No Defence For Poor England

England's dreams of lifting the World Cup in South Africa 2010 have come to an end, as they were crushed 4-1 by Germany this afternoon in the round of 16 knockout stage. In what has been a terrible tournament for Fabio Capello's men, England's "golden generation" limp out of another major international competition. And we thought it couldn't get any worse than failing to qualify for Euro 2008...

I am not blaming Capello for the mess that is the England football team, not entirely. Sure he is stuck in his ways and seems reluctant to alter anything, but you can see on his face how passionate he is about his job; the guy is a winner, as his CV will show you. I honestly don't think he could have gotten any more out of the players than he did, but I do have issues with his squad selection and substitution choices. For a manager who constantly reiterated that he would only take players who were fit and on form, what on earth was he doing selecting King, Heskey, Carragher and Upson? The prime example of Fabio's failure here is Darren Bent, who had a very good season at Sunderland and was in the form of his life in the run up to this World Cup. Bent has 25 goals in all competitions this season, in 40 appearances for the Mackems. Yet poor Darren is left out of the final 23 man squad and Emile Heskey is taken instead. Now I have to give credit where it is due, and Heskey had a fine first half against the USA in the first game - but that was it. When Emile Heskey, the striker who doesn't score, is chosen over real centre forwards like Darren Bent, then you know England have problems. Fabio's odd decision to take off Defoe this afternoon in exchange for Heskey most likely bewildered every Englishman in the world. I don't understand Capello's thought process just after Germany broke away and scored a very simple but crucial third goal, why not bring Crouch on instead, who typically plays well for England and who does his job - scores goals - unlike Heskey.

I know most of the press and many fans will focus on Lampard's goal that was but wasn't. However this view completely ignores England's fundamental problem that they simply were not good enough. Germany were technically superior in every way, and their football is actually fun to watch, and effective too. When was the last time you said you had "fun" watching England? If Lampard's goal had been given, the game would definitely have swung in England's favour. At 2-2 the Three Lions would no doubt have carried that momentum on and pushed Germany right to the edge. Even when they got over the fact the goal wouldn't stand, England still bossed the last few minutes of the first half and looked very dangerous in attack. So it is easy to blame the linesmen for England's defeat, and there is no doubt tonnes of Facebook and Twitter updates have cried out WE WUZ ROBBED! But the reality is that Germany were better, a lot better, and probably would still have won even if the score was 2-2 at the beginning of the second half. England's poor defence would have ensured that. Johnson, Terry, Upson and Cole were torn to shreds by Germany's blitzkrieg attack, as Ozil, Schweinsteiger, Podolski and co had their way with England. I know Terry is good in the air, and gets his fair share of goals from set-pieces, but to leave just Ashley Cole in defence was suicidal, and the Germans made us pay dearly, as Bayern's wonderkid Thomas Muller put the game to bed with a brace with twenty minutes to go.

I didn't want to spend too long talking about this horror show of a game, so I'll leave it there. But rest assured England have a lot of work to do and I think it all starts at the lowest foundations of the English game: we simply do not produce the technically gifted players our opponents do. We have no playmakers like Xavi, Iniesta, Forlan, Ozil, Schweinsteiger, Kaka and Messi. Don't even get me started on the enigma that is Wayne Rooney. I already wasted far too much time on him in my last post. Argentina play Mexico tonight in which is surely going to be an entertaining game, so I'll continue enjoying the World Cup and start to forget dismal England. Be honest, you knew they wouldn't go far, so there's little surprise to see them exit so early. They'll be no tears from me this year, not for England's under-performers.

Thanks for reading.

English Football... Pure Shit!

Well Fabio Capello's men have just completed their second game of this World Cup campaign and lets just say it hasn't exactly been a bundle of laughs. The 1-1 draw last Saturday against the USA was disappointing, but not a complete waste of time. We all knew America were going to be no pushovers, and despite Rob Green's nightmare moment, the game wasn't too bad. However, after tonight's depressing match against Algeria, I am downright annoyed and only French football fans could possibly feel any worse. Oh, and not forgetting the England fans that are actually in South Africa, having paid hundreds of pounds to watch that crap.

Tonight was the chance for England to make a statement of intent to the rest of the competition; to show the world that we are legitimate contenders. Algeria came into the game in pretty poor form, having lost 5 of their last 6 games and only scoring 1 goal, which was a penalty, so nobody expected them to give England much trouble. But Algeria obviously didn't get the memo as they ran rings around England throughout most of the first 45 minutes. The Algerians were dangerous, they looked creative and had pace and flair in abundance. Obviously their lack of skill and talent showed, as they consistently made mistakes over the course of the game, but at least they were trying to get the ball down and attack. England had nothing, absolutely nothing. Apart from a 5-10 minute spell towards the end of the first half, where we managed to fashion a few decent chances, England were toothless in attack and couldn't keep hold of the ball at all. The second half wasn't much better, it was in fact arguably a lot worse! As the England team made their way onto the pitch after half time, you knew Capello had given them a roasting in the locker room; they had to play much better, but of course they did not.

Throughout the second half it looked more and more likely that the game would end in a draw, or worse, Algeria would steal a goal on the break or from a set-piece. England kept giving the ball away, were slow in their build up, and the Algerian pressure disrupted any decent moves the English side could create. To be fair the referee did not help matters, as he constantly disrupted the flow of play with his need to blow the whistle for the smallest of fouls. However England can have no excuses at all. They were terrible tonight and deserved to be booed off at the final whistle.

Gerrard looked very poor in midfield, a shadow of the player he was against the USA where he looked sharp and similar to how he plays for Liverpool. Lampard was equally ineffective, and never really looked a threat, even when he had a chance to score towards the end of the first half. Gareth Barry was alright, if not a bit rusty which was to be expected really considering the time he's missed. Aaron Lennon was useless, as was SWP, both of the wingers never receiving much of the ball and normally fell over when they did. Terry was shaky all night and nearly gifted Algeria a goal with a shocking back-pass to David James (who was easily the best England player on the pitch - not that he had much to do!). Heskey didn't enjoy the success he experienced against the USA, and was his usual mediocre self which most fans expect when they see "Emile Heskey" on the team sheet. I still don't understand why he was even taken to South Africa, especially when Capello said he chooses players based on their form. Darren Bent (who I'm not really a fan of) would have been the natural choice in this case, having had a great season with Sunderland, yet Capello leaves him out of the squad and takes Heskey instead. Which leads me onto Wayne Rooney...

Now being an Arsenal fan, I am no admirer of young Wayne. In fact, most of the year I despise the hairy scouse Shrek lookalike. However, after the season he has just had for United, where he was simply unstoppable, I begrudgingly accepted that Rooney had finally realised his potential and become the best striker in the world not named Messi. Naturally, England's hopes of winning the World Cup pretty much rested on his shoulders, and he finally looked the player to lead us to victory, as surely he would tear apart the meagre defences of Algeria, Slovenia and the United States. But this has not been the case. Not even close. Against the USA, Wayne was quiet and ineffectual, never getting into the game and was left out of most of England's promising moves. Tonight he was downright awful, probably one of the worst performances in an England shirt I have ever had the displeasure to witness. Rooney struggled to control the ball for the entire match and constantly made the wrong move and decision when he actually could get it under his control. He looked uninspired, miserable, and never even close to threatening the Algerian defence, who coped with him throughout the 90 minutes with alarming ease. Apparently when he left the pitch, reporters heard him say it was "nice to see your own fans booing you". Well you didn't really give them anything to cheer for did you Wayne?

So Slovenia are our next opponents, who looked very good today against the the USA, and really should have won that game, before the US made a terrific comeback. After tonight's letdown Capello has a lot of work to do, and some hard decisions to make ahead of the must win game on Wednesday. In my opinion its about time he used Joe Cole, as there was really no point in taking him and giving him the number 11 shirt if Capello has no intention of playing him. I think a more attacking team needs to be chosen for the Slovenia match, and after his shocker tonight I would even consider dropping Rooney in favour of a Crouch and Defoe partnership up front, who have played together at club level for some time now, at Portsmouth and Spurs.

Whatever Capello decides, England fans expect a lot better than what we received tonight and we must salvage something from what has been a pretty dour tournament so far. I'll be watching on Wednesday, hoping for a win of course. If we lose, well I might consider moving to Slovenia and supporting a proper football team. We'll just have to wait until then...

Thanks for reading.

"Smooth"

No, not that guitarist Carlos Santana and his 1999 number 1 US hit. This is much more important...

The messiah is finally here. Carlos Santana made his much anticipated debut for the Indians last night in a 7-2 victory over the Washington Nationals. With Santana's arrival, Cleveland fans are hoping the highly rated prospect can usher in a new era of Indians baseball, one of success and triumph.

As most fans already know, the Indians acquired Santana from the Dodgers in the trade for Casey Blake in July 2008 - obviously one of the better deals Mark Shapiro has executed in his time. Since then Carlos has set fire to the minor leagues and quickly became the most talented prospect in the majors (forgetting Strasburg and Heyward). He had a fantastic season with Akron in 2009 and so far in AAA Colombus this year he was batting a .316 average with 13 HRs and 51 RBIs, along with 45 walks and even 6 stolen bases (for a catcher too!). There is no doubting the power and quality of his bat, but many in the media felt Santana was not called up sooner because the Indians felt he needed more time to develop his defensive tools, particularly throwing out potential base runners.

Well it was only a matter of time before Santana got the call, and he acted quickly to put any doubts to rest about his ability to throw out would-be base stealers. The Nationals tested Santana in the very first inning after the speedy Nyjer Morgan had reached base on a single off of Westbrook. Morgan got a good jump but Santana was quick to his feet and made a close play to get him out, a play which proved to be very important as Westbrook was struggling early on and really needed the help to get out of that inning without too much damage done. As for Santana's offensive performance in his debut, he didn't have a great night but nobody can expect the guy to produce the goods straight away; gotta give him a few days to get used to his job as a major league player. Manny Acta surprised most fans by opting to place Carlos in the heart of the lineup right away, instead of putting him towards the bottom of the order as many expected. Unfortunately he couldn't record his first hit, but he did reach base and get across the plate for his first run, and managed to record his first walk later on as well.

It is unlikely Santana will play again tonight against the Nationals, as Carmona prefers to have Mike Redmond as his personal catcher, so we're set to see Strasburg vs Santana on Sunday, the battle of the prospects. I'm sure Santana will continue to develop well this year - I also have him in my fantasy team so I too have promoted him into my lineup and hope he'll quickly start producing the goods if I am to maintain my challenge for the title. With Santana finally arriving in Cleveland, hopefully this puts an end to the pain many fans still feel towards the loss of Victor Martinez last year. We now have a new number 41 to cheer for.

Thanks for reading.

Oh yeah, England play the USA tonight in the World Cup (like you didn't know that anyway). So apologies to any of my readers from across the pond, but COME ON ENGLAND!

In Praise Of Mitch Talbot

Mitch Talbot, the Indian's right handed rookie sensation, has been surprising everybody this season. Literally, EVERYBODY. No one could have anticipated the impact Mitch would have on this Indians team in 2010. I think it's time the guy earned a little bit of praise (well, from me anyway).

The 26 year old Utah native has caused quite a stir so far. Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays for Kelly Shoppach in December 2009, Talbot arrived in Cleveland with little-to-no fuss. It seemed most fans had never heard of him, and why should they have? He hardly played at all for the Rays, some relief here, a start in Baltimore there. So it was hardly surprisingly he didn't receive much attention when he was traded to us. However, Talbot entered spring training this year with an outside shot at making the rotation - he had a chance at least. He was up against Aaron Laffey, David Huff, as well as Carlos Carrasco, and proceeded to beat all of them, and earned himself a place in the starting rotation. And he's been fantastic on a poor Indians team ever since, shocking all along the way.

Talbot currently sits at 6-3 with a 3.73 ERA, with 24 walks and 24 strikeouts. I know, looks nothing special right? Well the key difference between Mitch and the rest of his team mates, not to mention his fellow rookie pitchers around the league, is that despite his less-than-impressive numbers, he is getting the job done (currently tied for second place in wins in the AL). He hasn't been fantastic but he has delivered every single start, and has produced the goods in the majors where few others on this Indians' team have (Masterson, Huff etc). He isn't dominant but he is efficient, and we can't really ask much more from him at this stage in his career than that. Many fans have appropriately dubbed him as "The Fury", and rightfully so. He is already being linked to potential trades, as his stock is rising with every appearance. It would be nice if we can keep hold of him for longer than a few months! If Talbot can continue this form, he's set to be a solid middle of the rotation guy for years to come.

If there is nothing else to cheer for in 2010, at least he's giving fans something exciting to watch, in what looks to be another lost season of mediocrity for the Tribe. Keep going Mitch, and long may your success in Cleveland continue.

Thanks for reading.

Catching Up In Cleveland

I know I haven't posted about the Forest City much lately; I've been completely absorbed by Bath City and their recent promotion. However, it doesn't mean I haven't cared or been keeping my eye out on my boys in Cleveland.

First of all, I do not want to talk about the Cavs. I truly felt this was the year to get it done, to win it all. 2010 or bust and all that. Well bust we are, with the Cavalier's exiting the post-season in miserable fashion to the Boston Celtics in six games. With the Cavs failing to make it to the NBA Finals yet again, it looks likely Lebron has played his last game in a Cavs uniform. I hope he stays, but I'm sure he's feeling pretty disillusioned with the team right now, which doesn't bode well for us. He might stick around, we certainly haven't lost him to New York or Chicago yet, but its pretty much all doom and gloom at the moment where the Cavs are concerned. Its a shame that it ends like this, after another fantastic season, and LBJ collecting his second straight MVP award. Lets pray it ends well for the Wine and Gold.

As for the Indians, well its definitely been a mixed bag so far. We're nearing the end of May and 'inconsistency' is the word around town, but what else has changed right? As of today we are 15-20, which is pretty decent considering how low expectations were coming into this season. The story of 2010 so far is the inept offensive output, specifically from Hafner and Sizemore. The young guns like LaPorta and Valbuena have really struggled, and aren't adapting to life in the bigs like we all hoped they would. Luckily our group of veterans and journeymen on the team have got the job done, with Austin Kearns and Mark Grudzielanek doing particularly well. Shin-Soo Choo has continued his brilliant hitting from last year and is carrying the team on his back - hopefully he gets an All Star place this season. Starting pitching has surprised me somewhat, an area the Indians are doing ok in. Carmona's fantastic spring has carried over to the regular season. Alright, so he's not been spectacular but he's been decent and got some good wins under his belt (currently 4-1 with a 3.43 ERA before he faces the Rays tonight). He still walks too many batters, and could get a few more strikeouts, but its Carmona so nothing is perfect. Mitch Talbot has turned into somewhat of a revelation so far, but unfortunately Justin Masterson has struggled. He was predicted by many to be one of our strongest guys in the rotation, but stands at 0-4 with a 5.92 ERA - not too good so far. Jake Westbrook, our grizzly old veteran battling back from injuries that have hindered him the last few years, has been getting better with every game. He had a slow start, but has been quality of late, winning his last 2 games. Westbrook overpowered the Orioles last night, getting 8 strikeouts along the way to a complete game. More stuff like this please Jake. Our firstbaseman Russell Branyan, who's been crocked sine we acquired him, has finally returned from injury and has began to destroy the ball recently - he did especially well against Kansas City, smashing a few homers in a series win for us, and looks set to hit a few more - long may it continue. Overall, Manny Acta's side are doing exactly what is expected of them, which is not much at all. They just need to keep growing and improving, get a few wins here and there and make positive progress hinting towards success in the future. I'd like the Indians to finish with 80 or so wins, and at least try and finish around 500. Anything else would be a dream.

And the Browns? Well not much has changed with the Brownies. Mini camp drills and practices for the rookies have begun, and our new RB Montario Hardesty out of Tennessee has impressed according to early reports. Good signs there, but surely he'll be behind Jerome Harrison in 2010. I'm looking forward to seeing our new QB from Texas, Mr Colt McCoy, in pre-season, even if he won't actually play for the Browns once the real games begin this season. Football is still months away, but I'm always excited about the Browns and can't wait for the games to begin... even if we are a bit shit.

From now on I'll be following the Indians of course, but my focus is turning to the upcoming World Cup in South Africa, which I cannot wait for. Expect a post/preview/World Cup build up blog thing in the near future.

Thanks for reading.

Supporting Fulham For The Final

Tonight is the Europa League Final in Hamburg, between Fulham and Atletico Madrid. I will be getting behind the English club this evening, hoping for a Fulham win. I've had a bit of a soft spot for The Cottagers for a couple of years now. I love Craven Cottage; there is something about small, rustic stadiums that appeal to me. Fulham's kit is pretty nice too, much nicer than that other London club that play in white. It was a couple of years ago that Fulham really gained my appreciation.

In November 2008 I was studying for a presentation I had to give in my history class about 19th century sport in London. I sent out emails to every club in the city, hoping they could help me in any way possible, particularly if I could meet a representative from the club face to face for a chat. My boys at Arsenal came through for me of course, gave me a tour around their museum and that season's yearbook for free. But practically every other club ignored me, especially the scum at Chelsea and Spurs - all except Fulham. They sent me an email back saying unfortunately they could not arrange a face to face meetup, due to their busy schedule (understandable), but they could answer any questions I had or help me in any other way possible. They also chucked in one of their media guides for that season, completely free of charge, which I felt was a really nice touch, and I've admired them ever since.

Fulham have had quite a sensational journey to the Final, especially THAT game at home against Juventus, in which they came from being 4-1 behind on aggregate to win it 5-4. I just hope Roy Hodgson and his men can get the win tonight, and lift that trophy at the end. It's easily Fulham's most important game in their history, and their fans are loving it I'm sure. I'd also like to see Bobby Zamora get a goal or two, and show a certain Mr Capello that he is crazy to have left Bobby out of the initial 30 man England squad for the World Cup. Zamora has been in fantastic form this season, and has quickly become Fulham's talismanic hero, especially in their European run. He is a slight fitness doubt tonight, but I hope he's 100% as Bobby is great to watch when he's firing on all cylinders.

I'll just leave you a little reminder of how dangerous this Fulham side can be. And how can you not love Dempsey's chip?

Thanks for reading.

Welcome To The Show

Bath City FC faced off against Woking yesterday in the Blue Square South Playoff Final. Promotion was the prize, as the winner would go up to the Blue Square Premier for next season. The game wasn't really anything special, but what a day it was...

I heard that the gates were open at 12, so I wanted us to get there early-ish, as a massive crowd was expected (the final number still hasn't been announced - they must still be counting!). Myself and Will made our way to the stadium, but had to wait for our friend Jamie. Eventually we got to Twerton Park around 1.15, 45 minutes before kickoff, and the lines were huge. Masses of people queuing to get in, quite surreal for a non-league football game, but it was just an example of how important the day was. We got in soon enough, I purchased my programme for £3 (a quid more than usual, bloody money grabbing Conference officials!) and made our way to where we normally stand. It was so busy we ended up standing close to The Legion, the especially vocal supporters who were obviously in good voice given the occasion. The start was delayed for 15-20 minutes to let more fans in, and the suspense continued to build.

The match didn't start well for City. Within a minute of the kickoff, Adam Connolly was injured and had to come off immediately, with Marcus Browning replacing him. Soon after, Woking had a brilliant chance to take the lead. In the 11th minute they hit the inside of the post with a vicious shot from Moses Ademola, which I thought was a certain goal but it bounced out for a goal kick somehow. The first half was end to end stuff, with both sides having a good share of the ball, but no one could stick it in the net and it finished 0-0 at half time. I was particularly impressed with Chris Holland and Gethin Jones in defence, as they were absolutely dominant in the air, and made a fantastic centre-back partnership. Sido Jombati was impressive as always, pure class, and probably my favourite Bath City player (because I am still young and immature enough to have such feelings towards grown men I don't really know).

The second half started brightly for City who had the majority of the possession and looked dangerous. Kaid Mohamed, who had scored twice in the last two games against Chelmsford, looked threatening up front, and lead the line well as usual, with his great composure and ability to hold up the ball. Mohamed was soon to make it three goals in three games: An Adie Harris pass put Darren Edwards clean through on goal, who knocked the ball round the keeper but was then taken out and the referee was quick to point to the penalty spot. We were all surprised Woking's goalie only got a yellow card, as it probably should have been a red. It mattered little to myself and the fans though, as we were all far to occupied with the penalty about to be taken. Mohamed stepped up and put it straight into the corner, sending the Twerton Park faithful into a frenzy. 1-0 and a step closer to going up! Mohemed was booked for his celebration, taking his shirt off, but nobody cared - we were ahead and on our way up!

Woking almost equalised immediately. A long goal kick looped over the defence and Woking striker Guiseppe Sole looked sure to score but Ryan Robinson was out of his goal in a flash and denied Sole with his legs, before scrabbling to secure the ball. City were safe for a bit longer. Woking piled on the pressure, with countless corners flying in to the Bath box, but the magnificent Chris Holland made sure every ball made its way back out with powerful headers - a defensive master class. With roughly 10 minutes to go, Ademola got into space and looked sure to score. From where I was stood it looked like he'd clearly beaten Robinson and had an open goal at his mercy, but he shot wide. There was more panic for the City fans, when a free kick was delivered into the box and got past everybody, except Sido who could only direct it into his own net. It looked like Woking had got their goal and tied up the game 1-1. However, as the Woking fans celebrated the equaliser, they failed to hear the referee's whistle; the goal didn't count. I'm not sure why, probably an offside but it could have been a foul on one of the City players, but all that mattered was that we had escaped. Still 1-0 to City, and they were hanging on by a thread. With minutes to go, Bath managed to get the ball back and keep it, winding down the clock and dominating possession, avoiding any more possible attacks Woking could muster. The final whistle blew and pandemonium began. Captain Jim Rollo (my new best mate on Facebook I repeatedly told Jamie and Will all afternoon) leapt into the crowd like an Olympic diver. He is a City hero, worshipped by everyone, and the passion he has for the club and the fans was all over his face at the end. The fans invaded the pitch as its customary to do on a big day like yesterday, and the celebrations began. As I stepped onto the Twerton Park turf, the smell of the grass was brilliant, and everybody had a wide grin from ear to ear on their faces. The players were ecstatic and deservedly so, as they've enjoyed a brilliant season, arguably the finest in the club's history. A brilliant day, and as the champagne flowed we all revelled in the glory.

Next season is going to be a big challenge, but for now we are all simply rejoicing in the moment, the ecstasy of promotion. Against the odds Bath City have done it and made it back to the big time, the pinnacle of non-league football that is the Blue Square Premier. Football League in a couple of years? We can only dream...

Thanks for reading.