Could this work of art kill England's World Cup Bid?

OK so perhaps the title is a tad hyperbolic, but really things are getting ridiculous. A quick refresher course for those of you who have missed this: England (as you all should know) is bidding to host the 2018 World Cup. Recently there was a conference in London at which Jack Warner, a FIFA vice-president, was present. Geoff Thompson, former FA chairman and current FIFA vice-president, held a dinner which Warner and his wife attended. At said dinner Geoff Thompson presented Warner’s wife with a Mulberry handbag (and let me just state for the record that I’m incredibly jealous) valued at £230.

Here’s where the controversy starts. Apparently Jack Warner’s wife thought that this was just a pleasant gift from the FA for her birthday (let us skip how little sense this assumption makes), but the wives of the 23 other men on FIFA’s executive committee also received a handbag. Now, roughly two weeks after receiving said handbag, Jack Warner has sent it back with a very angry letter (kindly published here, nice stationary Mr. Warner) claiming the handbag was “tainting her character and mine”.

Now that you have the general gist of things, lets go look at some details. In his speech in the conference Mr. Warner wondered point blank why England hadn’t showered him with goodies yet (Australia and Qatar already had), I quote “Why isn’t there a bag for England? People are looking at these things and asking themselves questions[.]” If you read the letter in full then you will have read this: “I also wish to state that there is nothing that your FA can offer me to get my vote.” How is the FA supposed to suck up to Mr. Warner with such mixed signals?

While he never explicitly stated that the reason the handbag was so character tainting was that it implied him and his wife in bribery, this is the widely supported hypothesis (and quite honestly I can’t think of another reason to give up a lovely Mulberry handbag. Though I still wouldn’t give it up. Readers Note: If you ever need to bribe me, this would work). However Jack Warner who has been involved in multiple monetary scandals in football (the highlights of which are so kindly outlined by TheSpoiler.) I hate to break it to you Mr. Warner, but your character is pretty tainted at this point. A (perfectly legal under FIFA regulations) gift of a handbag isn’t going to change your legacy.

Lastly one must seriously question the common sense of both Mr. Warner and his wife Maureen. Did the Warners seriously think that the FA loved Maureen so much that they would just give her a (rather expensive) handbag for her birthday? And did it really take the couple two weeks to realise that 23 other women also received handbags? Either the two really are incredibly thick or they are lying somewhere.

As you may have surmised by this point I think this whole affair is ridiculous. Unfortunately, however irrational it all seems, it may seriously harm England’s (not too shiny) World Cup Bid. Being implicated in a bribery scandal does not make your country look like an idyllic place to host the biggest sporting event on Earth. And even though we can all see how silly it is (at least I hope you can see), you can never rely on the geniuses at FIFA to be reasonable, and our bid does rest tenderly in their unforgiving claws. I do think, in my undying optimism, that this will all blow over eventually and the real meat of the bid will be what it is judged upon, and we can all look back and laugh someday (preferably in England, summer of 2018) at the complete idiocy of FIFA and everyone in it.

Wayne Rooney contributed what looked like a good all round performance for Man Utd vs Blackburn on Saturday, featuring some nice link play and a sweet sweet goal which he swept home to make it 2-0 (around 4:10 in the above video).

I saw about 15 minutes of the game live, and there was also a magic little inside-of-the-foot-with-back-to-goal pass that somehow didn’t make the Match of the Day cut.

So why am I gushing about Wayne Rooney? Because I’m thinking about the impact he might make at World Cup 2010.

We haven’t seen the real Wayne Rooney at an international tournament since he lit up Euro 2004 as an 18 year old (which could make a good England Flashback post, assuming I can find some good YouTube footage). After Rooney was injured in the quarterfinal, and Portugal knocked us out on penalties, I couldn’t wait to see the boy back in a major tournament.

But at World Cup 2006, Rooney was basically injured and shouldn’t have been there. Euro 2008 we didn’t make it (less said about that the better). So World Cup 2010 could be billed as the return of (the real) Wayne Rooney to international tournament football, a full six years after Euro 2004. Please no injuries in April or May. Please.

Rio suffered an injury during pre-season and Fergie cites this as one of the reasons Ferdinand hasn’t been himself of late. Ferguson backed him, saying:

“There is no discernible depreciation in his qualities – none for me at all.”

Edwin van der Sar, Manchester United teammate has also come out with a statement of support.

Both van der Sar and Fergie say that everyone goes through a rough patch professionally, and Ferdinand’s recent string of niggles hasn’t helped, but if this streak goes on much longer it may be too late for Ferdinand. He will be celebrating his 31st birthday soon, and while defenders can go on playing at the top level longer than other players, it’s no doubt that Rio will feel the clock ticking.

I really do like Ferdinand as a player, I think his command of the ball and the box is lovely. And I do hope he manages to stagger away from this rough patch with his skills fully in tact. But that said I think the next two or three months are vital for Ferdinand and may determine whether he starts in South Africa or not.

Interesting story in Bild recently, suggesting that Fabio Capello has been asking Stuart Pearce to keep an eye on Werder Bremen’s 23 year old attacking mid/forward Aaron Hunt, who you can see above scoring twice for Werder Bremen (in white) this weekend. The second goal (which tied the game at 2-2) is an absolute cracker of a chest-volley combo.

Hunt was born in Germany to a German father and English mother, which makes him eligible for both nations. He’s played for Germany’s Under-21 team, against England no less, and was accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand and Micah Richards during the game, but found innocent by UEFA.

Hunt has heard of England’s interest, but said nein, danke:

“I grew up in Germany and learned to play football here.

“I would of course be flattered by any interest from England, but I have not heard anything about it and it wouldn’t even be an issue for me.

“I only want to play for Germany and am not going to be tempted (to change my mind) either.”

Makes sense to me. Especially as Hunt is said to be on the verge of an international callup for Germany thanks to his recent Werder Bremen form. But nice to see Capello thinking outside of the Premier League and seeing what his options are.

Ferguson doesn’t mention the Brazil game specifcially. But he may as well have. It’s a long old rant, but it’s in its entirety (via The Guardian) below…

Quoth Fergie:

“It’s a coach’s nightmare, especially if you are in the middle of a European campaign and going for cups and titles,” the United manager said. “You have all these fixtures and you have the intrusion of a friendly international game in some unknown country, so that is a definite thorn in everyone’s flesh.

“Unfortunately you can’t do anything about it. It’s always a grey area between coaches of the league teams and the English manager. All the international managers have their jobs to do and we support that, particularly when it comes to the issues of competitive games such as the European Championship or the World Cup. You want them to play in the important international games; it’s the friendly matches that are the problem.

“I don’t think that any [league manager] agrees with them whereas international managers have a situation that they find themselves in. I think that some of them actually could do without the friendly games themselves, but the football associations from every country warn them that sometimes it’s a nice day for them, a nice trip for them, a sunny day, and in some cases it creates good revenue for them. So you can understand it.”

Which was inflammatory enough to draw a response from Fabio Capello today, who said:

“I don’t understand what this is all about.

“Most other countries are playing two games but we are only playing one match and returning the players on Sunday, four days earlier than the other countries.

“We did this out of respect to the players and their clubs at such a busy time in the fixture calendar.”

Maybe he didn’t say this to Ferguson specifically, but it was in response to the complaints about the England vs Brazil game.

It’s true that the FA is profiting from playing in Doha (by about £400,000 if the rumours are correct) but so what? Capello is correct, this is a FIFA international date, and so we’re playing an international. A big one too. I can’t wait to see England take on Brazil, and frankly don’t care if it has any impact on Man Utd’s Champions League campaign or not.

This is a longstanding England problem. Everyone’s behind the team and expecting the best when it’s tournament time, but not so keen on the groundwork that needs to happen to get us ready. People complain, but friendlies are important. It’s the only way to finetune the system, try out new players and new ideas. Sure you can do it in training. But not against a team that’s trying to beat you and in front of a stadium full of fans.

It can’t all be World Cup qualifying games. And true, some of the friendlies are a bit mundane. But not this one. Playing Brazil in the Middle East is anything but mundane and could even give us a good idea of where we stand in the international pecking order. It’s going to be all friendlies between now and the World Cup, probably none of them as glamorous as this. So let’s hope Wayne Rooney et al don’t develop mysterious thigh strains in mid-November, and let’s hope Capello gets to field his full strength team as he prepares for the World Cup, otherwise we can kiss our chances of a successful tournament goodbye.

Milan chief executive, Adriano Galliani, has come out with the wonderfully self contradictory statement:

“It’s practically certain at 100 per cent, the only thing missing is the signatures, but the agreement is complete.”

I know. Something can’t be “practically” certain and be “100 per cent” certain at the same time. Let’s just ignore it for the sake of this post. If this deal goes through, which it probably will, it could prove to be Beckham’s ticket to South Africa.

Capello has made it quite clear that if Beckham doesn’t join a higher quality team, he will not be in the squad. However there was a lot of backlash from American fans when he returned from his loan last time, so I would not have been surprised had he been forced to stay in LA. There were some rumors that he would be coming to the Premiership, but I believe he made the right decision. Serie A and the Premiership are two very different leagues, thats are played at very different speeds. The Premiership is widely praised as the fastest league in the world, while Serie A is much more slow and languid. David Beckham is no spring chicken (he’ll be 35 when the World Cup kicks off), and he wasn’t a fast player to start with. He may have been relegated to the depths of the bench at an English club, but at Milan his style of play fits in perfectly.

I think this is probably Beckham’s last chance at a big international competition (a Euro or World Cup), as he’ll be 37 when the next Euro Cup rolls around. Personally I love Beckham (though I do deplore his hobo beard, pictured above) so I wish him the best of luck with his stay at Milan. I think that Fabio also has a special place in his heart for Becks, and I have a feeling he will be in South Africa.

Hands up if you’d forgotten about Joe Cole? No need to be embarrassed, I sort of had as well. At least as an England starter anyway.

The Chelsea man has been out since January with a knee injury, but returned to play a starring role as Chelsea thrashed Blackburn 5-0 this weekend.

Interestingly, Cole played at the tip Carlo Ancelotti’s midfield diamond. Pretty much as a #10, behind the strikers, which is where he’s always wanted to play. How about this for a postgame quote from Joseph himself:

“If I was a manager, I would put myself in that position. I love it. The last time I really played there a lot was when I was at West Ham, and then I wasn’t the player I am now.”

Here’s why I think that’s interesting: Back when Cole was an England regular, pre-injury, he was mostly used as a left mid. Because no one else was capable of playing there. So where does Cole fit into Fabio Capello’s England?

My best guess is that he doesn’t, at least not in the first XI. But having a good international team isn’t all about the first XI, and Joe Cole can be an excellent second choice for either Steven Gerrard or Wayne Rooney. If we need someone to fill that Gerrard position of nominal left mid but drifting inside to support, then he’s ideal. And if we’re really going with the Heskey as target man, Rooney as support striker system, then Cole is an able (but not quite as good) deputy in the Rooney role too.

So welcome back Joe, England has missed you and we look forward to seeing you wear an England shirt again next month. Assuming Capello agrees with the above.

I’m not quitting, and neither is Rob. But we both have other blogging commitments and so could definitely use some help here on England WCB. Especially as we begin the buildup to the big football show that is World Cup 2010.

Much like Fabio Capello, we won’t settle for just anyone. We need someone with an excellent grasp of the English language, who can write with insight and a sense of humour, and who can write at least two or three times a week.

It’s not a paid position, but it is a chance to write for a big audience. Especially come World Cup 2010 time. If you’re interested in applying please send an email to daryl[at]theoffside[dot]com with “England WCB” in the subject line, and a short writing sample about something Three Lions related. Preferably something creative and not just a simple match report.

Word from the Emirates is that Walcott will be out for three to four weeks and will almost certainly miss November’s friendly vs Brazil.

Nothing to worry about just yet, as it’s only October and it’s just a bit of bad luck from a tough tackle. But if Walcott is still experiencing injury after injury as the World Cup gets closer… then we might need to start fretting.

Unless you’re David Beckham of course, in which case you’d be that much closer to making the squad for South Africa. But again, let’s not start thinking about it. Yet.

Darren Bent’s matchwinning goal for Sunderland this weekend was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that it hit a beach ball on the way in. But the fact is that – beach ball deflection or not – Darren Bent scored again. Against good opposition. Bent isn’t just the highest scoring English player in the Premier League right now with eight goals, he’s also the joint highest scoring player in the Premier League alongside Fernando Torres. Yet he’s still not in the England squad.

Don’t worry. This isn’t another Darren Bent for England post. Not exactly. It’s more just me having a bit of a ponder about how there’s always someone in good form who can’t crack the English national team.

Before Bent there was Kevin Phillips. Remember when he was scoring left, right and center for Sunderland, but Kevin Keegan pretty much ignore him for national team duty? Similar things have happened to Andy Johnson, Kevin Davies, James Beattie and others. It could also happen with Michael Owen, if and when he gets on a consistent goalscoring run for Man Utd (unfortunately I don’t think the own goal he forced Zat Knight on Saturday counts, as it was off target before Knight’s intervention).

Basically, scoring goals in England’s top flight is no guarantee of international selection. Never has been. It’s just a guarantee of a medium sized media/fan driven campaign to get you selected. But at a certain point, it’s worth respecting the manager. I’ve praised Fabio Capello on this blog for picking an England team where all the pieces fit together nicely. Emile Heskey as target man, Roony behind him. Seems that either Bent hasn’t impressed Capello in training and/or in an England shirt and doesn’t see him being effective in the current setup.

Or maybe it’s a personal thing. Maybe Capello just doesn’t like Darren Bent. Maybe he thought the whole Twitter business was unprofessional (although, it got the job done) and so isn’t inclined to include him in the 23.

Bottom line is that number. Twenty-three. There are only 23 places available in an England squad. Someone always has to miss out, and it’s up to Fabio Capello to decide who those unfortunate souls are. Capello is building a team and a squad based on the players he wants. Players like Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe, and maybe Gabby Agbonlahor. Since Capello has gotten us this far, I trust him. We can’t try and over-rule him every time an English striker hits a purple patch and bags a few goals.

If you disagree with that last sentence then I have two words for you. Those words are: Michael Ricketts.