Sunday 13th June 2010

So the curse of England goalkeepers continues. As half time was approaching in England's opening World Cup game against the USA last night, all was looking good. Steven Gerrard had given Fabio Capello's men an early lead and their opponents had rarely threatened. Then an innocent looking looking Clint Dempsey shot was spilled by Robert Green and the West Ham number one found himself the target of a nation's criticism.
It seems to be common for the keeper to make a howler in a big game; in 2002 David Seaman was lobbed from 40 yards by Ronaldinho in a World Cup quarter final, Paul Robinson miss-kicked a Gary Neville back pass in 2006 away to Croatia during a Euro 2008 qualifyer and then a year later in the return game Scott Carson fumbled a long range effort which proved to be catastrophic to England's qualification chances. After their huge errors the international careers of Seaman, Robinson and Carson all went dramatically downhill, so it will be interesting to see if Green is condemned to the same fate after last night's howler and its a real test of character for him, with David James and Joe Hart both snapping at his heels to play between the sticks in the next game. To be fair to Robert Green last night he did slightly redeem himself after the gaffe, tipping a powerful Jozy Altidore shot onto the post in the second half, but whether that will be enough in Fabio Capello's eyes for him to keep his place against Algeria on Friday remains a big question.
Despite only claiming a draw against the USA last night, England's overall performance wasn't too disapointing. At right back Glen Johnson looked confident going forward, goal scorer Steven Gerrard put in a good captain's shift and after intially struggling against the American's tough physical approach Wayne Rooney showed glimpses of that world class talent we all know he has in the late stages of the game.
It would have been much nicer to have kicked off the campaign with a win, but England do have a habit of starting tournaments slowly and a draw against undoubtedly their strongest opponents in group C isn't a bad result.
Capello will now be preparing the team for Algeria on Friday, a game in which they can't afford to be complacent in. I think the North Africa side will be a tougher test than expected and will be difficult to break down, as were Trinidad and Tobago in 2006 when it took two late goals from Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard to seal victory. Nevertheless, a win will be expected against Algeria is a game which takes on arguably even greater importance now after last night's draw.

Tuesday 8th June 2010

Caught up in World Cup fever, I seem to have neglected the politics scene on here recently so thought I would look at the state of the Labour leadership contest before going back into football mode.
This time tomorrow we will know if Dianne Abbott, Andy Burnham and John McDonnell will join Ed Balls, David Miliband and Ed Miliband in the scheduled leadership hustings before voting opens in August.
At the moment former Health Secretary Andy Burnham is best placed to be the fourth candidate in the contest, as he needs just seven more MPs to nominate him before 12:30pm tomorrow, whilst Abbott and McDonnell both significantly trail.
Supporters of Abbott have suggested McDonnell should stand aside so that there is a better chance of someone representing the left making it onto the ballot paper and there is now increasing pressure on the MP for Hayes and Harlington after he made a distasteful comment about Margaret Thatcher at a GMB husting yesterday, joking that if he could go back in time to 1980 he would assassinate the former Conservative Prime Minister.
Whilst I am unlikely to support either Abbott or McDonnell if they secure enough nominations I would still like to see one of them taking part in the debates. This leadership contest may well determine who is the next Labour Prime Minister, so it is important party members from across the spectrum have a chance to vote for their preferred candidate, otherwise there is a real of risk alienating sections of support.
It is also a chance to show that Labour are a much more diverse party than the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. When David Cameron and Nick Clegg were chosen as leaders of their parties in 2005 and 2007 respectively they were up against other white middle class men. I don't hugely agree with Diane Abbott's politics and most Labour members I have spoken to aren't very impressed with her, but at a time when women's participation in politics is a big talking point I think having her as part of the debate would legitimise the contest and the eventual winner can say they won a diverse campaign.
We only have to look at the last proper Labour leadership election in 1994 when Tony Blair won ahead of Magaret Beckett and John Prescott, all three candidates had their differences and represented their own sections of the party.
There are a few MPs who are yet to nominate a candidate and I hope that they will lend a hand to either McDonnell or Abbott before tomorrow's deadline to make this a real contest.

Sunday 6th June 2010

Today I saw One Night In Turin, a documentary on England's 1990 World Cup campaign, in Sainsburys at a decent price and made a spur of the moment impulse purchase. After watching it this afternoon I did not regret it.
This straight to DVD release, narrated by Gary Oldman, is perhaps the best football documentary I have seen as it perfectly encapsulates the most remarkable chapter in the last 44 years of English football.
What director James Erskine, adapting from a Pete Davies book, does so well is set the context for fans such as myself who were too young to remember the sensational events of 20 years ago. In 1990 football in this country was at its lowest point; English clubs were banned from entering European competitions after the Heysel disaster of 1985, people were still shocked from the Hillsborough tragedy the previous year and we appeared to have a government who couldn't care any less if millions fans were deprived from watching their team at the World Cup, as Thatcher and co threatened to withdraw the national team from Italia '90 if behaviour on the terraces didn't improve.
After watching One Night In Turin many fans will agree with the view that England's semi final clash against West Germany was the most significant match in the evolution of our game to what we see today. Ultimately Bobby Robson's men fell short, losing to their great rivals on penalties, but after a most dramatic campaign English pride had been restored.
This film revolves around two huge characters; manager Bobby Robson and star player Paul Gascoigne. I wasn't aware how vilified Robson was in the British press before a ball had even been kicked in Italy, with tabloids screaming for the now national treasure to "JUST GO" and quit for the good of the nation. When Robson sadly passed away last year every football fan mourned the loss and it was this campaign that was the making of him. My generation think of him as the gentle grandad of the English game, so it was quite a shock for me to see him getting angry laying into journalists in this documentary. Robson faced the hostility of the media and bravely led England to their most successful ever World Cup on foreign soil.
As for Gazza, well all I can say is what a character and incredibly talented footballer in 1990. I've heard many experts talk about what a naturally gifted player he was in his younger years, but until I watched One Night In Turin I thought they were all exaggerating. Now I see what a great raw talent he was, but can only wonder about what might have been.
One Night In Turin has its flaws; the reconstruction close ups of player's legs when showing highlights of the games to add drama are perhaps uneccesary and it would have been nice to have included reflective interviews to get a sense of what the campaign meant to key individuals such as Gary Lineker and Chris Waddle, but overall it was enjoyable and I recommend any England fan to watch it before it all kicks off in South Africa on Friday.
Who knows, maybe in 20 years time we'll see a film called "One Night in Johannesburg".

Saturday 5th June 2010

This time next week many of us will be sitting in front of the television with a pint about to watch England take on the USA in the opening Group C World Cup game which has been so eagerly anticipated. It only comes around every four years and after missing out on the European Championships in 2008 the excitement is even more built up than usual.
With all this preview coverage of the world's greatest tournament I've been reminicising about previous times, watching highlights from classic tournament games and posting my favorite moments to Twitter daily. This will be the fourth World Cup I can remember and the last three have provided me with flashbulb memories. Here are the matches I can recall so vividly from past summers:

1998: England 2-2 Argentina
At the age of eight, the World Cup held in France 12 years ago was the first in which I had become a football fanatic. I can remember getting my first ever pair of football boots a few months before and spent countless hours playing on the "the green" outside my house. This match was on a school night, but my parents knew there was no way they could send me to bed before the end of this huge second round contest.
When Argentina won a penlty early on I recall going upstairs to hide as I couldn't take watching it, but that didn't stop Batistuta coverting from the spot. England levelled 4 minutes later through a penalty of their own and then an 18 year old Michael Owen stunned us all with that wonder goal which announced himself to the world. Argentina equalised from a free kick just before half time and whilst that may have been the last goal of the night the real drama was yet to come. Like many eight year old kids at the time, David Beckham was my idol, so I was absolutely gutted when he was sent off early in the second half for kicking out at Diego Simeone.
We all thought Sol Campbell had won it late on, but his header was ruled out after Alan Shearer was judged to have fouled the Argentina keeper. Ever since then I've always looked straight at the linesman when the team I'm supporting scores, as I learnt on this night to go into wild celebrations only to find the goal has been disallowed is a real kick on the teeth.
The game went to penalties, England inevitably lost and that was my first taste of World Cup disapointment, I should have got used to it then and there.

2002: England 1-0 Argentina
Revenge is a dish best served after four years of waiting as England got one over the team who had knocked them out at the last World Cup in this crucial group game. This tournament was held in the Far East, so most of the games were played in the morning or at lunch time. Luckily, I was on a half term break from school so could watch this game at a gathering of family friends. As half time was approaching lunch was being served, so I went into the kitchen to take my pick from the buffet. As I sat there, someone burst into the room shouting "ENGLAND HAVE GOT A PENALTY" and I jumped up so quickly I didn't realise my arm was still under the table, so ended up hitting my hand against the side. The pain of bruised fingers would last until England got knocked out by Brazil two weeks later, but at the time I was so caught up in the moment I didn't feel a thing.
It was all up to David Beckham, the scapegoat four years previously after his sending off to convert from 12 yards out and he didn't let us down. We held on for a win which felt so good against the team that had reduced me to tears in 1998.

2006: England 0-0 Portugal
I watched every England game of the 2006 World Cup in Germany at the Royal British Legion in Hungerford and altough I wasn't yet old enough to drink there, it was still a great place to watch the big matches as there was always such an amazing atmosphere when the national team were playing.
This Quarter Final showdown took place on a Saturday, a day which I usually worked washing dishes at a local cafe. Fortunately I managed to convince my boss to let me have time off when England were playing, telling him that we wouldn't have any customers whilst the matches were on, so there was no point in paying me (£3.30 an hour!) to be standing around doing nothing.
I finished my shift 15 minutes before kick off, so had to run up to the Legion and got there to find all the seats had been taken, but it was worth standing at the back to sample the atmosphere. The whole pub was singing throughout the game and the language was most colourful when Rooney was sent off in the second half. After losing on penalties once again, the Legion emptied very suddenly amid a huge anti-climax. Good thing I had a Pirate themed party to attend after the game, otherwise the evening would have been very depressing!

In the years to come I wonder what my flashbulb memory of this upcoming World Cup will be. Maybe Rooney's extra time scorcher against Spain on July 11th? We can all dream...

Thursday 3rd June 2010

Last night I thought I might as well broaden my horizons by accompanying two friends who were off to see Sex and the City 2 and I must say I can see why not many blokes would choose to see it.
I confess that I enjoyed parts of it, there were a few laughs here and there, but all this obsession with clothes and jewellery obviously wasn't my cup of tea. The characters were also a bit too categorised for my liking; there's Charlotte - the dappy one, Miranda - the clever one and of course, Samantha - the crude and sex obsessed one. Does every clique of ladies have their token personalities like this?
However, I can understand why Sex and the City is so immensely popular with the opposite sex. It has emancipated women, given them a voice and let them talk about things that would have previously been taboo subjects. It is quite fitting that the four girls go to Abu Dhabi, where their counterparts are suppressed, though I'm not quite sure how realistic one scene is towards the end when they are rescued from an angry mob by a group of Muslim women to find their new friends are all wearing the "Spring collection" underneath the veil.
There were far too many shots of bulges for my liking, but as I'm not exactly the target audience I shouldn't be too surprised. Any girl who enjoys Sex and the City can't really complain about their boyfriend or husband reading Nuts magazine or going to watch a film to lust over Megan Fox, as I suppose this is their equivalent.
From what I understand this film hasn't been very warmly received. When we left the cinema both Jenny and Hayley claimed it wasn't as good as it's prequel and I have other friends who were critical of this one, describing it as "awful" and atrocious", but this my first Sex and the City experience, so I can't compare it to anything else.
I now feel shamefully unmasculine so am off to watch my History of the FIFA World Cup DVD!

Tuesday 1st June 2010

As I write this, news is slowly filtering through about the seven unlucky England players who will not be heading out to South Africa for this month's World Cup. An official announcement is not expected to be made for another hour or so yet, but sources tell us that Leighton Baines, Tom Huddlestone, Scott Parker, Michael Dawson, Theo Walcott, Darren Bent and Adam Johnson will all be heading home from the Austrian training camp, whilst the rest fly off to South Africa. The only surprise there is Theo Walcott, who was a shock inclusion when Sven Goran-Eriksson named his World Cup aquad four years ago.
So now we know 23 men who a nation pins their hopes on are, can they write themselves in the history books? Here's how I rate each area out of 10.


Goalkeepers - Robert Green, Joe Hart, David James.
6/10

With just 11 days to go until England's first game against the USA we're still not completely sure who will line up between the sticks. Joe Hart has impressed me the most, having had a great season at Birmingham and he has done well in the two recent friendly games against Mexico and Japan. Robert Green perhaps would've been expected to take the number one jersey this time last year, but he hasn't had the best of seasons with West Ham and he didn't do himself any favours by becoming the first ever England keeper to get sent off against Ukraine last October. David James is just unpredictable. What is worrying is that none of these three men can be described as world class; Italy have Buffon and Spain have Casillas, so this is an area we're definitely lacking in compared to other contenders.

Defenders - Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Jamie Carragher, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, Stephen Warnock, Matthew Upson.
7/10

In Ferdinand, Terry and Cole England have three quarters of a defence who have played together regularly on the international stage for the best part of six years and Glen Johnson at right back mades us look pretty solid at the back. Ledley King and Jamie Carragher should be more than capable understudies at centre back, but I'm concerned about the lack of cover for Ashley Cole at left back, with Stephen Warnock having just one England cap to his name.

Midfielders - Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Joe Cole, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Michael Carrick, Aaron Lennon, James Milner.
9/10

Providing Gareth Barry can get match fitness in time, England have one of the strongest midfields in the tournament. Lampard and Gerrard both have a great deal of experience at international level and with Lennon, Milner, Wright-Phillips and Cole all in the squad there are plenty of options on the wings. Michael Carrick did well in 2006, catching the eye of Manchester United, who went on to sign him for £16 million, but I can't help but wonder if he is past his best, as he hasn't even been considered a regular starter for his club recently.

Strikers - Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch, Jermaine Defoe, Emile Heskey.
8/10

As I'm sure you've read everywhere else, Rooney is crucial to any success this summer and looking at his form over the last year he has to be considered as one of the top 5 players in the world at the moment. But who to play alongside him? I think with his excellent record in an England shirt (21 goals in 38 games) Peter Crouch should start, but as is the case in goal, that spot besides Rooney is perhaps one of the areas we are lacking true world class quality. Nevertheless, having scored more goals in qualifying than any other nation England should be sufficent here.

The coach - Fabio Capello.
9/10

The Italian has done a phenomonal job since taking over from Steve McClaren over two years ago, picking up the players when they were at their lowest ebb after failing to qualify for Euro 2008. Capello has instilled discipline into the whole squad and he is not afraid to change tactics when things aren't going right. We're all hoping he can add a World Cup to is already impressive resume this summer.

That gives England an overall score of 39 out of 50 and whilst I haven't looked at other squads in as much depth I think it would be fair to say that only Brazil and Spain would score in their 40s. I'll stand by the prediction I made at the beginning of the year that England will reach the semi finals before losing on penalties to Brazil and talking of the dreaded P word I really hope that Fabio has had the team practicing from the spot. If our first choice taker can miss two in a row (Lampard's miss against Japan on Sunday follows on from his miss in the FA Cup final) then I'm not sure what that says about the rest of the squad. Please no more penalty heartbreak!