Lampard and Terry included in England B team

Bobby Zamora takes a break from pretending he's a footballer

Fabio Capello decided to tackle a couple of bottles of wine whilst naming his latest England B team squad to face Hungary next week. The inclusions of Ben Foster, whose career highlight is being Edwin van der Sar’s number two for several years, Paul Robinson, who subsequently retired from international football having got the call-up, Bobby Zamora, England’s answer to Nicklas Bendtner, and those two world-class Chelsea legends Frank Lampard and John Terry, has got England fans drooling at the prospect of watching our beloved national team battle it out against that footballing superpower, Hungary, 3 days before the Premier League season kicks off. Oh, what joy!

What Fabio Capello has done is everything the nation wanted him to do, but with the wrong players. We wanted him to drop the drivel and engage with the exciting young talents that England has at its disposal. Having had a good rummage around, Capello felt that Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka and Kieran Gibbs were the answer. He also felt that the performances of Gareth Barry, Wayne Rooney, Lamps and JT merited a recall. I couldn’t agree more Fab. Afterall, we did reach the 2ND ROUND of the World Cup! Moreover, the exclusion of Joe Cole has got me thinking; What was going through the mind of Fabio Capello when he chose this latest crop of ‘stars’?

Way back at the start of the Italian’s reign as England manager, he stated that he would only be picking players based on form and game-time. To my knowledge he hasn’t verbally abandoned that strategy, but you do wonder whether he’s had a change of heart and resorted to choosing proverbial benchwarmers and mediocre performers. Wes Brown? Phil Jagielka? Darren Bent? Carlton Cole? Oh, and not to mention there’s a recall for Theo Walcott, who has clearly impressed Fabio more whilst lying on a beach in a beautiful European/South American country, than he did when ‘trialling’ and convincing everybody else in the world that he should be on the plane to South Africa.

I go back to Joe Cole’s emission from the 22-man squad. The only plausible motive for Capello to drop Cole is due to a falling out. If that’s the case, why the bleeding heck are John Terry and Frank Lampard still given reason to call themselves ‘world-class’ players? Terry couldn’t resist spouting his mouth off in South Africa, an incident that everybody thought would lead to his dropping post-World Cup. Lampard himself thought it’d be a great idea to criticise the timing of the match against the side ranked 62nd in the world. I read the response to his comments in the Daily Telegraph recently, and one fan got it spot on; “You need all the practice you can get you overpaid prat”. It’s what we’re all thinking, apart from the man that matters unfortunately. Lampard and Terry shouldn’t be anywhere near the England team.

Jermain Defoe is another player who has bizarrely been left out in the cold. What on earth did he do wrong in SA? He scored the goal that saved us from ultimate humiliation at the hands of Slovenia. Well, the other side of the argument is he scored the goal that dropped us right into the s*** against Germany, and perhaps that’s why Capello showed him the door. Surely there’s no other reason for doing such a thing? Defoe is a proven goalscorer, and he was one of 3 players in SA that wore the shirt with pride and looked like making things happen. Joe Cole was another, and James Milner makes up the trio. With Defoe and Cole dropped, Milner is the only outfield player in that squad, arguably along with Ashley Cole, who deserves the call. Everyone knows Wayne Rooney was abysmal so why is he still there? Gerrard was below-par, Glen Johnson looked a complete shadow of the player that earned him so much praise in his early days as an England player, and Gareth Barry is another prime example of an overpaid wotsit who has more of a place on the scrapheap than he does in an England team. Looking back, it was embarrassing how people were praying Gareth Barry would be fit and ready for the opening game of the World Cup against U.S.A. If we can’t do without Gareth Barry, what hope have we got?

There aren’t many in this current squad that I can say, yes, that’s a good call Fabio. Joe Hart is a superb goalkeeper and he was always a stick-on. I still don’t have a clue why he didn’t get a shout this summer, but that’s another strange Capello decision. He’s definitely in line to nail down the no.1 jersey now that David James and Robert Green are out the picture. Ashley Cole has done no wrong, as much as I severely dislike the bloke. Michael Dawson is a decent player who will give his all. It’s also nice to see Ashley Young getting another chance, although I’m still not convinced that he’s of an international standard. Time will tell there. Finally, Arsenal’s exciting prodigy Jack Wilshere has an opportunity to put his name on the footballing map and display his talents to the world. He looks a wonderful prospect for England. Lets hope he’s not half Welsh, ain’t that right Giggsy?

Finally, I’d like to wish good luck to all those hearty souls who have bought an overpriced ticket to watch an overpriced team play on the once hallowed turf of Wembley. I admire you for your committment. I certainly wouldn’t waste my wages on watching England B struggle to overcome the Hungarians. I think… No, I know I’d get more for my money spending an afternoon on the touchline at Ludlow Town FC.

England v Algeria: Redemption day

Fabio Capello faces some tough selection issues

The usual questions will be, and have been placed in front of Fabio Capello ahead of England’s crucial Group C encounter with Algeria on Friday night. On the back of the disappointment of England’s performance and result against USA on Saturday, the 3 Lions will have to put in a shift worthy of progression to the last 16 of the World Cup.

Robert Green’s embarrassing howler in Rustenburg has somewhat masked what we all know was a below-par performance from Capello’s men, but his place as England’s no.1 goalkeeper is still very much undecided. Capello himself has admitted that he is unsure whether to keep faith in the West Ham man or to replace him with David James or Joe Hart, who have both been impressing in training. The only doubt over either of those two is David James’ fitness, as the Portsmouth custodian has been struggling with a knee injury since arriving at England’s training base.

One can’t criticise Capello for being unsure about who his goalkeeper will be in Cape Town on Friday. The emission of Green could ultimately spell the end of his entire England career, and who knows what it will do for his confidence. England captain Steven Gerrard has stuck by Green, saying that “everybody makes mistakes” and it is “just one of those things”. But you cannot deny that error, that came to prove so costly for England, is still playing on the mind of Green.

The obvious selection, for me, would be Joe Hart. The Manchester City ‘keeper spent the entirety of last season on loan at Birmingham City, and proved himself to be England’s brightest young goalkeeping hope. Therefore, if you’re confident and bold enough to make him a part of your squad, why not make the most of his talents? His form is superb, his confidence is sky-high, and his temperament is second to none.

David James’ experience is the one thing that may thrust him into the Cape Town limelight in 2 days time, and whilst the nickname ‘calamity James’ tells you everything about his tendency to let the odd clanger slip out of his grasp, his attitude and mindset going into such a big game may prove vital.

As the goalkeeping quandary keeps one half of Fabio Capello’s brain busy, you have to feel that England’s formation is weighing on the other. 4-4-2 clearly didn’t work against the USA, as England were often outnumbered in the midfield and the wide players had little effect. Capello has confirmed that Manchester City anchor man Gareth Barry will definitely start against Algeria on Friday, and that leads me to believe that he could go one of two ways. 4-1-4-1 is certainly an option that the Italian will consider. Barry’s presence in front of the back 4 will add extra protection and meat to the midfield, whilst it would mean that Steven Gerrard could continue in his favoured, and best position, through the centre. James Milner looks unlikely to make his 2nd start of the competition, with the obvious replacement being Joe Cole, who’s exclusion from the side for the USA game left everybody flummoxed.

The 2nd potential formation for Capello to use is the 4-4-1-1. Unfortunately, this would mean that Gerrard would be pushed out to the left side of midfield, a position that doesn’t bring out the best in the Liverpool skipper, and certainly doesn’t benefit England to any extent. Frank Lampard’s form warrants a place on the substitutes bench, but we all know that is as likely as North Korea going on to win the World Cup. It’s seems his reputation goes before him when it comes to his England selection.

Finally, Wayne Rooney’s role in the team, no matter what formation Capello adopts on Friday, is crucial to the way England play. We saw against USA that he likes to drop deep to receive the ball and dictate the play. In a 4-1-4-1 or 4-4-1-1 it is important that Rooney doesn’t leave his strike partner (likely to be Emile Heskey again) isolated. Heskey’s job as a target man was effective to an extent against the Americans but his task was made all the much harder by the fact that Rooney constantly left him all on his own up front. For England to get the right result, and perhaps more importantly play well, Rooney needs to stay close to Heskey, feed off his strong back-to-goal play, and look to push the team forward from there.

Capello’s job as England manager got a little bit tougher after the USA match, and it’s now up to him to revitalise England and get them playing the way every England fan wants to see.

Disgraced Terry faces captaincy axe

John Terry faces a nervous few days following stories that he had an affair with model Vanessa Perroncel surfaced last week. Terry, who is married and has two daughters, has failed in his attempt to ban publication of the incident after a High Court judge lifted the order yesterday, allowing disclosure.

Now, with only 5 months until the World Cup Finals are held in South Africa, Terry is forced to sweat over his status as captain of the England team, with the majority of pundits and supporters calling for the Chelsea defender to be axed from the role. However, Chelsea have vowed to stand by and support their much-loved skipper. A spokesperson said:

This is a personal matter for John Terry. The club will give John and his family all the support they need in dealing with it.

The FA have declined to comment on whether the story will cost Terry the captaincy of the National side, but with more details of the incident expected to be revealed in tomorrow's newspapers, it seems inevitable that Terry will be sacked.

Perroncel, the girlfriend of Terry's England and ex-Chelsea teammate Wayne Bridge, has hired publicist Max Clifford to represent her, after she phoned him last night.

So should JT lose the England captaincy or not?

In my opinion he should. The stories are clearly true, emphasised by the fact that Terry hasn't denied them, and his attempt to cover them up by trying to use a "super-injunction" in court. Right at the start of his reign as England boss, Fabio Capello stated that he wouldn't be taking any nonscence, on or off the pitch, whoever the culprit. This is surely the kind of thing Capello was referring to; Newspaper stories revealing all about his players' personal lives, especially when it's to do with affairs and what have you. For me, Capello has no other option but to sack Terry of his captaincy, and drop him from the team.

It comes back to the old cliche that there are thousands of kids out there who would give an arm and a leg to play for England, so why should professionals like Terry be allowed to piss it all up the wall and get away with things like this? Sacking Terry and dropping him from the World Cup squad would not only teach Terry a very big lesson, but also show that Capello really doesn't take any crap from his players. It would send a message to the whole footballing nation.

Professionals like Terry are role models to youngsters who aspire to play for England, meaning that they set the example both on and off the pitch. This is not the kind of example Terry should be setting, and he shouldn't be let near the England team again until he's proven that he's learnt his lesson.

What are your thoughts?