Russia will be without its captain in Brazil for the World Cup as Roman Shirokov was ruled out of the tournament Friday with a lingering back injury. The midfielder who stars at Zenit St. Petersburg was absent for all three pre-World Cup friendlies Russia played and Manager Fabio Capello has now confirmed his absence for […]

England’s poor 2010 concluded as they slid to a disappointing 2-1 home defeat to France, but the night may be remembered for the “Club v Country” debate returning once again. Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry and captain Rio Ferdinand all picked up injuries for the Three Lions, summing up a generally miserable year for the Italian. […]

Fabio Capello has announced his squad for Wednesday’s friendly with France and one name in the squad will certainly cause England fans to raise an eyebrow. Cardiff striker Jay Bothroyd has received a surprise call-up and while it is a fitting reward for the 28-year-old’s impressive start to the season, it does make you think […]

Newcastle United may have slipped to a disappointing home defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers, but their star striker Andy Carroll did manage to enhance is ever-growing reputation with another goal. Carroll’s equaliser was his seventh goal of the season, a tally that will surely be enough to see him named in the England […]

The soccer press has been buzzing about the latest Wayne Rooney press conferences, statements, and rumors.  The usual suspects have been named as possible destinations: the ATMs that are Manchester City and Real Madrid, EPL rival Chelsea, and Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich.  But where Wayne Rooney really belongs is in Italy, and specifically Inter Milan. […]

After a disappointing draw to Montenegro, do England need to look at football from the olden days to gain success? On a serious note the draw was a very poor result for England, but I think there must be a sense of reality added to the score. Without a doubt Montenegro were the toughest of […]

Trevor Brooking has today claimed that Steve McClaren could one day return as the manger of the England side. With Fabio Capello already stating that he will leave his position with the FA after the 2012 European Championships, and the FA insisting that an Englishmen will replace him, could ‘The Wally with the Brolly’ really […]

With Fabio Capello insisting that he won’t manage England past the 2012 European Championships, names are already been branded about as a possible successor to the Italian. But with the FA proudly boasting that their next manager will be English there is hardly a wealth of managers to choose from. Early contenders are Harry Redknapp, […]

When Shaun Wright Phillips appeared as second half substitute against Switzerland, he was probably hoping that an impressive display could kick-start his club season. But things didn’t go according to plan for the Manchester City winger and a below par display was topped off with a woeful cross that eluded Darren Bent and infuriated boss […]

While Jermain Defoe took the goal-scoring honours on Friday night at the other end of the pitch Joe Hart was going a long way to establishing himself as England’s goalkeeper for the foreseeable future with another fine display. Fabio Capello’s decision to opt for an experienced ‘keeper at the World Cup at the expense of Hart […]

Wayne Rooney will represent England against Switzerland in the midst of a media storm that is threatening to overshadow England’s 4-0 demolition of Bulgaria. While most would expect Rooney to struggle under the pressure, it would be just like him to return to form with a bang and do all his talking on the pitch. […]

After a successful, if occassionally indifferent 4-0 win over Bulgaria on Friday, England have won 11 successive home games. Before this game, the British tabloids were ready, knives sharpened, to cut England's manager to pieces. In his England-Bulgaria preview last week, titled 'Fabio Capello has lost his players and now he will lose his job', […]

With the pressure on Fabio Capello,  England finally delivered a performance to make the country proud. But was this result and the performance the start of a change in fortunes for Capello or another result that get’s our hopes up only to be disappointed down the line? England may have gone some way to igniting […]

It’s almost two years since Theo Walcott’s finest hour in an England shirt. The Arsenal’s man smashed his way in to Fabio Capello’s thoughts with a sublime hat-trick in England’s 4-1 demolition of Croatia. After slowly falling from grace since that day, the former Southampton man has started this season with a bang, scoring four […]

After a hectic start to the Premier League season attentions now turn to England who face two crucial games in five days that will set a trend for Fabio Capello’s next two years in charge of England. Before the World Cup Fabio Capello could do no wrong. He was seen as the saviour of English […]