Patrick Barclay is one of Britain's best known and respected football journalists. With a career of over 30 years working for a variety of publications and numerous appearances on television talking about the game, Patrick is always worthy of attention.Currently writing for the Times, Patrick has a wide knowledge of the beautiful game and many […]

Just when Arsene Wenger thought his injury problems were behind him, with Theo Walcott looking likely to return to first team action this week, Nicklas Bendtner decides to off road in his Aston Martin on the way to training on an empty road and Denilson has had a fractured bone in his back confirmed by […]

The sight of Ledley King pulling up when Didier Drogba was running towards the Tottenham goal in Sunday's London derby left me with a resigned feeling of deja vu. Even on one leg, a training regime of swimming twice a week and the frailties of the midfield formation that wasn't working, King was keeping Drogba […]

The influence of foreigners on football in England cannot be underestimated. While Coach Fabio Capello has guided England through the qualifiers and instilled a winning mentality amongst the players, the skills of English players such as Wayne Rooney and the presence of leaders like John Terry must also be credited with the change in England's fortunes. […]

"Capello was exactly what we needed!" —Frank Lampard "He is one of those managers in that handful around the world who are the best!" —Steven Gerrard "He's given the players confidence and the team a huge amount of respect!" —David Beckham "Who knew?" —Steve McClaren Okay, so I made up that last one. And I […]

Well, there's one thing you can't hold against Fabio Capello and that's that he keeps his cards close to his chest. Today he's announced that Peter Crouch will lead the England attack against Ukraine tomorrow night and deservedly so. Crouch has been the victim of some vicious criticism over the last few seasons, undeservedly so […]

Why can't Stewart Downing show us the form that makes him such a sought after player when he pulls on the England shirt? There is no doubting that at Premier League level, Downing is one of the most dangerous and creative players in the country but after Saturdays performance against Slovakia, it's clear to see […]

Title race back on, blah blah blah, Aston Villa torn apart like a dingo on a newborn, yada yada yada, England expects ahead of international week—wait just one minute there, pal. It would be safe to say that Villa is a sort of stand-in England B side in the Premier League, at least according to […]

Anyone who's caught Tottenham in action recently will not fail to have been impressed by Aaron Lennon's recent form on the right hand side of Spurs' midfield. For me, it'll be a major surprise if he's not in Fabio Capello's next England squad for the Friendly against Slovakia and the qualifier in Kiev against the […]

I’ve wondered for a long time what it is that managers see in Stewart Downing, particularly England managers. Since his first call up in February 2005, Downing has been pretty much been a regular in the England squad, but why? I don’t understand how one player can have gained 22 caps without ever making an […]

The question is simple. Can Michael Owen still perform at the highest level? While many would say no, he’s past it, he’s too injury prone and when he is on the pitch he doesn’t do anything anyway, I tend to disagree. Yes Michael Owen is injury prone, it’s been well documented. Over the course of […]

  When Manchester City signed Shay Given from Newcastle on Sunday, most at Eastlands will have been pleased by this capture. But not quite everyone.  Given will instantly become City’s first choice goalkeeper, displacing Joe Hart. This in turn will leave the young goalkeeper as nothing more than a bench warmer, at least for the […]

In the latest episode of I'm On Setanta Sports, watch Wayne Rooney host the special debate between Jose Mourinho and Fabio Capello. The show includes cameos by Dave from Newcastle, Didier Drogba, Roy Keane and others. Be champions. [display_podcast]

Jose Mourinho makes a shock revelation in the latest episode of I'm On Setanta Sports, which promises quite a lot of great entertainment in the coming weeks. In fact, this past weekend's episode is one of the funniest yet with great segments from The Boy, It and a hilarious joke on Joe Kinnear's behalf. Be […]

When Fabio Capello was appointed England manager, people asked me what my thoughts were on the matter. My viewpoint at the time was that it would bring clarity to whether the England national team was still a football power or not. After all, if Capello couldn't turn England into a winning football team, then no […]