Can you pick a better England team from those playing every week?

I've been looking at the next England squad for the upcoming internationals in October and there are more and more problems mounting for Roy Hodgson in his future selections. Only ten to fifteen years ago Sven Goran Eriksson would see a player playing for a Champions League team as the main criteria for being selected for the team, if not the squad.

We haven't got a great record in this year's Champions League as it is, especially after last night's poor showing by both Arsenal and Chelsea, but even ignoring that fact we have a very small pool of players that are starters for Champions League teams. For that matter we have very few players that are starters for Premier League team at the moment.

Below are the players that could be possibly considered as England internationals that actually started for their clubs in the last round of Premier League fixtures-

Manchester United
Chris Smalling
Michael Carrick
Wayne Rooney

Manchester City
Raheem Sterling

Tottenham Hotspur
Kyle Walker
Eric Dier
Harry Kane

West Ham United
Carl Jenkinson
James Tomkins
Aaron Cresswell

Arsenal
Theo Walcott

Leicester City
Jamie Vardy

Everton
Phil Jagielka
Ross Barkley

West Bromwich Albion
Saido Berahino

Crystal Palace
Scott Dann

Liverpool
Nathaniel Clyne
James Milner
Daniel Sturridge

Aston Villa
Scott Sinclair
Jack Grealish

Southanpton
Ryan Bertrand
James Ward-Prowse

Swansea City
Jonjo Shelvey

Chelsea
Gary Cahill

Newcastle United
Jack Colback

Stoke City
Jack Butland

Now, of course this is a snapshot and it ignores players such as Joe Hart (slight injury worry) and the likes of Phil Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keiran Gibbs that suffer with rotation at their clubs.

I'd like to think that being first choice for your team is a pre-requisite for selection for the national team, and based on that criteria here is my England team for the next internationals, whilst looking to the future.

Jack Butland
Nathaniel Clyne
Gary Cahill
Scott Dann
Aaron Cresswell
James Milner
James Ward-Prowse
Jonjo Shelvey
Raheem Sterling
Jamie Vardy
Harry Kane

I know that there's a lot of attacking intent in this team, and I'd look to a 4-3-3 formation with Vardy and Sterling working back along the wings to provide cover for the midfield three of Shelvey, Milner and Ward-Prowse. I think that we need to get over the early hurdles at European Championships and World Cups and this consistent failure is because of a few reasons-

Too little competition then too much competition
We have gone through many qualifying competitions where we've had no real opposition to stretch us and make us think about how we approach games and play the game. WE then go from this straight into a competition where we play good teams and fail. The FA has tried to deal with this for the upcoming European Championships by setting up friendlies against Spain and France and reports of friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands. I think that's all we can do as a nation to prepare. But we need to take the friendlies seriously and out out our best team, play competitively and try to win.

Not enough preparation time
This is a problem that's brought about by the popularity of the game and the money-making activities of the Premier League and the Premier League clubs. Chasing the dollar by having post-season tours, pre-season tours and friendlies does damage the quality of the product by increasing the quantity. This is going to have to be part of a root-and-branch review of the game at the top level and something will have to give - either the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Europa League, dropping the number of teams in the Premier League or limiting the off-season activity of clubs. I can't see any of these things happening.

Picking players that play
This is the idea from the list above. I have looked at players that play football for their clubs week-in, week-out as potential representatives of their country. There are 27 players in my list above and they would make a reasonable international squad. More importantly they would make a squad of players that are playing football at the top level in the country and you can filter the 27 down to the 11 with the best form to move the country forwards. I always liken the situation to the way Greece won the European Championships in 2004 with a team of "nobodies." But they were a team that worked hard together, knew their game plan and won by playing to their strengths.

We can do this with the work-rate of Vardy, the speed of Sterling, the goals of Kane and the possession of the midfield 3. If Greece did it, then why can't we?

So your child wants to be a footballer? Feed that passion.

In off the post tries to look at all aspects surrounding football and one overriding reason for me to write my blog is the massive interest that my own children have in the game. I wrote the following with them in mind-

So your child wants to be a footballer?

They think about it all day long. They want to be the next Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. They ask for football stuff for every birthday and for every Christmas. They play football games on their games console all the time and they want to be better at it than all their friends. They look at football cards and study the rating of all their favourite players. Their every wish is the latest pair of football boots that they hope to eventually get for free when they sign a contract with Adidas or Nike. They want to play in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga. They've read the stories of the best players and seen how they've worked their way up from their local teams to play for the best teams in the world.

All they can think about when they are in the classroom, in the playground and at home is playing football. When every part of their existence is geared towards football and all things football, it can sometimes be difficult to think outside the box (no pun intended) when looking for presents. Ideas beyond the standard football short, footballs and football boots can be hard to come by and often lack imagination.

So where do you turn?

The best presents in this area are hand-made, personalised and unique. Adding to the magic of Christmas for all the family are these Personalized Christmas Stockings from The Busy Elf Workshop-

How about starting a new family tradition this year? It’s the traditional things about Christmas that you remember as a child and these family traditions and rituals are what make Christmas. It’s what you pass down to your children and hey pass down to their children. If your children just love football, then a football-themes stocking will add to the magic of the season. Every stocking is customized to look like each member of your family and to showcase their interest in football.

They’re not just available for the football lovers in your family – the stockings are personalized and customized.  Whatever the interests send them in and The Busy Elves will do the rest. Love to bowl? cook? play music? hike in the woods? It’s a one-of-a-kind Christmas stocking treasure about each of you— to keep for years to come. 

Each stocking is personalized in the following way-

•      Name to appear on the toe
•     Gender and general age (boy/girl, teenager, man/woman, mature woman/man)
•      Hair Characteristics (color, texture, any facial hair)
•      Clothing Suggestions (please include colors)
•      Hobbies/Interests/Profession

Imagine the smile on the faces of your little ones when they are preparing for the arrival of Father Christmas and get out their own stocking that’s been designed and made uniquely for them. Check these great stockings out at-

https://www.etsy.com/listing/247211206/personalized-christmas-stocking-custom?ref=shop_home_active_3

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBusyElfWorkshop?ref=hdr_shop_menu

This is the season that has seen attacking intent paying dividends - I'm sure it will continue

A topsy-turvy Premier League season has taken another turn today, and it's not even reached the 3 o'clock kick-off time on a Saturday as I write this. The fact that Spurs have just beaten Manchester City 4-1 means that Manchester United can (and probably will) go top of the league today with a win over a very poor Sunderland team. If Manchester United trip up at home then either West Ham or Leicester City could take over at the top of the table with a big enough win.

I know it's early days and you could look back at several past seasons to see an unexpected team near to the top or the bottom of the league, but this feels different. Aside from the shocking starts of Sunderland, Stoke City and Newcastle and probably Aston Villa, it seems that teams are capable of beating each other far more than ever before. Chelsea currently only have the four teams I've already mentioned below them and Manchester City have lost to West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur in successive games.

But it's the more attacking style of the lower and middle teams rather than any failings of the big teams that is making the difference this season. West Ham have gone to Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City and played without fear - coming away with three wins from three. Leicester City have found that the best way to get themselves out of a hole is to attack and try to score more goals than the opposition - coming back from 2 goals down against Villa to win and scoring four on the opening day against Sunderland are two such examples.

Swansea, Everton, Crystal Palace and Watford have all already shown much attacking intent and (so far) have shown no ideas about parking the bus, as so many average teams have done in the past.

So, this comes to my predictions of how the season will go, in terms of the top and the bottom-

Champions League places
Manchester City
Manchester United
Chelsea
Arsenal

The next group
Spurs
West Ham
Swansea
Leicester City

Not good enough
Liverpool
Crystal Palace
Everton
Stoke City

Survival
Watford
Bournemouth
Norwich City

Relegation
Newcastle United
Aston Villa
Sunderland

I think that this is the season that attacking play will win over defensive play and that the perceived gulf between Premier League clubs and Championship clubs disappears. It's when three big clubs, in Newcastle, Sunderland and Villa, drop out of the top flight. Years of clinging on by their fingertips, a lack of serious investment, a failure to make their academies work and chronic mismanagement will catch up in the end. I predict that this is the year it happens.

Are Sunderland sliding down that slope again?

Fail, sack, hire, survive, repeat.

Is this the cycle that Sunderland have got themselves into with managers? It seems that way.

Since Ellis Short disposed of Martin O'Neill, we've followed that exact pattern every season and survived. The problem is that every time we survive, we're giving more weight to the theory that it's a strategy that works. From O'Neill to Paolo Di Canio, then to Gus Poyet and now in to Dick Advocaat. The club must look mad from the outside.

I looked upon Chelsea as a similar madhouse when Roman Abramovich took over and seemed to sack a manager every 12 to 18 months but they've been right up there with the most successful clubs in the country for over ten years now.

I'd say that in the same way Chelsea as a club view a trophy every season as their measure of success, Sunderland as a club view survival in the Premier League as their absolute measure of success.

So, have Sunderland been successful over the last 5 years? In their own strange way - yes!

Looking back from here at the Di Canio and Poyet reigns there were massive highs and painful lows but we survived, we constantly beat Newcastle home and away and we had that cup run and the day out at Wembley (but I haven't forgotten the 8-0 at Southampton nor the transfer failures of Di Fanti.) And I hope that I can look back upon the reign of Dick Advocaat with the same fondness. With the highs (none so far this season) the lows (already Norwich and Bournemouth stand out) and that we survive.

It gets me thinking about what constitutes success for all but the top handful of clubs. We will never be a Champions League team, we will probably never get a better shot at cup success for a long time so surviving in the league and the annual home and away double over our nearest rivals is all we have to get excited about, collectively as a club. In separation, the fans want exciting football, thrilling matches and the club to show they care every now and again; the club (the owner) wants to make more money than last year, to stay in the league and continue the TV deal.

Mike Ashley, up the road, wants to keep the income rolling in - a Premier League club that passes the survival test and makes a profit every year - is that the level of success that we should aspire to?

What's the best food to go with football?

When you sit down to watch the big match, whether with friends or family, one question always comes up – what’s the best food to eat with football? Lager has long established itself as the drink to go with football - no matter how much Coca-Cola spend on trying to change that image! The debate on the perfect food to accompany the football has been more varied and has seen pretenders such as pizza and the burger chain that won’t be named trying to gain top spot. But there is a new contender who mixes heat with flavour to make the ideal football food for any football fan.

Mannys Sauces come in a great range of flavours from the genuine, original and unique Piri-Piri to the Chicken Marinade – available as Hot Chicken Marinade as well. In fact, the Piri Piri and the marinades are considered to be within the best sauces on the planet. The excitement of a football match needs food that excites the tastebuds and that’s where Manny’s Sauces comes in. There are 9 different sauces to choose from and each is packed with flavour, free from the top 14 allergens and suitable for vegetarians and vegans - ‘THE SAUCIEST ROAD TO DIVINE GOODNESS’ as Manny would say!

The variety of sauces and the recipe ideas contained on the leaflet and the website mean that you can have a different meal for every match of the season from the delicious Mannys Sauces range. Think about matching the spice of the Manchester derby with spice of the Hot Chicken Marinade, the refinement of the rich London clubs Chelsea and Arsenal and matching them with the Tomato Fusion or consider the classic Piri-Piri sauce with the classic Premier League encounter of Aston Villa v West Brom – both founder members of the Football League in 1888.

I’ve looked before in my blog about the balance between the traditional side of the game and how the new game fits in with those traditions. Going back to the games of my youth, I’d go to the match and have a pie and Bovril at half-time. The game has moved on beyond the point where Roy Keane complained about prawn sandwiches. Savvy football consumers are also savvy food consumers and they want something that is tasty, made with authentic ingredients and often with a bit of a kick. Mannys Sauces do all of these things and more. They have been making the best sauces since 1985, and that’s even longer than Arsene Wenger has been in charge of Arsenal!

Don’t have time to cook? Well, why not try Mannys Sauces range of continental meat lines that would go perfectly with the football as these are great for snacks, tapas and sandwiches etc. These are more great products and you can currently choose from Portuguese-Style Chorizo, Chicken Chorizo, Paio, Presunto or Pork Belly. These make a perfect plate if you don’t have as much time, or if you want something lighter.

The football betting industry has taken off in recent years, thanks to developments such as in-play betting and the use of mobile devices. I can see football food taking off in a similar way with Mannys Sauces at the top of the league! This journey to the top will be driven by Manny’s passion. Let’s take a look at his story – as told by Manny himself-

“As any other person in the world, I had a huge dream - to open the first Piri-Piri Chicken Restaurant in the world, and then spread this dream to every corner of the planet. It wouldn’t be easy to achieve, but neither was it impossible. I had the will, the courage, the faith and family support to make it come true. Early in 1985, I sold my home to open the first piri-piri chicken restaurant outside of Mozambique. CHICKENLAND was the chosen name and Johannesburg, South Africa was the birth place of my dream! After a short while, I was making, bottling and selling a range of 5 different Piri-Piri Sauces and Marinades. After a slow start, the business was a stunning success! The name quickly spread across the city and everyone was talking about this new food place that was taking the food industry by storm.

The business success was proven! The next step was expansion to other parts of the city, country and abroad, and many people tried to get financially involved. Expansion included a need for capital and people, and so in 1987, I sold some of my business shares to two young men: one of Portuguese origin and the other, a South African of Jewish origin. Shortly after they joined, the business name was changed to NANDOS. Chickenland was a nice name, but according to marketing experts at the time, it was felt that the business should be backed by a personal name before the expansion took place. BetweenMANNYS and NANDOS, I was out-voted two to one, and the latter name was chosen. Despite a few initial problems, the expansion started taking off and now more than ever, the success was tremendous!

A few years later, the rug was pulled out from under my feet and I was forced to leave my business. I lost my dream; one of the best things in my life after my family. After this happened, I opened a few other restaurants including Chickenland in Portugal, but these weren’t my dream. It was a way to make a living, but it wasn’t my passion. It took me a long time to recover from what happened, but I was determined and pushed through until another dream emerged; to make the best sauces and speciality food products in the world! MANNYS SAUCES is now my new dream! Once again I can see this new dream taking shape and growing strong all the way to the TOP! The passion is back and I again have the will, the faith, the support of my family, and the support of so many loyal customers that know and appreciate the high quality products that we make. I am forever grateful to my family and my customers for their support and the divine forces for showing me the way.

Manny x”

I don’t think that there is anyone out there that isn’t inspired by Manny’s story and now desperate to try one (or all) of these amazing sauces. So, I hear you ask, how can I get my hands on Mannys Sauces? Well, there are a few ways of going about this. It’s available directly from Mannys Sauces at http://mannyssauces.com 

Or from Amazon -



Follow Mannys Sauces -

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Mannyssauces
Twitter - https://twitter.com/MannysSauces
You Tube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gSO1jGftyM&feature=youtu.be

Fantasy FC...Merse meets Gazza

I'm just watching the above programme on Sky Sports 3 and I must say it's an absolute pleasure to watch. I used to go to Spurs home games in my youth as the nearest top flight team to my home in Essex. It started with Glenn Hoddle, Chris Waddle, Gary Lineker and Gazza. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these iconic players and feel privileged to have seen Gazza play before his injuries and other problems.

The programme has got me wondering about which players from the current Premier League I will look back at with similar fondness in 10 or 15 years time. Over the last few seasons at the Stadium of Light I've seen the following players-

• Sergio Aguero
• Vincent Kompany
• Yaya Toure
• Eden Hazard
• Cesc Fabregas
• Didier Drogba
• Fernando Torres
• Wayne Rooney
• Robin van Persie
• Gareth Bale

Of these, I think that Eden Hazard and Sergio Aguero are the two that I came away from the stadium and raved about. in both the games I saw them play they were electric. I think I watched the individual players more than I watched the match.

Eden Hazard took the game by the scruff of the neck as his teammates didn't step up to the plate. The final score was Sunderland 3 - Chelsea 4 and every time Sunderland threatened to get back into the match, he was there providing another assist by going on a solo run and destroying the entire Sunderland back line.

The match where I saw Aguero play was another occasion Sunderland concede four, but with only a single Connor Whickam goal in reply. Aguero looked absolutely bored with the game. He looked around the stands, eyed the bench, watched others play and run until he saw an opportunity to score. Then he came alive. He scored two great goals and inspired an insipid City to walk over Sunderland.

Who am I looking forward to seeing?

I can't think of too many players in the current Premier League season that I'm desperate to see, with the obvious exception of Aguero and Hazard again. I think that I'm excited about seeing Memphis Depay for the player he could eventually become. The one player that I've missed and really want to be able to see is Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal. I think he is a phenomenal player and works so hard at his game.

I think that the Premier League is missing the top, top stars of other leagues. For me, the biggest draws in world football are playing in Spain and for Bayern Munich or PSG. The lifestyle in Spain and the obvious attraction of playing for one of the El Clasico teams or the money from PSG make it difficult for the English clubs to compete, as their showing in the last couple of Champions League seasons shows.

The future for protected international fixture dates

This is a short blog post today, after the International break to look at what the break does for players of the top clubs as they return. The new Euro qualifiers have changed somewhat, and the games are now spread over several days - I suspect to make the most of the television opportunities. And it wasn't until I watched some of the Wales v Israel game that I thought about the impact it has on the players and their clubs. The commentator stated that Wales had the worst of it, because they played away on the first day of games, so had little time to prepare their players and then played again soon after - this time at home. Now. I'm not one of these people that thinks that players should just play and not complain. I've seen and heard people argue that when players are paid so much, they should just get on with it. I, however, think that when a club pays millions upon millions for a player, they want them to perform to their best. And this involves having them rested at certain points, and playing every 3 or 4 days at other points of the season. And there is always (in this modern world) the business side of things to consider. The players are seen as assets, appearing on the balance sheets and many players are discarded for a fee in the last year of their contract, rather than let it run down and they go for free.

So, where does that leave international teams, international fixtures and the fans of the national teams? I'd consider myself a mild England fan. I've not been to an England match for years, I don't watch England friendlies on TV. I don't hold out much hope for us as we enter the big tournaments. But I'd dearly miss the national team if they disappeared. The nuances of players having loyalties to clubs and countries is a major part of the modern game. Sir Alex Ferguson's "rotation" system where he would only let a certain proportion of his squad go on international duty at the same time epitomises the feeling a that clubs have towards national sides. The World Cup is still the pinnacle of the game and stands above the Champions League. But the gap between them is getting smaller every year (or every four years.)

As a club manager, having your players potentially returning from international duty in different days, and in different states of fitness must be a major headache. Players travelling back from the four corners of the earth having played only 24 or 48 hours before can disrupt the best laid plans. Add in the knocks and injuries that players pick up and you have to assess your whole squad in no time at all to establish your best eleven for the next match.

But football is relentless - as is the demand from the broadcasters. I've read somewhere that when the draw was made and the teams were sorted into groups, that the groups with seven teams in were protected so that they had to contain the big nations - Germany, Spain and England. And this was so they didn't end up in the smaller groups, playing less games, having less games on television.

I can't reconcile this in my mind. The big clubs pay huge transfer fees and cashes for the best players and then lose their services for many weeks of the year. The players will want to finish their career with as many World Cups under their belts as possible. The national teams want their best players representing them at the peak of their fitness.