England Friendies squad

So today Roy Hodgson announced his England squad for the upcoming friendlies which should provide an indication for selections over the not-too-distant World Cup Qualifiers against Moldova, Ukraine, Montenegro and Poland. The squad announced today was as follows:

Goalkeepers: Ben Foster, Joe Hart, Alex McCarthy.

Defenders: Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Phil Jagielka, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott, Kyle Walker.

Midfielders: Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott.

Forwards: Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck

In this squad there were not too many surprises but the reaction to one or two of the players being chosen did surprise me. This squad will be missing two important figures to that team. They are Jack Wilshere and Steven Gerrard who will both be missing these friendlies against Republic of Ireland and Brazil through injury. Jack Wilshere will be undergoing another ankle operation as Steven Gerrard will be having surgery on his shoulder. Personally I am disappointed more about Wilshere then Gerrard being injured. I believe that Wilshere in years to come will be a crucial cog in the England set up as Gerrard who is now 32 is entering the last few years of his England career. This is not to say that he cannot still do a job for but uncertainty lurks over whether him and Frank Lampard will feature in Brazil next year.

The main talking point of this announced England squad is the surprise inclusion of Reading goalkeeper Alex McCarthy,23, who could play a part in one of the friendlies. Although with the inclusion of Joe Hart and Ben Foster the chances of McCarthy getting a game are unlikely. Although McCarthy has had a mixed season being involved in a scrap for the Reading number one shirt along with Adam Fedderici and has managed 13 appearences this season for the Royals. When given his chance though the young keeper has made some outstanding contributions to Reading's season and emerges as a real positive for Reading fans despite relegation.

Another choice that not for the first time grabbed controversy was the selection of West Ham loanee Andy Carroll who has scored 7 goals in 23 appearances since his loan move from Liverpool. It is worth noting though that Carroll has had more then his fair share of injuries this season and will be returning to Merseyside in hope of proving to Brendan Rodgers that he deserves a place in that Anfield front-line. What better way to make a statement then bagging a goal or two whilst on England duty! However it is the same old boring debate that occurs everytime he is selected for England. Have a look at the twitter comments below to see what I mean...

Parsa - "Andy Carroll being recalled to the England squad is exactly why English football won't move forward under Hodgson"

Tom - "Why are we recalling Andy Carroll? So many better players who can play football out there! This is why I hate watching England"

Wes - "Carroll!? Really Hodgson? England are looking like the Stoke of International football. #hoofball"

So judging by all these tweets people are still not comfortable with the inclusion of Andy Carroll. Personally I believe these tweets are incredibly harsh. Andy Carroll has proved that he can play the game with good intelligent runs, awareness and good link up play which are just a few of the qualities which are needed to make a good striker. I can though understand peoples frustration with the possibility of the long ball game but it is effective. I mean over 70% of his goals this season have been either headers or volleys. So really I believe that it comes down to this... Would England fans rather do well in International Competitions by playing unattractive football? OR Would they rather bow out of many European competitions trying to play attractive football?

The English game is changing for the better with the introduction of the ever growing game of Futsal in this country and new philosophy's being enforced on English football to ensure that youngsters are making the most of the talent that they have. Similar to what Spain, Germany and Netherlands have/are doing throughout their youth systems. There is no doubt that English football will be more attractive in years to come. Does this country have the patience? Nobody knows. However until this country starts to produce more young talent then the prospect of having to play un-attractive football could seem realistic.

So the inclusion of Andy Carroll came as no big surprise to me. I can particularly envisage him being used as a substitute in games. The 6ft3 centre forward is powerful in the air and will pose a threat from free kicks especially late on in game when minds begin to tire and defenders concentration levels are starting to decrease. He will have competition though as Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Jermain Defoe and Danny Welbeck have also been included in the squad. I'm sure that there will be a place for Big Andy though in one of the two friendlies.

The squad overall though does look moderately balanced in terms of youth and experience. However I would like tto have to seen the inclusion of a couple more youngsters in the squad such as Jordan Henderson, Callum McManaman, Steven Caulker and Kieran Gibbs who would have had the perfect opportunity to make a statement ahead of Rio De Janiero next year. The inclusion of Frank Lampard is a interesting one after just lifting the Europa League with Chelsea and putting pen to paper with a new contract. He is another one who's involvement in the World Cup next year could be a interesting one as he will be 35 next year. Will he be able to handle 3 games in a week? Not sure. The team though I think will be centred around Wayne Rooney who should be in his prime next year at the age of 28. It may well be his last chance to prove his worth on the International stage. Getting Wayne Rooney in top form will be a major plus for Roy Hodgson going into the World Cup next year. There will be places up for grabs in that England squad but after these friendlies we may have a slightly clearer idea of who may be partying in Rio De Jiniro and who will be partying in Stevenage.

Posted by Chip

@ChippKG

Sign Da Ting! (Walcott Sign's)

Theo Walcott has signed a new contract that will see him get £100,000 a week for 3 years at Arsenal. This comes after a array of dazzling performances from Walcott including a hat-trick against Newcastle. He currently has 14 goals this season and has been earning comparisons to Arsenal legend Thiery Henry after featuring in more of a central striker role. The deal will also make Theo Walcott the second highest paid player at Arsenal behind Lukas Podolski.

The 23 year old has a bright spark in what has been a quite inconsistent Arsenal team this season and remains Arsenal's top scorer this season with 14 goals in 21 games. That includes 2 hat-tricks against Reading and Newcastle. He has been a man in sizzling form. Though not recently. This deal does though come as a mighty relief to Arsenal fans who have been frustrated by the recent selling of Arsenal's key players such as Robin Van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Alex Song.
Walcott had earlier expressed his frustration at having to settle for a place on the bench earlier on this season but since then he has established himself as a pacey centre forward for Arsenal though he does admit he is still learning that position.

Theo started off as a product of Southampton's illustrious academy and at the age of 16 he netted 4 goals in 21 games for the club (Speaking of Southampton Nigel Atkins has been sacked this afternoon). Still at the age of 16 he then signed for Arsenal where he was soon labelled as Arsenal's wonder-kid  Three seasons on from all that Arsene Wenger then said that Walcott had gone "from a boy, to a man, and shall soon be a monster". Whilst performing well in Arsenal colours and soon notching up the second highest amount of assists in a season (the highest was Cesc Fabregas) Walcott was a shock inclusion in the 2006 England World Cup squad at the age of 17 years old).  Walcott signed 3 year contract in 2010 and was set to be released in the summer which has lead to Arsenal fans making a infamous music video called "Sigh Da Ting" which is dedicated to this whole contract situation that has just be resolved. The video is below.

                                                              "Sign Da Ting" music by Mean Lean

Though only 23, Theo Walcott has always been played out on the wide right for Arsenal but this season has been converted into a centre forward after expressing his desire to play there. With shear pace and sharpness many fans have been crying out for Walcott to be played in the centre forward role in the past. After a few dazzling performances in that role he has been drawn comparisons from Thierry Henry. Many people have come out to praise Walcott including Pep Guardiola who said "you would need a pistol to stop him" when describing Walcott's blistering pace.  Lionel Messi has also saluted Walcott in the past calling him "one of the most dangerous players I have ever played against". Not bad eh?

Would Walcott benefit from having a striking partner like Olivier Giroud? I think so. This would mean Arsene Wenger having to ditch his favourite 4-3-3 formation.

Danny boy!

So Norwich AND Sunderland have this evening have put in a £5m for Swansea's Geordie born striker Danny Graham. But can Swansea really afford to lose him? Who else do Swansea have as a striker?  Let's investigate this. 

The 27 year old Englishman has this season been over-shadowed by the staggering performances of fellow striker Michu. The Gateshead born striker currently has 7 goals in 20 appearances for the Swans this season but his frustration over lack of game time has put Premier League clubs Norwich and Sunderland on high alert.  Now both clubs have made bids believed to have been around the £5m mark for him. Although Graham hasn't had what can perceived as a glittering career, like fellow Englishmen Leon Osman, Scott Parker and Gareth Barry he is a late developer in his footballing career and he just keeps getting better with age. 

Having started out at Chester-le-Street Town Graham then moved to Middlesbrough at the age of 18 years old where he managed to make 15 appearances and score only once. To be fair to the guy he was loaned out to Darlington, Derby, Blackpool and Carlisle who after the loan decided to train with Martin O'Neil at Aston Villa but eventually O'Neil decided not to sign Graham and was soon snapped up by Carlisle United on a 2 year contract. A decision that Martin O'Neil probably regrets now. Graham then began to progress rapidly at Carlisle and ended up with a grand total of  29 goals in 89 appearances. At the end of Graham's 2 year contract after several desperate attempts from Carlisle to renew his contract, Graham moved on to Watford where he soon blossomed. A tribunal later decided that Watford should pay an initial £200,000 in compensation to Carlisle, which eventually rose to £350,000. Graham netted 38 times in 91 appearances for Watford in a team which at the time had a average age of 23. Graham's progress drew attention from QPR, Villa and Swansea. QPR had a £2.5m bid rejected but Swansea clinched the strikers signature for £3.5m. The rest is history. 

Would Danny Graham fit in well at Norwich firstly? Norwich already have Grant Holt, Steve Morrison, Simeon Jackson and Harry Kane as strikers who don't have a lot of Premier League experience between them. The Canaries though this season have definitely been missing a added presence to Grant Holt in their attack. Partly down to the injury that Steve Morrison suffered at the beginning of the season who I think can be a outstanding player if played to his strengths. However does Chris Hughton trust the Welsh international with his goal-scoring record of 10 goals in 53 games. If Norwich do sign Danny Graham though will he be partnering Grant Holt in the Norwich attack?  or will he be a subtle replacement for the Norwich captain? It's hard to think that Holt and Graham would be a effective pairing with both being similar types of players with similar abilities.   

On the other hand Sunderland have been having a miserable season along with Tyneside rivals Newcastle and currently find themselves just 14th in the Premier League. Although recently Sunderland have found a bit of form their primary problem has been goals where they have been relying heavily on record signing Steven Fletcher. Martin O'Neil has attempted to address the situation by signing Louis Saha in the summer but it just hasn't worked out for him and with Frazier Campbell, Conner Wickham and James McFadden not finding their best form O'Neil is under pressure to go out hunting for another striker. He has been a long time admirer of Danny Graham from his days at Aston Villa and the Swansea man could well be the answer for Sunderland but it would be a big risk for Graham with fierce competition for starting places. Will he be guaranteed games up in the up at Sunderland?  Another unfortunate factor for Martin O'Neil is that Graham happens to be a lifelong Newcastle fan and as seen in the picture below clearly isn't keen on the Black Cats. 

Graham's other option hear will be to remain at Swansea. The big question for him at Swansea though is  whether he is guaranteed games? As we've seen this season it is a different Swansea team to that of last season. With the introduction of Michu into the team which seems to have been a stroke of genius from Michael Laudrup, Graham is falling out of favour with the manager. Part of this has been down to a few minor injuries but I believe there is still a place in that Swansea team if he can take his game to the next level which is what he has been able to do for all of his career so far. Another point though would be whether Swansea can afford to lose him? Looking at the back up that there is for Michael Laudrup there doesn't seem to be a lot of depth with Leroy Lita and Luke Moore the only back up. If you take Michu at that Swansea side then it is difficult to see where goals will come from. A lot would be relied upon Danny Graham and it would be up to him to deliver.

He now faces a key decision in his time at Swansea as does Michael Laudrup over whether to let him go.

This is my 50th post so to everybody who has kept reading up to this point. A BIG THANK YOU IN CAPITAL LETTERS. (Chip)

Bargain of the season

There have many great bargains in Premier League over the years. The likes of Eric Cantona, Robin Van Persie, Demba Ba, Joe Hart, Tim Cahill and Shay Given were all come to mind and were bought for under £2 million in their early careers and went on to achieve great things with various clubs. Another that you may be able to put in that list is Swansea's Spanish Superstar Michu.

A lot of people at the start of the season would have put Swansea as one of the first teams to be on the cusp of relegation with the void left from the departing Brendan Rodgers and the loss of key players such as Gylfi Sigurðsson and Joe Allen. However under the new management of Michael Laudrup, Swansea are thriving. A large part of this success has been through a astonishing signing, ex Rayo Vallecano striker Michu.

Michu has notched up a stunning 13 goals in just 20 games and is currently joint third highest goalscorer in the Premier League with only Luis Suarez and Robin Van Persie ahead of him. Not bad for your first season in the Premier League eh? The Swansea talisman has not only shown that he can finish a chance or two this season but also fits in well with Swansea's passing style and currently has a 80% pass success rate however he only has one assist to his name this season. A part of his game I'm sure he will want to improve.


Miguel Pérez Cuesta (which is his real name) has always scored goals wherever he has been. Whether it be at Oviedo, Celta Vigo, Rayo Vellecano or Swansea City.

During his early career at Oviedo (whom was his childhood club) Michu notched up 13 goals in 4 seasons whilst playing in the lower leagues of Spanish football. He was then scouted by Segunda División outfit Celta Vigo where made 131 starts and scored 25 goals. After 3 frustrating seasons at Celta Vigo Michu then moved to Rayo Vallecano who had been newly promoted to La Liga and was beginning to show some form. He managed to conjure up 15 goals in 37 appearances. His link up play and finishing ability was putting many teams on alert. One of these teams happened to be Welsh Giants Swansea City, who managed to swoop Michu for £2 million. Swansea fans will tell you that it was money well spent.

So what's so good about the 6ft 1 Spaniard I hear you ask? Well his ability to finish with impeccable ease has caught the eye of many football fans and his aerial threat to the opposition, especially from in-direct free kicks. He is a player who has seems like the missing piece of the Swansea jigsaw with the ability to also keep the ball and has composure to pick that key pass on the edge of the opposition penalty area. This is probably what he has learnt growing up in Spain with their whole philosophy of passing football and playing regular Futsal which helps many Spanish players in the Premier League such as Juan Mata, Fernando Torres, David Silva and Santi Cazorla. What strikes many Swansea fans who have regularly watched Michu during his time at Swansea is his ability to link up play with his fellow team-mates such as Nathan Dyer, Pablo Hernandez, Danny Graham and Johnathon De Guzman. This along with his finishing is what makes him one of the bargains of the season.

Is he Michael Laudrup's hidden gem from La Liga? It certainly seems so!


Due to his recently astonishing form other clubs have been sniffing around the 26 year old. These include Arsenal, Zenit, Tottenham, and Anzhi Makhachkala (yes I did have to look up how to spell that one). Would he fit in at any other club? He may at somewhere like Arsenal but a move doesn't look likely any time soon so for now it looks like Michu is staying put.


More blogs on the way!

Chipp

A year with Luis

In the well publicised recent decent of Liverpool there really haven't been many things for Liverpool fans to shout about. Though when talking about Liverpool it would be hard to not to mention a certain Uruguayan who headlines Liverpool's attacking threat at the moment. I am of course talking about controversial Liverpool striker Luis Suarez. A constant threat in attack, Suarez currently has 16 goals this season in 26 games which makes he Liverpool's top scorer so far this season.

For those of you who have seen Luis Suarez play then I suspect that you will agree when I say that he is a phenomenal talent and a joy to watch when in form. A consistent performer Suarez has at times looked like a class above many other players at Liverpool. Many people have even hailed Suarez as one of the best strikers in world due to his dazzling technical ability and his deadly threat from long range. Though Suarez unlike most strikers does like to attack from different positions such as on both wide flanks making him a elusive presence to his opponents and making him a centre halves worst nightmare to mark. A certain player whose technical ability can be absolutely memorising for supporters.

Suarez has also impressed greatly on the international stage as well notching up 30 goals in 60 games for his country making him one of the most goal-prone strikers on the international stage. It is also worth taking note of other strikers in the Uruguayan squad that he has to compete with such as Edinson Cavani, Diego Forlan and Sebastian Fernandez. Although as well as his club career his international career has also conjured up moments of controversy such as a handball on the line that prevented a certain goal against Ghana in the 2010 World Cup and was paraded around as a hero in his home country for it despite being sent off in that game for the same incident.

That wasn't the only bit of controversy that Suarez has endured. During his earlier career in Ajax he was heavily criticised for biting a fellow player on the pitch towards the end of his Ajax career. Controversy then followed him to Liverpool after Suarez was accused of racist abuse towards Patrice Evra. What followed was a tiring saga. As a result Suarez was fined by the FA and given a 8 match ban. Then Suarez caused a little more debate with his diving shenanigans in various matches. Though he is not the only one who is guilty of pulling the odd dive. most definitely a player that fans simply love to hate.

Despite all the controversy Suarez has shon on many occasions for Liverpool scoring 28 goals in his 2 seasons at the club and notching up 63 appearances and with the signing of Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea to relieve some of the pressure put on the shoulders of Suarez. He looks set for a really good 2013 and one that is free of controversy.

Michael Johnson

Cast your minds back a few to when Manchester City were not owned by a rich arab. Below was the Manchester City team back in 2006/7 season.

Isaksson
Richards Dunne Distin Su Jihi
Abdoun Barton
Johnson Ireland Mpenza
Vassell

Subs: Hart, Onuoha, T.Sinclair, Samaras, Dickov, Dabo

A vastly different team to the one seen today. A team that were predicted to be around 16th in the Premier League table. They had a average age of 23. Many of these players have moved on since 2006 and as of today only 3 remain. Joe Hart, Micah Richards and Michael Johnson who we will be focusing on.

Long gone the days of George Best where a footballer could go out to a nightclub on a Friday and still start a match on the Saturday. These days you would be fined for such antics. Young players in particular can have problems with alchohol and can slow down their development. Unfortunately for Michael Johnson it didn't just slow down his development, it absolutely destroyed it. It was reported that Johnson turned up for training many times feeling hungover from the previous nights out. This wasn't helped by the amount of previous injuries that he sustained including ligament damage. During his injury process Johnson began to feel psycological factors going to his head which he attempted to resolve with drink. A year ago he was also involved in a car accident in Manchester and subsequently fined for drink driving. Man City staff concluded soon after that Johnson simply didn't have the mentality to be a professional footballer. By the time that Man City had realised this though they had already offered him a 5 year contract so that they were stuck with him.

For those of you wondering who Michael Johnson actually is, he was a teenager at Manchester City who made his Premier League debut at the age of 18 after impressing Manchester City coaching staff. A string of dazzling performances from the 6ft midfielder led to him being awarded games in the England U21s and was being touted as the next England captain by Manchester City fans. They were also making similarities between him and Man City legend Colin Bell. Although I realise they may be a bit biased towards their own players. Fans were only seing glipses of his talent. Johnson went on to make 22 appearences in the 2006/7 season before being hit with injuries. The following season Johnson only made 15 starts due to more injury problems that he never really recovered from and it is extremely hard to see him getting anywhere near the current Man City team. He is though slowly getting back to fitness and last season went to Leicester city on loan but was returned after just 2 months at the club due to a re-occuring knee injury.

Now all that is left is to ponder what a great career Johnson could of had and what a great career he should of had. Just like that of Frederico Mecheda of Man Utd. Another young talent ruined by injury and drink. Though it is not too late for Johnson to rectify his career as he is only 24 but no doubt he will he be having regrets in his later years. Right now he just needs to play games and play football and put a end to this sorry state of afairs. It is sure though that he will not be getting much of a game at Man City and will be looking to move on to another club. Possibly dropping down into the Championship? Personally I can see him foraging a career at another Premier League club such as Aston Villa, Norwich, Reading or Fulham.

So what he will do next in his career will be key. A key decision must be made.

So a message to all of you. Stay safe and know your limits this Christmas. Try not to get too drunk.

Merry Christms and Happy New Year

The Futsal World Cup

As some of you may be aware this year there has been an event that has dominated headlines across the world. A event were only the very best athletes take part. It was not a big event but one then has taken much interest from around the world. People dream of playing at this event. I am of course talking about the Futsal World Cup which has recently taken place in Thailand.

It is the 7th time that the FIFA Futsal World Cup has taken place and like the normal World Cup it takes place every 4 years. Though it has always been largely dominated by two teams in particular. Brazil and Spain. This year it was no different. After both winning their groups and looking strong in their Round of 16, Quater Finals and Semi Finals it came down to a meeting of Brazil VS Spain.
Brazil took an early lead through player of the tournament Neto. But this was soon cancelled out by Spanish goals Torras and Alcardo. Spain were looking dominant before Brazil pulled a goal back through Falcao (Not the one that plays for Athletic Madrid) to make it all square. Now both teams were going for it with chances being made at both ends including a missed penalty from Brazil. However it was left to the impressive Neto to round off a Brazil comeback and end Spanish hopes of getting their hands on the Futsal World Cup.

Nevertheless the Futsal World Cup was a complete success yet again with countries such as Kuwait, Mexico, Morocco, Columbia, Panama and Serbia all competing for the first time. For those of you wondering where the likes of England, France, Geremany and Netherlands are they were simply not good enough to qualify for the World Cup.

But how far away are England from qualifying? Not a million miles away. England were knocked out in the qualification stadges. They were into a "Best runners up" group with France, Norway, Georgia and Albania. Unfortunately though England could only manage 3rd place in the group and were knocked out by goal difference. France and Norway both qualified from the group. Though England didn't get much media coverage during the qualifiers this was thought to be somewhat of a eye opener to the FA. As a result more funding is bring put into Futsal in the UK then ever before encouraging more people of all ages to get involved and to develop.

Back to the Futsal World Cup, Here are some stats from the Futsal World Cup:

By far the most prelific team at the tournament were Brazil notching up 45 goals in the 7 games in the tournament. The least prolific team in the tournament was Libya notching up a total 3 goals in 3 games. I would classify them definately as the whipping boys of their group. But it's the taking part that counts.

The player with the most goals throughout the tournament was Eder Lima of Russia who stroked in 9 goals in 5 matches for Russia which was enough to earn him the golden boot.

The team with the best discipline (fewest cards) in the tournament was Portugal who gathered a total of 11 yellow cards and 1 red. Credit goes to Spain who earnt themsleves 11 yellow cards. (The same amount Joey Barton got last season).

Spain had another claim to fame in this tournament by having the most carded player, Kike, who received 4 yellow cards in 7 matches.


Now your up to date with the biggest event in Futsal. That will be it for another 4 years at least. Make sure you keep a sharp eye out for the European championships in 2 years time.


Thanks for reading.
Chip