What are England’s chances at Euro 2012?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

England secured their place in Euro 2012 after getting the point they needed in Montenegro to top Group G.

Despite blowing a two-goal lead and seeing Wayne Rooney sent off for violent conduct, the draw was enough to see England reach their first European Championships since 2004.

Fabio Capello‘s men will be among the top bracket of teams that will feature in Poland and Ukraine next summer, but what are their chances up against the rest of Europe’s elite?

One point that instantly comes to mind is wondering how long Rooney’s suspension will last through the tournament.

The 26 year-old’s petulant kick out at defender Miodrag Dzudovic with 15 minutes remaining not only had ramifications for the rest of Friday night’s game.

It also meant that the Manchester United striker is banned for a minimum of one match in the finals in June, and with a violent conduct charge it could lead to UEFA giving him an extended ban.

Losing Rooney is a massive blow to England’s chances next summer as he is the talisman of the side, and if the suspension is for more than the opening game then Capello will have to look for a plan B to at least get through the group stages.

Throughout the qualifying campaign, Capello has adopted two types of formation that have served England relatively well, with the side remaining unbeaten throughout their eight encounters.

With either 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, the players have grown accustomed to the different strategy from the 4-4-2 heavily used by the Italian at the World Cup last year.

While that proved to be unsuccessful, England now have a Plan A and B in case teams figure them out, and this could be crucial during a major tournament.

What has also been encouraging is the development of other player from the more established names as the national side starts to develop towards the future.

Players like Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Jack Wilshere have come to the fore in the absence of key figures such as Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand.

Other players including Scott Parker and Stewart Downing have matured over the past 12 months at International level.

With other youngsters coming through in Tom Cleverley, Chris Smalling, Kyle Walker and Danny Welbeck, the future is beginning to look really bright.

But the short term question is whether or not England have a squad capable of coping with the likes of Spain, Germany and Holland in eight months time.

The simple truth of the matter is that as things stand, we are behind those teams and therefore the semi-finals has to be more of a realistic aim.

Now Capello has to figure out who is going to spearhead his attack going into the tournament in the absence of Rooney, and make sure his loss - whether it’s for one game or more - doesn’t have a major impact on our chances in Eastern Europe next year .

 So what do you think? How will England fare at Euro 2012? Will Rooney’s impending ban affect the team’s chances? Leave a comment and let us know your views.

Summer review part 3: England disappoint again in a European tournament

By Tony Alvarez

Although we have had a few movements in the transfer market as well as managers leaving jobs, searching and finding new jobs in the last week I want to look at some on the pitch action and more specificallyEngland’s failed under 21 campaign.

I’m sure many of you would of seen or at least heard that Stuart Pearce’s side crashed out of the tournament after losing 2-1 to theCzechRepublicwhen nothing but a victory was enough for the young lions.

There was of course some positive’s form this tournament however there were many more negative’s.

I’ll start with the positives of which there are not too many, Phil Jones was a colossus at the back through out the tournament and Smalling showed potential if not a bit too much confidence. Kyle Walker looked promising going forward but questions will be asked of his defence ability, not that they were found wanting they were just not tested. Frank Fielding was impressive in goal and showed signs that he could have a real future in andEnglandshirt.

Much of the rest were a shambles and it was not always the specific players fault. Jordan Henderson was nothing short of awful I am not attacking him as I rate him as a player, he is coming back off his first full season and could of done with the summer off, his performances proved that Jack Wilshere was correct to omit himself from the squad.

In the first two fixtures Mancienne was completely lost in midfield again not his fault he is a Defender and was asked to play as a holding midfielder, many players can make this conversion if they are simply there to break up play but this wasn’t the case, as well as breaking up play it looked like Mancienne was expecting to play the “quarterback” role, decent defender he is, cultured passer he certainly isn’t.

The pure absence of Marc Albrighton completely puzzled me too, he was left out with both Tom Cleverly and Henri Lansbury picked ahead of him, club form tells you things should be different Albrighton was a key figure in a mid table Premier League side, Cleverly was a big part of a Wigan side that scrapped to survival yet did not set the world alight with his goals and assists return. Lansbury was not a guaranteed starter forNorwichso how did the one that performed best for his club side and the only winger amongst the three only get the last 10 minutes of the tournament.

Another problem I have is that Sturridge was deployed on the right of the front three despite being left footed and the form striker of the squad. Welbeck is a good player but his goal return leaves a lot to be desired whilst Sturridge was arguably the form striker in the Premier League from January onwards.

The main problem above all of the above was the system England often deployed the long ball as they had no creativity in the middle, the front three consisted of Welbeck, Sturridge and Rose or Sinclair none of whom are target men. It is clear that plan A was to play the ball through the middle but with our lack of creativity plan B (hit it long) was used on many occasions, surely the height and strength Connor Wickham should have been utilised.

Many will blame the players for not being up to the required level, personally I blame the flawed management of Stuart Pearce there was no change to circumstances, he put what he felt were the 11 best players on the pitch regardless of system, Sturridge and Welbeck whilst being England’s two best forwards were not the “Horses for courses” England needed.

 What do you think? Who is to blame for England’s poor showing? Does Pearce have the managerial know how to be in the England dugout? Is he being employed for his passion alone? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts

Is it right to fast track young referees?

By Tony Alvarez

Following 26 year old referee Michael Oliver’s nightmare game at the Emirates between Arsenal and Aston Villa and some previous shockers Mr Oliver some have called into question whether the man is up to the job and whether fast tracking him due to his age was a good idea.

At the Emirates on Sunday Mr Oliver denied Arsenal a stone wall penalty when Dunne got none of the ball whilst attempting to tackle Aaron Ramsey in the Villa box, he also disallowed a Chamakh goal for a push on Kyle Walker, a push which wasn’t even appealed for by Villa players. This is not my Arsenal biased Mr Oliver had an all round bad day he was booking players and then letting similar tackles minutes later go completely unpunished, a challenge by Kieran Gibbs comes to mind shortly after he had booked Petrov.

This as mentioned above isn’t the first bad performance of Mr Oliver’s career, in his 9 Month career as a Premier League select group referee, he received criticism after sending off two West Brom players in a fixture against Blackpool of which one was later rescinded by the FA. Another decision that was heavily criticised by players, managers and the press was Mr Oliver’s decision to show a straight red to Grant Holt in a Championship fixture betweenNorwichandReading, he also sentNorwichmanager Paul Lambert to the stands for leaving his technical area. After the game Lambert questioned Mr Oliver’s experience and criticised the red card Reading manager Brian McDermott also criticised the decision, again it was later rescinded by the FA.

My problem is not with young referee’s we would like to have the fittest ref’s possible in order to be in the correct position to be able to make calls, but I think on many instances Mr Oliver has made decision which have shown he has never played the game, for me that should be paramount if you don’t understand Football how can you rule on it.

 I was reading a popular Football website yesterday and Mr Oliver was listed amongst others as one of the worst performances of the weekend with the line “If Oliver is the best of the next generation of referees then the game will be reduced to a state of farce within ten years” that maybe a bit harsh but if the next batch of referee’s are to be fast tracked due to fitness and the ability to keep up with play rather than understanding of the sport we could find ourselves in a very sorry state in years to come.

What are your thoughts? Are the FA right with their fast tracking system? Do you agree that Mr Oliver does not have the knowledge of Football to referee at the top level? Are you in agreement that Football understanding is more important than fitness? How can the FA rectify this problem? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts

Who should be England’s right-back against Wales?

England boss Fabio Capello has to ponder a selection headache at right-back

By Laurie Fitzgerald

This weekend sees Fabio Capello announce his squad for England’s Euro 2012 qualifier in Wales next Saturday.

While having to decide on a number of issues, such as who will replace the injured duo of Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand, one of the biggest dilemmas for the Italian is who he will name at right-back.

The position will take more precedence when considering that whoever fills the position will have to face up to Gareth Bale in what is sure to be a heated atmosphere at the Millennium Stadium.

Shouts From The Stands looks at the contenders for the right-back role, and who could be given the task of stopping Bale:

Glen Johnson – The Liverpool full-back has figured regularly in the England team under Capello under the past couple of years.

However, Johnson’s recent form, admittedly hampered by injury, has led to his place in the side coming under scrutiny.

There’s never been a doubt about his abilities going forward. It’s difficult trying to find a better attacking full-back in the Premier League.

But there have always been questions about his defensive game, and his recent performance up against Bale (Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Liverpool in November) saw the Welshman cause the 26 year-old endless problems.

More recently, he has lost his place at right-back in the Liverpool side, with young Martin Kelly given the nod there and Johnson switching to left-back.

This change means it’s rather difficult to see someone who hasn’t featured regularly at right-back in recent weeks getting the nod ahead of English right-backs playing well at the moment.

 

Micah Richards – The Manchester City defender has impressed in recent weeks in the right-back role, making him favourite to get the nod on March 26^th.

Richards has all the makings of the modern day defender; strong, athletic, sound defensively and good going forward.

The 22 year-old had cemented his place as England’s right-back under previous manager Steve McLaren before a slump in form saw him lose his place and fall out of national recognition.

He may not be as good as Johnson in an attacking sense but he is a better defender. He also provides a real threat from set-pieces, containing the ability of a thumping header, as shown against Reading last weekend.

If Capello goes with the all-round package from right-back, then it will surely be Richards that is given the chance.

 

Phil Neville – He may not have played for England since 2007, but if Capello seeks experience above all else, then the Everton defender has to be in contention.

Neville has performed consistently well since his move from Manchester United to Goodison Park in 2005, and has gone on to become the club captain under David Moyes.

It’s easy to see why; the 34 year-old not only offers a wealth of experience, but he also reads the game extremely well.

What may also work in Neville’s advantage are his performances against Bale this season; The 21 year-old didn’t get a sniff in either of the encounters between Spurs and the Toffees, and Capello surely will have taken note of that.

While he might not offer a lot in an attacking sense, his calm head and consistency in defence could put him in the frame.

 

Kyle Walker – The most unlikely of the right-back candidates, but the Tottenham defender has made incredible progress on his loan excursions this season.

Having spent the first half of the campaign terrorising Championship defenders with runaway leaders Queens Park Rangers, his temporary move to Aston Villa has shown he has what it takes in the Premier League.

The 20 year-old has won plaudits for his strong runs down the line, as well as providing goal-scoring opportunities from these surges forward.

On top of that, he has matured considerably defensively over the last several months and his current form is as good as those aforementioned.

However, what will count against Walker is that despite being called up for the last England squad in the friendly against Denmark, he has yet to play at International level.

While he has done so well to get into contention, it seems that Walker will only get a chance if injury restricts the likes of Richards, Johnson and Neville.

So what do you think? Who do you think will get the right-back slot against Wales? Do you think it should be someone not mentioned, such as Wes Brown? Let us know your thoughts