Capello finally listening to Arsene?

England played a solid game last night against a determined and skillfull Denmark. The Danes played well and certainly a young Christian Eriksen, who currently plies his trade at Ajax.

Denis Bergkamp recommended this player to Arsene last year and its clear to see why. He would fit in immediately into our squad and style of play. His one touch passing and vision is excellent. He had a great game and if we aren't going to go for him then I fully expect someone else to do so very soon.

Returning my focus to England and our boys Walcott and Wilshire. Wilshire had an accomplished 45 minutes where he showcased the qualities of his game, he tackled well, moved the ball well and generally had a good performance. With that in mind, I was delighted that he only played 45 minutes. He's played a lot of football and it was good to rest him for the rest of the game.

Walcott had a stormer last night, his assist for the first goal was excellent considering the whack in the face he took as he bulldozed past the full back Jacobsen to put across an excellent ball for a waiting Bent to tap in. His efforts down the right created several chances and its a game the Danish full back will rue for some time I would think. Theo played to plan and stuck out wide and was rewarded with several opportunities with time and space to get at the full-back, exactly what he wants.

Harking back to the title of the article, did anyone else notice the likes of Glen Johnson, Milner, Terry, Bent playing the full 93odd minutes tonight? We got away with 45minutes for Wilshire and 68minutes for Theo. We've got some huge games coming up and we need our best players fit for Wolves then Barca.

Early guesses for the Squad against Wolves, I expect Squillaci to start as Wenger saves the recovering Djourou for Barcelona. Also I think he'll start Walcott and I have a niggling feeling that Chamakh will start, with Arsene wanting to rest RvP.

Personally, I can't wait and a full preview will follow soon

WG

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Fat Frank to lead with Theo and Jack propping him up

Fat Frank Lampard, allegedly sponsored by Ginsters pasties ltd, has been named as England Captain in the absense of Ferdinand and Gerrard. He certainly has the experience, but I'd suggest as he is more than able of being anonymous in an England shirt it might not be such an amazing choice, but these days being Captain doesn't mean much anymore. There isn't the respect for the armband that there used to be.

All that negativity aside, Super-Theo and Young Jacky are in the squad and both look ready to start tonight in Denmark. Jacky is to be given the midfield holding role, as previously held by Barry in another opportunity to show his talents in an England shirt. His link up play, already acknowledged and credited by Theo is already well known and his performances in our midfield have been excellent. His eye for the pass and the execution of his vision is going to be a great benefit tonight.

Theo should benefit from this and he's in good form. I expect Theo to to really put a stamp on the game tonight to show Fabio what a mistake he made by not taking him. Theo offers something entirely different to any other England player. He offers a more direct threat than any player and he will always make an opposition defence twitchy about their positioning as they worry about his pace breaking through just as he did against the Barcodes.

I'm looking at tonight with my usual lack of passion, but I'm looking forward to see how Jacky and Theo get on. I almost expect Jack to be awesome, so much I really think the papers will be full of him tomorrow.

Lets hope its for the right reasons!

WG

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English woe, Russian pride and a leaving a legacy

Leaving a legacy is a desire for all of us. We all want to make our mark in the world, just to have something to show we were here and we made a difference.

Sepp Blatter is no different in this regard. Though ostensibly the one real difference he should make is video replays and leave football to those that love it. It should be no surprise that the self-serving git would cajole and press the Fifa Exec committee into choosing Russia. I would suggest Panorama check out his own Federation, those of his committee members and look into all the mystery donations their football associations might get to fund new pitches and academies.

Lets not be naive, we all know football has evolved from a sport and into a business. If you look at the World Cup without our rose-tinted glasses its a massive multi-billion dollar event, where subsidies, kick-backs and sponsorships are ten-a-penny and where wheels are often greased to facilitate these things.

I'm not happy with the timing of the Panorama program, but I don't really think it made a difference. On paper England ticked all the boxes for the World Cup but Fifa ignored it because they wanted to make a difference, create a legacy. The Russians had it right, there might be Russian Billionaires all over the place tickling each others armpits and owning football teams, but they've sensibly not invested in their football grounds because they knew Fifa would plump for them and give them money to do it. After all, the Russian game needs development - though perhaps they should stop buying Brazilians and start nurturing home talent first?

This all sounds awfully bitter, but in truth I never expected us to get the World Cup, so disappointment isn't so tangible as much as its a welcome cushion that I can sink into and ignore the press furore about it all.

WG

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Theo Walcott - Prodigal Striker to Wing Wizard

Theo James Walcott - Born 16th March 1989.

He was born in Stanmore, North London and his early years were spent in Newbury, Berks where he played for A.F.C. Newbury scoring over 100 goals in his first season and only season before moving to Swindon Town. He spent 6 months there before being scouted and transferred to Southampton rejecting the chance to join Chelski and earning himself a sponsorship contract with Nike.

For his shame he's a Liverpool fan.

He made his first team debut for Southampton as a substitute in a 0:0 draw at home to Wolves in 2005 aged 16 years and 143 days. He made his full first team debut away to Leeds United on the 18th October 2005 and scored his first senior goal.

He transferred to Arsenal on the 20th January 2006, for a fee reported to be around £5 million, with add-ons depending on performance that could boost the fee up to around £12 million. He was given the number 32 squad number and did not play for the rest of the season.

His first senior game in Arsenal colours was in the second leg of a Champions league qualifying match against Dinamo Zagreb, becoming Arsenals youngest every player to appear in European Competition besting Fabregas' record although it has since been beaten by Jack Wilshire. He earned BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year at the end of 2006.

His first ever goal for Arsenal was scored in the 2:1 defeat in the 2007 League Cup Final, where his goal in the 11th minute opened the scoring but did not secure the win. Incidentally it has since been reported that Theo rejected advances from Liverpool, The Spuds, and Chelski were interested in signing him from Southampton before we nabbed him.

Theo's career has been dogged by criticism, unfairly levelled for the most part and comparisons with Thierry Henry have also been like a millstone around his neck. Henry is someone Theo respects massively and jumped at the chance of having the #14 shirt assigned to him. Creating greater pressure on himself.

He has suffered terribly with his shoulders, a genetic problem and both shoulders have required operation to restructure and reinforce the shoulders to prevent dislocation. This inevitably has caused a stop-start period to Theo's Arsenal career.

Theo is a player that I rate. I think is potential is extraordinary, but he does need to start putting in performances that ensure he has a regular starting berth. Similar to Rosicky he is benched due to the form of Nasri and Arshavin. Tonight is a chance for Walcott to shine. Wigan's defence has more holes than an overly generous piece of Emmental and a lack of pace to delight.

Questions have been raised about his composure and final ball, so he will be under the spotlight. I hope he performs again and proves his worth. Theo is still so very young, something oft forgotten in between the criticism and I look forward to watching him grow.

WG

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Is anyone surprised?

Laurent Blanc said before last nights game "I have no world-class players". Last night England had Gerrard and Ferdinand out there and neither of them could stamp any authority. We are guilty of building up our players and calling them World Class too early, Blanc is not interested in that smokescreen. He's a results man.

Every single french player looked more up for it last night, technically they are a million times better than England and they looked a hell of a lot better than us.

I'm totally not surprised and I have no desire to comment on it further. Save that I saw Gibbs limping when he was subbed, I hope its nothing serious that will keep him out for the weekend. I'm also a bit peeved that Nasri played the 90...I hope he's not going to be too knackered for the weekend and that the french management let him and Clichy go home straight after the game.

Right, I'm done with England today. Morocco were unfortunate yesterday to concede a penalty so late in the game after Chamakh scored to put them 1:0 up. USA won as I expected, I hope some of you guys got on that at 3/1?

Spain got totally trashed last night, I'm almost shellshocked by it. I knew Portugal were decent but I thought Spain would hold them and win 1:0 and didnt. Well done Portugal.

Spuds initial team news to come later.

WG

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Defining infinitum (badly) - International yawner lasts forever!

England take on France tonight in a friendly - I scoff at the thought. Its hardly worthwhile playing games like these. My reasons are many, but a few in particular is relevant - Its practically half-way through the season, its absolutely the wrong time to be playing a meaningless, irrelevant game when players bodies are already being battered every 3 days.

That said however, I will probably watch the game to see how young Gibbs and Walcott get on - just to prove I'm opinionated and have an appreciation for irony, a wonderful combination. Wilshire has returned to Arsenal for treatment and faces a sprint to the weekend for the game against the Spuds.

I really wonder how many of our players come back with knocks...I shudder to think really. Fingers crossed - RvP might make it back in one piece!

There are plenty of other international friendlies going on. For those that are interested in betting there is plenty to be interested in, the USA for example being 3-1 to beat South Africa. The USA are away, but their quality should see them through - they will be familiar with the territory and won't be overawed with the atmosphere and the probably howl of the Vuvuzelas.

Other games worth a punt include Morocco against Northern Ireland over in Ireland. I think Morocco have this all day - especially as the Northern Ireland squad has been decimated by injuries including a new keeper and players all across the midfield and defence. I've seen odds at 3.5-1 on that.

There are bargains out there to be had, but don't bother with England, you'll never get decent odds on them.

Lets get this out of the way and bring on the weekend!! I will write a preview up this arvo for Spuds.

WG.

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Having a cracking time!

Hi Gang,

Sorry for the lack of updates over the weekend, without my beloved Blackberry its slowing down my output.

However, excuses over, on with the blog!

Soooo.... England eh... Ouch. I was well set for the game, the Mrs cooked a lovely meal and I was plonked in front of TV (with England flag draped on floor in front (like a shrine)) ready for a good game of attacking football, with some patriotic joy thrown in..

Did anyone else get the feeling Rooney just practically phoned in that game...he was peripheral at best. Heskey played well for me, I think he did what he was put there to do, push defenders about, win the aerial battle and create space and opportunities. Fabio's no fool, he knows he wont get goals out of Heskey in the same way he knows Rob Green won't make that mistake again.

In Green's defence (though he has made no excuses, legend) he's not the only keeper to have struggled to hold onto this ball, the Algerian keeper also spooned one into his net and the Cameroon keeper yesterday saved his at the second time of asking on the line.

Ok, these are hardly stand-out, world-class goalkeepers, but it shows that the ball is troublesome and I think there will be more mistakes to come. Green recovered well to keep out the oft-goal shy Altidore who had a decent game, with a Heskey-like performance.

In summary, it was very disappointing, I felt 4-4-2 just wasnt working for England and I don't know why he didn't try to change it. So often in qualifying and in friendlies he's changed the formation during the match with a great deal of success, so did Big Fab choke?

I guess its not fair for me to comment, needless to say much will be judged on England's performances after the World Cup and then we will have a greater picture of how successful we were or what potential we've got.

Personally, I think we have enough players who can take the game against anyone and win it. Lamps owes us a performance and so does Rooney. Milner had a shocker and will want to prove himself also. I think semi's for England and we'll lose out to someone like Brazil, Spain or Argentina and we'll probably get a right kicking.

Prove me wrong lions, bring it home for me, Dizzy, Cordon, Skinner, Baddiel and those bad-ass Lightning Seeds.

WiganGooner.

England World Cup Squad - a blessing in disguise

I'd like to say I was surprised when I heard on the radio..Radio 1 kept releasing the odd spoiler from Clubs reporting their players were or were not going to the World Cup. Dan Garrido the sports reporter on Greg James's show broke the news whilst I was driving back from Golbourne....

Walcott out, Adam Johnson out, Huddlestone out, Parker out, Dawson out, Baines out, Bent out.

I was aware of a few certainities before today. 1) Heskey would go to South Africa, Capello loves him upfront with Rooney, it worked well in Qualifying. 2) Out of the 7 above, I'd already singled out Bent (due to Heskey, Bent wouldnt fly), Huddlestone (because he's very one paced and one dimensional, we have better players than that), Parker (didn't even have a shot at it, which I felt he deserved) and Baines (I felt he'd had a torrid time against Mexico and Fabio lost faith in him). 3) I was really certain Walcott or Johnson would go...I felt Capello would want an ace up his sleeve, someone with pace, or a surprise package. I'm still quite shocked now to be honest.

As someone who's played a bit and knows a bit its sensible to me to have players with raw pace or that surprise factor. You know what you get from Heskey, he's a powderpuff powerhouse who will run at you or the ball and then fall over. Once you know that you can defend against it easily and he will just make a fool of himself. Walcott would scare the S#*t out of me, not for his final ball but for his pace...because if he got past me I wouldn't catch him and not many would. Adam Johnson has the ability to work the ball with both feet and he's pretty quick too, I think he showed that against Mexico.

So in summary, I mostly agree with Capello, though as above there were other options that I think we could have taken to make it different. However, only time will tell if Capello was right. I'd like to think he is.

Thats all folks..!

G

Cesc, Walcott, England and hopeful things..

Fab4 - A hero in red and white.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting fed up with the whole Cesc situation. Radical I know, but if he wants to go, I'd rather get a decent chunk of money for him and get someone in who wants to play for us.

I'm not talking about accepting peanuts(or any of the nut family..including Peter Hill-Wood), the 30mil being bandied about is not worth scratching my nuts over, if Ronaldo is worth 80 million, Berbatov 27-odd then certainly Fabregas, a young yet extremely experienced central playmaker with 19 goals in all competitions and 15 assists. Certainly balancing that against Berba's 12 goal super-haul in 2009-2010 I think Fab comes out very favourably indeed, in the ball park of 50-60 million I reckon.

So for me, play hardball, tell them you dont want to sell but might start talking at 55 million pounds (not euros) and a player. A decent stand to negotiate from.

However, I'm also yet to be convinced this isn't all just Media-spin. I await a call from Cesc to my personal mobile to confirm or deny, you'll hear it here first. Similar to the Merida thing...I don't want him to go. I think he'll be ace. I saw him in his first game for us at Borehamwood a few years back and he rifled in a 30yarder. He looks composed, one-paced (unfortunately) but very creative and he's got a great shot on him. I'll be sad to see him drop off the Arsenal Website. Thats the only time I'll believe it.

England - a few musings

I struggle generally to get as excited about England as I do about Arsenal, I'm sure this is mainly to do with certain players that play for England that I dislike for various reasons and I'm clearly very passionate about Arsenal and there ain't room in my heart for two teams and the missus...somethings got to give.

I watched the game against Mexico with a healthy detached view. A few things struck me naturally I'm sure these were just experimentations by Capello - a manager I admire for his tenacity and his tactical nounce.

1) Milner in central midfield? - It seemed that this really killed his game, a wasted 80 or so minutes (you'll note I'm not very exact) for a tenacious, talented Winger.

2) Walcott - Another game for him where it was "Unlucky Theo"...So many things were "almost" there, the through ball for Rooney (should have kept himself onside, he was in acres of space) after his dinking run and his layoff for Glen Johnson's run and then finish was an excellent piece of under-pressure passing. I think the press have been a bit harsh, indeed everything I've read about it has suggested that he under-performed, as a 21yr old still learning his trade (bearing in mind he's always been a striker until he got to Arsenal) I think he did ok. An assist is a good day out for a Winger, especially when you consider what a Winger is supposed to do - 1) Create goal scoring opportunities for the team. 2) Attack the full-back and stop him from attacking. 3) Track the full back and try and help defend when required.

I think he did the above OK, he didnt perform to his potential but he wasn't anonymous and was a threat.

3) Defoe - he's an 18yrd box player and hasn't got the strength or height to effectively challenge in the air. He lacks the pace to be able to run behind a high defence and he cant link effectively with Rooney. Should Rooney get injured however he would be able to work alongside Crouch or Heskey providing they work for all the high balls and he can collect the Knock downs so I'd take him to be that backup player, or an impact player - not the Shoo in that everyone thinks he is.

4) Capello - I 'm still impressed by him, he does have an aura of "Don't mess with me" and I like it. It has killed off the pampering of England stars and I think England will do well at the World Cup...luck willing. In Rob Green we have a good keeper and I think he could win games on his own.

Thats all folks, have fun, play safe and don't play on the rails.

WiganGooner.