Third ashes test preview

England’s comprehensive victory inside four days in the second test means Australia have to win to keep their Ashes hopes alive.

Anything over than an Aussie victory will at least see England retain the Ashes, however with the real possibility of a 5-0 whitewash on the cards, England will certainly be going gung ho!

Team News
England have called up Monty Panesar to the 14 man squad ahead of the test match at Old Trafford with the pitch likely to spin more than the previous two.

James Taylor and Chris Tremlett have also both earned recalls for the game, however both will only start should others fail fitness tests.

Taylor has been selected due to the calf injury Kevin Pietersen sustained during the second match, with the Surrey batsmen’s selection for the third test still up in the air.

With both Steven Finn and Graeme Onions dropped for the third test match, Tremlett has been called up for cover for the trio of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan.

After making two changes for the second match, Australia will once again change their starting XI come Thursday.

The series ending injury to James Pattinson means another quick will have to come in, with the decision to recall Mitchell Starc from the first test or Jackson Bird the dilemma Australia are facing.

David Warner scored a fantastic hundred for the Australian B squad against South Africa last week and many feel he’ll be selected.

Warner, who lost his place for disciplinary reasons, has previously opened for Australia, however may have to do with batting in the lower regions of the Aussie line up.

Betting Tips
England once again are favourites and can be best found at 33/40 with Bet Victor.

After the way the Australian batting line up crumbled at Lords, it’s hard to look past another England win.

The break will certainly have favoured the Aussies though, as they were given another chance to impress in a warm-up match with numerous batsmen scoring runs at Hove.

Steve Smith and Phillip Hughes both failed at Lords, however between them nearly scored 200 in the first innings against Sussex, with Smith scoring an impressive ton.

At 4/1 with the majority of bookies, this is the longest you’ll find Australia to win a test match, however only the way they’ve been bowling this series gives you any justification as to backing them!

England to win the 3^rd test match – 33/40 with Bet Victor

Top Batsmen
Alastair Cook has so far failed with the bat this series, scoring just one half-century to date.

The England captain however usually does score big at least once in a series and at 5/1 with Coral, there is a lot of value in backing him to be England’s top run scorer at Old Trafford.

As for the Aussies the only world-class batsmen in their line-up is as short as 3’s and I suggest looking elsewhere especially given how he gave his wicket away to Joe Root last time out.

When Hughes has got in he has scored runs this series (granted was only once) and on the back of a good knock against Sussex, I suggest a small wager on Hughes at 6/1.

Alastair Cook to be England’s top run scorer in the match – 5/1 with Coral
Phillip Hughes to be Australia’s top run scorer in the match – 6/1 with numerous bookies

Other bets
Ryan Harris top Australian Wicket Taker – 5/2 with majority of bookies
Graeme Swann top English Wicket Taker – 3/1 with bet 365

New Zealand vs England 1st T20

England have the luxury of calling upon their fully fit T20 captain Stuart Broad who was forced to sit out the shorter side of the game in England’s previous tour of India. The Nottinghamshire bowler wasn’t at his best during the test series in India, however a hat-trick in Tuesday’s warm-up victory over a New Zealand XI. It is worth nothing that the test squad only has four representatives in the T20 squad.

Broad's return increases England's bowling options

Having settled his differences with the New Zealand cricketing board, the world-class Ross Taylor comes back into the squad. Their batting line up is full of match winners, in the form of Brendan McCullum, James Franklin, Martin Guptill and of course Taylor, however their bowlers are inferior to their opponents, and without Tim Southee, they could struggle.

To read the rest click this link

It’s time to play the German way!

I swear we’ve been here before? England eliminated at the first knock out stage of a major Championship and via penalties? If we are to change this from becoming (I appreciate it already is) a regular occurrence then we need to change the way we run our game, starting from the very bottom.

Germany changed their mentality following their Euro 2000 nightmare, and invested heavily in producing a high quality batch of technically good young players, fit to not just challenge at one major tournament, but every! It’s been 12 years since then, and their current squad has just two, yes two, players whom are 30 or older (Miroslav Klose and Tim Wiese, both of whom aren’t regulars.) They have such strength in depth the likes of Mario Gotze and Toni Kroos simply haven’t had a look in at the tournament so far. Of the German Under 21 side that thrashed England 4-0 in the European Championship final, six of them are in the current German squad, in comparison to England, whom have taken just two from that squad (James Milner and Theo Walcott)

The current German coach is Joachim Low, and I’ll lump a lot of money that no ‘one will know who he managed before the German national side, or even how well done. I didn’t, I had to look it up. And as it happens he never did exceptional anywhere he did, with clubs ranging from Adanaspor to Karlsruher. He joined the German national side as part of the coaching set up in 2004 and since then has had incredible success with his country. Don’t get me wrong Low has proven to be tactically good; however does his CV compare to the likes of Sven Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello? It doesn’t come close. But for some obscure reason, the English FA would rather throw £6million a year at a foreign manager, than put it into grass roots football. Eriksson and Capello are very good managers and both have moderate levels of success with England; however they were always going to be a short-term fix. The English FA needs to understand that having a great manager isn't the biggest piece of the puzzle.

The FA has changed something for the better over the recent months, as from next season, such young footballers won’t have to make the quick jump to 11 a side football, which has so often been criticised. Jose Mourinho recently commented that England will never win anything whilst boys play 11-a-side, going on to say “In England you are trained to win, in Spain you are coached to play”. He has a point, for every English Scott Parker there is a Spanish Andres Iniesta.

Maybe I’m being harsh on Parker, he’s a solid defensive midfielder; however there was numerous occasions against Italy were his passing ability and poor technique was on show. Many will say Parker’s game isn’t about passing, but when you play as one of two centre midfielders, you’ve got to a better passer of the ball then he is. All four of the Italian centre midfielders would have got in alongside Steven Gerrard. It’s not just Parker though, our England squad only has a maximum of four world class players (Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, Joe Hart and Gerrard), which when you consider the likes of Fernando Torres, Rafael Van Der Vaart and Kroos all struggled to get into their retrospective sides at the tournament, our lack of brilliant players hindered us.

I’m going to leave the article on a good note however; our Under 21 side of 2009 did make the Under21 finals and we do have numerous young players coming through and in the likes of Jack Wilshere, Tom Cleverely and Martin Kelly there is undoubted potential. Will we get anywhere at the 2014 World Cup, no! So why not use that as a platform for Euro 2016, lets field a young side to gain experience at a major tournament and really have a go at a tournament we’ve a, all be it minor, chance in.

Euro 2012 Predictions

Group A: Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic

It’s fair to say the host nation Poland would’ve taken this group if offered it before the tournament, and I feel they’ll progress from the weakest group of the tournament. The Borussia Dortmund duo of Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Blaszczykowski are a threat, and in their recently friendly results they’ve not only put in good performances but achieved good results. Prediction: 1^st.

Russia in 2008 lit the tournament up and despite some of their key players from that squad now the wrong side of 30 I still fancy them to qualify along with the hosts. With an attacking quartet of Andrey Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Pavel Pogrebnyak and Alan Dzagoev they should score goals, and against defensive minded Greece and the Czech Republic that should be enough to see them edge through. Prediction: 2^nd.

Czech Republic only had themselves to blame for failing to get out of their Euro 2008 group (letting a 2-0 lead slip against Turkey) and since then their squad has decreased in quality. Some of their under21 squad that did so well at last year’s Under21 European Championship are likely to be included; however I think they’ll narrowly miss out. Prediction: 3^rd.

Since winning the tournament in 2004, Greece has unfairly received abuse for their defensive displays at both Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. To put it simply they lack any real goal scoring threat, meaning defensively they have to be strong. I don’t think they’ll be the whipping boys of the group, I expect all four teams to have a chance going into the final group game; however I don’t  think Greece have enough about them to progress. Prediction: 4^th.

League predictions

Poland 1 Greece 1, Russia 2 Czech Republic 1

Poland 2 Russia 1, Czech Republic 1 Greece 0

Poland 2 Czech Republic 0, Russia 2 Greece 0.

Group top scorer: Pavel Pogrebnyak 

Shock of the group: Poland to beat group favourites Russia. 

Group B: Holland, Denmark, Germany, Portugal

Not only is Group B the strongest, it’s also the hardest to predict; however I’m tipping them to win it so I’ve got to go with them to top the group, Germany. Their squad has improved since a good run at the 2010 World Cup, and their knowhow at tournaments is vital. Joachim Loew has done a brilliant job with a young Germany and I think they’ll top the group. Prediction: 1^st

After another brilliant qualify campaign Holland go into the tournament confident, and if they can keep their injury prone match winners fit I.E. Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie and Wesley Sneijder, then there is nothing stopping them winning the tournament. Despite a good defensive record at the 2010 World Cup, Holland’s suspect area is at the back, and for me come the latter stages of the tournament the brilliant sides will expose that; however I think they’ll progress, narrowly, through the group. Prediction: 2^nd.

A hugely disappointing World Cup saw Denmark fail to get out a favourable group (Holland, Japan and Cameroon). However at Euro 2012 they’ve been pitted against three of Europe’s finest, and I can’t see them progressing. They did top their qualifying group, which included Portugal, and I think their qualifying counterparts out for the league’s 3^rd spot. Prediction: 3^rd.

Boasting Europe’s best player in Cristiano Ronaldo, many think Portugal could knock out one of the tournament favourites in the group stages; however for me the Portuguese camp is divided, with the likes of Ricardo Carvalho and Tiago retiring from international duty. On their day they could easily win the group, but for me they won’t. Prediction: 4^th.

League predictions

Holland 2 Denmark 0, Germany 2 Portugal 1

Holland 1 Germany 1, Denmark 2 Portugal 1

Holland 1 Portugal 1, Germany 3 Denmark 1

Group top scorer: Mario Gomez

Shock of the group: Denmark to beat Portugal

Group C: Spain, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Croatia

There is only one side who are going to top the group for me and that’s the current holders Spain. Despite winning the World Cup they struggled to score goals, and with David Villa injured and Fernando Torres horribly out of form, their wastefulness could rear its ugly head; however their midfield is the best in the world and will send them through. Prediction: 1^st.

There is always one group shock and I’m going for it here, I fancy Croatia to edge out Italy for the second qualifying spot in group C. I think they’ve got worse since their last European Championships; however they’ve a strong midfield and two good goal scorers in Eduardo and Nikica Jelavic and I think they’ll beat Italy in what’ll be the group game of these Championships. Prediction: 2^nd.

Italy defended their World Cup throne with a whimper in the Summer of 2010, and despite a strong qualifying campaign where they only conceded two goals; and despite an overhaul of the old guard that were so poor in South Africa, I’ve just a hunch that’ll lose to Croatia. Prediction: 3^rd.

Make no mistake about it the Irish deserve their place at the tournament; however in such a strong group I can’t see them finishing anywhere else but bottom. They lack real quality and when your best player is your goalkeeper you’re going to be in trouble. I think they might get a point against Croatia and Italy; however they’ll lose to Spain and two draws won’t see you through. Prediction: 4^th.

League predictions

Spain 2 Italy 0, Ireland 1 Croatia 1

Spain 4 Ireland 0, Croatia 2 Italy 1

Italy 2 Ireland 1, Spain 2 Croatia 1

Group top scorer: Nikica Jelavic

Shock of the tournament: Croatia to edge out Italy for second

Group D: Ukraine, Sweden, France, England

Patriotic? Maybe. Excited? Definitely. Optimistic? Yeah a little. Can we top the group? Yeah! Will we? That’s a totally different question all together. On paper it’s a nice group for us, and I expect us to beat Sweden and Ukraine who are both average sides. We need to top the group to avoid Spain in the quarters and I’m hoping that incentive will be enough for England to top the group even without Wayne Rooney for the first two games. Prediction: 1^st.

I think France has put to bed the ghost of Raymond Domenech and under Laurent Blanc are a better side. Despite nearly letting qualification slip to Bosnia, they come to Euro 2012 with a brilliant squad for of fantastic individuals. If they play as a team they could even win it. I think they will narrowly lose top spot to England but will progress into the knock out rounds. Prediction: 2^nd.

The tournament is the perfect end to a fantastic career for Andriy Shevchenko who has been Ukraine’s greatest ever footballer; however despite beating Sweden in their opener they won’t progress for me. If they weren’t hosting the tournament I don’t think they would have qualified, but home advantage means they should edge Sweden for third. Prediction: 3^rd.

Sweden qualified as the best runners-up; however they won’t be getting second in this group. Zlatan Ibrahimovic aside they’ve got no world-class players and they’re better ones are ageing, they could get something on their day against all three sides in the group, saying that I don’t think they will. Prediction: 4^th.

League predictions

Ukraine 1 Sweden 0, France 1 England 1

Ukraine 1 France 1, Sweden 0 England 2

England 2 Ukraine 1, France 3 Sweden 2

Group top scorer: Karim Benzema

Predicted knock out rounds

Quarter finals 

Poland vs. Holland – Despite being the host nation, Holland should have too much for Poland and will win by a couple of goals.

Spain vs. France – I’ve got a sneaky feeling this would be a close one and Spain would edge through in extra time.

Germany vs. Russia – This is the stage of the tournament where Germany really get going and I fancy them to have too much for Russia.

England vs. Croatia – England to bury the demons of Euro 2008 qualifying with a narrow win.

Semi finals 

Holland vs. Spain – A re-run of the 2010 World Cup final, and I fancy Spain to edge it again by a goal.

England vs. Germany – Ok this is when I wake up and realise England will be defeated. Germany by two goals.

Final

A repeat of Euro 2008, simply because they are the two best countries in Europe; however Germany to win this one.

Top goalscorer – Karim Benzema, France

Player of the tournament – Mesut Ozil, Germany

Shock of the tournament – Croatia to beat Italy 

First red card - Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Greece

Hurst guides England to World Cup victory

A Geoff Hurst hat-trick inspired England to a controversial extra-time win over West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final.

Sure it might have been dubious, but let’s enjoy it! Those who made the game can now officially say to be the best in the game, and we deserved it! A sold out Wembley was there to watch history as England, lead superbly by captain supreme Bobby Moore, beat West Germany 4-2, to secure the Julies Rimet trophy.

Though it’s fair to say it could’ve been different; with the game at 2-2 in the first period of extra time Hurst saw his shot come down of the bar, without appearing to cross the German line; however after consultation with his linesman, Gottfried Dienst gave the game changing goal; to the palpable relief of the Wembley crowd.

Originally England trailed to a Helmut Haller goal, before Hurst scored the first of his hat-trick heading home a Moore free-kick. The game stayed level until with 12 minutes left England took a deserved lead as Martin Peters smashed home from close range after Horst-Dieter Hoettges failed to clear. England missed chances to make sure of the win; and they were made to pay as Wolfgang Weber was quickest to react to a loose ball from a late West German free-kick to take the game into extra-time. Then came the games controversial moment as Hurst fired England ahead for a second time. Hurst completed his hat-trick in the dying moments of the game; which ensured England were champions of the world.

England, who named the same XI that overcame Portugal in the semi-final, created the games first real chance as a Nobby Stiles cross caused havoc in the German penalty area. Hurst beat his marker to the ball only to see Hans Tilkowski beat the West Ham forward to the ball. Tilkowski was busy in the West German goal again not long after, doing well to parry behind a long range Peters shot.

Arguably against the run of play, West Germany took the lead through their tournaments top scorer Haller. A Sigi Held deep cross wasn’t cleared well by Ray Wilson, and the ball feel perfectly for Haller who didn’t connect brilliantly with the ball, but it still had enough to beat the despairing dive of Gordon Banks in the England goal.

Alf Ramsey’s side responded quickly and the West German lead wasn’t a long one. Bobby Moore was fouled mid-way in the German half and England’s captain took the free-kick quickly, crossing superbly for the un-marked Hurst who headed perfectly past Tilkowski in the West German goal.

Uwe Seeler saw his header go marginally wide for West Germany, as the game was beginning to ebb and flow back and forth as both teams took it in turns to attack. England created the games next best chance as Alan Ball cut inside Held and saw his shot blocked, the ball feel perfectly for England’s semi-final two goal hero Bobby Charlton, who saw his long range effort easily kept out by Tilkowski.

England nearly took the lead for the first time when George Cohen’s perfect cross was headed on goal by Hurst, only for Tilkowski to thwart the striker brilliantly. England’s captain Moore recovered brilliantly to prevent Lothar Emmerich from going through on goal. Gottfried Dienst blew the whistle to signal the end of a lively first-half, with the game fairly level at 1-1.

The second half at times failed to live up to the intensity of its predecessor, and neither side created any chances of note in the opening exchanges of the half; with Franz Beckenbauer volleying West Germany’s best chance over the bar.

With 78 minutes of the game gone, Roger Hunt won a corner for England. Alan Ball’s floated corner was only cleared as far as Hurst whose shot was poorly cleared by Hoettges, which bounced perfectly for Peters who smashed home from close range to give England a lead.

Jack Charlton headed a good chance wide, after a beautiful delivery from Ball. England missed another chance to seal the game as Charlton screwed his shot wide, after Peters had played the Manchester United midfielder in. This time it was Peters who missed a guilt-edged chance as he shot over the bar when in a great position to at least make the German keeper work.

Alf Ramsey’s side were made to pay for their wastefulness as West Germany leveled in the 90th minute. West Germany won a late free-kick; the delivery caused mayhem in the English box, which the England defence failed to clear and Weber reacted first to the loose ball and made no mistake from close range.

The equaliser so late in the game came as a real blow to England, within minutes of seeing the game through and holding aloft the World Cup; they had the reality of another 30 minutes. Extra time started in the same fashion that normal time ended with West German pressure; however this time they failed to create a goal scoring chance of real note.

And 11 minutes into the first half of extra time, the games real talking point occurred. Ball made a run down the right wing, and somehow managed to get a cross into the centre; Hurst turned the West German centre half with an exquisite first touch, meaning the West Ham forward could get a shot away. The strike hit the underside of the cross bar, and bounced clear; on first viewing the shot looked good; however replays have proved inconclusive. Originally the referee and linesman failed to give the goal; only for consultation between the two to award Hurst his second of the game and England’s third.

This time around however there was to be no last minute West German equaliser, and with barely seconds left on the clock Hurst completed his hat-trick in style. Moore, who was excellent throughout, played a long ball over the top of the West German defence, and up against a tiring Weber, Hurst ran past the defender before unleashing a wonderful drive to beat Tilkowski, to seal England’s win, and ensure they were Champions of the world!

Ward backs Harry Redknapp for the England job

Colchester United manager John Ward indicated he’d prefer the next England manager to be English and in particular Harry Redknapp.

After the mid-week resignation of Fabio Capello, the majority of the nation has jumped apon the ‘Harry for England’ bandwagon, and Ward is no different.

Ward, who worked with the England under 21 squad back in 1992, stated “I’d like it to be an Englishman. I’m a staunch English person myself and the best man for the job is Harry Redknapp.”

However he did also confirm that getting Redknapp in, as manager of the England national side, wouldn’t be as easy as many have predicted. “People tend to forget he is contracted with Tottenham Hotspur, and I think that’s going to be a major stumbling block, because they aren’t going to want to release him, and why would they?”

After much discussion about the week’s main talking point, the conversation got down to whether Colchester would have a game this weekend. And after the postponement of the home match with Sheffield United last weekend, Ward isn’t confident the away game with Walsall will take place. “I’m not very confident of getting a game on. I’ve looked at the overnight forecast and there is set to be a five inch snow due around Birmingham this evening, which leaves our game in doubt.”

Ward confirmed that the club have been preparing for the away trip as if they expect it to be on. “Yeah I’ve been in since 7:30 this morning and we’re chopping and changing our plans for the game, it’s all up in the air but we’ve got plans in place.”

Colchester’s game was cancelled the following day, meaning the Essex side’s last two League One matches have been postponed due to the weather.

My euro 2012 squad

Goalkeepers
Joe Hart (Manchester City)
John Ruddy (Norwich)
Ben Foster (West Brom)

Defenders
Micah Richards (Manchester City)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham)
Phil Jones (Manchester United)
John Terry (Chelsea)
Phil Jagielka (Everton)
Joleon Lescott (Manchester City)
Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
Leighton Baines (Everton)

Midfielders
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
Gareth Barry (Manchester City)
James Milner (Manchester City)
Scott Parker (Tottenham)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Adam Johnson (Manchester City)
Ashley Young (Manchester United)
Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

Forwards
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Darren Bent (Aston Villa)
Jermaine Defoe (Tottenham)
Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea)

England romp to comfortable victory

England under 21’s easily overcame their Icelandic counterparts in a 5-0 win at Colchester last night.

Marvin Sordell opened the scoring after 40 minutes before Martin Kelly doubled the lead with a good finish in the second half. Three late goals, one from Craig Dawson and two from substitute Gary Gardner probably flattered England who continued their 100% winning start to the 2013 European Championship qualifiers.

Having won 3-0 in Iceland just a month ago, Stuart Pearce’s side were in confident mood ahead of the game and their fourth straight win ensures qualification is firmly in their hands.

Sordell and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin missed early opportunities as Iceland frustrated their hosts early on; however as half-time approached Sordell opened the scoring. Captain Jordan Henderson did brilliantly to find the Watford man who smashed home the opener.

Iceland failed to cause England any real trouble, having lost most of their 2011 European Championship side to the senior squad, the gulf in quality was evident.

England didn’t have to wait long in the second half for them to double their lead, which came via an unlikely source in Kelly. A rampaging run which started in his own half saw the Liverpool centre half finish well past Arnar Petursson in the Iceland goal.

The hat-trick hero from the 3-0 win in Iceland, Oxlade-Chamberlin was again denied before Dawson continued his fine goal scoring form for the under 21 side with his third in just five games, an impressive feat for a centre half, after his looped header found the top corner.

In injury time Gardner, brother of Sunderland’s Craig Gardner, scored twice to add gloss to the score line. Firstly Gardner superbly curled home a free-kick, before smashing home a fine fifth.

Michael Gray interview

Michael Gray is most commonly known for his time at boyhood club Sunderland, in which they reached the dizzy heights of 7^th in the Premiership in successive seasons. Gray also played for Blackburn, Wolves and Sheffield Wednesday, as well as loan spells at Celtic and Leeds United (twice). The full-back also won three caps for England, with one of his caps whilst impressing in the second tier of English Football.

How does the Tyne Wear derby compare to any other football game you have played in?

It’s all about the passion and bragging rights. It was a game you just don't want to lose. Especially being a local lad.

You represented England whilst playing in then the Division 1; did you ever feel like you had to leave Sunderland to maintain your England place?

No because I knew that Sunderland was a team going places! It was just amazing to represent your country. I was so proud.

You played in arguably the best play-off final match ever, unfortunately missing a penalty in the 4-4 epic with Charlton, what were your feelings when you missed? And how did you recover to help win the Title the following season?

We came back stronger and it made me want to succeed even more! My passion was playing for my hometown team in the Premiership, which I was fortunate enough to achieve.

The first year in the Premiership saw Sunderland 7th, including a 2-1 win at Newcastle! And the following year, you repeated the 7th place finish and again winning at St.James's park, how tough was it to follow up them two seasons?

It was tough. Expectations were so high and the squad was the same. We needed new players but they never came. It’s a big shame really we didn’t push on.

Around that time there was rumors of you joining Newcastle, I take it they were never going to become reality?

Me joining my fiercest rivals would never have happened!

You just missed out on England's Euro 2000 campaign, so when Phil Neville, playing in your position, gave away the penalty which knocked England out; how did you feel towards him? Gutted or the old If I was playing that wouldn't have happened!

People make mistakes all the time. It could have been me but unfortunately I wasn't picked.

Is it true you rejected a contract at Manchester United to choose your boyhood club in Sunderland?

Yes I turned them down to play for Sunderland. It might have had something to do with Ryan Giggs playing the same position.

During your short period at Celtic you did play in the Old Firm Derby, how does it compare to the Tyne-Wear derby?

Both derbies are amazing to play in.  I wouldn’t like to choose between them. I’ve had great memories from both!