Category Archives: Euro 2012

Capello In Danger Of Losing His Right Hand Man

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It’s almost silly season again, but Pete South has a plausible theory that fits in with the ‘Ancelotti to Roma’ rumours that are circulating…

England manager Fabio Capello could find himself with his general manager Franco Baldini when England play against Switzerland on June 4th after speculation grew the Italian is set to join Roma.

Baldini has been a central part to Capello’s reign as England manager, and was responsible for informing some members of the England squad they didn’t make the squad for their world cup campaign in South Africa.

A US consortium recently completed a takeover of the Italian club, and are said to be targeting Baldini to take over the role of General Manager, a position he held during Capello’s tenure in the Italian capital, and the temptation of an injection of funds from the new owners into the 6th placed Serie A club could prove to be too much for the 60-year-old with links to the city.

Baldini has always been seen as a crucial link between Capello and the players, and was said to be a central figure in the recent captaincy controversy which saw Rio Ferdinand stripped of the arm-band in favour of ex-captain John Terry, and also spoke to Ferdinand in an attempt to calm the situation.

US tycoon Thomas Di Benedetto, who led the take-over bid of Roma, is a confirmed fan of Baldini and admires his knowledge of the game.

“He is someone who knows his football,” he told the press. “I like him a lot.”

The former Real Madrid manager could be left isolated by the departure of Baldini, and after his communication skills were put under the spotlight following criticism from the media for his handling of the captaincy situation. If Baldini were to leave, the man who once said he only required “100 words” to communicate his message to his side may be forced into taking up a more involved role.

Baldini is said to be a popular member of the England set up, and if he were to join the Italian giants it would be a blow to England’s Euro qualifying campaign. Football bets suggest a possible option for Baldini is to wait until England’s qualifying campaign finishes in October after being rumoured to be unwilling to leave Capello high and dry.

England are football betting favourites to qualify for Euro 2012 and currently sit atop of Group G, level on points with Montenegro after four games, with their next opponents Switzerland six points further back in third place.

Recent Internationals Provide Hope for Capello and England

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The last ten days have been encouraging for England – there’s certainly no lack of competition for places throughout the squad, even though the general feeling about Sr. Capello is that the sooner he’s replaced the better. Richard Smith takes an overview of the recent games.

So, after the debacle of the captaincy change and England’s latest two matches against Wales in the Euro 2012 qualifier last weekend and the friendly against Ghana at Wembley in midweek, how far exactly has England come in the past nine months in terms of putting away their world cup nightmare and moving on?

The win against Wales was an extremely comfortable affair which saw England wrap the game up within the first fifteen minutes, scoring twice and never looking in any danger from then on. Some hardened critics might question why did they not go on and win the game by more goals, but the truth was this was a comfortable win and the team never needed to get out of first gear and the points has Capello’s side back on top of Group G at the halfway stage on level points with their nearest rivals Montenegro, who sit in second and who England must play away in what could be a crucial final qualifier on 7th October.

The friendly against Ghana gave England boss, Fabio Capello, an opportunity to ring a few changes and take a look at a few fringe players. It also allowed him to work on his newly found 4-3-3 formation. The result was a good all round performance against a vibrant team with the match ending 1-1, with England being deprived of victory in injury time after Sunderland’s Asamoah Gyan deftly slipped the attention of Joleon Lescott before firing into the net to cancel out Andy Carroll’s first half left foot strike. All in all, it was one of the more entertaining England friendlies in recent memory and more positives can be taken than negatives.

Overall, England should be pleased with their work this past week, which provides a glimmer of hope for the remainder of Capello’s tenure, particularly as the media were baying for the Italian’s blood after his handling of the England captaincy, a situation that has probably not yet gone away.  Certainly it is difficult to envisage Rio Ferdinand playing for England again under Capello, who failed to inform the Manchester United defender about his decision to reinstate John Terry as captain. There may well be question marks too over Steven Gerrard’s commitment to Capello, particularly as he had been appointed captain in Ferdinand’s absence for the World Cup last season, where he was blatantly and publicly undermined by Terry.

That said, perhaps Capello himself will feel the time is right to change a few of the ‘old guard’ in favour of some of the younger players such as Andy Carroll, Jack Wilshere, Michael Dawson, Phil Jagielka and Ashley Young. Certainly if Capello is to persist with his 4-3-3 system it looks very difficult to play Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the same team. Add to the equation that both Ferdinand and Gerrard have spent plenty of time this season injured, it could prompt them both to consider the option of retiring from international football, however, both are likely to want to play a key role should England reach next Summer’s European Championship in Poland and the Ukraine and it will be very interesting to see which team Capello picks come the next qualifier against Switzerland on 4th June should both Gerrard and Ferdinand be available for selection. 

England remain hot favourites to automatically qualify for Euro 2012 with the odds as short as 1/10 to top Group G, an outcome all concerned will hope is already decided in their favour well before the trip to Montenegro in October.

Wales Preview

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I’ve got to be honest, I’m completely underwhelmed by today’s game. If England don’t win by more than two goals I think Capello should resign immediately. This game looks like a mythical third round FA Cup tie – something like Histon v Liverpool.

To begin, let’s start with some facts. We’ve only lost three times in Wales since World War II, the last time was a 0-1 defeat at The Racecourse Ground in Wrexham in May 1982, a game in the last Home International Tournament.

We’ve won eight of the last ten meetings in Wales, there’s not been a draw since April 1970 and we’ve only failed to score twice in the last 20 games over the bridge.

Wales have won 9 of their last 20 internationals at home but only four of their last ten – and those were against those well known powerhouses Liechtenstein, Estonia, Scotland (stiffles giggle) and Luxembourg. They haven’t won a Euro qualifier at home since beating San Marino four years ago.

Fifteen of the 24 players in the Welsh squad for the game – that’s 62% of them – play outside the Premier League. If Wales could play like Swansea then this game would be a lot closer, but there are only three Swansea players in the squad. 

(BTW if Swansea get promoted from the Championship, they’re worth watching: a budget Barcelona until they get to the opposition penalty box where they turn into a poor man’s Arsenal and try to pass the ball into the net)

As for all the nonsense about giving John Terry back the captaincy, all I’m going to say is that I really hope that Spurs either beat Real Madrid in the quarter finals of the Champions League or put up such a fantastic performance that appointing Harry Redknapp as next England manager is obvious even to the dunderheads at the FA.

Capello’s ‘decision’ to reappoint John Terry as captain just shows what a busted flush he is as a manager and even though I expect us to qualify for next year’s tournament, I think it’ll be the same old story when we get to Poland/Ukraine I’m afraid.

Verdict: Wales will be fired up for about ten minutes after the crowd at the Millennium Stadium have finished singing ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’, Craig Bellamy will attempt to decapitate Wayne Rooney if he can get anywhere near him…and then England will score and the game will be over.

Postscript: I think we might have a tougher game against Ghana next week.

Ferdinand “Very Upset” With Captaincy Decision

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Guest blogger Pete South takes a look at the latest controversial decision by Fabio Capello…

Current England captain Rio Ferdinand is said to be “very upset” over Fabio Capello’s decision to name John Terry as captain for the crucial Euro qualifier against Wales at the weekend, BBC sport reports.

The Manchester United defender has endured an injury hit season and has only played four games for the national side in the last 12 months, and last week media rumours have circulated about the Italian’s impending decision to name Terry as skipper.

Initially back problems kept Ferdinand out of the action, but now a hernia problem means he is unlikely to feature against Wales, and while nothing had been confirmed until the weekend free bets had largely been placed in Terry’s favour.

Terry was stripped of the armband last year following reports about his personal life. Terry allegedly conducted an affair with team mate Wayne Bridges ex-fiancé Vanessa Perroncel, and Capello acted swiftly to take the captain’s armband from him, but now the Chelsea defender has regained the position.

Frank Lampard led the team out in their last match, a friendly against Denmark, but media reports suggest Capello has started to re-think his decision following Ferdinand’s injury woes. The armband was passed around the team in that match, although Terry was a notable exception, and Capello admitted the captaincy had become a headache for him.

“I was really upset about what happened in Denmark, when I saw the players saying ‘who is the captain?’,” he said.

“After one year of punishment, it was not the best moment for John Terry to see this. For that reason, I need to make a decision – and it will be a permanent decision, not just one game.” He added.

 The Italian also admitted the injuries that plagued Ferdinand were becoming an issue and insists he has to act now.

“First of all, I want to know what happened with Rio’s back and when he will be fit because he is a really important player for us,” the 64-year-old said.

After that, I will explain to him what really happened and what I am going to do in the next week – if I will decide on a new captain or about John Terry or something else. I will explain what happened in Denmark and what I think. I would understand if he is not happy but I am the manager. I have to take decisions.”

 England are overwhelming free bet favourites for the game against Wales, but will have to play without Stephen Gerrard, who has been ruled out for a month with a groin injury.

Can Walcott Finally Be England’s Main Man?

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With a little over three weeks to go until a rare local derby, guest blogger Pete South wonders if Theo Walcott can shine in Cardiff – and identifies one of Walcott’s biggest fans.

Those studying the online sportsbook will note that being selected for a World Cup isn’t always necessarily a good thing, while being dropped can also have its benefits.

Wayne Bridge, caught up in the eye of a storm as tabloids exposed the comings and goings of ex-team mate John Terry and his former girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel, decided to rule himself out of Fabio Capello’s squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Lampooned as he was lamented for his decision, sports betting pundits note how Bridge had the last laugh as he stood back and watch England burn to the ground.

Conversely Theo Walcott’s selection for the 2006 tournament has gone down in history alongside a despairing Rob Greene fumble or  a  Wayne Rooney stamp as one of the biggest aberrations in English football in recent years.

Sven Goran Eriksson took the young winger with him to Germany at the expense of Jermaine Defoe and promptly left him out of every single game. To add to his World Cup woes, Fabio Capello didn’t include him in his squad for South Africa as his form deteriorated towards the end of last season.

Both decisions involving Walcott affected the young winger, his club boss Arsene Wenger concurs, and as yet he has been unable to showcase his undoubted talent at international level

Is he ready to finally leave his mark on England as they look to recover the aura that slipped so badly during the farce in South Africa? The upcoming qualifier against Wales could provide the perfect opportunity for the former Southampton man.

He has impressed sporadically for England, most notably his hat-trick against Croatia in the World Cup qualifying campaign, but his omission from the world Cup squad in 2010 began a series of hurtful insights into his ability.

TV pundit Alan Hansen was ruthless in his assessment of Walcott, suggesting he lacked a “footballing brain”, and was more akin to a sprinter than a footballer.

It is the curse of the modern English winger that pace and dribbling ability cannot be married with a decent final ball – Aaron Lennon and Adam Johnson suffer as Walcott does – but Walcott is the only one of the three who has been marked as the next big thing for England since a young age, the emphasis is on him.

His performance against Barcelona in Arsenal’s first leg Champions League tie was fairly typical. Some malice, some dangerous running, but he cut inside too often, refused to take his man on and most frustratingly of all, failed to put in a final ball against a side that Lionel Messi admitted they were worried about.

“Barcelona players are not scared easily but I can tell you that when we played Arsenal last season he truly worried us” the current Ballon D’Or holder said and it is a source of constant frustration that he is unable to replicate the form that saw him terrorise the Catalan club at the same stage last year.

But he has matured this season and looks to be learning his craft – something which can be said of the entire Arsenal team as they look for their first trophy since 2005. His seven goals so far is a good return for a wide-man, and with Arsenal still in with a chance of winning four trophies this year, big things are expected of him.

If England can find the best way to utilise him and extract all the talent from his right foot then they will have a very dangerous prospect on their hands. He is still young and learning, but sooner rather than later he must prove he is the man for England or face getting left behind. He is good enough, players of Lionel Messi’s calibre do not dish out praise at will, but now is the time, when England need him most, to show he is a world class talent.

England Face Tough Task At Sold-Out Millennium Stadium

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Guest blogger Pete South takes a look at the forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifier with our local rivals…

Online sports betting pundits will be aware that England’s goal of qualifying for the European Championships in 2012 will get under way in earnest next month as they come up against their toughest challenge.

The Welsh, in another stage of transition, won’t offer the same resistance as Montenegro did in their last qualifier on the pitch, where a 1-1 draw was all they could muster, but their secret weapon is loaded and ready to fire.

Those studying sportsbook online note how  a packed Millennium Stadium will be an intimidating obstacle for Fabio Capello’s men to overcome as they look to finally put their failed World Cup campaign behind them.  Martin Johnson’s rugby team recently experienced the full force of the Welsh crowd, and Capello could do worse than making a quick phone call to find out what to expect.

“Being an Englishman this weekend in Cardiff means you aren’t the most popular” Johnson said after the game, and it is something their footballing counterparts will have to contend with.

But, England not only need to overcome the partisan Welsh crowd, but excel on the pitch.

The Italian will know a successful won’t be enough this time around to convince the nation that they are a side ready to win the competition, fingers have been burned from last time around. No, they must offer more than just winning if they are to win over English supporters.

The signs are good however. Their 2-1 friendly win against Denmark earlier this month represented a shift in attitude towards the much maligned friendly. Despite the constant switch of captains and a steady flow of substitutions, England achieved what most thought impossible – they managed to take some positives away from the game.

Denmark were a genuine test. If not the most technically gifted they pressured England and put together some fluent attacks, mostly through the gifted Christian Erikson. But the emergence of Jack Wilshere and Ashley Young’s success in a central role means Capello has genuine variation in his attack for the remainder of the qualification games, something which was lacking previously. If the form of Wayne Rooney is still a worry for the former Juventus boss, then the goal scoring prowess of Darren Bent and his connection with Villa team-mate Young will appease him somewhat.

New Welsh manager Gary Speed faces his first home match in charge against possibly the toughest task he will face as Welsh manager. Three losses from their first three matches, which spelt the end for previous manager John Toshack, mean their chances of qualification are all but over. England will have to be mindful of a Welsh side with only one thing to play for, one thing they care most about. Beating the English.

Wilshire Shines For Capello

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A come from behind victory away from home and the emergence of a new young talent? Things are looking up – over to guest blogger Thomas Rooney.

Fabio Capello isn’t someone who dishes out praise too often. The Italian likes to play his cards close to his chest and not let the press know what he thinks of his players.

After the friendly victory over Denmark on Wednesday night though, Capello was in a very positive mood, not only praising the team performances as a whole, but singling out individuals who impressed him.

At the centre of the England boss’ thoughts in this regard was Jack Wilshire. The 18-year-old made his first international start and produced a very promising performance in the 45 minutes he played.

Speaking of the Arsenal youngster, Capello said: “He played very well. He played with confidence, passed a lot of good balls and won back possession.”

Capello has recently said that Wilshire is one of very few of England’s younger players ready to play for him on a regular basis and it seems clear that the game against Denmark has done nothing but increase this belief.

The former Real Madrid boss continued his praise: “It’s not easy for a player so young on a [full] debut to play at this level. It was a good performance.”

There was quite a lot of pressure on Wilshire before the game too. Everyone was talking about his talent. Players, pundits and managers were all singing his praises.

It shows a lot that he didn’t let this get to him and produced an assured performance, linking well with Frank Lampard and spraying the passes around in England’s midfield.

Many sports betting pundits thought that Wilshire was the real deal before last night’s game and now they know he can be.

Whether he will get the nod for England’s Euro 2010 qualifier against Wales in March is another matter though. Capello will be keen not to ask too much of him too soon.

Having said that, he is bound to be tempted to start with Wilshire. He seems like the type of player that will grow with every performance. He is starting week in week out for Arsenal, so why can’t he be part of England’s strongest team?

Those looking at sportsbook patterns regularly will want to note the quote of the man himself after the game too. He is clearly a very driven young man who is determined to succeed with England.

He said: “To play with the players who were on show was just brilliant. I’m delighted and it’s good to get off to a winning start on my debut.”

“Playing with Rooney and Lampard was great and I’m going to treasure that forever.”

He also revealed that he was desperate to play the second-half, but Capello reminded him of the important games he had coming up for Arsenal.

One thing for sure though is that Wilshire is a fantastic talent and if he progresses over the next year or so, England could have a world-class midfielder on their hands by Euro 2012.

Capello Keen To Give Youth A Chance

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After allowing the slow and uncharacteristically wasteful Gareth Barry to embarrass himself for 90 minutes rather than introducing the exciting and talented youngster Jack Wilshere to kick start a stagnant game, Fabio Capello should have expected some criticism to be fired in his direction this week after the Montenegro game. Anyone who’d placed a football bet on England to win would have been frustrated by the decision.

Having said that, it’s important to look on the optimistic side of the situation, and Capello’s decision to use upcoming friendlies to provide England’s youngsters with the chance to shine is an obvious positive. The manager keen to find out which players need more time to develop their game domestically before they are going to be fully ready to compete in the international fold.

With the likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand already creaking, and seasoned veterans Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard unable to play on forever, Capello is well positioned to blood young talent and shape the next generation of the side. After all, the Betfair Football betting  makes the side strong favourites to qualify for Euro 2012, so why not give some upcoming stars a chance?

Given that players such as Kieran Gibbs, Andy Carroll, and Joe Hart are already playing on a regular basis for their club sides, the future of English football is beginning to look brighter than some thought possible after a World Cup that saw the England team return home in disgrace after failing to live up to the high hopes that fans and pundits had for them.

However, with the British press always looking at the here and now, Wilshere and co will know that, despite their tender age, they will be expected to jump in at the deep end successfully.

England – Thinking the Unthinkable about Euro 2012

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Guest blogger Richard Smith takes a look at the aftermath of England’s goalless draw with Montenegro, which was a return to the depressing ‘form’ displayed in South Africa.

Fabio Capello was appointed head coach of the England football team on a salary that would dwarf even those paid to BBC TV presenters and which is aligned to a contract that rewards failure and success with a breathtaking equality, has surely been kept awake following England’s dismal display against Montenegroin their Group F qualifier at Wembley this week.

A sleepless night mixing both his English and Italian thoughts would have been all he had deserved for overseeing such an inept display from his team, who seemed not to have the first idea of how to get the better of a Montenegro team, cobbled together from a population of just 700,000 people.

The dire 0-0 scoreline means that Montenegro will head the group into the New Year and provide them with the confidence needed to, dare I say, win the group, something that will do if they carry on winning their remaining matches.

For England on the other hand, they must now, no doubt with some trepidation, face an away match in Podgorica on October 7th 2011 for the final qualifying game! This should provide an opportunity for Capello’s side to redress the situation, knowing that anything other than a win should, if everything in life was fair, disallow them from re-entry back into England.

England fans will be hoping that the Three Lions will have already booked their place in Poland and Ukraine for the European Championship by the time the time the team travel to Montenegro but nothing is that predictable with England. The same was said ahead of Croatia’s visit to Wembley prior to the final group game of qualification for Euro 2008 and we know what happened there…

Of course it is unthinkable that England will not qualify for Euro 2012, but it was also unthinkable about any other team topping the England Group in the recent World Cup. England fans are becoming used to the unthinkable and Fabio Capello is beginning to realise why.

Montenegro, who has only been a recognised football nation since 2007, play a tidy game of football, at a pace that was slow at its fastest and almost still at it’s slowest. Their players all know how to pass the ball and know that creating options for those passes are the key to denying the opposition possession – nothing complicated about that at all. However, it became frustratingly obvious as the match went on, that England were baffled by both the pace of the match coupled with the Montenegrin passing game, so much so that when they were in possession themselves, they seemed to forget that they usually play their Premier League games at breakneck speed, which is the traditional hallmark of England’s football culture.

It would be easy to blame the result on the lack of a full squad, but England’s team was made up from some of the most expensive players in the world. They all play for teams in the higher echelon of the Premier League, less maybe Kevin Davies, who came on as substitute for Peter Crouch, who had possibly his worse performance to date in an England shirt. There is simply no excuse at all. They visit Wales for their next qualifier in March next year, a team who have virtually been eliminated from the competition losing badly to Switzerland. However, if England thinks that they are going to have an easy time of it at the Millennium Stadium, then they should quickly rethink – or could it be that the unthinkable will happen again!

Maximum points from Switzerland’s visit to Wembley, followed by a trip to Bulgaria before the final home game against Wales should be enough to secure qualification before the final game, with the addition that Montenegro drop points at some stage. However, a winner takes all scenario cannot be ruled out.

With the other three teams in Group G trailing behind, it now appears a two horse race for the one place in the finals and bookmakers still hold the opinion that it’s England’s to lose, offering odds of 1/6 about them winning the group still – the price unaffected by this week’s result. The same confidence is not evident in the latest Euro 2012 odds for which England have been eased out to 10/1 to win their first European Championship and based on Tuesday’s performance; would-be punters are probably best waiting to have a few patriotic pounds on the unthinkable happening in June 2012 with the price of victory only likely to head in one direction based on recent evidence!

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Didn’t He Write Music For Westerns?

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We’ve got a big game tonight, against the undefeated group leaders. So what do we know about Montenegro?

It’s another one of those places that used to be part of a country that no longer exists – it’s been independent a number of times but always seems to be swallowed up by bigger neighbours: Venice, the Ottoman Empire and finally Yugoslavia – the reason that we call the country Montenegro is because that’s what the Venetians named it, although the locals use ‘Crna Gora’ which also means ‘Black Mountain’.

It’s a tiny place – 2/3rds the size of Wales with a slightly bigger population than Leeds – and finally became independent in May 2006; the following month Serbia & Montenegro took part in the World Cup in Germany but lost all three first round games. The Montenegrin national team has only been active since March 2007 and is currently managed by Niko Krancjar’s dadZlatko.

So basically we’re playing one of those countries that are capable of producing decent players, but to think of them as some kind of emerging power would be completely wrong. Their recent win in Bulgaria was only their second victory outside Montenegro since October 2007 and they’ve lost five of their last ten away games – in the last year they’ve drawn in Dublin and lost to Macedonia and Norway which seems to me to be a far better indicator of what sort of a team they are. Apart from Italy, they’ve not faced any heavyweight international opponents…stop giggling at the back please. We are international heavyweights – we regularly get beaten in the final stages of tournaments, not in the group stages. So there.

The team that beat Switzerland in Podgorica on Friday is what you might expect. None of the starting eleven play in Montenegro; with the exception of Branko Boskovic (who plays for DC United in the USA) the rest of the players are spread around Europe: only Simon Vukcevic (Sporting Lisbon) and captain Mirko Vucinic (Roma) play for Champions League/Europa League standard teams.

Apart from John Terry and Darren Bent having to sit out, Fab has a pretty much full strength squad to call on. Rio Ferdinand’s return from the injury that kept him out of the World Cup is good news, although you don’t always know if he’s going to be thinking about fast cars, record companies and lifestyle magazines when he should be thinking about defending. Ferdinand’s presence might be able to inspire Wayne Rooney, who still looks out of sorts – although his circumstances are purely his own fault and I’ve got no sympathy for him at all.

Now it’s prediction time: we’ve got an 11 game winning streak going at Wembley (undefeated in the last fourteen), so it’s going to be tough for Montenegro. It sounds bleedin’ obvious, but the Montenegrins have done well away from home when they’ve stopped the opposition scoring but as we’ve scored an average of 2.9 goals per game at Wembley in recent games, we probably playing them at the right time. I can see them getting at least one goal though (we’ve not kept consecutive clean sheets at home for three years) but England ought to win this one.

If Vucinic scores, he’s promised to repeat his goal celebration that got him a booking last week: I think if I’d scored a goal against England I’d run around with my shorts on my head as well! I’m sure that the ITV commentators have been scraping the bottom of  their cliche barrels in order to come up with dreadful puns: my money’s on ‘that REALLY WAS pants defending from England!’

Or if it’s a tight game with a late England goal from Rooney: ‘He’s the man who broke the back of Montenegro!’

That’ll do.