Ahead of TheGame: England wait on Ferdinand

The news in 60 seconds

ENGLAND WAIT ON FERDINAND
Fabio Capello is monitoring the fitness of the England centre half after problems with a stiff back forced him to miss training for the second consecutive day. However, the coach expects him to play at the weekend and against Croatia on Wednesday.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/international/article4674360.ece

PEARCE NOT INTERESTED IN WEST HAM JOB
The England Under-21 manager insists he will not drop his national team duties for a return to the Premier League. "I said to the FA bosses when I took this job that I will honour my contract," he said. "I have said that many times before in the past, and that applies today."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/west_ham/article4675009.ece

GIGGS: IT WILL TAKE CITY DECADES TO RIVAL US
The Manchester United winger is not going to lose any sleep over Manchester City's new-found wealth. "City have the richest owner in the world but I still see Manchester United as the biggest club in the world," he said. "United have a status and history that has taken years to build up. It stretches back to the Busby Babes, to players like Bobby Charlton and George Best. It will be very interesting to see what happens at City, but what we have at United is very special."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_city/article4672588.ece

CITY'S NEW OWNERS THINKING BIG
Garry Cook, the Manchester City managing director, has warned the Premier League that the royal family of Abu Dhabi are plotting a strategy for domestic and European domination. "When it comes to ambition you have to think large scale," he said. "We are only into the memorandum of understanding with these people but they are talking big. They have been very vocal about their ambitions for the club." Any chance they can keep them quiet until January?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_city/article4674460.ece

VILLA: I COULDN'T DO A ROBINHO
The Valencia striker says he is grateful to the debt-ridden club for keeping him despite interest in his services across Europe and that he could never have left them in the way that the Brazilian winger left Real Madrid. "I don't want to criticise Robinho because I don't know his situation, but I wouldn't have done it," he said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article4674348.ece

BURLEY CONCERNED BY CONTROVERSIAL REF
Pavel Kralovec will officiate the World Cup qualifier between Scotland and Macedonia after serving a six-match ban imposed by the Czech Republic FA for making serious errors in a domestic league match. "We have a young, inexperienced referee," the Scotland manager said. "It's a big test for him and he will be under pressure." So will George - it's his first competitive match in charge of the national team.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/international/article4674563.ece

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FANTASY FOOTBALL - TWO GREAT GAMES
The game you love is back, and this year it's double the fun. We've got two top games for you to play - the classic Times Fantasy Football with £100,000 in prizes, and the more advanced management experience of PlayTheGame. So who are you: the next West Ham manager or Billy Bonds? Click on the url below to find out more.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/fantasy_football/

FREE MOBILE SERVICE TRIAL
Try our football alerts service free of charge for 14 days and get match-day team sheet, goal alerts, half-time updates, full-time results and league position for your team.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tools_and_services/mobile_times/article4541324.ece
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If you've got another couple of minutes

Dennis Wise is a football visionary. Discuss.
We thought that would grab your attention, but that is what Matt Hughes says about the former Leeds boss. Why? Because Wise recognised that the trappings of the managerial office are not what they once were and that being paid a seven-figure salary for scouting and signing players is a better bet than the far more onerous job of turning them into a winning team.

Hughes believes the traditional role of the manager is soon to become a thing of the past (unless you are Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger or Martin O'Neill), but do you agree?
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2008/09/dennis-wise-is.html

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>>>>>THE TABLOID TALE<<<<<
Pele: Rob had to be total nuts - The Sun
1) The world's greatest-ever player reckons Robinho "needs some serious counselling" for joining Manchester City instead of Chelsea. 2) "He has been badly advised," Pele said. 3) Vanderlei Luxemburgo, the former Real Madrid coach, also questioned the 24-year-old's logic. "I don't know if his football or his career will go back at City," he said. 4) We guess the January transfer window will tell us whether it was a good move or not.
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>>>>>THE RIVALS<<<<<

How Rafa gave me his blessing to take a swipe at players who didn't try - Daily Mirror
Jamie Carragher says the Liverpool manager intimated that he square up to team-mates who were not performing to their best.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2008/09/04/jamie-carragher-autobiography-how-rafa-benitez-told-me-to-fight-with-players-who-didn-t-try-115875-20723395/

Owen to lead player revolt over Keegan - The Daily Telegraph
The Newcastle captain is expected to lead a delegation that will demand answers from the board over the manager's future.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/newcastle/2677225/Michael-Owen-set-to-lead-a-player-revolt-over-Kevin-Keegans-future---Football.html

Come home Harry - Daily Express
West Ham have put Harry Redknapp at the top of their wanted list after Alan Curbishley's resignation as manager.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/59772/Come-home-Harry

Capello: the story so far - The Guardian
In the five games the England manager has been in charge his side have tackled less but retained possession more.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/sep/04/englandfootballteam1

Hungry players put pasta back on England menu - The Independent
Fabio Capello has made a concession to his squad over their strict dietary regime after complaints of light-headedness and nausea before the Czech Republic game.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/internationals/hungry-players-put-pasta-back-on-england-menu-917928.html

The French connection lands a year in Provence for Mears - Daily Mail
The full-back wants to make his name with Marseilles after a messy exit from Derby County.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1052265/The-French-connection-lands-year-Provence-Mears.html

Pav happy at Dim exit - The Sun
Roman Pavlyuchenko, Tottenham's new signing, believes Dimitar Berbatov's exit from the club means he is a certain starter for Juande Ramos.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1643518.ece

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149
The number of dribbles attempted by Robinho at Real Madrid last season. The closest a player got to that at Manchester City was Elano with 86. Hogs.
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In TheGame

The David Beckham debate: Martin Samuel responds
Our Chief Football Correspondent has replied to your comments on whether David Beckham should be picked for the England team. He agrees with one reader that Beckham will still be able to deliver a fantastic set-piece ball when he is 60, but suggests it is the former captain's waning athleticism that should exclude him from selection.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2008/08/martin-samuel-2.html

Is it time for Mike Ashley to go?
OK, so he wears club colours and can drink lager like it is going out of fashion, but the Newcastle owner seems to have misjudged the mood of the Toon army by upsetting Kevin Keegan.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2008/09/ashley-to-go.html

Manchester United Fanzone: no more David and Goliath
Our United loyalist was just getting over the fact that Louis Saha had passed a medical when City won the football lottery. He is comforting himself with the thought that United's rivals are unlikely to assemble an attacking quartet as good as Ronaldo, Berbatov, Tevez and Rooney any time soon, that it will at least make the derby match more meaningful [hold on a second, City doubled them last season] and it could delay Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/fanzine_fanzone/2008/09/manchester-the.html

Bill Edgar's daily trivia question
When did England last not use a substitute in a match (the match went to extra-time)?
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2008/09/bill-edgars-thu.html

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Joe Bloggs' Soapbox

"Most of the major leagues in North America - where Coin is King, have enforced a salary cap. Not only does it level the playing fields for those teams less fortunate (i.e. not sitting on barrels of oil), but it also allows managers and clubs with ability and vision to showcase their wares; not to mention providing stability for all involved.

How ridiculous is it, that under the current system, Man City will garner pretty much all of the talent in the world to win every pot imaginable; until the next sheikh pulls up in his Rolls Royce to play human roulette with our game? It's like high stakes poker with cleats [studs]. With unlimited resources, if the 'Best team in the world' can't pull it off, they can dump them all and buy a new one once the transfer window opens again - ludicrous.

Sooner rather than later Fifa needs to step in and provide some stability, which is primarily their role. As it's way beyond the FA and their peers in other footballing nations? If not, the so called 'slave trade' will take on even more extortionate proportions, where really, only the fans will suffer."
Matt sends an impassioned response from across the pond. Salary cap? England is the land of the free. Ask Cristiano Ronaldo.

"I would like to point out to Mal Collier [see yesterday's Joe Bloggs' Soapbox] that Manchester United and Liverpool have not bought trophies, but built teams over many seasons, and have been able to buy good players by having a loyal and wide fan base, high attendances and stability at their clubs. I think this is a bit different to Chelsea, who got a £500million interest free loan to buy a team, as City are probably going to do, taking all the fun, tradition, gradual improvement, expectation etc out of their clubs. I know I'd much rather be a United or Liverpool fan than the other two!"
Can the threat of the Premier League's nouveau riche be so strong that it would cause an affinity between traditionally fierce rivals? Bill from Doncaster seems to think so.

"I know it’s not the English way, but there’s something to be said about separated responsibilities. A general manager takes care of player acquisition and the budget. A manager on the field takes care of the squad. Make their fates independent and you might end up with what works for Werder Bremen."
Sebastian from Vienna doesn't think the invasion of billionaires and their modern football ways is such a bad thing. Tell that to the Yes Man who is going to have to mould an effective team after the general manager has tipped the pieces of the jigsaw all over his training ground.

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And expect...

Godzilla to rise from the Manchester ship canal, stomp all over Eastlands and return English football to ... to what, normal?

Comments

[musicinfo]

Nice post