England U-21 Advances to Semi-Finals

Goals from Leroy Lita and Matt Derbyshire propelled the England U-21's past Serbia's U-21's 2-0 in a game that was marked more by off-the-field activities than what occurred on the pitch itself. Chants from the Serbian fans directed at England defenders Nedum Onuoha and Justin Hoyte, both of whom are black, forced UEFA to make an impromptu anti-racism announcement.

"We will not tolerate your racist chants," the stadium announcer said just before the half-hour mark. "Please stop or leave the stadium."

Lita put England up 1-0 after just 5 minutes after finishing a missed header by Steven Taylor and his replacement Derbyshire scored a controversial second half goal to seal the deal for England. Talented young Serbian defender Slobodan Rajkovic was down injured at the time and Derbyshire received a pass from Kieran Richardson, dribbled right by the injured Rajkovic and slotted a finish home to make it 2-0 instead of playing the ball out to allow treatment for Rajkovic. Angry Serbian players then confronted Derbyshire on the sideline sparking a host of English players to come over as well. Pushing and shoving ensued but that was just the beginning.

Tom Huddlestone was sent off in the final minute of the match for foul and abusive language and chaos erupted in the tunnel after the game with Serbian and English players involved. UEFA will decide on taking action when they receive the official report handed in by the match delegate, but by that time England will be preparing for their semi-final game against the host nation Holland.

Huddlestone has been given a two-match ban for his actions, meaning the Tottenham midfielder will miss the final if England beat Holland on Wednesday.

Lita's goal: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2as0r_england-1-0-serbia-lita
Derbyshire's goal: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2atlm_england-2-0-serbia-derbyshire

Sven-Goran Eriksson On Verge of Becoming New Manchester City Manager

Eriksson is reportedly set to become the new manager at the Eastlands if Thai businessman and deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's $237 million US takeover bid goes through. The former England manager has been linked with the Manchester City job since the dismissal of Stuart Pearce a day after the Premiership season ended and now has to be the favorite for the position after Claudio Ranieri joined Juventus.

However, according to the Sunday Mirror, Eriksson's appointment is predicated solely on Shinawatra's takeover. Negotiations are still ongoing although Shinawatra recently had $2.77 billion US of assets frozen by the military government that deposed him.

For the Sunday Mirror's original article, see
http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/sport/football/2007/06/17/sven-thai-up-98487-19309482/

Stuart Pearce Interested in Full-Time U-21 Position

The former Manchester City manager has admitted he would seriously consider taking over the English U-21 team on a permanent basis if the job is offered to him after the European Championships. England can qualify for the semifinals with a win over Serbia today but may need only a draw depending on the result of the Italy-Czech Republic game, which is also today.

Pearce made 78 appearances for England during his international career and highly values working for the FA:

"I find it a great honour to work for England, always have done and probably always will do. It gives me great pride to work within the FA. It's how you feel inside with your personal pride. For me it means a great deal."

Pearce has had ambitions of managing a club again after his dismissal at Manchester City but the U-21 job would keep him just as busy. Sir Trevor Brooking, who is the the FA's director of football development, is pushing for the job to become full-time, a sentiment echoed by both Stuart Pearce and senior England manager Steve McLaren.

He has a successful background in bringing along young players through the ranks---from the academy to the first team. Shaun Wright-Phillips, Joey Barton, and Micah Richards all came through Manchester City's youth academy and Pearce believes he could have similar success in developing England's youngsters to the point where they could be fixtures on the senior team as they get older.

Darren Bent to Tottenham?

This according to an article on the BBC's website, which also states that Liverpool are interested in Bent but that he would not be their top choice striker. His current club, Charlton Athletic, have rated him at 17 million pounds, which is no small sum of money ($33.5 million US). The fact that that sum is only half a million US dollars short of what Manchester United paid for Owen Hargreaves shows how highly Charlton values the 23-year old English striker and also greatly narrows down the list of teams who can afford Bent. He has scored 31 goals in two seasons for Charlton (68 games) and at his young age, the potential to become a special player is there.

Bent has already turned down a 17 million pound offer from West Ham which indicates his desire to play top-level soccer for a team playing preferably in the Champions League. Tottenham have been reluctant to offer that amount of money, which seems to be the only thing holding this transfer up, and Charlton are insisting that they will not sell Bent for less than their rated value. Charlton, at least publicly, are planning on having his services as they attempt to make a return to the Premiership this season:

"We look forward to Darren starting with us in the Championship next season, which is a massive boost to our chance of returning to the Premier League."

It would seem that the financially sound thing to do would be to sell him for as much as you can and then use that money to bring in some established, inexpensive veteran players and some affordable youngsters if possible. There's no real reason for Charlton to hold on to Bent if they can get full value for him, but there also doesn't seem to be a real reason for Tottenham to acquire him as they already are loaded at the striker position (Defoe, Keane, and Berbatov).

Tal Ben Haim Spurns Newcastle, Heads to Chelsea

After making 110 appearances for Bolton over three seasons, 25-year old Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim has agreed to personal terms on a four-year contract with Chelsea. Ben Haim rejected the outreaches of former manager Sam Allardyce to join the Blues at Stamford Bridge instead, and one can't help but second-guess this choice.

The best move for him as a player seemingly would've been to go to Newcastle because he would have immediately been plugged into their center of defense and gotten a start nearly every game. Chelsea already have their captain and England's captain John Terry in the same position, so you know he won't often come out of the lineup, talented Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho, and Brazilian international Alex, who featured prominently in the central defense for PSV Eindhoven for the past three seasons. At best, I can see Ben Haim fighting for second-choice at that position.

Of course, that would mean a starting spot, but he would probably be in a rotation with Carvalho and to a lesser extent, Alex. Chelsea most likely offered Ben Haim more money than Newcastle, but for me, it would have had to be a substantial amount more because I would rather start every game and make less money than play for a team where I may not play all the time but make more money.

Here is Chelsea's official press release concerning the move:
http://www.chelseafc.com/xxchelsea180706/index.html#/page/Homepage/article_1053189

New Jerseys for West Ham and Chelsea

West Ham have released images of their new home jersey, which, according to the club's official website, is "exclusively available online and in store. New shirt. New beginning." It is available through pre-order and will be officially ready for purchase beginning June 16. It's not much of a change from last year's edition; the jersey designer is now Umbro instead of Reebok, but the colors remain the same. In addition, the home shorts are white with a bit of claret and blue at the bottom, and the socks are white with claret trim. All-in-all, I like this new uniform, my only complaint lies in the size of the sponsor's logo on the shirt. The full away kit is scheduled to be unveiled July 26.

Jersey designer-Umbro

I wish I could say I liked Chelsea's new away shirt, modeled here by John Terry, Didier Drogba, and Michael Ballack, but that would be a horrendous lie. The only thing it has going for itself is the fact that it's unique, but this is more of a testament to the wise judgement of other clubs who understand that fluoresecent yellow makes little sense for a soccer jersey. Fans may purchase it for the novelty and from that perspective, the jersey could be successful but if I played for Chelsea, I think I would request a transfer simply so I didn't have to wear this day-glo yellow away from Stamford Bridge. Last year's away jersey was a nice, conservative white and blue which simply reversed the colors from their home jersey. If Chelsea intend to make a statement, this is it, although I don't know if it's the right one. This jersey will make its match debut July 17 when Chelsea come to the Home Depot Center in suburban Los Angeles to play a friendly against the LA Galaxy. The match is expected to be sold out as is it scheduled to be David Beckham's MLS debut, though with all these rumors flying around that have him staying in Europe, you never know. Preorders are set to be delivered June 28. Here is Chelsea's official press release explaining why this jersey, but one word can sum it up: Bull----

http://www.chelseamegastoreusa.com/chelsea_away07.tem

Jersey designer-Adidas

Carling Cup draw-1st Round

The full list of matchups can be found on the BBC's website (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/league_cup/6747987.stm), with the home team listed first. A few of the ties jumped out at me, and they are listed below. Matches begin the week of August 13th.

Sheffield United v. Chesterfield
Watford v. Gillingham
Swindon v. Charlton Athletic
Cardiff v. Brighton
West Brom v. Bournemouth
Macclesfield v. Leeds United
Chester v. Nottingham Forest

Steven Gerrard: "I'm Worn Out", David Bentley, Fatigue in the Premiership

After seeing an article the Premier League's website ran several days ago (http://www.premierleague.com/fapl.rac?command=setSelectedId&nextPage=enNewsLatest&id=1816694&type=com.fapl.website.news.NewsItem&categoryCode=NewsLatestFAPremierLeagueNews), which addressed Steven Gerrard's concerns about fatigue and another about David Bentley dropping out of an England U-21 international game for the same reason, I got to thinking: What are these players complaining about?

Being an avid fan of sports here in America (especially baseball, basketball, football, and hockey), I feel that players in the Premiership have no room to complain about fatigue and a lack of energy. Why? The answer is twofold.

Teams in the Premiership play a standard, domestic 38-game schedule. They play every other team in the league twice (once at home, once away) and are rarely on the road for more than three games in a row. They also only play one game a week for the most part, though sometimes teams play two in a week. Extra competitions can add to this amount of course, like the UEFA Cup, Champions League, national team games, FA Cup, and Carling Cup. Steven Gerrard played in 62 games this season after taking into account the combined 49 appearances he made in Liverpool's Premiership, Champions League and domestic cup games and 13 appearances for England, but that is a rather high number; most Premiership players appear in somewhere between 35-50 games per season. David Bentley played in 51 games for Blackburn this season. Here in America, most professional sports leagues' regular seasons are far longer than 38 games. Major League Baseball has a 162-game schedule and the NHL and NBA both employ an 82-game schedule. The NFL has only a 16-game regular season but there can be no argument over which sport is tougher on the mind and body when comparing football and soccer; obviously playing 16 NFL games is more difficult than 38 Premier League games due to the extreme mental and physical toll taken. There are also no playoffs in the Premier League, even the playoff system employed by the lower leagues is much less grueling than the one used in American sports. In America, the general system involves a quarterfinal round, semifinal round, conference final round, and final round or something of that nature. In the first three leagues on the table below, the playoff rounds consist of multiple games (Best of 7 in all rounds other than MLB's Divisional Series, which are Best of 5's). It's not uncommon for players in the NHL and NBA to play close to 100 games and for Major League Baseball players to play upwards of 165 games. Compared to the 35-50 games the average Premiership player appears in, that is ridiculously exhausting and grueling but yet players don't complain about it as often in the media though they have every reason to do so.

Major League Baseball: Divisional Series, League Championship Series, World Series
NHL: Conference quarterfinal, Conference semifinal, Conference final, Stanley Cup finals
NBA: Conference quarterfinal, Conference semifinal, Conference final, NBA Finals
NFL: Wild Card Round, Divisional Round, Conference Championship, Super Bowl

Travel is the other critical factor when discussing the energy levels of professional athletes. England is a relatively small country, especially when compared to the US, in terms of land area. Distance between cities is not nearly as great in England and teams rarely play multiple games in a row on the road like they do in the US. I don't think an English soccer player has heard the term "roadtrip" or "homestand" before because they generally alternate home games and road games, with the occasional 2 in a row at home or 2 in a row on the road mixed in. But even the games on the road aren't too tough because teams are able to go home and rest in between successive road games due to the short distance between cities. As discussed before, teams usually play only one game a week as well. In America, it's not uncommon for teams to play on back-to-back nights, or 3 times in 4 nights, or 4 times in 5 nights even. Professional baseball schedules consist of 3 or 4-game series' against the same team in 3 or 4 nights (they play each other once a night for as many games as their series lasts). Teams travel between cities on chartered airplanes but still, multiple-hour flights in the middle of the night after the team has just played are commonplace and not the most comfortable way for players to recuperate. Has Steven Gerrard ever played 3 games in 3 days or 3 games in 4 days with all of the games in different cities which are several hours apart by plane? My favorite MLB team, the Atlanta Braves, had a stretch from April 10-April 25 where they played every single night. From April 20-29, they were on the road (April 20-22 in New York, April 23-25 in Florida, April 27-29 in Colorado). From June 29-July 8, they'll be on the road as well (June 29-July 1 in Florida, July 2-5 in Los Angeles, July 6-8 in San Diego). English soccer players have never dealt with being away from home for extended periods of time while playing a game nearly every night. How can they complain of fatigue when they don't have to travel as often??

I'm tired of hearing Premiership players complain about fatigue. They don't play very many games a season and don't have to travel very far to play them.

New Away Uniform for Arsenal

Arsenal's new 2007-2008 away uniform has been released (though not for public purchase yet) and it is an extremely classy tribute celebrating the contributions of their legendary manager, Herbert Chapman. It will be launched on July 5 and is available for pre-order directly on the club's official website (http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=News&article=464540). Now that Arsene Wenger has pledged to see his contract through, Arsenal have every reason to hope for a promising season and have an away uniform to reflect it.
Jersey designer-Nike

Scott Parker to West Ham

Former Newcastle captain Scott Parker has signed a 5 year, $13.9 million US contract with West Ham as he reunites with his old manager at Charlton Athletic, Alan Curbishley. Parker had his eye on a return to London with the new management taking over at Newcastle and seemed especially eager to rejoin his first professional manager and in the end, he got his wish.

Parker is only 26 years old and looks set to replace England U-21 captain Nigel Reo-Coker in the center of West Ham's midfield. West Ham have to like this tradeoff as they get a relatively inexpensive, tenacious tackling, hardnosed midfielder and lose a player who was going to command a high salary on the open market and didn't seem to want to play for them anyway.

All in all, West Ham have acquired a player who will bring some grit and fire to the team but most importantly, one who actually wants to be there. He was a captain last season and the leadership he will bring to that club will be invaluable as West Ham look to build off a strong finish to last season.

England vs. Estonia Recap

The result of this game never seriously looked to be in doubt as England traveled into Estonia's capital city and beat the hosts 3-0 behind a goal apiece from Joe Cole, Peter Crouch, and Michael Owen. For the second time in the same number of games, however, David Beckham was the real difference-maker and provided two brilliant crosses that led directly to goals. Beckham was clearly the most dangerous player on the field and he didn't even look to be at full strength after injuring his ankle just a quarter of an hour into the game.

With all this being said, and though it was the kind of game that may ease criticism of Steve McLaren temporarily simply because England won, in reality England's performance was not nearly as inspiring as could have been hoped for. The Three Lions did just enough to win the game and not much more. Fans should keep their optimism tempered until England host Israel in 3 months' time as that will be more of an indicator towards England's Euro 2008 future. Peter Crouch will not be available (yellow card accumulation) for that match and Israel has allowed only 7 goals in 8 games (even that is misleading because 3 of them were in the same game against Croatia).

That is in the future though; for now fans will take a bit of comfort in a 3-0 win and a favorable result in the Croatia-Russia game (0-0) which has pulled England to within 3 points of the top two teams in Group E for Euro 2008 qualification.

Updated Group E Standings:
1. Croatia (17 points, +12 Goal Differential, 7 Games Played)
2. Israel (17 pts, +10 GD, 8 GP)
3. Russia (15 pts, +10 GD, 7 GP)
4. England (14 pts, +10 GD, 7 GP)
5. Macedonia (7 pts, -1 GD, 7 GP)
6. Estonia (0 pts, -14 GD, 7 GP)
7. Andorra (0 pts, -27 GD, 7 GP)

Note: Top two teams qualify for Euro 2008 (cohosted by Austria and Switzerland)

Xabi Alonso, Jose Reina re-sign with Liverpool

Both players have agreed to five-year contracts to remain with Liverpool and join Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher in making up the long-term core of the club.

The 25-year old Spanish midfielder had been linked with a move to Barcelona for months as an individual transfer and also as part of a swap-deal that would have brought Samuel Eto'o to Liverpool. Alonso and Gerrard make up half of a very talented Liverpool midfield, and with Javier Mascherano establishing himself in his short time at Anfield and Mohamed Sissoko now expected to sign a long-term deal with the club as well, Liverpool will have what arguably is the strongest midfield in the Premiership next year as they seek to dethrone Manchester United.

Liverpool would not have had any title dreams without Alonso's international teammate and goalkeeper Jose Reina's services, and they locked him up to a five-year contract as well. Reina is also just 25 years old and with talented young goalkeepers at a premium in England's top flight, Reina is easily the most experienced of them, coming up with big performances (especially in penalty kicks) in the biggest, most meaningful games. He has set the club record for successive clean sheets during his tenure at Anfield and for a team that hasn't won the Premiership in 17 years, his presence gives Liverpool a chance to seriously contend for the next five years.

Mark Viduka, Joey Barton to Newcastle; Ben Haim as well?

Updating the previous post, Mark Viduka has signed a 2-year contract to play for Newcastle with an option for a third year. He becomes the fourth notable striker on Tyneside (along with Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins, and Shola Ameobi) and in my mind has to be either second or third in the pecking order there.

A deal for Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton is in the works as well and only an "admininstrative hitch" is holding the official transfer up. Barton is out of favor with the Blues and has agreed to an $11 million US switch and change of scenery. When his mind is right, the 24-year old can be a dynamic player and would be an immediate upgrade for the Magpies. He has plenty of talent but struggles to restrain his temper and his mouth, spouting off to teammates, opponents, and the media alike. If Sam Allardyce can rein Barton in, he will be getting a young player who can make a significant impact for his team.

Sam Allardyce's former Bolton defender Tal Ben Haim is also rumored to join Newcastle. He is out-of-contract with the Wanderers and the Israeli center back has drawn furious interest from Allardyce. At just 25 years of age Ben Haim still hasn't entered his prime as a player yet but has already made 88 Premier League appearances and would immediately be inserted into Newcastle's rather weak back line.

For the complete story regarding these three players, see

http://www.premierleague.com/fapl.raccommand=setSelectedId&nextPage=enNewsLatest&id=1815954&type=com.fapl.website.news.NewsItem&categoryCode=NewsLatestFAPremierLeagueNews

Mark Viduka to Play on Tyneside?

After spurning interest from West Ham, Birmingham, and Portsmouth, the 31-year old striker has agreed in principle to join Newcastle. Young Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate seems to have been unable to persuade Viduka to return to the Riverside next season and after a year of intense interest in the Australian forward, Newcastle appears to have landed his services.

He would become the first major signing of new manager Sam Allardyce, who seems to have an affection for older, veteran players (pretty much the entire Bolton roster that he put together). Viduka's goal-scoring production went up drastically this year (14 in 29 Premier League games) compared to the two seasons prior (12 in 43 Premier League games) and Newcastle would hope for a repeat performance. I find this to be unlikely as strikers, more so than other positions, tend to decline quickly with age, and I don't know if the supporting cast around him at Newcastle this year would be better than the one he had at Middlesbrough. If the deal becomes completed, it would have more of a repuation-based tint to it than anything else, but we'll see.

The complete story can be found here: http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/6888688

Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher to Remain at Liverpool

This story is several days old but I hadn't gotten a chance to update the site, so here we go.

In a piece of news that is sure to excite the hearts of the Liverpool fans on Merseyside, versatile midfielder Steven Gerrard (the captain) and center back Jamie Carragher (the vice-captain) have signed contracts keeping them with the Reds through 2011. The two players have spent their entire professional careers at Anfield and their deals pretty much ensure that they will play the most productive years left in their career with their hometown team.

Gerrard is easily Liverpool's most talented player and is a centerpiece that a team can be built around. He is capable of playing anywhere in the midfield and was even used as an outside back early in his career by former Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier. He's made 268 appearances with the club and scored 44 goals, though his contributions are far more wide-ranging than just the tangibles.

Carragher is a solid center back who's made 473 appearances with Liverpool since joining the club in 1996. Rafael Benitez knows exactly what he'll get every time he writes Carragher into the starting lineup and that kind of consistency is essential for a successful center back. Carragher has been a fringe player as far as making the England national team goes and obviously his growth potential as a player has peaked. Other than when making the occasional appearance for his country, Liverpool fans expect to see Carragher play his best and hold a back line, which possesses the talented young Dane Daniel Agger, together.

These two signings are very important for the new American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillette and should help usher Liverpool into their new stadium near the end of this decade.

For more information, see
http://www.premierleague.com/fapl.rac?command=setSelectedId&nextPage=enNewsLatest&id=1815134&type=com.fapl.website.news.NewsItem&categoryCode=NewsLatestFAPremierLeagueNews

Titus Bramble, Antoine Sibierski to Wigan; Wigan's New Home Uniform

The 25-year old former Newcastle defender becomes the first signing of new Wigan manager Chris Hutchings as he heads to the JJB on a three year contract. Bramble became expendable after Sam Allardyce took over at Newcastle and after making 105 appearances for the Magpies, he was told his contract would not be renewed.






On another free transfer, French striker Antoine Sibierski has joined Wigan from Newcastle. The 32-year old signed a two year contract with the Latics, previously appearing in 118 Premiership games in total with Newcastle and Manchester City while scoring just 14 goals. He's a fairly versatile player who is capable of occupying a role in midfield or as a striker although his best days certainly appear to be behind him.




Wigan also have put images of their 2007-2008 home uniform on their official website
(mentioned below). They are not "copy-and-paste-able", so check out the site and take a look. Blue and white stripes are the look on the jersey, with all-blue shorts and white socks. It's a nice uniform, safely conservative in form. The uniform will be released to the public through Wigan's fan shop on June 14.

To view Wigan's new home uniform, see http://www.wiganlatics.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10429~1032696,00.html

For the club's official press release concerning Bramble, see
http://www.wiganlatics.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10429~1032324,00.html

For the club's official press release concerning Sibierski, see
http://www.wiganlatics.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10429~1032776,00.html

Here's a video clip that explains why Sam Allardyce
didn't want to keep Bramble around:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgnWpCZfpC0

England-Brazil Recap, England-Estonia Preview (Edition 2)

The international friendly played at the new Wembley in London ended 1-1, with Brazilian substitute Diego snatching the draw for his side with a header in 2nd half injury time. Center back John Terry scored his third goal for England via a header from a well-placed David Beckham free kick in the 68th minute to give England the short-lived 1-0 lead. Seems a bit ironic that the embattled former England captain set up the current England captain for a goal, does it not?

In truth, Brazil certainly deserved the equalizer and probably should have won the game outright. England's performance was uninspired, to say the least, and with the critical Estonia match to be played in 4 days' time they did not bring much relief or hope for their supporters. One would've thought that England definitely would have brought their A-game to their first international game at the new Wembley, especially in an attempt to tune up for their important clash with Estonia next week. Steven Gerrard won the official Man of the Match honors though I personally believed David Beckham was the best player on the field before he was substituted in the 77th minute in favor of Tottenham's Jermaine Jenas. Gerrard and Beckham were easily England's two top players and Gerrard came up with a brilliant, potentially goal-saving tackle to deny Brazil but on the scoresheet he was blanked. Beckham had the go-ahead assist and played very well on the flank during the run of play. He came up painfully empty on a couple of other free kicks, either shooting and just missing or serving balls in that his teammates just couldn't get a body on. If you say that Beckham and Gerrard played a pretty even game, Beckham should've gotten Man of the Match honors because he factored in on the scoresheet.

Anything short of a victory in Estonia on June 6 will probably result in the firing of England coach Steve McLaren. The English fans are restless with consistent disappointing performances on the international level and quite justifiably so. England has some of the best players in the world and simply are being mismanaged. McLaren's squad selection leaves many questions and his positioning of players on the field also is often baffling. Some may even go so far as to think it's in England's best interest to not win against Estonia and cause a change in management. Steve McLaren isn't the man for the job and when the World Cup, which is still 3 years away, is your country's main goal, you want to have the right person in charge. Euro 2008 qualification wouldn't be impossible without a win but it would be considerably more difficult, especially with Russia's 4-0 victory over Andorra today.

England simply cannot afford to underestimate Estonia. Their performances lately have been nothing to draw much praise or approval from and Estonia is coming off a narrow 1-0 loss to Group E leader Croatia today, which can be looked at is a positive step forward for the Eastern European team. England themselves lost 2-0 to Croatia the first time around, and while I'm not saying that scores can be compared through some transitive property, I don't think England will have as easy of a time dispatching Estonia as they believe. As far as Steve McLaren's future goes however, this is a must win game.

Updated Group E Standings:
1. Croatia (16 points, +12 Goal Differential, 6 Games Played)
2. Russia (14 pts, +10 GD, 6 GP)
3. Israel (14 pts, +8 GD, 7 GP)
4. England (11 pts, +7 GD, 6 GP)
5. Macedonia (7 pts, -1 GD, 7 GP)
6. Estonia (0 pts, -11 GD, 6 GP)
7. Andorra (0 pts, -25 GD, 6 GP)

Note: Top 2 teams qualify for Euro 2008 (cohosted by Austria and Switzerland)

Portsmouth Ink Ghana Midfielder Sulley Muntari

The 22-year old Ghanian international has signed a five-year deal to play on the South Coast. Muntari leaves Udinese, a Serie A squad, to join a talented midfield at Portsmouth (O'Neil, Taylor at times, Mendes, Davis, and Kranjcar). He's collected 26 caps for Ghana despite his young age and is earning his playing time with 8 goals already, including one against the Czech Republic in the World Cup last year. Terms of the deal were undisclosed, but Harry Redknapp looks to have a fairly significant amount of money in the transfer kitty as he attempts to manage his team into European competition next season, with 3 player acquisitions already.

For complete details, see the club's official press release: http://www.pompeyfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10396~1030887,00.html?ptvParm=

England vs. Brazil, Estonia

The biggest headline surrounding these two games involves the recall of David Beckham by England manager Steve McLaren. He has 94 caps in his international career and 6 more would give him 100, considered to be a revered milestone amongst players. Beckham obviously would love to reach 100 but if he does so, it won't be as the England captain. After the World Cup exit at the hands of Portugal, he stepped down and new, embattled manager Steve McLaren has appointed John Terry to wear the armband with Steven Gerrard as vice-captain. Beckham figures to start against Brazil on June 1 (3 PM ET, FSC) in the international friendly at Wembley and again at Estonia on June 6, with his chances even more promising now that Aaron Lennon has withdrawn from those games due to a knee injury. Lennon limped off the field after just 10 minutes in the English "B" game against Albania (England won the game 3-1, led by goals from Stewart Downing and Michael Owen). England also will not have the services of Wayne Rooney, who is suspended for the Estonia match and thus was also left off the squad for the Brazil friendly, and defenders Rio Ferdinand (Manchester Utd.) and Michael Dawson (Spurs), who recently pulled out of the team. Already missing Jonathan Woodgate, Gary Neville, Micah Richards, and Ashley Cole as well, the door is opened for either Liverpool's Jamie Carragher or Tottenham's Ledley King to get a couple starts. Steve McLaren is missing 6 talented defenders and a brilliant young striker for games which could be crucial to his future as England manager. The friendly against Brazil is more for international respect but the game against Estonia is absolutely essential to win, so we'll see what happens.

England desperately needs a win against Estonia if they hope to qualify for Euro 2008. With just 6 games left on their qualifying schedule, England is sitting in third place in Group E (only the top 2 teams in each group qualify automatically) and have played one more game than Russia, who is in fourth place but is tied on points with 11.
Group Standings:
1. Croatia (13 points, +11 Goal Differential, 5 Games Played)
2. Israel (11 points, +7 GD, 6 GP)
3. England (11 points, +7 GD, 6 GP)
4. Russia (11 points, +6 GD, 5 GP)
5. Macedonia (7 points, 0 GD, 6 GP)
6. Estonia (0 points, -10 GD, 5 GP)
7. Andorra (0 points, -21 GD, 5 GP)

England still has to go to Russia and play, which is a winnable game, but brillant Dutch coach Guus Hiddink now is the Russian manager and he will surely have his team prepared. Russia could very well take all 3 points from that game if England comes out and doesn't play at a high level; I can see that game being a draw. England does benefit, however, from a favorable schedule that sees them play three games in a row at home after the game at Estonia (Sept. 8 vs. Israel, Sept. 12 vs. Russia, and Oct. 13 vs. Estonia) and 3 wins would vastly improve their position.

Derby County On To the Premiership

In a game that was not as up-and-down or exciting to watch as advertised, Derby County made a 61st minute goal by Stephen Pearson stand up and held on for a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion. Talented English youngster Giles Barnes, who surprisingly did not start today, came off the bench and provided a brilliant low cross to allow Pearson to literally slide the ball home. It was Pearson's first goal in a Derby uniform and you can't imagine how much it meant for his side and for the fans who had longed to see Derby back in the Premiership.

Graham Poll handed out 8 yellow cards in total today (5 to Derby, 3 to West Brom), though a few of them were questionable; I'm not sure if they merited a yellow card but Poll is one of the better referees in England in my opinion so I trust his judgment. Poll has stated that he will retire, and many managers will be happy to see him go as he been the center of many a controversy over the years, most notably the World Cup game in 2006 between Australia and Croatia where he handed out three yellow cards to the same Croatian player before dismissing him.

Great crowd at Wembley today. The new stadium can hold 90,000 for soccer and the official attendance was 74,993, which is great for a Championship final, considering neither team is based near London.

Congratulations to the Rams, it's back to England's top flight for them next season after a five-year absence.

Stephen Pearson's goal can be found here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x23y91_10-pearson