Weekend Preview

Here are a smattering of matches to look for over the weekend:

Saturday

Blackburn v. Newcastle

Blackburn went winless for the month of November and will like their chances against a Newcastle team that has also performed poorly as of late. Rovers will be without captain Ryan Nelson after he was sent-off in a mid-week loss to Aston Villa. According to ESPN Soccernet, right back Andre Ooijer will move into the center of defense, with Brett Emerton sliding to full-back and Morten Gamst Pederson being recalled to the starting eleven. Newcastle's Sam Alardyce will hope to turn his side's fortunes around against their struggling hosts with his position under increasing scrutiny.

Aston Villa v. Arsenal, Saturday

Arsenal, coming off a 3 - 1 defeat at the hands of Sevilla in the Champions League, are up against tough opposition at Villa Park. The home side have won four games in a row, including the aforementioned 4 - 0 drubbing of Blackburn. Now that the weather has turned, miserable conditions on the road may well go against the Gunners. Heavy rain today will make for a soggy pitch tomorrow, putting a damper on Arsenal's sublime passing game. This could be the match of the weekend in the Premier League. Gabriel Agbonlahor's fitness is in doubt for the home side, while Gael Clichy and Alexander Hleb are questionable for Arsenal. Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker is suspended.

Werder Bremen v. Hamburg SV

It's a clash of the second and third placed teams in the Bundesliga. Bremen come into this match on the back of a 3 - 2 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League. The hosts Bremen are undefeated in nine league matches and have scored a league leading 22 goals at home. Hamburg were also on the winning side in the UEFA Cup, downing French side Rennes 3 - 0 at the HSH Nordbank Arena. The visitors have only allowed a miserly 5 goals in seven away matches so far, so this will be a stern test for Bremen.

Espanyol v. Barcelona

The fourth placed hosts will seek to thwart their local rivals again after they drew with Barcelona 2 - 2 on the second last day of the 06/07 season, helping to ruin Barca's attempt to win three consecutive championships. Barcelona sit in third place, but only managed a draw during the week against Lyon. Ernesto Valverde, the Espanyol manager, said controlling possession is the key to beating Barcelona:

"If we want to beat them, we must make Barca suffer and the best way to do that is by taking away their essence." (ESPN Soccernet)

Barca are easily frustrated and this match could get scrappy if Espanyol are on their game.

Sunday

Fiorentina v. Inter Milan

Milan play Juventus on Saturday, but I feel the game of the week in Serie A has to be Fiorentina facing the league leaders at home. Inter continue to cruise past their opposition, logging a 3 - 0 victory in mid-week away to Turkish side Fenerbahce. The hosts, who harbour Champions League aspirations, have slipped in recent weeks, going winless since their 6 -1 flogging of Elfsborg in the UEFA Cup on Oct. 8. Led by leading scorer Adrian Mutu (6 goals), the Florence side will look to halt Inter's 13 game unbeaten streak in all competitions.

How to bandage England's youth crisis

For the past couple of weeks, usually when there hasn't been a disastrous result or sacking to sift through, a lot of wind and words have been exhausted about the state of the English game and how foreign players are ruining it.

A couple of articles today raised some good points. Martin Samuel of the Times points out that of the 12 players used in the most recent U-21 match, only five played a part in the next Premier League games and only one, Theo Walcott, played for a team participating in European competition.

Richard Williams in the Guardian wrote that while 10 of 22 players in the West Ham - Tottenham game on Sunday were English (an unusually high number), the trend is for foreign players to adapt to the kick-and-chase style of play.

I think that both articles point out flaws in the English league. Not enough young English players are able to play at the highest level, and those that are continue to play a style rejected by many of the most successful nations in the world of football.

I don't suppose to have the answer to this problem, but I believe a cap on foreign players is wrong. Attracting the top talent from around the world is what makes the Premier League great. This needs to be continued.

But something that Sven-Goran Eriksson said a few weeks ago got me thinking. He proposed enlarging the available options on the substitutes bench from five to seven. Several of the leagues on the continent use this system and UEFA club competitions use this rule.

Why not increase the bench, but make teams select English players under the age of 21 for the spots? Of course these players won't play a big part in the manager's scheme, but no manager will pick less than the best to be a part of the match day squad. It would encourage teams to invest in domestic youth, so whether the sixth and seventh players get in or not, England would benefit.

Who knows? You could see the youth subs being used during a lopsided game, getting valuable Premier League playing time. At the very least, it would force the league to take a different look at English talent, at no cost to the league as it stands now.

Five things from the weekend

Here are a few things I picked up watching games over the weekend:

1) Aston Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor is something else. He was able to get behind the Middlesbrough defense at will and scored a pretty nice goal. He missed a couple of gilt-edged chances, but he's still young.

I've heard several pundits mention his name as a possible right-sided midfield choice for England, but with the skill he showed Saturday and the fragility of the national team's strikers, I think he'll be capped up front.

2) Sam Allardyce is going to have to move quickly to win over the Newcastle fans. At one point during the second half of a 3-0 loss at home to Liverpool, the touchline cam showed Big Sam furiously chomping on a fresh stick of gum while two of the Toon faithful gave him an earful from the stands.

They had good reason to be upset: the Reds controlled most of the game and really should have won by a bigger margin. Newcastle are short on ideas in the midfield, leaving two excellent strikers in Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins to put in all the work themselves. I also think Allardyce needs to settle on a back four, since tinkering and swapping isn't shoring up a leaky defense.

3) The shine on Blackburn is beginning to wear off. After a good run winning four Premier League matches in a row, they've drawn two and lost one. Mind you the loss was away to Manchester United and one draw was against Liverpool, but on Sunday against Fulham they were unspectacular to say the least. Fulham could have easily taken the points, but they are quite adept at coughing up leads.

The Rovers did suffer the loss of Benni McCarthy to injury early on and Jason Roberts put in a good performance for the home side, but considering some of the other second tier results (Portsmouth and Aston Villa winning away and Everton demolishing Sunderland at home) they should expect better at Ewood Park.

4) David James should have been the keeper at Wembley on Wednesday. Portsmouth played a poor game against lowly Birmingham at St. Andrews and still managed to win 2-0. James, however, played like the veteran keeper he is: he made no mistakes and made key plays when they were needed. He may not steal the show for England, but nor would he let a 35-yard Nico Krancjar shot slip by him.

Speaking of England's bane, Krancjar showed his class once again in this game, scoring a spectacular free kick to seal the game for Pompey. Another player of note in this game was Sully Muntari, who terrorized the Birmingham defense most of the match.

5) Referees tolerate an awful lot in England. When Mike Riley waved off penalty pleas just before half during the West Ham - Tottenham match on Sunday, he was berated incessantly by the victim, Spurs captain Robbie Keane and a horde of his teammates. This continued up until the break and after the halftime whistle, Keane marched up to Riley to continue his rant.

As captain, it is Keane's prerogative to speak with the officials to seek clarification or speak his mind. I think the officials tolerate the rants far too much and should be looking to flash a card or two more often when things get out of hand. Perhaps there was a case for a penalty, but it was clear Riley had made up his mind. Move on, play the game.

MONDAY:

As a Liverpool supporter, I really hope the two sides in the Benitez/Hicks/Gillett row stop the bickering and sit down to iron out their differences like men rather than whining like children. It does nothing positive for the club and will only have a detrimental effect on the field. Grow up guys.

Several sad facts about England and the Isles

After a quick look through England's recent qualifying past (since the 1984 Euro campaign) in both the European Championship and World Cup, the following facts popped out:

• Euro 2008 was the only instance where England lost 3 qualifiers. It's the only time they've played 12 games, but still a telling fact.
• 16 goals scored at home was the highest tally since the 1994 WC qualifiers when England also scored 16...and didn't qualify.
• In the WC 2002 campaign, England qualified on the last day after a draw with Greece. They conceded 6 goals during qualification. For Euro 2008 and WC 1994, they conceded 7 and 9 respectively.

These few tidbits add up to some of the damning evidence against Steve McClaren, who unsurprisingly lost his job with the FA this morning.

The final qualifying game yesterday was dreadful, with many of McClaren's personnel changes failing to pay off. Carson was an embarrassment, Wright-Phillips was ineffective and the five-man midfield simply looked clogged.

I sincerely hope Brian Barwick, chief executive of the FA and the man responsible for appointing McClaren, is being honest when he says he plans to rebuild the England team. It is a process that is long overdue.

The other sad result from yesterday was Northern Ireland's loss to Spain in Las Palmas. This means that the British Isles will be absent from a major tournament for the first time since the 1984 Euro in France.

McClaren's big decisions

England manager Steve McClaren made three bold moves ahead of today's decisive clash against Croatia, dropping Paul Robinson, David Beckham and choosing Gareth Barry over the now-healthy Owen Hargreaves.

In place of Robinson and Beckham, Scott Carson and Shaun Wright-Phillips have been included in the line-up.

I have read some suggestions that a 4-5-1 formation will be employed this afternoon, resulting in the following line-up possibility:

Carson

Richards-----Campbell-----Lescott-----Bridge

Wright-Phillips-----Gerrard-----Barry-----Cole

Lampard

Crouch

Not quite the formation one would expect from a side playing at home for maximum points, but McClaren obviously feels this will secure the point necessary to progress.

Wright-Phillips was mentioned on the Football Weekly podcast as an effective tonic down the right, pointing out how effectively Macedonia exploited Croatia's left back Josip Simunic. Since Beckham seems unlikely to exploit anyone from open play, this may prove to be an astute bit of managing.

Speaking of astute management, it is both comforting and alarming that McClaren has taken the eleventh hour opportunity to partake in his craft. By choosing a side to do the job, he has effectively done what the best managers do: pick the best team for the match, not the best team on form.

Granted injuries to Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney have enforced his choices up front, but McClaren could have easily stuck with the side which defeated Austria on Saturday.

We can only hope that should England go on to Euro 2008, the manager will take these new found tendencies along with him.

Qualification Scenarios

Including co-hosts Austria and Switzerland, 12 teams have qualified for next summer's European Championship. Poland, Italy, France, Greece, the Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, Spain, Romania and the Netherlands have all booked their tickets for the 2008 tournament.

That leaves four tightly contested spots up for grabs:

Group A:

Second-place Portugal can wrap up a spot with a win or draw in their final match vs. Finland. The Finns, who have never qualified for a major tournament, will go through if they beat Portugal and Serbia drop points in either of their remaining matches vs. Poland and Kazakhstan.

Portugal (home v. Finland, Nov. 21) - Win = Qualification
Finland (away v. Portugal, Nov. 21) - Win + Serbia Loss or Draw in either game = Qualification
Serbia (home v. Poland, Nov. 21; home v. Kazakhstan, Nov. 24) - 2 Wins + Portugal Loss = Qualification

Group C

Turkey need a win at home against Bosnia-Herzegovina in order to qualify or a draw combined with Norway dropping points. Norway will go through with a win away to Malta combined with a Turkey draw or loss.

Turkey (home v. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nov. 21) - Win or Draw + Norway Loss or Draw or Loss + Norway Loss = Qualification
Norway (away v. Malta, Nov. 21) - Win + Turkey Loss or Draw = Qualification

Group E

England require only a win or draw to ensure qualification. Russia, after their loss to Israel on the weekend, need to win against Andorra and hope Croatia beat England to go through.

England (home v. Croatia, Nov. 21) - Win or Draw = Qualification
Russia (away v. Andorra, Nov. 21) - Win + England Loss = Qualification

Group F

Sweden simply need to draw with Latvia at home to see themselves through, whereas Northern Ireland will hope the for a Sweden loss to go along with a victory against first-placed Spain in Las Palmas to make it to Austria-Switzerland.

Sweden (home v. Latvia, Nov. 21) - Win or Draw = Qualification
Northern Ireland (away v. Spain, Nov. 21) - Win + Sweden Loss = Qualification

These scenarios should make for some fantastic contests to watch tomorrow.

It's all up to England now

I just watched Israel steal a win against Russia. Russia are clearly not a good team, as they squandered multiple chances to put the game away. However, they did beat England...

Israel played well when it mattered and had some good fortune. England owe them a big favour.

Which brings us to the fact that it's all up to England. No Owen against Croatia after an injury versus Austria. Barry didn't start, left out in favour of Lampard or Cole, depending on which way you look at it. Beckham is sure to start. England's Euro 2008 hopes ride on the fortunes of the Heroes of Germany 2006...

I want nothing more than to see England sweep aside Croatia on Wednesday, but see my last article for why victory will be bittersweet.

Who's to blame

With all of the England stars trotted out in front of the microphones and cameras to bleat on about who is to blame for the team's precarious Euro 2008 situation, where should we point the finger?

The players say don't look to Steve McClaren. Stand-in captain Steven Gerrard and a host of others, including the likes of Sir Bobby Charlton and Gary Neville, are pleading for the boss to be kept on, no matter the result of a needlessly rocky qualifying campaign.

Martin Samuel, uber-columnist for the Times, has thrown his lot with Martin O'Neill to succeed McClaren for the job.

But with a seat alongside the spectators looming for the England squad, the best thing that could happen is for McClaren to be removed after his team fail to qualify. I would love nothing more for England to be competing in Austria/Switzerland next year, but for the good of the game, a proper housecleaning is in order.

The FA is in a state of flux. While the FA await the appointment of an independent chairman, the current board need to wipe the slate clean. This starts with removing the senior manager and will end once the heir is allowed the freedom to create a new national footballing regime.

While the next manager may not be Martin O'Neill, it certainly needs to be someone who is willing to look beyond the current squad to find and nurture young players. The top English sides are no longer bringing along domestic talent as they once were, so the England manager needs to find the greenest pastures for youth to grow.

That being said, the youth system needs to be addressed. England are sorely lacking in players outside the midfield and the only way to fix this is to work with the talent coming up through the system. This needs to start at the base level, where 11 and 12-year-olds can be given every opportunity to grow in the England set-up.

While I think he's overreacting, minister of sport Gerry Sutcliffe may be on to something with his suspicions about the influx of international talent deserves a look. Top foreign talent is a must for the English game, but perhaps there is a way to balance things so English talent is given every opportunity to succeed at home.

If England are preoccupied with Euro 2008, this will not happen. If McClaren is still the boss come 2008, qualify or not, this will not happen. If England were good enough and McClaren were good enough, they would have qualified already.

This may be Ferguson's best side ever

After Manchester United defeated Blackburn 2 - 0 at Old Trafford on the weekend, manager Alex Ferguson suggested in an interview with the BBC that this year's squad was the strongest he's had in his years at the club.

That's a pretty bold statement, even for Ferguson. But I think it's certainly worth a look because there are shreds of truth in the ageless Scotsman's words.

I think for the purposes of illustration, we could pick three Man United championship sides and compare their relative merits. Jonathan Stevenson of the BBC did a similar comparison, but I think that I come at this debate from a slightly different standpoint.

The Teams:

1994: Schmeichel, Parker, Irwin, Bruce, Pallister, G Neville, Robson, Ince, Keane, Scholes, Kanchelskis, Giggs, Sharpe, Cantona, Hughes, McClair, Dublin.

1999: Schmeichel, G Neville, P Neville, May, Irwin, Brown, Johnsen, Stam, Keane, Scholes, Butt, Blomqvist, Beckham, Giggs, Solskjaer, Cole, Yorke, Sheringham.

2007: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, G Neville, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Brown, O’Shea, Silvestre, Pique, Hargreaves, Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo, Giggs, Nani, Anderson, Fletcher, Rooney, Tevez, Saha.

Aside from the fact that Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs were members of all three teams, there is a few other similarities which are indicative of Ferguson's style.

In each of the three seasons in question, a foreign player led (or is leading) Man United in league scoring: Cantona (18), Yorke (18) and Ronaldo (currently with 6).

In addition, United have had the most success when playing with continental keepers as opposed to British-born number ones.

However, Ferguson has always understood the need to buttress top foreign with great players familiar with the English game. Players like Keane, Hughes, Beckham, Cole and now Carrick are just as important as some of the imports.

Great players are necessary to win the Premier League and the FA Cup. What I think places this edition of Man United apart from its predecessors is that the great players in the squad now would be great on any team in the world, not just in England.

Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney and Nani are all world-class players. These guys would be stars on any team in Europe. Playing together, they are a formidable unit who will be challenging the best on the continent for the Champions League title this year and for the foreseeable future.

Also, the contributions of players like Giggs, Carrick, Ferdinand and Vidic only add another dimension to the Red Devil's prowess.

Don't get me wrong, there have been great players at United before. Cantona, for example, was perhaps the most talented player in Europe at his peak. Unfortunately, he was shunned by the French national team and therefore without an international stage upon which to ply his trade.

In addition, Peter Schmeichel was one of the best keepers in the history of the sport. And no one would question the pedigree of Irwin, Bruce, Robson or Cole, but would they have been the world-wide stars that currently suit up at Old Trafford today?

The current crop of players stands to exceed the lofty standards of the past for Manchester United. Even with an injury-prone star like Rooney, United have the depth of talent to continue at a high level of play. But any of the top stars in this squad would look equally menacing in Madrid, Milan or Munich.

The comparisons will only begin in earnest once this team has won at least a proper double (PL plus European Cup or FA Cup). Based on current form and the ability shown last year in winning the league, this is not beyond United at the moment.

Ferguson's bold statements can be empty at times, but I don't think he's spoken lightly this time.

Why England will host World Cup 2018. Probably.

Back once again after a long spell. A combination of busy times at school and one killer flu led to a lack of inspiration for a good blog, but I'm glad to be at it again.

Alongside the announcement that Brazil will host the 2014 World Cup, FIFA supremo Sepp Blatter declared an end to the rotation policy used for bidding on football's top tournament.

This immediately sent the English FA into dreamland, since they would otherwise have to wait for bids from both the North American federation as well as another tournament from Asia before attempting to land another World Cup.

So far, the 2018 favorites include England, China, Russia, the U.S., Mexico and Australia. The pros and cons of each potential bid are many, but it's fairly easy to point out the major talking points:

China: This bid seems to be a bit of a no brainer. China is currently shaping up to be an economic powerhouse. What better way to show the world you've arrived than by hosting the world's biggest sporting event? Never mind that they're well on their way to making a hash of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. We'll know shortly after that event whether FIFA will travel down the same sad road as the IOC and give the thumbs up to China. Verdict: No chance in hell. The problems that are cropping up now and will surely appear next summer will make this an easy decision for a sober FIFA committee.

Russia: Similar to China, Russia is coming into its own as a nation (ethical considerations aside, of course). The World Cup would be the best way imaginable for Vladimir Putin & Co. to show the world what billions in oil money can do. Guus Hiddink has done a fine job with the national team, but I think many people at FIFA will wonder whether Eastern Europe is ready for the big time. Verdict: Close to no chance, but check this space in a couple years.

Mexico: They have a great deal of World Cup pedigree, having hosted the final twice (1970 and 1986), but not much else in comparison to the other contenders. Like Brazil, who need to upgrade 18 stadiums in time for 2014, Mexico would need to do a similar reno job to be ready for the tournament. Verdict: Like Russia, there's always a chance, but likely not.

U.S.A.: The Americans could be considered as a host for every single World Cup tournament, simply because: A) They have dozens of state-of-the-art, 60,000-plus seat stadiums at their disposal, all over the country. B) Americans love to put on a show. C) There's 300 million Americans. The U.S. won't get the 2018 World Cup for one excellent reason: people in America don't give a toss about football. Verdict: Why take the big show where no one watches?

Australia: The Australian FA came out quickly after the announcement to end the rotation policy and stated they intend to bid. Aussies love their sport and are willing to put big money into things like World Cups and Olympic Games. Without a doubt FIFA will look at this bid with interest, especially since Oceania, which Australia were a member of before defecting to the Asian federation, has never hosted the finals. However, they face the same challenge as the Americans, that the country is huge, detracting from the atmosphere FIFA loves about geographically small nations. Verdict: Barring a major gaffe by England, Australia will have to wait.

England: Without a doubt, England should be the favourites to host 2018. Right now, this minute, they have the finest football specific stadiums in the world. By 2018, the new Anfield will be complete, surely Old Trafford will be improved again and as long as Abramovich is around, Stamford Bridge is due for a face lift. This is before the FA and the British government bring out the cash to spruce up the other grounds across the country (St. James Park, Villa Park and White Heart Lane come to mind). Along with the new Wembley, City of Manchester Stadium and the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, there are enough other stadiums that are above or could easily be made to match the FIFA requirement of 40,000 plus. To go with the English infrastructure and short travel distances, you only need to add one of the most football mad nations in the world. Verdict: They would really need to screw this one up...

All that being said, Australia and England will be quite a choice for FIFA to make. They can't go wrong with England, but if they pass up an Australian bid, how long will it take to get to a country who deserve a shot to host the World Cup?

I think England have a lock, because there is a lot that can go wrong for FIFA at the next two tournaments. South Africa already looks like a mess, with venue construction behind schedule and an alarming national crime rate.

Brazil, in being awarded the 2014 World Cup have stated they need to spend $550-million (USD) on improvements to 18 stadiums. Since the new Wembley cost almost twice as much to build, this initial investment may prove to be a little short. Cost overruns are not the best way to get the ball rolling, but we'll wait and see.

Finally, listening to World Soccer Daily, Steven Cohen has suggested the rotation policy was scrapped with North America on deck because South Africa isn't going to be ready for 2010. This would mean the U.S. would be at the top of the list to step in and host the tournament, like Mexico did in 1986 when Colombia backed out. I tend to agree with Mr. Cohen here, since I've not heard any good news about the African bid in some while. Stay tuned.