I'm Back!

It was a hectic weekend here in Erie, but one that I wouldn't mind living again. I posted early last week that I'd be taking a brief leave of absence to get situated at college, which is what I've been doing for the past few days.

Clearly I've missed a lot in the soccer world with the transfer deadline having come and gone and a whole round of fixtures played. I won't lie; I was only able to watch bits and pieces of a couple games so there won't be any analysis here of all the action -- my weekly All-Star Team will be back when the Premiership restarts after this international break.

The England national team returns to the limelight with its first two World Cup 2010 qualifying games, at Andorra on the 6th and at Croatia in nine days' time. I haven't agreed too often with the roster inclusions of manager Fabio Capello and that won't change with the 23-man squad he picked for these two games, but I was pleased to see him call up Fulham's talismanic midfielder, Jimmy Bullard. Bullard is presumably replacing Steven Gerrard, who will miss the next two weeks after having a minor groin operation. Where’s Peter Crouch? Where’s Darren Bent? Where’s Ashley Young? Theo Walcott?? Wayne Bridge?? Paul Robinson?? Please.

England absolutely has to beat Andorra, and I think anything they get in Croatia would be considered a bonus based on Croatia's talent and how well Slaven Bilić's team plays at home (Croatia is undefeated in competitive matches on home soil since 1994). I don't see that record changing, though England may able to squeak out a draw in this game.

It's good to be back, obviously. College has been great so far but nothing really compares to the beautiful game. I'll be going back to a regular posting schedule from this point forward (hopefully).

Harry Redknapp Interested In Coaching 2012 UK Team

Portsmouth boss ‘Arry Redknapp confirmed his interest in leading a Great Britain soccer team in the 2012 Summer Olympics, which will be held in London.

Redknapp is from London and spent a combined 15 years playing for and managing West Ham, a club based in the eastern section of England’s capital. The other teams he’s led — Bournemouth, Portsmouth, and Southampton — are all on the South Coast, also not far from London. This familiarity with the area clearly plays into his willingness to take the job if he gets the chance:

“I’m absolutely flattered that my name is being mentioned about managing the Great Britain team,’ he told the Sunday Mirror yesterday.

‘Would I take it if they offered it to me? Absolutely, I would be a fool not to.

‘I’ve had some great managerial jobs during my career but there is no doubt this would be the icing on the cake.

‘The fact it is being held on my old stamping ground in East London makes it even more appealing.”

As of right now, though, it appears unlikely that a combined team will even be fielded. The Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Irish FA’s are all opposed to the idea, which puts a huge damper on it seeing as those are three of the four countries that would be involved. There’s no doubt that most of the talent on the team would come from England, but it can’t be given the go-ahead unless those associations give their seals of approval. They feel that it would be a threat to the future of their respective national teams, which obviously operate independently of one another.

England’s Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, supports the plan:

“I hope there will be a team by 2012. It will be Team UK. I hope we can get an agreement on that.

‘I think when people are looking at the Olympics in 2012 - Britain, home of football, where football was invented, which we gave to the world - I think people would be very surprised if there is an Olympic tournament in football and we are not part of it.”

‘I am determined to work with the football associations and the Olympic Committee to ensure that when we come to 2012 we have a men’s football team and we have a women’s football team playing.”

There’s no doubt to me that the UK should have a team. These Olympics are in their backyard. Soccer is the most popular sport in the region, and its main competitors — rugby and cricket — aren’t Olympic events. If some sort of agreement has to be reached saying that Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales each have to be represented on the squad by a certain number of players, then fine. I don’t see why that should be too much of a problem, although as I hinted at before, the best players in Great Britain are English.

Redknapp would be a terrific leader for this team. Other than Martin O’Neill, I don’t think anyone is more of a “player’s manager” than Redknapp. He has the right personality and temperament to unite a multi-national side. He’s going to be 65 in 2012 so he may not have the same enthusiasm as he does now, but something tells me the thrill of playing in his home city would reignite the engines and give him a little pick-me-up, if he even needs one in the first place.

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.

Lampard Paired With Gerrard in England's Starting Lineup

Yes, you read correctly.

We've seen this story before. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard can't play together in the same midfield, but yet England boss Fabio Capello is going to give it another try in today's friendly against the Czech Republic. This should be interesting.

The other surprise in the starting lineup is Gareth Barry, not because of his inclusion but because of his position. Barry will be playing left wing, definitely not his best role or the one he's been so successful in for Aston Villa lately. Why play Barry, who has a great relationship with Gerrard and would allow the Liverpool captain to go forward, in the holding role, where Barry is best, when you can play Lampard, who gives you nothing defensively? Makes no sense to me.

Here's the full lineup:

(4-4-2)
GK: James

RB: Brown
CB: Ferdinand
CB: Terry (captain)
LB: A. Cole

RMF: Beckham
CMF: Gerrard
CMF: Lampard
LMF: Barry

ST: Rooney
ST: Defoe

More analysis later.

John Terry Should Not Be England's Captain

I'm sure you've all heard it by now: England manager Fabio Capello named John Terry captain of the Three Lions today.

If you believe the numerous media reports, the strong favorite to be handed the armband on a permanent basis was Manchester United center back Rio Ferdinand, whose steady, and at times fantastic, play tends to greatly overshadow his off-field transgressions over the years in the minds of many England fans. I've already dedicated a post as to why I didn't think Ferdinand should've even been considered (http://englishsoccertalk.blogspot.com/2008/03/rio-tabbed-as-england-captain-becks.html) for the captaincy, so I won't go into that again. Suffice it to say that I'm glad he was passed over by Capello, but I'm disappointed that he was, in fact, named vice-captain. Ferdinand is a very good player, but he doesn't deserve to lead out his country.

Again going by the media's prediction, Terry was the second choice for this honor. In that same post I highlighted above, I was all for the Chelsea central defender being given another chance to skip England when Capello was still rotating the captaincy in his first few games as manager. The credentials are there -- club captain, England's official captain for 14 games (though he missed five others due to injury), PFA Player of the Year for the 2004-2005 Premiership season, inclusion in the World Cup 2006 squad of the tournament, and two-time Premiership winner at Chelsea, among others. I didn't think then that he should be the permanent captain, but based on his past achievements on the field and his form at that particular time, I was in favor of him getting a sort of ceremonial final run-out with the armband.

Like Ferdinand, Terry has been responsible for a fair bit of controversy off the field. The day after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, Terry and a couple teammates, including Frank Lampard, went on a drunken binge in a hotel filled with American tourists and made insensitive, inflammatory remarks about the tragedy in New York City, stripping naked at the scene as well. Terry was fined by Chelsea. He spent a night in jail in 2002 after his involvement in a fracas at a London nightclub which left a doorman injured, although to be fair, Terry was later cleared of all charges. He was accused of making a disparaging racial remark towards an England teammate and Tottenham player after being sent off in Chelsea's 2-1 loss to Tottenham in 2006. He parked his expensive car in a handicapped spot in the middle of March, which may not seem like too big of a deal, but it symbolizes his arrogant attitude and blatant disrespect -- "I'm John Terry, I can park where I want. Why should I walk an extra two feet into the store when I can be lazy and make it easier for myself?" He is a known high-stakes gambler, and, like Wayne Rooney, has admitted to cheating on his significant other.

I understand that what a player does away from the field is his business. Still, being a captain has as much to do with your qualities as a person and your leadership ability as it does with what you bring to the game itself. Terry can motivate his teammates, he can get them up to put in a good performance. When things don't go his or his team's way, however, you see a petulant, juvenile side of Terry that suggests he has no business representing England as captain.

Let's see...there's the time Terry literally tried to grab a red card out of referee Mike Dean's hand in a game against Manchester United last September, again showing his disrespect for authority. Or the time he publicly questioned Graham Poll's integrity after that game against Spurs, for which he was found guilty of misconduct by the FA. And the numerous occasions in which Terry has physically accosted and intimidated referees when a big decision goes against him or Chelsea. Terry will make contact with officials, he'll bump them, he'll confront them, and instead of stopping his teammates when they do the same thing (which they're known for at Chelsea), he'll just jump in and do it himself. Remember when Ashley Cole turned his back on Mike Riley in a game against Tottenham last season? Cole had been told and signalled to come to Riley and receive his yellow card for a sliding challenge. Terry did nothing to help the situation like a captain should do.

Terry also isn't the same player he was back when he collected those awards I mentioned earlier. He's injury-prone now, and that's clearly affected the way he goes about his duty at center back. He seems a bit hesitant to get stuck into a challenge. He's still a presence in the air, but doesn't go up for balls any more than he actually has to. In the biggest game of his life, last season's Champions League final, he missed what would have been the trophy-winning PK in the shootout.

No, Capello made a mistake in appointing Terry as England's captain. He had his chance in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign and didn't get it done.

I’ve said it several times before, and I’ll say it again: Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard was the only choice for the role in my mind. He is England’s best overall player, taking into account what he does both offensively and defensively. I can’t count how many times he’s put Liverpool on his shoulders and single-handedly carried them to victory in a game they needed to have. If it wasn’t for Gerrard, there’s no way Liverpool wins the ‘04-’05 Champions League final against AC Milan or the ‘05-’06 FA Cup final against West Ham. He was responsible for those comebacks. He’s the only player to have scored in all four major finals (Carling Cup, FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup) possible for an English-based player to take part in. This guy, unlike Lampard, who couldn’t play alongside Gerrard for England because of his one-dimensional style, is a great tackler and tracks back better than any attack-minded midfielder in the world. He is a big-time player and steps it up when it matters most.

The personal recognition he’s garnered — awarded the MBE for his services to the game, three times in the UEFA Team of the Year, Champions League MVP in ‘04-’05, PFA Player of the Year, PFA Young Player of the Year, six appearances in the PFA Team of the Year, three-time nomination for FIFA Player of the Year — and his accomplishments with Liverpool, where he’s won every major trophy except the Premiership, serve to show just how influential of a player Gerrard is. He is the heart and soul of his club and will occupy 20th place on the list of England’s most capped players (ahead of famous names like Terry, Paul Scholes, Ashley Cole, Alan Shearer, Kevin Keegan, Paul Gascoigne, and Lampard) after tomorrow’s friendly against the Czech Republic, his 68th appearance for his country. He’s well on his way to 100, an accomplishment reached only by five players at this point in time.

He stays squeaky-clean off the field, where he’s settled down with his wife and two young daughters, aside from one minor incident that was not his fault in early October last year. You won’t find Gerrard in the headlines for anything he does outside the lines, at least not for anything negative.

It’s a shame that Gerrard wasn’t given the armband by Capello, and I’m sure it’s partly because he isn’t a center back or goalkeeper, the two most common positions for captains. That notion makes sense to me only to a certain extent. If I was a manager, I’d want my central midfielder as my captain. Everything goes through him; he’s the team’s linchpin. He’s the one who distributes the ball, he’s the one who plays a total game — attack and defense.

Gerrard was Capello’s first captain as England boss; his team beat Switzerland 2-1 in a game in which Gerrard played very well and set up the winning goal. It’s downright criminal that he wasn’t at least named vice-captain, and it doesn’t make sense that Ferdinand would be placed into that role when he isn’t even the captain of his club and England’s captain will be right next to him in the defense. Coupled with the questionable squad call-ups made for this game, I’m starting to lose a little faith in Capello in whether he can turn this England team around. If it happens with Terry and Ferdinand at the helm, I can tell you that it will be in spite of them, not because of them.

England Squad Announced for Czech Republic Friendly

Fabio Capello has named his 23-man roster for England's friendly against the Czech Republic on Wednesday, and there were a couple of surprise absentees, one of which really bothers me.

I can't emphasize enough just how highly I rate Aston Villa's Ashley Young, who had a breakout season last year and was rewarded with a place in the PFA Team of the Year for his efforts. He's right-footed but plays on the left wing and has a good enough left foot, which he showed midweek on the terrific goal he scored in Villa's 4-1 victory over FH in the UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round. England has a huge void on the left flank: Stewart Downing isn't good enough, Joe Cole doesn't bring much pace to the position, and there really aren't many options behind those two and Young.

Young was snubbed by Capello -- that's the only way I can put it. He should've been in the squad and should've started in the game. It's that simple. You cannot and never will convince me that Downing is a better player than Young. Cole should be on the field, but not at that position. If anyone watched Aston Villa last season, they'd know just how good of a player this guy is. His peers recognize his talent, hence the spot on that PFA team.

The other notable exclusion was that of Darren Bent, who lit it up in the pre-season for Tottenham with, I believe, 12 goals in 5 or 6 games. I understand that pre-season doesn't mean much but they're games. What else is Capello supposed to go on? The main issue with Steve McLaren was that he seemed to pick his team on reputation and name value rather than form, and Capello didn't do that when he took over. It's almost impossible to be playing better right now than Bent.

My surprise here is coupled with the fact that Capello selected Wayne Rooney as one of his three strikers. Rooney has been out for a couple weeks with a virus he contracted on Manchester United's pre-season tour of Africa. He definitely has the talent to be on this team, but he hasn't played in a while and is only just now near complete recovery. He has a tendency to drop back into midfield, where England is already loaded, to pick up the ball instead of staying up front to receive it. This is fine, and I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it as I do, but Capello also picked Jermain Defoe, who is another quick, slight striker, and only one center forward, Emile Heskey, whose best days are clearly behind him.

There's no way that Bent shouldn't be in this group based on his attributes and his current form. If you're going to play Rooney, it's like adding another midfielder with the way he plays for England, and if you're going to play Defoe, he's going to be alongside an unfamiliar face in Heskey. Bent and Defoe were teammates at Tottenham last season before the latter moved to Portsmouth in January, so they should have some chemistry. Defoe has been training with Peter Crouch, a perfect contrasting partnership, all summer, and Crouch also wasn't named to the England team.

West Ham's Dean Ashton certainly would've made the team after his two-goal performance today against Wigan as he's a solid center forward, but he's been ruled out with an injury problem, something that has plagued his career.

Here's the full squad, followed immediately by a couple additional thoughts on the team and my personal starting lineup based on the options available, not necessarily who Capello will use:

GK (3): David James (Portsmouth), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Paul Robinson (Blackburn)

DEF (8): Wayne Bridge, Ashley Cole, and John Terry (Chelsea), Wes Brown and Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham), Matthew Upson (West Ham)

MID (9): Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Joe Cole and Frank Lampard (Chelsea), David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), David Bentley and Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham)

ST (3): Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Emile Heskey (Wigan)

• Eight defenders and nine midfielders, but only three strikers? Interesting, considering Rooney has been sick lately.

• I have no idea how Wayne Bridge, who can’t even get a game at Chelsea and certainly doesn’t start on a regular basis, is the second left back ahead of guys like Nicky Shorey, Stephen Warnock, or even Joleon Lescott, a natural center back capable of playing on the left. Those three are all starters, play a lot, and are good players. Bridge doesn't fit into either of the first two categories, so how can be on the team?

(4-4-1-1)
GK: James

RB: Johnson
CB: Ferdinand
CB: Terry
LB: A. Cole

RMF: Beckham
DMF: Barry
CMF: Gerrard (captain)
LMF: J. Cole

SS: Rooney

ST: Heskey

Update (08/17-4:28 PM): An ankle injury suffered by Carrick in today’s Manchester United-Newcastle game has ruled the midfielder out of this upcoming friendly. Capello replaced Carrick with Jermaine Jenas. My original starting lineup included Carrick but has now been adjusted and based on Gareth Barry’s current form, he gets the nod.

Scott Carson’s Questionable Move to West Bromwich Albion

After yesterday’s posts, I’m sure you all know how much I hate the “silly season” and how I can’t stand to hear the constant gossip and rumor mill concerning player transfers during the summer. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I don’t hear or read any of it; it’s everywhere and practically impossible to avoid.

Out of all the goalkeepers I’ve heard being bandied around thus far and/or ones that have already made moves — Brad Friedel, Gomes, Mark Schwarzer, Paul Robinson, Robert Green, etc. — Scott Carson is undoubtedly the best of the bunch. He’s also only 22 years old, and with the widely accepted notion that goalies don’t hit their peaks until their late 20’s/early 30’s, the sky could be the limit for Carson. He’s shown a lot of ability early in his career, and the potential to improve even more is clearly there.

That’s why I was surprised when I, to steal a line from U2 in “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”, heard the news today. Carson signed a four-year contract with West Brom, a newly-promoted team who paid Liverpool $6.5 million for his services, a fee that could rise to $7.5 million based on performance-related criteria.

Carson spent time on loan at Premiership bottom-feeders Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic before joining Aston Villa for the entirety of last season. As someone who watched Martin O’Neill’s club very often last year, I can tell you with 100% certainty that if it wasn’t for Scott Carson in goal, Villa wouldn’t have finished seventh in the league and be playing in European competitions in ‘08-’09. No one is as high on Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor, among others, as I am, but if all things were equal and Villa played exactly the same way last year with Stuart Taylor or Thomas Sorensen between the sticks instead of Carson, they’re not even a top-10 team, simple as that.

Carson was very impressive for the Birmingham-based club, probably the best English goalkeeper last season after Portsmouth’s David James, who revived his club and international career with his performances in goal. Carson thrust himself into the senior national team discussion after racking up 29 appearances at the U-21 level, second-most in England’s history.

Everyone remembers his competitive debut for England, when his horrible start allowed Croatia to jump out to a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in do-or-die Euro 2008 qualifier for the Three Lions at Wembley, but I’m not sure why people would expect much more out of a young man being thrust into a high-pressure situation like that for the first time in his life. The truth of the matter is after those early mistakes, he actually played reasonably well for the rest of the game and gave England a chance to overcome the deficit.

West Brom is going to struggle to stay up next year, to say the least. I don’t want to give too much away now regarding my Premiership picks, but suffice it to say that I believe the three teams who got promoted from the Championship last season are going to have a very short stay in England’s top division. Out of those three, West Brom has the best chance to survive, but let’s be honest. Take a look at their squad right now, even with the summer signings that have cost the club $27.5 million, and tell me who, besides Stoke City and Hull City, they can finish ahead of. Fulham? Maybe, but I don’t think so. Wigan? Nope. Sunderland? Not with Roy Keane at the helm.

Look, I understand that Carson had to leave Liverpool. He was never going to be their first-choice keeper, at least not as long as Pepe Reina was there. I get it. But West Brom is not good enough for someone who played basically every game for a European contender (Carson played 35 league games, he was ineligible for the two against Liverpool and missed another due to a red card, I believe) and at 22, established himself as, at the very least, a genuine candidate to be England’s next goalie after James calls it quits. If he would’ve waited just a couple more weeks, a possible player/cash swap involving him and Gareth Barry might’ve been on the cards between Liverpool and Villa.

He’s going to get peppered this year. No longer will he have stalwarts in Martin Laursen and Olof Mellberg ahead of him to win almost every ball in the air. Instead, he’ll have to rely on the likes of Pelé (no, not that one, the one from Cape Verde), Leon Barnett, and Marek Čech to clean up the mess in the back. Please. Give me a break.

I can’t see how this is going to be a good season for Carson and his development, but at least he’ll have plenty of work. I can’t see him staying at West Brom after this season and certainly not if they’re relegated. At that point, I’d expect him to head back to a bigger Premiership club, one that has more to work with.

Portsmouth Purchases Peter Crouch

Portsmouth has completed a $22 million move to bring Peter Crouch back to Fratton Park after seven years, during which Crouch played for four other clubs and earned his way squarely into the England setup.

Crouch, the tallest player ever to put on a Three Lions shirt at 6′7″, spent the last three seasons at Liverpool, where he scored 22 goals in 85 league matches but led the club in ‘06-’07 with 18 goals in all competitions, including a hat trick in Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over Arsenal.

He was obviously out of favor at Anfield with the emergence of Fernando Torres, and manager Rafael Benitez found a formation that worked towards the end of the year — playing Torres as a lone striker with Steven Gerrard right behind him. Crouch was relegated to long stretches on the bench, usually coming in very late in games when Liverpool needed a spark. His playing style and body build wasn’t suited for Benitez’s preferred gameplan, and there was no way Crouch was ever going to be more than a role player as long as he stayed on Merseyside.

He’s come back to the South Coast now, where he’ll immediately link up with fellow England international Jermain Defoe. The two have the potential to feed off each other brilliantly — Crouch is very good at holding up balls and playing with his back to goal, allowing others to come into the attack, and the speedy Defoe should be able to run off Crouch and benefit from the big man’s dirty work.

There is no doubt that Crouch has superb technical ability, especially for a man his size, and he provides options that many teams aren’t built to defend against. His stats at Liverpool don’t truly reflect how good of a striker Crouch is; he was never put in a position to succeed and was playing in a system that limits individual creativity for the most part and focuses on the team and playing as a unit.

Under ‘Arry Redknapp, for whom Crouch will be playing for the third time in his career, he’ll have an opportunity to thrive. Niko Kranjčar and John Utaka are very good crossers of the ball from the wings and will give Crouch service he just wasn’t getting at Liverpool. He should be able to build more chemistry with the English contingent at Portsmouth (David James, Glen Johnson, Defoe, Sol Campbell, etc.) than he ever could with a semi-United Nations delegation at Liverpool, and that will come in handy.

For $22 million, Portsmouth signed a player who can score anywhere from 15-20 goals a season and almost as importantly, brings the skillset to allow guys like Defoe and Sulley Muntari and Utaka to come into the play and collect what Crouch starts out of the air. This was a very good signing for ’Arry’s club, and the regular first team games Crouch will get and the chance to continue to play in Europe (albeit the UEFA Cup, not the Champions League) will benefit the player as well. Look for Defoe and Crouch to form a productive partnership, certainly at club level, but I have a feeling they could be leading England’s front line as well in World Cup qualifiers this fall and beyond.

England Is Not Missed at Euro 2008

Let me ask you something.

Do you really think Euro 2008 would be any better than it has been if England was there?

The answer is not a tough one to figure out. NO!

This has been a great tournament so far, and the 16 nations that started the group stage were the 16 most deserving to be in Austria and Switzerland this June. You can argue that they weren't necessarily Europe's best teams (Greece, I'm looking at you especially), but they earned their places through rigorous qualifying groups.

Listen, don't get me wrong, I love the Premiership and I think the England national team has some terrific, terrific players. I think the world of Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney and David James, I really do. I don't necessarily even believe that Steve McLaren is a bad coach.

The fact of the matter is that over 12 games, a fair sample size, England was the third-best team (tied with Israel) in a group that sent two teams (same as the other groups) to the big dance.

England played four total games against Russia and Croatia, the two nations that did advance, two against each, and lost three of them. This includes the last matchday, when Croatia had already won the group, secured passage to Euro 2008, and had nothing to play for, with England needing only a draw to do the same. Everything was on the line for them, nothing was for Croatia, and the game was at Wembley, England's home stadium. Even with all of this in their favor, the Three Lions still couldn't get it done, losing 3-2 after coming from 2-0 down to equalize, putting all of the momentum in their corner.

A little over a month before that loss, on their penultimate matchday of qualifying, England had another chance to make a statement in Russia. Russia finished with one more point than England, and that margin was a direct result of their 2-1 win in Moscow. Say what you want about the synthetic turf and how it isn't "sporting" to the game; I don't want to hear it. FIFA approved the surface, so there can be nothing to complain about. England even went up 1-0 in that game, but then gave up two goals in four minutes to Roman Pavlyuchenko in the second half to let the victory or even a share of the spoils slip away.

Sorry, England didn't deserve to be at Euro 2008. The performances by Russia and Croatia further justify this, but they weren't necessary.

Even if England had managed to get there, I'm certain they wouldn't have advanced past the quarterfinals. There are too many big egos, too much selfishness, and not enough technical and tactical ability on that roster.

Michael Owen came out in the media a while ago and said that Croatia had no one on their team that could make England's starting lineup. First of all, that's not true, second of all, how dare Michael Owen talk about who can and can't start for England when he himself can barely get a look-in to the national team anymore, and third and most importantly of all, that statement represents the English arrogance that has been and will always be their downfall. Too many English players believe they're better than they really are, and too many of them have the petulant, self-serving attitude that Ashley Cole displayed when he turned his back on Mike Riley and pointed at the name on the back of his jersey in Chelsea's match against Tottenham last season.

The only thing England would've brought to Euro 2008 is increased media attention. Sure, I wouldn't mind seeing the WAG's in attendance, but come on. Sure, I'd love to see this tournament get more coverage in America, something that may have happened with England's participation, but I don't need that to be satisfied as a fan of the game.

The reality is that Euro 2008 has been wildly entertaining and competitive. We've seen vastly different styles of play, some great goals, and some fantastic matches. We've seen Turkey rise from the deck three times already so far, and surely no one would count them out against Germany next Wednesday. We've seen David Villa, Lukas Podolski, Wesley Snejider, heck, even Dirk Kuyt, put in wonderful performances for their nations. I don't think England would've brought anything to the table that we haven't already witnessed.

The most important thing you can bring to a tournament is yourself as a soccer team. England wasn't good enough in a qualifying group that included Estonia, Andorra, Macedonia, and even Israel. Sorry, but if you can't take full points against those teams (which England didn't), I don't want to hear any whining.

To their credit, I haven't heard any from the England players themselves or McLaren or Capello's coaching staffs, either immediately after qualifying or now, during the tournament itself. That whining and complaining has come from media heads, bloggers, and England fans. I understand that they want their team to be there, but they weren't good enough, so deal with it. These people put down the teams that are at Euro 2008 by saying "Well, England could beat them", "England would do better than 'X' team", blah, blah, blah, but you know what? They didn't do what they needed to do. Give it a rest.

England is not missed at Euro 2008. They didn't deserve to be there, and wouldn't have shown anything unique even if they had qualified. The nation has some great individual players, but they don't amount to much as a team.

Change of Plans

Instead of doing the Group D preview today, I'm going to wait until tomorrow or Saturday as I'll have more time then to devote to an accurate, informative capsule for each of the four countries.

I have some work to do this afternoon, but I'll leave you with something for your viewing pleasure in honor of, I guess you could say, England's upcoming friendly against Trinidad & Tobago:

Capello Announces Squad for Trinidad + Tobago Friendly

After yesterday's thumping of the US, which was very embarrassing for me as an American, Fabio Capello announced his squad for England's friendly against Trinidad & Tobago this Sunday.

The game had been in doubt recently due to a squabble concerning rental terms for T&T's national ground, Hasley Crawford Stadium, but everything has been resolved and the show will go on.

Capello dropped seven players from yesterday's team, all from Chelsea and Manchester United -- Joe Cole, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Owen Hargreaves, and Wes Brown. The only remaining players on the squad from either of those two teams are Wayne Bridge, who barely played yesterday and hasn't gotten much time all season with Ashley Cole ahead of him at Stamford Bridge, and Rio Ferdinand.

Rumor has it that the rotating captain's armband could be worn for the second time by Ferdinand, but Aston Villa's Gareth Barry is in with a shout as well, at least to have it for part of the game. For me, Barry would be ideal; he is Villa's club captain and unlike Ferdinand, hasn't gotten a chance to lead England out yet.

Capello did the smart thing by not including the seven Chelsea and Manchester United players; those two teams had the longest seasons in Europe this year and there's no reason to bring them on another long flight, having just come back from Moscow, to a relatively meaningless friendly. Also by doing this, Capello will get a chance to take a look at some of his other, less experienced options, and that will breed competition heading into World Cup 2010 qualifiers this fall.

Here's the 22-man squad, immediately followed by my starting lineup:

GK (3): David James (Portsmouth), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Joe Lewis (Peterborough)

DEF (7): Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Stephen Warnock (Blackburn), David Wheater (Middlesbrough), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham)

MID (7): Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), David Bentley (Blackburn), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

FWD (5): Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Dean Ashton (West Ham), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth).

GK: Joe Hart
LB: Wayne Bridge
CB: Jonathan Woodgate
CB: Rio Ferdinand
RB: Glen Johnson
DMF: Gareth Barry
CMF: Steven Gerrard
LMF: Ashley Young
RMF: David Beckham
ST: Peter Crouch
ST: Gabriel Agbonlahor

Here's hoping my man Ashley Young gets the start!

Steven Gerrard's Goal Against the USA

Steven Gerrard put in a Man of the Match performance tonight at Wembley, thrusting himself even more into the permanent captaincy discussion.

Above is his well-worked goal that made it 2-0, set up by his good friend and perhaps soon-to-be Liverpool teammate Gareth Barry. It is quality of the highest degree, and a microcosm of England's superiority throughout the entire game.

As a bonus, take a look at this goal also scored by Chedwyn Evans, who is currently on loan from Manchester City at Norwich City, where he scored 10 goals in 28 league games this season. Evans made his senior international début for Wales in their 1-0 victory tonight over Iceland after scoring 9 goals in 8 U-21 matches, and in my experience, there aren't too many 19-year olds who can score goals like this.

What a way to remember his first game with the big boys:

England 31-Man Provisional Squad Announced

Fabio Capello has announced a provisional 31-man roster for England's upcoming friendlies against the United States on May 28 at Wembley and at Trinidad & Tobago on June 1, likely in Port of Spain.

He didn't give any of his big guns a break after the long, grueling Premiership campaign -- Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, and Wayne Rooney were all picked. However, there's also a few relatively inexperienced players and several young up-and-comers in the squad, so Capello wisely opted for a nice mix in this group before he trims it down closer to the end of the month.

Here's the full roster:

Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Chris Kirkland (Wigan), Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Defenders: John Terry, Wayne Bridge, and Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Stephen Warnock (Blackburn), David Wheater (Middlesbrough), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham)

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry and Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Joe Cole and Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), David Bentley (Blackburn), Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Phil Jagielka (Everton)

Forwards: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Dean Ashton (West Ham), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth)

If it was up to me, I'd drop seven players from this group of 31 -- Bridge, Kirkland, Wheater, Downing, Jagielka, Jenas, and Ashton. Recognizing Ashton and Jagielka, in particular, and their contributions to their respective clubs this year was a great move by Capello, but I just don't think they have a place in the full England team right now.

I was pleased to see Joe Hart on this roster; he's had a fantastic first season in the Premiership. Glen Johnson's inclusion was much deserved, and of course, my man Ashley Young is in the team as well and that was good to see.

This is certainly a formidable squad, one that should come away with two wins in these friendlies. With that said, the US certainly won't be a pushover and I could see an exciting draw in that game, maybe 2-2.

England Awarded Extra Place in the UEFA Cup

UEFA announced their continental fair play rankings today and -- honestly, this amazes me with some of the tackles we see on a weekly basis -- England has come out on top. As a result, an extra UEFA Cup spot will be granted to the highest-ranked team on the Premier League's own fair play table that hasn't already automatically qualified for Europe next season.

Right now, that team is Manchester City, who are fifth in the current table behind Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Liverpool, all of which have already booked their place in Europe next year.

Everton and Fulham are still in with a shout for the extra UEFA Cup place as well, but the Toffees likely won't need it because a point gained on Sunday against Newcastle would seal a berth in Europe's second-tier club competition through their league position. Fulham, remember, will be doing everything they can to try and beat Portsmouth on Sunday in hopes of retaining their Premiership status, and if it takes one or two red cards and five or six yellows in the process, so be it.

England's fair play rankings won't be finalized until after Sunday's games, obviously, so we won't know for sure who the extra English representative in the 2008-2009 UEFA Cup will be until then.

Young Makes Case for England Call-Up

Watching today’s edition of the Second City Derby, won in style 5-1 by Aston Villa, one had to have been impressed with the victors. They scored from open play and set pieces. They ran Birmingham ragged from start to finish. Ever since manager Martin O’Neill altered his team’s formation to a 4-3-3, they’ve been almost unstoppable in the league and it continued this afternoon.

The one player who appears to have benefited the most from this change is Ashley Young, who I’ve been high on ever since watching him play against Liverpool during the first weekend of the 2007-2008 season. O’Neill has given his star 22-year old, who was acquired from Watford for nearly $20 million, a free role now, instead of playing him solely on the left wing.

Make no mistake, Young was having a great season before today’s game, in which he scored twice and got an assist after swinging in a free kick to John Carew. He’s been nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award, and although he won’t win it, the acknowledgement of his play by his peers counts for a lot. He and teammate Gabby Agbonlahor, also nominated, are up against the likes of more established superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Torres.

Still, Young’s new role allows him to roam all over the field and we saw that today. He was everywhere; he scored his first goal in the center of the field, his second cutting in from the left, and his through ball that sprung Gareth Barry, who then assisted Carew for Villa’s third tally, was played on the right side. Young is up to seven goals and 17 assists in the Premiership this season.

I’ve said this so many times, this is a two-footed player with great pace, good technical ability, and is a deadly crosser of the ball, both from open play and on the set piece.

In addition to my admiration for him, which, admittedly, doesn’t count for much, you have to think England boss Fabio Capello shares the same sentiment, or at least close to it. Capello was in attendance at Villa Park today and although you couldn’t tell from his facial expressions, he undoubtedly was pleased with what he saw from Young.

Capello has a plethora of right-sided wingers to choose from — David Bentley, David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips, etc. — but really doesn’t have many options on the left aside from Stewart Downing. In my opinion, Young is a much, much better and more complete player than the Middlesbrough stalwart, and does seem like the future at that position for England.

England’s next game is Wednesday, May 28, against the US at Wembley, and then they’ll make a trip to Trinidad and Tobago four days later. Expect to see Ashley Young in the starting lineup in at least one of those friendlies, if not both. He deserves a call-up, and I think he’ll get it.

Fabio Capello Press Conference

OK, OK, it's not a real press conference from the new England manager. Still, it's good for a few laughs.

Rio Tabbed as England Captain, Becks Will Get 100th Cap

England manager Fabio Capello has selected Manchester United center back Rio Ferdinand to lead out the side in the Three Lions' friendly in Paris tomorrow, which, given Capello's desire to rotate the captaincy until World Cup qualifiers begin in September, wasn't really a surprising choice to many people.

However, this is a guy who was suspended for eight months in 2003 for missing a drug test and isn't even the permanent captain at his club. This is a guy who, as United's captain around Christmastime, organized the infamous party that led to rape accusations being brought against Jonny Evans, who is now at Sunderland. This is a guy who has committed multiple driving offenses and has been banned from driving on four separate occasions. This is a guy who called a radio host a "faggot" live on the air in 2006.

This is the guy who will wear the captain's armband for England? Come on.

After the game John Terry had against Arsenal on Sunday and given the fact that he is Chelsea's captain and was England's captain under Steve McLaren, he seemingly was the obvious choice. Guys like Gareth Barry, Villa's captain, David James, Steven Gerrard, and even David Beckham, who has the fourth most games played as captain in England history, also should have been ahead of Ferdinand in the pecking order. I understand that Capello wants to rotate the captaincy and that's fine, but England-France is a significant game with a long history and choosing Ferdinand just seems to devalue it a little bit.

Capello also confirmed today that Beckham will get his 100th cap against France, a well-deserved honor. With David Bentley playing so well at the moment, it's unclear whether Beckham will start or be brought on as a substitute, but the latter wouldn't take away from the 100th cap at all.

Congratulations to Ferdinand and Beckham on their respective milestones, and good luck to England tomorrow.

Capello Announces 23-Man Squad for France Friendly

To no one’s surprise, David Beckham was retained by England manager Fabio Capello in the final 23-man squad for the Three Lions’ friendly in Paris next week. Beckham is one cap short of 100 in his England career and if he doesn’t get it against France, and it appears that he will based on this roster, he’ll very likely get it at Wembley against the US on May 28. I’ve said that Beckham deserves this honor and that it would be just a question of when, not if, and all signs point to him becoming only the fifth player in England’s history to reach the century milestone.

Spurs keeper Paul Robinson won back his place in the England setup, although he was included because of an injury to Scott Carson. Robinson has played fairly well in goal lately and in the end, I think the only other option was Robert Green, but West Ham was torched 4-0 in three consecutive games recently and that couldn’t have impressed Capello. Either way, it’s not really going to matter. David James is going to start in goal and he fully deserves the nod.

Robinson was the only player not amongst the 30-man provisional squad to be part of this group of 23, and I have to admit that there are a couple absentees on this roster that surprise me.

The two most glaring question marks that I have are the exclusions of Villa winger Ashley Young and Portsmouth striker Jermain Defoe, both of whom were part of the original 30-man roster. Defoe has scored six goals in six league games since moving to the South Coast in January and Ashley Young leads the Premiership in assists this season.

Young can play on either flank, though he plays on the left for Villa, and is simply a better player than Middlesbrough’s Stewart Downing. I would guess that Joe Cole will start on that left side anyway, but the only reason I can come up with for taking Downing over Young is that Downing is left-footed, which is obviously traditional for left-wingers. No other midfielder picked in this team is left-footed, so that worked in Downing’s favor as well. Even so, Young is quicker than Downing, has better skills on the ball, and can serve balls in more accurately and dangerously than the Boro midfielder.

Opting to keep Michael Owen, Theo Walcott, and Peter Crouch ahead of Jermain Defoe is stunning. Keeping Crouch is more understandable because he’s a tall target man, something England doesn’t have, and can be brought on late in a game and have a big impact. With that said, Crouch has played a combined 29 minutes in Liverpool’s last six games. Michael Owen has two goals in Newcastle’s last five games, a cheap little toe-poke off a rebound from seven yards out against Birmingham earlier in the week and his tally today against Fulham. Walcott hasn’t even been used as a striker by Arsenal lately; he’s playing wide right where he can use his pace to beat defenders to the byline and get inside the area.

Sorry, if you’re picking a team based on current form (six in six for Defoe, two goals, two assists in seven games for Young, a winger), there’s no way those two players don’t make this squad, there’s just no way.

I have no problem with the other exclusions — David Wheater, Gabby Agbonlahor, Matthew Upson (injured), and Shaun Wright-Phillips — and was happy to see that Glen Johnson and Jonathan Woodgate kept their places in the side.

It’s curious that Capello chose to name this roster tonight, even though the majority of players on it (12 out of 23) are playing tomorrow and it’s possible that one, if not more, of those guys could get injured in the physical contests we’re likely to see. On top of that, it’s possible that one, if not more, of those guys just has an awful game and may not deserve to even be in the England squad.

Full 23-Man Roster (club):

Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Paul Robinson (Tottenham), Chris Kirkland (Wigan Athletic)

Defenders: Wayne Bridge, John Terry, and Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham)

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Joe Cole and Frank Lampard (Chelsea), David Bentley (Blackburn), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough)

Forwards: Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Michael Owen (Newcastle)

Based on this team, here’s who I’d pick as my starting XI (4-2-3-1):

GK: David James
LB: Joleon Lescott
RB: Glen Johnson
CB: Rio Ferdinand
CB: Jonathan Woodgate
DMF: Owen Hargreaves
DMF: Gareth Barry
CMF: Steven Gerrard
LMF: Joe Cole
RMF: Theo Walcott
ST: Wayne Rooney

Captain: Steven Gerrard

Update (Sunday-2:23 PM): West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green was added to the squad to replace the injured Chris Kirkland.

US National Team to Play England

It was first announced a couple days ago, and the US men's national team will play a friendly against England at Wembley on May 28.

It's good to see that USSF and coach Bob Bradley are scheduling big-name opposition for the US. Playing against some of the world's better teams is something that the US doesn't get to do in CONCACAF and in the long run, especially for World Cup 2010 and beyond, it is important to face countries like England, even if it is just in exhibitions.

Playing smaller countries inside CONCACAF, especially on US soil, and other relative lightweights like the US had done previously under former coaches Bruce Arena and Steve Sampson, doesn't help the US develop as a soccer nation. It's easy to beat Cuba or Guatemala and Canada; those are teams that the US isn't going to see in the World Cup and ultimately, that should be the focus in this country, not smaller tournaments like the Gold Cup and Confederations Cup.

You have to play tough opponents to prepare for the World Cup and the US has done that recently. In the past six months, the US has played games in Switzerland (1-0 victory), South Africa (1-0 victory), against Sweden (2-2), and against Mexico in a pro-Mexican environment (2-2), and will play in Poland, in England, in Spain, and possibly against Argentina in the near future. These are the type of games in which the US can improve and allow their players to get some much-needed significant international experience.

Playing England will be a good test for the Americans, competing in front of a huge crowd in a country with little respect for soccer in the States. I think England will benefit as well; surely the US is a step above the likes of Andorra, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, three of England's competitors in World Cup 2010 qualifying.