Captain Steven Gerrard believes England's Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland provide the ideal opportunity for new players to break into the national side.
England take on Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday and Switzerland in Basel next Tuesday without a number of established stars.
Several high-profile players are injured and not part of the squad, while head coach Fabio Capello has cut others loose following the Three Lions' dismal performance at the World Cup.
First choice central defenders John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, midfielder Frank Lampard and striker Peter Crouch are all absent through injury.
Meanwhile, World Cup trio David James, Ledley King and the retired Jamie Carragher are all now out of the international picture,
"After the team underperformed in South Africa there have been changes made," explained Gerrard.
"And with injuries to big players as well it's a fantastic opportunity for players to perform well and give the manager something to think about when we get together again."
Gerrard also accepts that the England players and management have a point to prove to supporters following the abject World Cup performance.
The fan reaction was mixed at last month's international friendly against Hungary as England returned to action for the first time since the 4-1 humbling at the hands of Germany in the round of 16 in South Africa earlier in the summer.
"The players and the manager realise that we are under pressure at the moment, which is normal after under-performing at the World Cup," he continued.
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"It'll really help if we put in a good performance tomorrow and get the maximum points. Then we can obviously take the confidence from that into the Switzerland game on Tuesday.
"It's very important that we make a statement and show that we want to win the group and qualify comfortably.
"We qualified for the World Cup playing good, attacking football. If we can perform at that level I'm sure we'll get out of this group in similar fashion."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
The name Kieron Dyer has become a byword for a football career blighted by injuries, a case made especially sad when one considers the talent he had at his disposal. Many players have suffered from careers dogged by injury, who knows how far Ledley King could have gone without his chronic knee problems, and Dyer has been one of the most notable of these in the modern game in England. Dyer has at least had the fortune of not having to have retired from the game altogether, but through no fault of his own he is now is a pale shadow of the player that exploded onto the scene at Ipswich and Newcastle. If he had remained fit, there is no telling how far he could have gone.
Kieron Dyer announced himself as a special talent at boyhood club Ipswich, where he came to be regarded as one of the top young talents outside the Premier League. Dyer broke into the first team as an 18 year old, and in the following season he became a key player for the side that reached the play-offs. Recognising Dyer’s talents, Ruud Gullit brought the 20 year old to Newcastle for a not insubstantial £6m.
At Newcastle Kieron Dyer established himself as one of the most exciting players in the league, and was a regular for the club as soon as he had signed. Dyer’s electrifying pace constantly tormented Premiership defences, with his direct and dynamic running always giving the opposition something to think about. It was not long before he received his first international call up, and Dyer would go on to feature regularly in the England side, he would later be taken to both the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
In his later years at Newcastle however, when Dyer should have been in the prime of his career, he began suffering the repeated injuries that would so damage his career. First team appearances became infrequent and Dyer, who was once a jewel in the crown at Newcastle, was sold to West Ham in 2007. Dyer’s time at Upton Park has been full of woe, since signing for the club he has played only 26 games, suffering a broken leg and multiple hamstring injuries.
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Dyer’s injury problems are a dreadful shame, and have held him back from fulfilling a career that had promised so much. Kieron Dyer was lightning quick, a mazy dribbler and a terrifying prospect for defences when he was running at them, he was also more than capable of scoring goals. I have no doubt that had Dyer not suffered so many injuries, he could have become one of the best attacking midfielders in the country, and surely moved to one of the top clubs in the land. Dyer has 33 caps for England, but this would certainly have been added to, and David Beckham might well have got a lot less caps had Dyer been consistently available to play.
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Kieron Dyer’s story is a sad one not just for him as an individual, but for football in general. After such a promising start to his career the sky was the limit for him, but the curse of injuries just never went away. On one positive note, Dyer has made a few appearances for West Ham so far this season, and hopefully he will be able to string some games together. Now at 31, Dyer can still have a few more seasons if fortune favours him a little more kindly.
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Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has revealed that injuries and fitness concerns surrounding his strikers have forced him to play Carlos Tevez every game. The Argentinean striker has featured 9 times so far this season and Mancini has concerns about overworking his club captain.
Roberto Mancini has seen his striking options diminished through injury. Summer signing Mario Balotelli picked up a knee injury during his City debut against FC Timisoara and won’t be fully fit until November.
Emmanuel Adebayor has struggled for both form and fitness this season and was unimpressive on his first start since recovering from a knee problem against Juventus last night.
Brazilian striker Jo has also been struggling for match fitness and only made the substitute’s bench for last night’s game.
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Despite Mancini’s problems upfront, Tevez has been in an excellent run of form. He is the club’s leading scorer with 4 goals in all competitions and will look to carry on his goalscoring exploits in City’s next game against Newcastle United on Sunday.
On Sunday, the news finally came that Sven-Goran Eriksson had been appointed as manager of Leicester City. It was not a shock, the papers and media had been circulating the story soon after the unfortunate Paulo Sousa lost his job, but you certainly would not have predicted the former England manager would be taking over the Foxes at the beginning of the season. Since leaving the England job, Eriksson has not experienced a great deal of success as a manager, so is it a good appointment by the Leicester City board, and is having Sven back in English football a good thing?
Sven-Goran Eriksson has an enviable CV. After winning a host of trophies across Europe, Eriksson became manager of Rome giants Lazio in 1997, and this was where he established himself as one of top managers in the European game. Eriksson’s greatest glory came in 2000, where he ended Lazio’s 26 year wait for a Serie A title, and it had made the FA’s ears prick up. In January 2001, Eriksson became the first foreign manager of the English national team, and although by the end of his reign at England he was widely derided, the subsequent woes of other England managers have made Sven’s achievement of three consecutive quarter-finals look pretty good.
Eriksson’s career since his departure from the England job has not gone the way he would have wanted. I felt he was harshly treated at Manchester City, he enjoyed a sensational start to the season and inflicted two defeats on arch-rivals Manchester United, but the club faded in the second half of the season and this seemed to condemn him to losing his job. An unsuccessful spell as manager of Mexico followed, after which we saw a bizarre move to Notts County where he was installed as director of football. In the World Cup he managed Ivory Coast, and whilst they were in a tough group, it was a disappointing result that they were not able to make it beyond the group stage.
The last few years of Eriksson’s career may not have been his most glorious, but he has also not been given very much time in any of his last three managerial roles, and it would be harsh to judge him too negatively. I actually think Eriksson is a good manager, he may not wear his heart on his sleave but he is tactically astute, a calming presence and a good operator in the transfer market. I thought Paulo Sousa’s sacking was ridiculously premature but I also think Eriksson will prove to be a good appointment by Leicester’s board, so long as they give him enough time.
One huge positive for Leicester City is that Eriksson will be able to attract some very good players to the club. His reputation and name is such that footballers will want to play under him, and in the transfer market he will increase the attractiveness of joining Leicester massively. He is also simply a good manager, and whilst automatic promotion may now be too much to ask, the play-offs are still a distinct possibility, and how often have we seen the sides making a late run into the top six be the team that triumphs and gets promoted.
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Eriksson obviously believes Leicester City have the ambition and the capability to make it to the Premier League, and the board have made a big statement of their intent by signing up the Swede. Sven’s return to English football is in my opinion a good thing, and the main beneficiaries will be those involved at Leicester City.
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Arsene Wenger has sparked the latest row in the club versus country debate over the decision by Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk to go against his wishes by selecting Robin van Persie in the Dutch squad the upcoming friendly against Turkey. As he will only be returning to full training at the end of the week after recovering from an ankle injury incurred against Blackburn which has kept him out since August. Clearly he will therefore not be back to full fitness and ready to undertake a full 90 minutes on the 17th November when the friendly is scheduled. But if he is returning to match fitness and this was an Arsenal game it is safe to say that this could be targeted as a return date. So why is it so frowned upon when the Dutch national team makes the same decision? Couldn’t it even be beneficial to Arsenal to have van Persie eased back into action with say a half in an international friendly? In order to get some match time under his belt, rather than being thrown straight into the hectic pace of the Premiership where Arsenal are obviously required to be consistently picking up points?
It is commonly perceived that club managers do not care much for the international game, seeing it as a hindrance to their club to be negotiated, an inconvenience to their preparations.
The season is set out in a way that when international breaks occur players are allowed to be called up to the national teams. So then during periods when a player is at the disposal of the national team, surely any decision regarding their injury and/or fitness should be taken by the national coaching team. Just as the national coaching team would have no input if a player were to play for their club, so it should work the other way.
The arguments from clubs appear to come from a general distrust of how the national team will handle a prized asset. Although there are obvious risks of injury when on international duty these are no greater than when playing domestically. You could even argue they are less so, as the Premiership prides itself on having the most fast paced football in the world, compared to the slower pace of the European and International game which offers players greater protection from the referees. Also it is in the interest of the international team to look after a player as much as the club. A player who is fit and playing well for his club can carry this into his national side. Where as a player who remains injured say due to the national side being too eager to rush him into the team, could take time to regain form and fitness, which would obviously be to the detriment of the national team in the long run.
There is a sense of hypocrisy in this argument as if towards the end of the season a player is injured playing for his club and say therefore misses the World Cup the following summer. There are never any arguments that the national side has been hard done by the club. Another argument offered by clubs and supporters is that the clubs should take precedence as they pay the players’ wages. In my min this places too much focus on money over football matters and forgets that national sides also pay their players for turning out for the country. Added to this it assumes a precedence of club football over international football, which I believe just isn’t there as the World Cup is still the biggest and most important competition any player can win.
Generally an atmosphere of mistrust has developed between the clubs and national teams with regard to injuries. With so many players recalled from international duty these days by their club it is hardly surprising national coaches do not trust these diagnosis and wish to have their own people look over the players before deciding whether to play them or not. However this obviously adds to the tension which is not helpful for either camp and involves endless trips back and forth to different physiotherapists and doctors for the player. These in turn are not beneficial to the player and exacerbate the whole situation. Yet with no clear solution only one thing is sure this latest chapter indicates the club versus country row will not die down any time soon.
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Yesterday I ran through my all-time Premier League dream team. Today, it only makes sense to have a look at the worst possible Premier League XI. The Premier League team from hell! There’s lots to consider when making the worst possible team. All players must be examined to see if they show any traces of talent (in which case they are exempt from this list). Furthermore, you must consider which players would cost the most and thus provide the worst value for money. You could also go deeper and chuck in a few players that are sure to cause an awkward changing room dynamic. I’d love to see your picks for the worst possible Premier League XI, but without further ado, here are mine.
Click on image below to see the Premiership team from HELL
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There can be no underestimating exactly how important Cesc Fabregas is for the Gunners. When he’s on song, he controls the flow of their game, he is their engine, their anchor and their forward thrust. The Spanish midfielder is without doubt one of the world’s best footballers and if Arsenal are to have any success over the next season or two, it will likely be thanks to him. The worry with a player taking up such an important role in a squad is that the team may find themselves lacking direction and ability without him. Perhaps this is why the “Fabregas is off to Barcelona” stories caused such a stir last summer. How exactly would the Gunners cope without their best player?
Admittedly, the Gunners have already had a taste of what a world without Fabregas would be like. Their captain has suffered with a niggling hamstring problem this season which has seen him ruled out of a number of games and lacking match fitness for a number more. Fabregas’ absence has had a positive knock-on affect for Arsenal: the rise to prominence of a certain young Jack Wilshere.
The talented 18-year-old midfielder is in the throes of his breakthrough season at the Emirates Stadium. He’s had a number of opportunities to impress and has really left his mark. It’s clear that he looks up to Fabregas. When asked about his relationship to the current Arsenal captain, Wilshere responded, “He’s a great leader and I want to be like that when I’m older. It’s always been part of my game, and that’s my aim really, to be Arsenal captain one day.”
Wilshere has all the qualities necessary to make a good Arsenal captain in the future. He’s talented, he can pass and he can get stuck in. He’s capable of leading by example and is not without a feisty and competitive side that will aid him in spurring his troops towards victory. He is without doubt a vital part of Arsenal’s future.
Cesc Fabregas’ Arsenal future, on the other hand, is littered with question marks. Despite his fondness for the club, its fans and Arsene Wenger, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll stay an Arsenal player for the rest of his career. He will at some stage make a move back to Barcelona. The question is not whether it will happen, but when it will happen.
In this respect, the Gunners should attempt to hold onto Cesc Fabregas for as long as possible. Not only is he a fantastic footballer, but he’s also a great role model for the Gunners’ younger players, including Wilshere. If the rumours of Barcelona making a £10 million bid for Arsenal midfielder Denilson are true, it could be that the Gunners midfield is about to become a little thinner. This will make Wenger even keener to keep hold of the assets that he has.
Whilst Wilshere represents the future of Arsenal football club, Fabregas represents the chance for success in the present. In this respect, Wilshere’s rise to prominence will not have Wenger pondering whether or not he can afford to let Fabregas head to Barcelona. My hope is that Wilshere stays a one-club man, who becomes an Arsenal great and that Fabregas remains with the Gunners for a long time.
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Paul Scharner has warned the Baggies that they must hold on to their star names next month, or risk being relegated.
The versatile Austrian has helped the club bounce back from a poor run to record back-to-back Premier League wins against Everton and Newcastle, which has moved Albion into the top-half of the table.
Roberto Di Matteo’s men have done a lot better than many outsiders anticipated in the summer following their promotion and Scharner feels the sale of any key players could lead to their downfall in the New Year.
Scharner said:“It’s true we have exceeded expectations but I am very happy that we surprised everybody.
“Hopefully we can continue what we are doing.
“Hopefully we won’t stop when we reach our target (of staying up) and we will keep on going until the end of the season.
“It looks like we can stay up. I never got relegated with Wigan and that’s why I came to West Bromwich, to help them survive.
“That’s the main target and we’re on course at the moment.
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“But, if we want to reach our targets, it is important that we all stay together until the end of the season.”
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It was FA Cup third round time last weekend and the best domestic cup competition didn’t fail to deliver a great few days of football.
We saw giant-killings at Stevenage, rivalries continued at Old Trafford and some fantastic goals up and down the country.
As debatable as it may be given some of the tremendous strikes from the likes of Matt Derbyshire for Birmingham and Piero Mingoia’s drive on his debut for Watford, my goal of the week comes from Bramall Lane. Sheffield United’s visitors were Premier League outfit Aston Villa and there was every chance of an upset. Gerard Houllier’s men ran out 3-1 winners in part to a fabulous solo goal from ex-Blade, Kyle Walker. The young full back opened the scoring inside 10 minutes after dribbling from his own half, past a defender and slotting the ball beyond the helpless goalkeeper.
There was little celebration from the self-confessed Sheffield United fan but the goal still deserves plenty of credit. Walker will have definitely impressed and it won’t be long until we see him making the Tottenham and possibly England right back spot his own.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has finally put the club’s supporters out of their misery and named his number one choice goalkeeper for the foreseeable future, and rather surprisingly it’s young Polish stopper Wojciech Szczesny who has come out on top in the battle for the number one jersey. But does he have what it takes to make the role his own over the next few months?
Casual observers have long since calculated that the one major flaw in Arsenal’s starting eleven, their Achilles heel, was the fact that they didn’t possess a top notch ‘keeper – at least one of sufficient enough calibre to enable the club to challenge for honours at the end of the season.
When Manuel Almunia was the undisputed first choice last season, he was an obvious weak link. If you took into account every other side in the top flight last term, Almunia would have struggled to get into almost every other team’s starting eleven, baring perhaps the completely hopeless Brian Jensen at Burnley. Far too often, the Spanish goalkeeper let down a manager that had placed enormous faith in his abilities, when seemingly no one else did.
Wenger stated that: “At the moment Wojciech is no.1. He has done nothing for me to take him out, but I can rotate the goalkeepers. In the cups I play sometimes different goalkeeper as well.” As far as statements of support go, it’s hardly glowing in it‘s wording is it? But it’s not in what Wenger has actually gone on record as saying that‘s most interesting here, it‘s the fact that he‘s finally given a definitive answer at all that‘s the most intriguing thing of all.
Wenger is famously cagey when dealing with the press. This guarded nature only leads to uncertainty on the terraces about what their manager is truly thinking at times; it’s fair to say that over the goalkeeping issue at least, Wenger has kept the Emirates faithful guessing over the last year or so as to where his loyalties truly lie and who his preferred first choice number one is.
Shortly before the start of the season Wenger questioned Almunia’s mental strength, which at the time looked as if it may end the ‘keeper’s stay at the Emirates. Wenger conceeded that “Manuel Almunia is a talented goalkeeper. In training he is superb, the only problem is that he gets nervous during big matches, thereby making silly mistakes.” At a huge club such Arsenal, displaying mental fragility is a huge blot against your record and it seemed as if Almunia had tried Wenger’s seemingly infinite patience for the very last time.
Lukasz Fabianski has been unlucky with injury this season after finally establishing himself in between the sticks at the beginning of the season. His error-prone ways looked to be a thing of the past. During what has to be regarded as Fabianski’s first real extended run in the first-team since signing for the club in 2007 from Legia Warsaw, the Pole looked a decent goalkeeper, capable of making crucial saves when it mattered – but he’ll have to force his way back into the starting eleven all over again now when he comes back from injury, and a frustrating period on the sidelines beckons once more for Fabianski.
Szczesny looked to be at loggerheads with the Arsenal management earlier on during the season after supposedly threatening to quit the club in November unless he secured more playing time. Szczesny stated: “There were some offers, but I’m not interested right now. It’s not that I don’t want to extend the contract, I just don’t want to hold talks at this point. I have enough money to live and I can’t complain about that, but I will only be happy if I play. Everything depends on how many games I play.”
A strong statement it has to be said, especially for a precocious 20 year-old ‘keeper; a position widely regarded to be the most difficult to break into any side at a young age. At the time, Szczesny was most definitely the club’s third-choice goalkeeper and this looked to be tantamount to career suicide, but since November he’s been the least injury-prone of Arsenal’s stoppers, and as a result, he’s forced his way into Wenger’s plans. It seems with the goalkeeping situation at Arsenal, it is at times, quite literally the survival of the fittest.
But with 9 appearances to his name so far this term, a run which has included 6 clean sheets, Szczesny has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and he looks to be displaying a maturity well beyond his years.
In the same press conference Wenger didn’t completely rule out Manuel Almunia either however, saying: “Manuel is under contract and as long as he is at the club, we are happy to have him. I like him as a man and as a player and I have shown that in my decisions. I am happy to have him here.” This show of support may have been aimed squarely at any potential suitors of Almunia’s this transfer window though, as Wenger seeks to ward off anyone interested in the Spaniard and ensure that he ends January with the same squad that he started the window with.
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Szczesny is certainly a supremely confident individual, and perhaps he possesses an inner mental strength and confidence in his own ability that was sometimes lacking in Almunia and to a lesser extent Fabianski. It will be interesting to see if Wenger will consider dipping into the transfer market in the summer or whether he’ll seek to retain the young Pole as number one. Szczesny seems to have Wenger’s backing for the time being, a statement of support is a rarity from Wenger in the press and this is worth noting – but with injuries so prevalent in Arsenal’s squad, I wouldn’t bet against the number one jersey switching hands again before the end of the season.
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