England's long and winding road

The recent game against France was a strange one, as the new breed of the England football team was supposed to set the night alight and produce some fireworks. Instead of sparklers, we got a fizzy rocket - crap at the start but getting better by the end. But what were we supposed to expect because, realistically, everyone should of seen it coming.

The starting line up consisted of players like Gibbs, Henderson and Carroll. These players are still finding their feet at club level, let alone international level. For their efforts, they were booed of the pitch by the England 'faithful.' (I say faithful, but what I mean is, punters who expect England to steam roll every team that goes against them. The real world does not work like that, the football world does not work like that).

What the booing also does is cause a psychological barrier against these players, who will think every time they play at Wembley- no matter how well they play, win or lose - they will get booed. Capello said before the game the players were scared of Wembley, and booing the new players will only continue this sequence of scared players.

Beyond the new players, the experienced ones did not play very well, but why would they. With big European games coming up and the busy Christmas schedule around the corner,  this friendly is as much worth as a chocolate teapot to them.

Talking about useless objects, Fabio Capello proved that he is incapable of managing at this level. At the World Cup he made a dog's dinner of it and his recent squad selections are something do be desired. Picking Henderson for example was a bemusing one because Henderson has not set the Premier League alight, but, also, he was playing in the wrong position. According to Steve Bruce, Henderson's boss at Sunderland, he should of been an attacking midfielder not a holding one - which is where Henderson was playing on Wednesday night.

The selection of Jack Wilshire was, without doubt, a pick based on peer pressure. I thought Capello was a steely dictator, who would not listen to anybody. Instead, we have a statue of man made out of Italian jelly incapable of making a decision based on rational thought. 

These matches are meaningless anyway, because the FA need events to pay off the costs of their  bills. Wembley - which cost nearly £800 million - a World Cup bid and Burton, which is still going on since the original idea in 1888, or whenever it was thought up because it has been ages since a brick, spade or digger has worked on the site, which was supposed to be the future, when increasingly it looks to be an irritating ghost of English football's past.

England will get better, but it will take time. Capello will be gone in two years, so the next year and a half should be a wipe out, especially since Spain are still unbeaten for three years and look favourites for Euro 2012. New coaching standards are being practised since the debacle over the summer, which should see English footballer technically better in a few years time; the new quota in the Premier League, limiting the foreign players and encouraging homegrown ones, which is already giving kids a chance, these are all things happening now. So, the message is clear for England fans - sit tight and be patient because it is going to be worse before it is going to get better. A whole lot worse.


 

Liverpool: Everything is starting to look rosy in the Anfield garden.

"They're doomed", "Hodgson has lost it", "get ready for the Liverpool relegation party." Yes, the naysayers were in full force in the last couple of weeks because of Liverpool's poor start to the season. The critics were laying into Hodgson quite ferociously with their comments - some fair, some unfair. But light is beginning to be shown at the end of the tunnel for Liverpool and  Roy Hodgson.

Roy Hodgson, 63, has seen a lot of things in football and is a vastly experienced manager. Some of the criticism labelled at him has been, at some points, quite simply laughable with the most ludicrous claim by some, 'that he is not the right kind of manager for Liverpool.' We are talking about a man that has managed Inter (saving them from relegation and steadying the ship), Grasshopper Zurich, FC Copenhagen (winning the league in his only season ), Fulham (doing the same job at Inter, this time on limited resources) and Malmo. He is multilingual and has achieved a lot of success throughout his career showing how thoughtful and intelligent he is.

This man has shown great dignity towards a quite undignified slur campaign against him. What is true, Liverpool have not had a great start but things are starting to turn around with the form of key players and the new signings are starting to gel.

Fernando Torres returned to form when he scored two goals, with the second one being a goal of the season contender. His form has been poor, but lets not forget, he has returned from major surgery that has affected one big weapon in his artillery, which is his speed. His pace may improve over time or may never return, but what cannot be taken away from the World Cup winning striker, is his footballing brain. Great players like him and Steven Gerrard - who is returning to form after dominating against Chelsea and a hat trick against Napoli - never lose their intelligence and it is up to Torres to adapt to his predicament, but what is encouraging about Liverpool is their team are starting to gel and youth players are getting a chance.

Jay Spearing and Martin Kelly, two Liverpool natives, alongside Jonjo Shelvey, a young English man from Romford, are getting a chance to show what they can do, to Hodgson and fans alike. Under the previous regime youth players were brought from around Europe, blocking the chances of young talents like Adam Hammill - who had to go to Barnsley to find first team action and is thriving in the process with 5 goals in 15 appearances. It is vitally important for Liverpool and England for young English men who understand what it means to play for a big club like Liverpool. They can only thrive on the experience of playing European nights with world class players like Torres, Gerrard and Kuyt.

So all the people who are counting Liverpool on the Doomsday clock better rewind it, as they'll be waiting a long time for this club to self-destruct.

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Joey Barton has never struck me as an intelligent man, with his convictions of affray and assault, proving the point that he uses his fists rather than his mouth. When he does open his mouth not a lot of rational thought is given by him to his comments, as was the case this week, when he criticized the England team as being "goody two - shoes."

Joey Barton obviously has not watched an England match recently because he would of seen who was representing England. Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch John Terry and Rio Ferdinand all have cheated their respective partners; Joe Hart, Adam Johnson and Gareth Barry have been caught partying before meeting up with the England squad; Steven Gerrard punched a DJ- and somehow got away with it - and Glen Johnson has been reprimanded for stealing a toilet seat.

Goody two shoes? England are barefooted hitch - hiking for a ride to the moral high ground.