a versatile option who can play either wing and as a second striker, but I’m not sure if he’s consistent enough on the international stage to start.

• Wes Brown scored today, but I don’t think he’s the best option at right back. Glen Johnson brings more to the table than Brown while making half as many mistakes, of which Brown made two bad ones in this game. Luke Young isn’t a bad player. Phil Neville is still serviceable. It seems like Brown’s spot isn’t even up for contention, and that’s a problem.

• The Czech Republic were the better team in this match. They’re not half as flashy as England can be at times, but they get the job done. It was nice to see them rebound with a victory after that disastrous collapse against Turkey in Euro 2008, the last game they played. They deserved the victory and were harshly done by when Joe Cole scuffled home the late equalizer.

• As with the U-21’s, I was disappointed with the turnout at Wembley. Look, there aren’t too many international games played each year so when there is one, I’d expect it to be sold out or close to it. If you don’t think you’re going to get that at Wembley, move the game to a smaller stadium. There’s no need to have a “national stadium” anyway, not when there are other fully capable grounds in the country.

• England’s players didn’t have the same passion as their Czech counterparts. I can’t blame it on their new captain, John Terry, I just think they need to put a little more into their performances in the future. It’s hard to explain, really – it seemed like something was missing. They get plenty of credit for their two comebacks, though, because those are hard to come by at this level (unless you’re Turkey, of course!)

• All things considered, Capello can take some positives and negatives out of this game. As I said, his team came back twice from a goal down. David Beckham looked very good on the right side and still gets it done. Ashley Cole put in a solid 90 minutes. The negatives, though, outweigh the positives. England generated nothing up front. They were very, very sloppy at times. David James wasn’t at his finest, even though there was nothing he could do about Jankulovski’s fantastic free kick. There's a lot to improve upon, and I'm sure Capello knows that.

England is back in action on September 6, when they'll pay a visit to minnows Andorra. Andorra began their qualifying campaign for World Cup 2010 today with a 3-0 loss at Kazakhstan. It'll be England's first game in UEFA Group 6 and should be a victory for the Three Lions. They outscored Andorra by a combined 8-0 in their two games against the 182nd-ranked team in the world in Euro 2008 qualifying.

Observations of England Friendly Against Czech Republic--First Half

• Well, I had it wrong earlier when I said Gareth Barry would be on the left and Steven Gerrard in the middle. The two were reversed to start, though Gerrard ended up drifting inside anyway. Ashley Cole and Wes Brown, the left and right backs, respectively, both needed to get forward and provide some necessary width to the team.

• David Beckham can still hit a dead or slow-moving ball pretty well. Big shock, huh? He's still England's best option on the right side.

• I’m getting tired of seeing Wayne Rooney listed as a striker for England. He comes back so far to collect the ball that’s he virtually a fifth midfielder, and when you only have Jermain Defoe (hardly a target man) up front and the firepower that’s already in England’s midfield, Rooney doesn’t need to drop so deep. It hurts the team more than it helps, though you have to like the hustle and work rate.

• Well-deserved yellow card for Barry – reckless tackle.

• Good awareness from Wes Brown to clear the ball after David James made the one-handed diving save after a quarter of an hour.

• Even though Gerrard rarely plays on the left, he looked great bursting forward out there today. He tested Petr Cech early after cutting in and ripping a low, hard drive, won a corner kick in the 35th minute after having his shot deflected out of bounds, passed it very well, and drew a couple fouls in good position for England. When he came back inside, though, he struggled a little bit to connect his passes.

• After Brown’s good play earlier, he was largely responsible for the Czech Republic’s first goal, scored by Milan Baros. As a defender, Brown made the huge mistake of diving in and letting the attacker walk it right around him there at the corner of the 18. The ball was then passed to Baros, who made no mistake. The goal itself went in off Ashley Cole, an unfortunate bounce because it appeared that James was going to make the save before the ball could sneak into the corner.

• As match commentator Robbie Earle wisely pointed out, the width of the Czech Republic put England at a big disadvantage because the Three Lions have little of it. When the full backs have to go that far forward, they leave holes in the back that can be exploited.

• Frank Lampard was fortunate to not receive a yellow card for his sliding challenge in the 28th minute. He caught all man first, ball second, and it wasn’t even close.

• England’s best stretch of the half came between the 25th-40th minutes, but Cech was up to the task. Better finishing from Rooney and Defoe, in particular, was needed to equalize.

• Great long throw from James to his Portsmouth teammate, Defoe, just before halftime. Defoe then won a foul. The free kick from that foul resulted in an England corner kick, which was headed in by Brown, whose first international goal makes up for his earlier mistake.

"I'm on Setanta Sports" Is Back!

The Special One is back and better than ever this season. It would be difficult for an ordinary man to manage Inter Milan and host a hit TV show at the same time, but Senore Mourinho is no ordinary man. He is fantastic.

In this episode, José chats with his co-host, Sven-Göran Eriksson, aka "It", about managing Mexico and how the cultures in Mexico and England are different. The show's other co-host, Wayne Rooney, may have picked up a virus on Manchester United's preseason tour of Africa but he's healthy enough to make his usual appearance on the show. Don't worry, it's not malaria.

"I'm on Setanta Sports" Will Return This Season

It looks like "The Special One" will still have time for fun and games this season after taking the job at Inter Milan. He's been busy this summer, already bringing in Amantino Mancini from Roma, and it looks like Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari will head to the San Siro in the near future. Frank Lampard also could reunite with his former manager as Mourinho has made it clear he'd still love to have the Chelsea vice-captain.

Mourinho's sidekick and personal tool (on the show), Sven-Göran Eriksson, has a new gig to keep him occupied for a while as well. Eriksson is now the manager of the Mexican national team, which doesn't seem like a good fit, but money is money and Eriksson has never been one to turn a nice salary down.

These two, along with Wayne Rooney, Dave from Newcastle/Stoke, the "Voyeur", Rafa, Sir Alex, and other "special guests", will be back on Setanta during the upcoming season. I'm curious to see how the show starts off; it was clever and original when it debuted around Christmas last year, then turned stale and repetitive, then made a nice little push to bring me back on board towards the end of the season. Hopefully the folks at Setanta still have enough humor and wit in the tank to make this worth watching again.

Wazza Gets Hitched, Gerrard Doesn't Attend

Wayne Rooney is officially off the singles market after marrying long-time sweetheart Coleen McLoughlin in a 17th-century villa on the Italian Riviera last Friday, news that is sure to break the hearts of the various prostitutes whom Rooney used while the couple was still dating.

His good friend and England teammate, Steven Gerrard, was not present at the wedding as he and his wife (who, by the way, is considerably more attractive than McLoughlin) were celebrating their one-year anniversary in Miami over the weekend. Rooney and McLoughlin attended Gerrard's high-profile wedding last year, so talk of a falling out between the two Scouse stars is already circulating the rumor mill.

Oh yeah, who cares?!?!

Season Finale of "I'm on Setanta Sports"

In the last episode of the season, The Special One pays tribute to Sven in a fantastic song.

"WELL", sort of..

Dave from Newcastle and Wazza--Full, Unedited Interview

Dave from Newcastle Interviewed on "I'm on Setanta Sports"

Also in the second-to-last episode of the season, a video collage of Jose's fantasticness, Roman Abramovich tries to tap "The Boy" up, and Sven's future remains in doubt.

The Boys Try Out for a Talent Show on "I'm on Setanta Sports"

Also in the newest episode of Setanta's hit show, Wayne acts out online lingo, The Special One makes a plea for any information on the whereabouts of Dave from Newcastle, and Sven gets rejected again.

Willie Nelson Makes an Appearance on "I'm on Setanta Sports"

Also on the newest episode, more of Wazza and his hilarious Scouse accent, and The Special One continues to insult Sven.

Setanta keeps finding a way to make this funny every week, so I can't complain.

Wazza Finally Speaks on "I'm on Setanta Sports"

On the newest episode of "I'm on Setanta Sports", Rooney speaks Scouse, the "Voyeur" is caught like a rat, and The Special One is still fantastic.

Wayne Rooney Solves Rubik's Cube and Sings in "I'm on Setanta Sports"

Not only does Wazza score goals routinely for one of the biggest clubs in the world and have a beautiful girlfriend, he can figure out a Rubik's Cube in no time at all and sing like Ronan Tynan. Oh, and juggle a ball at the same time. Oh yeah, and do everything blindfolded.

In the words of his manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, there was never any doubting the quality of the boy.

He is fantastic.

Wazza Unveiled on "I'm on Setanta Sports"

There's only one Wayne Rooney, Wayne Rooney.

Here he is, it is fantastic.

Wayne Rooney Joins "I'm On Setanta Sports"

Stop the presses, stop the presses!!

In a move that likely will not pacify Dave from Newcastle, who was undoubtedly crushed when Shola Ameobi left Tyneside to join Stoke City on loan, Wayne Rooney has joined The Special One and Sven Goran-Eriksson on "I'm on Setanta Sports".

This is excellent, just fantastic. Like the other two gentlemen, English is not really Rooney's first language. Wazza is known for a lot of things but grammar and pronounciation are certainly not chief amongst them.

Unfortunately for Sven, who had fears about this on the most recent episode, it looks like he'll be involved in a bit of a rotation system with The Special One's new signing now onboard.

If Wazza could convince his fiancée, Coleen McLoughlin, to make a guest appearance or two, we'd really be in business.