Beckham all the way…
The Guardian: “Look, Fabio: he really, really wants his 100th cap. And here’s a video of him holding an African baby with HIV. How can you not play him against Switzerland?”
Fabio Capello (in Italian): “But his match fitness…”
The Guardian: “Look at the baby? He must be some sort of saint, because he [...]

Scott Carson should be Fabio Capello’s number one. Hands down, no question. And he should be in goal against Switzerland next month. Here’s Carson talking to the Times about his howler against Croatia – but before you blame him for it, ask yourself: who in their right mind would play a 22-year-old goalkeeper in his [...]

Several newspapers are reporting today that England manager Fabio Capello will not name David Beckham in his squad for England’s upcoming friendly match against Switzerland. Since Beckham hasn’t played regular competitive football since he moved to America (did you spot the obligatory snobbish European MLS joke?) Capello apparently feels that Beckham won’t be match-fit for [...]

Not a huge amount going on in the England camp at the moment – just lots of speculation about the new manager. The Times has a good piece today about why Mourinho is the best choice. Some highlights:

It all comes down to Mourinho’s colossal, almost ludicrous sense of self-esteem. That is his strength. It is [...]

Part II of my statistical analysis of Peter Crouch takes a look at his European record, and reveals that conventional wisdom on the player is flat out wrong. Part I, on Crouch and the Premier League, is here. The conventional wisdom:
Rafa Benitez operates a rotation system, with some players appearing more in the Champions League [...]

I just finished writing a comment in response to one of my readers (Jeff) calling into question my description of Peter Crouch as a “perpetual late-game substitute.” Jeff’s view – shared by a lot of people – is that Peter Crouch only plays so few games for Liverpool because Rafa Benitez operates a rotation system [...]

First up: Croatia.
Croatia:
Goalkeeper: Stipe Pletikosa, a regular in the Croatian national team and the first-choice goalkeeper since the 2002 World Cup (although he was injured for much of Euro 2004). Hasn’t made many mistakes since his Under-21s days.
Defence: On the right, Manchester City’s summer signing Vedran Corluka will turn out for Croatia. He’s 6′4″, athletic [...]

Steve McClaren still won’t reveal his starting 11 for tomorrow’s match against Croatia, but that isn’t going to stop me speculating.
Goalkeeper: The Times is reporting that Paul Robinson has performed abysmally in training, which probably means Scott Carson will get his first competitive start for England. The Guardian has the same story, but goes further [...]

Football365.com columnist John Nicholson thinks that the FA should create a new Championship team – England FC – made up entirely of young English players, to serve as a means of training young players outside of the usual system. Is it genius or just batshit?

Best manager in the world!