So where did it all go wrong?

The players have arrived back home. The manager's job is in jeopardy. England are once again trophy-less. Now all our sporting hopes have been pinned on Andy Murray and the inquest has well and truly begun into what was a 'disastrous' campaign. So, where did it all go wrong? Was it the manager's fault? Or maybe the players are to blame? Could it be that the responsibility lies with the FA? Or perhaps simply, it just wasn't our year. Here's my view on things.

Well let's start with Fabio. The man was touted as one of the best in the business when he became England manager after the short-lived reign of Steve McClaren. Capello's popularity hasn't nose-dived that far...just yet. Before he accepted the £6 million pound a year job, he was winning all sorts of trophies and accolades with some of the biggest football clubs in the world: Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus etc... He came into the England job with a reputation for being one of the most strict disciplinarians out there: hard-nosed, ruthless and firm. Exactly what England needed if they were to focus solely on the football and compete at the highest levels. So what could go wrong? I mean here was a guy with some serious experience under his belt, with a strong enough character to deal with the players should they step out of line (e.g. the whole JT thing) and his presence is big enough to command respect. Okay, so his English was pretty much non-existent when he arrived, but he's worked on that. During his reign, and before the World Cup, England had lost only twice to France and Spain prompting a renewal of his contract until at least 2012.

After beating both Mexico and Japan, it was time for SA. Ah, the hopes and expectations of the nation were carried with Capello and his boys with a real sense of anticipation...this could be it! Our year. 44 years and counting but the golden generation were going in with one of the best managers around. Except it didn't quite pan out that way did it Fabio?

Let's start with the 23 man team selection. Capello was heavily criticised for one major surprise omission: Theo Walcott. Having previously used him from the start in the friendly games, it was a major shock to discover that he would not be travelling to SA. I said it before that if England's tournament was a failure, then people would look back on this decision, reflect upon it and might decide that that was where Capello had taken the wrong road. And, if I'm honest, then yes, Capello should have taken Walcott. Yes, he hasn't been entirely fit during the season and his final ball might not always be there. But he's fast, pacy, runs at defenders and makes a big impact even if you choose to bring him off the bench (remember Barcelona at the Emirates?). Furthermore, did Capello make the right decision in the final selection of players? Ledley King and Gareth Barry were major doubts. Jamie Carragher had also returned from retirement - instead of going for youth, Capello chose experience.

So, anyway aside from that, what went wrong for the manager in SA? Well, we didn't get off to the greatest of starts after those 2 disappointing draws. First there was the whole goalkeeping situation debacle. Then we had the whole JT 'big mistake' shabang. Many people i.e. pundits, analysers and fans were calling for a change in system after those 2 draws as well. Capello's willingness to keep using Heskey despite him not having scored in what feels like decades was also another thing to criticise. No one was really happy to see Gerrard out there on the left either, but Capello never once changed it or tried something different and maybe that was where we also suffered. I mean you can't really blame the players for that, as they had to listen to orders and do what they had been told. If it was me, I'd have utilised the player's strengths to my advantage and taken a few risks - it's the World Cup after all. So I would have had a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Gerrard in behind Rooney, or maybe even a 4-1-3-1-1 with Barry in that holding position. Therefore some of the blame has to lie with the manager for refusing to change things and shake it up a bit. England became a bit too predictable in the end, and Gerrard and Rooney would have most probably preferred things in a new formation where they could both get forward, in particular, Gerrard.

Most people seem to think that Capello will stay and despite his obvious mistakes at the World Cup, I'm kinda glad. Why? Well because he is still one of the best in the business. And also, I don't think it helps England to keep having a change in manager and a change in the way things are done. It's better to have a stable foundation and we must now look to the future and getting ourselves a place at Euro 2012.

So we come to the players: well all the big-name stars of the Premier League, in the so-called 'golden generation' were quite simply nowhere to be seen in this tournament. Take Wayne Rooney: for all the good form he has had during his time at Man U, we did not see even a glimmer of how good he is in SA. It was a really poor tournament for him, and there is no one that will know that more than him. Since England made their exit, he has come in for a lot of criticism, and rightly so. I mean, he is supposed to be one of the best players in the world and where else are you meant to prove this than on the world's biggest stage? But, to be fair he didn't look fully fit. He looked tired and it seemed that everything was an effort. He probably wasn't helped by the system Capello employed, and the rigours of the PL but he needed to do much, much better. It was a shame that Capello was too scared almost, to substitute him when things were not going our way.

John Terry and Matty Upson were no better at the back. For all JT's experience, he was responsible for some pretty poor defending against the Germans. As for Ashley Cole, well he's had better games. It's that old saying - if you're team's playing well, then you automatically play better too. I think Glen Johnson and Upson were both slightly out of their depth against Germany, and England's defence was left wildly exposed for all to witness.

I think Milner was half-decent, but again Lampard failed to make any real impact during the tournament. Barry was struggling, after only just coming back from injury and despite Gerrard's efforts to rouse the spirit of the team, he had nothing really to show for it. Joe Cole could do nothing to change the game when he came on and both SWP and Aaron Lennon were really disappointing. Defoe did well to get that goal against Slovenia but remained largely anonymous in the defeat to Germany.

It was a shame Peter Crouch wasn't given the opportunity to score a few of those late goals either. All in all, the players have as much to be criticised for as the manager. For all their reputations and accolades with their respective clubs, they were a shadow of their best and will view SA 2010 as a completely missed opportunity - a World Cup that held much promise, but fell desperately short of expectations. Criticism has been levelled at the amount of money they are paid and how the performances that they displayed at the World Cup have not matched up to how much they earn. I gotta admit that this is true. I have always called for a cap on wages, and maybe the FA will now review the situation.

England were not helped by things going wrong either. We had the Rio injury which spelt trouble from the off. Then the press made things harder by exaggerating the meaning of what Terry had said in the press conferences. Ledley King had his injury troubles. James Milner got a virus. We got put into the tougher part of the draw thanks to our friends, the USA. Need I say more about the "ghost goal"? Jorge Larionda and his mate Mauricio Espinosa have no doubt blown their chances of officiating in the final ... there is still hope for England to reach the finals yet!!! And, to cap it off, the England players had their undies stolen as well as £7000 worth of other things including football memorabilia by hotel workers at their hotel complex. (It was all returned...undies and all...so don't worry).

Finally, the finger has also been pointed at the FA who have been criticised for failing to nurture enough home-grown talent in a proper youth system. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has ridiculed the FA as amateurs, and insists that the team could be properly managed by the Premier League. Not sure, I entirely agree with that one. It's true, no one can deny that the PL is one of the best, if not the best in the world so how is it possible that it's success cannot translate to international success? Some people have pointed to the influx of foreign players but if you look at Tottenham - they finished fourth and supplied a quarter of the players to the final England squad. So, although that may be a factor, it's not the sole factor. There's also been a demand for the FA to review the idea of a 'winter break'. Most other European countries have the break before they get underway for the second part of the season and most of the PL players seem to be in favour of it as well. Traditionalists don't like the idea as it ruins the whole Christmas/New Year clog-up and is what makes the PL unique. I get that, but if that was what was responsible for the fatigue we saw in the players during the World Cup, then perhaps we do need to do something about it. At least, consider having a winter-break every 2 years, in time for the big summer tournaments. Chris Waddle believes the solution is to encourage the PL players to ply their trade abroad - using his own experience in Marseilles, he stated that sometimes players learn more outside the PL and that's what makes them prepared for big tournaments such as these. Well, I'm not entirely sure I agree with him on that one either. It wouldn't be good for the PL to suddenly have a mass exodus of English players as it is an English league after all. As much as I hate to admit it, perhaps old Beckenbauer was right about the players being "burnt out". He did subsequently apologise about his "negative" views of the English team, but it appears he was sort of right in what he had to say.

So at the end of it all, what can we say? Not a lot really.

England will be looking to forget all about this tournament and concentrate on the next.

To be honest, who can blame them?

For England, the World Cup tournament of South Africa 2010 was a tournament that promised so much but produced so very little...

England are OUT.

It still hurts to say it. A day later, and the memories of yesterday's afternoon game remain fresh in the minds of England (and no doubt, German) supporters alike. England's 4-1 defeat was their heaviest in a World Cup Finals game and this crushing defeat will be difficult to erase from the mind, as it sent England crashing out of South Africa.

England had begun to get their momentum back (or so it seemed) after their 1-0 victory over Slovenia, having started off the tournament extremely poorly. Not only were the supporters disappointed, but the players too. Their high expectations of this England team were not naive and even they were puzzled as to why England had failed to beat the USA, and more strangely, Algeria.

The win over Slovenia secured second place for England, who were then put into the draw against Germany. Our old rivals - the Germans. The performance against Slovenia, was a start, an improvement, but we expected to see a near-perfect performance against the impressive, young German side, who would cause us more problems than Slovenia had. Capello was optimistic before the game - 23 players were fit and training - he had a whole squad to choose from now, but opted to go with the same players he had picked in the game against Slovenia.

To be honest, we could have been at least 4-0 down come half-time, because for the first half-hour of the game, Germany's youngsters made fools of England's experienced "golden generation". It was all too easy for the likes of Oezil, Mueller, Podolski and Klose to slice open the England defence like a hot knife through butter. If it wasn't for David James, then England could have kissed the tournament goodbye much earlier than they did.

David James did well to save from Oezil with his legs, as England literally parted to make way for Schweinsteiger's lofted pass out to the gifted playmaker. England weren't seeing much of the ball - with Rooney and Defoe stranded up front, as the Germans made good use of their possession. You sensed that the England defence needed to get their acts together otherwise James might not be so lucky next time the Germans came knocking.

And it wasn't long before they did, and this time, they found a way past. It was just simple route one football as Manuel Neuer's long clearance completely evaded the England players, and found its way over to Klose at the other end of the pitch. The England defenders weren't strong enough to challenge Klose, who controlled it and got his shot away with a cool, composed finish to leave James absolutely furious at his teammates in front of him. And quite rightly so, that was absolutely shocking defending. Upson, who had been chosen ahead of Carragher, and Terry were caught completely out of position and subsequently made to pay. They totally lost their bearings and for all their experience, they found themselves all at sea.

Again, it was James to the rescue, when the Germans were able to get in a few short, sharp passes to undo England's midfield and defence. It was just too easy for them - England were unable to close them down, or hound them for the ball, or tackle them which allowed them to slip the ball to Klose whose shot was quickly closed down by James. However, it wasn't long before Germany were able to make schoolboys of the England defenders once more. Again, we saw some good, incisive passing from the Germans on the left hand side and for some reason, the England defenders overcommitted themselves to the left, so no one spotted the run of Podolski on the right. Glen Johnson, who should have been on the right and therefore stopping the run of Podolski, was nowhere near him, allowing Mueller to slide the pass through to the Cologne player for their second goal of the game.

England needed to get themselves back into the game, and fast. Lampard almost got a goal back after a good cross from Milner on the right, but he failed to make proper contact with the ball. Mueller was again, given the freedom to run with the ball in midfield, and got his pass through to Klose, who was advancing in on goal sandwiched between Johnson and Milner. Luckily, this time between the pair of them, they were able to see the ball out. England were all over the shop, lacking in pace as the young Germans beat them for speed time and time again. There was some more shoddy defending from England from the resulting corner, as the ball pinged about all over the place with Klose again pouncing in on goal.

England, thankfully got the ball clear, and it was an England corner that led to Upson's goal. Milner passed the ball to Gerrard, who lofted in a good pass from outside the area, that met Upson who did well to stay in the air and guide it home pass the keeper. England were back in the game it seemed. And, just a minute and a half later, were so, so, so unlucky not to be on equal terms after an appalling decision by the referee and his assistant. With the momentum with England, they looked a different side as Milner passed it out to Defoe on the edge of the area, to slip it in for Lampard, who chipped the ball beautifully over the keeper and way over the line. WAY OVER THE LINE. For absolutely everyone watching in that stadium, the players, the managers, the staff, the fans and everyone else on their TV sets that was a goal. The whole of the ball had gone over the line by a clear 2 yards or so. Yet the only people who didn't believe this to be the case was the referee, Jorge Larrionda and his assistant, Mauricio Espinosa, who ruled it out for not going over the line. How the Germans got away with that one, we'll never know. All the England fans, players and staff had started celebrating, as had we at home, but those celebrations were cut short by that one stupid decision.

I brought up the whole 'controversial decisions in a World Cup' issue in one of the earlier posts. Wish I hadn't now. Sepp Blatter watched on from the stands as the England players protested to the referee at half-time about the ridiculous decision that had been made, preventing England from going into half-time on a level playing field. England, were lucky not to concede from Podolski's shot, once the referee had waved play on. Now that would have been a death wish. It was like the reverse of 1966 when Geoff Hurst's controversial goal secured the win for England against West Germany - this was the German's revenge.

England went into half-time needing to score another to level things up, and almost did so in the opening exchanges of the second-half. Lampard, who went another tournament without scoring, almost got the equaliser from a free-kick that he absolutely lashed past the German wall only to see it hit the bar, with Neuer beaten. With England desperately trying to get that much-needed goal, they were stretched at the back. Heavily stretched, as the likes of Terry and Upson tried to help things upfront. There was always that danger of Germany breaking, and that was to be England's undoing in the end.

It was literally from one end of the pitch to another with England's players over-committed upfront leaving acres of space, and few defenders at the back. Germany were scarily good on the break, attacking with such pace and speed that it left you breathless. They may have been the young guns, but they made England's more experienced players look like little boys out there. Gareth Barry lost the ball on the edge of the German box after Rooney had been awarded a penalty, that had been struck by Lampard, straight into the German wall. Once they got going, there was absolutely no stopping them as England quite simply fell apart. There was acres of room at the back, none of the England players could keep up with their European counterparts and they were free to use the width of the pitch, and within a few passes they got their third goal. Schweinsteiger did really well to get the ball out to Mueller on the right, and he calmly put the ball away, with England's defence looking on. They were so unorganised at the back, that it ended up with 5 England players stuck in the middle of the box, with no one closing down Mueller or Oezil in the wide areas. Absolutely shambolic defending.

3 minutes later, and the same thing happened again. This time it was from a throw-in with John Terry trying his luck in the German penalty box and committed up-front, Joe Cole lost the ball this time and all England could do was watch and admire this scintillating German side. Barry was unable to catch up with Oezil, whose pace was unbelievable and no one spotted Mueller, in acres of space, who was able to slide home his second and Germany's fourth after a fine pass from the supertalented Oezil. It was all over for England now. They tried in vain to go forward, and Capello went for broke, sending Wright-Phillips and Heskey on, but it was all too little too late. I didn't understand the Heskey substitution at all. I mean, here we are, needing to score 3 goals to get ourselves back in the game, and Capello puts on a player, who has been unable to score for so long. I mean, for goodness sake put Crouchy on. At least we might have a shot then. Crouch has a record of coming on and scoring late goals.

England could do nothing except pray that the 5-1 scoreline in Munich would not be emulated here by the Germans. They had nothing to offer and the game petered out with the last 5 minutes seeming like the longest 5 minutes ever. The result marked the end of England's tournament - a tournament that had looked so much full of promise and hope but was actually dire and disappointing. Questions will again be raised over the use of goal-line technology and the goal that wasn't given. Surely that goal would have changed things around - England wouldn't have been so overcommitted going forward, and wouldn't have let their 2-2 slip so easily. Still, we will never what could have been and on balance, you would have to say that Germany deserved their win. For the way they played and for the way they totally destroyed England, they deserve nothing but credit and praise. It wasn't they who made that ludicrous decision, and it will be interesting to see how far this young side can go in the tournament. At the end of it all, and looking at the tournament as a whole, England have no one but themselves to blame. Apart from that brief respite against Slovenia, who aren't the best of sides in this competition, they didn't really show up. The big name stars were nowhere to be seen and ultimately England failed to live up to expectations. The match against Germany was one of "what-if"; in fact the whole tournament was one of "what-if". What if Capello had taken Walcott? What if he had changed the system? What if all the players were fully fit? What if we had finished top of Group C?

Let the inquest begin...

Have A Little Faith & Ye Shall Reap...

So: England have done it. They're through to the next round of 16. Did you ever doubt it?

England needed a performance yesterday. And a big one at that. Group C was wide open, with any of the 4 teams still able to qualify. There was pressure, and plenty of it, and England had to respond after their dire 0-0 draw against Algeria in the second game. England have been in this situation plenty of times before, with 1 do-or-die game and history has been on their side.

But, before the game got under way it looked like the pressure was getting to be far too much as JT let loose in a press conference. Terry decided to speak candidly and openly about what was going on inside the England camp, inferring that it was difficult for the players to speak their mind to Capello and that there were a few players unhappy with the tactics, and the players being selected. In fact Terry himself, suggested Capello pick Joe Cole, his Chelsea teammate, over the others. In the past, Terry has often been accused of not being honest enough, however this time he was perhaps taking the honesty thing too far, as it provoked a public reaction from the boss. What Terry forgot was that the press are like vultures, and they are ready to pounce on anything either openly stated or inferred, to grab the headlines. Our neighbours, the French, are testimony to that. It was down to Capello, Lampard and Gerrard for some damage limitation. After stating that Terry had made a "big mistake" by revealing the private happenings of the camp to the world's media, he reaffirmed that there weren't any cracks in the team, and that the boys were only focussed on the big match ahead. Luckily, Terry's honesty didn't quite reach the gastronomical proportions of the French fiasco and the team were able to put it behind them, and do their talking on the pitch.

And, they certainly did just that. From the off, England started with a high tempo, good pace, and bursting with energy to get going. You could tell that the players knew that they had to win this game and they responded. Straightaway, they were getting at the Slovenians, connecting well and eager to get forward. Jermain Defoe had been called up Capello in place of Heskey for this match, while James remained in goal. Upson took the suspended Carragher's place and Milner started in place of Carrick. Overall, these were positive changes by the manager, who retained England's standard 4-4-2 formation, with Gerrard playing on the right. For the best part of the first half, it was England that was superior in possession, chances, shots on target and playing attacking football. The ball was largely in the Slovenian half, and it didn't take long for their defence to crack to give Defoe his first goal of the tournament.

It was man-of-the-match James Milner's fabulous cross that was met by Defoe who slammed it in from close range. Milner was great all game long, especially out on the right with great balls in. The England forwards could not complain about the service they were getting this time around. What was also good about Milner's presence was that he was willing to stay back, which allowed Gerrard far more space to move forward, as we know he likes to do. The team was looking far more balanced and the players seemed to be enjoying themselves, despite the pressure. As England went closer for another goal, their chances increased with Lampard, Defoe and Gerrard all going close. Slovenia's highly rated goalkeeper, Handanovic was right in the heart of proceedings, but to his credit, made some superb saves to keep Slovenia in the game.

Slovenia didn't threaten James too much in the first half and England were able to get through to half-time with their heads held high. With the USA-Algeria game still stuck at 0-0, not only were England going through, as it stood, but they were going to top the group as well. Defoe almost had a chance to get himself a brace, straight after the restart but could only fire wide as England again pushed on to get another goal to make life more comfortable. Gerrard and Rooney worked well to create some good play between them, but it was a pass too much as yet another game went by without Rooney getting a goal. Terry also had a good chance, with a header from a corner, but unlike on so many previous occasions, he was unable to direct it into the back of the net.

There was always a danger that while the game stayed at 1-0, Slovenia could easily break and score. England's defenders had to be sharp and alert to the danger. I felt that Matt Upson started off a bit shakily, conceding possession in some dangerous areas and having to be helped out by his fellow teammates, but I suppose that is quite understandable. Luckily for England, he improved as the game went on and did enough to keep Slovenia out. Johnson and Terry were both great at blocking Novakovic who looked to shoot - the controversy of the week seemingly wiped from Terry's mind.

Rooney, who didn't look 100% fit, was substituted for Joe Cole, after limping quite heavily and being unable to continue. England managed to see out the game, having scored just the one goal, by being organised and defending well. It was certainly anxious times right up to the very end...but then England never do make it quite as easy as we want it to be, do they?! The closing stages of the game, saw some late Slovenian pressure but the England players did well in helping each other out, staying back and then keeping possession of the ball in the Slovenian half.

At the final whistle, we saw great emotion from the manager and from the players. They knew that it would have been inexplicable to have exited at this stage, as before this match they hadn't really turned up. Slovenia, on the other hand, were left in despair. At first, they thought that they had also gone through, but news slowly began filtering in that the USA had scored and beaten Algeria, courtesy of an injury time goal by Landon Donovan. It was really heart-wrenching to watch as Slovenia, despite being the smallest nation (in terms of population) represented at the World Cup finals, had done themselves really proud uptil now. The late US goal also meant that England finished second in the group, so would have to play whoever won in Group D. It was a great result for the Americans too, provoking joyous scenes of elation as they will now face the runner-up in Group D.

It was a great, positive performance from England: something that we've all been waiting for. There are still areas of improvement that they need to work on - for example, Rooney needs to get himself a goal or two to give him that confidence, England need to work on killing off the game - they could have made life far more comfortable for themselves had they been more clinical, and finally it's important not to get too carried away, as there are teams that are better than Slovenia in this competition. Still, what a difference a win makes. It will just give England and the fans that bit of much-needed confidence as they go into their tie against the Group D winners on Sunday. They will now have a base to build on and improve upon as we enter the knock-out stages. The players were smiling, the manager was smiling and the fans were smiling. England have always left it til late on plenty of previous occasions and this time was no exception. Still, the best teams or the ones that go on to win the competition, don't always have the best of starts do they?

"It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to"...

Not a very happy birthday for Capello as England draw...

A 0-0 draw for England, last night against Algeria, leaves England in a perilous situation with only one game left to go, against current Group C leaders Slovenia. Coming into this game, England were tipped to win comfortably and get themselves back on track to qualifying to the last 16, after the 1-1 draw with the USA. But frustratingly, they were unable to see off a resolute Algerian side and ended the game with a total of 2 points, equal to that of the USA.

There had been much criticism levelled at the players, in particular Green, after England's failure to beat the USA. Capello, who celebrated (or not) his 64th birthday last night, chose to leave Green on the bench this time round, and opted for the more experienced and more vocal David James. Luckily for James, he was not at the centre of attention once the final whistle had blown. It was infact the other outfield players who were jeered off the pitch by the many England fans who had flown their way over to SA to watch a dismal performance. After Ledley King's injury woes, Jamie Carragher started at the back with John Terry. Fit again Gareth Barry replaced James Milner in an otherwise unchanged line-up; Capello persisting with Emile Heskey as Rooney's strike partner.

After Chaouchi's mishap against Slovenia, he, much like Green, was replaced by M'Bohli who looked a bit shaky to start off with. However, England were unable to make him work or take advantage of that weakness and score a much needed goal. Despite having almost a week to train, England's players look tired and leggy, and were devout of inspiration and energy. They lost possession of the ball far too easily and in defence, John Terry looked a bit out of his depth when he was confronted by the lively Bougherra and Boudebouz. Algeria were well worth their point and must be given credit for the way they frustrated England throughout the game. With the calibre and quality of the players that England have in their squad, in all fairness, they should be able to beat teams such as Algeria. No disrespect to Algeria but if England struggle against "smaller" footballing nations, how can they expect to beat the bigger and better sides and win the world cup?

Despite the presence of Gareth Barry in midfield, England were unable to do anything with him that would really test Algeria. And so the first half came to a close, with Capello the more agitated of the two managers. We know from previous games that Capello has given his side a stern talking to at the half time whistle, and we expected this, after that poor performance. But still, things refused to change in the second half. Lampard was far from his best, Gerrard was not at good as we saw him during the first game and Rooney was hardly to be seen. Heskey worked hard but created little and again missed a decent chance. With things still looking bleak Capello took the ineffective Lennon off for Shaun Wright-Phillips and brought Crouch and Defoe on in place of Barry and Heskey, respectively. The shape changed to a 4-3-3 designed to give England more attacking options, but unfortunately they were unable to break down Algeria.

As the game began to wear on, England and the fans became more and more desperate. England were just stuck in a rut and nothing seemed to be working. Not the substitutions nor the change in shape nor the frustrations of the manager making his feelings well known on the touchline. It was so weird to watch England playing like this. It felt like it was a team of aliens, not England, based on the side we saw in qualifying and in the warm up games. After the game, many people spoke of England's "nervousness". Perhaps it was this, but why did England suddenly get stage fright when they've done this kind of stuff many times before? Now is not the time to be feeling the pressure, because the further you progress in the competition, the more the pressure will increase. David Beckham, looking on from the sidelines, cut a forlorn figure as he reminisced on the influence he might have been able to have on the game had he been fully fit. The Princes were also there to watch the game, and later had a word with the boys in the dressing room. I'm sure they, like the rest of us, will be hoping for a major improvement.

As I mentioned earlier, the England supporters who had made the trip, and probably many more watching at home vented their frustrations at the players as the final whistle blew for full time. This provoked an angry reaction from Wayne Rooney, who was seen after to have said sarcastically to the cameras, "nice to hear boos from your home fans, that's what loyal support is, f***s sake". Well, needless to say, it is no wonder why the England fans were booing the team. The team can hardly expect a standing ovation, but I do understand Rooney's frustration too. Rooney later apologised for what he said, but it is clear to see that there is real pressure on these guys to perform, and quite rightly. Things have not got off to the greatest of starts, but the point is that we still have a chance to qualify and all is not yet lost.

Monitoring what people were saying on Facebook after the game, I was pretty surprised at some of the things people were coming out with, for example, "I'm ashamed to be English" and "Algeria are s**t". Well first off, I'd just like to say that perhaps these "supporters" should consider what it's like for the players before being so quick to berate them. The England team want to succeed...it's not like they are underperforming on purpose. Of course not. And the group is wide open, we still have a chance to qualify. So instead of getting on their backs about it, we should be taking some of the pressure off them, and giving them our full support. There was all this rallying support for them before they left for SA and all this talk about being there for England throughout the tournament...well the boys need that now more than ever, if Rooney's reaction was anything to go by. Yes, they have been disappointing but the players and the manager are fully aware of that. And take nothing away from Algeria, who may not be as "great" as others when it comes to their footballing record, but who are certainly not "s**t", otherwise what are they doing at the World Cup? So far this tournament, England are not the only team to have had a disappointing start...but think back to 2006...the French team were in the same position as England are now...with 2 draws and 1 win in their group games, they managed to reach the final.

So: have a little faith...and let the inquest begin only once the players have returned home, and not a moment before. It's not going to be easy against a Slovenian side sitting pretty at the top with 4 points. But Slovenia are not infallible...the USA proved that when they came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2...even a draw would be enough. It will be tough with Jamie Carragher suspended, and John Terry having to get used to yet another partner...but if it's meant to be, then surely, it will be...

Green's Gaffe Results In A Draw...

Well. Not the winning start we would have all liked or indeed envisaged. Still, we didn't lose and that was only our first game. Plenty of reasons to be optimistic then right? Well, cautiously so, yes.

England finally kicked off their world cup campaign on Saturday night, in the hotly anticipated Group C opener against the USA. Long before the tournament even got underway, people were saying that the US would be England's toughest opponents. This didn't appear to be the case as within 5 minutes, England had already taken the lead. Steven Gerrard finished off a nice move to slam the ball in the back of the net after a good pass from Heskey. It's the earliest goal to have been scored at the tournament as of yet and shocked not only the Americans, but England supporters too. It seemed the perfect start - after Gerrard's goal, it looked as though the game would be easy for England and there for the taking. All the nerves and tension that had been building up pre-match were gone and all England had to do was carry on the way they had started. Except with England, it's never quite that simple is it?

Infact, now I come to think of it, perhaps it wasn't a great start after all. I mean, England supporters can tell you that it's not very often England get a great early lead as they did. Perhaps this was their downfall. Sometimes, it can be a disadvantage to score early. It means you are never quite sure what to do next, particularly if you are not used to scoring so early on - do you sit back and protect your lead? Or do you continue to attack and kill the game off? It seems that this early goal perhaps made England complacent. Sub-consciously, it may have seemed that the game was now already won, that the USA wouldn't be able to overcome the shock of conceding so early and that there was no real need to push forward and capitalise on the chances that may come England's way. Of course the players would want to kill the game off, but that early lead did look to have adverse psychological effects by my reckoning.

For most of the first half then England enjoyed relative possession of the ball and the better chances of the two but were unable to press any further. It therefore came as a shock when, with only 5 minutes to go until half time, the USA managed to equalise from a nothing shot by Fulham's Clint Dempsey. He took a shot from 25 yards out, not really expecting much. It looked like an easy catch for West Ham's Robert Green, chosen ahead of David James and Joe Hart, but it didn't quite pan out that way. He caught the ball alright, but he also let it slip from his grasp and could do nothing but watch it roll agonisingly pass the goal line, gifting the Americans, a largely undeserved, equaliser. It was actually painful to watch on TV, and everytime they kept showing the replays, it looked more and more worse. You just wanted to jump into the screen and claw the ball back before it rolled away. It is well known, and laughed about, that England do not have the world's best keepers - we have seen plenty of blunders and bloopers before. Still, it did not make this one any less excruciating to watch. But we had 45 minutes left and we hadn't seen the best of England yet. There were definitely reasons to be hopeful despite Green's gaffe.

Capello had already made one substitution during the first half, taking off James Milner and replacing him with Wright-Phillips. Having only just recovered from a virus, Milner was far from his best and it was a wise decision in the end to make the substitution so early on. Ledley King was then substituted off at the beginning of the second half, in place of Carragher, from what appeared to be a groin injury. England managed to create a few chances but could not seem to find a way to rattle the Americans into conceding again. Emile Heskey, again disappointed in the scoring department, after failing to put away Aaron Lennon's through ball early on. Rooney was quiet for most of the game but he did have a shot on goal from distance which forced Tim Howard into a save. Other than that, there were few real chances for England and they just could not seem to find anything different. Crouch came on in place of Heskey with 10 minutes to go but even he, who has saved England late on, on so many occasions, could do nothing to haul England out of their slumber. In my opinion, he came on far too late to affect things. Green, made up for his gaffe (a little anyway) by saving well from Jozy Altidore who had managed to ease past the English defence and take a shot on goal.

All in all a disappointing first performance from England, after having started so well. Still, it's not all doom and gloom. There are 2 more matches left, England have plenty more in the locker and they will not succumb that easily, especially when they know that they have got their best chance to win the tournament, in a long time. Questions were once again raised about England's endurance in this competition, can they really go all the way? Only time will tell. For now, they must forget all about this game and concentrate on the next two vital clashes.

Some injury news: Wayne Rooney missed today's training session due to a slight ankle problem. He got a small knock in the USA game, but should be fine to play against Algeria on Friday.

Not so great news for Ledley King whose tournament looks to be over, after that groin injury that caused him to leave the field early on Saturday night. There are reports that he will have to be out for 3 weeks. If that's the case, then it will leave Capello desperately short at the back, with Rio Ferdinand having already been forced out of the tournament. He still has Carragher, but it will be a massive shame for King whose injury problems have been a source of great discomfort throughout his career.

Decision Made...

The official 23 are as follows:

ENGLAND'S 2010 WORLD CUP SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green.
Defenders: Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock
Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Forwards: Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney

Surprised?! I certainly am.

No Theo Walcott is definitely the biggest shock of the lot.

Totally gutted for the lad from both a personal and impersonal point of view.

To be honest, I'm a bit baffled by that. I mean I know he didn't have the greatest of games against Mexico and Japan, but a lot of players on the team didn't either. Also, for Fabio to have included Upson and Warnock without having played them at all seems odd to me.

I guess Fabio thinks that this is a more balanced team and he knows best right?! Well his decision is more or less final and there's nothing anyone can do but respect it and support it.

Still, after the whole Theo debacle in 2006, when Sven took him at aged just 17 and didn't play him in a single game, this is a major disappointment. Granted he had an inconsistent season with Arsenal after suffering a shoulder injury early on but was largely expected by many to be on that plane.

Scott Parker and Matt Dawson were not given any chance to play in the friendlies and were subsequently subjected to the dreaded phone call, which seems a bit unfair to me.

Carrick who hasn't played particularly well has been given the go ahead in place of Huddlestone and Man City's youngster, Adam Johnson.

The other players to miss out are Darren Bent and Leighton Baines.

Well, there we have it. The waiting is finally over.

Fabio has sprung a massive surprise but we now have to turn our thoughts to our first opponents - the US.

The other squads who have not yet announced their final 23, have until 23:00 tonight to do so.

I will keep you posted on that.

Capello's 30...

So as promised, a detailed analysis of the England provisional squad as we look ahead to the scheduled friendlies against Mexico and Japan. Remember this group of 30 players will be whittled down to just 23. Whatever happens 7 must be cut. The players will no doubt be feeling the pressure as time runs out to prove that they have what it takes to get on that plane.

Let's start with the keeper situation. Joe Hart has earned himself a place in the trio of keepers selected by Capello, after a great season on-loan with Birmingham. David James and Robert Green make up the other two. Green and James, in particular, have a lot of experience in big tournaments; Joe Hart will be looking to use SA as an opportunity to increase his somewhat limited experience. I watched James playing for Portsmouth in the FA Cup final at the weekend, and he pulled off some fine saves to keep Portsmouth in the game for a long time. Despite Pompey's relegation this season, I think he has come a fair way away from the "Calamity James" we all cringed at. One keeper not heading for the African continent is Paul Robinson. He had been Sven and McClaren's first choice keeper in previous tournaments, and his club manager Big Sam, is a little miffed at his exclusion, to say the least. Unlike some managers, Capello has picked the perfect number of goalkeepers you would take to a World Cup tournament (Spain's manager has picked 5), but if he is having trouble deciding who to leave behind, then he may well only take 2. If this is to be the case, I think he would leave Green behind.

Moving on to defenders and one shock inclusion, whom you wouldn't really be expecting to see on the England teamsheet is Liverpool's Jamie Carragher, who has been coaxed out of retirement to make himself available as a possible centre/full back for Capello. Carragher's experience and versatility make him a good catch for Capello who has no shortage of injury doubts and worries at the back. Michael Dawson has had a great season for Tottenham, however his fellow team-mate, Ledley King is one of those injury worries, after suffering from a knee problem for the best part of this season. Leighton Baines who played for England earlier this season has been named as one of 10 defenders hoping to go all the way. Ashley Cole has made a good return back from injury to vie for the left-back position, and with no Wayne Bridge, he looks to be a safe bet to be heading to SA. Despite his off-field antics, ex-captain, John Terry has been chosen alongside Liverpool's Glen Johnson. There are still doubts over the fitness levels of Rio Ferdinand, who has also missed a large chunk of Man U's season. Fabio's other options include Steve Warnock and Matt Upson.

Capello has chosen 12 midfielding possibilities. It seems a dead cert that Lampard, Gerrard and Carrick will be playing in SA. To this, I would also add James Milner who has been phenomenal this season. Joe Cole and Gareth Barry are both injury doubts; Cole only just having returned back from injury, although he declared the other day that after having done a few fitness tests, he was the fittest Chelsea player on the team. Perhaps so but Capello will be keen to see just how fit he really is at their training camp in Austria and during the upcoming friendlies. Gareth Barry suffered an ankle injury and is due to undergo a fitness test soon, should he fail that, it would make Capello's life slightly easier in terms of decision-making and who to leave behind. Capello has stated that if Barry were not to be fit, he may consider opting for a 3-5-2 formation, with 3 central defenders at the back. Personally, I think he should stick with what England know best, i.e. 4-4-2. It is what they feel most comfortable with and the last time the 3-5-2 system was employed, England lost away to Croatia. Less said about that the better. Huddlestone, Lennon and Wright-Phillips have also been selected after having a great season with their respective clubs. I think Lennon will also be definitely going to SA. After injury had ruled out David Beckham for vying for the right-wing position, Theo Walcott will be in with a good shot in playing at next month's tournament. Scott Parker makes up the twelfth midfielder hoping to impress Capello before he has to make his mind up.

Finally, it is a huge blow for Bobby Zamora to not be able to fight it out for one of the forward positions after the amazing goal-scoring season he has had for Fulham, particularly during their Europa League campaign. Had it not been for his Achilles tendon, he would surely have been one of the favourites to make it on that plane alongside Rooney. It is a massive blow for the player as it would have capped off a great season for him. I think Capello is going to have a tough decision regarding which forwards to take, other than Rooney of course. Bent has had a fine goal-scoring season for Sunderland. His move from Tottenham has really worked well in his favour. Then there's everybody's favourite robo-dancer and wonder-sub, Peter Crouch, who it has to be said has come and scored late on in a game more than a few times now. However, he has been relegated to the bench at Spurs in favour of Pavlyuchenko and Defoe, who has also been selected. Definitely something for Capello to chew on there. Making up the last choice of striker is Emile Heskey. The big, hefty centre forward has always been a firm favourite of Capello and it is true that he has played quite well in assisting Rooney up front and creating chances. The big criticism of Heskey is that he doesn't score often enough! Will that be a deciding factor in Capello's final choices? Only time will tell. Capello must make his mind up by 1st June and it will certainly be interesting to see who the Italian goes for in the end.

England & Beckham

Once again - sorry for the late post!

I had been meaning to post a quick entry about the England - Egypt game, which now seems like a long way away but it has been a crazy past few weeks.

Well, you could say it was a game of two halves. Egypt pressurised England in the first half and never really let them settle into any kind of rhythm. It was interesting to note that Lampard and Gerrard were playing together and that brought up the whole debate about whether they work well together in the centre of the park or not. Lampard had 2 good chances to score in the first half but didn't seem to be on form and Capello promptly substituted him at half time. I think Capello did well to keep a cool head, not panic and he made the right substitutions at the right time. Bringing on Crouch in the second half was a smart move - England needed some help up front as Rooney and Defoe didn't seem to be getting many chances between them. Crouch has been relegated to the Tottenham bench for much of this season but his consistent goalscoring appearances for England should definitely be considered by Capello when it comes to crunch time. England looked and played like a different side in the second half and as Egypt faded away, they took control. There are obviously still issues in the England side that Capello must be thinking about as he looks forward to the summer - particularly communication in defence and providing more service to the frontmen. Theo Walcott got a lot of stick following the game, but I think people forget he is only just 21 and recovering from a long time out on the sidelines. Following the international match, he answered his critics by scoring a superb goal against Burnley. The right-wing position is one that is being contended by several players, however, unfortunately, it will no longer be available for David Beckham to claim.

This brings me on to my next talking point - David Beckham. What a shame. I mean, you have to respect the guy immensely for his sheer effort and determination at trying to not only win a place and be on that plane to SA, but also to break the English record for the number of consecutive World Cup tournaments he has participated in. This year's world cup would have been his 4th, had he been fit. It's almost typical in a way that an England player gets an injury that rules him out right before the tournament - it's happened plenty of times before. Still, what makes it hard is the fact that Beckham is not getting any younger and this year's tournament would surely have been his last. Beckham was trying his hardest to convince Capello, who stated he would only consider taking Beckham to the tournament if he was playing regularly. It was only 2 weeks ago that he was back at OT playing for his loan side - AC Milan.

For the sentimentalists, DB's presence will be sorely missed on the pitch. However, his injury has left the right-wing spot open for another, perhaps much younger player to fill his big boots. Perhaps it's a sign of the times, as England moves forward with a more youthful side compared with previous tournaments. It's hard not to feel sorry for him even though had he gone to SA, he would most probably have been kept on the bench and used as a substitute. Still, he is one of those impact substitutes who has the experience to rally the team when things aren't going well and who can get the ball moving forward. There is still no one in the England team who can quite "bend it like Beckham" and sometimes in a game, you need someone to come on and just lift the whole spirit of the game. Beckham is certainly capable of doing that. But there is some good news - despite Beckham not being able to play in the tournament, Fabio Capello has stated that he will travel with the players and stay with them during the tournament, in a sort of semi-player/coach role. I think that this is a really nice gesture by Capello and it means that even if Beckham can't assert his presence out there on the pitch, he can certainly do so in the dressing room.

Wayne Bridge

So: Wayne Bridge has decided to not put himself forward to be considered for this year's World Cup squad. Shocked? I was. I just don't quite understand the decision.

I mean, I understand the fact that he's obviously very upset by what's gone on and it would be quite difficult having to play with someone that's had an affair with your girlfriend. But it's the WORLD CUP!!! Thought I should emphasise that point because someone needs to. It only comes around once every four years, that means an average player will only get to play in the tournament a few times if he's lucky. It's a golden opportunity to shine on the world's stage, compete with other world class acts and most importantly, play for and represent your country. Fair enough, we don't know what is going on in Bridge's head at the moment or how he's coping with it all, but it is still quite difficult to understand the reasoning behind the decision, he made last week.

According to Bridge, his position in the squad has become "untenable and potentially divisive". Well if we are honest, it has already become divisive. But it wasn't Bridge that caused all the problems in the first place. It was Terry. So why is it that Bridge feels the need to eliminate himself from the squad when he hasn't done anything wrong? It doesn't really seem fair that ex-captain Terry gets to go ahead and play whilst Wayne must sit at home. But it doesn't have to be that way. It seems that Bridge has been pressurised into making this decision and the atmosphere surrounding the two at last weekend's game couldn't have made things any better.

To play for the World Cup and to represent your nation is an honour and a privilege. It is these kinds of tournaments that professionals dream about and the competition for a place in the final 11 is always tough. With Ashley Cole (who is having his own personal troubles at the moment - spot a trend here?), currently injured, you would expect Bridge to be the natural replacement. His decision has now put Capello in a bit of a problem as he must decide on who can fill Wayne's boots. There is no doubt that this personal situation has definitely made its way over to the pitch and is really affecting the national team.

As the England team prepare for the friendly against Egypt on Wednesday night, Capello will be assessing all his options and using the game as an opportunity to aid him in the decision making process. Some players who wish to go to South Africa may not get the opportunity to do so, so for them it may seem like a kick in the teeth that Bridge (one of the players who had been expected to go to the tournament), has backed out of such a prestigious opportunity. You would think that as professionals, they could just get on with it, after all you don't have to like each other. Maybe it's because they play in positions that are close to each other on the pitch and they must communicate but it's not like they are going to be communicating about anything other than tactics. Perhaps I'm being too harsh on Bridge but this whole Terry-Bridge situation has been blown up to mammoth proportions and really needs to be resolved. We saw what happened at the weekend when Bridge refused to shake hands with Terry - the media seemed to be more interested in that than in the actual game itself!

Capello has already made the decision to permanently strip John Terry of the captaincy and despite his behaviour of the pitch, he is a good centre back (although as of late, he hasn't been as consistent as usual - perhaps the pressure is getting to him too?). England need their defence to be rock solid if they are to do well. Then there's that thing again - team spirit. Will it ever be as good as it was during the qualifiers? Although, at this moment in time, it seems that Bridge won't be there, there are still Manchester City players in that dressing room and others who will be made to feel uncomfortable and awkward by Terry's presence.

Capello has also stated his intentions to speak with Bridge and attempt to make him reconsider his decision. At the end of the day, it is his, and only his decision to make but you just hope that when he retires from football, he doesn't look back and regret the choices he made. A World Cup is such a big deal that Bridge really does need to spend the time thinking carefully about his options. Whatever happens now, it is clear that this long running saga has not come to an end quite just yet...

John Terry

It appears that John Terry has been scoring away from home on two fronts; however whilst he was able to help Chelsea's title charge by grabbing a late winner against Burnley on Saturday, he put his future as England captain in jeopardy and also seems to have put England manager, Fabio Capello in a problematic situation.

First things first - with regards to the legal injunction that was imposed but then overturned - questions have been raised by those who believe that by overturning it, it was an invasion of privacy. However, the situation extends beyond John Terry's alleged affairs. His actions, as captain of England, have implications for the team itself and for the tournament in South Africa. Therefore, I believe it was right to overturn the injunction because it is no longer about one man, it is about the team. Also, the fact that Terry applied for an injunction in the first place, has created more publicity than would have been generated had he not done so.

Excluding morality and stripping the situation away from anything but football we are left with several problems because John Terry's liaison just happened to be with the former girlfriend of his ex-Chelsea teammate and fellow England player, Wayne Bridge. Fortunately for John Terry, Wayne Bridge no longer plays for Chelsea otherwise Carlo Ancelotti would be in a similar situation to Fabio Capello. With the team selection for the World Cup looming ever closer, Capello will be mindful of the situation and will have to make a decision regarding captaincy sooner rather than later. Ashley Cole seems like the first-choice left back for England at this moment in time, but he came off injured on Saturday and there is no doubt that Capello will be taking along a reserve left-back - most likely to be Wayne Bridge. Therefore, this begs the question, will Wayne Bridge be happy to play under the captaincy of Terry? They won't be playing too far apart on the pitch either, inevitably they will have to communicate and ensure the England defence holds firm. Of course, both players are professionals but it helps if you get on with your fellow teammates.

The situation poses a big threat to the spirit of the England team - Wayne Bridge appears to be a very popular member of the squad and Terry's actions have already resulted in warring factions with 'Team Terry' and 'Team Bridge' taking opposite sides. In addition, as captain and as a professional, Terry is supposed to be an example not only to his teammates but also to the younger generation of footballers. This latest string of revelations about the defender's private life will have done a massive amount of damage to his reputation both as a footballer, and as a role model.

There have been suggestions that Terry should do the 'right thing' and give up his captaincy so that Fabio Capello is no longer put in an awkward position. I tend to agree with this. Terry has already threatened the spirit of the England team enough, the best thing he can do to redeem the situation now is let Capello decide what can be done without being stuck in a problematic position. This may ease the tension in the dressing room somewhat as both footballers, no doubt, have friends in common who are also stuck in an awkward position. After all, it was his and only his own actions that put him in the position he finds himself in now with regards to his future role as captain. Only then, can Terry begin to somewhat salvage his damaged reputation.