England 2010 World Cup Blog

This is England's World Cup Song

England Blog

Written by Dave Allan Monday, 08 February 2010 23:25

 It's the England World Cup song that may never be because the Football Association has decided not to endorse an official World tune for the South Africa tournament 2010.

That has not stopped Oxfordshire band Outraze from launching a social media campaign urging people to get behind the anthem.

Give it a listen. It's a little bit punky, perhaps Oasis inspired but most of all it's a rocking good catchy tune worthy of the Official England World Cup song.

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You can get behind the song by joining Outraze's Facebook page.

Do it now.This is England!

Terry stripped of Captain's armband

England Blog

Written by Matt Pitt Monday, 08 February 2010 11:47

On Friday 8 February, England manager Fabio Capello took the decision to sack Chelsea's John Terry as England captain, following allegations about his private life.

Capello, who has a reputation as a strict disciplinarian, met with Terry at Wembley Stadium to discuss the allegations and the effects they would have on the England squad. Upon leaving the meeting Capello released a statement saying he has taken the captaincy away from centre-half Terry stating, “As a captain with the team, John Terry has displayed extremely positive behaviour. However, I have to take into account other considerations and what is best for all of the England squad. What is best for all of the England team has inspired my choice”

In the same statement Capello announced that Terry's successor would be Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand, who is currently serving a four match ban for violent conduct. When Capello first appointed Terry as captain, he installed Ferdinand as his vice-captain and says the promotion was a natural thing to do.

Thirty-one year old Ferdinand moved to Manchester United from rivals Leeds United in 2002 for a record £29.1m and has since become one of the best central defenders in the world. However, Ferdinand has also been involved in some major controversy after missing a routine drugs test in 2003 that saw him banned from all competitions for eight months, causing him to watch Euro 2004 from the sidelines.

But Ferdinand came back strong from his enforced break and has since earned 76 England caps in his illustrious career and is destined to win many more in the coming years with his club manager Alex Ferguson saying Ferdinand is “the best centre-half in the world by far” last season.

Ferdinand's main concern for South Africa 2010 will not be the pressure of the England captaincy but actually keeping fit. He has been plagued with a back injury for the past 18 months and has only just returned from a three-month stint on the sidelines.

Whether or not Ferdinand is the man to lead England to glory in South Africa remains to be seen but I for one will be 100% behind him as he leads out the rest of the starting eleven in our opening game against the USA on Saturday 12 June.

Defoe gives Capello a selection headache

England Blog

Written by Matt Pitt Thursday, 04 February 2010 20:32

England coach Fabio Capello may have his hands full at the moment with the John Terry saga refusing to go away, but he now has a welcomed problem in who to pick as England's strike partnership thanks to the exceptional form of Tottenham Hotspur's Jermaine Defoe.

Over the years England have traditionally partnered their strikers so that one plays as a target man and the other feeds of them. Emile Heskey used to partner Michael Owen and more recently we have seen the 6'7” Peter Crouch act as a foil for Manchester United front man,Wayne Rooney. But with neither Heskey or Crouch in any sort of form maybe it is time to ditch the “little and large” striker-force and go for something completely different.

Jermaine Defoe is in the form of his life at the moment having scored 20 goals in 27 appearances this season, including a scintillating hat-trick on Wednesday night in the FA Cup replay against League One high-fliers Leeds United at Elland Road.

Whilst the 27-year old has 38 caps to his name, 26 of those have been awarded after a coming on as substitute, a role all England managers have preferred him in, bringing him on late in a match in order to use his blistering pace against tiring defenders. Despite his lack of starting opportunities, Defoe has still notched 11 goals, including a brace against fellow World Cup hopefuls Holland and I think he deserves a chance to parter Wayne Rooney in the opening match of South Africa 2010 against the USA.

Some will say the partnership will simply not work, as Rooney usually plays with a target man to take some pressure off him when wearing an England shirt but my argument is Rooney does not play in that role for Manchester United and he is playing the best football of his career at present, having hit the target 20 times in 23 Premiership appearances this term.

England play Egypt at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday 3 March in a Friendly match and I for one will have my fingers crossed that we see a Rooney and Defoe's name's in the starting eleven.

Could the British press ruin England's World Cup chances?

England Blog

Written by Matt Pitt Wednesday, 03 February 2010 20:09

Once again it appears the British tabloid press is trying its hardest to undermine England's World Cup campaign, this time with the publishing of stories about the private life of England captain, John Terry.

After a private meeting on Friday 22 January, a “super-injunction” order was put in place to prevent the News Of The World newspaper from publishing a story about Terry having an extra-marital affair with the ex-girlfriend of former team-mate Wayne Bridge, French model Vanessa Perroncel. Just a week later, Mr Justice Tugendhat lifted the order and the story made the front page of the national press.

The allegations have run in The Sun newspaper all week and radio phone-ins have been inundated with members of the public calling for Terry to resign as England's captain and some even saying he should not play for England again.

It is not the first time there has been negative publicity for Terry but that was at the start of his career when he was young and inexperienced in life but his behaviour has been exceptional over the past few years and he was even named as Dad of the Year in 2009 in a survey for Daddy's Sauce.

Now, I am a big advocate for freedom of speech, especially in the press as we have a right to know what is going on in the world but I still cannot figure out why anyone would be interested in the private life of any footballer, even if that footballer is a captain for his club and country.

The only reason I can think of is that the British public hold footballers in the same light as celebrities and as a result thrive off any scandal they are involved in. If Terry was just a normal working man, nobody would even bat an eyelid whether or not he had been involved in an affair but because he is a very rich, young man he and his young family have to have their lives on display for all to see.

This is the last thing the England team needs as it prepares for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Pundits around the globe are all in unison in saying this is England's best chance of repeating 1966 and bringing home international football's most coveted trophy but now the press have released this story with the aim of disturbing preparations and causing unrest in the squad. If the story really had to be published, why were they not prepared to wait until after the World Cup? Why the sudden need to let the public, and Terry's team-mates, know about a mistake the England captain made off the field?

I personally believe Terry should be the captain of England and be the one to lead England onto the pitch in South Africa, after all he has done nothing wrong on the pitch, which is where any footballer should be judged. I was delighted to hear news today that Terry has refused to stand down as England captain, at least until he speaks with coach Fabio Capello on Thursday 3 February. I am hoping that Capello, who is recovering from knee surgery, does not bow to pressure and punishes Terry more than he already has been by his own family and confirms he will still be captain of England in the summer.