Are there any positives for England?

commons.wikimedia.org

If you have been living in a hole (sleeping) for the last few days, or just given up on England in ODI cricket, you may have missed that they are out of the World Cup after a fourth defeat in five group stage matches. Eoin Morgan's side slumped to defeat to Bangladesh for the second World Cup in a row and now many questions will be asked. There are not any good signs, surely?

The English, not just in cricket but in sport in general, love to talk about the positives after a heavy defeat. Peter Moores' team have had plenty of crushing losses in the last few months in One Day Internationals to stew over and that dreadful form did not only continue, but worsen at the World Cup.

England's latest self-destruction confirms fall from grace

Photograph from Wikipedia Commons

England's lower order inevitably folded amidst a flurry of feeble shots parallel to those played by their more heralded team-mates yesterday. The biggest worry for Andy Flower, Alastair Cook and the beleaguered batting line-up is that they can't put together an acceptable innings on pitches flatter than the Dutch landscape, and against an Australian side who hadn't won a Test in nine before this series.

The shot that Cook played yesterday morning set the tone for a disappointing effort at batting for two days, but it was the way they subsided to a successive first innings collapse that will worry Englishmen the most. 

Why England can still retain the Ashes despite their deficiencies

Photograph from Flickr

England took a battering from a bunch of fired up Australians over the weekend and have a mountain to climb if they are to regroup and retain the Ashes, especially after the loss of top order mainstay Jonathan Trott. Harsh words were sent in England's direction from both on and off the pitch and it could be these that spur Alastair Cook's men back into action. 

Anyone who thinks that England are going to be thrashed in this series are deluded, but it is certain that they are going to have to work hard to keep hold of the precious urn.

England rock Trott will be sorely missed

Photograph from Wikipedia

For decades England trialled multiple top order batsmen for the vacant number three role, from county run machines (e.g Mark Ramprakash and Graeme Hick) to young prodigies (e.g Rob Key and John Crawley), but all failed to meet the demands of being the first man in after the new ball in Test match cricket. 

But then came the answer to the woe; the latest world-class South African-born batter Jonathan Trott. For the four years since his Ashes-winning hundred at the Oval in 2009 he has been the glue that has given the England team their greatest level of stability in many a year.

Broad criticism helps Dar and Clarke avoid inquisitions

Photograph from Wikipedia Commons

The Ashes is back. People all over the country are forgetting to check football transfer news or read the latest article about Andy Murray because of the wicket-tumbling, tail-end wagging and controversial scenes in Nottingham.

One thing is for certain; even the most patriotic Englishman should not assume that victory is in the bag despite Ian Bell's heroics taking his team's lead over 300. This match has been unpredictable from the off and the Aussies have quelled the naive doubts of supporters and pundits alike - they are very much up for the fight.

England should take plenty of positives from tricky New Zealand series

Photograph from Wikipedia Commons

Colin Cowdrey, Michael Atherton, Ricky Ponting, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Paul Collingwood. Add Matt Prior to the list of batsmen who have all stood in the face of extreme adversity to see their teams to unlikely draws. Today was a day that saw England muster all the fight and desire in the world to hang on against a determined New Zealand side. 

While Prior's innings was magnificent, Ian Bell set the tone with a near six-hour vigil reminiscent of Collingwood at Cardiff in 2009. 

Today was an excellent day for England as very few thought, at 90-4 and with an inexperienced middle order, that they stood much of a chance of saving the series. 

What resulted was a day of thrilling Test match action that made many watching at home wish that they were filling up an empty-looking Eden Park.

James Anderson: From yips to swing king

Photograph from Wikipedia Commons 

"Oh Jimmy Jimmy, Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Anderson!"

Hailed as a wonder-kid in the 2003 World Cup, James Anderson then fell into the international wilderness in 2005 as people said he had lost it, but now the Barmy Army are rightly blowing his trumpet again.

Just five wickets short of adding to an illustrious list of names that have taken 300 Test wickets for England, the burly Lancastrian has transformed himself from a wild, but exciting young prospect, to one of the best exponents of swing bowling in the world. 

Why Chelsea should not have sacked Di Matteo

The sacking of Roberto Di Matteo was one of the most shocking football dismissals of recent memory. A Chelsea legend, twice FA Cup winner as a player, won the club's first Champions League trophy against all the odds, just months after being appointed manager. 

To the amazement of many his reign has been terminated just six months after he was given the prestigious job on a permanent basis. Many Chelsea fans will be dismayed by the lack of faith shown in him by owner Roman Abramovich and the club's board, although this is nothing new to them as he was their eighth boss since the Russian billionaire took over in 2003. 

What is most surprising is that Abramovich has always fired previous managers on the basis that they did not do well enough in the Champions League, although Di Matteo delivered the trophy at the first time of asking. He also managed this impressive feat with a squad out of form and struggling in the Premier League, as well as facing a 3-1 deficit in the last 16 of Europe's elite competition against Napoli. 

Not only did they win the second leg against Napoli 4-1 after extra-time to go through, but he did oversee an up-turn in their league form and took them to Wembley, and ultimately, FA Cup victory.

It is the Champions League final in Munich that he will be most remembered for as the Blues overcame the home side on penalties thanks to a late Didier Drogba header and a Petr Cech penalty save in extra-time. 

Their road to Munich was not a cruise by any stretch of the imagination; beating Benfica before memorably seeing off Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate. 

Despite finishing sixth in the league last season, their league form did marginally improve as they had suffered a horrific start under former boss Andre Villas-Boas. 

Chelsea managers under Roman Abramovich

Year	Manager	Matches	Winning %
2000-2004	Claudio Ranieri	199	53.76
2004-2007	Jose Mourinho	131	70.81
2007-2008	Avram Grant	54	66.67
2008-2009	Luiz Felipe Scolari	36	55.56
2009	Guus Hiddink	21	71.43
2009-2011	Carlo Ancelotti	109	61.47
2011-2012	Andre Villas-Boas	40	47.50
2012	Roberto Di Matteo	42	57.14

While the table above shows that the Italian only had a better record than three of his predecessors, he took over in totally different circumstances than any of the others. Chelsea were at their lowest point since Abramovich pumped his money into the club when Di Matteo took over, and from that he produced their all-time high.

Abramovich should not take all the blame for these sackings. After all, without his money the West Londoners would still be delighted with a top five finish each season instead of sacking managers for not cruising to league titles.

The Chelsea board have a big impact on the decisions that the Russian owner makes and without their advice, he would probably not have got through so many managers in the last eight years. There are so many supporters at the club that are crying out for the stability that has brought success to the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, and more recently, Manchester City. 

Having said that, all football fans are fickle and athe majority of Chelsea supporters would welcome Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho with open arms. However the job, at least on a short-term basis, looks destined to go to Rafael Bentitez, a man who did anything but endear himself to Chelsea supporters during his time at Liverpool.

His record has been good at every club he has managed, although he has been out of a job for over two years now and replacing Di Matteo with Benitez is not a very forward-thinking decision. It is anything but promoting stability, especially considering the age of the two men (Di Matteo 42, Benitez 52).

While Guardiola did excellently at Barcelona, he has never been at a club like Chelsea before and the players may not take to his style of play. Mourinho would clearly be a great fit but that is more Chelsea fans dreaming than an actual possibility, for now at least. 

Roman Abramovich will be sitting in his pent-house suite right now feeling good about himself and expecting an immediate climb to the summit of the Premier League, but he might find that not forthcoming. 

Chelsea have looked good this season and could still qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League. They have a massive game on Sunday at home to Manchester City and they would have had a much better chance of inflicting the champions' first defeat of the campaign if they had not made such drastic changes.

England's spinning failures cost them opening Test

Five days ago England went into the first Test match against India full of hope that they had left their problems with spin in the UAE last winter. Those hopes were crushed by a ruthless Indian side who cruised to a nine-wicket victory.

On a dry surface in Ahmedabad England's top order were skittled out as England fell to 97-7, just hours after the hosts had amassed 521-8 declared. Numbers two to seven (excluding night-watchman James Anderson) scored only 36 runs between them with Kevin Pietersen's desperate 17 the best. 

The second innings was not much better, as apart from Nick Compton's 37, the highest score between those same five players was Ian Bell's 22. 

                                                                                                   Test averages:   In UAE and India 2012    Overall

Jonathan Trott:                 22.25                      48.96

Kevin Pietersen:               10.75                      48.93

Ian Bell:                    9.13                      46.24

 Eoin Morgan:                  13.66                      30.43

         Matt Prior:                  48.17                      43.33

Alastair Cook:                 47.00                      48.71

As you can see by the table above, the majority of England's current batsmen have found life much harder on the sub-continent than they do in other places across the world. 

It is hard to pin-point why, although it could be due to a lack of quality spinners/spinning pitches in county cricket. Although this is the case in some circumstances bowlers like Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar have proven that spin-bowling is a big part of the English game. 

The Indian spinners, and the Pakistani attack last year, appear to have got themselves into the English batsmen's heads. (Just look at Ian Bell's shot in the first innings of this match for an example.) With the exceptions of Cook and Prior England's top order looked unsure of what tempo to play, especially Bell and Pietersen.

A big problem for the tourists is that they do not have any great players of spin for the others to learn from. Prior is probably the best player of the turning ball while Pietersen and Cook are both capable of scoring big runs, although that is more down to their natural batting talents rather than a specific ability against the slower bowlers. 

Cook showed great defiance, while Prior applied himself well in both innings. Pietersen played horrific shots  to get out in two uncertain spells at the crease, while Bell looked close to clueless. 

With Bell going home to attend the birth of his baby England will need to find a replacement, and that person may just be Jonny Bairstow; the young man who scored two fifties in the final Test against world number one side South Africa in the summer. 

His youthful exuberance and raw talent may be exactly what England need to bring a breath of fresh air into the batting line-up, as well as make the other batsmen feel under a bit more pressure for their places. 

England's other spinning mistake in this match was the failure to pick a second specialist spinner, which probably would have been Monty Panesar. 

The turban-wearing left-armer played very well in the Test matches last winter and also looked good in the games leading up to this series. England clearly did not need three seamers on such a slow, low surface, one on which Panesar could have thrived.

Swann bowled well and was the only bright spot of an England bowling attack that faltered in the Indian heat. Samit Patel proved that he is far from good enough to play as a second spinner with match figures of 1-120 in 36 overs, while Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad were distinctly innocuous in their combined 43 wicket-less overs. 

Andy Flower's men must bounce back in Mumbai where a loss would all but seal consecutive series defeats. 

In order to do so the top order must apply themselves better against the likes of Ashwin and Ojha, while Panesar and Swann have to prove that England have their own destructive twin spin attack. 

Can England’s young talent compete with the best in International football?

By Aaron Leggott (Twitter: @aaron_leggott) 

After mediocre displays in recent major tournaments, there has been a lot of talk surrounding the future of English football of late.

England, under the guidance of Roy Hodgson, seem to be going through a spell of transformation, but it has not stopped the critics questioning the current ability of the Three Lions.

And after Patrick Vieira’s comments at the opening of the FA’s new national football centre near Burton, it got me thinking whether England’s new crop of talent will be able to compete with the giants of world football in years to come.

For those who haven’t seen what Manchester City’s football development executive said, has the Frenchman’s words, in short, bemoaned the lack of quality coaches in this country and stated that St George’s Park was long overdue:

He said: “Finally they did something, because if you look at all the big nations, they all have their own house. It’s taken them a long time for them to realise they need a place. But it’s better late than never.”

We have seen England captain Steven Gerrard hit back at Vieira’s claims in the past few days ahead of our encounter against Poland, as the midfield maestro admits he was surprised to hear what Vieira said, but believes that the young crop are hungry to start for England.

Of course, Vieira is one of the main influences behind Man City’s new £100m academy centre, which is sure to boost the amount of quality coming through the ranks at the home of the Premier League champions.

But like Vieira stated last week, a greater connection between the FA and domestic clubs is needed if we are to reach the levels of Spain and Germany.

There seems to be hostility, of sorts, between clubs and the FA and it is a shame to see a lot of players withdrawing from the England squad, especially youngsters like Ryan Bertrand. Of course, it is always hard to put blame on one party, but the impact that money has had on the sport is possibly the worst thing to happen to International football.

The increase in ‘meaningless’ international games has meant a lot of clubs are reluctant to release their players for national duty, and the footballers themselves don’t seem to share the passion of playing for their country compared to the likes of Bobby Moore and that famous 1966 team.

Until all this changes, I cannot see any transformation in fortune for England in major tournaments. Being one of the top 10 nations in the world will undoubtedly mean we will make it to the knockout stages of major finals, but realistically, we are miles away from competing with the Spain’s of this world. 

The current England squad selected for the qualifiers against San Marino and Poland have seen young talent get a chance. Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley, Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain and Jonjo Shelvey are just some of the names who featured against San Marino, with Manchester United’s Welbeck and Cleverley putting in equally impressive performances.

However, bearing in mind we were playing the joint worst nation in world football, it is hard to judge them on such performances. The real test came today, as Hodgson's men traveled to Warsaw just months after Euro 2012 to play a Polish side with a wealth of ability at their disposal.

The Borussia Dortmund duo of Robert Lewandowski and Łukasz Piszczek were out to get revenge on Joe Hart after his outstanding performance for Man City just weeks ago in the Champions League and proved a thorn in our side all match. A point was not a disaster, but it was a slightly disappointing performance.

However, if we hope to reach World and Euro Cup finals in the future, these are must win games, although it was a breath of fresh air to see some young talent getting a chance against a much tougher opposition. 

England Easily Brush Aside Minnows San Marino

By Joseph Chapman: https://twitter.com/jcwba16 http://www.ftbpro.com/joseph.chapman

England barely got out of first gear as they comfortably swept aside helpless San Marino 5-0 on a night where Wayne Rooney celebrated receiving the captaincy by notching a brace.

England went into the game as ultra favourites, the minnows losing their last 22 away games and only ever winning 1 game in their history- 1-0 against Lichtenstein.

It was a well known fact that the population of San Marino, a micro-state in Italy, would comfortably fit inside a stadium such as White Hart Lane or Goodison Park.

Immediately the away side were forced back, England dominating possession. Oxlade-Chamberlain tested the keeper early his shot from distance tipped over. 

Walcott was soon clattered into by the opposing keeper, a short period of injury time followed. Initially the Arsenal winger looked set to continue, but Aaron Lennon was soon called upon as a replacement.

Tom Cleverley was played through on goal, but the keeper collected, as England looked to make their dominance count. 

A free header for Rooney from a Baines corner was screwed wide as San Marino constantly had at least nine men behind the ball, striker Rinaldi completely isolated in the hosts’ half.

Despite the ease in which possession was retained and regained, England were slack, giving the ball away a number of times. Lennon looked busy on his return to the international fold and the irregular full back pairing of Baines and Walker looked impressive but Welbeck and Rooney were not connecting.

San Marino had one professional player amongst their ranks, goalkeeper Simoncini playing at a level in Italy the equivalent of League 2 in England. The tiny isle had participated in 114 games in their history. They had scored 19 and conceded 473. Defeats to Holland and Germany in recent years had ended in double figures- it was surely only a matter of time. 

England were, however, genuinely struggling to break their opponents down, Chamberlain having another dig from the edge of the area which Simoncini parried.

There was an air of desperation as the half hour mark approached, still goalless. The fans, turning out in their tens of thousands expecting to see a one-sided goal-fest, were becoming fidgety. Their side had resorted to shooting from distance but each time bodies were thrown in the way. Rooney again headed wide after an excellent Lennon delivery from the right.

Territorially the play took place in and around the edge of the San Marino area, but the home side were getting closer. Carrick shot from 25 yards and hit the bar, while Welbeck inexplicably grazed the post with the rebound from close range. 

England FINALLY took the lead on 35- from the penalty spot. Rooney smashed the ball beyond the keeper as he concedes the pen himself. Bringing down Welbeck, Simoncini received a yellow and now it was a case of how many. 

Welbeck made it two moments later. Lennon once again causing problems pulled the ball back and Welbeck flicked the ball home from a matter of yards out. The floodgates had opened.

Simoncini prevented the third as Rooney curled one on target from the adge of the area, but a smart save forced yet another corner.

Despite England’s dominance and lead, there was the sense of an underwhelming atmosphere at Wembley, consensus among fans being that England were going to be 5 up at half time. Mexican waves were taking place during the first half, reflecting fans’ general attitude towards the performance. 

England started the second half pretty much how they ended the match before the break- completely in control. Yet the tension remained around the home of football, that England were not absolutely demolishing their part-time opponents. 

There was a chance for Gary Cahill- returning to the heart of defence at the expense of Joleon Lescott- which was put wide and Carrick again tested the keeper, but initially England were not able to add to their tally.

These waves of pressure from the Lions continued until Rooney added his name to the score sheet for a second time with a fantastic curling shot which was bent beyond the keeper’s stretching arm. Welbeck also completed a brace of his own when Tom Cleverley delivered a grounded ball and the Manchester United forward had the simple task of turning the ball into the corner of the net.

Andy Carroll and Jonjo Shelvey were introduced in the later stages, but it was Oxlade-Chamberlain who rounded off the night’s work with a goal of his own, finally beating Simoncini with a calm finish.

England now move top of the group ahead of the trip to Poland on Tuesday, with undoubtedly the easiest three points they are likely to earn this campaign.

England Should Score Plenty Against Whipping Boys San Marino

Almost 19 years ago England played footballing minnows San Marino for the second time in their history. Needing to win by seven goals to have any chance of qualifying for the USA World Cup in 1994 Stuart Pearce under-hit a back-pass in the ninth second of the match and Davide Gualtieri nipped in to put his name into footballing folklore. His goal, scored after 8.3 seconds, remains the fastest ever goal in World Cup football.

Tonight the two nations meet again, this time nearer the beginning of a World Cup qualifying campaign. The last time they met at Wembley David Platt scored four in a comfortable 6-0 win for England. 

Not much has actually changed since that day in 1993; England still struggle in matches that they should win and haven't won a trophy while San Marino remain the whipping boys of European Championship and World Cup qualification. 

In 2006 Germany travelled to the micro-state's home stadium, the Stadio Olimpico, and broke the European international record for the biggest winning margin. The visitors won 13-0, with Lukas Podolski netting four times. 

Both times England have faced the 'David' of international football one of their players has scored four. Platt scored four in the home fixture in 1993 and Ian Wright did the same in the 7-1 win that confirmed that Graham Taylor's men would not be going to America. 

Tonight Wayne Rooney will skipper England in the absence of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, through injury and suspension respectively. A home win is almost guaranteed, with bookies giving odds on an England victory at around 1/200 and a San Marino win priced at 80/1.

Roy Hodgson is expected to tinker with his starting eleven a little bit, and news has already filtered through that Everton left-back Leighton Baines will start ahead of Ashley Cole. Cole escaped an England ban after apologising to FA chairman David Bernstein for using an expletive on social networking site Twitter that was directed at the governing body.

Baines has been on excellent form so far this season as Everton have made a flying start, sitting pretty in fourth place in the Premier League table. 

20-year-old Liverpool centre-midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has been called up to the senior squad after an impressive start to the season, although it is likely that he will not feature in the oncoming matches. 

Roy Hodgson's men will be expected to win by a bare minimum of five goals against a country whose population is only 32,404, just over a third of the size of Wembley. They showed no signs of improvement in their 6-0 defeat at home to Montenegro in their first qualification match and have scored just 19 goals in their 114-game history, conceding 473.  

England Keep World T20 Hopes Alive With Comfortable Win Over New Zealand

England produced a much-improved performance to keep their World T20 title defence alive with a comfortable six wicket win over New Zealand. Set 149 to win from their 20 overs they cruised home with seven balls to spare, Luke Wright smashing 76 from just 43 balls.

England looked a vastly superior side to the one that was out-played by the West Indies on Thursday with all sections of their game functioning at it's top level. The bowling and fielding performance was unrecognisable from the one that saw Gayle and Charles take them apart, Steven Finn the star performer with magnificent figures of 3-16 from his four overs. 

It was Finn who made the early inroads that immediately put the Black Caps on the back foot as he claimed the big scalps of Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum to leave them 20-2. Guptill was trapped in front plumb L.B.W for just five, before McCullum fell after being caught by Wright for only 10. 

Kane Williamson (17) and Ross Taylor (22) gradually brought the Kiwis back into the game, but the run-rate was painfully slow before James Franklin hammered 50 off just 33 balls to drag them back into the match and set a challenging total of 148-6. 

England started slowly as Craig Kieswetter once again struggled to find his timing and was eventually bowled by Daniel Vettori for four from 14 balls. Alex Hales batted fluently for his 22 but it was Luke Wright who did  most of the damage as he hit five huge sixes in his destructive innings of 76. Eoin Morgan played a typically mature innings alongside him as they put on 89 for the third wicket to bring England within 22 runs of victory.

Morgan fell to a stunning catch by Doug Bracewell before Luke Wright's knock came to an end when he skied a ball from the fast bowler and was caught by Ross Taylor. However by then the result was not in doubt and when Yorkshire batsman Jonny Bairstow pulled his first ball for four England needed just three runs from nine balls. 

Stuart Broad and coach Andy Flower will be very pleased with their team's efforts today, but will know that nothing other than a win will do in their final group game against Sri Lanka if they are to hold any hope of defending their world title. Broad echoed these thoughts when he said: "It was really important for us to get a win, Steven Finn set the tone with the new ball and then Luke Wright and Eoin Morgan batted beautifully. We've got a big game on Monday, we've still got areas to improve and we'll take the positives."