Championship England Players

It isn’t often that the England National Squad decides to hand an international cap to a player in the Championship, but it does happen. Here I will examine some of the cases where the National side has had to dip down a tier in order to fill the squad.

Jay Bothroyd. Caps: 1, Goals: 0

 Bothroyd made his only appearance for the senior team in November 2010 against France as a second half substitute. He was called up whilst playing for Cardiff, for whom he had scored 40 league goals the previous season.

Robert Green. Caps: 12, Goals: 0

Green had already played 11 times for England when he was relegated to the Championship with West Ham at the end of the 2010-11 season. He was recalled to the squad for the first time since the 2010 World Cup in May 2012, whilst still at West Ham, for a friendly versus Norway in which he kept a clean sheet.

David James. Caps: 53, Goals: 0

James managed to garner several England Caps playing in goal, despite playing for West Ham during the 2003-04 season, in which they played in the Championship. He was the only England player to be chosen from outside the top flight for 8 years between 1999 and 2007.

Joe Hart. Caps: 28, Goals: 0

Hart played the second half of each of England’s 2010 World Cup warm up games in goal, despite having been based at Championship side Birmingham for the previous season. He has since cemented his place as England’s number 1.

David Nugent. Caps: 1, Goals: 1

Nugent made his only appearance for England in 2007 against Andorra as a second half substitute, whilst playing for Preston North End. He is one of only 3 players to have a 1 substitute appearance/1 goal record, the others being Francis Jeffers and Paul Goddard.

Wilfried Zaha. Caps: 1, Goals: 0

Zaha is the most recent player from the Championship to make an appearance for England, making his debut in November 2012 against Sweden. At the time he played for Crystal palace, but in January moved to Manchester United, so he looks all but certain to add to his cap tally.

That’s all the times that have happened so far, but with Championship players such as Thomas Ince and Charlie Austin continuing to impress in the second tier, it may not be long before this list is expanded further.

Written by Paddy Milnes

Follow on Twitter: @thepaddy @chapstalkfootball

Sourced from a variety of different websites including but not limited to:

BBC Sport

Transfermarkt.com

Whoscored.com

Football365.com

Footballdatabase.eu

Real Madrid vs. Manchester United: Preview

A mouth-watering Champions League clash awaits on Wednesday as Manchester United face the formidable Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

Both sides have had differing league campaigns. Manchester United are currently twelve points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after their 2-0 win against Everton on Sunday.

Real Madrid’s defence of their La Liga title has not gone to plan however. They are currently in third place; sixteen points behind Barcelona and four points behind a Radamel Falcao inspired Atletico Madrid.

José Mourinho has come under heavy scrutiny for Real Madrid’s poor league campaign. Despite this, the Portuguese is still widely tipped to be Ferguson’s successor at Old Trafford. Their head to head record is below:

	Games	Percentage
Mourinho Wins	6	46.2%
Ferguson Wins	2	15.4%
Draws	5	38.4%
Total Games	13

Mourinho has a good record against Ferguson. He recorded wins with FC Porto and Chelsea between 2004 and 2007. Ferguson triumphed the last time the two managers faced each other in March 2009, with a 2-0 victory against Inter Milan at Old Trafford.

Mourinho’s team are favourites for Wednesday’s game. Personnel wise, I believe that both teams are evenly matched. However, Real Madrid are unbeaten at the Bernabéu this season, winning fifteen out of nineteen games in all competitions.

Manchester United have also never won at the Bernabéu; Arsenal and Liverpool in 2006 and 2009 remain the only English teams to have recorded away victories against Los Blancos.

The game has added significance as current Champions League top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo faces his former club for the first time. He recently stated that the happiest time of his career was spent at Manchester United. Ferguson is still a huge admirer of Ronaldo, but he has ruled a out a return for the twenty-eight year old; he is simply too expensive.

Manchester United have a slight advantage by playing away in the first leg. But, I believe that they need to score at least two away goals to have a serious chance of progressing in the return leg on March 3rd. With players such as Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie in the team, this is entirely achievable.

By Kelvin Jones

Follow me on Twitter! @KelvinJonesss

Sources:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team/fixtures/_/id/86/real-madrid?cc=5739

http://www.skysports.com/football/league/0,,11826,00.html

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/champions-league/top-goalscorers.html

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1040469-jose-mourinho-vs-sir-alex-ferguson-scoring-the-battle-so-far/page/7

England and Spain Squads

	England
Squad No.	Position	Name	FIFA 12 Rating	Value/£m	Average Match rating 11/12 season
1	GK	J. Hart	83	18.5	6.86
2	DEF	G. Johnson	80	12.5	6.83
3	DEF	A. Cole	85	15	6.91
4	MID	S. Gerrard	87	18.5	7.00
5	DEF	G. Cahill	79	14	6.54
6	DEF	J. Terry	86	21	6.89
7	MID	T. Walcott	82	15	6.60
8	MID	F. Lampard	87	8.4	7.22
9	ATT	A. Carroll	81	15	6.68
10	ATT	W. Rooney	90	57	7.63
11	MID	A. Young	85	22	7.22
12	DEF	L. Baines	80	16	6.96
13	GK	R. Green	78	4	6.00
14	DEF	P. Jones	76	16	6.99
15	DEF	J. Lescott	80	13	6.73
16	MID	J. Milner	81	17.5	6.80
17	MID	S. Parker	82	12.5	7.03
18	DEF	P. Jagielka	80	10.5	6.72
19	MID	S. Downing	82	14	6.60
20	MID	A. Oxlade-C	69	8.8	6.74
21	ATT	J. Defoe	81	9.7	6.85
22	ATT	D. Welbeck	76	11.5	7.42
23	GK	J. Butland	63	0.2	6.00
		Average	80.6	15.2	6.84

Squad No.	Position	Name	FIFA 12 Rating	Value/£m	Average Match rating 11/12 season
1	GK	I. Casillas	89	31	6.83
2	DEF	R. Albiol	82	7.9	6.6
3	DEF	G. Pique	88	33.5	6.85
4	MID	J. Martinez	74	19.5	6.89
5	DEF	Juanfran	79	7	6.84
6	MID	A. Iniesta	91	57	7.4
7	ATT	Pedro	85	24.5	6.92
8	MID	Xavi	92	31	7.78
9	ATT	F. Torres	86	31	6.87
10	MID	C. Fabregas	88	48.5	7.55
11	ATT	A. Negredo	82	16	6.95
12	GK	V. Valdes	85	17.5	6.49
13	MID	J. Mata	86	30	7.19
14	MID	X. Alonso	86	31	7.36
15	DEF	S. Ramos	85	30	7.16
16	MID	S. Busquets	83	31	7.36
17	DEF	A. Arbeloa	83	10.5	6.87
18	DEF	J. Alba	77	8	6.57
19	ATT	F. Llorente	83	22	6.89
20	MID	S. Cazorla	84	17.5	7.6
21	ATT	D. Silva	87	40.5	7.43
22	ATT	J. Navas	84	17.5	7.35
23	GK	P. Reina	84	16.5	6.42
		Average	84.5	25.2	7.05

That's a table I have made comparing the England and Spain squads for Euro 2012. I think it is fairly self- explanatory. Basically, I have taken the FIFA 12 rating, Value and Average Match rating of each player from both squads, and compared them. The results clearly show that the England Squad is just not of the same caliber as that of Spain. It would seem we have very little chance at Euro 2012 if that is how poorly we compare.

By Patrick Milnes. Follow me on Twitter @thepaddy

The stats in this blog are from fifafantic.com, whoscored.com and transfermarkt.com

Euro 2012: England

Euro 2012: England

With just over two weeks until the start of UEFA Euro 2012, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about England.

For every tournament that England are involved in, there is always an hysteric expectation that they will eventually lift silverware, despite a forty six year dry spell. Even though England are considered to be the fifth best team in Europe according to the FIFA World Rankings, I believe the chances of an English victory in Kiev on July 1^st are very slim.

The appointment of Roy Hodgson has not been unanimously welcomed by England supporters. However, he has international experience, whereas other more popular candidates, such as Harry Redknapp, lack this. International football and domestic football are very different, and they require different approaches. Although Hodgson lacks the eccentricity that Redknapp is adored by the media for, I believe that Hodgson is a better manager than he is given credit for.

Despite this, I do not believe that England’s squad is as good as previous years. I believe that England are particularly weak in attack. With Wayne Rooney suspended for the first two games against France and Sweden, striking responsibility will fall to one of Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe or Danny Welbeck. Rooney has been a key influence for Manchester United this season, with 27 goals in 32 Premier League starts.

Rooney is a world class player, but his replacements are not up to this standard. Carroll has scored 4 goals in 35 Premier League games, which hardly warrants his £35 million price tag. Defoe has 11 goals in 25 Premier League games and Welbeck has 9 goals in 30 Premier League games.

France and Sweden are tough teams, and I believe that it will be difficult for England to escape the group stages. The final group game against Ukraine may be particularly challenging, considering that they have home advantage.

By Kelvin Jones

Statistics courtesy of whoscored.com

Follow me on Twitter: @Kelvin_Jones

UEFA Champions League Final: Bayern Munich vs Chelsea

According to the Euro Club Index, only one place separates Bayern Munich and Chelsea; they are placed fifth and sixth respectively. However, after their battle on the Allianz Arena turf tomorrow, I can only see Bayern Munich extending this lead.

Firstly, Bayern Munich have won all seven of their UEFA Champions League games at the Allianz Arena this season. They recorded impressive victories against Manchester City and Real Madrid, and they also destroyed FC Basel 7-0.

But, home advantage may be less effective than predicted. UEFA Champions League finals, in recent years at least, have had an atmosphere dominated by corporatism. Bayern fans will take up 17,500 seats on Saturday evening. On a normal match-day, over 60,000 Bayern fans are present. This may have a psychological effect on the players, as they are not used to this. Psychological factors play a huge part in football, and their effects are often overlooked. Chelsea may be able to exploit this.

Chelsea also have many key personnel ineligible; John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meireles and Ramires are all suspended. All four players scored en route to the final, and they will be significantly weakened by this. Chelsea will especially miss the leadership qualities of their controversial captain.

With Chelsea’s weakened back line, and Bayern’s formidable strike force of Mario Gomez, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry, the Germans are likely to claim their fifth UEFA Champions League title. Although Chelsea memorably defeated FC Barcelona in their semi-final clash, I do not believe that Chelsea can repeat a performance of this magnitude.

By Kelvin Jones

@Kelvin_Jones

Statistics courtesy of euroclubindex.com and whoscored.com