Goldenballs To Oldenballs

David Beckham won his 100th England cap against France last night to join an elite group of English players who have reached the same milestone.

Peter Shilton 125
Bobby Moore 108
Bobby Charlton 106
Billy Wright 105
David Beckham 100

It would not have been a surprise had Beckham announced his retirement after such an achievement but it appears he has no intention of calling time on his international career.

The issue is not whether or not he is still good enough for international football because in comparison to the rest of the England midfield he probably is (just) however the facts are he is playing a standard of football at LA Galaxy that is nowhere near the level of that which he enjoyed at Real Madrid and at this stage of his career he needs to be as fit as he possibly can.

Years ago people speculated that he would end up in a central midfield role as he approached the twilight of his career to better utilise his range of passing but we keep coming back to his club football and the fitness and air miles issue.

During the 1-0 defeat by France he looked as though he was literally on his way out a fading star substituted in the 63rd minute by Capello to spare him from the fatigue that would have surely set in if he had been allowed to complete the full 90 minutes.

Beckham talking about playing in the 2010 World Cup is like a bald man wearing a toupee he is not fooling anyone he has made a significant contribution to the English game during his career and is famous the world over but maybe now is the time for a dignified retirement.

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The Spoilt Brat Culture

After the show of petulance from Chelsea defender Ashley Cole in midweek and the less than favourable media attention it generated you would have thought that the penny might start to drop with the big name premiership players but apparently not as Liverpool's Argentinian midfielder Javier Mascherano tried his level best and succeeded to out do Cole's behaviour.

Mascherano nor his club can have any complaints as he was continually confronting, complaining and swearing at Steve Bennett and short of physically assaulting the referee there was not much more he could have done to receive his marching orders.

There seems to be a complete lack of respect for officials in general sure they will make mistakes occasionally who doesn't? maybe it is the fact that referees and linesmen do not earn enough for the premiership stars to take them seriously but the players seem to behave like spoilt brats who don't like it when they cannot get their own way contrast this with the sport of Rugby those guys just get up and get on with the game whether they agree with decisions or not.

Quite often especially during the televised games you can see players overstepping the mark and hurling abuse at the referee or linesmen and it does not require the services of a lip reader to work out what is being said.

I wonder what the late great Brian Clough would make of it all he always use to instruct his players not to argue with the the match officials no matter what.

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Another Grand Slam Sunday

This weekend sees another of those grand slam Sundays as Sky calls them where the big four clubs lock horns as always these games look great on paper but quite often can be an anti climax to say the least hopefully this will be one of those occasions where the actual games live up to the pre match expectations.

This Sunday will also go a long way to deciding the outcome of the 2007/2008 Premiership title race with Manchester United looking as though they have stepped up a gear and you have to say they do look like the team that is best equipped to pull away from the pack given that they have the most strength in depth and that factor alone will probably see them home.

In complete contrast is Arsenal who despite topping the table recently have been stuttering of late while Chelsea have put some results together after the disappointment of losing the Carling Cup final which leaves us with Liverpool who are not title contenders at this stage having had something of a troubled season both on and off the pitch Rafa Benitez's team were written off even by their own admission some time ago so securing a Champions League spot will be their priority.

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Football Has Gone Mad

We had some further evidence this week if any more were needed of how much the game has changed over the years some would say for the worst and how the obscene amounts of money that are in football these days threatens to kill off the smaller clubs completely.

League Two side Rotherham United have gone into administration for the second time in as many seasons after being denied time to find new funds by the courts the club now faces another 10 point penalty which effectively puts an end to their promotion hopes for this season as they now stand in 11th place with eight games still to play.

The smaller clubs that have gone into administration over the last few years must accept some responsibility over how they are run financially although in their defence they would argue that lower league clubs have always had to sell their better players to survive and that with the advent of football academies clubs such as Chelsea can go around the country cherry picking the best young talent free of charge which is something that angered numerous clubs in recent seasons.

While that was happening we hear that Chelsea and England Midfield star Frank Lampard and his new contract negotiations have apparently hit a stumbling block with the player rumoured to be holding out for two hundred grand a week now this is not an attack on Lampard but I'm sorry no player is worth £200,000 per week it is too ridiculous for words but unless the governing bodies step in and introduce some sort of salary cap for players then it will no doubt happen sooner or later.

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Who Will Win The 2008 Champions League?

This years UEFA Champions League is now hotting up nicely with the draw having been made for the quarter finals.

English footballs big four comprising Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all feature with the latter two sides drawing each other meaning with the addition of a premiership game sandwiched in between they will actually play each other three times in the space of seven days.

Manchester United will again meet Italian side Roma who will no doubt be eager for revenge after the seven goal drubbing they received at the hands of the red devils last season.

Chelsea will probably be satisfied with their draw against Fenerbache and a trip to Turkey which nevertheless will be no walk in the park.

Quarter Final Draw

Roma v Manchester United
Schalke 04 v Barcelona
Arsenal v Liverpool
Fenerbache v Chelsea

For what it is worth my prediction will be Man Utd, Barcelona, Liverpool and Chelsea to win their respective ties and go into the hat for the semi final draw.

A lot of focus seems to be on the English teams but I have a feeling Barcelona may well be one of the sides contesting the Champions League final on May 21st 2008 in Moscow.

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The Year Of FA Cup Shocks

The FA Cup this year has seen quite a few shocks, upsets and giant killings as some of the old romance of the competition seems to have returned Barnsley are arguably the story of this years competition thus far after dumping the mighty Liverpool out of the competition at Anfield in the last round they then proceeded to knock Chelsea out at Oakwell winning 1-0 again although the game itself was entertaining enough it was not quite like watching Brazil as their song goes.

The other shock from yesterday came at Old Trafford where Man Utd lost to Portsmouth 1-0 who would have thought that Man Utd and Chelsea would both end up being knocked out in this round i wonder what sort of odds you could have got on that outcome prior to kick off?

Sir Alex was not a happy bunny in the slightest and roundly criticized the referee's performance as well as the referees chief Keith Hackett for not doing his job properly his anger seemed to center around the no nonsense treatment Portuguese star Ronaldo is getting from opposition teams and the lack of protection Fergie feels referees are giving him.

Maybe one or two decisions could have gone their way but it is not often that you see a referee award a penalty to the away team at Old Trafford and there have been many stonewall penalties waved away over the years with the refs usually bottling it.

I have a feeling that it may well be Harry Redknapp's men that are destined to lift the FA Cup this year.

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