-
England skipper John Terry and Steven Gerrard - Source: Reuters -
Related
England on their way
This week England put THAT dark and rainy night in 2007 firmly behind them as they crushed Croatia 5-1 to reach the World Cup .
Two goals a piece from Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, plus one for the road from Wayne Rooney, saw Capello's Three Lions book their place in South Africa with two games to spare - giving England fans an excuse to go World Cup crazy!
But it's not just the fans going England mad, as with eight wins out of eight, boss Fabio Capello has said he believes his side are 'real contenders' to win the biggest prize in world football, while gracious in defeat Croatia manager Slaven Bilic said, 'England can definitely win the World Cup,' which is seven words you don't often hear in the same sentence when it comes to England and football.
Look at England in impressive form
HERE!
Diego in the doodoo
One club who might NOT reach the World Cup though is Diego Maradona's Argentina.
A 3-1 defeat at the hands of arch rivals Brazil, and a 1-0 loss to Paraguay have left the side looking like they may need more than the Hand o' God to get them through.
Shock, horror Argentina now have two games in which to qualify for the tournament before going through to a play-off.
El Diego has vowed to fight on with the side, but will probably find himself looking for a new job come the end of the year leaving the football community to rue yet another great player turned totally crap manager.
Other clubs who qualified this week where the Netherlands, Spain, Brazil and Ghana, while those pesky Germans, who like Portugal, France and Italy, are yet to book their places in the finals, have already booked their 'luxury' South African hotel , and sun lounges, probably.
Fight the power
Meanwhile, in other football news, Chelsea's two-season transfer ban for the alleged tapping of Racing Lens teen ace Gael Kakuta has come as a STARK warning to other Premier League clubs.
As expected Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool are among the sides being accused of 'poaching' young stars.
All clubs have of course DENIED the various accusations.
While an 'angry' Chelsea are planning to FIGHT the ban, Sir Ferg has brushed aside the idea of 'paying parents,' saying that clubs just want to bring United down cause they is the 'biggest club.'
One player who's parents did get paid though was Jermaine Defo's, who was apparently lured from Charlton to West Ham aged 16 due to the fact the club bought his mum a shiny new fridge - what you got to say about THAT eh Blatter!?
Rumour mill hits overdrive, again
And just when you thought all the madness of the transfer window was over a for a few months at least, Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas opens his mouth sending the rumour mill into overdrive after admitting he doesn't know where he will be playing next season.
The admission from Spaniard Fabregas is sure to put Barcelona and Real Madrid on high alert, but he has denied suggestions in Spain that he ALREADY has an agreement to re-join Barcelona next year if presidential hopeful Sandro Rosell wins the La Liga clubs elections.
And while one player may be on his way out of England, another has denied that he is coming back.
Rumours had surfaced that David Beckham could be about to join former England team-mate Sol Campbell and serial lady lover Sven Gorran Eriksson at League Two side Notts County, but Golden Balls was quoted as saying he might probably rather play for Milan when his current contract at Galaxy wraps up.
AND FINALLY
What do thigh-knacked England players do while their team-mates are off qualifying for the World Cup? They 'stayconate' with 'normal' people on cheap as chip caravan holidays in Wales o' course!
Yes. Instead of sunning himself on a Caribbean beach or sipping Margaritas in Spain, Man United's Rio Ferdinand instead spent around 400 pounds on a 'prestige' caravan that even comes with extras like a 'microwave' and DVD player!'
A spokeswoman for Haven Holidays said the break had been booked "primarily for his family", but was unable to confirm if Ferdinand had actually slept in the caravan.
Add a Comment:
Post new commentTimmo said on 2009-09-18 @ 14:15 NZDT: Report abusive post
No mention of Peterborough United's gutsy 1-1 draw away at Leicester? 3 games without defeat for the posh, sadly 7 games withouta win, but hey, silver linings and all that