England, England, England... Sad but true!

Sports - Football - International Friendly

England 2-1 Hungary

And Steven Gerrard was there to save the day. Sad the effort came over a month too late.

Apart from the two goals, England looked woeful as always. No pace, no coordination, no communication. The whole game was just a charade, no one looking like they wanted to be there, just like in South Africa, no change there.

No wonder, with the new season just a couple of days away, where the players can continue their high lives, getting cheered, hailed and paid tens of thousands of pounds (per week) for only a fraction of the trouble.

Hungary took the lead just past the hour mark when Vladimir Koman's shot was deemed a goal although Phil Jagielka looked to have cleared it off line line.

Stevie G. scored two outstanding goals that turned the match around just minutes later. He celebrated and tried to lift the team and crowd, like a captain should... Sorry, but what's the point? The team's hopeless, the manager miserable all the way through, the whole match was just pointless!

Okay, let me just draw out a little scenario... What if...

...Gerrard would not have scored, Hungary would have won, the fans would have been outraged as always, booing and calling for Fabio Capello's head, once again...

...Capello would no longer be England manager (which I am surprised he still is to be honest after the miserable World Cup) and the hunt would be on for a better replacement; an Englishman if possible as many have been pointing out that that would make the difference because of national pride, a man leading his own country, and...

Bla bla bla bla bla! I'm honest, I was over-optimistic predicting England as finalists in the first place as were many others and I knew it!

For over 40 years now the so-called experts have been waffling on about who and what would be better and best for England to finally get back on top of their game. Since THE world cup win - the odd one out, that's for sure - 13 managers have tried their best. Of those 13, only TWO were not English (Sven Goran Eriksson from Sweden and Italian giovane Fabio).

So, how can you lay the blame on the nationality or the language of the manager as all the "experts" are now trying to do?! EVERY TIME the new manager goes from hero to zero within a couple of years - until the next tournament, Euro or World Cup. It's an impossible job!

In the end it is the 11 men on the pitch it comes down to. Of course, the manager represents the team and has to take responsibility, but looking at the above record, and at the International football record in general, Euro and World Cup, there are some things that are just facts and will never change:

I don't know and cannot imagine international football without the Brasilian temperament, French w(h)ine, Portuguese drama (queens), Spanish flair, Italian scandal, Dutch boom, Argentinean glare, German efficiency... And English tears! And I don't think that will change, not in my lifetime anyway!

Green howler costs England two points

Sports - Football - International - 2010 World Cup South Africa

England 1-1 USA

"Sometimes a forward misses, sometimes a keeper makes a mistake - that's football." - that's how manager Fabio Capello summarised a painful draw for England against the USA.

The match could not have started better when captain Steven Gerrard tapped in an Emile Heskey cross past US keeper Tim Howard with not even four minutes gone on the clock. England fans could not have wished for a better start.

But the Americans did not let that stop them, they kept up the pressure on England and enjoyed most of the possession. England keeper Robert Green did not have much to do as the England back four and their skipper stayed solid and kept tackling continuously and clean.

James Milner's England debut however, ended disappointingly early after half an hour. He was taken off minutes after he was booked and replaced by Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Things went from bad to worse for England when one of those full-dreaded disasters for every goalkeeper happened: Aussie Clint Dempsey twisted and turned through the back line and got a low shot through from about 25 yards. It looked like a comfortable take for the England keeper, but somehow the ball slipped off and past Green's gloves and rolled over the line.

He must have seen it happen in slower motion, looking on in horror whilst it passed over the line, just like every England fan. "At half time I walked in, apologised to the lads and moved on." Green recounted after the match.

The second half saw both teams share plenty of possession, chances and pressure between them, both Wayne Rooney and Heskey missing good chances for England and sending Capello into fury on the sideline.

Frank Lampard pulled a good save from Howard with a free kick from about 25 yards out with just under half an hour to go. Just minutes later, US star striker Jozy Altidore outpaced sub-defender Jamie Carragher and fired in a goal-bound shot, for Green to make a fine save to see the ball deflect off the post and go across goal.

For the final ten minutes Peter Crouch came on for Heskey, who showed a fine display as provider but his own shots lacked aim staying off target. But neither side looked like they were going to be able to grab the match by its horns* and take all three points late-on. (*a.k.a. vuvuzelas)

According to Opta statistics, Green made more errors leading to goals than any other player in the Premier League last season. But former skipper John Terry backed the England keeper after the match: "It's one of those things. Mistakes happen and we're in this together. We need to get behind Rob - he's got good friends here."

England can take encouragement from the fact that defending world champions Italy also drew their group match against the US 1-1 back in 2006 and went on to win it. Hopefully, England can gain confidence from that and make similar improvement and progress.

Quotes taken from the BBC website.

England Green; Johnson, A Cole, Terry, King (Carragher 46); Gerrard, Lennon, Lampard, Milner (Wright-Phillips 30); Rooney, Heskey (Crouch 79). Bookings Milner 26, Carragher 59, Gerrard 61. Subs not used James, Hart, Dawson, Warnock, Upson, J Cole, Barry, Carrick, Defoe.

USA Howard; Bocanegra, Onyewu, Cherundolo, DeMerit; Bradley, Depmsey, Clark, Donovan; Altidore (Holden 86), Findley (Buddle 77). Bookings Cherundolo 39, DeMerit 48, Findley 74. Subs not used Guzan, Hahnemann, Spector, Bornstein, Goodson, Beasley, Torres, Edu, Feilhaber, Hercules Gomez.

Match Stats: England-USA

Attempts: 16-12

On target: 9-5

Corners: 8-4

Free kicks: 8-10

Possession: 58%-42%

Man of the match: Tim Howard

Ground: Royal Bafokeng Stadium

Referee: Carlos Eugenio Simon

Attendance: 44,026

Details and stats taken from the BBC website.

2010 World Cup South Africa Countdown

Sports - Football - International - 2010 World Cup South Africa

With just a couple of days left until the World Cup kicks off in Johannesburg, expectations are high and the nerves in tatters - who will cry tears of joy and glory, whose sobs will be in grief and defeat? We will not know the answer until the final whistle is blown and the competition concludes on the final day on 11 July, but, here are my thoughts and predictions, the winners highlighted bold:

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France: Despite their home advantage, I do not think South Africa will be able to contend successfully against the established likes of Mexico and France. Although "les bleus" were lucky to scrape through against the Republic of Ireland, the heartbreaking encounter should have been a good enough wake-up-call for them to make up for the blushes and make the best and most of the competition.

Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece: Argentina's strong lineup which includes Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano and with none other than Diego Maradona at the helm, there is no question about who will top this group. Who will follow them into the last 16 is a tougher one to answer with South Korea's and Greece's success-stories being long, distant memories. I think Otto Rehhagel's men will be able to make the push.

Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia: England have had their fair share of scandals and injuries as always before major competitions, but were let-off by a comparatively easy draw for a change and could not have been given a much easier pass into the last 16. The US look stronger than ever though under manager Bob Bradley and captain Landon Donovan. I would not be surprised to see them make this their best competition display and progess yet.

Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana: This one's my dark horse/shocker-prediction: Having followed Germany's friendlies, dire displays, injury setbacks and crises talks, I think it gives the rest of the group the best chance to capitalise on. Australia have Mark Schwarzer and Lucas Neill to keep them out and Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell to knock them down and in; whilst Serbia can count on Nemanja Vidic and Milan Jovanovic along the same lines.

Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameron: The European sides take pole position again with experienced players and strong lineups. World number three Netherlands thrashed their way through the warm-up games in preparation to the competition and I see them continue in that fashion with Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar et al over-filling the scoreboards.

Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia: The defending world champions are a shadow of the side that won the cup in 2006, but should be able to top the group with their star keeper Gianluigi Buffon, world cup winning skipper Fabio Cannavaro and energy source and runner Daniele de Rossi. Paraguay should follow them into the last 16 with their focal men in attack Roque Santa Cruz and Nelson Haedo Valdez.

Group G: Ivory Coast, Portugal, Brazil, North Korea: With Ivory Coast's top striker Didier Drogba out with a fractured arm, the 2006 semi-finalists Portugal and record world champions Brazil should cruise through the group stage. Both sides are star-struck with their lineups including Ronaldo, Simao and Nani; Kaka, Lucio and Robinho, respectively. Finals without those well-established names is unimaginable.

Group H: Honduras, Chile, Spain, Switzerland: Ottmar Hitzfeld had tears in his eyes to see his home country qualify for the world cup and I see this as his best chance to make the dream-come-true get even better. World number one and world cup favourites Spain should be able to yawn and sleepwalk their way through this stage with star men like Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso, David Villa and Cesc Fabregas.

So, my European bias sees ten European countries progress into the last 16, joined by four South American countries, USA and Australia. My German bias normally gives Germany the advantage as they have always proven to be successful no matter how miserable their form or display has been. But this time round, under Joachim Löw, I see their luck has run out and I forecast their demise against more competitive and hungry opponents. I am optimistic for England, more than ever, and hope they can enjoy some sweet revenge and success, but am prepared for heartbreaking scenes as always...

Last 16: France v Greece, Mexico v Argentina, England v Serbia, USA v Australia, Netherlands v Paraguay, Denmark v Italy, Portugal v Switzerland, Brazil v Spain

Quarter Finals: Netherlands v Portugal, France v England, Argentina v Australia, Italy v Spain

Semi Finals: England v Portugal, Argentina v Spain

Third Place: Portugal v Argentina

Final: England v Spain

Final Picks of the Weekend and Season

Sports - Football - Premier League - Final Picks of the Season

So, I haven't blogged in a while and we have already reached the end of the season. A lot has happened over the last month-or-two, so these are my overall picks of the last weeks and season:

Hero: Roy Hodgson and Harry Redknapp are the obvious picks for their achievements at Fulham and Tottenham, reaching the Europa League final and Champions League place respectively.

However, I think Gianfranco Zola should be recognised and lauded just as much for keeping West Ham up under extraordinarily difficult and chaotic circumstances. Most importantly, he kept a good relationship with the players all the way through and to kept them going. The more surprised I was to find out he has been sacked this morning!

Zero: Dirk Kuyt and Dimitar Berbatov have certainly annoyed me most this season! Being over-over-over-paid for their moaning, diving, whining and being bad losers. Rafael Benitez has also to take a real close look at himself. With Rick Parry's departure from Liverpool he was able to clear and reorganise the back room to his will and choice and look what it has brought him. You can always lay the blame to the ownership fiasco, but that does not hold and directly influence everything what is going on on the pitch - it is the players and the coaches, who are all overlooked and coached by the manager.

Champs: As mentioned above, Fulham and Tottenham have to be lauded for their over-achievements. So too Chelsea for their fourth title, first since the departure of the "Great One". But the sides that have surprised me most are Arsenal and Birmingham. I thought the Gunners were going to be the first to drop out of the top four and the Blues I saw battling relegation - how wrong was I! Arsenal will not be happy with their slip late-on in the season, but it came to no surprise looking at the lack of depth and back-up options in their squad - something they will have to look into and change if they do not want yet another repeat of their slip and fall.

Birmingham will be dreaming of a European spot next season, see what/who they will do/change/buy/sell to see that happen, especially interesting and intriguing as they could not be happier with the display, performances and results of their current squad.

Has-Beens: Liverpool were not even a shadow of the side they were last season whilst Portsmouth and West Ham fought on through the storm, holding their heads up high - the prior failing to avoid the drop whilst the latter was able to withstand all the counterweight.

I know Liverpool the Reds have had their problems and turmoil with their owners, the board, their debts, etc., but as a club of such prestige, history, success, large fan base, global reputation et al, it was sad to see the ship sink so low with hardly any fight or uproar.

You Beauty: So many goals! So many thrashes! Chelsea broke all record books with their 108 goals, achieving that last but not least with their 8-0 destruction of Wigan. Not to forget the 7-goal thrashings of Sunderland, Stoke and Aston Villa, also by the champions; Manchester City putting 5 and 6 past Birmingham and Burnley respectively; Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham also enjoying their 5, 6 and/or 7 goal thriller-wins. There were so many goal-feasts this season and juicy and action-packed encounters, it is impossible for me just pin it down to one or two!

Ouch! Referees, own goals and divers - this season these three top my lists of outrage, cringes, complaints and criticism. In this day and age where the cameras and advanced technology pick everything and everyone in the finest detail in the matter of seconds, I cannot believe that they cannot be used to assist and support the officials, prevent very unfair and costly errors and stop the cheaters and whiners.

And finally, to see where my picks have come from, here is a comparison table of the last to seasons. It obviously does not include Birmingham, Wolves or Burnley as they were not part of the Premier League last season. Birmingham have certainly exceeded all expectations ending up ninth, whilst Wolves avoided relegation quite comfortably in the end, 8 points clear in 15th place, and Portsmouth, well, they faced an impossible job to stay up, with or without the 9-point-deduction, they had a too high mountain to climb to avoid the drop.

So, the table shows all 17 teams that were in the Premier League in both seasons, comparing how they fared in the 38 games of both seasons. The + and - numbers indicate how many games they won, drew and lost and how many goals they scored and conceded more or less, and finally how many points they gained or lost consequently. It just shows how bad the season has been for Liverpool...

1) Tottenham:

+7 wins, -2 draws, -5 defeats; +22 goals, -4 conceded; +19 points

2) Man City: +3, +8, -11; +15, -5; +17

3) Blackburn: +3, 0, -3; +1, -5; +9

4) Sunderland: +2, +2, -4; +14, -2; +8

5) Chelsea: +2, -3, +1; +35, +8; +3

6) Arsenal: +3, -6, +3; +15, +4; +3

7) Aston Villa: 0, +2, -2; -2, -9; +2

8) Stoke City: -1, +5, -4; -4, -7; +2

9) Everton: -1, +1, 0; +5, +12; -2

10) Bolton: -1, +1, 0; +1, +14; -2

11) Man Utd: -1, -2, +3; +18, +4; -5

12) Hull City: -2, +1, +1; +6, +16; -5

13) Fulham: -2, -1, +3; 0, +12; -7

14) Wigan: -3, 0, +3; -3, +34; -9

15) West Ham: -6, +2, +4; +5, +21; -16

16) Portsmouth: -3, -4, +7; -4, +9; -22 (includes the 9-point deduction)

17) Liverpool: -7, -2, +9; -16, +8; -23

Total Goals scored: 1053 this season, 942 last season; +111

Liverpool thump struggling Portsmouth

Sports - Football - Premier League - Match Report

Liverpool 4-1 Portsmouth

Liverpool recorded their seventh consecutive home win on their 118th anniversary against rock-bottom Portsmouth.

The win takes the Reds up to fifth, one point ahead of Manchester City and one behind Tottenham, who both have games in hand, two and one respectively, in the race for the fourth and last Champions League qualification place.

Rafa's usual favourites Dirk Kuyt and Lucas Leiva started on the bench for Liverpool and were not much missed on the night.

Liverpool looked sloppy and shaky again in the opening 20 minutes though, wasting good build-ups and chances high or wide.

However, once broken, Portsmouth caved in conceding three goals in under six minutes.

The first breakthrough came from an error by Pompey keeper Jamie Ashdown.

He could just watch and curse himself after he let Steven Gerrard chase down Ricardo Rocha's cross and block the goalkeeper's clearance kick for it to ricochet to Maxi Rodriguez, his cross serving Fernando Torres an easy tap-in to make it 1-0.

Torres was involved in the next two goals, too, slipping and clipping the ball over to Ryan Babel and Alberto Aquilani respectively, for them to make no mistake of netting both chances.

Thanks to Pompey's first blooper, Liverpool got up and going and could go into the break much more confident.

The fans at the ground reflected that change of mood, too, with a subdued and unusually quiet atmosphere taken over by cheers, chants and songs - the more common way and sound of things at Anfield.

The second half continued with Liverpool dominating possession and chances.

Torres to elegantly cornered his way through Pompey's back line to make it four and seal the win for the Reds 13 minutes from time.

Portsmouth did get a consolation goal with just a couple of minutes remaining - Nadir Belhadj taking advantage of some defensive confusion by Liverpool to put the ball past Pepe Reina with ease.

This is a crucial win for Liverpool.

They will be hoping they can take the gained confidence into their next match against Lille, where they have to turn around a one-goal deficit to make it into the last quarter finals.

The fans made it clear on Monday night: They are not happy with the current situation and state of things and want change - off the field especially.

Liverpool Reina; Johnson (Kelly 70), Carragher, Agger, Insua; Aquilani, Mascherano, Rodriguez, Gerrard (Benayoun 75), Babel; Torres (Ngog 80). Subs not used Cavalieri, Kyrgiakos, Kuyt, Lucas.

Portsmouth Ashdown; Finnan, Wilson, Rocha, Hreidarsson (Abeyie 76); Brown, Bouba Diop (Mokoena 64), O'Hara (Webber 85), Dindane; Piquionne, Belhadj. Bookings Dindane 78, Mokoena 78. Subs not used Mullins, Hughes, Kanu.

1st half stats:

Liverpool-Portsmouth

Attempts: 10-4

On target: 3-1

Offsides: 1-1

Corners: 4-2

Free kicks: 7-3

2nd half stats:

Liverpool-Portsmouth

Attempts: 10-2

On target: 6-2

Offsides: 0-1

Corners: 3-2

Free kicks: 9-5

Sky Sports Stats:

Liverpool-Portsmouth

Possession: 64.5%-35.5% (BBC: 58%-42%)

Passing Success: 86.6%-74.4%

Tackles/Success: 21/61.9%-17./88.2%

Territorial Advantage: 55.9%-44.1%

Referee: Stuart Attwell

Man of the match: Fernando Torres

Lille take one-goal advantage into second leg

Sports - Football - Europa League Last 16 - 1st leg

Lille 1-0 Liverpool

Liverpool's performance at the LOSC Lillie Metropole was summarised in two words by the commentator: Scrappy and meaningless.

Neither goalkeeper had much to do in the first 40 minutes with both sides not able to create many chances and take control.

Just before half time the visitors came to life and made their first real break through Lille's back line.

First the Reds saw Steven Gerrard's free kick from left outside the box brilliantly saved by Mickael Landreau.

Then Fernando Torres' header off a Glen Johnson cross was stopped well again by the French goalkeeper.

Apart from that Liverpool looked unmotivated and uncoordinated for most of the match, similar to their defeat against Wigan in the Premier League last Monday.

Not much changed in the second half, both sides losing balance and possession constantly, Liverpool leaking most on the flanks.

The Reds were lucky not to be trailing after Eden Hazard's strike was harshly disallowed offside soon after the restart.

Liverpool defender Emiliano Insua was not able to cope with the Belgium and his quality breaks from the back with his midfield companion Ludovic Obraniak and defender Da Conceicao Emerson.

Eventually the breakthrough came for the home side from a free kick late on in the match. It was smooth and cheeky, definitely not undeserved.

Hazard swung the ball into the box, to see it elude all of the players, including a frozen Pepe Reina, to glide past them into the back of the net, with no further touch or assistance needed.

Liverpool had about five minutes left to scrape something out of the match, but to no avail.

Like on Monday, the Reds' substitutions made no impact. Their bookings were needless, for pointless rants to the referee, of which, as professionals, they should know better.

All in all the performance just showed once again that the state and mentality of the team and players is in shambles.

Meanwhile, credit where credit is due, Lille will be happy to have kept their good home record on track with only one defeat in the last 17 European matches.

Liverpool Reina; Johnson, Agger, Carragher, Insua; Kuyt (El Zhar 88), Mascherano, Lucas, Gerrard; Babel (Riera 73), Torres. Bookings Insua 63, Torres 67. Subs not used Cavalieri, Aquilani, Kyrgiakos, Ngog, Kelly.

Lille Landreau; Beria, Chedjou, Rami, Emerson; Hazard, Balmont, Mavuba, Cabaye (Dument 74); Obraniak (Toure 83), Frau (Aubameyang 77). Bookings Toure 85, Aubameyang 88. Subs not used Butelle, Vandam, Souare, Souquet.

1st half stats:

Lille-Liverpool

Attempts: 4-4

On target: 2-3

Offsides: 0-0

Corners: 1-1

Free kicks: 12-4

2nd half stats:

Lille-Liverpool

Attempts: 5-3

On target: 3-1

Offsides: 2-1

Corners: 3-1

Free kicks: 7-12

Sky Sport stats:

Lille-Liverpool

Possession: 58.3%-41.7% (BBC: 57%-43%)

Passing Success: 75.6%-65.3%

Tackles/Success: 23/87%-36/75%

Territorial Advantage: 51.5%-48.5%

Referee: Alan Larsen

Man of the match: Eden Hazard

Latics beat dire Reds

Sports - Football - Premier League - Match Report

Wigan 1-0 Liverpool

Liverpool continued their disappointing season with yet another defeat against Wigan; their ninth in the Premier League this season, seven of which have come on the road.

At the DW stadium, the visitors looked clumsy, chaotic, uncoordinated, like headless chickens, and everything else but confident with the ball, losing possession too constantly and too easily.

Even Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, who are normally their team's talismen and saviours, wasted golden opportunities on more than one occasion.

The first half was a lost cause, the second looked more like an act of desperation than recuperation, for the Reds that is.

Wigan in contrast showed great perserverance and determination - it was clear they were not going to give anything away without a fight.

Wigan took the lead deservedly in the 35th minute thanks to Dirk Kuyt's loss of possession just outside the box.

Emmerson Boyce put a superb cross through to Hugo Rodallega who made no mistake of putting the ball into the back of the net, leaving Pepe Reina helplessly stranded.

Further chances came fiew and far between the two sides - man of the match Charles N'Zogbia coming closest when his goal-bound shot was denied and cleared off the line by Sotirios Kyrgiakos.

Liverpool had uncharacteristically five names added into the referee's book, including Torres and Gerrard in the last 10 minutes, reflecting their desperation and frustration which grew more and more in the second half.

The substitutions did not make much of a change or impact for Liverpool, which the Reds desperately needed on this night and are in need of in general, if they want to keep just a glimmer of hope to end the season in the top 4!

Wigan Kirkland; Caldwell, Scharner, Boyce, Bramble; Figueroa, N'Zogbia, McCarthy, Diame (Thomas 81), Moreno (Moses 67); Rodallega (Scotland 85). Bookings Bramble 40. Subs not used Stojkovic, Amaya, Gomez, Sinclair.

Liverpool Reina; Insua, Kyrgiakos, Carragher, Macherano; Benayoun (Aquilani 68), Gerrard, Lucas (Johnson 54), Rodriguez, Kuyt (Babel 81); Torres. Bookings Insua 22, Lucas 29, Kyrgiakos 33, Torres 79, Gerrard 82. Subs not used Cavalieri, Agger, Riera, Ngog.

1st half stats:

Wigan-Liverpool

Attempts: 1-5

On target: 1-0

Offsides: 1-2

Corners: 0-2

Free kicks: 4-5

2nd half stats:

Wigan-Liverpool

Attempts: 5-2

On target: 1-0

Offsides: 0-0

Corners: 3-3

Free kicks: 8-3

Sky Sports stats:

Wigan-Liverpool

Possession: 37%-63% (BBC: 50%-50%)

Passing Success: 73.1%-78.7%

Tackles/Success: 35/82.9%-44/88.6%

Territorial Advantage: 57%-43%

Referee: Andre Marriner

Man of the match: Charles N'Zogbia